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expertise
Every few days, I'd go to the ATM and attempt to get cash for groceries and gas. The ATM was like a slot machine to me, a game of chance rigged in favor of some nameless, faceless, unpredictable entity. Occasionally, money shot out of the machine and into my hands, but usually it didn't. I never knew my account balance, because knowing would lead to facing that there wasn't enough money coming in. Facing the reality of too little money coming in would obligate me to do something about the problem—and I had no idea how to fix it. All attempts at finding a good paying, interesting career ended in disappointment. My jobs were low-paying dead ends. Meanwhile, most of my friends were progressing in their chosen careers, buying houses, taking exotic vacations, having children and keeping up with expenses. It appeared everyone around me was living a comfortable life, and enjoying their careers. Frankly, I resented others who seemed better off. Why them and not me? The more I focused on what others had, or seemed to have, contrasted against what I didn't have, the more unhappy I became…and the more crippled I grew at helping myself out of my own mess. One day, my car broke down and there was no money to fix it. There was no money to take the bus to work, buy groceries, or pay the past-due rent, and there was nowhere else to turn. No more available balances on my credit cards. No more friends to ask. No more ways to pretend that my financial life was working. That day, I admitted something had to change. I would find a way to fix my money troubles. I gathered together all the bills, statements, canceled checks, and other paperwork holding information about the status of my finances, and began writing it all down on a sheet of paper. That was the first step, but my financial journey would take me far beyond budgets and calculators in the years ahead. Twenty years of trial-and-error, formal education, profound discoveries, painful lessons--including a marriage destroyed ostensibly by money fights--eventually resulted in a comfortable and balanced lifestyle free from money-related stress. I want to share my knowledge and experience with you through the Finanswer process. When you work with one of the Finanswer personal financial consultants, you, too, can achieve financial balance and peace.
Sandra L. Richman, M.B.A. About Sandra Sandra is a widely respected Bay Area business leader with 20-plus years' experience in finance, facilitation, project management, and product development. She is a skilled problem solver and is especially sought after for her financial coaching skills and for personal mentoring. She holds an M.B.A. from Holy Names University, and a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, and completed studies on the Psychology of Money at UC Berkeley Extension and Saybrook Institute. She is a member of the Sigma Beta Delta international business honor society. Finanswer abides by the American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM) Code of Ethics.
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