Immigrant Finance School™

Copyright 2020. Adina Appelbaum and Mauricio Castillo Ferri. All Rights Reserved.

6-Week Personal Finance Group Coaching Course
for Immigrants and Their Families

Feeling overwhelmed by money? Struggling to get by every month, living paycheck to paycheck? Wishing you had a plan in place to develop financial stability and build wealth?

We’re here to help. Immigrant Finance School™ teaches you how to transform your current money situation from anxiety, stress, and confusion to a clear plan with concrete action steps.

You don't have to do this alone. Through our group coaching program and private community group, join a community of other individuals focusing on personal finance for immigrants and their families, access weekly peer support for your personal finance journey, and feel inspired by others working to empower the immigrant community through personal finance.

If you want to:

  • Develop a complete financial plan, including actions steps on how to make an easy-to-use budget that helps you balance your expenses, work toward your long-term financial goals, and enjoy life today and save and pay for emergencies and immigration expenses such as an immigration lawyer or immigration fees

  • Get hard-to-find information about personal finance concepts for immigrants and their families in an easy to follow format with guidance

  • Be a part of changing the stereotype (Did you know that immigrants are one of the groups that is the least likely to have a bank account, savings, or investments? By investing in yourself to learn about personal finance, you can help change that statistic and empower the immigrant community.)

...then this course is for you!

In this 6-week group coaching program, we’ve included everything you need to know to build a solid personal finance foundation, including how to:

  • Build a goal-driven budget system
  • Open & optimize your bank accounts
  • Reduce unnecessary spending
  • Create and manage an Immigrant Empowerment Fund™ (emergency fund incorporating immigration expenses)
  • Increase income
  • Responsibly use credit cards and invest!


Here are testimonials from people just like you who got results through Immigrant Finance School!

Soledad from @wealthparatodos found community with others facing similar challenges, made the shift to focus on increasing income, and learned the power of changing her money mindset


Reyes of @theLatinoDinero learned to shift to online business income and use credit cards responsibly to get all of their benefits!


Karen had a complete mindset switch & developed confidence with money


Edward found a community to relate to and help him make a plan for his family's personal finances in the U.S. before immigrating


Evelyn of @lamaripositahealing and @somos_magia found support and community with others who understand the immigrant experience in her personal finance journey!


Why Should I Register for Immigrant Finance School™?

1. Learn the Immigrant Finance School™ THRIVE method™ & how to automate this easy system in your daily life:

T - Train your dollars

H - Hold on to your money

R - Reduce unnecessary spending

I - Increase income & Build Credit

V - Visualize and set clear goals

E - Elevate to the next level

2. Study at your own pace:

Participate in the course at your own schedule through weekly self-study guided video seminars, resource materials, and written assignments on essential personal finance topics.

3. Maximize your learning through group coaching & become part of a supportive community:

Through 6 weekly group coaching calls and ongoing opportunities for discussion in our private facebook group, connect and share your experiences and advice with other immigrants and their family members. Having a supportive community makes the transformative impact of personal finance education even more powerful. Although figuring out the financial system in the U.S. can be intimidating, scary, and lonely... at Immigrant Finance School™ we want you to know you are not alone on this journey. We are stronger together, and together, we can help empower each other.

4. Learn from guest speakers from the immigrant community who are personal finance experts and influencers

Our course has featured guest speakers including @Latinosonabudget, who spoke on building an emergency fund for immigration-related expenses, @AmbitiousAdulting, who shared investment advice and her investing journey as an immigrant, and @yourdreamermoney. We have several other guest speakers lined up for the next round as we build our community and lift up leaders in the immigrant community raising awareness about personal finance!

Immigrant Finance School Team

Your Instructor


Adina & Mauricio, Immigrant Finance™
Adina & Mauricio, Immigrant Finance™

Adina Appelbaum, Esq., and Mauricio Castillo Ferri are Co-Creators and Co-Founders of International Empowerment LLC, a financial and business education company specializing in empowering international and immigrant students and families to navigate complex financial and business systems and build generational wealth.

Adina Appelbaum, Esq., is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC)®, Financial and Business Coach, and Immigration Attorney. She holds a J.D. and Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown University Law Center; M.P.P. from Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy; and B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in International Area Studies and Urban Studies.

Mauricio Castillo Ferri holds a Masters in International Relations and Humanitarian Aid from Universidad Católica de Ávila / Instituto Séneca and B.A. from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in International Relations. He has a background in Human Resources, Operations, and Diplomacy. Mauricio is a native Spanish speaker originally from Ecuador. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2013.


Sofia Scott, Group Moderator and Student Ambassador

Sofia is an international development professional who works on USAID economic growth projects abroad, particularly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Originally from Argentina, Sofia immigrated with her family to New York when she was 5 years old. From early on, her family instilled the importance of managing personal finances, ultimately helped her graduate from George Washington University debt-free. She knows how important the right financial mindset is in succeeding in the U.S. and hopes to work with other immigrant communities to improve their financial security and ensure the success of their families in their new home.

Lucky Domingo, Group Moderator and Student Ambassador

Lucky is a recent college graduate at St. John’s University who majored in Communications and Public Relations. She emigrated from the Philippines in 2000 and has lived in Hawaii, Long Island and finally landed in NYC for college. Since her time spent studying in one of the greatest and most diverse cities in America, Lucky has grown a passion for racial justice and having a voice for the voiceless. She has worked many PR, Marketing and Design jobs and hopes to incorporate her corporate experience with her passion here at Immigrant Finance.

Frequently Asked Questions


How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited, lifetime access to this course and the private Facebook group for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Can you tell me more about your student audience?
The students includes people who are soon immigrating to the US and are abroad, US citizens who are children of immigrants, recent immigrants, people who immigrated to the US as children, and spouses of immigrants.
I'm not an immigrant but my mother or father is. Is this course for me too?
Yes. Many of our students are first generation children of immigrants or even late generations. Students in this category have been able to work a lot on money mindset including money stories and traumas passed down from from immigrant family. The first video testimonial posted above is of Soledad who is the child of immigrants.
I'm already in a good place with my personal finances. Does this program make sense for me?
Even if you have the basics of personal finance down, there's probably still an area you could work on regarding your relationship with money that has been impacted by being an immigrant or family member of an immigrant. The group coaching model provides empowerment for you in whatever area you are strengthening through community. There is nothing more powerful than developing your personal finances alongside a community of people going through similar experiences who can understand and relate. As you lift each other up, together you can contribute to the larger mission of empowering the immigrant community through personal finance.
I feel stuck in my money situation and don't see any way out. How can Immigrant Finance School help?
Our goal is help you go from developing stability to building wealth and thriving to reach your fullest potential. To get there, we guide you in re-writing family and cultural financial stories, cycles, and patterns that are harmful. Together we will develop a comprehensive financial plan throughout the course to drive your money toward accelerating your financial goals. We will also identify areas where you can increase passive income to begin transitioning out of exchanging time for money.
What's the difference between the online course and group coaching?
The group coaching and online course materials come together as part of one package. Each week for 6 weeks, we meet for 1.5 hours of group coaching on each weekly personal finance topic. During the week, students go through the online course material on that topic and complete assignments at their own pace. It is not necessary to complete the online materials in order to participate in the group coaching sessions.

We help immigrants and families of immigrants learn about personal finance and managing money so they can create financial stability, build wealth, and reach their fullest potential.

© Copyright Immigrant Finance School™ 2020