Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristin Dent.
Hi Cristin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2020, I was working as a professor of psychology and motivational speaker, teaching people how to forgive their parents. Once the entire world went on lockdown, I could no longer teach classes. For several months I relied on Entrepreneurship to meet my needs, but I realized that I was coming close to depleting my savings. I realized that I needed rent assistance, and I had to reach out to my county for financial assistance. In filling out the application, I realized how much I did not know about money, generational, wealth, and financial planning. The process of getting government assistance is helpful, but I also felt such shame. I never wanted to feel that way again, and I told God that I needed to learn about money.
I started to look into getting a master’s in accounting, or business administration, but an opportunity for me to learn about finance came in a different way. Someone from my Bible study group referred me to work at one of the top three investment firms in the world. While working there, I learned through training and observation, I volunteered to be a virtual speaker for high school students, sharing information about investing and saving strategies built from discipline and not from emotion. The feedback, accolades, and referrals validated that I could take my experience as an educator with mental health and combine it with financial health. This is how I started functioning as a keynote speaker and professional development trainer, teaching people how to heal their relationships and finances because childhood trauma and heavily impacts our spending habits.
Here are five reasons people develop unhealthy money management:
1. Avoidance- I had a client whose engine went out, and because she couldn’t afford to fix the engine, Is She decided not to pay for it and eventually stopped making payments on her car note. Avoiding stress heavily impacts our ability to be financially responsible with debt.
2. Trusting without gaining information- sometimes we trust the products and services that a banker will offer us without doing proper research to see if it’s a product that we can handle. I had a client who was willing to except a credit card for her mother’s trust account, but that would not have been advantageous since they were going to close the account in a couple of months. Be careful with the recommendations of people give you, because sometimes it’s just to sell you product that will not help you.
3. Co-Sign for the Irresponsible: if someone asks you to cosign, that means it’s not time. It is not time for them to purchase that car, furniture, or acid, and it’s also not time for you to take on their debt simply because they are not financially ready. I had a client whose daughter asked her to cosign for her car, and the daughter, who is in her 30s, never made a payment on the car. So the mother had to make payments, and it was eating away at her Social Security income. It’s important for us to know that we should never cosign for people, even if we love them.
4. Paying bills for someone else- if you want to help people, never use your own bank account to pay their bills. I had a client who was trying to help her niece, who was behind in making her cell phone bill payments. She let her niece use her bank account and routing number to pay a bill, but years later, that same niece was unable to pay her bill, and the cell phone carrier came to my client’s account withdrew hundreds of dollars out of her account. Try and send money to people via cash app, Zelle, Venmo, Apple Pay, but do not share your personal information because you want to protect yourself from identity theft and scams.
5. No Estate Plan- when we are young, we often think we have so much time to live, but I have had clients that passed away unexpectedly in their 20s. The danger is they do not have an estate plan set up. Especially if you have children, you need to have the parent of that child on your account as a beneficiary or as a POD, which stands for pay on death. This is the person that the money in the account would go to if you were to pass away. People need to have an estate plan to prepare for emergencies, but having a living trust, which per texts you while you’re still living and you have a health emergency. People also need to have a low will, which is clear instructions on what you want to happen with your family and your assets when you pass away. No matter how young or old you are, the plan always needs to be set up in place, even if it’s not with a lawyer, I teach alternative ways to protect yourself.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The journey of running a financial wellness education business has had a clear path with potholes. The road is obvious, clear, and exciting to travel on, however, there were dips that I did not see coming along the way. As a natural entrepreneur, it was really difficult to go to a 9-to-5 job, I felt like a caged lion. I understand that being a keynote speaker requires a sales skill set to market products and services to universities, colleges, and employee resource groups. However, I was so drained from my job in investments, and then also working at a bank, and then working as a business consultant I barely had enough time for my own business.
The frustration came from realizing my potential and excepting my reality. I needed to build out a team, but I was being overworked and underpaid simply to survive. However, the nice thing about being in the financial industry is you learn so much just by being in the profession. I learn from my clients, I hear the direct problems they’re dealing with, I see how most of them make decisions simply with the lack of knowledge, and I also see how people get scammed and hustled from financial institutions who are simply they are to sell them products.
Thankfully, I have learned that if you are committed to the journey, you will start picking up tools so that you are equipped to fill those potholes and you can spot when potholes are coming. I was faithful to pivoting and shifting gears to higher positions; however, I knew that I wanted to speak to people in person, I wanted to reach my target audience, and I also wanted to add my own twist of incorporating games and poetry to this financial wellness education journey. The struggle with being an entrepreneur sometimes is leading out of passion but without a sales plan. I am excited to travel and continue to share the Assign Your Money experience with students and employ resource groups.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a financial relationship business consultant and the keynote speaker for assigning your money, a financial wellness education program. I teach people how to heal the relationship with money by teaching them how their childhood trauma/ wounds heavily impact their money-making decisions. I provide practical tools for them to implement towards opening accounts that gain interest, allow them to invest in themselves, prepare for emergencies, prepare for retirement, and have an estate plan ready.
I teach high school and college students how to delegate their money in a responsible way so, as they get older, they feel equipped to go into the workforce and have healthier habits.
I also teach employees how to process their feelings and emotions in a healthier way so their paycheck is working for them and not being depleted by their stress. Sometimes, we are dissatisfied with our jobs because we feel like we are not gaining any benefits. As if all the money that is coming in is simply going out. However, employees deeply benefit from someone coming in and teaching them how to assign their money, have separate funds, how to invest properly, and how to regulate their emotions so that they can progress within the same company, rather than the company having high turnover rates.
When we have better self-control with our finances, we have better self-control and choose healthier partners who can advance our financial success. Often times we use spending money, or hoarding money, as a way to protect ourselves emotionally. When we have discipline and a Savings system in place, it makes it easier to manage our funds and still have fun.
I am most known for hosting amazing game nights. The type of games I come up with as a host are very helpful for large groups of people who don’t know each other, the games are quick and competitive, and I really make sure that people laugh and have a good time. It started with me just hosting game nights at my house, and then it led to me teaching financial literacy to my friends, and I incorporated the testing of their knowledge through minute to win it games. This is what led to the creation of a sign your money. It is the financial literacy game show that we didn’t know we needed.
One of my superpowers is the gift of spoken word poetry. I have poems on money management, shifting our mindset to know that we are powerful without the things, people and have a star inhibiting us. I can take a corporate setting and turn it into a spoken word lounge. I find that when I incorporate poetry in art, it relaxes the audience, it makes them feel like the topic of money is not as intimidating, and lessons in the concepts are well received.
What makes you happy?
In addition to laughing with people in which I feel safe, seen, heard, I like helping people turn breakdowns into breakthroughs. I like a good testimony, a good transformation story. I know what it’s like to just need the right information. I can motivate myself, but I just need the right information to implement and change my life. When I find out that I do that for people through my story, through my education, through my videos, through my poetry, I feel happy, knowing that I’m depositing joy, wisdom, and peace in this life. I like feeling relaxed, I like waking up every day, knowing it’s going to be a good day because I’m operating in my purpose, and I’m happy when I get to be my full self and give other people the gift of being seen heard and feeling safe. In addition, I like eating plant-based, vegan food and playing laser tag!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cristindent.com/speaking
