by Guest | Nov 16, 2023 | Being Well, Featured, Uncategorized, Work Well
Angelica immigrated from Mexico to America in 2008, seeking a better life. Starting as a seasonal harvester, she soon discovered the many barriers between her and her goals. Realizing she was spending the majority of her wages to cover rent; she became determined to find a path to becoming a homeowner.
Unsure where to start, she went to her local credit union, began asking questions, seeking assistance. She learned that her first step was to build up credit, a process that took her seven months to be in good standing. Another issue arose, however, as her immigration status became another barrier to home ownership. Angelica was persistent with her credit union to provide a home loan, which she received after just weeks of deliberation.
Seeking to reduce her 30-year mortgage, Angelica made a commitment to pay off the house quickly, forcing her to cut expenses, save any funds, take on extra work and continually improve her credit. Through such planning, the house was paid in full in just four years.
Angelica shows that resilience and determination are fundamental traits to using existing systems to one’s benefit. By asking questions, getting advice from people with experience, and careful budgeting, anyone, no matter their financial status, can make their dream of home ownership, or finding financial freedom, a reality.
To watch Angelica’s interview visit https://tillamookcountywellness.org/work-well/financial-wellness
For more information on upcoming classes, visit our website at https://tillamookcountywellness.org/work-well/financial-wellness and follow Tillamook County Wellness on social media.
by Guest | Apr 26, 2023 | Featured, Work Well
Being intentional around how we think about and spend money is connected to living a longer, healthier and happier life. This last fall, Liz Carroll from Mindful Money Coaches LLC, partnered with Tillamook County Wellness to offer a free virtual webinar series on financial wellness – covering everything from what it means to cultivate a “money mindset” to how to budget and plan for the future. If you missed the initial series, no worries! Liz Carroll will be hosting the series again this May, each Monday from 12-1 pm through Zoom (click here for registration link). In honor of this second series, Angelica Ortiz, a previous participant and Career Education Advisor at the Tillamook Bay Community College took some time to reflect on the key takeaways of the Mindful Money series:
What I would have liked to know before, about financial wellness is that we must know our values in order to start creating financial wellness based on those values.
Some of the key takeaways were that in order to create financial wellness, we must first understand that thoughts lead to actions, but actions lead to results. Therefore, if we want to create financial wellness, we must have clear goals, create a budget and follow it, since having a budget allows us to see where the money goes. We must also have a financial well-being coach since it is easier to achieve financial well-being if you have someone to guide you.
The strategies I have found most helpful are following the principles that Coach Liz Carrol shared in the financial wellness series. For example, living without debt brings me peace, it’s okay not to have the newest car, and internal dialogue is very important. Following these strategies creates financial well-being, since having no debts allows you to have peace of mind to set new goals and give you more options, for me this is financial wellness. Do not get me wrong, having a debt is not completely bad but it is better to live debt free.
I would recommend the financial wellness series to anyone seeking financial freedom, getting out of debt or improving their lives. The financial wellness Coach Liz Carrol not only teaches strategies about finances, but she teaches principles that apply to daily life.
AUTHOR: Angelica Ortiz, Career Education Advisor at Tillamook Bay Community College
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
