Podcaster Jannese Torres Wants to “Level Up Your Dinero”

Jannese Torres wasn’t always a personal finance expert — she spent her 20s working as a scientist. However, side hustles sparked a passion for entrepreneurship, leading her to create the renowned Yo Quiero Dinero podcast. Torres’s new book, Financially Lit!: The Modern Latina’s Guide to Level Up Your Dinero & Become Financially Poderosa, delves into topics like overcoming debt and building generational wealth.

In a conversation with b., Torres discussed her strategies to escape the rat race and pursue financial freedom.

b.: Your parents told you that the American Dream meant “go to school, get a good job, and work there until you’re ready to retire.” How do you view the idea from a contemporary perspective?

Torres: We need to question a lot of the old narratives that we’ve been told about money in general. A lot of the folks who are mainstream in the personal finance world — especially people who have been advising folks on what to do with their money for decades — grew up and built their wealth in a completely different world. A world without things like the internet, for example.

The level of accessibility that people now have to information is unlike any other time in history. Because there is so much more accessibility, there are so many more options than what we’ve been presented with, as far as pathways to take in your career, those markers of adulthood that we’ve been told we should pursue.

A lot of folks have done those [traditional] things and they haven’t necessarily found themselves in a better position than their parents or their grandparents, especially now in this economy where it’s almost like you’re on an endless hamster wheel trying to accomplish all the things that we were told make a successful adult. It’s harder and harder unless you have multiple jobs or live in a multigenerational home. A lot of people, especially after the pandemic, started questioning, like, “What are we actually doing with our lives?” versus “Is this what I want to do?”

b.: Buying a house at 30 seems so much more unattainable than it once did. What are some practical steps people can take to start that process of creating and passing on generational wealth?

Torres: That’s also a narrative that we need to question because more and more folks that I’ve talked to have opted out of just the pursuit of homeownership. It’s just not conducive to everyone’s lifestyle choice, having the ability to work remotely or have a digital business that allows you to work from anywhere.

Do you want to be tied down to a specific location? For some people, that could be like the shackles you put on your dreams. … It’s important for us to continue to open the dialogue around whether homeownership is always a good decision.

But with regards to your question: before you start doing anything strategic to start building wealth, you need to have financial literacy. It’s one thing to learn how to make money. Most of us can do that with a job. But it’s another thing to … not only keep it but to actually grow it and then be able to transfer it. As much as it’s important to learn the skill set of making money, it’s equally — or I would argue, even more — important to understand the fundamentals of wealth building.

So, not spending more than you make. … Understanding the difference between … a savings account and investing, and taking advantage of compound interest and long-term growth. When we talk about generational wealth, obviously we’re talking about passing it on to the next generation.

The statistic that always gets me is that, by the third generation of folks who have received wealth, it’s usually gone because people aren’t passing on the knowledge needed to continue that growth. What’s the point of doing all that hard work to build this legacy to then see it squandered … because you’re not passing on what I would argue is the most important part? It’s the financial literacy needed to maintain the wealth.

b.: What are other actionable steps to move toward financial empowerment and independence?

Torres: I think, especially as Americans, we’ve normalized the idea that we’re meant to be in debt for the rest of our lives. You get into debt at 18 going to college, you spend the [next] 14 years paying that off, then you get into more debt to buy a house and a car. All of the things that we’ve been told to accomplish to be successful are also the things that are keeping a lot of folks [unable] to pursue creative endeavors like starting a business.

I always tell people, the first step to financial freedom is debt freedom. When you don’t owe anybody else money, it’s much easier to deploy it to do the things that you want it to do. Whether that is saving for retirement, starting a business, or saving for college for your kids — whatever the goal is, debt repayment is an important thing that people should pursue.

Don’t accept that being in debt is the way of life. The most practical way to do that is not by clipping coupons, not by trying to save. It’s just about increasing your income. That can be done through side hustles, negotiating salary increases, or doing an entire career pivot and going into an industry that is higher paying.

Beyond that, it’s investing. A lot of people in minority communities are scared of the stock market. There are numerous amounts of reasons for that — if you come from an immigrant background, there could have been financial corruption and all types of things going on in your home country. So, it could be your parents don’t trust financial institutions and they pass that on to you. It could be because you’ve directly experienced racist policies like predatory lending practices from banks or things like that.

So I understand why people don’t trust the stock market and Wall Street, but that is one of the most powerful generational wealth-building tools that we have access to in our capitalist society. … Most of us are OK with throwing our money at companies that are trying to sell us things, but why aren’t we becoming shareholders and taking advantage of the profits that these companies are making by selling to our communities? That’s a dual-pronged approach …

It’s important to also do the work to protect those assets. Thinking about things like insurance … where a costly incident could have a really big financial impact on your life. And then estate planning. If you don’t put a plan in place to transfer that wealth in the most tax-efficient manner, you could be working your entire life to build a nest egg that’s not necessarily going to go to the people that you want it to go to, and not gonna have the impact that you want to have.

b.: How would you advise someone intimidated by investing to start?

Torres: They’re not necessarily going to be comfortable walking into a bank … and asking to sit down with a wealth management person to explain how investing works, as that’s probably going to be super intimidating. But if you can go on social media and find someone like myself or the guests I’ve had on the show — who come from all different walks of life and feel way more relatable, and who have good, easy-to-digest, accessible information out there — I think that’s a great place to start.

Representation is crucial as it influences many people’s belief in the possibility of building wealth for themselves. Seeing people of color starting businesses, investing, and sharing their financial journeys makes it seem attainable. The internet has made this information much more accessible. It will then be a matter of applying what you’ve learned, similar to following a meal and exercise plan from a trainer. Starting slow, picking one aspect of your financial life to tackle first, and building from there is a wise approach.

b.: What are some side hustle ideas you heard about while doing research for this book?

Torres: Many people don’t realize they possess skills others are willing to pay to learn, and you don’t need to be a famous internet celebrity to monetize your knowledge. For example, if you’re a nail tech, you could create a digital course on nail design techniques you’ve showcased on social media, providing an additional income stream beyond your primary job. Similarly, a restaurant owner could share their baking expertise through a blog or online workshops.

These are viable ways to generate income without committing to another job, especially for people of color, who might face a digital divide with limited access to technology and the internet.

b.: We like to end these interviews with a personal question about your morning routine. What are three things that you do in the morning to help set you up for a successful day?

Torres: I’m not a morning person! One of those things that I’m not going to do is force myself to adopt one of these 4 a.m. wake-ups, running six miles in the morning. I wake up naturally. I do not deal with alarm clocks — alarm clocks trigger me. I like to schedule my day so that it does not start until 11 a.m. What is the point of creating a business and creating this … freedom if I feel restricted and controlled by my calendar?

Financially Lit! is available for pre-order now.

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