Real $tories Episode 71: Jamara

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As a child, Jamara’s family struggled with finances.  While the adults in her life shielded her from the daily reality of this, it still shaped her relationship with money.  

As an adult, she faced a different kind of challenge: a violent relationship that threatened her safety and her future. Leaving it required resolve, planning, and determination to create stability for herself and her daughter. 

In unpacking her financial trauma, Jamara learned a great deal about money at her job.  Seeing gaps in financial education for her community, she launched a groundbreaking financial literacy program.   

Today, she’s focused on building generational wealth and opening doors for others to do the same. Her story shows how financial knowledge, paired with lived experience, can create real momentum for change. 

Key Moments

2:41   Jamara reflects on her family’s relationship with money growing up and how this affected her. 

5:53   She shares her struggle surviving a domestically violent relationship and its impact on many aspects of her life, including her finances. 

8:54   As a newly single parent, she navigates a difficult transition. 

11:46   She starts to unpack her financial trauma as she works at a job that helps others with their personal finance. 

15:43   She launches a financial literacy program in her community based on the needs of those that she serves. 

23:10   Jamara discusses her goals around generational wealth. 

26:11   She shares some of her favorite money tips. 

36:30   Our cohosts reflect on the themes from Jamara’s story.