The pandemic forced millions of people into financial uncertainty.
Solidifying her future is why one North Texas mother began investing in the stock market years ago, and now, it’s a family affair to teach others what she's learned.
Linda Garcia and her daughter Elizabeth Ruiz published a children's workbook aimed at teaching kids stock market basics to help families build generational wealth.
"I would blow my money on clothes and shoes. If it was Friday and payday, it’s like what can I spend my money on," said Garcia.
She enjoyed living in the moment, but a persistent colleague convinced her to think beyond payday.
"I feel like it was divine, almost as if he was an angel," she explained. "He would come to my desk every single day, and he would show me his portfolio, he would show me his gains, and he would ask me, 'Have you started investing?' I was terrified."
Fifty dollars felt manageable with her colleague’s guidance, and Garcia began to invest.
She quickly made bigger moves, and the returns on her investments did so well, she started sharing her secrets in a stock market course.
"One of the biggest topics that we discuss in the course is generational wealth and how to normalize the money conversations," says Garcia.
Garcia started those conversations with her own children.
"Immigrants, children of immigrants, we also have a scarcity mentality. It’s hard for us to let go of money. We see money for face value. We must start looking at it for what it can potentially become," Garcia said.
There’s no set dollar amount you need to invest— Garcia says you don’t have to be good at math, just find a company you believe in and start.
"The fear, we tackle that fear portion of investing," she explained.
Garcia’s daughter Elizabeth Ruiz took the course and followed her mom’s advice.
"I brought it up to some of my friends when the pandemic started. We went on a journey together and started investing together. We just say friends who invest together, stay together," said Ruiz.
Ruiz is ahead of most people her own age, but she still felt like she was playing catch-up. So she came up with a way to help others get a head start.
"It came out of nowhere, and it was an idea that I needed to bring to life, especially for our community," Ruiz explained.
Stock market skills for kids! The women collaborated to create "My Stock Market Workbook," an 82-page workbook with general stock market rules and knowledge with a variety of activities.
"It’s not just a learning experience for the child and normalizing it in their life, but it’s also a learning experience for the parents," Ruiz explained.
The workbook applies Garcia’s course methods using Ruiz’s expertise as a former Montessori teacher.
"One of our principles is practical life. This should be applied to practical life because this is something that we need to know about," Ruiz said. "It’s very basic, just language and math skills incorporated in the book."
"It shocks me, and there’s a part of it that enrages me that we don’t have this type of exposure, especially in communities with financial illiteracy. With that rage, and gratitude that I had for my investments, it was like a mission, like a calling," Garcia explained.
A calling to help people tap into their personal financial power.
"Once people start to enter this arena, is what I like to call it, where some of the most powerful hands in the entire world congregate, there’s a space for you enter. That’s what you should do, is just enter," Garcia said.
You can find Garcia’s course, "Wealth Rules Everything Around Me," at InLuzWeTrust.com
The "My Stock Market Workbook" is available on Amazon and will also be available soon at growwithcolor.com. You can also follow along on Instagram.