Why I Started: My Story

In our very first episode, host Bridgett Dickey takes you behind the brand and shares the story that started it all — from watching her parents fight about money for 46 years, to navigating financial setbacks, divorce, job loss, and caregiving while building a business from the ground up. This is the episode that answers the question: why does Sis, Mind Your Money exist? Pull up a chair — this one is personal

Transcript

Speaker 0:02

Hey sis, welcome to Sis Mind Your Money. I'm glad you found this podcast. Whether someone shared it with you, you stumbled across it, or something inside of you said, it's time to get my money together. I want you to know you're exactly where you're supposed to be. I'm your host, Bridgett Dickey. I'm a wealth educator, a strategist, the founder of Dickey Financial Services and Wealth Management Firm, and the creator of Girl Mind Your Money Brand. I spend years helping women, men, teachers, business owners stop being afraid of their money and start building a life they actually are proud of. And today, on our very first episode ever, I want to do something a little different. I'm not just gonna leave with financial tips. I'm not gonna throw numbers or talk about interest rates.

Speaker 0:57

Today I want to tell you my story because before you trust me with your money, you deserve to know who I am, where I came from, and why this work matters to me so deeply. So pull up a chair, sis, and let's talk. My story starts at the kitchen table, or rather, in the arguments that happen around it. My parents were married for 46 years, yes, 46 years. And for every single one of those years, money was the battlefield in our home. Now, I want you to understand my parents were not bad people. They weren't irresponsible people, they loved each other, and they loved their family. But when it came to money, they cannot get on the same page. They fought constantly. Not small arguments, I mean deep, painful, recurring fights that never got resolved. Why? Because they both wanted to be right more than they wanted to win together. In sis, in the end, they both lost. I watched this happen as a child. I sat in the house, I felt the tension that money created. I saw something that should have been a tool, just a resource to build a life with, became a wedge that divided two people who should have been on the same team. I made a quiet promise to myself. I didn't have the words then, but the feeling was real. I was gonna do something about this. Not just in my own life, but in other lives as well. That promise is the reason that this podcast exists. That promise is the reason I wake up every morning and do what I do. Now, before I can help anyone else, life has some lessons to teach me first. I wasn't a skinny girl growing up, and my mother didn't know how to handle that. I had a speech therapist, and somewhere along the way, I understood something that no child should ever have to understand. That I wasn't the child my mother wanted. I grew up knowing that, feeling that in my bones. And it did something to me. It made me question my worth, it made me work twice as hard to prove myself. It made me feel like I had to earn my place in every room I walked into. But here's what I also had: my dad. My dad was my person. He was my biggest cheerleader, my loudest voice, and my safest place. He looked at me, all of me, and he said, brute, you can be whatever you want to be. And he meant that every single time. My dad started a business of his own, but wasn't able to finish it. But he gave me more than just the business plan. He showed me how to serve people, how to show up for others, and how to lead with love and with purpose. He is the reason why you see the woman standing before you today. Everything I build, I build with him in mind. Then came college. I was told to go, but no one helped me get there. My dad wanted to help. He really did. But my mother made it clear once you graduate high school, you're on your own. And figure it out. And so I did. But sis, it was hard. It took me 10 years to finish my degree, my bachelor's degree. 10 years. Not because I wasn't smart enough, not because I didn't work hard enough, because I was navigating financial setbacks, no family support, and building a life completely from scratch with no one showing me how. I left home at 21 and never looked back. I want to pause here and speak to someone who may be listening right now, who understands this feeling. Maybe you had to figure things out without a safety net. Maybe your family couldn't or wouldn't catch you if you fail. Maybe you felt like everyone else had the map and somehow you missed that meeting when they were handing them out. I see you. I was you, and I want you to know figuring it out the hard way doesn't disqualify you. It prepares you. Fast forward, I'm building the business. I have the vision, I have the passion, I'm pouring everything I have into creating something that helps people. And then my world fell apart in multiple directions all at once. I went through a devastating divorce. I was laid off from not one, but two jobs in less than a year. And in the middle of all of that, I was caring for then who I had a spouse that was diagnosed with cancer. I want you to sit with that just for a second. I was building a business about financial empowerment while personally living in a financial chaos. I was teaching people to control their money while mine completely was out of control. I was showing up for a spouse who was sick while quietly falling apart on the inside. There were days I did not know how I was going to make it. There were days that the dream felt completely impossible. But I kept going. Not because I figured it all out, because I believed in what I was building. And because every single time I felt like giving up. I thought about all the women and men out there fighting about money, afraid of money, avoiding money, losing everything over money. And I said, not today, Jesus. Here's what I know, sis. I was never meant to have an easy road. I was meant to have a real one. Because when you sit across from me, or when you're listening, and you're telling me your money is a mess, that you're overwhelmed, that you don't know where to start, I don't look at you with pity. I look at you with recognition because I have been you. I am your story. Just a little farther down the road. Every struggle I went through made me a better educator. Every financial setback made me more compassionate. Every hard season made me unshakable. And when I sat across from someone who's in the middle of theirs, your role is not your shame. It's your credential. So that's why SisMind Your Money exists. This podcast is a judgment-free zone. I don't care where you're starting from, I don't care how many mistakes you have made. I don't care if you've never had a savings account, if you've never had anything, if you've been broke, brilliant, at the same time, you belong here. Every week I'm going to bring real talk, real tools, real encouragement. We're going to talk about budgeting, banking systems, insurance, building wealth, protecting your family, and so much more. I'm going to do it in a way that actually makes sense. No jargon, no shame, no confusion. Because here's what I know for certain. And you don't have to figure it out alone. I also want to give us to some people who have helped make this possible. First and foremost, God. Every door opened, every season I should have quit and didn't. That was him. My daddy, who I carried with me every single day. My sister from another mother, Ono, who has been there through everything, and I mean everything. My business coach, Dr. Danielle Patterson Winningham, who helped me build this brand, and my sister, Shello Collier, the founder of Black Women Invest, who opened her stage and her community to me. This is the Team References, always. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. This first episode means everything to me, and I am so grateful you're here. If this resonates with you, if someone that you need to share this with, this hits home for you, please subscribe so you never miss an episode. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it and leave a review. It truly helps women and men find this show. And come back next week because episode two is going to be going to be practical and powerful. I'm going to walk you through the exact six account banking system I use with all of my clients. This system will help you figure out where my money is going and stop the disappearing act of it all. It will give your dollar everywhere to go and a purpose. You don't want to miss it. I'm Bridget Dickey. This is Sis,Mind Your Money. Rest well, take care of yourself, and I will see you next week.