Hi, I'm Laura LaTourette and I'm a certified financial planner.
I have two adult children, four grandchildren, and live on a small farm.
And.
So in 1984, my former husband and I both got laid off, my daughter
needed some medical assistance.
And one of the companies that would provide that, we
decided to go work for them.
And then I realized it was my passion and something I really liked.
So I furthered my education and to pursue the certified
financial plan or designation.
If you go back to 1990, I understood that I was lesbian.
So I was in a marriage and it was a good marriage.
He was a good person, but it was not what I wanted or what I felt fulfilled in.
And then I decided that that was not good or authentic for me as a person.
I met Susan at a weekend church retreat.
I moved up to the mountains to live with her and the kids came with me.
They were nine and 12 and it took work.
I knew that I had to have a career that was going to be able to give
me financial independence because.
I didn't think it was fair for me to rely on his retirement.
So I just went full force into this business and became a CFP.
One of the ways that I work with clients is to say, what is your money story?
Where did it start?
What I want them to do is really understanding.
What they value?
What do you spend your money on now?
And then what do you save for?
And then the third thing I say is do have a place where you give money for charity.
You don't have to be a millionaire to give away money.
The other thing I say to them is they don't have to compare
themselves to anyone else.
Instead of looking outwards to see what other people were doing.
My wife and I said, we want to live on a farm.
I don't want to wait until I'm retired to live on a farm.
We went to a Lama show.
I just liked the way they moved and they're wild, but they're
friendly and they look you in the eye and we saw babies.
And one of them's name was silver lining.
And I said, I need silver lining.
And my wife was like, there's no way we can't afford it.
It's not the budget, all the things that I'm supposed to say.
Right.
So we fought through it and this and that, I said, okay, if I can find
a way to get it and I can put it in the budget without taking out the
budget, will you let me have it?
And I won, which happens a lot, especially around money.
So, you know, moral of the story is I spend money on things I value.
I am a person who was a hospice volunteer and I've always
focused on estate planning.
It's something that I really am good at.
So I really started to seek out my LGBTQ plus community to make sure
that my community has a voice and that we're finding places for them to make
more money, preserve their wealth, have a legacy it's important for us to
find each other so that we are able to open up fully and
understand what our options are.
There have been times with my LGBTQ plus clients, they
didn't have anyone at the end.
They didn't have anyone to advocate for them.
And the trust that you build with people when you ask them to be authentic
and you are too, and you're able to share from the heart, not the head.
It really does make a difference in someone's life.
I have one of the greatest gifts of being a financial planner, and I try to get
more women in the business or LGBTQ plus to come into this business because it's
important for us to be leading the way.