I grew up poor and now make 5 times what my parents did. I help pay their bills without sacrificing my own money goals.

Viviana Vazquez

• Viviana Vazquez works in tech, earns over $150,000 a year, and lives with her fiancé in Brooklyn.
• Her parents, Mexican immigrants, struggled financially, which impacted her childhood and education.
• Vazquez now prioritizes personal finance and helps her family while balancing her financial goals.

I grew up in poverty in a $ 1,000-a-month rent-controlled apartment in Hell's Kitchen before the neighborhood became gentrified.