Award Winning Author. TEDx Speaker.
Hi, I'm Tanya Taylor, CPA, MBA.
My Mission is to teach professionals how to ditch bad debt and create a six or seven figure retirement income even if they have no plans in place. So that they can build a legacy without feeling stuck.
A Journey – One Million Strong
Humble Beginnings
Left entire family in Jamaica at 16 with $100 to escape poverty and build a better life.
Choosing My Path
Graduated college debt free and began wealth building journey.
24 Years on Wall Street
Worked for or audit/regulate some of the largest multinational financial institutions worldwide.
Giving Back
Created children financial education club. Volunteered to teach financial literacy with many organizations
Changing Lives
My mission to is to empower ONE MILLION families to grow their wealth.
Big Portfolio
Grow retirement portfolio to 7 figures by age 48.
Funded my children’s higher education.
Co-founded and ran successful investment club.
Poverty To Promise
Was I Always Successful?
I grew up in the beautiful Island of Jamaica. At age 16, immediately after graduating high school, I left my entire family, arriving in New York City with $100, and big dreams of a better life, and to lift my family out of poverty.
For the first few years, my weekly salary of less than $150 working full time allowed me to pay my bills, help my family back home, and pay my tuition. After graduating junior college, unable to obtain a job, I ended up working on the Upper West side of Manhattan as a live-in babysitter, making $200 per week. This gave me exclusive access to how the wealthy lived. Seeing the disparity between my community and the wealth, I vowed that I would create my own wealth and help anyone else I could.
I saved everything I could, invested in a class that would take me a year later, out of the world of babysitting and on to the mergers and acquisition floor of Goldman Sachs. There I was exposed to the different career possibilities and a step further to my dreams. While working full time, I returned to school full time to earn my Bachelors degree. Now making almost 4 times as much as I did, I continued to live the same lifestyle, and saved everything else I earned.
Poverty To Promise
Was I Always Successful?
By the time I graduated college, I had already co-owned a small business and purchased my first home. For me, entrepreneurship, investing, and real estate weren’t just interests. They were my ticket out of poverty.
I was fiercely committed to achieving financial independence early. Just one year into my career as a CPA, I co-founded the “Financial Freedom Investment Club” with a group of like-minded colleagues and friends, and I began investing in the stock market on my own. My vision was simple but bold: build enough wealth to exit corporate life by my mid-forties and dedicate myself fully to helping others create lasting financial change. When I got married, my spouse & I bought and furnished our home and paid for our wedding—all without going into debt beyond our mortgage. Every cash gift from our wedding? We invested it. Because every dollar had a job-even then.
Roadblocks Just Like You Have Now
Before graduation, I was the co-owner in a small business, and I had purchased my first home. I decided that entrepreneurship, investing and real estate was my ticket out of poverty, and I was determined to get there at a young age. Within a year in my profession as a CPA, I co-founded an investment club — “Financial Freedom Investment Club” — with a few like-minded colleagues and friends. I also began personally investing in the stock market. I was sure that I would accumulate enough wealth to exit the corporate world by my early forties, and pursue my passion of giving back in a more meaningful way. When I got married, we purchased and furnished our home, and paid for our wedding without incurring debt (except our mortgage). We invested all monetary gifts received from our wedding.
My home was hijacked—literally. People used it to fund their lifestyle, added their names to the title, and left me buried under tens of thousands in unpaid bills. I had never missed a payment on my own, but my credit took the hit after constantly stepping in to clean up other people’s messes. Still, I pressed on with my real estate dreams… until a near-tragic incident forced me to hit pause.
I also co-owned a small business that eventually sold for a profit—but I never saw a dime of that return. Around the same time, the investment club I co-founded had built a solid portfolio. But when the Great Recession hit, the club dissolved. I had just bought out another partner’s shares, and between the market crash and higher-risk investments, I suffered major financial losses.
But here’s the thing: I never stopped. Every setback strengthened my resolve. I was determined to rise—and to still build the future I envisioned, one lesson (and comeback) at a time.
A Belief
To Leave A Healthy Financial Legacy for Future Generations
So where did I turn? With my children getting older and college on the horizon, I knew one thing for sure—I didn’t want to work until 65 just to make ends meet.
I doubled down on my portfolio, took full advantage of a down market, and made bold, strategic moves while actively managing my retirement accounts. But I wasn’t just investing for today—I was building a legacy. One that would serve my children, and generations beyond them.
At the same time, I saw clear gaps in financial literacy within my community. So I partnered with organizations to fill them—creating custom financial education programs for college students, small business owners, and underserved groups.
That mission extended to my own household. I started teaching my children about money—and that spark became a movement. We launched The Economic Explorers, a club designed for children, parents, and the broader community.
Through hands-on experiences—mock stock portfolios, real estate simulations, budgeting games, credit workshops, and even Wall Street visits—we brought the world of finance to life. What started as a personal mission became a community-wide journey toward financial empowerment.
A Rewarding Career
How My Profession Fits In
I have had a wonderful career which has provided me with some great skills that augment my knowledge of investing and wealth building. A few snippets.
- Audited multi billion stock portfolios, mutual funds, pension plans and banks
- Critically analyzed and wrote thought pieces on annual reports of some of the largest global banks, calling out any financial shenanigans.
- Wrote, reviewed and approved major components of multinational corporation financial statements.
- I spent almost 9 years in the insurance industry and another 3 years regulating them. I am intimately familiar with their products.
- For over 2 decades I prepared taxes and provided tax planning strategies and help small business owners manage their business, in a tax practice my husband and I started after leaving college. The tax code excites me, so I enjoyed doing it for fun.
I love geeking out and immersing myself in learnings around anything having to deal with wealth, and have happily shared my knowledge and changed the lives of hundreds of people.
Persistency & Commitment
Where I Am On My Investment Journey
My journey to building wealth hasn’t been a straight line—it’s been full of detours, hard lessons, and a whole lot of resilience. But the journey? It’s far from over.
After 19 long years, I finally reclaimed the deed to my home and went on to purchase another property. My long-term investment strategies paid off, fueling both my retirement goals and my children’s college education. After years of credit damage from circumstances I didn’t create, I rebuilt my score and now, it’s back to excellent & staying there.
Yes, I’ve faced setbacks. Yes, I’ve battled fears. But every painful lesson taught me something powerful—and those lessons became the foundation of the wealth-building strategies I now live by.
And here’s the good news: these strategies aren’t just for me. They can work for anyone—no matter your starting point. My goal? To help you skip the mistakes I made & fast-track your way to financial success.
Fun Facts
Alumni
Work
- Federal Reserve Bank Of New York
- New York Life
- Moody’s Investor Services
- Goldman Sachs
- Deloitte
Education
- Fox School of Business, Temple University
- Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (honors)
Indulgences
- Traveling and immersing in different culture – 60+ countries and 30 states
- Silent meditation retreats
- Dancing like nobody’s watching
- Spa, spa and yes, more spa…I just can’t get enough 🙂
Books
- The alchemist
- The Four agreements
- Feel the Fear and do it anyway
- Think and Grow Rich
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- The Millionaire Next door
Passion Projects
- Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy – Board Co-chair
- Free Town Foundation