“Essentially, I worked so hard to reach a status and a financial level that, then, I had to use that same money to get my health back.”
After growing up in a paycheck-to-paycheck household, Diana Cabrices — founder of Diana Cabrices Consulting — worked so hard to achieve financial security that she began to pay the price with her health.
“I gained a lot of weight. I had insulin resistance. My cholesterol was really high,” Diana said on an episode of our podcast, Common Cents on the Prairie™.
“So, I spent the money. It wasn’t cheap, but I spent the money — because I had earned the money — to get my health back and into a good place.”
Today, Diana says she’s focused on finding balance. More specifically: a balance between her health and her wealth.
“I’m forever changed,” she said. “Because, even though I have that scarcity mindset, I will take everything with a balance. I have to say ‘no’ more. I have to know when to let go of a relationship, like a client, or to…put myself first.”
The business founder joined Adam Cox, host of the financial education podcast from First National Wealth Management, to share her story with the hope of inspiring others.
Growing up with a scarcity mindset
“I still have these, you know, experiences with money from childhood, when it was very scarce, that have changed the way I look at it,” Diana said.
She was born in Florida, then her family moved to Georgia so her dad could launch his own business.
Diana was 18 months old when he passed away.
“And my mom couldn’t handle the business,” she said, “so that kind of started our money journey.”
One example Diana recalled of their financial struggles was the stress around school photos and yearbooks each year.
“My mom always used to put so much effort into our hair and how we looked for the school picture day,” she said. “And by the time we got…the samples, it was always like, okay, now we have to figure out a way to actually get the photos.”
Diana could remember her mom dropping her and her sisters off at school and saying, “Today’s the last day. I’ll be back later today with $20 so you can get your photos.”
Another core memory was accompanying her mom to take out a loan each Christmas.
“During the holidays, we would always go to the loan officer so that we could have a good Christmas,” Diana said, “which, I give my mom so much credit for that.”
“When you’re an outsider, you might say, like, ‘Oh, that’s really irresponsible to go get a loan every Christmas to just enjoy the holiday,’” she continued. “But, at the same time, it created so many beautiful memories for me and my sisters.”
One of those memories was going to the store to buy toys, after which her mom would take her and her sisters to a random lower-class neighborhood to drop off those toys at people’s houses.
“That was very big-hearted of my mom,” Diana said, “because even when we didn’t have money, she always found a way to give back.”
Through these experiences, Diana learned to live only with a scarcity mindset — which would go on to affect everything from her first job to her future business.
“Who’s going to care for my future?”
As a single mother living paycheck to paycheck, Diana’s mom would often work a second job just to make ends meet.
“I was the youngest, so I would usually tag along with her,” Diana said. “Like sitting at the restaurant booth in the back while she finished cleaning tables, or something like that. In this case, she got a job throwing newspapers.”
So, Diana and her mother would go, in the middle of the night, to pick up their stack of newspapers and make their deliveries.
“We had a route, and I was the one out the window just throwing the newspapers,” she said. “I mean, that builds character.”
Her next job, as soon as she was old enough, was at the McDonald’s up the street from their house.
And because all she had ever known was a scarcity mindset and a strong work ethic, those early experiences with earning money followed Diana long into her post-college career.
“When I landed that first $50,000 job, I thought my life was made,” she said. “I had achieved more than what my mom had achieved. I had gotten myself to a place where I could sustain forever.”
Yet, all those years of scarcity manifested into a constant fear that something bad was going to happen.
“I’m always feeling like, if something bad were to happen tomorrow — which it probably would because…bad things would happen to us as kids — then I would be broke again,” Diana said. “And, like, I have to work, work, work, work, work in this hamster wheel, because if I don’t, who’s going to care for my future?”
Finding a balance between health and wealth
Skip ahead a few chapters, and Diana founded her business, Diana Cabrices Consulting, in January 2023.
“I’ve always played it a bit safe,” she said. “It wasn’t until I launched my business…that I, for the first time, I think took a really big risk.”
Wanting to ensure that the risk would pay off, Diana worked herself right into health issues.
“In just this last year, I started seeing a functional doctor,” she said. “And I think she really…made me open my eyes to the fact that I worked myself so hard since launching my business.”
“You have to find a balance,” she continued. “Otherwise, you’re literally going to be on one side of the house or the other.”
Despite it all, however, Diana believes that launching her own business has been her best financial decision yet.
She even has a five-figure check, which she received for a keynote speaking gig, that she’s planning to frame.
The check will serve as a reminder that she’s achieving her dreams. Meanwhile, she hopes her story will serve as a reminder to others that it is possible to have success while still maintaining a balance between your health and your wealth.
“I can always work more,” Diana said. “I can always take on more opportunities as they present themselves instead of saying ‘no.’ But, then I sacrifice my health — and I don’t want to do that.”
Watch the full episode of Common Cents on the Prairie below to hear Diana Cabrice’s full story!
And if you find yourself inspired by her experiences, reach out to Adam and our team at First National Wealth Management; we’d love to start a conversation.
Any comments, insights, or strategies discussed in this article are intended to be general in nature and, therefore, may not be suitable for you and your situation, whatever that may be. Before acting on anything written here, please consult with your attorney, CPA, and/or your financial advisor.
