Making money count

Bernadette Joy (MBA ’16) is crushing it by helping people crush their money goals.

Joy uses her firsthand experience of paying off $300,000 of debt in three years and building her first $1 million of net worth in her 30s to help others. To accomplish her achievement, she took everything she learned at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and applied it to her personal life.

“I always say that financial freedom isn’t just about numbers – it’s about options. My journey from being in debt to being able to retire at 40 didn’t come from extreme frugality or winning the lottery,” says Joy. “It came from learning how money really works and using it as a tool to create the life I wanted. That’s what I want more people to know: You don’t have to be perfect with money to build wealth – you just have to be intentional.”

In 2020, she launched Crush Your Money Goals®, a financial education platform. Since then, Joy has taught strategies to pay down debt, save money, invest wisely and gain financial freedom to thousands of people across the U.S. through keynotes, workshops and classes for corporate employers. CNBC, Forbes, CNET and National Public Radio have featured her work.

Joy describes how her experiences as a first-generation Filipina American and being the eighth of nine children shaped her relationship with money. She shares the story of debt smothering her and how she made her comeback.

Joy is on tour traveling around the U.S. promoting her book “Crush Your Money Goals: 25 Smart Money Habits” (Adams Media, December 2024). She provides step-by-step advice on how to take control of finances and remove the anxiety that comes with crushing debt. She uses humor and her own story to make the hard truth palatable and relatable.

“I like to think of my budget as a living, breathing representation of who I am and who I want to be,” she writes in the book.

Joy uses humor and her own story to make the hard truth palatable and relatable.

Applying business principles to personal finance

The evolution of Joy’s current profession began at UNC Kenan-Flagler. She saw an ad for MBA@UNC when she was contemplating leaving the corporate world after a career in human resources in New York and Charlotte.

“The program stood out to me for its strong finance and entrepreneurship curriculum, which aligned perfectly with my goal of building financial freedom,” says Joy. “Plus, as a North Carolina resident, I loved that I could get a world-class education right in my backyard.”

Experiential learning was an asset that Joy credits with her professionalism in teaching personal finance skills. She participated in STAR (Student Teams Achieving Results) and a Summit in London with a consulting track. She worked with a team on a project for UTC Aerospace and involved researching geopolitical risk to their supply chain. It was outside Joy’s comfort zone, and her team had a mere 48 hours to prepare their presentation. When they presented the their findings at UTC headquarters, she gained confidence in translating skills across different industries – and her team won.

Brave new world

Her exposure to international business was not limited to London and had a significant impact on her world view. Joy also studied in South Africa, China and Argentina and describes the Summits as “transformative.”

In South Africa, she witnessed the resilience of founders facing tremendous economic and political challenges. At a children’s center, she was moved by children living in extreme poverty who still managed to find happiness. In Argentina, she experienced literal sticker shock when she observed the stacks of stickers showing price changes on the shelves of stores, a result of rampant inflation.

“UNC Kenan-Flagler didn’t just teach business to me, it made me want to become a more thoughtful global citizen,” she says.

Her ability to “practice being a consultant before officially becoming one” was one of the biggest assets of her degree.

“Through my entrepreneurship classes, I learned how to think critically about business problems, test ideas quickly and develop strategies that actually work in the real world. But it wasn’t just theory. I had opportunities to work on real consulting projects that gave me hands-on experience solving challenges for businesses,” says Joy.

“That experience was invaluable because it taught me how to approach problems with a structured mindset, ask the right questions and, most importantly, communicate solutions in ways that actually gets people to take action. Now, as a coach and entrepreneur, those same skills help me every day, whether I’m working with corporate clients, coaching small business owners or advising on strategic growth.”

Negotiation is another skill she developed at UNC Kenan-Flagler. In her negotiations class, she participated in an exercise trading a red paperclip for something she wanted. Joy managed to trade hers for expensive hair extensions, which was unconventional compared to her classmates, she says.

“The key lesson was that your strongest negotiating position is when you don’t have to take a deal,” says Joy. “This principle has guided my approach to business, personal finance and coaching other women in negotiations.”

Teaching people to crush money goals

Joy is on track to retire at 40.

Joy now spends her time sharing these valuable lessons with others. She advises clients on how to best invest in themselves. She has a grasp on how important her education was in her success today, even though paying for it was a big part of her debt. After completing the MBA program, she had amassed over $72,000 in student loans that accrued interest daily.

“I encourage students not to be discouraged by educational expenses,” says Joy. “By applying what I learned and being strategic, I’ve created significant value from my education and I am on track to retire at 40.”

When Joy is not teaching personal finance, she can be found taking hip-hop and other dance classes. She’s particularly fond of throwback styles and isn’t intimidated by those with more impressive skills. Yoga is another new passion. She’s taking improv classes and will perform her first show in April 2025.

A big K-pop fan, Joy enjoys listening to the music of BTS, BLACKPINK and TWS. She and her husband are contemplating how they will use the time that building wealth allows them. Next they will travel to Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines.

“I’m in a reflective phase of life,” Joy says, “exploring new hobbies and experiences.”