Real Stories Episode 9: Andre – Perspectives Along the Way

A Construction Foreman

Meet Andre. He has spent a decade bringing financial education into his community on Long Island, NY.

Andre and his organization are longtime partners of GreenPath and we often work together to serve those who are pursuing their financial goals.

Andre often infuses his personal stories when he teaches financial concepts, so we decided to learn more about the road he traveled (quite literally) that shaped him into the person he is.

After making good money as a construction foreman, Andre made the leap to study abroad in an exclusive program that studies indigenous communities in Costa Rica and surrounding countries.

Falling in love with his second home, he spent a number of years splitting time between the U.S. and Central America. His financial discipline was key to making his dream of spending half the year abroad a reality.

After the birth of his son, Andre’s career goals evolved and he landed a job as a financial educator—with zero financial experience. He leverages his life and teaching experience to empower others. He also applies his money lessons to his own life. This has allowed him to adjust to an unexpected turn of events with his son’s schooling.

While he has sights set on eventually starting an agro business, Andre has already invested a ton of time and energy into another project—he started a nonprofit with his mother that supports local communities in Ethiopia.

Join us to learn about Andre’s unique financial and life journey and how he is paying it forward.

Key Moments

2:25 Andre talks about his relationship with money as a teenager.

3:55 He discusses his motivation for pursuing a global education and how this affected his relationship with money.

8:35 Andre talks about how he juggled life and work abroad and in the U.S.

10:50 Andre shares his experiences living among indigenous communities.

13:10 Andre shares his new perspectives of home after his travels and how the birth of his son motivated him to change his career goals.

17:50 He talks about his favorite parts of providing financial education in his community.

19:30 Andre helped a family purchase their first home and eventually connected him with GreenPath to tackle a debt problem.

23:10 Andre describes how his clients significantly reduced his credit card payments after enrolling on a Debt Management Plan with GreenPath and how this ultimately helped them save their home.

25:53 Andre talks about his success tracking his expenses.

27:55 He discusses his simple approach to avoiding financial emergencies.

28:47 Andre shares his favorite cost-cutting tip.

29:53 He discusses a significant challenge his family recently faced.

33:20 Andre discusses his long term goal of becoming an entrepreneur.

34:44 He talks about how starting a nonprofit with his mother to support communities in Ethiopia and Burundi.

40:39 Andre discusses how his son provided helpful advice when he was faced with a financial decision.

43:50 He shares how he turned his car purchase into an opportunity for a money lesson for his son.

46:44 Our co-hosts share lessons learned and possible action steps for our listeners.

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