The financial influencer won the debt – this is how he invests his money now

Merita Väänänen is an investor, an entrepreneur, a social media economic influencer and a mother of three children in Southern Ostrobothnia. She maintains the Instagram account called Women Speaking Money.

Väänänen’s path to the exact housekeeper has been quite different from many background economic influencers. During the high school, he was a classroom disturbance and a problem in the problem, which was the result of difficult home conditions. Today, for Väänänen, financial freedom and safety are the most important thing for Väänänen.

What do you learn about money as a child?

“I’ve grown up with a single mother and my childhood was very difficult. There were people around me with different addictions around. My mother is a game dependent and my dad was an alcoholic. One of my siblings was drug addicted. Those things colored my daily life. Mother’s play was always very negative We had to change often and even the food was very insecure. ”

How did your financial relationship change when you became independent?

“I moved at a very young age, 16, I got to live alone. I owed my money skills as soon as I got to the legal age, when I got a chance to take on debt. A couple of years later, at the age of 20, indebted I felt a compelling need to do something.

You say you have learned to be the exact housekeeper, how?

“As a child, I learned that when the money comes, it should be used as quickly as possible. So every time the account had money, I had a great need to waste it. My money was thoughtless and it didn’t make sense.”

“After a few tons of bad debt, a hard fire was born to get rid of the debt. At first I didn’t really seek anything else. Then I also came along. They edited my use and the snowball effect set off. In the twenties to save. “

How does your background appear in your relationship with money?

“I’m very security -oriented. Because there was a lot of insecurity in my childhood, I want my economy to last, even if something surprising happens. My investments are such that it is easy to sleep overnight with them.”

What would you like to realize about money before?

“It would be very important to be aware of how the environment affects your own monetary use, for example. Or what is over -generational in your own financial relationship and will come from parents, and understand that the relationship could also be different. Understanding is the key to change, for the use of publicity is strongly psychology. The cards that have received as a child , don’t have to be final. ”

What do you teach money to your children?

“I try to teach with an example. We talk about money, paying invoices, and buying, not on the basis of desires. The circular economy is important to us and we get the necessary use. We have a practice that some of the children’s weekly money automatically goes aside and the generated pot is purchased for children’s portfolios Together, however, we follow the development of the briefcases. “

Where do you currently invest in?

“I actively invest in five different ETFs, plus a couple of index funds. I invest some directly in the shares, but my everyday life is now so hectic that I have no time to follow the market. In addition, we have common investment homes with my spouse.”

Five years ago, you founded the Women Speaking Money site. Why?

“I noticed that when I had investment discussions with men, the conversation was difficult and I felt stupid. I wanted to set up an account where women can talk freely about money and investment so that there are no stupid questions. ”

Where did you last invest in?

“I have a waiting list on the phone to record the desires. If the items on the list are topical after two or four weeks, I may get them. I try to avoid spontaneous purchases and the longer the longer the purchase is the latest purchase I , was a decent jacket.

What would you spend a thousand euros now?

“I would invest $ 800 on the amount and probably put it on my ETF monthly investments. The remaining $ 200 would spend some nice things to do with my family.”