In partnership with
Please forward this to ONE friend today and tell them to subscribe here.
Maria Kamila González is the co-founder of Finanzo, a non-profit organization in Toronto that believes in making newcomers financially aware and has impacted the lives of 100,000 immigrants in the US and Canada. She’s also a money psychologist specializing in financial trauma and decision-making. Over the past decade, she’s worked with individuals and leaders who generate income but continue to experience emotional blocks, fear, or self-sabotage around money. Her work is focused on one core belief: money issues are rarely financial problems — they are nervous system problems.
In her episode, Maria and I chat about:
The baseline assessment every newcomer should do before anything else
How banks profit from immigrants' ignorance about how credit works
How to handle "black tax" and family remittances
Why financial planning is best done progressively
The Finanzo origin story
Adventure curated by the brands you trust
REI Co-op and Intrepid Travel have teamed up to take you somewhere extraordinary.
Hike Nüümü Poyo, also known as the John Muir Trail, one of America's most iconic multi-day treks, while forming lasting bonds with like-minded adventurers.
Set up camp each night with iconic backdrops and get to know your fellow travelers over dinners prepared by your local trip leader, who handles all the logistics so you can focus on the adventure.
This trip is part of a curated collection of small-group adventures across 85+ destinations worldwide. And right now, REI Co-op members save 15% on this REI Exclusive trip.
For T&Cs and more info, click here.
Some takeaways:
With money, we're often struggling with the money habits we inherited from our parents and our culture's relationship with worthiness. To solve bad money patterns, one needs to tackle these two layers; the family and cultural layer. The family layer, which is what your parents modeled for you as a child, consciously or not. And the cultural layer, which is what colonisation embedded in entire populations about who deserves wealth and who doesn't. Money is tied closely to our identity.
Most people know the right financial move. Where it all falls apart is taking action. Most of us already know that high-interest credit card debt isn't great. But we keep collecting those credit cards like the souvenirs we buy at the duty-free shops. This behaviour is why Maria treats financial literacy as therapy.
The first step in taking control of your finances is understanding your baseline. Before any financial tool works, you need to understand where you stand, not just financially but psychologically. How much debt do you carry? How much are you sending home? But also: are you afraid of money? Do you feel you deserve wealth? Do you repeat the same financial mistakes every few years?
Links:
Where to find Maria:
The Newcomers resources:
Want to work with us? Check out The Newcomers Media Kit
Want more immigrant interviews? Listen to The Newcomers Podcast.
Interested in immigrant entrepreneur stories? Listen to Unfiltered w/PORCH.
Looking to find out what Canadian immigration program you’re eligible for? Check out our Who’s Eligible For series.
Do you know anyone who would find this information useful? Please forward it.
Was this email forwarded to you? Join our mailing list.