Virtuous Wealth Building with Financial Coach, Michelle Velasquez

Meet my guest:

If you’re ready to reach your financial goals and build wealth confidently through proven business know-how, Michelle Velasquez is your go-to expert. Her mission is to help Latina moms and couples create healthy spending habits, pay off any debt & reach their savings goals without an overly restrictive budget. Not only is she a coach for personal and business finances, but she also is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and workshop facilitator. 

As a daughter of an entrepreneur, Michelle had an eye-opening experience when her father died, leaving her in charge of sorting out both his family and business finances. Through a flood of frustrated tears, Michelle decided that she would dedicate herself to making sure that no one else had to go through the struggles of poor financial planning the way she did. 

Michelle has an intimate understanding of the cultural barriers many Latina women face when it comes to finances. As a result, she’s developed the skills to help others overcome those roadblocks so that they can heal past traumas and limiting mindsets. This enables her clients to reach their money goals, have effective budgets, protect their wealth, and even navigate financial legalities that used to seem so intimidating.

Michelle is trained as a Financial Coach Master Trainer. She received her Paying for College Certification through NextGen Personal Finance.

She is proudly changing the financial narrative of Latinas as a co-author of Latinas in Finances. And is determined to change the financial narrative one Latina at a time.

Because she practices what she preaches (creating multiple streams of income to build wealth for her children’s children) Michelle is also a Real Estate Investor (experienced in renovating and flipping homes), a Landlord who owns multiple properties, and an Airbnb Host with a suite of properties. She also is the wife of an entrepreneur and is able to bring her financial skills into practice with her husband’s general contracting business. 

Her extensive training and experience, combined with her heart for seeing Latinas rise into financial powerhouses, make Michelle the perfect person to come alongside women who are ready to uplevel their personal and business finances as well as develop wealth through growing a real estate portfolio. Michelle has walked families through overcoming thousands in debt, embracing self-discipline, and helping them save money to buy a house, travel, build new streams of income. Through her one on one coaching programs, she has helped many heal from past money traumas, witness marriages go from seperate to merged finances, has taught individuals to become better stewards of their money while paying off debt, and has helped families better plan for their future so they can leave generational welath.

Michelle is a daughter of a King, a mom to four young children, and a lover of conchas and coffee.

Michelle Velasquez
Financial Coach
www.vwbcoaching.com (website)
Info@vwbcoaching.com (email) 
@vwbcoaching (social media handles FB/IG)
FB Private Group- Latina Moms Building Wealth 

Transcript

Ann: 0:11

Hey there, friends. My name is Anne Calvio. And welcome to her Scars. Tell a Story, podcast, a safe space for women from all different walks of life and different backgrounds coming together to share their stories of God's redeeming love. So grab your cup of coffee and journey with us now. Hey there friends. Welcome to her Scars. Tell A Story podcast. I'm your host, Ann Calvio, and today I'm with my wonderful guest, Michelle. Michelle,

Michelle: 0:55

welcome. Thank you so much and thank you for having me

Ann: 0:59

today. I just want you to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about your background.

Michelle: 1:07

Wow. Where do I start? Anywhere you want. So my name is Michelle Velazquez and I'm a financial coach, um, and founder of Virtual Wealth Building. I am married to my husband, Tiga, and we have four beautiful children all under the age of nine. And I always like to tell people'cause that's like, people understand like how chaotic those stages are, right? Yeah. Um, but a little bit about myself, my journey. So I recently just left my nine to five. I was an officer with Homeland Security for about 16 years. Mm. And I really felt God calling me to leave, um, to be able to be a better mother. And I felt myself stressed out all the time. Mm. I felt myself stressed out in traffic. Um, you know, sometimes with my husband feeling like he was taking Mom and dad roles. Um, and I felt guilty. There was a lot of guilt involved in that. Um, and so I was like, you know what? God's been asking me to leave. It took me a while though. It took me like a year.'cause it was fear. Yeah. Right. Like I'm, I'm in this position, government position of 16 years and comfort. Good. Pay the schedule. You know, it's a mindset of like, Hey, in law enforcement you do 20 years and you retire. Yeah. So, never did I ever think that I was ever gonna leave prior to my 20 years. Hmm. Um, but I felt like God was constantly pursuing me. And I would see it into my kids, and I would see it into my husband. And then I was just like, Hey, this is not the mom that I wanna be. I don't wanna be the stressed out mom that by the time I got home, my kids wanted to do this. And I was like, Ugh, I don't wanna do that. I'm tired. Yeah. You know? And my husband like, babe, let's just go on vacation. Let's do this. And I was just like, oh, I don't have time. I don't have leave. And so it was constantly like it was stopping me. Yeah. Yeah. And I finally got to the point that I started getting sick. I started getting physically sick. Things started happening to me, and I think it was a way of like, God pausing me. Yeah. And I was like, Nope, I'm still going and I'm still going, and I'm still going. And finally it was just like, came to this pause, like, either you jump or you're gonna have no choice. And so, yeah. And that I was like, okay, I, I need to do this for my kids. I need to do this for my husband, for my family, and for myself. So I just left the nine to five to focus on the kids. Mm-hmm. Um, but also to coach.'cause I felt like God was like, you know what, Michelle, you're good at this. You love coaching, you're passionate about it. People really need to hear your story. People really need to see the transformation. Right. Um, when I started my financial journey, it really started when my father passed. My father passed away in 2010. Okay. And when I cleaned out his office, um, I saw a financial book. Mm-hmm. And then I realized that he died of financial stress. Hmm. And so, like, that was the beginning of my love for financial literacy. Yeah. Um, and that, and that, you know, my husband and I at the time when we first started, we had separate finances. And I, I would, I would feel resentful. I was feeling resentful towards him. Because I felt like, oh my God, I, I'm always broke and I have a good job. But I, I had debt'cause I had student loans. Um, but I, there I started to feel like resentful. Like, wait, I'm the mom. I'm the one that chops, I'm the one that goes to the, takes the kids to dentists, you know, clothes, grocery store, whatever. And so I kind of felt like I kept seeing him grow financially. Yeah. And I felt a little behind. Mm. And so started to cause resentment and so I really had to like address that. Yeah. Um, and obviously, you know, we have traumas that we grow up with, whether you have a spending, you know, you come up from parents who are spenders or savers. Mm-hmm. Um, in our case, my husband and I had separate upbringings and so yeah. We didn't trust each other with our money. Hmm. So it was for like the first five years of our marriage that we just had separate finances and yeah.

Ann: 5:05

How long have you been married for

Michelle: 5:07

now? So Martin and I have been married, uh, six, uh, no,

Ann: 5:10

seven years. Seven years, okay. So the first five were

Michelle: 5:13

rough. Yeah, the first five were, yeah. But I think it, because we came from, you know, I, I was with someone else and you know, things didn't work out and I had a lot of. Money, trauma from that. Okay. Relationship. Yeah. And then my husband had a previous relationship and so money, trauma from them. And so then when you get together with someone Yeah. You don't realize like, hey, we both have some kind of financial trauma, money, trauma. Yeah. Yeah. And so how do we, how do we come together? How do we, um, heal? Mm. Yes. How do we heal from that? And, you know, it was really him who said, let's merge our finances. He went to a men's retreat actually at, at Church Uhhuh. And I remember him walking through the door and I was like, oh, how was the retreat? Like, I had no idea. Was just asking about the retreat. Yeah. And he is like, let's have a seat on the couch. And he said, babe, in this retreat God was telling me that, um, I really needed to trust you a hundred percent. He was like, there was something that I wasn't trusting you on. Yeah. And he was like, and it was with the money. And he said, and I felt like God was telling me that we would be more powerful together.

Ann: 6:14

So let me ask you this, did you both have separate bank accounts before that

Michelle: 6:19

retreat? We did. Okay. We had separate, we were like roommates and, and I hated that feeling. Mm-hmm.

Ann: 6:24

But speak into that because there's a lot of marriages that can relate to that.

Michelle: 6:29

Yeah. So, you know, at, you know, we got married, you know, I, I'm 40 now, so it was a little late in the game, and at this point, you know, you, you have your stuff, right? Like it's mine. And then mm-hmm. He has his stuff and I had a property and he has a couple properties. And so then it comes to like, well, we have these unhealed previous relationships and upbringings, right? Yeah. And so how do we come to that? And so it really took. Prayer. Mm-hmm. It took conversations. Yeah. Um, but we started to, I started to see, I don't think he did Martin's really like relax. Mm-hmm. I was very resentful. Mm. Yeah. And I was like, Hey, I'm feeling like this, this is how I'm feeling. Yeah. And so I think that we don't talk about that, that how that can cause resentment when you have these. Separate accounts. Yeah. Because I was like, well, you're buying another building and you're doing this and you're doing that, but hey, I'm the one that's going to the doctor, to the grocery store to buy the school clothes to do, and that, you know, and I was carrying all the benefits, like the health benefits, dental. Yeah. So then I, one day I had to sit down and say, this is why I don't have money. Yeah, yeah. Like, Hey, it's going. Insurance and dental and F S A and H s A and everything else. So yeah, I wasn't able to build, but it's so important to merge. And he sat and my husband said, you know, God wanted us to be together. And he, he said, I realized in the retreat that God was telling me that I wanted us to be together and everything, even with our money. And we were one Yes. The oneness, right?

Ann: 7:55

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. So the reason why I mentioned that is because we, I just had a conversation with somebody on that. Um, and in that I. When you do merge, right? When, when you do merge and have that joint bank account, it's also keeping in mind that now we not only have a responsibility to be good stewards of that, but now we have to co-partner. With our spouse in, in managing that money. And somebody needs to keep a budget on what's coming in and what's going out. How did you all handle that?

Michelle: 8:35

So I sat him on the island of our kitchen, and I remember, and I, and I, and I talk about this in, in my Facebook private group. I have a Facebook private group called Latina Moms Building Wealth. And I went live on it where it said, I sat him down and I actually said to him, um, Hey, this is what I have. Mm-hmm. And at the time it was like, I don't know, 57,000. I had a total about$88,000 in debt. Mm-hmm. Um, I had a lot of student loan debt. I had about 3000 in credit cards, but I sat down and I like, it was very embarrassing, I think, because I knew that he was a cash kind of guy. Hmm. Okay. A very SA saver. And I came from a very, spending parents, like they had, my dad has small business. Mm-hmm. You know, my mom was a stay at home mom. I grew up feeling like I had everything. So like, for me, it was kind of embarrassing to be like, I have all this student loan debt. Mm-hmm. Because I, I felt embarrassed because as I, as time passed, I realized like, wow, I was just lazy. Hmm. I could have been putting for all these scholarships and all these things, and then later I became a judge for scholarships and we were struggling with getting people to apply for them. So then I was like, man, Michelle, like you were just lazy. You were lazy because you were comfortable. Your daddy had a business and you felt that you didn't have to do it. Hmm. I think that I felt shamed to sit down with him in that table, but I had to face my fears and I had to face my numbers. Yeah. And he said, okay. I think I had about 3000 in credit cards at the time. Yeah. And he was like, okay, we're gonna be one. We're going to, we're gonna do this together. And we had a heart to heart conversation about like, Hey, we have kids. Yeah. Like if we see this, we see each other together in the long haul. And we are married under God, like we are one. Then we need to continue to work as one. And honestly, that was the beginning of like our power. Like we just, after that it, we've been unstoppable.

Ann: 10:34

That just gives me chills. I was having this conversation with, with a couple women and we talked about where there's unity, there's blessing. Where there's unity. The blessing of the Lord flows there. There's scripture that actually talks about that the blessing of the Lord flows there, where there's unity. And just hearing you say, once we merged, once we were able to have that heart to heart, we were, the power started there. The power and the healing. Yes. Right. Absolutely. The financial healing that you talked about. Right. And you had to release that embarrassment. Because when you're one with someone, when you're one with your spouse, right? There's no room for hiding, right? That's where we have to say, okay, we have to bring everything up. Right. And it needs to be exposed and we need to talk about it. Mm-hmm. Because in order for us to heal, we need to talk about it and not hide it under the rug or minimize it or wish it away, but we have to actually talk about it. Mm-hmm. Right. And so that was really courageous of you and

Michelle: 11:45

him. And it was hard because most of the debt was mine and I was like, You know, here I have 3000 in credit cards. Mm-hmm. All these in student loans, you know, and I grew up with a father who owned a small business. My, my in-laws worked at Nabisco Cookie Factory. Mm-hmm. And so when we, I, I love to share that story'cause, you know, I admire them for being such hardworking people Yeah. And being able to save, um, But it just goes to show that it's discipline. Mm-hmm. It's how we are stored with our money. Right? Yes. Versus like, you know, sometimes people are like, well because you have money and your husband has a business and you have a business, no, it has nothing to do with it.'cause there's people who are millionaires and then go bankrupt.

Ann: 12:22

Right. And I also love that you did some self inventory where you said, Hey Michelle. You are just being lazy. That's a hard truth. It's hard for us to be honest with ourselves in situations like that we make excuses for ourselves, but you, you just like, no, I, I could have, and I was being lazy, but admitting this. Is me facing it is me acknowledging it.

Michelle: 12:49

I think a lot had to do with when my father passed away. Mm. Um, he had a small business, successful business. And when it came down to numbers, my sisters were, I'm one of five sisters. Mm. When we sat down to pay for Dad's funeral, it was kinda like, well, where's the money? Hmm. And I was like, how is it that we're like trying to figure this out? Yeah. Now that he passed away. And so for me it was really hard. To not have money, you know, graduating from Loyola, having a master's, being in law enforcement, having a great career. And I was like, how do not, how do I not have enough money to help bury my father, the most important man in my life who gave me everything, right? And in that moment, I had to take out a loan from my retirement account to help because they, they don't, they're not waiting a month for the money. They want your money before the person gets buried. Hmm. And so I think that was a reality, that was a rude awakening for me. Where it was like, I don't want my kids to ever feel this way. Hmm. I don't, I I remember crying in my room and I even, I'm part of the Latinos and book, and I wrote in my story. I remember vividly crying in my room saying, I don't ever want my kids to ever feel this way. Yeah,

Ann: 13:56

yeah. You, you're breaking cycles. You're breaking cycles now. Why? Because you made a choice. You made a choice, and your husband made a choice. Tell us what that looks like now. Wow.

Michelle: 14:13

Now that we have merged while we eliminated, so it was about$88,000 in that, and this was like, we started our journey about 2015. Okay. Um, I don't know, probably like three, four years. Mm-hmm. And you know, people, sometimes people ask, and even as I coach couples, like how does this happen? Well, it happens Is that when you have your separate accounts, You have your, and your in this way. Mm-hmm. You have it this way and then, you know, it's like, wait a minute, we're 20,000 of that, but you have 10,000 and I have 10,000. Like, right. What is, yeah. And so we kind of had to really lay it all out, um, and then just build from there. You know, he, my husband was on board. I had a job that allowed me to work overtime. I was like, I'm paying every penny. I don't, I wanna change my family. I have the power to change the check for my family and my kids. And I was just paying down the debt with overtime and husband, we worked hard for it. And then we just started to buy properties and, you know, he's in construction so we started to renovate homes and we started to flip and make money that way. And so now, you know, um, he just got certified for his minority business certification and so, Not only are we, were we flipping homes for clients, but not for ourselves. Yeah. Now it, it has allowed me to leave the nine to five$120,000 job that I was in to feel that freedom, right? Of now I wanna be able to do what I want with my kids. Yeah, with my business and, you know, and grow virtual health building. Um, and you know, we just have so many plans. We wanna do a foundation. There's just so many plans that we have. But I'm, I'm actually rolling out, you know, you said I have changing the legacy. I'm rolling out a series of four books called Theto Kids. The first time I say it, living Little Kids. Um, and so that's gonna roll out hopefully at the end of August. Okay. And it's a series of four books for children. Wow. Because I feel like we need to start talking about money and making it normal.

Ann: 16:10

Yes.

Michelle: 16:11

Yes, yes. And not feel like, oh, I don't wanna talk about money because I don't wanna have money. No. I wanna have a lot of money. Mm. I wanna have money. I wanna have the ability to give to those that I can't, you know? Yes. And those that don't have, I want to be able to like build, there's so much that I wanna do for others, more than for myself.

Ann: 16:28

Yeah, yeah. Right. And it takes money. And

Michelle: 16:30

it takes money. Yeah. And, and, and you know, sometimes as Christians we're like, oh, well that's because I feel bad and I don't wanna charge. No. Like, you have a gift and you need to monetize. God doesn't want you broke. Hmm. And I think sometimes like people wanna make you feel guilty because you have a gift and a talent and you're monetizing. Mm. Right. One thing is to take advantage of someone and, and not, um, produce. Mm-hmm. Or not give the transformation that, but another thing is like, hey, this is a talent and I'm giving you a transformation. Yeah, yeah. Right? And so, hey, I'm able to monetize. Yeah. Because I have goals and gifts, you know, and, and just visions that God has put in my heart that I want to continue to do. Yeah. And the only way for me to do it is to have money. Yeah.

Ann: 17:12

We're blessed to be a blessing. Right. And I believe you can look at that spiritually, you can look at that. Emotionally, you can look at that, even monetary. When I heard you at the women's conference, you would say I wanna bless the community. I wanna bless whoever it is that the Lord puts in your path to bless. Can you tell us in what ways, um, have you seen that you, you know,'cause they talk about that requires discipline too. In what ways do you feel like you had to sacrifice cutback and be more disciplined and, saving your money?

Michelle: 17:49

So I grew up with a, a dad who had a small business. So with that is we did, there was never a budget or a limit. Mm-hmm. It was like, you want this, we go on vacation, you want that, the car, whatever. So there was never, like, you can't have, and so my husband actually is the one that you know, In communication and conversation was like, babe, like you can't be spending so much money on this. And, you know, so I had to switch that mindset of like, okay, I, I wanna learn from my situation that happened with my dad. Mm-hmm. And then I see my husband and his upbringing and so like, what did we like Yeah. What we did not like and what can we do for our family? Yeah. Yeah. And so, and sometimes it's like, it's okay to just take what we think worked. Yeah. And not feel guilty, like, well, I'm not exactly like my mom. Right. Right. Like, okay, we should, my dad would always say like, you should be better than me. Hmm. Like when, you know, going to college and going to like, Hey, be better than me. Yeah. And so I think that that's how we've taken that approach of like, let's be better. Hmm. But in regards to my cutback, I've had to budget. Mm-hmm. Which I never did before. Like, that was not even an exist. Like that wasn't even a word. Yeah. Um, I was really like, I wanna pay down these houses because what I value, and I always talk about values with clients, like, Hey, what is it that you value? Yeah. And so I value security. Yeah. And I value security because of my situation and how I grew up with that. Yeah. Like, hey, I don't ever wanna feel like I'm gonna lose my home or I'm never gonna have enough. So for me, security is like big. Yeah. I'm not a big risk taker. I am a risk taker.'cause you have to take risks. Mm-hmm. But I'm also, I'm very analytical, I think because of my job. Yeah. I was very, I'm very analytical and so for me, um, now I'm just very analytical with things and I've had to. I only budget for myself, but like for my kids, like we went to Michael's yesterday. Yeah. And I was like, okay, you each have$10 and you and I always tell him, you can put it together and buy something for all of you. Okay. Or you can just spend it on yourself. And then, you know, Joe would be like, mommy, he's Joe's five. Is this enough? Is this S enough? You know, so cute. And so then I was like, okay, probably how much is that? 7 99? Yes. Plus that. And then Michael's the coupon. So I teach'em like, Hey, you need, if you're coming to Michael's, you need to have a coupon. Right? Love it. And so now, not only for myself to cut back, but now to teach them and not feel guilty, because I think as parents we, we feel a sense of guilt. Like, you know, I at least more. Through clients I've heard like, oh, well it's because, you know, whether the single parents are like, I didn't have that, and I want them to have it, and I don't want them to feel that way. But I'm also like, well, what are you teaching them? Yes. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And so that's, and I see that right now with my oldest, he's a little privileged, and so my husband and I sometimes have to have these conversations like Marty, like. You should be more grateful. Yeah. Let's talk about gratitude. Yeah, let's be grateful. And so then we have to, we have to talk to them about like, Hey, not everybody has this. This is what we have. And so then Marty's like, okay, mommy. Like, yeah, now they understand,

Ann: 20:52

right? So that they don't grow up with a sense of entitlement, like you owe it to me. And then. They think that wherever they go, they're owed something. Right, right. I love that you're teaching them while they're little. And I love this new series. You're gonna have, uh, what is it, Theto, the Theto kids. Yeah, the kids. I love that. The kids, I love that. So it, it seems like you focus on, is it families, um, as far as coaching? Or is it, can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah,

Michelle: 21:22

so I, it started with like, I felt like God was putting in my heart. I started with coaching women. Okay. Um, that was my vision, like when I initially started the business, but as I started to coach these women are, some of them are married, right? Yeah. So like I actually have coached more couples than women by themselves. Yeah. And so I mostly coach Latino families. Mm-hmm. Um, I do feel that God has put it in my heart to coach Latino families because they need to see someone like them. Hmm. Right? Like, yeah. When I look for a coach, I wanna see a Latina successful coach that has a transformation. Like, that's what I want. Somebody that looks like me. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And so, um, yeah, that's kind of my niche Latino families. Hmm. Um, I'm very passionate about it. I love it. I, and you know, I have been, I can proudly say that I have been a hundred percent successful uhhuh with helping couples get on the same page and working together, even if they had separate finances.

Ann: 22:21

Oh man that's huge, Michelle.'cause again, you hear of a lot of marriages having their separate accounts and so for them to come together, that's huge. What do you think is the key motivator behind that?

Michelle: 22:37

I think that it's a lack of one unhealed trauma, you know, uh, mindset. Hmm. It's first unhealed trauma. Second is mindset. Like, oh wow, I don't think I could do it. Or I once had a client that I said, Hey, I want you, I would like for you to save X amount of money in this time. And she was like, Michelle, I don't think that I can do that. And I said, yes you can. Hmm. And I said, you can do that. You're gifted, you're a professor, you're talented. Figure out ways. Let's think of creative ways of how we can make extra money. Mm-hmm. Two weeks later she called me and she said, Michelle, I already have the money that you told me that you think I should save. So it was a mindset. Yeah. It wasn't that she could not save. Yeah. It was that she had to shift her thinking of, okay, what can I do with the talent that I do have? Hmm. Right. And who's willing to pay for that?

Ann: 23:26

Hmm. Right. Yeah. When you said it's really truly how we steward, even the little that we have. Because we think like, oh, I have to have like thousands of thousands of dollars in my bank savings account But it's how we manage even the little that we have. How do you make your money work for you? I've heard that make your money work for you. What does that look like?

Michelle: 23:48

Well, when I had the nine to five and I just left last week, Uhhuh, but you know, having a good income was learning. To take control of the money that you are making. Okay. Okay. So in that season, I had a great salary, you know, and so let's like, let's budget what I do have and how can we make more. So what we were doing is we were saving for down payments for the next property and the next property, and then we started opening two. We have two Airbnbs right now. So now we're gonna have a few more. So the money that we were having is like taking control and eliminating some debt. Yeah. Being able to use that and make more now monetizing the books, you know? Yeah. Like rolling out the series of, of the four books. Yeah. And so, yes, it was a big investment upfront. Mm-hmm. But I know that eventually the money will come and I'll work on partnerships, but now it's. Me not having to work as hard. Yes. I had to sit down a couple times and go through these books and revisions and images and illustrations. Right? Yeah. Yeah. But now, every time that it sells, I don't have to work as hard anymore, right? Mm-hmm. So you wanna wake up? So like a chitting, like when I go to the bathroom sometimes and I'm like, what's time? I miss it. I look at my phone and it's like, you know, there's money in your account, or like an Airbnb just booked or like whatever. It's like, oh, it's nice, like to just wake up to see that without having to work as hard. Sure. In the beginning, yeah. You have to put the Airbnb together, right. Buy the bed, make it look nice, you know? Yeah. Take care of the guests or whatever. But now it's not as hard. I don't have to work as hard, so it's like work hard one time. Yeah. And then just let it flow.

Ann: 25:24

Hmm. What would you say to that single woman who lives paycheck to paycheck and says, you know what? I don't have the help of a husband. Can I also learn to manage my money and make my money work for me?

Michelle: 25:39

Absolutely. I think it's a mindset I. Right. And um, it's a mindset of I can't, instead of saying I can't is how can I, okay, so switch, so switch that mindset when you feel like, oh, I can't, well how can I do this? And I use this example when I teach the workshop and I always say, if I was your best friend and I was to ask you, let's go on a trip to Hawaii Uhhuh. And I would say, Hey, can you afford it? Most people would probably say no. Like, no, sure. I can't afford it. So let's change that. Hey, how much do I need to go to Hawaii? Yeah. If you bake cakes, how many cakes do I need to sell? Yeah. To go on this trip? How many hours of overtime do I need to work to do this? What? How else can I make money? So instead of when you say, no, I can't, you shut your brain. Yeah. And you stop thinking. Mm. But the person that's like, oh no, I know I can't, but how can I? Mm. Now your mind, you're just on thinking nonstop.

Ann: 26:35

Yeah. It seems so simple. It seems so simple. But I think it's, like you said, it is a mindset and the Bible talks about renewing our mind. Right. Uh, a lot of us we're living on default mode or autopilot. Right. Which tells us, I have never saved like this before. I don't even know what that looks like, you know? No, I can't do it. Um, but it's through. Coaching classes, right? That you're helping people to renew their mindset as well as learn how to be good stewards. Correct. Ab Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's amazing. As I was listening to you share your story, what I'm still drawn to is how your husband went to a men's retreat through the church. Yeah. Through the church. Right. Um, tell us what role does God have in all of this?

Michelle: 27:28

A huge role. Like, oh my God, like, If God hadn't put it in my heart. Well, let me go back to the beginning of the story. And sometimes, yeah, I feel awkward sharing it. Mm-hmm. But you know, I, I was in a previous relationship before my husband that I thought that was the guy I was gonna marry. Mm-hmm. And I gotta tell you that in that season I was very broken because it was the same season that my father had passed away. Um, but man, Had he not done that to me. Yeah. I wouldn't have met my amazing husband. I would not have the life that I have now. And so from that beginning, God was always with me. Yeah. And even in that darkest season, I even had to leave Chicago. I went to Georgia to teach at the Federal Law Enforcement Academy. I went to go teach because I needed to get away. Yeah, right. Yeah. But in that, like as I look back, I was like, wow, God was taking care of me. Mmm. In that brokenness where I felt abandoned. Yeah. Yeah. Like he was just there the entire, the entire time. Yeah. And so that God has been with me since the beginning, and so all along through my journey, he was planting seeds and preparing me to then be the coach because I would've never left my career. No. I would've, I mean, I love my job. I would've never left. Right. But as I started to have my kids and I started to see my husband, I also know. That my husband has so much potential as the business owner that he is. Yeah. That I felt like I was taken away from him, and I had to take a step back and I was like, man, my husband is bright, smart, if you ever, he's amazing. And so I was like, I needed to step back for him now to shine because it's hard for both of you. We can both shine. Yes. Yes. But just not at the same time. Hmm. And we have this thing where we say who's, who's driving? Hmm. In the season when I opened Virtual wealth building, I was driving, I had a ton events, I started networking, whatever my husband's business was established. Mm-hmm. In the season, I've already built the business. Yeah. Right. And so now it's like he just got his minority certification, now he's driving and now I know that I'm gonna help him grow. Yes. I, I left the job to help take care of my own family empire. Mm. But in this, God has been in everything. Yes. Because, Lemme tell you my personality, my alpha, um, to have to humble myself and take a step back. Right. Even with my husband, where I would always be like, I don't need a man to take care of me. I got it. I can have myself. Mm-hmm. Like for me, having that job was always that security blanket. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so now it's like, you know, today jokingly, my, my kids got Domingo and, uh, so on Sundays we give them a Domingo. Mm-hmm. My, I said, I told the boys, boys, is Papi done with Domingos? Yeah. And so Marty's like, no, mommy didn't get her Domingo and she works hard Uhhuh, you know, so you just brought

Ann: 30:22

me back. Old school. My grandpa used to say, bang thing, the Domingo.

Michelle: 30:27

So, but Marty's like, mommy, you work so hard, Papi now needs to start giving you Domingo. I said, he sure does. And I turned around and he's like, here babe, this is for you. I was like, okay, thank you. You know? Yeah, yeah. But, but in that God has been, In it the entire time and even in the darkest moments, he was already a planting seeds for me until where

Ann: 30:46

I am today. I love what you just said, how, you know, you take turns to shine. Right? Um, and it's also, it's true that in a marriage, right, you will notice that in seasons where you're going through things, your husband's able to be that support that backbone that you need, right? Or seasons where he's going through things and you're able to support him and encourage him and. There is a lot of strength and growth and humility. You said I had to humble myself. Do you know that it takes just as much,, strength, just as much, time to grow in humility that it does. When we feel like, we're at our top, top of the game they call it. Right? but it takes that much. To also humble ourselves and say, okay, God, I see what you're doing in my husband. Mm-hmm. And I'm gonna be there to encourage him and watch him grow too. As you're growing me in this season, as I'm humbling myself. And lemme

Michelle: 31:50

tell you one thing, I'm not sure if we're ending up, but, um, even at the very end, I, it took me a year to, after I felt that God was like, Michelle, you need to leave this job. I was like, not yet Lord. Like I have this to do and I have this to do. And I had like this whole checklist. Mm-hmm. And it took me a year. Mm-hmm. Okay. Because I am a control freak. Mm-hmm. And I was like, no. And God kept telling me, no, I'm in control. And I was like, no, but I got this, I, I have all this, right? Mm-hmm. And so even at the end, he was still in control because I had all my doctors, all the dental, everything that I had on my checklist to do. And at the very end, I had already had given my notification to my employers that I was leaving. And I said, Hey, I'm leaving by the 30th. Um, and then I get this email of a mammogram and it was like, Hey, uh, your mammogram came irregular and so we need a follow up. And it's not till September 5th. Yeah. And I was like, oh my God, what am I gonna do? And I was like, how about if something is wrong with me? Mm-hmm. How about if like, now I'm leaving my, my medical, like how about if all this? And I was like, Nope. And I really felt that God was testing me. To be like, here, Michelle here. You thought that you had your whole checklist done, but till the very end, even after you already submitted your resignation, I'm still in control of the situation. Yeah. And so I had to make a decision. Yeah. I had to make a decision of either I find a plan D or I had a trust God, and I was like, okay, God, I am trusting you. This is like, Truly trust in walking in faith that you are gonna take care of me. And if you have called me to do this, you are gonna get me through this. And so my, my, my second mammogram is not till September 5th, but um, I feel at peace. Yes I do.'cause I was like, you know what? I walked on in faith. I know he's gonna take care of me and I'm not gonna continue to allow to feel like the devil was always. Um, distracting me. Hmm. Something would happen or nothing would happen. And it was the health and it was something or the other. And it, that's what kept me there. Yeah. And I was like, no, I'm tired of that. I'm tired of feeling like that because now I was going to work not feeling like myself anymore. Hmm. Yeah. And so I had to even till the end. You said, where is God playing? He's till now. Yeah. He's been in control.

Ann: 34:09

He's there. He's the one that's in control. Right. Even when we think that we are in control, it's him. Mm-hmm. Right? It's, it's like saying, Lord, you take the reins. You're only you, Lord, my health is in your hands. My family is in your hands. My job, this coaching, it's all in your hands, right? Mm-hmm. And that takes humbling ourselves. Which again, there's strength and growth in humbling ourselves and saying, God, you got this right. We're used to saying, Hey girl, you got this. You know? Yeah. But really, God's got me. God's got me in the season of my life. Mm-hmm. Because that there's things that are out of my control, things that I cannot control, but I'm choosing to trust the Lord. And, um, and I'm just grateful that you shared that part of your testimony because again, uh, many women can relate to you, Michelle. Many women have gotten that call or a diagnosis and suddenly life is turned upside down. But I see in you this trust in the Lord, I see in you a peace. And even when you shared, you know, you shared that with us, you still, you had this peace even weeks or months ago. Right? Man, praise God. Praise God, because that's a test in itself, right? And I believe that will still be part of your testimony as to what God continues to do in your life. Please speak to our listeners right now who can relate to your story, who may feel hopeless right now, who may feel helpless. Please share, you know, what words of encouragement or advice you would have for someone right now. So

Michelle: 36:01

I always say, take it to God. You know when, when I felt in my darkest moment. I remember, and his name is Everett Gutierrez, and I'll say his name. He was, uh, a very near and dear college friend. Also, he's a motivational speaker, but Everett and I, I really good college friends. I called him one day and I was just telling him like this dark season that I was in, I said, ett, this is what I'm feeling. And he said to me, you need to hang up the phone. Hmm. And you need to take it to God. Mm. Yeah. And so for that woman that is feeling that way, that's what I want to tell you. Um, after this podcast, you need to get on your knees. You need to surrender, you need to take it to God. Mm. And so whatever it is that you need to let go, cry it out, shake it off, whatever you need to do, that's what I would start. But I also always talk about partnering up with God. And it's not just, you know, reading your Bible. Um, it's not just, you know, listening to the pastor. But it's also, it's taking the time to pause and listen. Mm-hmm. Because as I was going through the season of, like, I was feeling, I was struggling with feeling disobedient because in the last year, I'm like, I know God had called me to leave and I, I had this whole checklist, but I was, that was my mental struggle. Yeah. I was struggling because I was, I knew that I was being disobedient. Yeah. And I was like, okay, God, but I'm gonna be obedient and I'm gonna be obedient. I, and just things would start to happen until finally God was like, you need to take a step. Yeah. And so it's not only to pause, but also to obey and act. Mm. And it's hard. Yeah. Oh yeah. And it's hard. Yeah. Like, you know, just jumping what I just did last week, despite the medical and despite everything, it, it's, it's been hard. Yeah. But I'm gonna tell you, when I did it, I felt a sense of like a hundred pounds off me. Yes. I felt the sense of relief. And let me tell you the day that I stepped into obedience. Yeah. My husband and I had put a house in the market. Yeah. And one thing or another with the buyers, we went back and forth, whatever, it's been four months. Yeah. Um, the next day my husband got a message from the attorney saying the house has a clear to close the next day. That's the first good news we got the next day. The second was when, when he got his minority, uh, certification for the business. So it was like, I felt that God was still like, I still have you. And then the following day I got a new client out of nowhere, which I wasn't taking any more clients for the month of August Uhhuh. And this woman was just like, I really wanna get coach by you. I'm been following you. I met you at a conference, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. And so I saw her like being desperate and she was just like, I really need this. Yeah. And I was like, okay. And so that was just like, wow, God, like financially, I'm taking care of you. I'm taking care of your husband. You guys are growing. Like, it was just like, no matter what I still felt in the moment that I stepped into obedience, I felt the blessing immediately. I. It wasn't like in a month and it was like the next day. Hmm.

Ann: 38:50

That's amazing. Right. That's the lord. I mean, he's just so good. Going back to what you were saying, the blessing and obedience, the blessing in humility, the blessing in surrender, the blessing in giving it to God. Right.. It speaks volumes to the woman who thinks I have to have it all together. I have to have control. Right, and you're saying cry it out. Pray it out. Give it to God. Michelle, I just wanna thank you so much for being my guest today. please let our listeners know where they can contact you, what platforms, how they can reach out to you.

Michelle: 39:32

So my website is www.vwbcoaching.com, and that's for virtuous wealth building coaching.com. Um, I am on Facebook and on Instagram, more so on Facebook, but now that I left the nine to five, you'll see me a little bit more in Instagram. I do have a Facebook private group called the Latina Moms Building Wealth. Okay. Yeah. Um, and so that, uh, that's the one I'm

Ann: 39:56

on, I believe. Yes. Yeah, that's the one you're on.

Michelle: 39:57

I love it. Um, and so I'll be rolling out the, the Nero Kids soon, the series for your kids. Um, but my email is info@vwbcoaching.com.

Ann: 40:09

All right. And that series for Kids are these books or is it videos

Michelle: 40:13

It's four books. Okay. Um, that we will be rolling out. The first book, I'll give you the title, it's the spending, um, for cheeky birthday. It's my daughter's birthday and her three brothers bought her a Surprise gift. I love that. So every uh, Each of my kids has a book.

Ann: 40:30

And are these, um, in English, Spanish, bilingual? They will be bilingual.

Michelle: 40:34

Bilingual. They will be bilingual. Okay. And, um, they're, We're finishing the, the final stages, and they should be published by the end of August.

Ann: 40:42

Okay. And what age group are they geared

Michelle: 40:43

toward? They're geared toward like five to 10 year olds.

Ann: 40:48

Okay. All right. So moms, I hope you're getting excited'cause. I could have sure used those books when my kids were little. Um, but again, Michelle, thank you so much for being my guest. Um, thank you all for listening to this episode and stay tuned for our next episode of Her Scars. Tell a Story. Thank you for having me. Yes.