Today we’d like to introduce you to Jannese Torres.
Hi Jannese, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a first-generation Puerto Rican woman who grew up believing that financial security meant getting a good education, finding a stable job, and working hard. I followed that blueprint and became an engineer with a six-figure salary. On paper, I had made it. But I wanted more control over my time, my income, and what my life could look like.
Getting fired in 2014 challenged everything I believed about job security. Building income outside of a paycheck became a way to create options for myself. My food blog eventually grew into a six-figure income stream, and I began learning about investing, financial independence, and turning my knowledge into digital products.
As I learned, I noticed how rarely the financial conversations I encountered reflected my experience as a Latina. There was plenty of advice about cutting expenses, but I wanted to talk about earning more, building wealth, and navigating the cultural expectations that come with being the first in your family to do things differently. In 2019, I launched the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast to help create that space.
In 2021, my first digital product launch brought in $25,000 in five days. That experience helped give me the confidence to leave my engineering career later that year and pursue entrepreneurship full time.
Today, I’m a financial educator, the author of *Financially Lit!*, and the first millionaire in my family. Through my podcast, educational programs, and community, I help Latinas build additional income streams and turn their income into lasting wealth.
As a mother, that mission feels even more personal. I’m building a life where I can be present for my daughter while showing her what’s possible. And I want more women in my community to have that same freedom. The goal has always been bigger than my own success. I want to help make more Latina millionaires.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not! My résumé tells a much cleaner story than the experience of living it.
One of the biggest struggles was unlearning the idea that a traditional career was the only responsible path. As a first-generation Latina, walking away from a six-figure engineering salary felt heavy. That job represented the stability my family had worked so hard for. Even with a business that was making money, I had to work through guilt and fear about choosing something different.
There was also a huge learning curve. Knowing how to do something well and knowing how to build a business around it are different skills. I had to learn marketing, sales, pricing, and how to put my work out there before I felt completely ready. I’ve had to remind myself that a disappointing result is information, not a verdict on my potential.
Building wealth also required changes in my personal life. I went through a divorce, rebuilt, and learned to set boundaries that protected my energy. We talk a lot about business strategy, but it’s hard to build the life you want when you’re emotionally exhausted. Therapy and healing have been part of my journey, too.
Now, motherhood has pushed me to rethink success again. I care deeply about my work, and I also want time to enjoy the life I worked so hard to create. That requires being intentional about what I take on and giving myself permission to grow at a pace that supports my family.
The confidence people see today came from navigating those moments. I didn’t start out fearless. I kept taking steps, gathering evidence that I could trust myself, and learning that I was allowed to change direction.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a financial educator, entrepreneur, author of *Financially Lit!*, and the founder and host of the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast. I help women, especially Latinas and first-generation wealth builders, increase their income, learn to invest, and create more freedom in their lives. My specialties are financial independence and entrepreneurship, including helping people turn their knowledge and skills into income through service-based businesses and digital products.
I’m known for making money conversations accessible, culturally relevant, and a little spicy. We can talk about index funds and retirement accounts, but we’re also going to talk about being underpaid, feeling guilty for earning more than your parents, and becoming the family’s unofficial financial safety net. Those experiences shape our financial decisions, and they deserve space in the conversation.
What sets my work apart is the emphasis on earning more. So much financial advice asks women to keep shrinking their lives to fit an income that isn’t meeting their needs. I want to help them expand their options. That includes learning to charge for their expertise, building additional income streams, and investing so their money can support them over time.
I also teach from lived experience. I’ve built a business alongside a demanding career, left corporate, navigated divorce, rebuilt, and become a mother. I understand that a financial plan has to work through real life, including the parts you never planned for.
Becoming the first millionaire in my family is something I’m incredibly proud of. But I’m equally proud of creating a platform where other Latinas can see themselves as future investors, business owners, and millionaires. Seeing someone recognize the value of her knowledge, make her first sale, or gain the confidence to make a financial decision is deeply meaningful to me.
My mission is to make more Latina millionaires. For me, that means helping more women have ownership, choices, and the resources to live on their own terms.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think my relationship with risk has changed as I’ve built more trust in myself. Growing up, I understood safety as a steady paycheck, benefits, and a predictable career path. Getting fired in 2014 made me question how much control I actually had within that version of security.
One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was leaving my six-figure engineering career to become a full-time entrepreneur. As a first-generation Latina, walking away from something my family considered “making it” came with a lot of emotional weight. I worried about losing what I had worked for and regretting the decision.
But I spent years building income outside my job before leaving. My blog was generating revenue, and my first digital product launch brought in $25,000 in five days. Those experiences gave me evidence that I could create income using my own skills. I still felt afraid, but I had something concrete to support the decision.
I’ve also taken personal risks, including ending a marriage and rebuilding my life. Those experiences taught me to consider the cost of staying where I am. We tend to examine everything that could go wrong if we make a change, while giving very little attention to what another five years of unhappiness or burnout could cost us.
Today, I think about risk by asking myself a few questions. What’s the potential downside? What resources would help me recover? Can I test the idea on a smaller scale before making a bigger commitment? And am I making this decision because it supports the life I want, or because I feel pressure to prove something?
Motherhood has made me more intentional about those questions. I’m comfortable taking risks, but I care about protecting my time, energy, and family’s stability along the way.
My perspective is that fear deserves to be heard, but it doesn’t automatically get the final say. Some of the best decisions I’ve made were uncomfortable. Learning how to prepare, take a step, and adjust has given me far more confidence than waiting until I felt certain ever could.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yoquierodineropodcast.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoquierodineropodcast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yoquierodineropodcast
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jannese-t-974421151/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjyPFk9zzMBr_nVI6KmoIA
