Start Here: You’re Not Bad With Money

🧭 Start Here: You’re Not Bad With Money

The Class We Never Had — Chapter 1

Let’s get one thing straight right away:

You’re not bad with money.You were never taught.

And no — that’s not a motivational quote. That’s a fact.

Most of us were sent into adulthood knowing how to find the area of a triangle…but not how to read a paycheck, understand credit, or stop feeling anxious every time we open our bank app.

So if money has ever made you feel:

• stressed

• overwhelmed

• behind

• embarrassed

• or like everyone else somehow “gets it” but you don’t

you’re in the right place.

Before we go any further — hi, I’m Karina.

I’m a first-generation Latina, a high school business teacher, and the founder of K Solutions.

I teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship for a living — and outside the classroom, I’m also a multi-business owner. I work with real numbers, real systems, and real consequences every day.

But here’s the part that matters most:

I wasn’t always “good with money.”

I grew up in a household where money wasn’t explained — it was felt.

“No, no tengo dinero.”Bills on the table.Rent stress.Arguments behind closed doors.

So I don’t teach money from a place of judgment.I teach it from experience — and from education.

This series is the class I wish existed before adulthood hit.

Why money feels so heavy (even when the numbers aren’t)

Here’s the psychology part they never told us:

Your brain doesn’t treat money like math.It treats it like safety.

When money feels uncertain, your brain doesn’t think:

“I should organize this.”

It thinks:

“Am I okay?”

That’s why a small overdraft can feel like a crisis.That’s why budgeting feels exhausting before you even begin.That’s why avoiding money sometimes feels easier than facing it.

You’re not dramatic.Your nervous system is doing its job.

This chapter is calm on purpose

Chapter 1 is free because before we talk about:

• budgets

• credit

• investing

• or making more money

we have to do something more important:

👉 make money feel safe to look at.

This chapter is not about fixing your finances.It’s about removing shame, lowering anxiety, and understanding why money feels hard in the first place.

Because nobody learns when they’re anxious.

What you’ll learn in Chapter 1

This chapter is about calm first.

You’ll learn:

• why money stress lives in your body, not just your bank account

• why anxiety is expensive (and no one talks about it)

• why being “bad with money” is usually just being untrained

• how small, calm actions rebuild trust with money

• how to look at your finances without spiraling

No pressure.No judgment.No “cut all joy and grind harder” advice.

Your first tiny assignment (don’t panic)

We’re starting very small on purpose.

Here’s your only job right now:

1. Open your notes app

2. Write today’s date

3. Write what’s in your account right now

That’s it.

This is not a verdict.This is not permanent.This is not a reflection of your worth.

It’s just a snapshot.

Think of it like a “before” picture — not for shame, but for reference.

What comes next

In the next lessons, we’ll talk about:

• why money feels harder than it should

• how anxiety quietly costs us money

• why financial stress affects your health

• and how to start healing your relationship with money

After that, we move into Chapter 2, where we build stability:accounts, systems, and habits that actually make life easier.

But we start here.

Because healing your relationship with money always comes first.

Welcome to The Class We Never Had.You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.