#92: How to Save and Invest Without Compromising Your Values - Diana's Story

How do you save for retirement when your family and community need support today? And what do you do when you’re unsure whether the places you put your money align with your values?

On this episode of Wealth Para Todos, Rita Soledad Fernández Paulino talks with Diana Zuniga, founder of Tres Lunas Consulting, former Wealth Para Todos coaching client, and Soledad’s curandera. After leaving a steady government job to start her business, Diana had to decide how to manage irregular income, where to keep her savings, and how to invest for retirement. She shares why opening a high-yield savings account and choosing retirement investments brought up concerns about what her money might support, and how she considered those choices alongside her giving, volunteering, and community work.

In this episode, you’ll hear

  • What helped Diana move from accumulating cash to giving her personal and business savings a purpose.

  • How she used smaller contracts and her emergency fund to get through a slower year in business.

  • Why Soledad felt guilty investing their first $2,000 in a Roth IRA and how they came to see retirement investing as a way to keep giving in the future.

  • How knowing her financial baseline helps Diana choose which clients to work with and make room for rest, Curanderismo, and danza azteca.

  • How financial coaching helped Diana build the confidence to take her next step with a Certified Financial Planner.

Episode timestamps

  • 00:00 Welcome to Wealth Para Todos

  • 00:21 Meet Diana Zuniga

  • 01:11 The story behind Tres Lunas Consulting

  • 02:36 From scarcity to financial flexibility

  • 06:11 Making time for rest and cultural practices

  • 07:03 Why Diana sought financial coaching

  • 09:22 Navigating guilt about where you save and invest

  • 13:40 The D.I.V.E.R.S.E. Self-Care framework

  • 14:54 Daily rituals and limpias

  • 19:38 Planning self-care into your week

  • 22:03 Choosing clients, setting work boundaries, and taking time off

  • 25:53 Knowing when you’re ready to work with a financial planner

  • 28:21 Diana’s advice for first-gen business owners

  • 29:33 Closing and disclaimer

Questions this episode answers

How can first-gen business owners save for retirement while supporting their communities? Diana talks about looking at her finances as a whole, including her future needs, monthly donations, volunteer work, and the people and organizations she works with. Soledad shares how they thought through what it would take to stay generous later in life.

What does values-aligned investing mean to Diana? For Diana, it meant paying attention to what her retirement investments might support and considering those choices alongside the other ways she puts her social justice values into practice.

How can an emergency fund help when business income slows down? Diana shares how she combined income from smaller contracts with money she’d set aside. Using her savings gave her room to meet her needs while adjusting to a different pace of work.

Work With Soledad

Ready to increase your income, build financial security, and create a plan to retire early?

Through four-month, one-on-one financial coaching, Soledad helps first-generation business owners understand their finances, develop a positive money mindset, improve their financial literacy, and increase their income—all while practicing D.I.V.E.R.S.E. Self-Care.

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