Divas That Care Network
The #DivasThatCare movement is a dynamic force of positivity and progress. It's a collective of empowered women united by a shared vision: to pave the way for future generations. These women are not only breaking barriers—they’re also committed to equipping the next generation with the tools, resources, and confidence to lead with purpose.
By discovering and defining your purpose, you unlock the power to uplift those around you and contribute to a better world—every single day.
The Divas That Care Change Makers lead by example. They’ve walked the path, and now they’re using their voices to inspire others—one intentional day at a time.
Divas That Care Network
The Power of Financial Literacy in Women's Lives
Angela Bradford's journey from homeschooled farm girl to financial industry leader reveals how unconventional paths can lead to extraordinary success. Growing up with horses in Alberta, Angela developed the independence that would later fuel her entrepreneurial spirit before transitioning from long-haul trucking to financial services—a dramatic shift that required her to develop entirely new interpersonal skills.
What makes Angela's approach unique is her commitment to financial education and accessibility. Frustrated by the lack of practical money management skills taught in traditional education, she actively brings financial literacy to high schools and works with clients of all ages and income levels. Her message that "it's never too late" to take control of your financial future particularly resonates with women facing transitions like divorce or career changes. Rather than requiring minimum investments that exclude many potential clients, Angela creates an inclusive practice that serves women who might otherwise feel intimidated by financial institutions.
Beyond building her business with offices in Edmonton and Red Deer, Angela shares her vision for establishing ranches where horses can help women heal from emotional trauma. This holistic approach to empowerment recognizes that financial stability is just one component of a fulfilled life. Her practical advice—start saving even just $10 monthly, understand different financial tools, and don't be embarrassed to seek professional help—makes financial planning accessible to everyone. Angela's story demonstrates that women can create success on their own terms while building others up alongside themselves, representing a compassionate new model of leadership in the financial sector.
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Speaker 3:Blog Talk Radio Well hello, divas, and welcome to the Divas that Care Network. My name is Candice Gish and I am the host of this show. Well, thank you so much, ladies, for tuning in today. You know this is excellent. For any of you that is it first time, you know. We're very excited to have you. We've been doing this show now for just over seven years. Our show started as the show called Interviewing the Divas, and we expanded to the Divas that Care and, as of this year 2018, we are now the Divas that Care Network, so make sure that you check out our amazing women. There is now eight hosts for the network and you can view them at divasthatcarecom. Well, you know, ladies, I've got a great guest coming on today's show. She is an amazing woman from Alberta, canada. Her name is Angela Bradford and we're excited to have her. She's going to be sharing a little bit about herself, her story, her past and what she is doing today, so let's dive right into that today. So, angela, welcome to the Divas that Care Network.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you very much, Candice. I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 3:Well, Angela, I am very, very excited. Angela, do you want to take a couple of minutes here? We're all getting to know you and we want to welcome you to our depot family because that is the biggest thing. We love having amazing women like yourself that have done great things and um. So I want you to spend the first few minutes here and tell us a little bit about yourself for sure that sounds awesome.
Speaker 2:Um, so a little bit about myself. I grew up in central Alberta, grew up on a farm. I moved a lot but still grew up on a farm in Nenakeridge, grew up around horses and one of the cool parts I was homeschooled my entire life. So for many of you that know someone that is homeschooled or have been homeschooled, you know some of the questions that arise regarding that, and I guess that's one of the questions that always was in my mind was, you know, was I able to compete with with other people? And so I took me, though.
Speaker 2:I mean, horses took me a long way too, and I, of course, grew up around them. So between the horses and homeschooling, I'd get up super early and I'd just go ride all day. I did do my schooling guys, but I was so glad that I was homeschooled because I'm also dyslexic and if I'd been in the traditional industry, I know I wouldn't have learned the same way as my mom took, you know, the time to be able to put into learning phonics and learning that kind of stuff, which was really cool and shout out to her, but most amazing woman in my life. But horses took me a long way and and from there I transitioned into building houses and driving long-haul trucking and driving school bus, which was awesome, and I learned so much going over the highway and learning about myself and that was a really good part of my life.
Speaker 2:And then I guess I started looking for something else and that's when I got introduced to where I'm now in the financial industry, and I started really part-time but I honestly fell in love with what it is, and one of the reasons I actually started in the financial industry is because we're licensed and, like I said, I wanted to prove that I was as smart as everyone else being. I was homeschooled, but I just didn't want to spend $20,000 or $40,000 to prove that. So I went into the financial industry and was able to, I guess, prove to myself that I was on par with other people which, like Candice, homeschooled her kids, and I think that's absolutely incredible because the stuff I learned outside of school, being homeschooled, was absolutely incredible.
Speaker 2:I've used it so much in real life. It's been great. So I transitioned into the financial industry with a huge learning curve for me, coming from, obviously, trucking, which is by yourself on the highway, you in the road to a people business where I'm talking to people every day, all the time, having to help people in a totally different way than what I did before. And it's been an incredible journey. And within the last couple of years of transitioning I've helped open my second office now in Red Deer. So now I'm in Edmonton and Red Deer and I'm so excited to take this business and really expand across North America. And the reason for that I really want to help empower women.
Speaker 2:One of my big goals is to have a ranch.
Speaker 2:It started out with one and since my vision has quite a bit expanded to more than one, but starting out with one buy red deer and using horses and using that to bring emotional stability to women Because, as we know, a lot of us have been through hardship, emotionally or physically abusive relationships, that kind of thing, and pretty much all my friends have to some degree or another.
Speaker 2:I've been through, you know, some stuff too, of course everyone has, and horses and dogs and all the animals are great, I found, for getting my emotional stability, so I'm excited to be able to get a ranch and be able to use that to help women. So I'm excited to be able to get a ranch and be able to use that to help women. At the same time, on a personal level, my parents, as I said, are my super supportive parents. They've been through a lot with me. I was not the easiest child to raise and I'm super excited to be able to give back to them and be able to retire them, and building a business has helped me to be able to do that, and I'm so excited to be able to meet a lot of you ladies too, by the way. So thank you very much, candice. That's kind of a little bit about my story.
Speaker 3:You know what, and I love it. It's absolutely fantastic and quite inspiring. You know a lot of our listeners, as you were saying. They know that I am a homeschool mom, also of my four divas, and they were the inspiration behind the Divas that Care, and over the years, we've had the opportunity to interview these amazing women like yourself that have inspired. And this is a database, ladies. This is a database of these extraordinary women that are inspiring.
Speaker 1:We have.
Speaker 3:Angela here that is sharing so much with us and, angela, I love it.
Speaker 3:I love that you have taken the initiative.
Speaker 3:You've done some amazing things and, with your being a long-haul trucker, you have obviously done a lot of traveling, probably through Canada and the United States, and you know, I find that a lot of individuals like that have that ambition and that you wanted to do a little bit more.
Speaker 3:I love that you went into the financial services. It is a great field and I want to talk a little bit more about that, because that is a huge transition, like you were saying, from doing that to now becoming a self-employed business owner, and now you're using what you've learned and you want to start these amazing ranches for women and for the ladies that have tuned in, have been with us. They knew that I also myself grew up on a ranch and been around horses my whole life and I just love the transition of having you on our show and sharing that with us. So, Angela, let's talk a little bit more about your business, how you're using your business now to help others, because I think that's really important. A lot of our listeners are probably thinking okay, she's in the financial industry, what does she do, and how can I get involved?
Speaker 2:For sure. Well, I guess I've been able to use it to help other people. As a broker, I'm able to shop around and able to save people money. I mean, whether it's $180 a month on car insurance or something simple like that, or thousands of dollars on other products or getting your money working hard or all that kind of stuff. That's what I do, which has really been satisfying to be able to help people on that way.
Speaker 2:And really the most satisfying part, honestly, is being able to just educate people, because what I found and what I you know growing up and stuff, there's just not a lot of education in the traditional schooling industry at all. Like I drove school bus for 10 years and they just don't teach that stuff in school. So you know they don't teach it in college. So being able to just sit down with people and let them know what they have and why they have it this isn't a cookie cutter deal where you know, sit down and here you get this and you get this and you get this. It should be more of a hey, what is the best product for this family and for this client? A lot, or they don't know what they have exactly and why. Oh.
Speaker 3:I love that being able to educate people on that side.
Speaker 3:And they don't. They don't teach that in high school, and I think that's a really important thing is to really work with children in that age group, because once they get to that, if they start saving, you know, one of the biggest things I was told when I was younger is that if I start saving now, it'll help for me in the future. But you know, unless you talk to children about that and have a program or and is that something that you do too, I'm going to ask you is that? Do you offer webinars? Is this something? Or do you go into schools, do you work with you know people over the age of 15? Like, how do you do that? Because obviously you're working with families too, for sure and great question.
Speaker 2:Families too, for sure, and a great question. And I haven't got into the webinars yet. That is something. Actually I'm looking into branching into more of that kind of stuff, but I do. We have gone into schools and just done presentations on how money works, especially high schools, and I would love to get into more high schools because, like you said, 15 plus, if they can learn to start saving at that age, I mean the habit is amazing. Once you start, it's just one of those habits that you continue with, hopefully forever. But yeah, I would love to get into more schools and we've been into colleges and stuff like that, just teaching. You know the rule of 72, how money doubles, the different kinds of accounts out there, retirement. You know all the essentials that are really part of actual life and what they don't teach in school.
Speaker 3:Oh, I totally. That is fantastic because you know, if you can do that now, can you imagine they won't have to work as hard when they're in their 30s and 40s? Oh, I love it.
Speaker 3:Angela. That's absolutely fantastic. What kind of things like when you're meeting with an individual. Let's talk about that now. So we're talking about you want to work with children in there. You want to work with adults and families. How do you work? Do the people come into your office? Do you work on the phone with them? How do you work with these individuals? And do you work with just people in Alberta? You're saying that you want to expand, but can you do something outside of the province?
Speaker 2:Very good question. So I do obviously have an official office in Edmonton and Red Deer and so I meet people within the office, but I will meet people in their homes across Alberta. I was a long haul trucker. I have no problem driving People laugh at that, but I have no problem driving everywhere. So I'm licensed in Alberta presently, but I am expanding my license and within the next couple of years actually going stateside with it, which will be I'm really excited about that actually. So right now I'm in Alberta but I can help people otherwheres with referrals or with you know, people that I know in other provinces also, which is great.
Speaker 3:Well, that's exciting, because I think that's the thing is finding an individual that really works with you as your family and you want to keep with them, and I know that everybody there's a lot of people that move around, they do different things or they want to refer you and being able to work with their friends and family, too. So I think that's a really great thing that you're doing. I know that your passion is to work with women and you're wanting to open these ranches and you mentioned briefly about the kind of things that you're wanting to do. Do you want to talk a little bit more about that? I love that. You've got a drive for that and as women, we always have not just our families. We have our families and our wives. We want to make money, we want to support our families, we want to encourage them, but we also have that drive for more and I want to talk about your more right now and dive a little bit more into that.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, best thing ever. So yeah, I just find women are amazing, like since I've got into running my own business and even when I was on the road getting to meet women even out there. But I just love chatting with women and I find it's kind of funny because when I talk to some ladies they seem like why do I want to talk to them? And then I actually get out and they start telling me their story and like everyone's amazing, I don't care where they've come from or where they're kind of going, but if you actually listen to people's story it's absolutely incredible and some of the stuff that women especially have had to deal with and go through and I mean guys go through it too, but this is for women. But I know some of the agents because obviously I'm expanding, so I'm working with some agents in both my Red Deer office and in my Edmonton office and some of my favorite people. Actually I've got a couple here in Red Deer that just inspire me because they're single moms and they're building a life for their kids and while I don't have kids yet, I believe that is so empowering to be able and they have young daughters and to be able to set that example from a young age, kind of like you've done, candice, to be able to show your daughters how they can go out and absolutely change their lives, change the world and do it. While it's nice to have guys in our lives, we don't need that to become, you know, empowered, strong women, and I think that that's a big part of life.
Speaker 2:I know I'm technically well, not technically I'm single and a lot of people have asked me about that and you know it used to be a thing that used to bother me and I now know that. You know, know the guy will come into my life. So if you guys are single, I know he'll come to you guys's life too. But the thing is I'm going to build my empire with or without, you know, help from someone else, because I have the inner strength and I have the support from my family and from my friends. This isn't a do-it-myself I'm a lone wolf deal, but I don't need one person specifically. I just need the community and I need friends and I need my family that are there for me, whoever they are. I don't know if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:Oh it does, and it's beautiful and I think it's important because women supporting women is a very big thing and we're seeing a lot more of that and it's a great. It's really wonderful to see I have a question for you. I'm just writing notes here, Do you? I want to talk about? You know we're talking about young people and stuff, okay, so say one of our listeners is in their 40s or in their 50s.
Speaker 3:Is it too late to start working on their financial plans and trying to change this? Is there a point in their lives that it's too late, or is there something that you can do with these women out there that maybe are newly divorced or they're just in a transitional period in their lives? What can you do to help them out?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, so much. It's never you know what. It's never too late. It's kind of like it's never too late to change. It's never too late to get your financial future set up and just see what is out there and what the options are, and especially if you are going through divorce and you're getting set up. Some of my friends have done that. So shout out to you guys if any of you are going through that, because they're actually in way better financial shape than they were before. So not saying that that's always, but don't let that slow you down from taking control of your financial future, because my mom was amazing with money and she was able to save and she installed that into me.
Speaker 2:So if you guys are single or you're going through divorces or going through changes or whatever, there's so many options out there, there's so many choices out there that it's worth checking out and don't ever give up on your financial future and don't ever give up on whatever your hopes and dreams are, because any one of them can happen, which is what I just love about life and I love about all this stuff. I've been learning on a personal development level about how much we can achieve. So if you are in your 40s, kind of said, or you are divorced or whatever situation you're in, man, you can have whatever you want, and I would love to help people get there, even on an educational standpoint, for sure.
Speaker 3:Okay, so now you're talking about educational standpoint. What do you mean by that, angela, for our listeners right now, I'm getting a couple of texts here. What is it if a person were to call you? Or I'm not too sure if you just do one-on-one or do you? Have meeting rooms where a whole bunch of people just kind of listen to you talk for a bit. You know they're asking me what is it that they can do, or how can you help them at this point in time so that they can make a decision?
Speaker 2:for sure. So I mean for starts it would be, I guess, a conversation and see what what their questions are. We do do meetings as far as like a group conversation and group information on on money. On a more specific level, getting together one-on-one or even chatting on the phone. If they're not, I'd be happy to chat with people, even if I'm not licensed to actually help them on a technical financial thing. But just chatting with people. I've chatted with friends in the States and it was really cool because I've actually helped one of my friends down in Minnesota be able to just start her savings plan because I chatted about it so much so she started actually setting up her 401k and all that kind of stuff down there which I'm learning about all the American side.
Speaker 2:But it's really cool to be able to chat with her and be able to educate her enough that she's like, man, I should be doing this, I should be thinking about this, and she's actually in her late thirties, almost 40 herself, and I'm like that is so cool, man. I mean it's so cool because I know now she'll be able to start to retire or start to plan those trips. She's even doing like a savings plan to be able to have your vacations and I mean we don't want to kill all the vacations and all the lifestyle just to save either. Right, like there's a fine line between enjoying life now and enjoying life in the future. So that's super important too. So definitely happy to chat with people on whatever works, I guess, best for them and where they're at.
Speaker 3:Oh see, that's perfect, because I think a lot of people too, angela, they get so overwhelmed. And the debt level. I think that the majority of people have nowadays is scary you know they're just living paycheck to paycheck.
Speaker 3:You know they don't know they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and they're thinking oh well, you know I don't want to. They're embarrassed to go and talk to somebody like yourself and you know I want to talk about that. I want to maybe talk to them about that and explain to them that they shouldn't be embarrassed to go and talk to somebody and to work through this.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely never be embarrassed. You know, people are pretty much all in financial hardship across the globe. I would say the average Canadian I don't know about the American statistics, but I know the average Canadian is quite a bit in unsecured debt. So if you're in those situations, don't feel bad. I mean, most people are actually in that same situation, unfortunately.
Speaker 2:The thing is it's better to get help. I mean, I've been able to work with people on that, getting debt reduced from like $60,000 to $9,000, consumer proposal, that kind of stuff and it makes a big change. And maybe that's not the fit for you. Once again, like I said, it's not a one-size-fits-all, but it never hurts to chat with someone. And the cool thing about what I can, I guess, do in some scales is some institutions have to have a minimum and that's that's stuck on their financial advisors. That's not like the advisor's fault, that's just a minimum and I don't have that here.
Speaker 2:So I'm able to help everybody, no matter what situation you're in, to be able to start a savings plan or be able to save on debt, or to be able to save on insurance or to be able to do all those things, because really, when it comes down to it. Freeing up cash flow is super important and I've seen so much that really it's kind of like one of those things that don't be ashamed of where you're at. It's better to get help and to get ahead by a professional. The same reason I go to other professionals for hair or stuff like that because I know everything about everything and nor do I want to. So none of us should know everything about everything maybe a little bit. But if we know everything about everything, it's just too much. So go to a professional and chat with them, because that's what they've, you know, been educated in learning about.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love that and I think it's perfect because you know it does. And I think you can start at any point in your life. It's all about, as your topic of the day is, mindset. If we can move our mind into knowing that you know what it's okay. I would say that don't sweat the small stuff and we kind of just keep on swimming and I've done my mottos in life.
Speaker 3:You know, just let it go and start where you are at. Yeah, it was better to start yesterday. You know, just let it go and start where you are at. Yeah, it was better to start yesterday. Or it was even better to start 10 years ago. But you know what? Whatever, let's just shake it off. Let's start today, let's start moving towards it, because every day is it'll help.
Speaker 3:I want to talk about. Do you have any? I know our show is coming to a close here soon. I want to talk about do you have any tips and tools, something to help our listeners kind of get started on that financial path today.
Speaker 2:For sure. So one of the biggest things I guess, on a I guess, a straight-up educational level, one of the things I find is a lot of people use an RRSP as opposed to a tax-free savings. So just learning the difference, I would say that's highly recommended. Second to that is just start saving. You know, if it's $10 a month, if that's all you can do, do $10 a month. If it's $20 a month, do $20 a month. Start in that habit and if you have girls or young kids, start them in that habit. My mom started me at $10, started my own savings program and that was probably the best thing, looking back, that happened. So starting your kids out ladies would be awesome into saving, getting into that habit and for yourself. Just start into that habit and start actually saving. You know, whatever it is, you can save a month and it'll start to grow really, really well. I guess that would be a big tip.
Speaker 3:That's a perfect tip. I love it.
Speaker 2:And last minute, Angela, how can our listeners get a hold of you so they can call me? My phone number is 403-896-3703 or email me at a underscore Bradford B-R-A-D-F-O-R-D-0-1, at yahoocom, or find me on Facebook or Instagram or any one of those places and connect with me. I'd be happy to connect with everybody.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love it. And, ladies, for all of you that are tuning in, today we're going to be posting this show on our website, all of our social media avenues, so that you can get a hold of. Today, we're going to be posting this show on our website, all of our social media avenues, so that you can get a hold of Angela. I'm going to be posting stuff. I do have her Facebook link on our show here so I'll be able to connect with her that way.
Speaker 3:Also, I want you to make sure that you take this call, because all of our shows are recorded. I want you to take this call and send it to your friends and family, somebody who you think might be perfect to work with Angela, or just to talk to Angela, because Angela's got a lot of experience. She's wanting to share that knowledge and support and inspire the women that are listening to our show today, so I hope that you do definitely connect with her, angela, I want to take a moment just to thank you so much for being our guest today. I want to welcome you to our Diva family. We're very excited. I'm excited about all the things that you're going to be doing in the future and I hope that you do have the opportunity to come back on our show, perhaps share some more tips and tools with our listeners.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, candice, for this opportunity, and to all the listeners out there. You guys are all incredible and just make sure you're doing your best and changing lives. Thank you, make sure you're doing your best and changing lives.
Speaker 3:Thank you, oh, thank you so much, and, ladies, definitely check out Angela she is just wonderful and all of our ladies. Make sure that you check out our website at divasthatcarecom for all of our other amazing diva hosts, because I know that they've got some amazing shows coming out here and you should definitely tune in to them. So for the last minutes, I just wanted to make sure that you guys check us out. You can also sign up for our newsletter and you will get all of our latest updates on all of our guests on our show. So thank you again to all of our ladies that are listening. Thank you so much to Angela as our amazing guest, and I hope that each and every one of you has an amazing day and that you pay it forward. So take care, everybody, until next time. Bye-bye, bye-bye.
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