The finance sector is known to be a male dominated industry. In movies like the Wolf of Wallstreet, one typically sees white men in suits as protagonists, and women as eye candy. Thankfully, these are just movies. Moneyhealth check founder, financial advisor, and investor, Antonette Aquino, casts many of these prejudices aside, making her way into the industry and shattering the glass ceiling.
“Go getter,” “girl boss,” and “female hustler” are monikers that come naturally when her 269,700 TikTok followers talk about her. With over 2.1million likes on the platform, Antonette has shown that women are indeed capable of managing money and building wealth. At just 16 years old, Antonette was then already juggling part time jobs that gave her a cushy 6-digit income. Working as a sales consultant, sidelining into advertising, and accepting hosting gigs during her senior year in High School, she eventually earned her first million at only 19 years old. With her achievements the result of grit and hard work– she’s just getting started.
MONEY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTING TIPS
Antonette shares that her perspective on money and money management developed as she experienced first hand all the financial mistakes her family was making. From living a privileged life with bodyguards following her around, they went through a crisis which led to bankruptcy. During her senior year in high school, while most of her batchmates were awaiting College Entrance Test results, she was worried about not graduating, because she couldn’t pay for her tuition fees. This painful experience pushed Antonette to work hard and earn for herself.
“I developed my money beliefs because I grew in an environment
of financial errors. Money was coming in as fast as it was going.”
However, it was not until she read the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mindset” by T. Harv Eker that changed her life. The P400 book she bought eventually taught her how to reach her first million. What an R.O.I! This book drastically changed her perspective on money, investments, and the power of having multiple streams of income. In this day and age of shopping, impulse purchases (aka “budol”), she learned to keep track of and develop better tools for utilizing money. While it is completely okay to splurge once in a while, investing is critical in order to allow money to work for one later on.
Ironically, Antonett’s main investment advice is to “invest in yourself.” She encourages young people or those starting out with money management to read books, attend seminars, or find credible mentors one can seek advice from. Like any skill in life, consistent practice and learning is key to success. Antonette explains that before deploying capital in any investment, it’s best to take the time to analyze and study your choices.
“If you work hard on your job, you make a living. If you work hard on yourself, you make a fortune.”
ANTONETTE’S PURPOSE AND PLANS
While TikTok has became Antonette’s platform to promote her advocacy of personal finance and money management, in the beginning of the pandemic, she saw the opportunity to post videos about investing and tips about saving. What started out as a hobby eventually led her to influencing more people to learn more about personal finance. To date, she’s come to collaborate with some of the most influential finance gurus in the country such as Randell Tiongson, Sean Si, and Marvin Germo. Antonette has also been featured in GMA News TV, Inquirer Business, Yahoo Finance, MalayMail, Lifestyle Asia Bangkok, and The Star.
When asked about her “why”, she says that the purpose of all her hard work is simply to give back to her family. She finds joy in being able to spoil her family with their wants and needs. Her future plans include expanding her business and building her team of financial advisors. She also shares that she is “bullish” on investing real estate and condo flipping.
Antonette is available for financial planning and consultancy. You may check her out at Money Healthcheck and Macanne Group Limited.
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