To my husband and life partner, John, for your endless love and support. Thank you for listening to my ideas, volunteering to read drafts, offering suggestions, and for being a source of comfort and calm through this book‐writing journey. Thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me. I could not have done this without you.

To my parents, Mercedes and Arnold, for your unconditional love. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to ensure that I receive the best education possible. Mom, thank you for teaching me to always lead with love and kindness. Dad, thank you for the strong work ethic you have instilled in me. I could not have asked for better parents.

To my sisters, Rosemary and Susan, for being the best sisters and cheerleaders I could ask for. Our daily texts comfort me, encourage me, make me laugh, and serve as an overall sounding board for basically every life decision that I make. I am blessed to have you both as the role models that have helped shape me into the woman I am today.

To my brothers‐in‐law, Freddy and Tom, for enthusiastically supporting my pursuits. Thank you for celebrating the milestones with me, listening, and being a great source of humor and wisdom.

To my nephew and niece, Miles and Mya, for bringing so much joy to our family. Being your tía is one of the greatest honors of my life. You both have added to my “why” for financial freedom.

To my best friends, Matilde, Yovanna, and Ariel, for exemplifying the meaning of friendship. Thank you for being there for me since high school—through the ups and downs, through the major and small moments. Thank you for always supporting my endeavors—no matter how far‐fetched they may be.

To my family, friends, teachers, professors, and mentors, thank you for your encouraging messages of support throughout this journey. Thank you for always being willing to share links, engage with my content, and provide feedback so that I could make my platform the best it can be.

To the Wiley publishing team, specifically Sheck, Carla, Susan, and Sam, for believing in my vision for this book and helping make it a reality.

To the personal finance community for all your support these past few years. A special thank you to my friends and interviewees Brittany, Carmen, Cinneah, Delyanne, Jannese, Marc, Melissa, Nika, Soledad, and Yanely for sharing your stories and words of wisdom.

Finally, to my ZBB Fam, thank you. Thank you for rooting for me as I was tackling my mountain of debt, celebrating with me when I became debt‐free, and for allowing me to continue to share my journey. Your support has allowed me to promote financial literacy in ways that I never thought possible, including through writing and publishing this book.