So many of us are waiting on "someday" to go after the thing we really want. But what happens when someday stops feeling guaranteed? Yvette Ramirez is a bilingual Cuban and Salvadoran American, a tech professional, and the founder of Kuro Libros, a children's picture book brand that helps families teach their kids Spanish at home. In February 2023, Yvette was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Instead of waiting until retirement, she ran her numbers and realized she could coast FIRE. So she's betting on herself NOW.
WE GET INTO:
[01:24] Meet Yvette and Kuro Libros
[01:54] Why now: a stage 4 diagnosis
[03:00] Cuban and Salvadoran money lessons: saving, property and wanting more
[04:40] From law school to tech startups
[07:56] How a diagnosis changes your view of time
[09:33] Realizing she could coast FIRE
[10:50] Is a steady paycheck really security?
[12:35] Stock options, tender offers and her FIRE number
[16:04] The gap in Spanish children's books
[19:06] Confidence, Caribbean Spanish and choosing the right Spanish
[22:04] Taking your own idea seriously
[23:55] Self-publishing behind the scenes: $50K+ invested
[29:12] Building a business while managing cancer
[31:18] Full circle: EGFR, prognosis and hope
[35:18] Would she have started sooner?
[37:28] "Why not now?" A message for Latinas waiting on someday
[39:33] Your paycheck is your angel investor
[40:03] How she ended up in the Netherlands
[41:44] What she hopes kids feel + where to find Kuro Libros
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
→ Your parents may have taught you to save, but saving alone isn't the whole wealth plan. Investing is how your money grows beyond what you earn.
→ FIRE calculators can reveal you're closer to freedom than you think. Yvette found she needed around $600K to $700K invested to coast, and her equity had already passed that.
→ A steady paycheck isn't the only kind of security. After her diagnosis, Yvette started measuring wealth in time, flexibility, and freedom to see her family.
→ Your lived experience is a business idea. Yvette saw friends struggle to raise bilingual kids and saw a gap for a Latino main character in children's books.
→ There's room for more than one of us. Seeing another Latina-owned brand succeed showed Yvette the market was ready, not taken.
→ Treat your passion project like a business from day one. That means trademarks, an IP attorney, a professional editor, and the right illustrator.
→ Rest is part of the strategy. Building on your own terms means giving yourself flexibility and slowing down when your body needs it.
You don't have to quit to start. Your paycheck can be the angel investor for the thing you want to build.
CONNECT WITH YVETTE:
🤝 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurolibros
🌐 Website: https://www.kurolibros.com (free resources available)
TAKE THE NEXT STEP WITH YO QUIERO DINERO:
📕 Get the book, Financially Lit!: https://financiallylitbook.com
💸 Download the FREE Dinero Guide: https://courses.yoquierodineropodcast.com/
💬 Book a free Money Call: https://yoquierodineropodcast.com/links/
FOLLOW YO QUIERO DINERO:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoquierodineropodcast
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