Viva la Mami - Latina Motherhood, Modern Parenting, Latina Well-Being

139. How to Build Generational Wealth Without Sacrificing Your Dreams with Jannese Torres

• Jessica Cuevas • Season 5 • Episode 139

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This week, we welcome Jannese Torres, host of the Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast and author of Financially Lit, and we got REAL about motherhood, money, and breaking generational cycles.

For years, Jannese believed that motherhood was incompatible with financial freedom, watching her own mother sacrifice everything. Now, as a new mami, she's completely rewriting what it means to be a Latina mother while building generational wealth for her daughter.

This conversation is for every mamá who's tired of giving from an empty cup and ready to model abundance instead of sacrifice.

For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode139

What You'll Hear:

  • Why Jannese believed for years that having kids meant giving up financial freedom
  • How her daughter already has a five-figure net worth
  • The truth about why motherhood feels so overwhelming in America
  • How to set boundaries as a Latina mom even when it pisses off your family
  • The difference between raising hard workers vs. wealth builders, and why ownership is where real power comes from

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Jannese Torres:

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jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I didn't realize how powerfully it was gonna change me. And if I have to think of like the best part of it, so far, motherhood has given me the permission to be like so unrelenting about my boundaries in a way that like I just didn't have the confidence back in the day, like when I didn't have another. Little person that I had to advocate for. It was just much easier for me to let people like walk all over me and give me their unsolicited opinions and have all this influence on my life. And now I'm kind of just like, nah, I'm sorry. Like I didn't ask for that shit. I didn't, I didn't want that. I'm not doing that. Thanks. No thanks. Sorry, not sorry. And it's just like, I don't know, something about motherhood has just like turned the switch on for me that I'm just like. If it's not bringing peace to these four walls and what goes on inside of here, I'm just not entertaining it because I have way too much going on and there's way too much at stake for me to have any disturbance in my ecosystem at this point.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mamiga, welcome to another episode of the Viva la Mami podcast. Y'all, I am so excited to have, would say this is like the honorable guest of the year and that is la. Torres it's such a privilege to have you here, Jannese, just because have been so impactful in my growth as an entrepreneur. When I first started I was like, I'm going to dedicate my dollars towards badass women and especially women of color and Latinas, and I found you and I enrolled in one of your very first like cohorts within the Blogger Bootcamp, and I am just very excited for you to be here because. There's a lot that I wanna uncover as you're in this new season of life as a mommy. there's a lot that, you know, I hope that my listeners get to hear more about on that side, especially when it comes to reclaiming our kura. In building generational wealth. And so Jannese, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Well, thank you so much for having me. It, this is a full circle moment because I remember when you were just thinking about this podcast and I was like, girl, yes, we need these platforms. We need these conversations. And so I'm definitely inspired by the work that you do, especially now. Being a new mom and just realizing like this whole other identity that now I've had to kind of figure out how do I adopt this and honor my ancestors and legacy, but also create this new path. And that's exactly what you're doing here on this show. So thank you for the work that you do and, um, thank you for having me. So I am, uh, I guess a serial entrepreneur, a multihyphenate person who's passionate about a lot of different things. And that has manifested itself in a over decade long career as a content creator in different spaces. I started in the food space. As a food blogger and was bitten by the personal finance bug a couple of years after that and, um, got obsessed with podcasts and, you know, teaching people about money and it's been just like a wild ride of. What I, what I realized is like if I look at the overarching theme of like everything that I've done as a creator, it's finding ways to get back to my roots, right? So I'm a first generation, um, college graduate. My parents are from Puerto Rico. They were born and raised on the islands and came to the mainland US in the 1980s. I'm the eldest daughter. Um, the first to go to college, the first woman in my family to make six figures. The first woman to live alone without a man move out of their parents' house, right? Like so many firsts. Um, first woman to get a divorce, know. Um, and I'm probably like one of the oldest women to like get, uh, have a baby and become a mom. Like I became a mom at 39, which is like. You know, unheard of in our culture is like, oh my God, that's, that's what like, you know, once you're 25, if you don't have kids, there's like something wrong with you. Right. So

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I consider like my experience to be one that has been a lot of like firsts and a lot of charting my own path and. Almost being in a way, like inspired by what I didn't wanna become in a lot of ways, just by the example I saw of what motherhood and, and womanhood looks like in our community, which is a lot of sacrifice, a lot of giving up on your dreams, a lot of defaulting your financial security to men like that. That shit was just never my vibe, you know? And from a young age I was like, I'm gonna make my own money. I'm gonna do what I want. I'm gonna carve out this space in the world. And it's been a very non-linear path, but I think it, it has all culminated now to this point where I'm really experiencing, uh, the world in a completely different way, becoming a mom and balancing that with entrepreneurship, with expectations of a first gen eldest daughter. Uh, there's, there's.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes. Yeah, I mean, just like the multitude of identities that we all carry, you know, and, and like you said, it, it's not necessarily a linear path in the way that our parents expected us to follow. It's like we, we try something out and if it doesn't work, we. Somewhat in, in that kind of trauma response. We things differently

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

think it's because we know that we don't wanna, you know, continue on with the cycle. We wanna just break those cycles of trauma, those generational curses that we grew up seeing and knowing. it's not necessarily like forgetting. Our roots necessarily, right? It's like we have that opportunity as Latinas, like second generation or first generation, that we are able to leverage this, um, duality, uh, you know, as Latinas and who are growing up in, in a different country than the way that our parents grew

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And I think that that is so important, you know, and especially when we think about our children, how can we break those cycles so that they can kind of start. A fresh slate. Right? And that is ultimately my goal, at least as a mom. It's like, okay, I, I guess I'm doing the heavy work right now so that my kids wouldn't have to experience this later on,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

It's so true. I like to think that the sacrifices that our elders made to give us all these privileges to, you know, pursue the careers, to do things differently. I think it's almost like a duty for us to not. Stay in that survival mode because I do honestly feel like they survived in order to give us the opportunity to thrive. And so it's almost like we have a responsibility to live our fullest potential because so many of those hopes and dreams were given up by the choices that they made to give us access to a better life here.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

how empowering it is to. in this position, for you now that you are a mommy so I met you literally a year ago maybe when you came to Chicago for your book

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yes.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

I don't know if you knew that you were pregnant at that time, but I'm like,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I knew girl. It was a big old secret. It was the biggest secret of the year.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

I knew something was going on.'cause I'm like, okay, I know Jannese is like very, you know, timid, you know, she's like low key and I respect that. But I was like, I don't know if my mommy vibe, I kind of like

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Spidey senses.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

over to yours. Yeah. Like my mommy senses. Yeah. Like I was like, something's going on. And then you announced and I was like, oh my gosh. By the way, your book is amazing, and for those of you who haven't heard of her book Financially Lit, it is honestly one of the best, like true, honest, like real, uh, books that I've read in the world of finance, and especially because it literally speaks our language and the fact that not only is it easy to understand you. Also talk about your story and your background and like what really influenced you to the person that you are. And one of the things that really hit me hard was when you saw your mom sacrifice a lot. So, how have you healed from. The sacrifices that your mom made. And what would you tell the mamas who are listening here who are stuck in that mindset? Um, what, what can you, what can you

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Oh man. You know it, it's funny because when I tell the story in the book about my kind of trauma around motherhood and that I saw that this was incompatible essentially with financial freedom and independence, I really saw motherhood as like the biggest barrier to my financial freedom. And

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

part of that is because I. Literally did not see any examples of that growing up. You know, the women in my family, from my mother to my grandmother, my great-grandmother and beyond were all at the whim of a man, like financially, right? My father is a, an amazing father. Um, and he provided for us, but I also knew that like he was the one who was pulling the financial reins and like, you know, God forbid if he were ever to leave, um, I knew what that would mean, you know, financially for my mom. She actually only was able to work full-time after I got my license in high school and was able to drive my sister to school, you know, so she gave up decades of full-time salaries of benefits, 401k insurance, you know, and just because that was the only option, she didn't have a support system. All of the family was still in Puerto Rico. So you know, she relied on, um. Uh, you know, kind of piecemeal childcare situation where you got a babysitter that's coming to pick us up from school. You're working part-time so that your hours are flexible. And that came with a lot of financial sacrifice. And so I was convinced that for the longest time, I, if I wanted to be financially free, if I wanted to, you know, be work optional, retire early, live my best life, then kids were just not gonna be a part of that equation. And so. I was a hardcore, like child-free, uh, you know, membership subscriber for a very long time. And, um, it really took a lot of like personal development work, including therapy, including like digging into that, that shadow work that really unveils like why you have these feelings about, you know, certain topics. And for me it was definitely motherhood. What I've come to realize is now being on the other side of it, is that subconsciously I'd been doing all these things like, you know, paying off debt, saving and investing, and building income streams and pursuing entrepreneurship. I. And I'm actually getting to experience the benefit in real time of taking all of those really deliberate decisions because now I've created this life that really affords me the ability to be a fully present mom that didn't have to worry about, oh shit, I have to go back to work after six weeks because my maternity leave expires. Or. Um, I have to reduce my hours at work because I can't do this anymore. You know? Or God forbid, getting fired from a job, which I've talked to so many women who have gotten laid off while they're pregnant, while they're on maternity leave. Like it's a real thing. You know, pregnancy discrimination, although it's illegal, it still happens all the time. Um, you know, I am able to have in-home help like a nanny and a night nurse and, uh, just have. Support, you know, that I pay for a lot of money, but, um, I've come to the realization that at the core of it, the reason why motherhood is such a stressful, all consuming, life altering thing for most women is because they literally are not properly resourced. Especially in America where we love having pregnant people here making babies. But God forbid, once the baby's out, there's literally nothing to help you. There is no support. There is no paid maternity leave. There is nothing. And so the key to actually enjoying this journey. I'm sorry to say, but in our capitalist society is having money because money gives you access to support, to resources, to time to space, and I'm getting to experience that and I want more women to understand that like financial freedom is even more important when motherhood is a real thing that you wanna pursue because it's gonna make or break your experience 1000%.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes, absolutely. And this is so powerful because you admitted it that at first you didn't wanna become a mom, and that was because you haven't yet healed from those traumas. And seeing your mom sacrifice fully, uh, so that you, you and your sister can be, you know, fed and taken care of and everything, and. I think that that often happens a lot, especially with, uh, women who are older, right? Who are educated, and I think that they are still sort of responding to

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And, and I, I understand that and I think that's, uh, great that they're making that decision, but you really have to look really within, like delve deep and it's like, okay, do you not wanna have kids because you definitely don't want to? Or is it because you haven't healed

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And. either way, you know, there's no shame or nothing related to that, whether if you wanna be a mom or not. But I think it does take a lot of the heavy work, and again, we're talking a lot about doing a lot of work for our children, right. Or the, the next generation. And that is part of that healing process in terms of, okay, well is this more of a trauma response or is this like. Definitely, I don't wanna have kids or whatever decisions you make, right? I, I think that's really how we essentially make those types of choices and decisions, um, as we move on in life. But as far as with you becoming a mommy, how did it change you your approach to building wealth and just in general? I'm curious, Jannese.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

This has been an existential journey. Well, first like, let me just say that my mind was ultimately changed by two different. Kind of life events. One was leaving my first marriage. So it's funny because like inherently from like. Very early on in that relationship, I just knew, like at my core that he would not be a good father. And so I think like my brain just shut off the idea of like, ever reproducing with this man, which I'm like thinking back to. I'm like, why the hell I marry him if like, I was thinking that. But you know, you're in college, college sweethearts, you're, you have no life experience. You have no idea like what this person is gonna evolve into. And so. After a long, you know, 16 year relationship, nine year marriage, I said, I'm done. I gotta be outta here. And if you wanna hear the juicy details of that, you can definitely check out my book. Um, but when I met my now husband, it was like, I don't wanna be a mom. I want to have his child. It's like some women just wanna become moms some, and for me that was not it. It was like, I'm gonna become a mother if I find the person that like makes me wanna become a mom. And I felt that with him like very early on. You know, it's like I wanna have your baby. I. Just any baby, you know? So that was number one. That was like a key. I'm like, I don't even understand this feeling as I didn't even know that's a thing. And then I've talked to like so many people on social media and they're like, yes girl, this is absolutely a thing. This is like a biological response. You know? It's like back to like when we're cave men and women, like you just saw like the strongest man, right? Or like, whatever. That's just how biologically it worked for me. But then secondly, um, I had a health scare that would have potentially like impacted my ability to get pregnant. And the doctor was basically like, if you have this procedure, you probably become infertile. If you wait to have this procedure, you can try to have a child. And at that point, you know, I'm turning 39 and I'm like. This window is very rapidly closing and like being faced with that decision of never becoming a mom, like I wasn't okay with that at that point. It's almost like the, the choice had to be staring me in the face and it's like, girl, what are we gonna do? And so I talked to my partner and I'm like, I wanna have a baby. And he's like. Okay, let's do it. So, you know, we start tracking, uh, ovulation cycles and planning things out and, uh, I get pregnant like two weeks before I go on the book tour. And everybody

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

my

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

girl. Like I was literally, I found out I was pregnant like on my birthday, my 39th birthday. But I didn't even tell nobody, you know, and my mom didn't, didn't know, my sister didn't know. Nobody knew. And so I did this like 15 city book tour, secretly pregnant, exhausting. The first trimester is insane, and so I do not recommend planning a book tour during your first trimester. I'm just gonna put that out there, but it was insane.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Oh my gosh.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

So.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

That's wild. Woo girl. Yeah. Well, I hope that you didn't feel isolated because that's the worst

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

No, I honestly, it was like I was keeping it very close to the chest because, you know, obviously at an advanced maternal age, you know, I'm a geriatric mother. Um, I just wanted to make sure that like, everything was good. So I felt like it was almost like a little superstitious part of me that's like, I'm gonna keep this to myself. Um, and, and then let everybody know, like when everything is all clear. So, um. It was, it was a very intentional decision influenced by those life events and like how it's changed me. I mean, how is it not, you know, I'm just like,

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I don't even remember my life before motherhood, which is crazy because my daughter's only like five months old. I. But I literally feel like I had the men in black like stick waved in front of my face and like all prior memories have just disappeared. I'm like, who? Who was she? I'm sure she did some cool shit. I gotta go back and look at Facebook pictures and stuff to remember what my life was like. But it's just been such an incredibly powerful journey in like personal development, which I. I knew it was gonna change me, but I didn't realize how powerfully it was gonna change me. And if I have to think of like the best part of it, so far, motherhood has given me the permission to be like so unrelenting about my boundaries in a way that like I just didn't have the confidence back in the day, like when I didn't have another. Little person that I had to advocate for. It was just much easier for me to let people like walk all over me and give me their unsolicited opinions and have all this influence on my life. And now I'm kind of just like, nah, I'm sorry. Like I didn't ask for that shit. I didn't, I didn't want that. I'm not doing that. Thanks. No thanks. Sorry, not sorry. And it's just like, I don't know, something about motherhood has just like turned the switch on for me that I'm just like. If it's not bringing peace to these four walls and what goes on inside of here, I'm just not entertaining it because I have way too much going on and there's way too much at stake for me to have any disturbance in my ecosystem at this point.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes, you're being Mama

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

That's it.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

are being

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

And there's a lot more people that do not like me that got, you know, their feelings hurt because of decisions that I've made in pregnancy. My boundaries, what I was allowing people to do, say, you know, insert themselves into, and I'm so okay with like, people being pissed off at me in a way that like, I was just way more sensitive back in the day. I just don't give a shit anymore. I don't care.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yeah. No, no. And I think it's because, you know, we are, we, we do have this new identity, you know, we, it, it's pretty cool that we are in this position of leadership when we can actually like be the dictators. Is that a word? Can we

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yes, ma'am. Yeah. I am running the show. This is not a democracy, okay? Not in my house.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes, exactly. Amen. Amen. And and, and I know that that is so anti culture.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Oh God.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

what would you say to that?

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

You know? Okay. First of all, we need to just like throw out, because it doesn't literally does not matter what you do, somebody's gonna be pissed off. Okay?

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Oh,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I mean, I've gotten into shit with my family about what my daughter's last name is gonna be. Uh, how many people are gonna be at the hospital? Is she getting vaccinated? All this stuff. And I'm just like, y'all, this is none your damn business, okay? This is literally none of your damn business.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

not ask you permission to have a child, so I will not be asking you permission on how to raise my child. Okay? We're grown. I, I'm not a teen mother. We're not gonna act like I need, you know, mommy raising my child. Like, we're not doing that. So it's, for me, I'm just like. I, I just can't care. I cannot put energy towards these things, and I, I need people to understand that like the only way that you're gonna be respected is if you respect yourself. And like the ultimate form of self-respect is having fucking boundaries. You can't be letting people treat you like a child when you are a whole grown ass woman with a whole grown ass child, like a whole human. You know, so I think it's just you need to separate the, the parental child relationship that is very often, um, blurred in Latino households. Um, there needs to be a clear definition of like, Hey guys, I'm a, I'm a grown ass adult here, and if and when I need your support and help, it will be explicitly asked for. But until then, I'm gonna need y'all to know your role. You know, and sometimes it's gonna have to require you to like decide who is allowed in the circle and who is not, and who gets one information and who doesn't. Uh, and also having that same level of, um, you know, cohesiveness too with your partner so that you guys are presenting a united front because there's nothing worse than like, you know, you're trying to do one thing here. They might be undermining because they don't even know, you know? Um, you have to be a united front for sure. If you're in a partnered relationship as parents.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Hmm. I love it. Thank you for that. I, and I think this serves as a reminder, it is really hard to set boundaries, but we really have to look at the root of it, right? It's, it's your fla Mamily unit, no one else. And I know it's hard to break from that, but again, when it comes to like leveraging our identity within these two worlds, I think that is an asset and it is needed specifically. that we can break from, you know, just like that mentality of like,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

and all of that. And we, we can create our own version of motherhood in whichever way we want. But if we wanna stick to it, then the, this is when you do have to set boundaries and even boundaries for ourselves. Like that's definitely a big thing that I learned, that it's not just like the people that I'm interacting with, but it's also like, how can I set my own boundaries and that it's trying to like. overwork myself or not, like overdoing it and mothering all the time. It is okay to let go and, and remove myself from my children, you know? And, and I think that that oftentimes doesn't let us, because of the society, what society expects from us, what our Cultura expects from us. You know, all of these different. Essentially that have been built, as women, as Latinas, as mamas, like all of these multi multifaceted identities, you know, that often, yes, it's hard to break from, but we have to do the self-reflection and ultimately that can impact us on having that self love that we deserve as

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah, I totally agree. And at the end of the day, like we are first generation cycle breakers. You know, oftentimes where many of us have experienced things that we know we don't wanna replicate in our own children's lives. And just like acknowledging that whatever happened in the past is like. There's obviously layers to it, and you have to have compassion for your caretakers and understand where they came from and what their lived experience was and all of that. Um, but you can also have like this dual reality where yeah, they did the best they could, but that's not good enough for me. You know? And like, I'm gonna do things differently and that's okay. You know? Um, there's plenty of things that I'm like, I know I will not be like replicating as far as my childhood. But there's also beautiful things that I definitely want to, um, you know, in inspire my child with. And so it's like taking the full experience and just like dissecting it to understand why, what happened, what I loved, what I didn't, what I wanna pass on, what I don't, and understanding that, um. You know, all you we can do at the end of the day is like the best that we can. And so much of what that means is like becoming the best versions of ourselves so that we're not parenting from a place of like, you know, of struggle and survival, that we're actually parenting from a place of abundance and like emotional intelligence. And, um, we can, we can really like. Have a holistic impact on our kids from a, a parental perspective versus just like keeping food on the table. You know? It's, there's so much more to being a good parent.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes, yes. Or what are the latest gadgets, you know, for the

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

you know, a lot of those like ma materialistic things that often impede us from like being present and fully there with our kids because we're trying to compare ourselves with other moms.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

At the end of the day, again, it's like what you want, like what type of version of motherhood do you want? And and I love that you brought that, with us being first generation or second generation, we're able to pick and choose what we wanna repeat and other things that can't just. Go like out the door. It's not even here within our

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

absolutely.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

uh, I love it. Well, Ana, which she is adorable by the

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Thank you.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

How are you teaching her right now at this day and age? She's only a couple months old of life. How are you teaching her about financial wellness

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

man.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And in general for the maas listening, how can we teach our children money and break from those generational traumas,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I think that our biggest responsibility as parents is to make sure that we are not, uh, doing what most often our generation is dealing with, which is basically, I. Having kids as the expectation that they're gonna be your caretaker and fund your life when you're old. Okay.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

literally like that's one of the things that our community always tells women like, and I'm just like my money, like I'm not trying to have my daughter have to worry about paying my bills when I'm old, like. What the hell am I doing? What kind of responsible human am I being if I know better? Right? Like if you didn't know better. Obviously generations before us didn't have the financial means to like open Roth IRAs and do all the things that we now can do. Um, but knowing better, I better do better. So like that's, that's the message number one. Like your kids are definitely not here to be taking care of your ass. I'm sorry, parents, but that is not their job. And if we really want our kids to be able to live their most fully expressed versions of their lives, they cannot be burdened by having to worry about Mommy and Poppy. That's not fair to them. They didn't choose that responsibility, and we have a responsibility to not put that on them. So that's number one. Um, number two, like I was thinking about this before she was born. Like my daughter's had investment accounts since before she set foot on planet Earth. Okay. And I just knew that that obviously that's gonna be a thing. I'm a financial educator, but at the end of the day, like I understand the impact of making these decisions now, um, because I know she's never gonna have to worry about money in this the way that I had to. Right. She's gonna be able to. Go to whatever college she wants to, she's gonna be able to travel, you know, then do semesters abroad or get her first car when she turns 16, or buy her first house. Like I want her to have all the options to do the things that she wants to do. And the sooner that you start planning for that future that you want for your child, um, the better. So. My daughter at five months old has almost a five figure net worth at this point, which I'm just like, honey, I wish I was you. Okay. She's got a 5 29 plan for college. She's got a Roth IRA because she's actually an employee in my business, so she can contributes to her retirement already at five months old. Um, she has an investment brokerage account, which she can use to, you know. Take a down payment for her car or for her house. Um, she has a, an HSA account, so a high yield savings account for worth putting money in there for. You know, in the future when, let's say she wants to take dance lessons or gymnastics or whatever, buy, uh, mommy and Poppy a Christmas gift, like she has her own little bank account. Um, and so that's, that's what we're doing. Like she is part of our budget. You know, building wealth for her is part of our budget. We set aside money every time we get paid and it's automatically being transferred into her account and she is building wealth right along with the rest of us. And so, you know, I think that is, um, that's. Probably the most powerful thing you can do as a parent is just literally the dollars go so much further, especially the sooner that you start, you know, I can invest. Um, I did the calculation recently and I, I shared this on social media. If I were to take, I think it was like$7,000 and invest it in a traditional, diversified retirement portfolio and just let it sit there, that account's gonna morph into hundreds of thousands of dollars with just growth by the time that she's 18 years old. So it's like that seven grand can then end up becoming a fund big enough to like pay for her four year university, like if she wants to go to Harvard or some shit, right? And so just understanding the power of wealth building and compound interest in the stock market and these tools that literally have been around for centuries and that.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

mm-hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

people have been using to create generational wealth for their kids forever. Like we have access to the exact same tools. What we haven't had access to is equity in the financial literacy space. But now, you know, thanks to creators like myself and others who are opening up the conversation, who are diversifying the conversation and the language of money, uh, we have the same opportunities too. And so that is my. Mission that has been like double down on since I became a parent because this is how we shift the narrative, right? When we are not continuously having to build from scratch with each generation, but when we really are doing better than the last, I mean, that's how shit changes for real, for real.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Uh, I love it. I love it. And I love that you, you have been so transparent in your journey. You know, from the time that you announced it in social media that you are going to become a mommy till now. And I think it really is sparking that. I, I would say like that curiosity on, especially people like us, that we didn't grow up really knowing how to navigate money and how to build wealth. And I think if we are able to, if we are able to like save money and set money aside and put that into accounts that really can build this generational wealth for our children, like. Mohi, you're already helping make an impact in our community. And I think that it's, it's something that we definitely need to share and talk more about because otherwise, like no one's gonna

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And that's how the rich are gonna get

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And you know, our community's just gonna suffer

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

It is true. I never learned about any of this stuff, you know, and so that's why I feel like at, at the point where you become aware is the poor way when you have to start taking action because that's when things actually start to happen.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And you mentioned how you are modeling a life of abundance, and I really wanna tap into that because as we are raising children, I think that it's important to take care of ourselves, right? To live this abundance mindset. know that it's really hard to break from that mindset. When we grew up, seeing our parents struggling or our parents out of survival. You know, you, they can barely treat themselves to something. And so now that you're a mama, ma, and obviously you're in a different position, right? Because I mean. have created such a successful business and actually multiple businesses now, but with the people that you often interact with how can we break that mindset so that we wouldn't think that we are being selfish if we do wanna have this level of like abundance mindset or, you know, taking care of ourselves through self

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

would you say to that?

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

You know, I think it's important to remember like what the sacrifice and what struggle looks like, because I think most of us can relate to either, you know, your mom is definitely, you know, an example of sacrifice for a lot of people. Like when you think back to how your mother was typically as a Latina mother, she like put herself last. You know, and it's even with like stupid things. Like I, you know, she has to serve your father first. She can't eat first.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

that.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I mean, like, that shit triggers me because I'm just like, first of all. I eat before my child eats. Okay? Because I need to be fed so that I'm not out here like, you know, snacking on a half eaten sandwich because I just didn't, you know, give myself 15 minutes to have like a hot meal. Like that's not coming from a place where I'm gonna be like my best self. And so I always have to remind myself that like if I'm giving from the empty cup, that's like scraps and my child deserves more than that, right? Like. I deserve more than that. But especially her, you know, she didn't ask to be here. And so like, who am I to just be giving her the leftovers that is, that's just fundamentally like not aligned with who I want to be as a parent. And so, you know, I have done things that I know I began side eyes for in my family. Like I have a nanny, even though my husband is a full-time stay at home, husband and father, and. I have a work from home business. Right? So you would think like, but you guys are home. Like, why do you need a nanny? And I'm like, have you raised a child? It's a 25 8 fucking job. Okay. And having to hand off responsibilities all day, every day between the two of us, that means nobody gets a break really. You know, because we are still a couple that needs to nurture our marriage. And be good parents and have time to sleep and want to eat healthy food and take care of our bodies. And maybe just do like some recreational things like, you know, maybe I wanna take a Zumba class, or maybe my husband wants a workout in the gym. Like, there's nothing wrong with wanting to do things for yourself. It's almost like there's this ingrained mentality, especially in our culture, that like once you have kids, like you don't matter anymore. And I think that's such a terrible example to set, especially for our daughters. Like,

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

what ma'am? I want my daughter to like know that you actually don't need a man in this world, honey, if you decide to settle down with a man or whoever else, like. It's not because he's providing you with financial security. It's not because he is putting a roof over your head. It's because he's a good person that you wanna build a life with. Right? And so I think just the narrative of like who we wanna be as women and mothers and all of that has evolved so much because of the access that we have now to financial resources and you know, being in careers and education and all these things like women are glowing the hell up. And I think like society is still kind of reconciling, like what that means, right? And for a lot of people, they've had to understand that like, this is just a new era, you know, that we're not out here, barefooting pregnant in the kitchen like we are out here building whole ass businesses, retiring our partners, uh, having multiple real estate properties owning, uh, you know. Entities like I have, I have intellectual property. Like what? You know, it's, it's crazy. Like the things that women are doing. And so I think it's just, we're in a new space. We're in a new era. And, um, I get, I am so excited from like my daughter to get older and like to start taking her on business trips to like just see what mom does right. And just be like, holy shit. Like. My mom's in these like really cool rooms with like really cool people and doing really cool shit. Right. Um, I think that is like the, the example that I wanna share with her more than anything is that, yeah, we can do whatever the hell we want. And you have to believe that for yourself as a, as a mom, especially because you are the first example of like, what's possible. Especially, especially for your daughter too.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And I think it's very important for us to break away from like that. So like that sacrificial mommy image. I don't think that you, you are not causing any harm if you are taking care of yourself

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

No, you're actually being like, if you're coming from a place of resentment because you're so depleted, like trust and believe that your kids can feel that shit. Because I remember when my mother was like, you know, burning the candle on both ends was annoyed at the slightest thing, was not the nicest person. And all of that was coming from just a place of pure depletion, right? So like if we don't wanna be remembered as, oh, mama's such a bitch like y'all, you have to like.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yeah.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

fight against that being the thing that your child remembers, and that starts with actually taking care of your damn self.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

I couldn't agree anymore. And I think that there are ways to start small and then make this be a part of a habit and then this can be something that even your kids will see and they will learn how to take care of themselves too. So. In regards to this whole ass conversation about how we can, break those generational curses, that is a form of like building this new era, like you're saying, uh, in terms of how we can really put ourselves

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

without any shame or guilt. And our kids will literally model after that. And I think that's wonderful. And especially as women, you know, I, I too come from. A household of a bunch of jeris. You know, I have two sisters, my mom has four sisters. I mean, it's like female dominated. And I, low key, always wanted to have boys because I'm like, we gotta break this. This is too, too much estrogen going on. Like, mm. our women, the women in my fla Mamily are super strong-willed and we're like, okay, we, we need some men

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

But still, even, even watching that, right? Like growing up with all of these amazing badass. We still. I would say that the women in my fla Mamily still struggle and I'm like, no, we need to take care of ourselves. Dang it. Like we need to put ourselves first in order for us to, you know, be content and present with our fla Mamilies, but also within us to really get to delve deep and understanding like, okay, how am I checking in on myself? How am I doing? How am I

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

without thinking about, oh my gosh, how is this person going to handle that situation? Or whatever, you know? Because as Latinas we tend to do that a lot, and it's like, no. Like literally that model of like putting the oxygen mask first. Like we need to literally

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

and that way everyone else will essentially take care of themselves, but the priority should be us. And so,

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I think that's why spaces like this are so important too, because I think oftentimes when women feel like isolated in this journey, it's because they don't have a safe space. They don't have a safe community where they can really just talk about how they're feeling, what they need without like feelings of judgment. I. Because the last thing that you wanna do is like maybe talk to the judgmental tia who's like, girl, what are you complaining about? Your husband makes a bunch of money, you know, blah, blah blah. And it's like, that's fine. I'm still exhausted. Like, you know what I'm saying? So it's important to like curate your space. I think especially as a mother, I. And unfortunately what I found is that like not all mother spaces are created equally. Y'all, there's a lot of like toxic shit out here on the internet. There's a lot of weird conversations happening. You know, I mean, I had like very toxic thread, um, where I was just like, something that people don't tell you about, like motherhood is like breastfeeding is fucking. Generally terrible. It's like it sucks. Like it's not fun. Um, sure. A lot of people do it because they want to do it right. And because of the health benefits and all these things. It's one of those things that I tried it, I did not love it. And I was like, you know what? I'm not gonna like ruin my mental health over this. Like, there are more important things my daughter just needs to be fed and, and however that happens is how it's gonna happen. And my God, some of these like die hard. You're a lazy mother because you didn't try harder to breastfeed, you know? And I'm just like, yo. Some we can be the fucking worst to ourselves. Like other mothers can be some of the most judgmental, terrible, toxic people on the internet. So I think it's very important to like curate your space so that you're not getting fed all this fucking toxicity because it is very, very easy to feel like shit as a mom when you are taking in this type of content.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

What I find so interesting about that, and thank you for sharing that. I think, I just don't understand why moms are saying this. I don't understand when they know they struggled. And I

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

patriarchy.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

they're just horrible people. Like maybe their lies aren't like. 100% like, that shouldn't mean that you

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

you know? Be in the middle of the situation and then feel like shit or feel guilty because you're not feeding, you're, you're not breastfeeding your daughter. Like, who

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And, and that's the thing that we definitely need to break away from that. And, you know, really find your circle, find your group of mommies who really are there and who are rooting you, who are supporting you, uh, because then you're just gonna feel like shit all the

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

It, it's true. And you know, I think we also have to understand like the systems in which we are mothering, which is capitalism and the patriarchy, and those have direct impacts on like how you experience motherhood, right? So these, um, our current political climate is very pro-life, but anti mother, anti-woman, anti-human rights, right? And so it's like, um. It's very conflicting, contradictory, almost delirium inducing environment where it's like, it's even more important to get into spaces that feel safe because, um, you know, I honestly do feel like, like some of that content that we are being fed from mothers is. Coming from, you know, people who are basically promoting the patriarchy, right? So like we think about the trad wife movement, where they're like actively encouraging women to like give up their financial autonomy to go and like be full time, stay-at-home mothers with like no income sources. And I'm like, excuse me, what? What the hell are we talking about here? Like, do you know how many generations of women fought for us to be. In positions where we can start businesses and have credit cards and have our own bank accounts and not be relying on men and not have to stay married to abusive people because we need them for money. Like, fuck that. We're definitely not trying to go back to that, but I. You know, it's, it's unfortunate that there's so many kind of rabbit holes that people can fall down into that you have to be very discerning about what you feed your mind, um, and the environments that you curate for yourself as a woman, as a mother, as a parent, because it's, it's scary out there, y'all. It's scary.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

It's, it is, it's scary. And then just knowing who

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Mm-hmm.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

and what messages they're saying are they, because many of these are coming from a place of privilege

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

yeah.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

You know, their hubs are good, like they got them covered and everything. But then what happens when a situation were to come? And if you were in that situation, like, gonna be, be stuck because you don't come from wealth in this example. And And there's just so many layers to this that I, I really appreciate you sharing that. Um, because we have to be intentional the same way that we are being intentional on, on how we're raising our kids. should also be intentional on the things that we are consuming and that way we can be better informed, but also doing it in a place of like understanding where these people are coming from as well. And this is why like spaces like yours, you know, where you're literally helping Latinas, women of color really delve deep into, you know, their finances and, and trying to figure out what. Is next in line in terms of building that generational wealth. I think that what you mentioned and what you share has been so impactful, even for me personally. You know, just like from joining that blogger bootcamp all the way until, you know, I joined your 5K challenge and I think that you have so much wealth of information to share and you are not gatekeeping anyone from this. And so how can we raise the next generation to be wealth builders and not just like hard workers? Because you've got a lot to share here as it relates to your, your businesses spec specifically. Yo.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah. You know, I think the most important lesson that I wanna teach my daughter is the difference between, um, building someone else's dream and building your own right? Like, oftentimes we are programmed to, uh, basically become workers, right? Have the worker mindset where it's like, you go to school, you get the degree, you get the job, you work till you're 65, you, you know, save for retirement, blah, blah, blah. And there are benefits. To that system, if you know how to use them correctly. But oftentimes the thing that builds real wealth is actual ownership, right? So we're talking about starting businesses, um, owning real estate, owning investments. Uh, ownership is where those the power comes from. When you think about who are, who are the people who are currently like dictating what this country is. It's billionaires, right? It's people with a shit ton of money. And unfortunately, um, most of those people do not come from our community. They don't have any vested interest in advancing the, um, you know, rights and, and, the goals and dreams that our communities have. And so we are not seated at the table, and I don't think that anything is gonna change until we. Are in positions of power and in a capitalist system, point blank period, power comes from money, right? So in order for us to actually be able to raise a generation of change makers, we have to teach them. What the wealthy do and that is not saddling yourself with a hundred thousand dollars of student loan debt to go get a degree that then hopefully you make$50,000 a year and you'll never pay that debt off. And then, you know, you buy a house that you can't afford and you buy a car that you can't afford.'cause you wanna impress people and you know, do all the stupid shit that like they program us to think is success in a capitalist society. The whole point is that they wanna keep us kind of chained up so that you're just kind of focused on struggle, paying the bills, survival. And you can't ever actually look around and be like, why is, why is that happening? What is going on over here? Who made that decision? Why are these people in charge? I don't like this shit. I wanna change that. Right? But when you become, uh, at, when you're out of survival mode and you can actually like wake up and see what's going on, you realize there's a lot of shit that's wrong. But you need like the abundance, right? The space, the time, the energy to actually become aware. Um, and so I think it's really important for us to, to build wealth and to teach our kids how to do that because it does give you the power to first wake up, be aware, and then also have resources that you can actually use to change your community. Right. Like

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Hmm.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

the things that I think is so powerful about entrepreneurship is that as a job creator, I can reorient like my own little micro ecosystem that I'm creating to make it a more equitable place to work, right? So I can create paid maternity leave policies, I can create an unlimited PTO policy. I can, um, you know. Give up subsidies for childcare. Like there's all these things that like I can do as an employer, as someone who puts money in people's pockets that you can't do when you work for somebody else. And so that's why I think like the boardrooms, these companies, they need to be founded and created and scaled by women and women of color. Because when we have the money, we have the power, and that's when the change actually happens.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Amen. Oh my gosh, yes, Muhi. I love it. And, and you are part of this, you know, sort of changemaking, uh, process that you are literally influencing and helping people to sort of redefine like existence when it comes to money and how they can better grow their money in a way that is not scary. I think we all grew up with like having fear a, around money, um, especially as first generation folks and. think that you are making it more and more equitable for people to understand like, Hey, this shit is possible. Like you can build outta your side hustles, outta your business. You can build money out of it So I love it. And Jannese, I have one final question for you, and I didn't prepare you for this. I ask this question to all of my mommy guests on the show. are you redefining Madre Hood?

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Oh my God, So I think I am redefining it by making it okay to be my, the best version of myself, because I know that that's like what my daughter's watching. Like, I don't want her to have the same memories of me that like I have of my mom, which is I just saw her sad and depleted and resentful, and I see now, you know, as an older woman, so many of the dreams and sacrifices that. She didn't get to pursue. And I already know like that, you know, I've lived a super wild and crazy like life that if it ended now, like I think there's a lot of cool stories to tell, but I want her to just see like all the cool shit that mom did and just see that like anything is possible. So, um, yeah, I think that's, that's kind of how I'm redefining it, is just like giving her an unlimited. Possibility of like what you can do as a mom and just as a human.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Hmm. The sky's the

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah,

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yeah. Even if you're a

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

yeah, absolutely. Especially if you're a

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Being y'all.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

I. No, seriously, and, and the fact that it, even though we're hella busy and hella tired, for some reason motherhood has allowed me to think creatively, to give myself permission to grow and build a business. I literally built a business when my first was like. 16 months

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Wow.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

And the fact that we are able to do that, if anything, moms should be at the center of the, boardroom. They should be the center of attention because we can still fully function, if not function even more when we become mothers.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

we are the original creators, okay? We literally create life. So there's not a damn thing that I'm convinced that we cannot create when we put our minds to it.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yes. Ugh. I love it. Well, Jannese, where can people follow you, connect with you if they haven't heard of you, which I think that they're probably from another universe at this point. And where can people find your book as well, which I have here?

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Absolutely.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Tell us a little

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah, so you can find me on all the socials at Jo Dero podcast. You can tune into the podcast wherever you listen to this one. we're everywhere On YouTube, and the book actually has come out in Spanish too, so it's called Jo Dero. So if you have. Friends or family who would prefer to learn about personal finance in Espanol, we have that as a resource as well. Um, I highly recommend like making a book club, y'all like, because, um, what I have found is that. Even still here in 2025, the financial institutions of the world really don't have too much interest in spreading financial literacy because at the end of the day, money is power. And, uh, they're kind of scared. They're kind of scared about us getting the power. And so this education is very much being led by grassroots movements like what we're doing on the show. Um, other amazing women of color creators. And so I think it's just important, like once you learn about this stuff. Be the match that lights the flame for your family, for your cousins, your Titi, anybody who you know needs this message. Uh, because that's how we begin to change things, not just for ourselves, but especially for the future generations.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Hmm. it. Love it. Well, Jannese, thank you so much for being on the show. It is an honor to have you and for you to be in this mommy club as well.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I never thought, girl, I'm telling you, my family was so shocked when I told them I was pregnant. Like I, I, I think. Out of everything that I've done in my life, it's by far the craziest thing to them and absolutely the craziest thing to me. But it is definitely like the most rewarding, beautiful, exhausting, exhilarating, mind numbing experience I've ever had in my life. Um, and you know, it's like one of those things like you don't know until you're part of the club. Oh,

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

Yeah.

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

I understand.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

You know, if you don't know

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Yeah, man. Man, what an initiation process This has been.

jessica_1_06-10-2025_190250:

I love it. No, good for you. Well, Jannese, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate

jannese-torres_1_06-10-2025_200245:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.