Meet your Master your Money Live Digital Bootcamp panelists: Two personal finance professionals who help millennials understand their money and reach their goals

• Master your Money is a series designed to help millennials take charge of their financial future by equipping them with knowledge and advice from financial experts.
• In an upcoming Live Digital Bootcamp on Wednesday, July 8 at noon ET, experts Anna N'Jie-Konte and Kelly Lannan will speak with Tanza Loudenback, personal finance correspondent, about how to reset a financial plan, rebuild an emergency fund, and more.
• Both N'Jie-Konte and Lannan work directly with millennials in their professional work and spoke to Business Insider about how they came into their careers, and what makes their work rewarding.
• You can register for the free event here.

Neither Anna N'Jie-Konte nor Kelly Lannan expected to find themselves making a career out of helping people navigate their financial future.

Although each now plays a different role in the wealth-management industry, they share similar goals in helping their clients find financial security.

N'Jie-Konte is a certified financial planner, the founder of Dare to Dream Financial Planning, and the creator and host of the "First-Gen Realness" podcast.

Lannan is vice president of Young Investors for Personal Investing at Fidelity Investments, where she helps young adults understand their finances, and a member of BI's Money Council.

The path to wealth-management and personal finance

"Honestly, it wasn't until I graduated from college and I was out there on my own that I started to realize, 'Oh wow, you need money for everything,'" Lannan told Business Insider. "I really started to pay more attention to my finances. And then I went to business school to get my MBA."

Before becoming a certified financial planner, N'Jie-Konte organized conferences for people interested in investing in industries in Latin America. At her last event before changing careers, she met people in wealth management who inspired her to try it.

"It combined so many things that I love doing," N'Jie-Konte said. "Problem-solving, talking to people, helping them figure out complex issues and kind of distill it down into understandable bits. I've been doing this for nine years now, and I just love it so, so much."

Financial literacy is important for millennials and first-generation Americans

Earlier this year, N'Jie-Konte launched her podcast, "First-Gen Realness," where she explores the unique financial hurdles that first-generation Americans face.

"I am a first-generation American," N'Jie-Konte said. "My mom is from Puerto Rico, and my father is from The Gambia in West Africa. And, you know, being that I have a multiethnic background and I'm multiracial, I really see one thing that touches first-generation Americans the most, which is insecurity around financial security."

The podcast explores learning and creating financial stability and literacy, a topic some may be tackling for the first time.

"Oftentimes you don't have resources to fall back on in your own family, because they just might not have the knowledge they can help share with you," N'Jie-Konte added.

"So I really wanted to serve as a resource to create a safe community space where we can talk about things that are difficult and challenging for first-generation Americans in a nonjudgmental, understanding way."

Financial literacy is a topic close to Lannan's heart as well.

"I'm someone who graduated in the middle of the recession, and I said no to the first 401(k) opportunity because I didn't understand it," Lannan said. "I just didn't think I would need money for certain things in the future.

"So as a result, through my mistakes and now given my career, I just want to make sure that I am doing all that I can to ensure that people of all ages, all demographics are getting this financial education, so that they can feel competent in their financial smarts."

Their work pays off when their clients feel prepared for future

Helping people with their finances every day while living their own lives isn't easy, but both N'Jie-Konte and Lannan find it rewarding.

"One of my favorite things is when a client says, 'Oh, my God, I feel so much better,' or 'Wow, I'm leaving this meeting 10 pounds lighter because I've released a lot of this stress,'" N'Jie-Konte said. "It's just so nice to see."

For Lannan, who often works with young adults, she's found something special in being able to give them the confidence to navigate finances in a way that allows them to stay afloat — while being able to enjoy the fun things in life like traveling or nice dinners.

"I find tremendous pride and inspiration myself in giving folks financial knowledge," Lannan said. "So when they do go out there into the real world, or if they are a recent graduate or even much older than that, they're starting out feeling more competent around their finances."

Click here to register for the free live digital bootcamp featuring both N'Jie-Konte and Lannan.