Unicorn Millionaire Podcast: LGBTQ+ BIPOC Financial Coaching to Crush Debt and Retire Early

Got $10K, $20K, $50K or more sitting in savings and wondering what the h*ll you're supposed to do with it?

Once you've built your emergency fund, keeping more and more money in cash isn't necessarily helping you build wealth faster. At some point, you need to decide how much cash is enough, and how to make the rest of your money work harder.

In this episode of the Unicorn Millionaire Podcast, I'm breaking down how I think about optimizing extra cash and what I look at before deciding where to invest it.

I personally don't like keeping much more than $10K–$20K in cash. When I have an influx of money beyond what I need, I look for ways to put it to work. That mindset has helped me grow my net worth to more than $250K without ever paying myself more than $45K a year.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How much cash to keep before investing the rest — and why your emergency fund doesn't need to become a giant pile of money you're afraid to touch.
• Where to invest your extra cash — including how I think about Roth accounts, old 401(k)s, rollovers, fees, and choosing the right accounts for your money.
• How to make the money you already have work harder, instead of waiting for a bigger salary before you start seriously building wealth.

Building wealth is about knowing when you've saved enough and what to do with the rest.

🌈 Ready to figure out exactly where YOUR cash, credit, and investments should go?

What if the income ceiling you keep hitting isn’t actually about your skills, your work ethic, or how hard you’re trying?

In this episode, I’m joined by Pam Covarrubias, host of the Café con Pam Podcast, to talk about how first-gen high achievers can break through the invisible ceilings that keep us from earning, charging, building, and living at our next level.

Pam shares how she went from being a corporate executive to quitting her job without savings or a plan, taking a job at a coffee shop to pay her bills while she built her business, and eventually going all-in on coaching. Along the way, she had to work through her own money wounds, recognize her expertise, and learn to charge enough to actually make a living from her work.

We talk about:

• How to recognize when you’ve created an invisible ceiling around how much you can earn
• Why making more money can feel unfamiliar, even when you consciously KNOW you’re capable of more
• How Pam quit corporate America and built her own business
• Why first-gen entrepreneurs may struggle to charge more for their expertise
• How loyalty to your family and lineage can quietly influence your money decisions
• Why visibility and success can feel unsafe
• How to stop waiting for other people’s validation before going after what you want

• Using somatic work and subconscious reprogramming to change the patterns that strategy alone hasn’t fixed
• Why investing in coaching and support can help you keep growing instead of trying to figure everything out alone

Pam also shares one of my favorite examples from the episode: a client who kept hitting the same money threshold. When they dug deeper, Pam discovered that the women in her family had never earned beyond that level. Breaking the income ceiling meant addressing her loyalty to her lineage, not simply finding another business strategy.

You need to figure out what's making your next level feel impossible, unsafe, or like something people like you aren't supposed to have.

Pam Covarrubias is a leadership coach, media founder, and somatic practitioner helping first-gen high-achievers break up with performance culture and lead from their Certainty. She is the creator of Calladita Culture®, a framework for women ready to stop silencing themselves, betraying their bodies, and burning out to belong.

Through coaching and consulting, she partners with organizations to build leaders rooted in wholeness, not hustle. She is also the host of the globally acclaimed Café con Pam, where she amplifies first-gen voices and challenges the narratives that keep us playing small.

Pam's work draws on somatic and trauma-informed practices, including clinical EFT, and her broader body of work focuses on helping first-gen leaders move beyond the ceilings that strategy alone can't necessarily solve.

What if quitting your job didn’t mean putting your wealth-building goals on hold?

Six years ago, I quit my 9-to-5 as a stockbroker with an $80K net worth, nothing financially lined up, starting grad school, and a salary that had never been higher than $45K. Today, my net worth has grown to $250K—and I still haven’t needed a six-figure salary to build wealth.

In this episode, I’m breaking down how I grew my net worth after quitting my job by learning how to optimize the money I already had instead of waiting to earn more. I share how I kept building wealth through grad school, entrepreneurship, $0-income months, travel, and even a major health emergency.

We’re talking about how I invested my old 401(k) so it kept growing after I left my employer, why investing my HSA became a financial lifeline when I unexpectedly landed in the hospital, and how I learned to use investments strategically instead of being terrified to touch them. My old 401(k) alone grew from around $30K to more than $50K after I quit.

Most importantly, this episode is about becoming work optional. Retirement doesn’t have to mean waiting until you’re 65 to finally enjoy your life. Building wealth gives you choices: quit the job, take the sabbatical, travel, start the business, or simply know you don’t have to keep working somewhere you hate forever.

If you’ve been telling yourself you need to make more money, hit a certain net worth, or have everything perfectly figured out before you can quit your job or start building wealth, this episode is for you.

Because the amount you have matters a whole lot less when you know how to make the money you already have grow.

Whether you're in your 20s building your first investment account or approaching retirement, this episode will help you think more intentionally about growing—and eventually using—your wealth.

If you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-generation, immigrant, or neurodivergent and you're ready to stop guessing with your money, I help clients optimize their cash, credit, debt, and investments so they can build wealth with their current income—and eventually feel confident enough to enjoy it.

When is it actually okay to sell stock?

Should you keep investing every extra dollar?

How much cash is "too much" to keep on hand?

And how do you know when it's time to enjoy your money instead of feeling guilty for spending it?

In this episode of the Unicorn Millionaire Podcast, I introduce a concept I use with my money coaching clients that completely changes how they think about wealth:

Accumulation vs. Extraction.

Most personal finance advice teaches you how to accumulate wealth.

Almost nobody teaches you when it's okay to start using it.

I share how I think about my own investments, why I've sold stock during slow business seasons without panicking, why I don't touch my retirement accounts, and how I decide when to keep investing versus when to intentionally extract money to support the life I'm building.

You'll also hear the visual exercise I shared with a client in their 60s who is transitioning from decades of building wealth into actually enjoying it, and why your "garden" of wealth looks different depending on your stage of life.

🤑 How to know when it's okay to take money out of your investments

🤑 The difference between the accumulation phase and the extraction phase of wealth building

🤑 Why selling stock isn't automatically a bad financial decision

🤑 Which investment accounts I pull money from—and which ones I avoid touching

🤑 How to build wealth while still enjoying your life today

🤑 Why the goal isn't just retiring someday—it's becoming work optional

Whether you're in your 20s building your first investment account or approaching retirement, this episode will help you think more intentionally about growing—and eventually using—your wealth.

If you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-generation, immigrant, or neurodivergent and you're ready to stop guessing with your money, I help clients optimize their cash, credit, debt, and investments so they can build wealth with their current income—and eventually feel confident enough to enjoy it.

You don't need a bigger paycheck to build wealth. You need to optimize what you have.

You don't need to make more money before you can build wealth.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the three mid-year money moves I recommend to every coaching client to help them optimize what they already have—because every extra dollar you optimize today has more time to compound tomorrow.

We'll cover:

🤑 Where your cash should actually be sitting (and why a high-yield savings account is one of the easiest wealth-building moves you can make)

🤑 How to think strategically about debt instead of paying the minimum forever

🤑 Whether you're on track to max out your Roth IRA before the end of the year—and why waiting could cost you thousands in long-term growth

If you've been putting off organizing your money because you think you need a bigger paycheck first, this episode is your reminder that building wealth starts with optimizing what you already have.

Whether you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen, immigrant, neurodivergent, a W-2 employee, a business owner, or between gigs, these are the same strategies I use personally and teach every client inside my six-month coaching program.

Work With Me

Want to learn how to optimize your cash, credit, and investments so you can be your own sugar daddy now and still retire early?

✨ Join my free DOM YOUR DINERO emails for practical money strategies delivered straight to your inbox.

✨ Ready for personalized support that goes beyond what you can get from a podcast or Reddit? Book a free Clarity Call to learn more about my private six-month money coaching program.

You are NOT greedy for wanting financial security. Marginalized people deserve safety, options, rest, joy, and long-term wealth, too.

Unfortunately, we’re taught that talking about money is greedy. That investing makes you a bad anti-capitalist. That wanting financial security somehow makes you selfish.

But staying financially stuck does not protect you from capitalism, it usually makes you more vulnerable to it!

In this episode, I break down the anti-capitalist shame and survivor’s guilt I see so many LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen, immigrant, and neurodivergent folks carry around money. I share what I learned working as a stockbroker, why so many people delay investing out of fear or guilt, and how that delay quietly costs people decades of financial freedom.

Because the people building wealth are not always the people making the most money.

They’re the people who understand where their money is, what it’s doing, and how to make it grow intentionally.

I also talk about:🤑Why “del dinero no se habla” keeps marginalized communities financially stuck

🤑How big banks and financial shame profit off your avoidance

🤑Why building wealth as a marginalized person is not greedy, it’s protective

🤑How my clients go from scattered and anxious about money to finally feeling calm and intentional

This episode is for anyone who:

🤑Feels guilty wanting financial security

🤑Has avoided investing because it feels overwhelming or “too capitalist”

🤑Feels behind with money and doesn’t know where to start

🤑Wants to build wealth without becoming a finance bro stereotype

Work With Me

If you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen, immigrant, or neurodivergent and you’re ready to stop feeling ashamed about money and finally get intentional with your finances, I help you do exactly that inside my six-month one-on-one coaching.

Together, we organize your cash, optimize your credit, and build an investment strategy that helps you grow wealth without burnout or shame.

And if you want a taste of what coaching is like, I’m teaching a FREE live webinar on May 27th all about where your money should actually be sitting and how to make it grow.

There will NOT be a replay, so you have to join live.

El mundo se siente caótico.

La economía cambia cada semana, hay miedo político, incertidumbre laboral, inflación, y muchas personas sienten que no importa cuánto trabajen… nunca terminan de sentirse seguras con su dinero.

Pero vivir con miedo no puede ser tu estrategia financiera.

En este episodio, te comparto cómo he manejado mi propio dinero durante meses de ingresos inconstantes, volatilidad en la bolsa, ventas lentas en mi negocio, y noticias mundiales que generan ansiedad.

Porque aunque todo afuera se sienta inestable, sí es posible sentirte más en control de tu dinero.

Te cuento cómo tomé decisiones intencionales con mis ahorros, mis inversiones, mis acciones, mis impuestos y mis ingresos para no entrar en pánico—y cómo este mismo trabajo es el que hago con mis clientes LGBTQ+, BIPOC, inmigrantes, first-gen y neurodivergentes.

No se trata de esperar a que el mundo se calme.

Se trata de aprender a manejar el dinero que ya tienes para que te sostenga en tiempos difíciles.

En este episodio hablamos de:

• cómo tomar decisiones financieras sin apanicarte
• por qué tener miedo no puede seguir guiando tu dinero
• cómo crear más seguridad financiera aunque tus ingresos suban y bajen

Si últimamente sientes ansiedad con el dinero, con el gobierno, con la economía o con el futuro, este episodio te va a aterrizar.

Trabaja Conmigo

Si quieres ayuda práctica para crecer tu efectivo, mejorar tu aceso al crédito, entender tus inversiones y empezar a construir una jubilación fuerte sin esperar a ganar más dinero, te ayudo dentro de mi coaching privado de 6 meses.

Trabajo con personas LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen y neurodivergentes que están listas para dejar de sobrevivir y empezar a sentirse seguras con su dinero.

You’ve been told to save more money to feel financially secure and to cut back on spending.

But with inflation rising, saving and cutting back isn’t cutting it anymore.

Your money is sitting in checking or savings accounts earning almost nothing while everything around you is getting more expensive.

So even if you’re doing what you’re “supposed” to do, it can still feel like you’re falling behind.

In this episode, I break down why saving money isn’t enough in this economy, and what to do instead if you want your money to actually grow.

The goal isn’t to wait for a raise.

It’s to make the money you already have work harder for you.

I walk you through the shift my clients make when they stop avoiding their money and start giving every dollar a job.

Instead of wondering where their money is going, they know exactly what it’s doing.

Instead of letting their cash lose value to inflation, they move it into accounts that actually grow.

Instead of feeling behind, they start seeing their money build momentum—without needing to make more first.

And that’s where the real relief comes in.

Not from earning more, but from finally feeling in control.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why saving money alone isn’t keeping up with inflation
• Where your money might be losing value without you realizing it
• How to start making your money work for you—right now

If you’ve been waiting to make more money before getting your finances together, this episode will show you why you don’t have to wait—and what to do instead.

Work With Me

If you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, or first-gen and you’re ready to stop avoiding your money and start building a six-figure retirement—even if you don’t make six figures—I help you do exactly that inside my six-month one-on-one money coaching.

Together, we organize your accounts, optimize your credit, and teach you how to manage your own investments so every dollar is working toward your future—and you finally stop living paycheck-to-paycheck in your mind.

AI is replacing jobs, and ICE raids and kidnappings are freaking you out. The economy feeling unstable because we have an unhinged president deciding to invade countries on random weekends. 

Of COURSE you feel anxious about money and the state of the world!

You’re wondering:

Should I be saving more?

Should I stop investing?

Will the entire system crumble?

In this episode, I break down what’s actually going on, and what to do with your money when everything feels scary.

This isn’t random. The capitalist system we live in is doing EXACTLY what it wants to do: keep marginalized folks fearful. They WANT us to feel scared so that we don’t feel like financial liberation isn’t possible. 

While everyone else is panicking about AI, ICE, and the economy, now is THE time to start organizing your  money, move  cash to the right places, and investing with intention.

In this episode, I walk you through how to:

• stop freezing when things feel unstable

• optimize the money you already have

• start building wealth without waiting for things to calm down

If you’ve been feeling behind, overwhelmed, or unsure what to do next, this episode will show you exactly where to start.

With all the nuke threats, threats to trans rights, political chaos and daily news headlines, we are in STRESSFULL times. 

And even if you’re not thinking about it directly, your body is.

Your nervous system is on edge. You feel like you need to “wait and see.” You stop making moves with your money.

That fear is exactly what this regime wants. They WANT you to feel scared and stuck, and it's costing you $5K–$100K+ every year in lost growth, missed opportunities, and money sitting in the wrong places.

When things feel unstable, you stop creating, stop advocating for yourself, and stop wanting to feel the expansiveness wealth brings. Your cash stays rotting in crappy checking and savings accounts, and your investments stay stagnant because you don’t understand how to really make them take off. 

In this episode, I break down what’s actually happening when global instability (like Trump’s nuke threats and ceasefire headlines) impacts your financial behavior, and how to take your power back.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why not optimizing your money NOW and waiting to make more is is costing you the most right now

• How fear keeps your money sitting still while inflation keeps eating away at your savings

• What to do with your cash, credit, and investments when things feel unstable

This is about going from reactive to intentional, frozen to in control, stressed to clear—so your money keeps growing no matter what’s happening in the world.

If you're LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen, or neurospicy and you’re ready to stop losing money to stress and start making every dollar work for you, this is exactly what I help you do inside my 6-month one-on-one coaching.

We organize your money so you know exactly where everything is, build a debt payoff and investing strategy that works together, boost your credit score (clients have seen 100+ point increases), and teach you how to manage your own investments with confidence—so you can stop feeling behind and start building a six-figure retirement even if you don’t make six figures.

If you’re not ready for full coaching yet, start with a Money Makeover. BONUS: For a limited time only, I’m offering Money Leak Makeoever calls. In one hour, we audit your cash, debt, credit, and investments and identify $5K–$100K+ in annual money loss together. You’ll walk away knowing what’s costing you the most, what to fix first, and how much you’re losing by waiting.

Your last day to book a money makeover is April 22. Spots are first come, first served into May. The longer you wait, the more you lose.

You can be making good money and still feel broke AF, behind, anxious about your money not doing what it is supposed to, or like you STILL can't even relax. That’s what it means to live paycheck-to-paycheck in your mind, and it has nothing to do with your income.In this episode, I break down why so many LGBTQ+, BIPOC, first-gen, and neurodivergent folks are earning more than ever, but still feel financially unstable, and what actually needs to change so you can feel calm and in control of your money.Because the problem isn’t that you’re not making enough.It’s that your money doesn’t have a job yet.When your money is scattered in a bunch of random accounts, sitting in low-interest savings, or invested in funds you don’t understand, your brain stays in survival mode, even if you technically “have enough.”That’s why you keep thinking things like:“I should be doing better by now.”“I just need to make more money.”“I can’t slow down yet—it’s not safe.”In this episode, I walk you through the shifts to make when they stop obsessing over earning more and start directing what you already have.You’ll hear how my clients go from:Constantly thinking about money → to feeling calm and clear

Avoiding their accounts → to knowing exactly what every dollar is doing

Feeling behind → to actually seeing their money grow

Waiting for a raise is one of the biggest things slowing down your retirement timeline.

In this episode, I break down how one of my clients stopped waiting for more income and started building toward early retirement by optimizing the money they ALREADY have.

When they first came to me, they were doing “okay” with money.

They had income, a credit card, bank accounts, and a 401(k) from an old job.

But that retirement account was just sitting there in cash, losing value to inflation every single day instead of growing.

They also weren't making as much in interest as they could be in the right accounts to make their accessible cash grow for daily expenses.

Instead of waiting to make more money, we immediately gave their existing money a boost.

We rolled over that dormant 401(k), injected life into it and moved it into investments designed to actually grow.

We opened accounts to make them more passive income.

Now, they know exactly where their money is and what it’s doing without wondering how they're doing compared to everyone else, and now they have the tools to retire early without depending on just one job.

No more money sitting in accounts slowly losing value.

Instead, their money now has direction, and the potential to multiply over time so work becomes optional, not mandatory.

This is the shift I help my clients make all the time.

Wealth doesn’t come from waiting until you make more money.

It comes from directing the money you already have so it can start compounding while you sleep.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The exact questions to ask when comparing investment options so you stop feeling overwhelmed
• How to know if your old 401(k) is worth rolling over (and when to leave it alone)
• Why small moves now create exponentially bigger outcomes later

If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll start investing “once you make more,” this episode will change yo mind.

The longer you wait, the more time your money loses the chance to grow.

This week I decided to do something that makes a lot of investors deeply uncomfortable: I sold $5,000 of stock.

In this episode, I walk you through exactly why I made that decision, the mental gymnastics that came up while I was doing it, and why selling stock doesn’t mean you’re messing up your retirement.

So many people believe that once you invest, you’re never supposed to touch the money until decades later. But the truth is that selling stock can be part of a thoughtful wealth-building strategy when you understand which accounts to sell from, when it makes sense to sell, and how to do it without creating unnecessary taxes or panic.

I share the real story behind selling $5,000 of VTI from my taxable brokerage account, how that investment grew by 71% over six years, and how I made the decision calmly and intentionally rather than panic-selling because of market volatility or world events.

We talk about:

• Why selling stock feels emotionally heavy for so many people
• The difference between selling from a taxable brokerage account vs retirement accounts
• How I decide when selling stock makes sense
• Why long-term investing gives you more flexibility than people realize
• The mindset coaching required to trust yourself with big money decisions
• Why investing isn’t about hoarding money forever, it’s about building options for your life

Selling stock doesn’t mean you’ve failed at investing. It means your investments are doing what they’re supposed to do: growing and giving you choices.

If you’ve ever felt like:

• You’re scared to sell investments because you might ruin your retirement
• You log into your investment accounts and don’t actually understand what you own
• You’ve been investing for years but still feel unsure about your decisions
• You want to retire early but don’t know if you’re doing things “right”

This episode is for you.

This week in Portland, with ICE protests happening just blocks from where I’m pet sitting, I decided to do something I haven’t done in years: pick up a paint brush and paint the Portland protest frog. 

In this episode, I share how returning to painting (after years of telling myself creativity was something I’d get to do in retirement), has become a huge part of how I take care of myself now while still building toward early retirement.

I talk about growing up creative, how capitalism and survival mode taught me to shut that part of myself down, and why I used to believe art was something reserved for retirement. I share how reading The Artist’s Way, living alone, navigating grief, and moving through this political moment pushed me back into creativity as a form of regulation, healing, and self-trust.

Creativity belongs inside a wealth-building plan, not as a reward for fitting into society at the end of your life. 

I also share how I balance painting, rest, and pleasure with aggressively investing, maxing out my retirement accounts, and building long-term financial safety—so I don’t have to choose between future security and living my life now.

If you’ve ever felt like:

• You’re “too busy” or “too responsible” for creativity
  

• Art is something you’ll get to after retirement
  

• Wealth-building means delaying joy
  

This episode is for you.

In today’s episode, I break down what to invest in and why, based on how the stock market actually works. 

I share how I think about investing as a formerly undocumented, trans Latinx money coach and ex–stockbroker who has built a six-figure retirement without ever making six figures. We’re talking easy, repeatable, long-term strategies that let you build wealth without watching the market every day or spiraling every time the news drops.

In this episode, we cover:

• What index funds actually are and why they’re my go-to
  

• Index funds vs. individual stocks and when single stocks make sense
  

• The truth about ESG and socially conscious investing
  

• Why avoiding investing doesn’t make you anti-capitalist
  

• Which accounts to prioritize before investing in a taxable brokerage
  

• How fees quietly delay your retirement and how to spot them
  

• Why consistency matters more than income or picking the “right” stock
  

This episode is especially for you if you’re queer, first-gen, BIPOC, self-employed, or traditionally employed and tired of feeling like investing wasn’t built for you. It is, once you understand how it works!

Work With Me

In this episode, Charly breaks down the exact investing habits that have allowed them to build a six-figure net worth without ever making a six-figure salary, and why retirement is less about how much you make and more about what you do with the money you already have.

Charly shares what they did at the very start of 2026, including how they maxed out their Roth IRA on January 2nd, how they prioritize retirement accounts, and why most people stay stuck working forever even when they’re saving.

This episode is for you if:

• You want to retire early or at least become work-optional

• You don’t trust TikTok stock advice

• You’re tired of “budget harder” being the only financial advice you hear

• You want to build wealth without selling your soul to capitalism

You’ll learn:

• Why maxing out your Roth IRA matters more than chasing “hot stocks”

• How compound growth builds wealth faster than raises

• Which accounts to prioritize first (and why)

• Why wondering about retirement is not a retirement plan

If this episode made you realize you need a clearer plan for your money, I want to invite you to my next investing class:

The 2026 Gay Agenda: Retirement Investing Made Simple on January 20th | In person in Portland, OR + Virtual

In this class, I’ll walk you through:

• Exactly where your money needs to go in 2026

• How to set up and invest inside your Roth IRA and 401(k)

• What to prioritize even if you’re paying off debt

• Which accounts actually grow your money (and which just hold cash)

• Why your non-retirement investing account is your side hoe

You’ll leave knowing exactly what to do with your money instead of just hoping you’re doing it right.

In this episode, Charly interviews Jkiillem, a queer nightlife entertainer, creator, and influencer, for a rare conversation about money, career pivots, and building income outside the 9–5.

Jkiillem has built a career in queer nightlife through dance, content creation, brand work, and community-centered events. In this episode, she shares what it actually looks like to earn money as a creator, how she’s diversified her income over time, and why learning to invest mattered once her creative career stabilized.

This is one of the first times Jkiillem has spoken publicly about money and investing, making this episode especially valuable for queer creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone trying to build a financially sustainable life outside traditional career paths.

You will learn:

• How Jkiillem built a career in queer nightlife without a traditional job

• What diversifying income really looks like as a creator and entertainer

• The financial realities of being self-employed in creative work

• When and why she started thinking about investing

• Why creative people don’t need a single “main thing” to build wealth

If you’re queer, creative, allergic to the 9–5, or trying to figure out how to make more money without burning out, this episode will help you think differently about income, career paths, and long-term stability.

Jkiillem is a 32-year-old creative and face for the LGBT+ community. Born and raised in South Jersey, she now lives in Los Angeles and travels the world as an entertainer, bringing a unique energy centered on sensuality and performing for queer spaces. You can find her on socials as @Jkiilem.

If this conversation got you thinking about your own income, investing, or long-term financial plan, I want to invite you to my next investing class on January 20th:

The 2026 Gay Agenda: Retirement Investing Made Simple

In this class, you’ll learn exactly which retirement investing moves to make right now:

• How Roth IRAs and 401(k)s actually work

• Which accounts grow your nest egg vs. just hold your cash

• How to set up and invest inside your Roth and 401(k)

• What to prioritize even if you’re paying off debt

• Why your non-retirement investing account is your side hoe

You’ll walk away knowing where your money needs to go in 2026, with a clear plan instead of vague advice.

The class is in person in Portland, Oregon or virtual. Anyone is welcome.

I break down 3 easy year-end money moves for your cash, credit, and retirement so you can be work-optional sooner instead of working forever. You don’t need a perfect year or a six-figure salary to make progress with your money.

I also share a life update: navigating an ER visit alone and uninsured as a queer, nonbinary, single person estranged from family, and how the wealth I’ve built changed my options, my stress levels, and my ability to advocate for myself.

We’ll cover:

Viridiana Ponce, a Latina business consultant who turns cooks into CEOs and teaches entrepreneurs to build profitable, financially confident businesses, joins me.

We talk about the money stories we inherited, why financial education is liberation for our communities, and how Latina business owners can stop hustling in survival mode and start building real wealth.

Viridiana has spent over a decade guiding women through the realities of brick-and-mortar life: startup costs, funding, pricing, cash flow, debt, and what it actually takes to scale without burning out.

Her perspective is powerful not just for food entrepreneurs but for anyone who wants to build a sustainable business without sacrificing their joy, health, or family.

We talk about growing up in immigrant households where money wasn’t discussed, why so many women undercharge, the fear of looking at your numbers, the shame around debt, and how to build the financial confidence to make bigger moves.

We also talk about how she helps clients secure funding, raise their profit margins, and transition from cooks to CEOs with strategy and clarity.

If you're a first-gen entrepreneur, a creative, or a business owner who’s tired of working hard without seeing the financial results you want, this episode will help you see what’s actually possible when you get support instead of trying to figure it all out alone.

About today's guest:

Viridiana Ponce is a Latina Business Consultant and Food Expert on a mission to help Latinas stop playing small, make that money, and go from cook to CEO. As founder of VP Consulting, she has spent more than a decade guiding entrepreneurs with strategy, financial clarity, and the confidence to scale. She has helped secure millions in funding and turned hundreds of food dreams into profitable, sustainable businesses. For Viridiana, financial education is how we claim freedom, build legacy, and rewrite the narrative of what Latina entrepreneurs can do.

This episode shows how my 6 month money coaching client, Nora, went from impulse shopping and feeling scattered with money, to first-time homebuyer at 28 in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.

Nora is a first-gen Latina, eldest daughter, and spiritual alchemist who used coaching, discipline, intuition, and astrology to transform her finances. She boosted her credit, helped her siblings and best friend improve theirs, and used money as a tool to create stability, safety, and long-term wealth for her family and community.

In this episode, Nora shares:
– How she shifted from impulse buying on Amazon Prime to long-term financial clarity
– How she healed first-gen money trauma and learned to trust her intuition
– How she boosted her credit score and helped loved ones raise theirs
– How to advocate for yourself as a woman of color in the workplace
– How she navigated the first-time homebuyer process and secured down-payment assistance
– How she thinks about renting, house hacking, and long-term wealth as a first-gen Latina

If you’re a first-gen listener trying to build wealth, improve your credit, or prepare for buying a home, this conversation will help you feel less behind and more empowered.

Join me December 3rd at 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET to use credit card rewards to make passive income. Learn how to turn your holiday spending into ore cash back, learn which cards actually pay you, and boost your credit score.

What if being transparent about money could make you a millionaire?

You don’t have to sacrifice your joy, or miss out on your next vacation, to afford 6 month money coaching.

In this episode of the Unicorn Millionaire Podcast, I break down exactly how my clients make back their coaching investment (and then some).

You’ll learn how to use 0% APR credit cards, credit card points, and smarter cash flow to fund coaching without touching your retirement or giving up the things you love.

Whether you’re earning $50K or $200K, I’ll show you how to pivot from thinking like a consumer to an investor, so the money you spend on coaching pays you back for the rest of your life while you crush debt, boost your credit score, and save for a 6 figure retirement without needing to make 6 figures.

You’ll learn:

• How my clients make back their $6K money coaching investment

• Why 0% APR cards and credit points are your secret weapon

• How to calculate your personal ROI from coaching

• The mindset shift that turns “I can’t afford it” into “I’m getting paid 10x for it”

• Why investing in coaching is different from “spending” on it

If you’re serious about building wealth and want your investments—emotional and financial—to actually pay you back while still living your life, this episode will help you feel excited to invest in yourself!

In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Wolfer (she/they) — a queer, nonbinary therapist and founder of Courageous You Therapy — to explore relationship anarchy and how it parallels investing in the way you love.

We talk about what it means to build relationships rooted in choice, communication, and abundance instead of fear, obligation, or scarcity. Sarah shares how their work with LGBTQIA+, non-monogamous, kinky, and neurodivergent clients challenges traditional systems and helps people create emotional wealth that mirrors financial freedom.

If you’ve ever wondered how to invest in relationships with the same intentionality you bring to your money — or how your love life and financial life reflect the same patterns of liberation — this episode is for you.

About Sarah:
Sarah Wolfer (she/they) is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with her own private practice, Courageous You, that is based out of Seattle WA, and serving clients in Washington, Idaho, and Florida via telehealth. Graduating with a Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2012, they have spent the first half of their career in social services and community mental health settings as a mental health professional, clinical supervisor, and program manager, and the latter half thriving in private practice.

If you’ve been curious about what my 6-month money coaching program includes, this episode breaks it all down for you. I answer your most common questions about how coaching works, who it’s for, and the real transformations my clients experience.

You’ll learn:

• What’s included in 6-month coaching (bi-weekly calls, daily WhatsApp support, and my full money curriculum)

• Why coaching works for both high earners and folks starting at $50K salaries

• How I help clients crush debt, raise credit scores, and build six figure retirements without needing six figure salaries

• The ripple effect of money coaching—how changing your finances impacts your relationships, business, and future

This episode is for you if you’re ready to stop stressing about money and start building wealth with clarity, confidence, and community.

If you’re still leaving money in Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal like it’s a savings account, this episode is for you.

I sat down with Jessica and Brandon Norwood of The Sugar Daddy Podcast to talk about why Venmo is ghetto, what FDIC insurance really means, and where your cash should actually live if you want it safe and growing.

We cover:

• Why apps like Venmo and Cash App aren’t banks (and aren’t FDIC insured)

• The best places to store cash: Ally, CIT, and Wealthfront high-yield savings accounts

• The DREAM framework for better money convos in relationships

• How to stop the “checking account rodeo” and simplify your money flow

Even if you don’t think you have “enough” to open a high-yield savings account, you’ll learn how small amounts add up, why buckets and automations matter, and how to move from chaos to clarity with your cash.

In this powerful conversation with Gina Moreno, a first-gen Mexican American entrepreneur, content creator, and coach, we talk about what it takes to leave the security of the 9-5 workplace and step into entrepreneurship and visibility and how get paid for your gifts.

Gina shares how she walked away from her six figure job in tech, gave a TED Talk, and built a business that empowers first-gen Latinas and women of color to own their worth, share their stories, and create financial freedom on their own terms.

If you’ve ever wondered how to quit corporate America, make yourself visible as a first-gen entrepreneur, and actually build wealth without burning out, this episode is for you. 

You’ll also hear:

• Why visibility is the biggest act of audacity for first-gen Latinas
  

• How Gina transitioned from her six-figure tech job into full-time entrepreneurship
  

• The mindset shifts first-gen entrepreneurs need to get paid without guilt
  

• Why telling your story is the most powerful tool for building a business
  

• How to charge for your gifts instead of working for free
  

Gina Moreno is a coach, speaker, and content creator dedicated to holding space for first-generation Latine individuals navigating personal growth, healing, and success. With a background in engineering and six years in Big Tech, Gina broke generational cycles by rising from a low-income upbringing to becoming the first in her family to achieve social mobility. Her journey of overcoming barriers and reclaiming her voice now fuels her mission: helping others break through self-doubt, advocate for themselves, and lead lives rooted in purpose.

As the founder of Empowermente Collective and creator of the Next Level Latina Empowerment Circle, Gina supports ambitious first-generation Latinas who are ready to turn their ideas, stories, and unique gifts into impact-driven brands and income streams. Through her group coaching, transformative retreats, and digital content, she helps women move past self-doubt, embrace their visibility, and take bold action to align with a life—and business—that reflects who they truly are.

Gina’s work has been featured on TEDx, Business Insider, NBC, and Univision, and she’s collaborated with organizations like MTV and spoken at Harvard University. With a growing audience of over 95,000 followers, she is passionate about helping others alchemize their lived experiences into power, resilience, and lasting impact.

In this live class and episode of the Unicorn Millionaire podcast, I teach you how to pay off debt without shame—and why selling stock from your taxable brokerage account is often a smarter move than touching your 401(k).

Even if you're debt free, you should stil listen to learn about what it takes to sell stock in the right accounts and without penalties.

If you’re scared to sell stock, think of your investments as “savings,” or you’ve ever asked “should I open a travel card while still in debt?”—this episode is for you.

I share how I used a business credit card to hire my first coach, sold stock to fund my business and early retirement plan, and helped clients pay off 5-figure debt without derailing their long-term goals.

You’ll also hear:

• What to do instead of cashing out your retirement

• How to sell stock without guilt or scarcity

• Why your credit score doesn’t have to be perfect to build wealth

• How my clients—from $50K to $300K incomes—are crushing debt and building six-figure retirement plans

In this instagram live Q&A and episode of the Unicorn Millionaire podcast, @travelercharly breaks down how to use credit cards and debt to retire early, without shame and without sabotaging your future.

Whether you’re sitting on $30K in credit card debt or just anxious about opening a new card, this episode will help you reframe debt as a strategic tool, not a moral failure.

I talk about how I used business credit cards to grow my coaching business, fund investments like my Roth IRA and Solo 401(k), and still pay myself while traveling the world and planning for early retirement.

I also answer live audience questions and share how my clients of all income levels—from $50K to $300K—are crushing debt, healing money wounds, and building six-figure retirement plans.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• Should I open a travel card if I still have debt?
  

• When is it actually worth it to go into credit card debt?
  

• Is it better to use savings or sell stock to pay off coaching or business expenses?
  

• How do I invest while I still owe money?
  

This episode is for you. Listen now and learn how to crush debt while building wealth.

Michelle Sanchez is a first-gen eldest daughter who built six figures in wealth before turning 30—while navigating chronic illness, moving states for her wellbeing, and finally giving herself permission to want more than just survival.

In this episode, I walk you through how my coaching helped Michelle shift from uncertainty to clarity, from saving-only to strategic investing. You'll hear how our work together helped her max out her retirement accounts, centralize her money, and collapse her retirement timeline—all while living with chronic illness and reclaiming joy. She now knows exactly how to grow her money and enjoy it—like treating her sisters to drinks on the beach in Italy, knowing her investments are compounding while she sips.

No one tells you that building wealth can feel lonely, confusing, even grief-filled—especially when you're the first in your family to do it.

In this episode, I unpack the emotional side of money that rarely gets talked about: the loss, the guilt, and the identity shifts that come with earning more, saving more, and stepping into financial leadership as a first-gen, queer, or BIPOC six-figure earner.

You're not broken. You're just the first. And grief is a natural part of the wealth-building process.

Your 401(k) isn't recession-proof — and that's costing you $10k+ a year.

In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly how to recession-proof your 401(k) in 2025 by avoiding the top 3 mistakes I see six-figure earners and $50K+ business owners make every day:

→ Leaving piles of cash sitting there, losing value to inflation
→ Rolling over your old accounts but never actually investing them
→ Trusting overpriced target date funds designed to keep you broke

If you have old 401(k)s you haven’t touched—or you don’t actually know what your money’s invested in—you’re leaking thousands of dollars every single year.

Right now is the best time to recession-proof your money and and grow $100K-$500K more in retirement savings over the next 5-10 years.

In this episode, I have my money coaching client, Telesh, on to talk about her money coaching wins after 6 months of working with me.

As a queer latina, she share her journey of working past feeling nervous to have money conversations, including her initial fear and shame around money, and how working with me helped her kick these feelings to the curb so she could help herself AND her immigrant family members make money moves.

She highlights her progress from being a debt-free business owner to investing in stocks and opening high-yield savings accounts and being confident she has a financial plan.

This episode is a must for anyone who needs to hear about how to have more proactive money converstations within your immigrant family so you're not worried about your parents' and loved ones' financial futures.

Telesh Pascual López is Maya, Kanjobal from Guatemala and migrated to Los Angeles where she grew up. She is a Spanish-English interpreter, facilitator for language justice trainings and consultant. 

Telesh has over 15 years of experience as a community interpreter in grassroots settings. She was one of the co-founders and worker-owner of Caracol Language Cooperative, a small business that provided language services to New York City for almost 10yrs.

Her dedication to language justice was inspired by her years as a volunteer interpreter with domestic worker organizing in New York City. She is a trained trauma informed interpreter and completed a medical interpreter intensive course at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

As a six figure earner, you're worried about the stock market right now. You're worried about losing your money and your job, and you're worried about your investments.

In this episode, I explain how to think about what's going on in the stock market right now so you go from freaking out to feeling empowered during this and every stock market dip that will happen.

I love helping six figure earners twerk their way to early retirement and get on track to making $30k+ in passive income a year through savings and investments.

Whether you're a 9-5 er, a full time business owner, or you know you need to diversify income streams in this economy, this episode is for you. So far this year, I've made $30k in sales in my business, and it's barely March. In February alone, I made $15k in sales.

Listen to this episode to learn about how I'm navigating my mindset and how I'm maxing out my retirement accounts already to set myself up to retire early.

I also share how I've learned from my previous mistakes of overworking myself and burning myself out in my business to create more peace for myself and rest on my wealth building journey.

In this episode, you'll learn how to make more money with less effort. The point of investing is to make your money grow itself passively, and I'm on a mission to get more LGBT/BIPOC six figure earners to help their money work for them so they can retire early.

In this episode, I break down the 3 client types I consistently attract:

1. The Cash Hoarder

2. The Russian Roulette Investor

3. The 85 Year Old Millennial

I share what mistakes you're making when you're any of these and how to fix your investments so that they're growing for you.

In this episode, I'm interviewing my Canadian-Argentinian emotional support buddy and latina badass, Steph Wharton, to talk about how to land paid speaking gigs and build community. Steph is a leadership and visibility coach, who shares how she created the " Whole Damn Vibe" community, which is a free, BIPOC, Neurospicy, and queer online community for creatives and entrepreneurs. Each week we meet online to chat and cowork, and I LOVE IT because I know I'm not the only queer in the room.

Steph emphasize sthe importance of public speaking and visibility, sharing her programs like the 30-day visibility tour and the speaker experience mastermind. Steph highlights the need for entrepreneurs to value their time and expertise, and advocating that we seek out paid speaking engagements.

She also shares her personal experiences and strategies for building a successful speaking career, including the importance of consistent branding and community support.

Steph (she/her/ella) is a Latina Speaker, Coach, and Creator of the Speaker Movement—on a mission to help underrepresented folks confidently embrace their thought leadership and speaker identity to start a movement that creates real change in the world.

Beyond the business, you can find her embracing the small moments in life with a big glass of vino tinto, dancing bachata, and making new memories with her wife and baby boy.

A target date fund (TDF) is an investment portfolio that automatically adjusts to convert more and more to cash the closer it gets to a certain date, like 2040 or 2055.

TDFs are designed to help investors meet their retirement goals, but in this episode, I share why I used to invest in target date funds and got rid of ALL of them.

I share how my experience as a stock broker informs how I work with my money coaching clients and empower them to manage their own investments so they can become financially independent.

Target date funds are actually slowing down your early retirement plan rather than accelerating it.

Naihomy with the good skin is in the house!! Her skin is poppin' because her gut and hormone health are on point and we're sharing how she got there!

In this episode of the Unicorn Millionaire podcast, Naihomy Jerez, a Dominican Integrative Nutrition and Hormone Health Coach, talks about why you need to take care of your hormone health, gut health and how to reverse prediabetes.

Naihomy shares her personal journey of reversing prediabetes and how she teaches women of color to heal their bodies using food and lifestyle changes that honor their cultural identity. 

Charly and Naihomy talk about why everyone, including trans and cis people, need to care about their hormone health. They dive into the emotional and systemic aspects of health transformation.

Learn how understanding hormone health—especially insulin and cortisol—can lead to you to living that healthy, wealthy life. They also highlight the importance of gradual changes, such as reducing sweetened beverages and incorporating fiber-rich foods, as essential steps toward long-term health. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to make meaningful health changes and invest in their wellness for good!

Naihomy Jerez is a Certified Integrative Nutrition and Hormone Health Coach and the podcast host of WELLthy Generation. She is deeply passionate about teaching women of color how to use food and lifestyle to heal their body and balance their hormones.

Naihomy began her own wellness journey after the birth of her second son, shedding 50 pounds without restrictions, maintaining her progress year after year, while honoring her foodie and cultural identity. Motivated by her transformation, she launched her coaching business, driven by a desire to show women in her community that achieving health goals can be fun, simple, and sustainable. Naihomy is a Bronx raised Dominicana, wife, and mother of two, who loves eating good food, going to gym classes and reggaeton concerts.

When you use your high salary to crush your student loans and pay them off in full, your credit score will actually drop! Listen to this episode to understand why this happens and how to grow your credit score while paying off your student loans so that you're not afraid of your credit score dropping.

I'm not another white guy in a suit giving a boring finance talk – I’m a queer, trans, ex stock broker turned money coach here to empower your team - and, let's be real, keep them productive 😈🏳️‍🌈

In this episode, Maribel Francisco, founder of Our Wealth Matters, shares her expertise in empowering immigrant communities through financial education and coaching. Maribel dives deep into the financial challenges faced by ITIN holders and undocumented individuals, sharing tips on building credit, growing savings, and investing for long-term wealth.

She explains the protections of IRS code 6103, which safeguards ITIN holders’ information, and recommends top financial institutions like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade for their ITIN-friendly services. Maribel also emphasizes the importance of high-yield savings accounts and highlights platforms like Bask Bank for securing emergency funds.

Drawing from her own first gen journey , Maribel shares the need for financial literacy, especially within immigrant and Latinx communities, and how understanding the rules of the U.S. financial system lead to financial freedom.

Tune in to learn how to overcome financial barriers, take small but meaningful steps toward wealth, and build a financial legacy for future generations.

Maribel, is founder of @OurWealthMatters AKA Your Favorite Immigrant-Money Coach. She is the daughter of Mexican, indigenous, immigrants. She leverages her first-hand life experience, bilingual capabilities, & knowledge in taxes and corporate finance, to serve USA-based immigrants – because she believes more immigrants need to know they can legally earn, save, and invest their money while in the USA - irrelevant of their immigration status.

She has been featured in The New York Times, Univision, & NerdWallet.

In this episode, we're getting spicy. We're getting political. Listen to how Bernadette Joy Cruz Maulion, a money coach and author, crushed $300k in debt to founding Crush Your Money Goals®.

In 2016, she was faced with so much debt that she couldn't feel like she could make an impact in politics. Now, as a multimillionaire, she used her financial freedom to get involved AF in the 2024 election and educate herself and her audience on what was at stake.

Hear about her impactful work on the Kamala Harris campaign in North Carolina, as well as the hard conversations she had with white women, many of whom were in the closest proximity to white male Trump supporters, and how so many of her clients are deciding to leave their Trumps supporting partners. Bye!

We also talk self-advocacy as a woman of color, especially in the world of publishing, where she fought to have her own image as an Asian woman featured on the cover of her book.

As the 8th child in her father's brood of nine and a first-gen Filipina-American, Bernadette understands those who feel like they missed the money memo.

She's also the CEO of Crush Your Money Goals®, a personal finance training company serving up education with a side of pizzazz. She's featured monthly in Forbes, CNBC, and CNET and appeared on more than 30 podcasts, radio and television shows. 

Now she works 20 hours a week to focus her financial freedom on joy: K-Pop, yoga, karaoke and spoiling her nieces and nephews as their traveling rich auntie.

In this episode, I answer: should you rent or buy a home? It’s not about following the crowd or what society expects—it’s about making the best financial decision for YOU. Many Latinx families see real estate as the only path to building wealth, but is it really?

I break this down and explore smart wealth-building strategies, and show you client examples of how renting is a better choice than buying and vice versa. Tune in to gain clarity on whether homeownership is truly your goal—or just what you've been told you should want.

There are much easier, more passive ways to build wealth than buying a house. Buying a house is a strong move because you can sell it and build equity. I’ll help you gain this clarity in my 1:1 coaching. To get a taste of what it’s like working with me, the next step is to sign up for my class THIS THURSDAY, 12/12. Can't make it? I'll send out a recording.

🚨Class price is going up the closer we get to the 12th—get in before it goes up again AT RANDOM🚨

Listen to this episode to learn how LGBT/BIPOC can use Credit Card Points to Travel the World. I met Rachel at Fincon recently and we talked all about points transfers, which websites to use, credit cards, and simple ways to level up your points game!

Thomas Life is an Affordable Travel Strategist + Planner. Find her on:

Are you ready to join the 800+ credit score club? In this episode, we dive into why boosting your credit score is more urgent than ever—and how to make it happen. Building a strong credit score isn't just about securing loans for a home or car. It's about unlocking financial freedom and creating opportunities in every aspect of life. Here’s what you’ll learn:

How to help loved ones build their credit by adding them as an authorized user

The benefits of lower interest rates on credit cards

Getting approved to rent an apartment with a high credit score

How your personal credit can impact business loans and opening business credit cards

If you’re part of the LGBT or BIPOC community, this episode provides key strategies for overcoming systemic financial barriers and achieving the credit score you deserve. This is what I'm teaching inside of my " How To Financially Prep For a Home" Class on 12/12!!

🚨The Cost of The Class Is Going Up The Closer We Get to The Class Date—Get In Before It Goes Up Again AT RANDOM🚨

Can't make it? I'll send out a recording so lock in your price now. 

In this episode, Charly gives their thoughts on the duality of your net worth being the highest with stocks being up while also grappling with the election results. They also interview financial mentor and scholarship expert Ms. Chika, who shares her insider tips on unlocking scholarships for adults—beyond higher education. Whether you’re looking for funding for conferences, professional development programs, travel opportunities, or skill-building workshops, Ms. Chika reveals how to access these valuable resources. With over $200k in scholarships won and a passion for empowering marginalized communities, Ms. Chika gives actionable advice to help you overcome financial barriers and seize opportunities for growth.

Ms. Chika is a young, Nigerian mentor, coach, and speaker dedicated to providing financial resources and scholarship resources for Gen Z. With her energetic and outgoing personality, she aims to inspire and empower members of marginalized communities to overcome the financial barriers of higher education and young adulthood. Having won over $200k in both academic and professional scholarships while also saving thousands of dollars, Ms. Chika is here to help you with the tools and information you need!