June 2025: June 2025: Diary of a CFP® Pro — This month we tip our caps to brides, dads, and grads!

A Note from Marguerita Cheng, CFP® Pro, CEO Blue Ocean Global Wealth — Hello friends! I love June! It reminds me that all things are possible with the joy of graduations and summer weddings — everything seems new and possible.

As you know, it is my mission is to help everyone maximize their money using smart, savvy planning tools. That’s why my website offers tons of free information, including podcasts, videos, and articles about ways to harness your financial power. So let’s start celebrating your success!

Photos above are courtesy of my friend, photographer and videographer Anna Gibbs, who specializes in creating the most beautiful wedding videos and photos. Above are a few pics to showcase the joy of the season.

Marguerita with her Dad, 1972

Celebrating Father’s Day each June is another milestone that, although he has passed, let’s me connect with the man who taught me so much.

So it was a pleasure to write the article, “8 great financial lessons I learned from my father” for MSNBC.

In the piece, I explain that my father emigrated from Taiwan in the 1960s with only $17 to his name and the clothes on his back. Though he was poor in a material and financial sense, he never considered himself poor. His mantra was that financial wealth alone does not represent one’s “true wealth.”

My dad taught me not to define myself by how much I had, but by what I did with what I had. I learned early on not to let money be the sole determining factor for the decisions I made in life, but I also learned that, although money couldn’t buy happiness, it could provide peace of mind, freedom and flexibility. I am thankful for the values my father instilled in me about “true wealth,” but I am also grateful that he taught me about finances. My dad understood the importance of financial literacy and has left me a legacy that I am now passing on to my own three children. Financial literacy is having the knowledge necessary to manage personal finances efficiently. Financially literate people know how to achieve long-term goals and make healthy financial decisions.

On the other hand, those who are not financially literate have difficulty applying financial decision-making skills to real-life situations. Not only do they tend to make unhealthy money decisions that create financial problems, they have trouble reaching financial milestones. In America today, financial illiteracy has become an epidemic. A study done by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Foundation estimated that nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic financial literacy test. That’s a problem. Whereas basic literacy is a priority for public educators, financial literacy is not. Click here to read more.

Honors and Articles: Marguerita in the News

Investment News named Rita one of its 2025 “Best Certified Financial Planners in the USA | 5-Star Financial Planners,” The news outlet reports “Americans are facing a growing need for guidance and support in their financial affairs and that trend doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. Not only are people wealthier, but their financial situations are more complex relative to previous generations due to more retirees relying on savings, an increase in the range of products available, and the explosion in alternative investments.”Consulting giant McKinsey & Company estimates that “by 2034, at current advisor productivity levels, the advisor workforce will decline to the point where the industry faces a shortage of roughly 100,000 advisors.” The sharp demand for CFP services has pushed InvestmentNews’ 5-Star Financial Planners to stand out in a dynamic market by exemplifying excellence, integrity, and dedication in helping their clients. Marguerita was nominated and then benchmarked against others to determine the country’s best. “While the winners have varying skill sets, a commonality is that the most successful financial planners specialize. They are serving a particular niche and have leveraged it to obtain a competitive edge,” the editors explain. Click here to see who else is a top CFP in 2025.

Margaritas with Marguerita podcast and video show: On my podcast and video show, Margaritas with Marguerita, we’ve conducted more than 100 conversations with leaders in the finance world who are determined to help you grow your confidence and wealth for your entire lives. Click here to listen to the podcasts on my Radio channel and find all of the video versions of the interviews on MargueritaCheng.tv.

Books by Marguerita: I can’t think of a better gift for women than to get a handle on our finances. Some may want to save more or invest more wisely. Others may need to learn to find ways to work better on money issues with their partners or make sure there’s enough money for their kids to attend college. Whatever your financial goal, click here for monthly ideas and insights in my latest book, Diary of a CFP® Pro. You’ll find more tips you can put into practice today in my first book, Wealth Management Rules.

News you can use: Below, you’ll find my media interviews and articles I’ve penned for publications including Kiplinger, USNews, and CNBC. I hope these will give you insights into what you need to do in the coming year! Click here to read all of the media mentions.

How can you maximize your financial plan? Click here to contact me today! — Rita