You've broken generational cycles to get where you are. You've navigated systems that weren't built for you. But when it comes to money, you might still feel like you're following someone else's playbook.

You've worked incredibly hard to get where you are as a first-generation professional. But every piece of financial advice feels like it was written for someone else—someone who inherited financial knowledge, someone whose family taught them about money around the dinner table, someone who doesn't carry the weight of breaking generational cycles.

What if the reason traditional financial advice doesn't work for you isn't because you're doing it wrong, but because the rules were never made for first-generation professionals like us?

Here's what I've learned: financial freedom isn't just about following conventional wisdom. It's about understanding the system well enough to create your own rules—rules that align with your values and honor the journey that brought you here.

Rethinking Financial "Rules" That Were Never Meant for Us

Let's be honest about who created the financial "rules" we're expected to follow. Women couldn't even open bank accounts without their husbands' permission until the 1960s, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act wasn't passed until 1974—just 50 years ago. Before that law, women needed their husbands, fathers, or brothers to cosign for loans or credit cards.

So when we talk about traditional financial advice, let's remember: these systems were designed by and for a very specific demographic. And that demographic wasn't us.

Take credit scores, for example. They feel arbitrary because they essentially are—the specific algorithms are proprietary and change regularly. The fear and financial illiteracy around credit scores are intentional. When people don't understand how they work, they're easier to exploit with predatory lending and in a poverty cycle.

But here's what credit scores actually measure: your reliability within the current financial system. While we can critique that system (and we should), we also need to navigate it strategically. Understanding that a credit score is just a tool measuring payment history and credit utilization means you can game the system rather than being gamed by it.

This is crucial because financial information is gatekept by design. Growing up as first-generation means that no one taught us about compound interest, investment portfolios, or building generational wealth. These weren't dinner table conversations in our households—we were too busy surviving.

The system profits from our financial illiteracy. They need us in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, too overwhelmed to understand that money can work for us, not against us.

The data also shows the lasting impact of this exclusion. According to Pew Research, first-generation college graduates have a median household income of $99,600 compared to $135,800 for those with college-educated parents. The wealth gap is even more striking: first-generation college graduates have a median household wealth of $152,000, compared to $244,500 for second-generation graduates. These aren't just numbers—they represent the compound effect of starting from scratch without inherited financial knowledge.

But here's the thing about being first-gen: we're natural system-breakers. We've already done the impossible by being here. Learning about money isn't betraying your roots—it's honoring the sacrifices that got you here by ensuring they weren't in vain.

Aligning Money with Your Values for Financial Freedom

This is where everything clicked for me. I spent years making financial decisions based on what I thought I "should" do, following advice that never felt quite right, and, if I'm being honest, impulsive, given the limited knowledge I had at the time. Then I realized that if I don't know my values, every financial decision becomes a struggle.

For me, freedom is everything. I value the ability to leave situations that don't serve me. I hate feeling dependent on employers—that feeling of being hostage to a paycheck because I can't afford to leave. This system intentionally creates wage dependency. When you live paycheck to paycheck, leaving bad situations becomes impossible, and that's not accidental.

But I also have a spending habit. I like nice things, and I have a history of making big purchases when I'm deep in my emotions. That awareness became key because I can now recognize that I buy big things when I feel down. So, next time I'm feeling impulsive about a major purchase, I ask myself, 'Do I really need this?' How does it line up with my core values of freedom, assertiveness, reciprocity, and gratitude? These are the primary values guiding my decisions lately; I've meditated on them, and they serve a reason and purpose in my life. We all have deep core values, whether we've identified them or not.

It's deeply psychological—you need to come into acceptance with yourself and your patterns before you can truly transform your relationship with money. This is the psychological work that traditional financial advice completely ignores. Financial freedom might mean you need to face old patterns, lay to rest an old version of yourself.

Here's what I wish I could tell my 25-year-old self: if I had more knowledge, information, and clear values back then, instead of making those emotionally-driven purchases, I would be that much closer to financial independence now at 35. But it's never too late to start learning and helping other financially illiterate, impulsive humans make wiser decisions for their future selves (no offense).

Your Practical Path to Financial Liberation

So why talk about values and finances? Knowing your values transforms every purchase decision. When you're clear on what matters most to you, you can evaluate every expense against those values. This isn't about depriving yourself—it's about intentionality.

Here's the framework I use.

Before any unplanned purchase, I ask:

• How am I feeling right now?

• Does this purchase align with my values?

• Does this move me closer to or farther from my vision of freedom?

  
  

If I'm buying from an emotional place, I put the item on a wishlist and wait a few days. If I still want it and it aligns with my values, I budget for it.

The biggest red flag? Trying to escape a bad feeling instead of riding it out. Emotional budgeting—trying to satiate a bad feeling with a product—is what capitalism thrives on.

It trains us to think every feeling has a purchase that can fix it.

But the feeling always comes back. And so does the debt.

The real budget we need isn't just for money—it's for emotions.

One Thing to Take Away

If you had to leave with one tangible takeaway, let it be this: create a values-based spending filter.

Before your next significant purchase, pause and ask yourself:

• What am I actually trying to buy here?

• Does this align with my core values?

• Will this move me closer to or farther from my bigger goals?

  
  

Sometimes the answer will be yes—you value comfort, or beauty, or supporting certain businesses. That's valid. The point isn't to never spend money; it's to spend it consciously, in alignment with who you're becoming rather than who you were conditioned to be.

Because here's what traditional financial advice won't tell you: the goal isn't to follow someone else's rules perfectly. The goal is to understand the system well enough to create your own rules—rules that honor your values, your journey, and your vision for the future.

Building Wealth on Your Terms

Financial freedom for first-generation professionals isn't just about accumulating money. It's about creating the freedom to make choices aligned with your values. It's about building generational wealth that breaks cycles. It's about understanding that your relationship with money is part of your broader journey toward self-determination.

The game is rigged, but we can still learn the rules and play it better. And once we understand how money really works, we can't unsee the system. Once we can't unsee it, we can't help but want to tear it down and build something better.

What story, pattern, or old version of yourself do you need to lay to rest to reach your financial goals?

Keep Reading🦉

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Offerings🪄🌺

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