Hello, my name is Erik Perez. I'm the owner and lead consultant at The Awakened Investor, LLC. I am here to help you and convince you that I'm the most qualified to help you succeed. Please read my story below:

At the age of 17, a young Erik enlisted in the US Marine Corps. The Corps hardened and taught me important skills that would prepare me for combat and life after the military. After 5 years of service, I separated and began working in corporate America. I quickly learned that the training I received in the military was not the most important training - it was the mental fortitude that I developed while in the Corps: Create a plan, stick to the plan, assess the plan, and refine the plan (as required).

I started at the bottom of an aerospace company and worked my way up. The Marines trained me well and my raw skills got me far. After a few years, I noticed that I hit a plateau in my career. I started college and hoped this would help me break through, or at least assist with other opportunities. Six years, and a lot of school debt later, I graduated with an MBA from a well-known private college in the Inland Empire.

I had dug myself into a large financial hole and never saw myself getting out. I had a young family: wife and kids, mortgage, student loans, car payments, etc. I was living the middle-class life, but, like most Americans, a life full of debt. To break this cycle, I created a system that helped me get out of debt and learned how to stay out of the RAT RACE. This system is the base of what we will create to help you break out. My goal for you is to build a strong financial foundation and get you on your way to the next stage in your life. I want you to become An Awakened Investor. 

This is the Way

Step 1: Commit that this is the year you will succeed financially

- Are you sick and tired of never knowing where your money is going? Do you ever have money left over at the end of the month? Commit here and now to break the chains of financial slavery. You need to get angry and focus that energy to get out of debt.

Step 2: Create a budget

- You can never reach your destination if you don't know where you are starting from. Creating a budget will give you the ability to see where your money is going. We recommend a few apps - our affiliate page has a list of companies that we have partnered with.

Step 3: Save for an emergency

- Next you need to save 2,000 dollars as fast as you can. This is your first line of defense against those unknown. After creating a budget, this should be your next major milestone.

Step 4: Reduce cost/expense

- Now that you know where your money is going and you have a small safety cushion. your next step is to reduce your expenses. This means that you need to get rid of all those services that you don't use: Prime free time, gym membership, subscription to guac-toast weekly. Cut as much as you can - this is the start of the debt purge

Step 4a: Increase your income/revenue

- If you cut all your expenses and you are still not making it, get a second job or side hustle. There are only two ways out of debt: cut cost or or increase income.

Step 5: Check your temperature

- When was the last time you pulled your credit? Regardless of what you think about credit, banks and financial institutions base their interactions with you on your credit score. Figure out what is on your and work to improve it. We have a partner that can help - check our affiliate links to visit Smart Credit.

Step 6: Create your foundation

- Now that you've identified where your money is going; you've saved a safety cushion; you've stopped the bleeding; and you know what your financial image looks like; save 3-6 months of expenses. This is why creating a budget is important.

Step 7: Protect and Invest for your future

- Congrats, you now have created your financial foundation. You can now anticipate your monthly expenses; you have an emergency fund to cover unexpected costs; you've reduced your expenses as much as you can; and you've saved enough to sustain that life if you lose your job. Now you can begin to protect and invest for your future.