Last Saturday, I left Daddy D and the kids to gather with other women looking to enhance their financial realities at the Women’s Money Conference. To say I was inspired and motivated would be an understatement. Building a financial legacy for our children is crucial. We can talk about building a legacy of love, of identity, of tolerance. We can document our food cultures, travels, ambitions and hopes for their futures. But, without setting a purposed financial legacy, we are letting the world’s values dictate how our babies will handle one of the biggest aspects of our society – money.

Below are my “ah-ha moments” that I felt during the one-day conference:

Financial Legacy – Every Mom’s Responsibility

It makes me sad to think of the disparities women encounter in the financial and corporate worlds. We make less than our professional male counterparts. By nature, we are really bad at asking for the amount of financial compensation that we deserve. And when the money comes, we wonder if we are good enough. That horrid low self esteem can stunt us in immeasurable ways. I know this because I deal with it too. But, as mother’s, I believe we should rise above our personal anxieties in order to teach and exemplify to our children a positive, empowered relationship with money. We don’t need to be afraid, we don’t need to put mental and emotional blocks up. We just need to decide to take control of our finances, instead of letting them control us.

And regardless of earning statistics, it’s obvious that women do indeed have an incredible amount of financial power in this country. Not only with how we spend, but how we teach our kids to spend (and save!)

I Don’t Have Much But My Motivation

There were two moments throughout the day that made me emotional. I couldn’t wait to get home, write this post and share with you how moved I was to hear the stories of these two complete strangers. One young woman stood up, when the mic was going around, to share that she had come to the conference to get centered and ready to tackle the huge financial hole her family was in – after losing her newborn at 5 weeks old, her family was in over one million dollars in medical debt. I can tell you that not a single breath was heard while this mom shared her story. I have goose bumps even typing this. But she was in a positive space, ready to learn and take action, and I know her family will benefit immensely because of that positivity and motivation.

The second woman was actually receiving an award from the organizers of The Women’s Money Conference. She had attended last year and sent in an email expressing that her biggest “ah-ha moment” was that we need support to tackle these huge financial feats. It’s okay to ask for help; we can’t do it alone. After last year’s conference, she fessed up to her boyfriend about her destructive gambling addiction. He paid off her debt, took control of her finances and took her to gamblers anonymous. A year later, she has not gambled and is on her way back to financial stability – all because she had the motivation to ask for help from someone she trusted and loved. In addition to an award, she received a standing ovation.

Building the Financial Legacy that we wish to leave behind

I am constantly thinking about my family’s financial legacy – the one I am actively building and the one that was made for me. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated to the States from Cuba in the early 1960’s with not much more than the government subsidy given to political refugees (I think it was about $200). Neither family knew English, but in their later years, owned properties and were quite successful. My maternal grandfather, who died three months after Alina was born, was a successful business owner. Not a single bit deprived of what money can buy. My grandfather seemingly had nothing, not even American citizenship. With nothing more than the motivation to make money and provide for his family, he not only became an American (never missing the opportunity to vote), but he also established an extraordinary financial legacy.

Heavens knows Daddy D and I are not exemplary savers and money managers, but we are motivated to get better. And because I know those reading this post are likely my true, beloved readers, I want to thank you for hanging in there during sponsored content at De Su Mama. Living on one income is hard – Daddy D carries a lot of pressure on his shoulders – so I am not ashamed to admit that that sponsored content is budgeted to pay for Alina’s preschool next year. Helping my husband this way makes me really proud. And if there was ever a motivation to stay up at 2am to blog, my child’s education would be it.

And so you know – This post is 100% NOT sponsored. I hope to continue to document our family’s journey in building a stable and fruitful financial legacy. Feel free to keep me accountable, share your tips and any ah-ha knowledge. Next up for us – tracking spending and getting real with where our money goes!