Join me as I have a delightful conversation with Luzy King, a Latina money expert and founder of Say Hola Wealth, who has made it her mission to take the confusion out of finances and teach others to trust themselves with handling money and building wealth (a topic we can all benefit from!). Luzy also shares what it means to push back at cultural barriers and redefine what success looks like.
Luzy has made it her mission to help women pay off debt, start investing, and launch businesses that align with their values and purpose. And she has written a financial guide to help first-generation Latinas break through self-imposed barrier, Cash Libre: 10 Pillars to Help You Reclaim Your Purpose and Financial Freedom. So you know we’re going to talk about her book-writing experience! We also discuss what you need to prepare for beyond the manuscript (hint: publishing costs, PR, and launch) and how to approach those phases successfully.
Luzy is an award-winning financial educator and international speaker who guides first-generation Latinas and women of color in transforming their relationship with money so they can build wealth with confidence—without guilt or burnout.
If you’re interested in stepping into greater financial confidence—and want to publish a book along the way—this inspirational episode is for you!
Book recommendation:
- The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
Get to know Luzy:
- Website
- Instagram @sayholawealth
- Cash Libre
Follow me on:
- Instagram @stacyennis
- Facebook @stacyenniscreative
- YouTube @stacyennisauthor
To submit a question, email hello@stacyennis.com or join my email list http://stacyennis.com/join and fill out the form on the page.
What It Really Takes to Build Wealth as a First-Generation Latina | Episode 271 Transcript
These transcripts were generated by robots, not writers.
Stacy: Welcome, welcome. This week I am really excited to welcome a guest that’s going to help us think a little bit differently about money and wealth building. We have talked a little bit about money on this podcast. We’ve certainly talked about business. And in today’s conversation, we’re going to talk about all of the things around your financial life, even before you were born, sometimes that can impact your relationship with money often.
Subconsciously in ways that you don’t even realize. And this week’s guest is especially special to me because I got to support her in the creation of her book. So we’ll be also talking a little bit about her book writing journey so that if you are an aspiring author as well, you’ll get to learn from her. So let me introduce you to this week’s guest.
Stacy: Lucy D. King, MBA C P Fi, is a bilingual wealth educator, international speaker, and financial strategist, and the founder of Say Hola Wealth, a platform and podcast that empowers first generation Latinas to break free from survival mode and claim their financial power.
Cash Libre is the book she wishes she had when she was navigating money, identity, and motherhood as a first generation professional. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Welcome, Lucy. I’m so glad to be with you.
Luzy: Hi Stacy, thank you so much for having me.
Stacy: One of the things that I really enjoyed about your book, of course there were many things, but I enjoyed getting to know your story more. of course I know you, but I know the you now more than the you then, and especially the you growing up. And I learned so much about your background, your influences, and the things that led you into the work you’re doing today. So I’d love for you maybe to just start with sharing where does this passion come from that you have specifically for supporting first generation professionals in wealth b wealth building and really around financial equity.
Luzy: Yes, absolutely. So a lot of it come from my first time experience as being the first one in my family to go to college, to make it to corporate and really to check all the boxes that I was supposed to chat. And there was a pony life when I reached out to a financial planner and I wanted to have access to the knowledge that I learned through my MBA program. And in the moment I was told that I needed a hundred thousand dollars to start investing and to actually have access to the knowledge.
And it didn’t feel good with me that I was kind of giving another barrier after navigating so many since I was little. And in the moment I came back and said, out of curiosity, how many people do you help that are Latinas or women of color? And this person, very comfortable, just said, I don’t seek those demographics. So I think it was in the moment that I learned that it’s also a barrier for us, you know, as a the global majority now, but also like as a minority, to have access to the resources that will really help us break through the ownership and the investing. And specifically in my community, we always talk about home ownership as the all, like the ultimate version of the American success. Then that’s because we don’t know about investing in the stock market and other venues that can help us really reclaim the ownership.
Stacy: That’s really interesting. what do you think it is about home ownership specifically that is kind of that pinnacle of success?
Luzy: Well, a lot of us come from families that really work hard for money, but they never had the financial stability to actually build something. You know, I’m someone who I think my mom tried to own multiple houses, not at the same time, but throughout her life. And she really struggled with actually finishing either a project or even being able to pay the payments for the mortgage because we didn’t have the financial stability.
Not just because she was a single mom, but also because financial literacy is something that wasn’t tapped at home for her. And then for me, I didn’t learn financial liter literacy until I was in my thirties. So to me it was like, wait, what is this language that no one taught me about?
Stacy: Hmm. I would imagine that a lot of your clients and your audience members when you’re speaking, when they hear your message, they I don’t know, maybe have like this feeling of relief. They feel seen like somebody gets it. Because to your point, and I think that that example with that like very rude financial advisor is a great example that, you know A lot of times when you are shut out from these opportunities for for a very varied factor, some of it sis well, all of it systemic, I would say, but you know, systemic. You also have cultural. you have, you know, the scripts that you were given growing up, which I know that you mentioned in your book as well, that it feels like a relief to feel seen. But then I would imagine the next question is like, okay, now what? So how do you help? those women and men who who hear you talk, who come across your content, who read your book, to help them to start to move forward and build wealth.
Luzy: Yes. with our community, one of the bigger investors that we can make in in ourselves is really trust. our community doesn’t trust financial institutions, like it just doesn’t come automatic like other demographics. And so for us, building trust with our community is almost like the the ticket that opens the gates, if you will, to Even how people listen to you. And so whenever I’m talking about money, I always like to lean with my live experiences versus that credentials. Even right now, when you were reading my my title, I was like, to hear you read my credentials, I’m like, that is important, but I’m also someone that grew up low income. And so when I approach my conversations, my coaching, my speaking with that identity of I know what it’s like to.
Have the credentials, to have the career, the education, but also I know what it’s like to come home to the shame of I’m not charging enough. I don’t have any savings. I don’t have any investments. I don’t even know how to navigate my 401k. When I approach my conversations with that identity of I know what it’s like, my community trusts me because they know what it’s like. And I have had clients and organizations that hire me, you know, people in academia, for example, and they still don’t understand how to navigate money because they are trying to even navigate what it’s like to be in academia right now.
Stacy: Hmm. Yeah. Well, I would imagine that there’s this whole kind of buffet of learning that you didn’t have access to. Some of it, you know, some of it you made your way through with academia and really all the success that you’ve seen. But then a lot of it’s those little everyday money conversations or the internship your parents can get for you, or all of these little things that you don’t even maybe necessarily realize until way later that you missed out on. And then you’re looking at the people around you going, well, how do they have, you know, all of this? And I I don’t, but we have the same, you know, credentials or the same j job. Or I imagine that that is something that is like a continued area of awareness.
Luzy: Yes, absolutely. And you know, I think when I learn about my own relationship with money, I also stop wanting to get the same things as other people. we live in a capitalist society that rewards these collective purchases and just wanting more of the same. And I used to be that person. In fact, in my book, there is a money personality that that was exactly me. Like I wanted to have the latest clothes, the latest shoes.
I still love fashion. The only difference is I have learned that I don’t want more things to take care of. What I want is I want to go on vacation. I want to have the autonomy of closing my business for a month if I don’t feel like working. And to me, that is really the pinnacle of my success, right? Everybody gets to redefine what that looks like.
And with the book, that’s something that I really invite my reader to really explore. My definition of success doesn’t have to be your definition of success. And also, if you want to have the brand back, the latest car, the cell phone, you can also have that. I’m not here to tell you that my way is the only way, but for me, I really got tired of trying to keep up with the Jones. And as I like to say for our community with the Garcia’s like, This competition of like more of more, I don’t want that for my reader and I don’t live that life, right? So I also wanted to make sure that I wasn’t quote unquote selling it the perfect life because I don’t have a perfect life. You know, I’m a business owner, I’m a mom. There are days when I don’t feel like showing up and I still do. And there are days when I can work with people every hour and it’s still help them create results.
But for me, the cash libre identity is really the ownership of I get to do whatever I want and no one is gonna miss with me.
Stacy: Hmm. I wonder if you could share. And I know you can’t share. Well, actually, I know in the book you have a few people who’ve given permission to share their story. Maybe you could draw on one of them. I would love to hear a transformation story. Somebody who came in with one of those identities that you mentioned. And maybe you could even give us a like a little bit of a high level of those. and then how did and then their transformation into this Cash Libre? What did that What did that change involve and what was this new version of their financial life and their life? Like how what was that for them?
Luzy: Yes, I have so many, but I’m gonna live with this one. So I have a client that had worked really hard to make it to the top, and she entered an industry that was very amazing in terms of like network, even benefits, and she had done everything. She had good money saved, good money invested, and she was also earning money.
But with the identity of being the first one in her family to break through this industry, there was a lot of fear of slowing down. Like I I worked so hard since I was little. And that was primarily because at home she never witnessed anybody in her family resting. So for her, rest had to be earned. And when I started working with her, I said, Well, how much money do you have in your savings and investments? And she’s like, Well, I don’t I don’t really want to know. And I said, Well, why wouldn’t you wanna know? And so I worked with her on the identity of looking at numbers from a place of I work hard for these versus like this is something that you fear. And she was able to eventually start actually taking a sabbatical. I’m like, you financially you are safe to take a sabbatical to go do things and she will tell me like yeah I think I want to go do this and I said okay well let’s put a date to that like when do you actually want to go? She’s like well maybe this month okay well let’s create a plan and so with her I work a lot of that giving her the tools to feel safe having the money and also feel safe using the money because a lot of my people that I help they actually don’t have a Spending problem, like most personal finance people will say, like, well, don’t buy because you have this debt. Like, my client doesn’t have a lot of that debt. But what they have is they have all this money that is accumulating that is not doing anything. And they see this pile of money, hypothetical pile of money, as this is my safety. And so I have to teach them, no, safety actually comes from you. You create the safety. This is just a result of you being safe, but the money.
Luzy: It’s not a safe. the safety that comes like this is a result of you being just good with money. And another one was inviting clients to move money from a safe at home into an actual bank and teaching them how to trust a bank by looking at their disclosures. And this client specifically that I’m thinking about was stole before. Well, just move all of the money and and she would never do it.
And so when I started working with her, I said, okay, what amount feels safe to move? Is it five hundred? Is it a hundred? She said, Well, you know, I think I’m comfortable just moving a thousand. I said, perfect, then do that. And she did. And she let us sit there for a while. And after three months, when she came back and saw the gains from the money on just the high high yield savings, I said, Imagine what would happen to your money if you move all of the money.
And I came back to her and said, and please don’t move all of this big pile of cash. Like if the next move is also a thousand, how about we do that? And when I approached my my conversations with her without the shame and the fear, then she was able to do it. And that client specifically later became also an angel investor, which to me is like, wow, this is this is what ownership looks like.
Stacy: Wow. powerful stories. I love those. And I was also with the first example that you gave of spending, on my own my own finance journey, I have had to do a lot of work around spending and particularly even just expenses that I have every month that I have to make, I will I’ve started just like say like not out loud, but I just think I’m so grateful to get to pay us.
And I I really try to take that mindset. I think for us, we have a lot of fixed expenses that a lot of families don’t have because one of my children has a lot of therapies. And it used to be like, you know, I, you know, this is a lot that comes out every month. And I’ve really tried to reframe that. And then even on other things, I’m I’m more of the like, I don’t, I’m not a spender. I don’t go out and just buy things. I think about things a lot before I buy them.
And to just when I purchase to really do it with presence and with gratitude that I’m able to purchase that thing. You know, not tiny small everyday things, but I’m talking more like the big trip or, you know, an item that we need for the family or things like that. yeah, I I didn’t even have that as a point of awareness until recently. Yeah, it’s one of those things that I I think we kind of we kind of exalt actually to be not a big spender. Yes.
Luzy: Yeah.
Stacy: the other thing that you got me thinking about is that here in Portugal, we have a whole generation that recently was under a dictator. So that was in the 1970s. So there’s a big mistrust of banks here as well. and I can imagine that if your parents had all their money seized, that you would be really hesitant to put any of your money in a bank. You know, you witnessed what that experience was like. These are really deep. emotional challenges that we we have to to face as humans. And you know, you have shared in your book and today all these extra things that that you know first generation professionals need to confront. For listeners and viewers that are hearing you, Lucy, and saying, okay, I need this book, can you tell them a little bit more about the book, what they gain from the book, and what they can expect there transformation to be through reading it.
Luzy: Yes, thank you for asking that. So the book is divided into ten pillars and it’s essentially all of the things that I needed to do to become the first millionaire in my family and now raising second generation.
Stacy: Like let’s just take a minute to that is amazing, amazing.
Luzy: Thank you. And you know, my my book is a lot I I just want to say that it’s not your typical finance book because I’m debanking every rule that we were ever taught about money. But one of the things that I’m very proud of is the book is going to walk you through the identity and I do talk about the systemic barriers that we face, but I also confront them. I actually give my readers some strategic moves that they can use to navigate them.
And at the end of every pillar, I have what I call reclaim your cash libre moment. And those are actionable steps that my reader can do. And so my hope is that my reader is gonna read this book and then they’re gonna give the book to their sister, their aunt, or even maybe their kids. And so I was very intentional with how I wanted to write the book.
And another thing that makes the book super fun is I bring a lot of humor, which is really part of my personality. I have this very funny way of explaining things and I use sarcasm a lot throughout the book. And I strategically place certain sarcasm or jokes at at times where my reader might feel like, this kind of feels a little bit heavy. Like I actually make jokes to make my reader go from like, Okay, this is a little bit scary. And I’m like, my God, this is hilarious. I I want to keep reading more. And I also interview other people that are changing the game for our community here in the US. And for me as a first-time author, it was also very important to include Latino first research. I did my homework and I realized that even within our own community, we still tend to lean into other research because we s we have been also taught that other res other people’s research is more valuable their own their our own community. And so I wanted to make sure that I lean with that first. Of course I have the research of other people, other demographics and I also went with the publishing home that is a non-Latina, but I’m very proud that I work with them because they’re female first.
Stacy: Yeah. Yeah. your publisher, Girl Friday is a wonderful, wonderful company and you’ve clearly created something really beautiful together also with the illustrations. I was chuckling even in the beginning, like I think it was in the introduction or first chapter that you said, My Latina, like it was like the legal disclaimer. Yes, like that’s so cute. I love that.
Okay, so this is a really great transition into your writing journey. And one of the things I love that we get to do on this podcast, because we talk about writing and publishing, is that we get to hear about your journey writing the book. And I think this is a really unique thing for readers to get to hear because they get to understand all of the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into writing a book, the the consistency, the discipline, the decisions. So I would love to know a little bit about your process. Maybe you could share a win or a challenge that you underwent through your journey writing this book.
Luzy: my gosh, were there challenges? Yes. And you know, I thank you so much for asking this. I remember when I was part of your cohort, I was l hearing the stories of other authors that were kind of going through the same, but they they were learning how to navigate these situations when life happens, right? And so for me, I really struggle with the schedule of
Stacy: I’ll wait.
Luzy: performing has to write. Meaning I had a schedule that works for a lot of people, right? This is when you write chapter one, chapter two, chapter three. But for me, that was a challenge because my brain doesn’t work that way. I am at my best when I don’t have a the time block that works super well for me in corporate America and it makes me very successful. But as a writer that didn’t work and the biggest challenge came when my husband was going through some health issues.
And at the same time, a couple loved ones were also diagnosed with cancer. And I was going through an emotional roller coaster of I have to be there for my family. And, you know, as someone who grew up having nothing, and then there were moments when we had something and then we didn’t have it again, I realized that I had a lot of scarcity in those moments of time.
Stacy: Hmm.
Luzy: of money and I came to my husband and said, I think I’m just gonna quit my book and I’m gonna go back to a nine to five. And he was just looking at me like, Who are you? He’s like financially we’re safe. Like we have all of these things that we have been working on. And I remember even emailing you and saying like Stacy, like I’m going through a lot right now. And there was a moment when I almost call Girl Friday. They don’t know this by the way.
And I wanted to say, I think I’m not gonna follow through. And, you know, I had already paid for the for the investment and all of these, but I just emotionally could not do it anymore. And I walk away, I went on a run, and then I asked for a sign. I was like, you know, like universe God, whoever’s listening, like I need to know what I should do. And weeks later, my husband said, Hey.
I’m not gonna have surgery. Like I’m I’m not gonna do it. Everybody saying that I need to have it, but I I know I can get better. I ordered this book and I know I’m gonna get better. And my husband is one of those people that whatever he says he’s gonna do, he’ll he’ll figure it out. And so just watching him read a book. I have been married nine years and I’ve never seen him or watch him read a book.
He reads a lot of articles and he does read a lot of for his work, but like at home, just relaxing, reading a book. I never saw that. So when he’s reading this book and he’s implementing whatever the book is suggesting that he needs to do to get better. And within weeks of him doing that, I watch him go from unable to move to now actually having movement again. And I think that was the moment when I said, This book is changing his life.
I look at the author, I look at the book, I look at the reviews on how people were saying, this book changed my life. And I said, wow, I think I need to go back into writing because I want that for my reader. I want my reader to just release all of this financial shame, release the identity of, you know, I’m still like a low-income person, even though I have a PhD or a master’s. And I really want my reader to take ownership.
Luzy: And so that that’s when I emailed you and I said, This is happening to me and the book and it changed his life and I’m gonna do it. And I remember telling you that because to me, that was such an emotional calling back to writing. And it wasn’t easy for me. But I also learned that a lot of the writing classes that I took in college were actually very helpful as an author. So it was like technical writing back, like it’s back.
It was fun. but of course having the guidance of of the amazing team at Girl Friday was a life changer for me. You know, and of course you guided me through like how to structure the book. And so for me, the additional support and the investment was totally worth it.
Stacy: Wow, what a beautiful story. I didn’t know it in the fullness. Of course, I received your email. I remember the day because I saw your name in my inbox. Of course, I had checked in with you every so often. How’s it going? How can I help you? but this was like a pretty long email that I got from you. And I was reading it and I remember just feeling so happy for you to know, you know, you were really ready to take that next step.
And I I really appreciate your vulnerability in sharing that because there’s probably somebody listening to this. It may not be a book, it might be a business, or it might be taking action on their finances, or it might be real a relationship or something that, you know, they’ve been back and forth on. And it’s really vulnerable to share. Like I almost didn’t do it. I almost just threw in the towel and I was ready to do that. But then this happened and I just think that that’s a really beautiful story. And your husband also sounds really awesome. Sounds like a
Luzy: Yes. And you know, for for the authors that are listening that were part of of my cohort and work while working with you, I will also like to invite them back to writing. And if they, you know, maybe started the book and didn’t finish the book or they just paused the book, like that is part of our journey as authors. And I think we need to also honor that. And so I I am calling them back to come back to. writing and come back to Stacy. Like if you need to come back, come back because I I do believe that our stories, especially the caliber of people that you have in your community is so impactful. And so we need to have the the stories out for more people to read.
Stacy: Yeah. I think, you know, that’s that’s a really great point too that your story and getting this in readers’ hands, there’s there’s something bigger than your individual life here because there are many, many people out there who just need to see somebody see themselves reflected in a finance book, in, you know, wealth building strategies, in unpacking, you know, healing their relationship with money, which I know is a big focus of of the book. And I think that that’s this is why I love working with authors like you and with books that are not written just as a end all be all. Like the whole point of the the the goal of writing it is not just to have a book in hand. It’s to change something. It’s to create an impact. And I think that that the fact that you had that purpose I would imagine, and maybe you could reflect on this a little that that was a big driver for you. Like I need to you know, I wanna change people’s lives, but you also have this collective that you’re like, this could be massively impactful for people.
Luzy: Yes. And I mean, right now our community is going through a lot. Yeah. emotionally, financially. There there is a lot of pain going in our community. And I have to see it also with the discomfort of I want to do something for my community. And, you know, they there were multiple times where I took action with the resources that I had, but I also have to say, how can I really come back to the book and how can this book almost be the medicine as one of my favorite authors always says like books are medicine absolutely like the medicine for my community so we can understand the money in healing is beyond just budgeting better and my hope for my community is that we’re gonna become cash libre collective and when I’m talking about my community I’m not just talking about The Latino community, I’m talking about the community that follows me because it’s not just Latinos, it’s really those leaders that have a greater purpose and that want to create a greater impact. And I have seen, I have been on both sides. I have been on the side of what happens when you don’t have the resources. And I am now on the side of what is the impact that you can create when you have the resource.
And for us, money is really a resource that can be used to redirect dollars back to the things that we care about. Like for me, when I launched say Ola Wealth, one of my almost like my values for that company was I want to redirect dollars back to women. And that’s exactly what I did. I work with you, I work with other, you know, amazing women as well. And so Money can be used for good. And that’s really what the Cash Libre Collective is all about. Just rewiring how we view money. Because yes, while there’s so many people that are using money to harm our community, there’s so many of us out here that are also using money for good.
Stacy: Hmm. I love that message. Now that you’re on the other side of the writing and publishing process, you’re just entering into the the bang of the launch, right? And and sharing this work in the world. What do you when you look back on that, what do you wish you had known at the beginning?
Luzy: My gosh, the publishing world is like a whole new world. Completely. There is so many things that I didn’t know that I wanted to know. but I also I’ve always checked all the boxes before taking action, you know. And for me, investing in trusted resources was so important. One of the things that I wish I knew more of was the financial commitment of not just. investing in you know a book coach producing the book but also what comes after the marketing the PR the the book tour like all of these things I am very blessed to have built a platform where people trust me and trust coming back to that at the beginning of the podcast we were talking about trust now when I’m reaching out to organizations or community members for partnerships for the book launch
Stacy: Marketing email.
Luzy: I’m getting like 90% yeses. Yeah, I love it. I get a few no’s, right? But not every author has the platform belt. And so for me, I’m very blessed to have the community that says, girl, like I’ve been waiting for you to publish this book. Like, if I can house you at my place, I can let you borrow my rental, like whatever you need. But for new authors that don’t have that, I will say.
Just get to know your numbers very well and also look at where you can access our resources, right? A lot of authors maybe don’t have the financial capacity to invest heavily in their book and they they don’t publish their book because they’re like, no, I don’t have the money, but I will also invite them to look like where is the low-hanging fruit that you can access to really bring your book to life because It is a wild ride, but it’s totally worth it. Like I I keep saying like I’m gonna do it again because I I realize I have so much to say after writing this first book.
Stacy: have told you that before you even started writing this one that there’s many books, many books than you. I love that you brought that up. And I think that it can be really hard for first-time authors to even get that far out in the thought process because I often describe the entering the publishing world as like learning a new language. Like you get in and yes there’s all this jargon that doesn’t make sense and like okay what’s hybrid publishing and Do I, you know, how do how do I budget for an editor? And like there’s all of these immediate decisions that you need to make. And you just go, okay, well, I’ll put all that stuff off in the future. One of the things that I really love about the publisher that you worked with Girl Friday is that they always include baseline marketing in that’s like their standard. They they don’t budge on that because they know that if they don’t include that the basics, that the book won’t stand a chance. Like they that is an ethical decision that they made. and of course, you did additional and as I would advise authors to do, PR is a huge one. but then that can have such a huge band. I bet you got quite an array of pricing when you were exploring that because there’s so many, so many different ways to think about it. And then you’re like, okay, is it worth it to spend eight thousand a month or fifteen hundred a month? Like how What’s the difference? And it’s so hard to discern when you don’t have the baseline knowledge. So I love that you brought that up. And I think that’s also where good guides come in, whether it’s a coach or it’s your publisher, trusted publisher that you work with, or an author friend who’s been through it, or whatever it is, to be able to have those conversations and get advice along the way.
Luzy: Yes, absolutely. And you know, I kept give giving Girl Friday Productions their flowers because I asked a lot of questions and you talked about approaching this as learning a new language. And I remember the project managers there as they assigned me. We were talking about some of the publishing like just like the acronyms and the words. And I came to them and I said, Listen, like I have no idea what you’re talking about. Like can you like Explain it to me and they’re like, my God, yeah, of course. And so for me, even learning like what are widows? Like, I remember somebody said, like, you know, we just want to make sure the book doesn’t have any widows. And I like, Okay, like, like, what does that mean? And so they were very generous in terms of, this is what it means. And I I asked also for feedback on even from the editors, like, hey.
Is there anything that I can improve as an author? And they were like, no, but like this is you’re such like you’re like our dream client. And and then you know, there were times when I was like, I’m probably asking a lot from you guys, but I promise you, like, this is gonna be a great collaboration. And just having them guide me through the process and also you talk about making sure that the book was going to be a success. I know for a fact that they went above and beyond for my book. Like I They did things that I was like, you’re gonna do what? And they’re like, Yeah. I’m like, my God, like thank you. And I think that is also the beauty of having the resources, but also being confident with your story. And, you know, my story, it’s not in any other finance book because I live through everything that I write. And so for people that have this story, I do wanna say you don’t need to write a book.
For the industry that you’re trying to impact. I did not write the book for the finance industry. And I was very clear on that. And when my reader gets a hold of my book, I know they’re gonna see that. And they’re like, my gosh, this book is really for me. And the guidance and the collaborations and the investments that I made, I they’re worth every single penny.
Stacy: Hmm. Yeah. Well, I see that you approached this the way that you would want your clients to approach their financial lives, right? Yes. You the way that you would guide your coaching clients through through their own transformation. becoming an author is a transformative journey. So I love that you took that wisdom that you have in your other space and applied it to this. And you’re also very discerning and you were also a fast decision maker. I noticed that about you. It’s like you discern, you look at a lot of options, but then you decide. And I think that that’s a great quality because you can kind of like twiddle your thumbs forever and never take action. so a lot to learn from your journey. I’m gonna ask you the question that I ask all of my guests.
And as somebody who’s read a lot of books, I imagine this might be tough for you, but I’m gonna ask you if you could recommend one book to listeners. So this is one that has really profoundly impacted your life. What would it be and why?
Luzy: and you’re correct. I do have a lot of books.
I grew up reading a lot of stories that I never felt represented. And I think in 2020 I made a commitment to also start reading more books by my community. And so I found The House on Mango Streets by Sandra Cisneros.
Stacy: One of my all time favorite books.
Luzy: That book has become one of my favorite ones. I read the book twice. I’ve listened to audiobook probably like five times. And Sandra is The Margaret I would, in my opinion, of the Latino community. And she talks a lot about the way she grew up. And, you know, of course, she talks about the stories of her students, but the way she describes things really take me back to some of the places where I lived. And I love how sharp she is. And I listen to multiple of her interviews, and she always talks about.
You know, why writing is so important for for us as Latinos, Latin. And she also talks about becoming a better writer in every single book she has written. And she is an activist in many ways. And so I I really love her. And I really hope that I get to meet her next year. So I’m I’m working hard for that to happen. but I she’s actually the one that says the books are medicine. She talks about like you have to read books for medicine. And I didn’t have the heart or the the guts to actually ask her to to praise Cash Libre because my book is, you know, on the finance area. But who knows? Maybe the next one.
Stacy: my gosh. I I got a little emotional when you mentioned that book. Like I just is such I read it in college and it was such a like life changing book for me, even though obviously I don’t have the cultural connection to it that you do. But I think her writing is just powerful. And then you learn about her as a person and she’s just an incredible human. So I Love that you brought. I’ve never heard anybody say that book to me before, but I’m like fangirling over here. That’s so great. Love it. Lucy, I know that we have lots of people that want to learn about you, your book, follow you. Where should they, where should they look for you?
Luzy: People can find me on LinkedIn or they can also connect with me and my book through cachlibre.com. And yeah, I I love I love working with you as well. So I share my gratitude for you at the end of the book, but I also do want to invite more people that are thinking about writing a book. I highly recommend working with Stacey. she did not ask me to say this at all, by the way. I’m just giving her her flowers. the caliber of of work that you put in for your community and also the caliber of people that you bring to the community to help us see the different stages of what it takes to write a book, publish a book, do the audiobook of the book and all of these resources. Like it’s it’s really outstanding. And so I I wanna thank you because You helped me a lot. You also gave me my space when I need it. And here we are now celebrating. So thank you so much.
Stacy: Hmm. Okay, well I was already a little emotional, so that just just layered it on. Thank you very much. That means a lot to me. And thank you so much for joining me today and sharing your story and about your new book, Cash Lee Break.
Luzy: Thank you.
Stacy: And thank you to you, our listeners, our viewers, for being with us today. I really hope that this sparked something in you. And of course, go and buy that book. We’ll be sure to link to it in the show notes as well as other platforms where Lucy shows up. Thank you as always to Rita Dominguez for her production of this podcast. And I have to add another thank you to Margarita Pimenta, who is joining in Rita’s absence while she is heading on.
Leave, which is happening very soon or now-ish, depending on the exact date this is released. So you’re gonna hear some different names over the next few months, but I am grateful to both of them. And if you’re still listening, you must have really loved this. So if you would take a moment to rate and review or leave me a comment if you’re on YouTube, it would mean the world. And I will be back with you before you know it.
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