How childhood poverty shaped this exec's financial journey

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Growing up poor can directly impact people as adults, sometimes habitually and subconsciously, and other times simply because of misinformation. For Wells Fargo (WFC) executive vice president and head of commercial banking for diverse segments Ruth Jacks spoke to Living Not So Fabulously hosts David & John Auten-Schneider about her experience overcoming poverty, developing financial literacy, and finding success in life.

"I remember just my friends were chosen by who had an abundance of food that had leftovers so we could go over and eat. And so the biggest thing was I just didn't want to be hungry," she reflected. "Of course, as I grew older, I realized that there's a lot more to it than just that." She quickly realized the importance of learning more about wealth building in order to shape a more effective and realistic plans for her future.

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00:00 Speaker A

I was hungry a lot as a child. And I remember just my friends were chosen by who had an abundance of food that had leftovers, we could go over and eat. And so it the biggest thing was I just didn't want to be hungry. Um, and for me, having money meant not being hungry. Yeah. Uh, of course, as I grew older, I realized that there's a lot more to it than just that, but that was the biggest driver. And then the other thing was my parents, while they were fabulous in their own way, they often walk through life being fairly invisible. Um, especially my dad. And I just did not want I wanted to be seen. I wanted to be heard, and I didn't want to be hungry. Those were the the biggest drivers for me. So when I say I didn't want to be poor, it was that. I didn't want to be hungry, and I wanted to be seen. Yeah. And heard for that matter. Right. Right. So there are a lot of people who I think want to be wealthy, want to be successful, they dream of that when we're when we're children. Um, and that doesn't necessarily translate into adulthood. So what do you think it was about you and what you did in your career, or the talents and skills that you had, or your intelligence, whatever the case may be, that allowed you to say, I'm going to be able to go from being poor and hungry to successful and financially secure?

03:34 Speaker B

So, I what I'll tell you is that I started with the plan. So my plan was when I was 20, I would make $20,000 a year. When I was 30, I'd make 30,000. When I was 40, I'd make 40,000. Make your age, yeah. That's exactly right. When I was 50, I'd make 50,000. You get it. So by the time I retired, I'd be set.