Empowering others to embrace financial freedom

Being the oldest of 10 has had its share of learning curves for Bri. She’s had to naturally lead because her little brothers and sisters look up to her. When she was younger, her experience with money was primarily cash-based. She didn’t see checkbooks or credit or debit cards. When it came to handling her money, she hit rock bottom when she rented an amazing apartment in DC and had to ask to borrow money from a friend to cover the rent. It was then that she realized she was trying to have a lifestyle she couldn’t necessarily keep up with and that she needed to be honest with herself.

Because she only knew what she had learned from her mother, who only knew what she had learned from hers, Bri’s mom felt like they needed to break the cycle. And Bri has been working to do just that. “If you go on our website, and you click Learn and Grow, this is where I learned to build credit.”

She’s started talking about money with her little sisters. “The earlier we start having these conversations with each other—with family, with friends, with your children—the earlier on they’ll be able to reach financial freedom.” For Bri, she believes it starts at the table, so as they grow up, it’s fluent, it doesn’t feel wrong and you don’t feel embarrassed to talk about it with others.

Bri’s journey to financial freedom has taken her from Capital One call center to Cafe Coach. In a Capital One Cafe in Washington, DC, she now works to connect with the community and help people gain control of their financial wellness. “I started watching videos of the cafes, and I was just mesmerized by the role of the ambassadors. How the cafes connect to the community, and how we are trying to help people in our communities to save more and stress less.” Through sharing her own journey and acquired financial knowledge, tools and resources, Bri is helping her community—and her siblings—find their paths to financial freedom.