Valerie Smith

Video coming soon 😂 After the gym workout 🏋️‍♀️

🎤 TED TALK TUESDAY |

Teachers: Your retirement plan may have one more puzzle piece than you realize. 🍎💰

This weekend, THREE different teachers reached out to me with questions about the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA).

And it made me realize something:

I may have found my niche. 😂💜

Educators helping educators understand the financial side of education.

Because teacher retirement planning in Texas has its own language:

🍎 TRS
🍎 Top 5 salary years
🍎 TIA designations & allotments
🍎 District spending plans
🍎 Retirement dates
🍎 403(b)s, 457s & other retirement accounts
🍎 Social Security considerations
🍎 And the BIG question: When can I actually retire?! 😂

Here’s one example.

I’m working with a teacher who has 33+ years in education and already has a financial advisor.

And I told her something that I think is incredibly important:

If your financial advisor has you set up beautifully, GREAT. I’m not looking to undo good planning.

I want to help make sure you understand what you have—and that all of the education-specific pieces fit together.

TIA is a perfect example.

A TIA designation can remain valid for multiple school years, but the money isn’t simply a personal “bonus account” sitting somewhere waiting for a teacher. Funding flows through the district, districts have local compensation/spending plans, and employment and service requirements can matter.

So before choosing a retirement date, there may be questions worth asking.

👉 How could my retirement date affect my final TIA payment?
👉 Could TIA compensation affect my TRS salary calculations?
👉 What are my highest salary years?
👉 What does my district’s TIA plan actually say?
👉 How does this fit with the retirement accounts I already have?
👉 Am I staying longer than necessary—or leaving before money I’ve earned is paid?

Sometimes good financial planning isn’t about selling something or changing investments.

Sometimes it’s simply knowing which questions to ask. 💜

And after we figure out the TRS, TIA, retirement accounts and retirement date…

Then we can tackle the REALLY difficult financial planning question:

What the heck are you going to do with yourself after 33+ years of bells, lesson plans, meetings, STAAR, duties and “Miss, is this for a grade?”?!? 😂😂😂

THAT may require an entirely separate meeting. 💜

Teachers, if retirement is somewhere on your horizon, don’t just know your retirement number.

Know how all the pieces work together.

🎤 Ted Talk Tuesday complete.

💜 VULNERABLE POST — MONEY MYTH MONDAY

I NEED YOUR HELP!

What financial question are you afraid to ask… or maybe a little embarrassed because you feel like you “should already know”?

Let me be clear:

There are no stupid questions.

And I know that because I’ve been the person who didn’t know what questions I should be asking.

I had a hard time even finding a picture of myself around 21. 😂 This is one of the few I found.

I was in college, babysitting and mentoring the little boy in this picture. He would sit and read to me. 💜

He’s all grown up now, so that should tell you how long ago this picture was. 😂

When I look at this picture today, I see a young woman who was helping someone else learn while having absolutely NO idea how much she still had to learn herself.

Around this same season of my life, at 21 years old, I was handed a settlement check.

It was enough money that most people probably would have looked at it and thought:

“She’s set for life.”

Wrong.

I was 21.

I didn’t have the financial knowledge I have today.

There was college and education. Never-ending medical expenses. Life happened. And unfortunately, I also learned what it feels like to be taken advantage of financially.

Looking back, there were SO many questions I didn’t even know I needed to ask.

💰 What should I do with this money?

💰 How much should I save?

💰 How do I make it last?

💰 Who should I trust?

💰 What questions should I be asking that I don’t even know to ask?

Nobody handed 21-year-old me an instruction manual for money.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

And that brings me to today’s Money Myth:

❌ “I’m an adult. I should already know this stuff.”

NOPE.

Sometimes financial mistakes don’t happen because someone is irresponsible.

Sometimes we simply don’t know what we don’t know.

And that is a BIG part of why matters to me.

I spent almost 20 years in education, and I still believe one of the most powerful things we can give someone is knowledge.

So now I genuinely need YOUR help.

What financial question have you wanted to ask but felt embarrassed because you thought you should already know the answer?

Maybe it’s:

🍎 What happens to my TRS if I leave education?

💰 Am I actually saving enough for retirement?

📄 What’s the difference between a 401(k), 403(b), IRA and an annuity?

🏡 Should I pay off my house before I retire?

👨‍👩‍👧 Do I really need life insurance?

⏰ Is it too late for me to start saving?

🤷‍♀️ I have retirement accounts from different jobs. What am I supposed to do with all of them?

😬 Or maybe it’s simply:

Where do I even start?

👇 Drop your question in the comments.

And if you’re sitting there thinking…

“Absolutely NOT putting my financial business on Facebook, Valerie!” 😂

I don’t blame you.

Message me privately.

I won’t share your name or personal information. I genuinely want to know what REAL people want explained so I can create future content around the questions people are actually asking.

Because I know what it’s like to look back and think:

“I wish someone had taught me this sooner.”

You don’t have to know all the answers.

💜 You just need to know what questions to ask.

differently right now. 💜

The first is me at my graduation with them by my side, celebrating one of my biggest milestones just as they had shown up for so many others in my life.

The second is Granny Girl and Grandaddy holding my daughter, their great-granddaughter. Knowing she got to experience their love is something I’ll always treasure.

Two pictures.
Two generations.
One legacy of family, love, and faith.

Grandaddy has been gone for 15 years, and as Granny Girl’s body grows more tired, I often think about the reunion that may be waiting for her.

Grandaddy waiting for his girl after 15 years apart. ❤️
And even more importantly, Jesus waiting for her.

It brings tears, but also deep peace.

These photos remind me that their story didn’t end with one generation. Their love and faith were poured into us—and now we carry that legacy forward.

Because of Jesus, goodbye is never forever. 💜🙏

💜 Thankful Thursday | Val Educates 💜

This week reminded me that gratitude isn’t about having a perfect life—it’s about recognizing God’s faithfulness through every season.

Today, my heart is full.

I’m thankful for:
💜 A clean ultrasound and the peace of hearing, “Everything looks normal.” The cysts were benign.
💜 A husband who lovingly keeps me accountable, even when I don’t always want to hear it.
💜 Medical professionals who took the time to be thorough.
💜 An officer who chose grace over a ticket and reminded me to simply… breathe.
💜 Friends and family who prayed.
💜 The strength to complete this workout and even attempt the dance moves in Zumba afterward. (If you know me, rhythm has never exactly been my spiritual gift. 😂)
💜 And most of all, a God who has carried me through every storm of my life—and has never once let go.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” — Psalm 107:1

Sometimes God answers our prayers with a miracle.

Sometimes He answers them with peace.

Sometimes He simply gives us the strength to take one more step.

This week, I experienced a little of all three.

Looking at this whiteboard full of exercises, I’m reminded that growth doesn’t happen by standing still. Whether it’s our faith, our health, our finances, or our relationships, God often strengthens us one step, one prayer, and one challenge at a time.

What are you thankful for today? I’d love to celebrate with you in the comments. 💜

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t knowing how to help people…

It’s finding the people who need your help.

This week my goal is simple: fill my calendar with conversations.

Not sales pitches.
Not pressure.

Just real conversations about:
💜 Protecting your family
💜 Planning for retirement
💜 Understanding teacher retirement (TRS)
💜 College savings
💜 Budgeting and financial goals
💜 Making sure your loved ones are taken care of

I’ve spent my career educating others, and that’s exactly how I approach financial planning. If we meet and you leave knowing more than when you walked in, then it’s time well spent.

If you’ve ever wondered:
• “Am I on track for retirement?”
• “How much life insurance do I actually need?”
• “Could I be making smarter financial decisions?”
• “What should I be doing differently?”

I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee or tea and have a conversation.

No obligation. No pressure. Just education.

If you’d like to meet this week or know someone who could benefit send me a message or drop a 💜 in the comments.

Let’s make this a week of helping families build a stronger financial future.

👇 What’s ONE money lesson you wish someone had taught you sooner?

💜 Wealth Wisdom Wednesday 💜

You don’t have to be wealthy to build wealth—you just have to be intentional.

One of the biggest financial mistakes I see isn’t that people don’t make enough money… it’s that they don’t have a plan for the money they already make.

💡 Ask yourself:
✔️ Do I know where every dollar goes each month?
✔️ Am I building an emergency fund?
✔️ Am I saving for retirement consistently?
✔️ Do I have life insurance to protect the people I love?
✔️ When was the last time I reviewed my financial plan?

Small decisions made consistently over time often create the biggest results.

As a former teacher, I spent years helping students prepare for their futures. Today, I help individuals and families prepare financially for theirs. Financial education shouldn’t be complicated—it should be practical.

What’s one financial goal you’re working toward before the end of this year? Share it below! 👇

💜