Growing up, money was only whispered about behind closed doors in my immigrant family, so I learned to keep mine close to the chest. I didn't even talk about pay at work. Then I was promoted to Director and found out I was making $120K, $10K below the starting salary for my role.
That's when it hit me: I let this company decide what I was worth, and what my time was worth. As long as I needed that paycheck, they'd keep deciding. I needed FU money.
So I went after it. I stopped hiding from my numbers and found my freedom number. I negotiated and went after higher-paying roles until I'd tripled my $62K starting salary to $200K. I grew an emergency fund into a brokerage account and rental properties, became a millionaire, and reached financial independence at 34.
Today, no company decides what my time is worth. Now I help women build their own version of freedom.