Maria Castillo Dominguez grew up in Ronda, a small mountaintop town in the south of Spain. And while she had a great support system, she also had a very humble childhood, and things were difficult for her family financially. And because of that background, she lacked a lot of opportunities. Most of her family members worked labor jobs, and no one went to college. 

But Maria was determined to be the first person in her family to go to college, and eventually get a desk job. She left home at a young age, and worked any job she could to pay her way through college. But when the financial crisis of 2008 hit Spain really hard, she lost her job and decided she needed to get out of the country. At age 25, with only about $400 to her name and no English under her belt, Maria went to the U.S.

But moving to the U.S. brought new challenges to her life, as she had to overcome a language barrier and not having family around to support her. Despite that, she persevered.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton speaks with Maria Castillo Dominguez, senior financial planner with Apella Wealth, on the adversity she faced on her journey to becoming a financial advisor.

Maria shares her relationship with money and family and how they pushed her to achieve her goals.

Maria discusses: 

• What it was like to relocate to the United States not knowing English and with only $400 to her name
  
• The struggles she faced trying to enter the financial industry as a Hispanic woman
  
• How spirituality helped her overcome both personal and professional issues
  
• How she’s overcome work/life balance challenges
  
• How her own strength and loved ones helped her through dark times
  
• Why she doesn’t regret her past mistakes
  

Resources: 

• Listen to the latest episodes of The Healthy Advisor
  

Connect With Maria Castillo Dominguez:

• Email: mdominguez@apellawealth.com 
  
• LinkedIn: Maria Castillo Dominguez
  
• Apella Wealth
  

Connect With Wealth Management:

• WealthManagement.com
  
• LinkedIn: Diana Britton
  
• Email: diana.britton@informa.com
  
• LinkedIn: Informa
  
• LinkedIn: WealthManagement
  

About Our Guest:

Maria Castillo Dominguez is a senior financial planner at Apella Wealth, an employee-owned advisory firm. She is originally from Spain and moved to the United States in 2010 after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Sevilla. Maria has over ten years’ experience in operations, compliance, personal banking and personal finance. She holds the CFP designation. She became interested in personal finance after she moved to the United States and realized the potential for helping others improve their lives. Maria most recently worked as a Financial Consultant with TD Ameritrade before transitioning to Inspired Financial, which merged with Apella in 2023.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at diana.britton@informa.com.

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.