410: How Teachers Can Build Wealth, Without Leaving The Classroom
The Clever Girls Know Podcast With Bola Sokunbi
Bola Sokunbi
4.8 • 931 Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
New Book - Clever Girl Millionaire;
On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Rose Mendonca, career educator and founder of Teacher Talks Money, for an important conversation about how teachers can build wealth without leaving the classroom.
Rose is passionate about helping educators gain confidence in their finances and break the long-standing myth that teachers must struggle financially to be truly dedicated to their students.
As a first-generation college student raised by immigrant parents from the Azores and a bilingual learner growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts, Rose's personal journey shaped her determination to succeed and empower others.
Today, she uses her platform to help educators understand their financial options, plan for retirement, and build long-term wealth while continuing to do the work they love.
What Rose Discussed on the Podcast:
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Her personal journey and how it led to the creation of Teacher Talks Money.
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The myth that teachers must struggle financially to be devoted to their students—and why it needs to change.
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The real earning and wealth-building potential available to educators.
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How her experience as a first-generation college student and bilingual learner shaped her relationship with money and ambition.
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The biggest financial challenges teachers face and practical steps to overcome them.
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What educators should be doing now to build strong retirement plans.
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Mindset shifts teachers can make to move from financial limitation to long-term wealth building.
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Creative and lesser-known income strategies teachers can use without leaving the profession.
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How to balance a passion for teaching with the need for financial stability and independence.
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The role of mentorship and community in helping teachers build financial confidence.
AND SO MUCH MORE
How to Keep Up With Rose:
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Website: teachertalksmoney.com
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Social media: @teachertalksmoney
More Clever Girl Finance Resources:
👋 New to Clever Girl Finance? Start here:
https://clevergirlfinance.com/start-here
❤ Get the best-selling Clever Girl Finance Books: clevergirlfinance.com/books
❤ Get access to 30+ free courses, worksheets, savings challenges, and our favorite banking resources: clevergirlfinance.com/course-packages
❤ Read the Clever Girl Finance Blog: clevergirlfinance.com/blog
❤ Follow us on Instagram: @clevergirlfinance
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, Rose. Hi, Moela. How are you? I'm doing great. Welcome to the Clever Girls No podcast. How are you doing? |
| 0:08.5 | I'm great. Thank you for having me. I am so excited to have you here. We're going to be talking about how teachers can build wealth without leaving the classroom. And this is going to be a really great topic because you are going to be debunking the myth that teachers must struggle financially to be devoted to their kids. |
| 0:26.6 | There's this idea out there that teachers have to struggle. |
| 0:29.4 | I know that it can be hard for teachers, but you're saying that it is possible for teachers to build wealth and still do what they love and still support the children in their classroom to the |
| 0:38.8 | best of their ability. So I'm excited for this conversation. And before we dive in, please tell |
| 0:44.1 | everybody who Rose is, who you are, what you do. And we'll get into it. So yeah, I'm a career |
| 0:51.6 | educator. I've been an educator for 30 plus years. I started out as a teacher and the last few years I've been a school counselor, but I've been working in an urban school district for the last 30 years. I actually got started on this pass sitting in the teacher's room one day actually because one of the veteran teachers at that time was talking about that her 403B was doing really well that year and she was going to consider retiring. And I was, you know, 28 years old and I said, what's a 403B? I had never even heard of that. And that kind of got me started on this journey of saving and |
| 1:29.7 | investing and preparing for the future. As a kid, you know, I was first gen. My parents are from |
| 1:35.9 | the Azores off the coast of Portugal. I grew up very lower middle class and had no |
| 1:42.0 | financial literacy education whatsoever. So that really kind of sparked it for me |
| 1:49.0 | in the teacher's room that day. Even though, like you said, there's this myth out there that |
| 1:53.6 | teachers can't build both. They absolutely can. And the fact that most teachers have access to a |
| 1:59.6 | pension at the end of their career, that really is their superpower. |
| 2:03.8 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Clever Girls Know Podcast. This is Bola Shokombe. I'm the founder and CEO of |
| 2:10.6 | Clever Girl Finance. The Clever Girls No podcast is a podcast for women offering a space for conversations |
| 2:16.7 | around personal finance, |
| 2:18.4 | business, life, and living. |
| 2:20.8 | I'd love for you to subscribe to this podcast, and you can do that everywhere you listen to |
| 2:24.8 | your podcast episodes. |
| 2:26.5 | And if you love what you're listening to, be sure to leave a review so that other amazing |
| 2:30.6 | women just like you can find this podcast too. |
| 2:33.7 | Also, don't forget to stop by Clevergirlfinance.com forward slash subscribe and sign up for |
... |
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