Yanely Espinal
Next Gen Personal Finance
Midway City, CA USA
"Get really good at the thing that you feel like you're a bit ashamed of or maybe you're doubtful of, and let that be your superpower."
Career Roadmap
Yanely's work combines: Numbers, Business, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I'd recommend pursuing some college education and then directly working in financial planning, either shadowing a certified financial planner or working at a family office to learn the nuts and bolts of how money management looks and feels for everyday people. I'd also recommend taking public speaking courses or storytelling classes.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
History of Art and Architecture, Visual Art
Brown University
Graduate Degree
Education
Relay Graduate School of Education
Certification
Non-Profit Leadership
Columbia Business School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I studied visual arts in college and interned at museums, where I learned the value of knowing what I didn’t want to do.
2.
A class on the history of African American education opened my eyes to gaps in education and inspired me to become an elementary school teacher.
3.
By age 23, I had nearly $20,000 in credit card debt—facing those numbers pushed me to teach myself everything I could about personal finance.
4.
I committed to an 18-month “sacrifice season,” changed my lifestyle, and fought my way out of credit card debt.
5.
After leaving teaching, I started making YouTube videos to share my passion and knowledge of personal finance, even though I didn’t know where they would lead.
6.
My videos opened up opportunities for me to teach financial literacy in my community, turning something I had started for free into a new career path.
7.
I started my own podcast, Mind Your Money, which eventually led to the opportunity to host Financially Inclined for Marketplace.
8.
I’m also an advocate for financial literacy education, helping push for laws that guarantee students take a personal finance course before graduation.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You're very chatty. You need to quiet yourself if you want to succeed.
How I responded:
I used to get in trouble in school for talking too much, to the point that I started growing self-conscious about it. But I decided that instead of shrinking that part of myself, I doubled down on it, became a strong communicator, and now get paid to speak. I think everyone should take that thing that they feel shame or doubt about and let it be your superpower instead.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I had almost $20,000 in credit card debt by the time I was 23. I pushed myself to learn all that I could about personal finance. I changed my lifestyle and fought my way out of debt. I also started making finance videos which launched into my career.