Hi! I'm Serene.
I have always called the Bay Area my home. I love traveling but will never tire of playing tourist in San Francisco. I'm the daughter to immigrant parents and grew up in a bilingual home. One of my favorite activities is bantering with Cantonese shopkeepers in Chinatown because it now feels like a love language.
I like the feeling of starting new notebooks, taking time to admire the flowers at Trader Joe's, and going out of my way to step on crunchy leaves. I love a scenic jog, but most of my workout these days comes from schlepping my toddler around. (Lift with your legs, people!)
Different life stages have brought on different passions and priorities, but my love of personal finances has only grown over the years.
I founded Foreword Financial
to do what I've always loved: help women make smart money moves.
Back in my business casual, cubicle days, I created my own 401(k) presentations. I rallied my 20-something year old friends to talk about retirement over lunch breaks. “Serene’s $marty Pants series,” as I called our meetings, had a silly name but held real impact. One friend decided to increase her retirement contributions by 8x after we crunched the numbers! That change alone will likely result in hundreds of thousands more in savings by the time she retires.
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As a money coach, I continue to leverage the skills I’ve built in my corporate career. As a former user researcher and business strategist, I take time to understand your financial picture and dreams for the future. We create plans and habits to fund that bucket list through personalized financial education and money management strategies.
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I believe anyone can re-write their money story and create the version they deserve. Your next chapter awaits! Let’s do this thing.