First In Your Family To Build Wealth? TruWorth Explains Why It Feels So Hard

Dek: The psychological weight of building wealth without a roadmap is real, and a new book finally addresses it.

A middle-aged couple owns their own home and a rental property that brings in passive income, with well-paying jobs that allow them to earn well while they do good in the world.

She knew that she’d “made it” when she bought a house that had a front yard with real grass. His family’s dream for him was for him to get out of farm labor and into an office. He studied engineering, and even with a career pivot into housing advocacy, he knows he and his wife have far surpassed their goals for their wealth and careers.

Despite their success, this couple holds an unshakeable anxiety about money. They fight about it all the time. “We don’t have a template for any of this. We keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And according to the upcoming book Wealth and Why We Seek It by TruWorth, there’s a reason for it.

The Loneliness Nobody Talks About

Building wealth when your family hasn’t had any can involve a sense of isolation that may be hard for others to relate to. That’s difficult to explain to those who haven’t lived it. Unlike peers who grew up with parents to ask advice on how to negotiate their first salary, ask for a raise or promotion, or grandparents who ingrain in you the value of a good credit score, first-generation wealth builders find themselves making financial decisions with limited external guidance.

As Wealth and Why We Seek It notes, if you’re “the first in your family to have a real chance at building wealth, you may not have anyone who can offer the perspective you need.”

There’s no one to call when you’re deciding between a 401(k) and a Roth IRA. There is no family accountant to consult on how to maximize your tax write-offs. There is no realtor you went to high school with who could advise you whether the house you were looking to buy might appreciate in that particular neighborhood.

You are the product of sacrifice. You inherited wisdom and were guided by elders who knew how to teach you how to survive and how to stretch every dollar. But who is there to teach you how to transform a dollar into ten dollars?

It was just you, a search engine, and the vague sense that everyone else knows something you don’t.

This is precisely why Uma Viswanathan and Johann Berlin wrote this book and founded TruWorth: to be the guide that so many first-generation wealth builders never had, so they can honor their past while shaping new futures around their money, wealth, and worth.

The Money Taboo Holding First-Gen Wealth Builders Back

Here’s the thing about financial anxiety: it often goes unspoken. When money was tight growing up, you learned not to talk about it. You learned to stretch every dollar and keep your worries quiet. You pitched in when you had a little to spare, and maybe you privately asked for a little help from someone close to you when you really needed it.

This discomfort around money can make it harder for some first-generation builders to seek guidance, normalize their struggles, or learn from others’ mistakes.

Money taboos cut across class, geography, and cultures. Whether you were the first to go to college out of a family of coalminers in rural West Virginia, or you pitched in after school at your family’s grocery store, or you made it into college on a scholarship only to find yourself one of a handful of kids who look like you… it was not okay to talk about money openly.

But that same silence now prevents you from asking the questions that could take the pressure off. Questions often arise around how much to save, whether it’s reasonable to take career risks, how to assess one’s value at work, and whether financial anxiety is normal even when circumstances appear stable.

The “I Should Already Know This” Trap

Perhaps the cruelest part of being a first-generation wealth builder is the persistent feeling of being behind. You compare yourself to peers who had early financial education, who knew what a credit score was before they turned 18, who consider having a financial advisor the most normal thing in the world.

This comparison breeds shame. And that shame prevents you from asking questions or seeking help, which only widens the knowledge gap. Wealth and Why We Seek It helps tackle these mindset blocks, acknowledging that the emotional barriers to wealth are just as significant as the practical ones.

The Confidence Gap Is Real

Research consistently shows that belief in your ability to manage finances predicts outcomes better than income level alone. In other words, just because you’ve found a way to earn well doesn’t mean you trust yourself to make good money choices. It’s not that you’re making the wrong choices — if you’ve made it this far, chances are, you’ve figured out a lot on your own.

First-generation wealth builders often lack this confidence in their own abilities because no one modeled it for them. You can be brilliant, hardworking, and deserving of every dollar you earn while still feeling like you’re faking it, even when you’re not.

These blocks are a natural result of learning about money through scarcity rather than strategy.

How Your Relationship With Money Shapes Financial Decisions

Financial literacy alone may not be sufficient without also examining one’s relationship with money.

Wealth and Why We Seek It emphasizes that changing the relationship with money matters more than simply understanding compound interest or budget percentages.

Before you can build wealth, you might need to unlearn the shame that’s been woven into every money decision you've ever made. You might need to grieve the financial education you never received. You might need to release yourself from the guilt of wanting more than your parents had. This book offers a framework for doing exactly that.

What First-Generation Wealth Builders Actually Need

Wealth and Why We Seek It emphasizes the importance of having “a guide who doesn’t judge us, and walks alongside us, who makes us aware of the things we may be avoiding or doing wrong.”

Unlike traditional personal finance books that assume a baseline of financial literacy and family support, TruWorth meets readers where they actually are: navigating uncharted territory with no safety net and plenty of emotional baggage around money.

First-generation wealth builders deserve support that understands their unique starting point, and this book was written with that mission in mind.

Why Playing It Safe Could Be Holding You Back Financially

Security can provide stability, though it may not always create forward momentum. And over time, holding the line can start to feel like standing still.

Wealth building often involves taking steps beyond meeting immediate needs, whether incremental or more ambitious. It asks you to believe that protecting what you have and growing what’s possible can coexist.

If you’re the first in your family to build wealth, know this: the difficulty you feel is a sign that you’re doing something no one taught you how to do. That takes courage. And with resources like Wealth and Why We Seek It by TruWorth, you don’t have to figure it out alone anymore.

Wealth and Why We Seek It by TruWorth is available for pre-order now.

The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the content of this article and are encouraged to seek professional advice tailored to their specific circumstances. We disclaim any liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information presented.

BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.