I’m a young Mother at 22.

My parents never had any financial plannings for their kids, which in turn meant that I was never brought up with any financial knowledge. It was always money in the plastic piggy bank at home, scrape your knee and pick yourself back up.

After having my son at 22 years old, I believe many would ask ‘How was it having a child so young?’ It was not easy but it was not hard with the family support I had. I never had problems with money as I saved on my own and my family is ‘well to do’ in society standard. However, being a believer of ‘When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action’, as a result I never sought help from them for money.

There were years when I was the breadwinner of my own family at 24 years old; food, diaper, school fees, milk, rentals, clothes were all from my pocket. I received many comments ‘that must have been a tough time for you’, but it was the opposite for me, I was content. I was happy to be surrounded by loved ones, to have food on the table, to wake up and sleep in a clean bed.

With every high in life, there are lows. That year, covid hit and I lost my job. I took it as a sign for me to pursue a new direction in life. Making a career switch when my son was 3 years old was not easy financially but it was a do-or-die scenario. I wanted a job with a sense of fulfilment and helping people achieve their dreams and goals.

I chose to enter this industry as I believe that there are more people like myself who were not taught about financial planning and entered life without any foundation. With better financial literacy, I believe my life would have played out better than the way it did. This is a scenario that could happen to anyone and I do not wish for anyone else to go through the same.

I aspire to be someone that contributes back to society by improving lives whether it is financial planning or being a person they can confide in, one person at a time.