We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Ayub a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

I have been in the wealth management industry for a long time, and I see how it caters to people with accumulated assets. I have also seen people’s relationship with their money firsthand. I started my brand to give support and resources to the people I see overlooked by the finance industry: those who have debt, live paycheck to paycheck, and don’t know how to get started. I look at money from a different perspective. I look at money from a mental and emotional standpoint. I look at the emotions, thought processes, and psychology behind what drives the behaviors. Our emotions drive our behaviors, yet the finance industry misses that aspect. My brand is breaking the stigma that talking about money is taboo. I give people a safe space to talk about money and think about it from a different perspective. Ultimately, I want people to have a healthy relationship with their money, which goes beyond looking at numbers. I understand people and money, and even more importantly, I know how people relate to their money. More money will not take away scarcity or fix your spending habits, so I like to get to the root of people’s relationship with money. Money is one of the most important relationships in your life and something we cannot live without in our society, yet most people do not give their money the time and attention it needs. My brand creates awareness of how important this relationship is and how to have a healthy relationship with your money.

Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I was in sixth grade, I did a stock picking challenge, and from that point on, I knew I wanted to be in finance. I moved to New York City in 2016 from my hometown of San Diego to fulfill my dream of living in New York and working on Wall Street. I got into the finance industry in 2013 and immediately saw considerable gaps in the industry. Those gaps are my passion and where my heart is, which is why my brand’s mission is to help those who do not qualify for wealth management.
I started my podcast, The Money Diaries, to discuss all the sides of money that people never discuss: the emotional part, fear, shame, debt, how they overcame obstacle and shifted out of old patterns. Which are all things we do not talk about around the dinner table. I want to give people a safe space to talk about their money.
I work with clients one-on-one to help them heal their relationship with money on a deeper level by looking at the emotional aspect while also looking at their finances. Starting in 2025, I will have a couple of ways to work with me one-on-one. I have programs that are tailored toward what you want to focus on. I have a program that specifically helps you pay down debt and another that focuses on aligning your spending with your goals. I have another longer-term program that will launch in the latter part of the beginning of the year, which will be a total money transformation program. My goal is to help and empower people to transform their relationship with their money so their money can bring them joy and they can do the things that light up their souls and make them feel alive. In January, I will start a money-healing circle, consisting of a small intimate group of people every month. The group will have a limited capacity of 6 women per month and we will meet twice a month for 90 minutes and discuss the month’s topic. This communal space allows members to share their thoughts and feelings and receive my feedback along with journal prompts and exercises in between group sessions. The open and interactive nature of the group will help release fear and shame, which will start the healing process. I love talking to people about money, and once you start talking to people about their money, people start opening up and realizing how much they want to talk about their money, but they do not have a safe space for it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had a significant stigma and judgment towards debt. In personal finance, there is a massive stigma towards debt. It is basically the four letter bad word in finance that people do not like to have or talk about. The assumption is that if you have debt, then you are irresponsible with money, which is not always the case. Sometimes, debt is the only option someone has. Debt tells a story and you have to understand the story before making assumptions.
I built my business on debt and invested heavily in my personal development and mentorship so I can show up as a leader with integrity and create the impact I want in the world. I take a lot of pride in being a soul-led leader. Through processing old limiting beliefs debt is now one of the pillars of my business and one of the aspects I help people with. I had to unlearn the story that debt is bad. I had to write a new story that sometimes debt can get you to where you need to go. I considered this an investment in myself, my future, and my dreams.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I got sober in 2019, and that is a big part of my story. I have been on a profound healing journey for the past few years, and I have rewired my nervous system and healed the trauma that was stored in my body. I now incorporate the lessons I have learned on my healing journey into my business. I do daily somatic practices and meditation to stay centered and grounded while working full-time and running my business. Getting sober and healing emotional trauma is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it is the greatest thing that I have done for myself. Now I help people heal their relationship with their money so people can feel joy and freedom with their money.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wallstreetgirlnextdoor.com
• Instagram: Wallstreetgirlnextdoor
• Facebook: Wallstreetgirlnextdoor
• Other: Tikok @wallstreetgirlnextdoor

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