Hi Everyone! Heidi here.

This is my first Moola Masters Blog post and I wanted to talk about why I started Moola Masters.

First a little about who I am. I was a "military brat" who grew up all over the country. My parents made it clear to the kids that we didn't have money.  There was a lot of talk about "money doesn't grow on trees" and "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul"  at home. I remember that we qualified for free lunch at school. I grew up hearing that if I wanted to go to college I'd better get a scholarship and if I wanted to get married I could use the ladder. You get the picture. Money was scarce. Savings and investing were for rich people. There certainly wasn't any financial education going on except for the idea that money was hard!

Anyway, I did get that scholarship and go to college which was a first in my family!

I went to school for a degree in archaeology and I worked full time as an optician. I realized, working as an optician, that I loved medicine.  I switched gears and, instead of pursuing a PhD in archaeology, I decided to go to medical school.

Once I became an attending, I was making the type of money that I had never seen. I didn't understand why I was living paycheck to paycheck, had very little savings and was massively in debt. It didn't seem to get any better over time. What was I doing wrong?

I started researching and learning about money, finances and investing. I drove myself to become financially literate. It took a long time and, over the years, I helped some friends along the way.

Money and finances are crazy topics. It seems taboo to even talk about it. Everyone seems embarrassed to even say they don't know what to do with money or how to manage it.

We all know that 6 letter word "budget". We know we are suppose to save and we know we should pay off debt. We have heard about different methods of paying off debt - snowball, avalanche etc. We have all heard "pay yourself first". But how? It was all easier said than done for me.

I found a way that worked well for me. I created a "spending plan" that wasn't a money "diet". I found a weekly number that allowed me to put a set amount per month towards my goals. I had a separate account for my "one number" that would keep me honest to myself. I started being able to pay myself first by just paying attention to that one number. 

I used all the knowledge I had accumulated about money, finances and investing and was able to retire a year ago.

I have to admit, I loved traveling after I retired. After awhile though, it wasn't enough. I loved helping people and I missed it. I decided to do something else to help people and I created Moola Masters!