INTERVIEW | Make Money by Investing in Yourself Before You Invest in Anything Else with Teri Ijeoma

Teri Ijeoma is an investor, entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Trade and Travel, an investing education company that has helped tens of thousands of people learn how to build wealth through the stock market. After leaving her career as an assistant principal, Teri turned trading into a full-time profession before building one of the country's most influential investing communities. She's also the author of The Risk Worth Taking, a book about embracing uncertainty, betting on yourself, and creating a life by design rather than by default. In this episode, Teri shares the lessons she learned from transitioning out of education, developing a profitable trading strategy, and why investing in your own skills can deliver the highest return you'll ever receive. On this episode we talk about: Why Teri chose to invest in the stock market instead of buying real estate early in her investing journey The importance of creating a trading plan, managing risk, and developing consistency before leaving your job Why investing in education and developing valuable skills often produces greater long-term returns than buying more assets How Trade and Travel was born unexpectedly while teaching fellow travelers overseas Why financial education can transform lives, careers, and even strengthen ministries and nonprofit organizations Top 3 Takeaways Investing in yourself can produce returns that far exceed any single investment. Developing valuable skills creates opportunities that continue paying dividends throughout your life. Successful investing isn't about guessing the next winning stock—it's about having a repeatable system, clear rules, and disciplined risk management. Building additional income streams gives you more freedom, more options, and greater resilience during career transitions or unexpected financial challenges. Notable Quotes "The skill set was the risk worth taking because it's something I can use for the rest of my life." "I wanted to make my income replace my salary—that was my goal." "If we can help people with their finances, we can help them with their lives." Connect with Teri Ijeoma: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriijeoma/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teriijeoma/ Other: Trade and Travel: https://tradeandtravel.com/ Book: The Risk Worth Taking (Available on Amazon) A Word from Our Sponsors: - Visit DrinkAG1.com/TMM to get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplies last.  - Go to Leesa.com for 25% OFF select mattresses (through July 26, 2026) PLUS get an extra $50 off with promo code TMM, exclusive for my listeners  - To learn more about Mode Mobile and its investor community, go to https://invest.modemobile.com/travismakesmoney -Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices