Moving from Cameroon to the United States at just 18 years old, Nina from Numbers with Nina faced a steep learning curve—navigating a brand-new financial ecosystem without a local stock market. In this eye-opening episode of Everyday Money Heroes hosted by Nik Johnson, Nina shares her raw journey of accumulating over $145,000 in consumer and student loan debt, hitting rock bottom while earning a six-figure salary, and eventually turning things around to achieve Coast FIRE. Throughout this conversation, Nina breaks down the hard truths about consumer debt, the psychological relief of using the debt snowball method, and why prioritizing your own retirement over funding children's accounts early on is the ultimate act of generational protection. They also dive deep into the uncomfortable realities of real estate investing versus the true passivity of the stock market, private money lending, and how immigrant families can rewrite their monetary futures by breaking the silence around money on the dining room table.The Breakdown-Nina's journey from Cameroon to the United States-How she first learned about investing-Accumulating approximately $140K–$145K in total debt-The wake-up call from a $2,500 monthly student loan obligation-Discovering Dave Ramsey and the debt snowball-Why tracking your income and expenses matters-Learning to "pay yourself first"-Building savings while earning a six-figure income-The decision to use approximately $32K to attack student loan debt-Paying approximately $10K per month toward debt-Becoming debt-free in roughly 14–15 months-Why Nina believes starting small is better than doing nothing-Investing through a Roth IRA and 401(k)-Taking advantage of employer matching contributions-Reaching Coast FI-Approximately $800K in investments-Why Coast FI doesn't necessarily mean stopping work-The difference between passive investing and active real estate ownership-Nina's perspective on stocks, real estate, Airbnb, and private money lending-Building financial independence through consistent actionConnect With Nina:Instagram & TikTok: @numberswithnina