ANGELA MOORE, MSPFP, CFP®, MPAS®, CRPC®, CFEI

How did you become so passionate about personal finance?

Well, in the beginning, like so many people, I thought I knew it all.  After all, I had graduated with honors with an accounting degree, had been keeping a detailed budget since age 18 and had an 820 credit score by age 25.  

I began my career in finance in the area of lending.  Time after time I saw credit reports of people with massive consumer debt, particularly credit card debt.  When structuring loans for them, many people of all ages, even in their late 50’s and 60’s didn’t even have $500 or $1000 saved for a down payment.  That was when I first began to notice how big of a problem this was.

What was the turning point in your life?

Personally, I had questions of my own.  Even though I had a financial background, I didn’t know how much I should be saving each month or how to invest it.  I also got pressure from people around me to buy a house (renting is a waste of money they said)… buy a new car (you can afford it they said).  I soon found myself in debt living paycheck to paycheck.  I had some savings but would soon find out that $50k in a 401k doesn’t go very far after taxes and penalties.

At age 26 I decided that I needed a financial advisor.  The problem was that I didn’t have much liquid savings to invest outside of my 401k.  I couldn’t find a financial advisor that would work with me at first because most of them have very high asset minimums.  Finally, I found an advisor that would listen to me. I poured out my life story to him and he agreed to help me as a “public duty”.  When he told me what he was going to charge me (a very large amount of money), I almost fell out of my chair.  I said there's no way!  Then I went home and noticed a pair of designer shoes in my closet that I had paid $700 for.  I thought to myself, “You’re willing to spend money on shoes but not invest in your financial future?”  The next day I went back to him and in that very first planning meeting, he cut $800 from my monthly budget which we then used to pay off debt each month and eventually to build up savings.  How I saw money changed forever.  One of the things he said that I’ll never forget is, “Angela, when you leave here today, I want you to pay attention to all the billboards, advertisements and commercials.  These companies are spending billions to get a piece of your money.  Every day, you have a choice to either make yourself rich or to make someone else rich.”

How did you become a Financial Coach?

Two years later, I applied and was selected to participate in one of the industry’s top training programs with Merrill Lynch. While at Merrill Lynch, I specialized in wealth planning and worked with one of the largest teams at the firm under direct guidance of a Barron’s advisor.   After several years with Merrill Lynch, I relocated to Miami and worked as a financial advisor specializing in financial planning with over 300 families at Charles Schwab.

Why was Modern Money created?

One of the things I realized was that no matter what level of education or wealth someone may have, most people have never been taught the basics of personal finance. I found that even the most educated and successful people needed to go back to the basics like something as simple as a budget or spending plan as an example.  I also noticed that there were a large number of young professionals that needed and wanted the guidance of a financial advisor but didn’t have the minimum assets needed to work with most advisors in the industry.  I found myself helping so many young professionals and loving it that I decided to launch Modern Money Advisor to focus on it full time.

How are you making a difference?

I have made it my mission to help people of all walks of life build a strong financial foundation, one focused on aggressively eliminating debt and accumulating wealth.  In addition, I am passionate about teaching all of the fundamental personal financial principles to lead young people to financial success well into the future, preparing them early for their short-term and long-term goals including retirement and building a legacy.  I help my clients with a customized strategy and then I am there throughout the process to teach them, help implement, coach them and serve as an accountability partner.  In addition, I monitor their progress and we make adjustments when needed.  This is a real solution with real results.