I didn’t grow up with money lessons. I grew up watching money stress.

By the time I was in high school, my mom was on disability and my dad had stopped working. We never had more than $1,200 in the bank. Bills were constantly shuffled just to keep essentials running. Friends would pay for my lunch or movie ticket because they knew I couldn’t.

The turning point came when someone gave me a copy of The Automatic Millionaire. At that time, I had $200 to my name, a broken radiator that forced me to pull over multiple times just to get to work, $30,000 in student loans, and a salary of $28K. I knew something had to change.

From surviving to saving

The first steps were small: I started prioritizing saving, then took on a side hustle to boost my income.

My “aha” moment came when I saw my savings stacking up thanks to automated systems and the discipline of not touching my side hustle money.

• Year one: I bought a reliable (new-to-me) Audi A4.

• Year two to three: I saved enough to buy my own home, no co-signer needed.

Along the way, I made mistakes. I love to shop, and at one point owned 50 pairs of shoes because I had a nest egg. But I eventually learned that money should give you security and freedom first.

Why I started this newsletter

Money advice is everywhere, but too much of it is either overly technical or so watered-down it’s not useful. I wanted to make personal finance simple, relatable, and actionable for beginners (especially for people who never learned it growing up.)

I believe you shouldn’t delegate your money to a robot or an app until you’ve learned how to manage it yourself. It’s like changing a tire: sure, roadside assistance is nice but if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere, knowing how to do it yourself will keep you moving.

This newsletter is for anyone 20–40 who wants to:

• Learn the basics of saving, investing, and money habits

• Avoid the pitfalls that keep people living paycheck-to-paycheck

• Build confidence to make money work for you

The more you know, the better

The more you understand money, the better your choices, and your future will be.
That’s why I created Know More Money: a beginner-friendly personal finance newsletter that delivers simple lessons, real stories, and proven steps you can actually follow.