My first introduction to the world of personal finance was in high school. A financial planner / stock broker came and visited one of my classes and talked about the stock market, investing, insurance, and more. I was captivated and, to this day, define that moment as one of those trajectory-changing moments we all have in our lives.

In my very first semester in college at Brigham Young University, I took a financial planning class, which further fueled my interest in the space and all of the principles that govern success with money. I went on a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and, upon returning home, got a job as a brokerage trader at Fidelity Investments and then a wholly-owned broker dealer of Zions Bank. After graduating from college I decided I would take a run at a financial planning business on my own. I failed. Crash and burn. I knew all the back office elements of the business, but I did not understand marketing and sales. I spent a lot of time teaching and educating, but I was not making a living. This failure is another trajectory-changing event in my life.

I got involved with a high growth business, earned an MBA degree, and since 2004 have held the Chief Financial Officer position of small up to lower middle- market size companies until now.

I have been married for over 20 years, have eight kids, and I am passionate about personal finance and tracking and hacking net worth as the key metric to measure progress and success.