Entrepreneur, Certified Financial Planner, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, FFCA Board Director, Mom, and musical theatre enthusiast. Jenn Wolowich (Widney) is a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Financial Fundamentals in Calgary, Alberta. She is a mother of 2 FFCA students and serves on the Board of Directors. Her superpower is making finances approachable and fun for everyone. www.financialfundamentals.ca

Thank goodness our path isn’t carved in stone! I would have needed a jackhammer to pull up my path and start again so many times I’ve lost count.

I can easily be described as an expert-fun-haver and super nerd. Having a plan is my favourite, but life has shown me that flexibility is the best tool we can approach our plan with!

From childhood, I’ve always loved Monopoly. I still dream of the day when I will beat my dad at a game, but now, as a mother, I find my joy in seeing my kids’ faces when I own all the properties on the board. This apple didn’t fall far from the tree, and one day my kids will beat their kids at Monopoly, too, and if they’re lucky, they may just beat me once or twice. 

My parents owned their own business when I was in high school, so I catered my post-secondary education around creating a seamless path into their company with the ambitious goal of one day owning the company myself. My dad suggested I become a geophysicist, so I started my journey with oodles of math, calculus and rocks. After three years, it was clear I loved math, but no matter how much I wanted to care, I didn’t find rocks or physics remotely interesting. Grab the jackhammer, time to change paths! I fell in love with psychology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Distinction. 

But wait! Before the cement for my new path was even dry from graduation, I had already secured a job with a local home builder, selling homes. It was a fantastic job. I loved the ample opportunity to interact with prospective clients and walk first-time homebuyers through their purchase and building process. I have made a slight modification to my current path, as I have secured my real estate license to become a realtor. I quickly learned that being a realtor is not the same as working in a show home; it wasn’t for me. Jackhammer time.

By this point, I was married and pregnant and chose to stay home to raise my babies for a decade. My love for Monopoly was still strong, and when the opportunity to take part-time work with a mortgage broker came up, I jumped at the opportunity to do some math and earn some money for my growing family. This new path was paved with calculators, celebrations, and education as I developed courses on financial literacy and living consumer debt-free for Canadian families.

These courses brought forth a new career opportunity to work with the Ivey Business School at Western University on research projects through conducting their field experiments. My super nerd status was secured when I found myself officially a co-author on academic research papers. Swoon! My academic heart fluttered when I saw my name in an academic publication for the first time.

During this time, I launched my own financial services company. I was destined to be self-employed and create my own path; it turns out it was to be paved with investment statements, retirement projections, RESP calculations and cash flow planning and not geology. I decided to upgrade my path with more education and earned my Certified Financial Planning designation in record time to enhance the services available to my clients. 

My degree in psychology, coupled with a certified financial planning designation, makes me uniquely qualified to guide individuals and families through their financial journey. Finance is not just about the numbers; the human factor is one of the most important considerations in a financial equation (a topic I even auditioned for a TedTalk with!). My background in psychology, combined with my financial expertise, creates a client experience where we address both the numbers and the feelings that come with finances.

I am loving this path I have trailblazed to curate a career that excites me, allows me flexibility with my time to volunteer, travel, and be present for my kids. I feel privileged every time a new client allows me to become a part of their financial journey to achieve their financial goals and dreams. 

I continue packing along my trusty jackhammer because who knows what is next!