Like a lot the first generation Americans and college students Giovanna Gonzalez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to California in the 1990s, thought she had “done everything right” by attending college, choosing a practical major in economics and settling in a office work. She was earning more money than her parents ever had but with none of the tools to manage it, her twenties were “chaotic,” a cycle of “bad roommates” and “toxic workplaces“She couldn't escape as she was living paycheck to paycheck.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of First Gen Mentor}

In the midst of the turmoil, Gonzalez had an epiphany: I can continue to live like this, but this is not what my parents want for me. They want better. So she began to teach herself financial knowledgereading more than 50 personal finance books and listening to countless podcasts until she gained confidence in her ability to create a financial plan that would help her pay off $50,000 in student and car loan debt and start building her saving.