Lenet Rivas on Building Wealth

Blue Otter Financial Planning: Joy and Claire welcome back Lenet Rivas to discuss her new business, Blue Otter Financial Planning, launched after a layoff and inspired by conversations at a Surf with Amigas retreat. Lenet shares her background in financial aid at Emory, then Fidelity and investment management, and explains leaving product- and target-driven models to offer flat-fee planning for people—especially women—who don’t meet typical $500K asset minimums. They discuss consolidating scattered old employer 401(k)s into an IRA, aligning investments with risk tolerance and time horizon, and how target-date funds often default people into mismatched allocations; Joy describes gaining confidence, discovering a pension, and improving results after adjusting investments. The episode also covers money shame, patriarchy in finance, spending vs. saving mindset, and practical questions to ask parents about estate plans, accounts, and wills. 00:00 Meet Lenet and Blue Otter 01:19 From Taxes to Entrepreneurship 04:15 The Retreat Seed and Layoff Leap 06:51 Traveling While Building the Plan 09:40 Who Blue Otter Serves 13:33 Joy’s Account Consolidation Win 15:28 Money Fear and the KFC Analogy 22:01 Fixing Default 401k Investments 27:05 Target Date Funds vs ETFs 28:22 Confidence to Manage Your 401k 29:13 Fix Your 401k Mix 29:42 Shame And Money Talk 31:28 Beating The Patriarchy 33:20 From Saving To Spending 36:16 Facing The Real Numbers 40:37 Family Money Planning 42:26 Questions For Parents 47:39 How To Work Together 49:50 Why Blue Otter 52:18 Coffee Cart Dreams 53:58 Where To Find Lenet 54:22 Final Wrap And Goodbye