About Me
30 years of financial services experience
4 financial planning firms
Countless clients served across genders and wealth levels
1 prestigious financial literacy volunteering award
Breaking the cycle of money scarcity for women
Tax Preparation
& Planning
Bookkeeping
& Education
Financial
Consulting
Audit and Compliance
Our Team
Joe Doe
Founder & CEO
With over 20 years of experience in finance and credit management, John founded Whealthy Living LLC with a vision to make comprehensive credit repair accessible to everyone. He’s a certified credit consultant who loves to translate complex credit terms into easy-to-understand language for our clients.
Jade Smith
Lead Credit Specialist
Jane brings a decade of experience in financial advising and credit repair. She specializes in strategizing personalized credit repair plans that maximize success. Her thorough understanding of credit laws ensures that our practices are compliant and effective.
Carlos Rivera
Senior Legal Advisor
Carlos is a seasoned attorney specializing in consumer credit law. His expertise is crucial in navigating the complexities of credit disputes and legalities surrounding credit repair. He ensures that all our operations are in line with federal and state laws.
Work History
I started my financial services career as a bookkeeper for a small business. Fun fact: they sold letter jackets and other high school memorabilia and the week before Christmas was hectic but so much fun.
I worked at The Vanguard Group, a large mutual fund company, where I learned extensively about retirement plans for individuals and small businesses, among other topics.
Then, I spent some time at a cross-border financial planning firm (primarily Americans and Canadians), where I became a subject matter expert on several topics, including but not limited to, education plans and Social Security.
Since then, I have worked with high-net worth clients with a wealth management group at a trust administrator. I focused primarily on cash flow planning, needs analysis, saving and distributions strategies, Social Security optimization, and Required Minimum Distributions.
I continue to contract with a small financial planning firm that primarily works with business owners and other working professionals. I mentor two financial planners, educate support staff on financial foundations, and participate in financial plan creation and special projects.
I've worked in various jobs prior to my career and feel that everyone would benefit from jobs in retail and food services, even if they move on to another profession.
Education
I love learning! Even when it's not formal education, I am always looking for learning opportunities.
I graduated with a Bachelor's in Finance from Arizona State University, with a Certificate in International Business studies, and a minor in Spanish. (You can find me on Duolingo every day!)
I have had various FINRA licenses during my professional career, including Series 6, 63, 65, and 66. Most notably, I've held the Series 7 license twice. If you know how hard that is, you understand when I say I won't ever take that test again! These licenses must be held through certain types of firms, so they have lapsed and you will not find me on BrokerCheck.
I earned my Certified Financial Planner® designation in 2001. I later earned the Canadian Certified Financial Planner® designation although I did not have to (or get to) go to Canada! I currently maintain both of these designations by completing continuing education requirement annually. And I have been to Vancouver!
I earned my Master's in Advanced Financial Planning with an emphasis on Financial Life Planning, with honors, from Golden Gate University in 2019. I learned coaching skills, talked about the history and future of financial planning, and made fantastic connections. I remain in touch with several classmates and professors. My area of ongoing study is behavioral finance and the psychology of money.
I also completed a course through Columbia and the CFP® Board for teaching classes for people studying to become CFP® professionals.
I most recently earned the Philanthropic Solutions in Financial Planning Certificate through a partnership between the Financial Planning Association and the American Heart Association.
I haven't decided what's next!
Teaching
During my time at the cross-border financial planning firm, I often created and presented training on various topics. I enjoyed this immensely! I also began writing some posts for the company's blog and received very positive responses. I have been writing since then!
In 2023, I began guest teaching in finance and financial planning courses. These have included a class on Behavioral Finance for finance students at Franklin University in Switzerland (unfortunately, remote, no travel!) and on communicating with financial planning clients about estate planning at Grand Canyon University.
Professional Community
While I think there are issues within the financial planning profession, and more broadly, the financial services industry, I love being part of this evolving profession.
I served on the Board of the Financial Planning Association of Greater Phoenix (now the Financial Planning Association of Arizona or FPAAZ)for a number of years, including a term as President in 2010. I remain involved , involvement in the Communications team, and volunteer work.
While President for the Board of FPAGP, I wrote a month newsletter article and learned to be more comfortable with public speaking as I had to stand in front of 50-150 people each month at our meetings.
Volunteering
Through FPAAZ, I have volunteered in volunteer programs such as Junior Achievement Biztown (a business education program for 5th graders), public Financial Planning Day events, and pro bono events for teachers, in addition to other programs.
I am most proud of my experience teaching the MoneyWise program. This financial education program was developed by a nonprofit, Wise, in NY; they partnered with YWCA and FPAAZ to offer the 12-class program through volunteer co-teachers. We offered it many times (2020-2023) and I taught or co-taught the majority of the classes we offered. Additionally, I updated the presentations significantly, developing more expertise in areas I had less experience in previously.
I have also volunteered several times for a fun program offered by Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE). High school students and their economics teachers go through some education and the students are assigned a profession, salary, and family situation. Then the volunteers, like me, present information and experiences for the 6 areas of the budget the students are creating. At the end, they get a spin on the Wheel of Life, which can change their budget by adding an expense (like fix the car) or adding some income (gift, inheritance, bonus, etc.) It's always fun to stay for their final reactions.
I have volunteered for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. It's a great learning experience for financial services professionals and I encourage all my peers and colleagues to participate.
Until recently, I also volunteered my time with the Valley of the Sun Weimaraner Club (VSWC). I served as Club Secretary for many years until 2023. I have been a member since my first Weimaraner, Cassi, was young. I also worked with the Rio Salado Vizsla Club as Hunting Test Secretary several times. I acted as legislative liaison and annual photo contest/calendar coordinator for both clubs. I was awarded a special recognition award by the VSWC in 2024 for my many years of service.
In 2023, I received the Financial Planning Association Heart of Planning Award for my volunteer service. It was an unexpected honor!
Virginia and sister Christie a year before accident.
Gather Round For A Story: Why I'm a Financial Planner / Coach / Educator
I was in a very serious accident when I was in my early 20s. The kind where they told my sister I wouldn't walk again. (Of course, she rolled her eyes at them--I'm tenacious and I could wiggle my toes!) It changed my life in a lot of ways I won't go into here. I ended up getting a settlement from the driver's insurance.
My astute attorney told me that less than 5% of people who get a (to them) large sum of money have anything left after 5 years. This shocked me. I. Was. Shook. I did not want to be broke (again) in 5 years, with expected ongoing health issues that may or may not affect my ability to work. (Fortunately, I was able to live a normal life, but it was uncertain at that point.)
I looked around me. Everyone I knew was living paycheck to paycheck. Some of my family members had declared bankruptcy more than once. People already had their hands out for my settlement money before I got it. (The only person who got any of that money besides the attorney was the guy who let me continue living in his house rent-free while I rehabbed.)
I discussed it with the attorney, and he recommended 2 investment advisors. I met with them, had them put me on a budget while I finished surgeries and rehab and school. I went back to school and decided on the finance major as it was the closest at the time to what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people who, like me, could learn, but had no idea what they were supposed to be learning to control their finances and their life.
Smell the Roses
I have a Weimaraner and 2 cats. I'm a dog person. Also, I'm a cat person. It's not either/or! My Weimaraner is a dog version of how goofy and not graceful I can be. I married Marc on Leap Day 2020.
I've planted a rose garden at all the houses I've lived in. People often think you can't grow roses in Phoenix, but my dad and grandma always had them. Also, Arizona has rose farms; some roses are grown here to ship other places!
I broke a cast iron skillet when I was a teenager, so I didn't start out with the best results, but I am a self-taught cook. I love to cook because, 1, I like to eat, and 2, I enjoy feeding others. I learned to cook as an adult and have had to experiment and relearn as my health and dietary needs have changed. It's gotta be yummy!
My love language is books. I love to read. Fiction, nonfiction, various genres (some more than others!), I'll try to read it all. I don't discriminate--I read physical books, e-books, and audiobooks. My husband even reads to me because of the issues I've had with my eyes over the last couple of years!
I like to hike and I'm kind of a treehugger. Ya know, I want to do the right things for the environment, and I don't understand why people trash nature or destroy things. I definitely subscribe to "leave it better than you find it." At the same time, it's easy to become disillusioned or overwhelmed by [shakes hand vaguely at life and the world] everything, so I try to maintain balance. Like, I'll take my plastic bottle home to recycle but I won't dig through the trash to get yours.
The movie hills I will die on include: Zombieland is a modern classic. The best Christmas movies are Elf, Trading Places, Die Hard, and Gremlins. Everyone should see Idiocracy at least once. Goonies never say die.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.
The Financial Planning Standards Board (“FPSB Ltd.”) owns the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and certification mark and service marks (“CFP Marks”). FPSB oversees the development of international CFP certification standards to benefit consumers. FP Canada is the Canadian Affiliate of FPSB Ltd. and is solely authorized to administer the CFP Marks in Canada.
