Fernando & Yolanda Balbuena
Etobicoke, ON
Former Occupation: Business Administration

The Right Option

It’s hard enough leaving your family, your friends, and everything you know to immigrate to a new country, but Fernando & Yolanda Balbuena, of Etobicoke, ON, didn’t expect their career opportunities to virtually disappear when they decided to make Canada their new home.

“Aside from living in an environment that was completely different from my native Peru and Yolanda’s native Venezuela, the accreditations and degrees we had weren’t accepted in Canada,” Fernando explains. “Suddenly, we only had two options: Go back to school, which takes time and money, or start working whatever job we could get — usually for low pay and with limited growth potential.”

Fortunately, there was a third option. “I have a degree in business administration and Yolanda is an electrical engineer,” Fernando explains. “Yet I was working in a wine store, and Yolanda was working in a bakery. We were renting a basement apartment and were barely able to make ends meet. As our personal savings began to deplete, we were considering leaving Canada and moving back home. Then, we met Primerica Representatives Franco and Linda Greco, who introduced us to Primerica’s entrepreneurial business opportunity.”^{1, 2}

All In

At the time, Representatives were required to be full-time in Canada — a stipulation that didn’t bother Fernando at all.³ “My biggest motivation wasn’t the money, it was to be somebody again,” he reflects. “My career was going down instead of up. I kept thinking, if I need to suffer at a low-paying job just to pay bills, I’d rather do that in my home country rather than a place where it’s cold and more expensive.

“We had both worked so hard for our first two years in Canada and we still had no future. What Primerica offered us as entrepreneurs made a lot of sense. And what we liked even more than the potential financial benefits was getting to help families learn how to become financially independent.”

Common-Sense Education

The Balbuenas like to use a thought experiment to get clients thinking about the power of the financial education they provide at the kitchen table.⁴ “If you ask people if they’d rather have $100,000 or go back 10 years with the knowledge they have now, most will say they want to go back in time,” Fernando explains. “The reality is, you can’t go back, and that’s why the financial education we provide is priceless. Education is the key because it’s how you learn to make good decisions for your future.

“If you make good decisions, you can be successful. If you make bad decisions, that’s where you can get into financial trouble. One of the biggest stresses couples have is money. When you don’t have the resources, small problems can become big problems. At Primerica, we teach common-sense financial principles that worked before, that work today, and that will work in the future.”

Doing Good

Once clients are empowered with the knowledge found in Primerica’s How Money Works™ financial education guide, Fernando and Yolanda love helping them get the right solutions for their needs and goals — solutions that the couple say they’ve seen have a far-reaching impact.⁴

“We have so many examples of families whose lives we’ve helped to change,” Fernando states. “Just recently, a client called me to ask about accessing the Terminal Illness rider in her policy, as she had just been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. After she passed away, her husband told me that the money made it possible for her to be at peace during her final months because she didn’t have to worry about the family’s finances. He was able stop working to be her caregiver, pay off all of their debts, and buy any medications she needed that weren’t covered by the health system in Canada.

“If we don’t do this for the families we serve, no one will. There is no other company like Primerica. We do so much good for people that it has an effect on us, personally. This business makes you become a better person. Our focus isn’t on the sale — it’s on the education!”

1. Primerica offers a business opportunity that involves the sale of term life insurance and various other financial service products. Primerica representatives are independent contractors, not employees. Their earnings are based on the sale of products offered by Primerica and also qualifying product referrals.
2. Primerica representatives market term life insurance underwritten by National Benefit Life Insurance Company, Home Office: Long Island City, NY in New York State; Primerica Life Insurance Company, Executive Offices: Duluth, GA in all other U.S. jurisdictions; and Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada, Home Office: Suite 400, 6985 Financial Drive, Mississauga, ON, L5N 0G3, Phone: 905-812-2900 in Canada. In the U.S., securities and advisory services are offered by PFS Investments Inc., 1 Primerica Parkway, Duluth, GA 30099-0001, member FINRA [www.finra.org]. PFS Investments Inc. conducts its advisory business under the name Primerica Advisors. Primerica and PFS Investments are affiliated companies. In Canada, mutual funds are offered by PFSL Investments Canada Ltd., mutual fund dealer. Head Office: Mississauga, ON.
3. In Canada, the part-time opportunity may be subject to certain restrictions, depending on your occupation.
4. PRIMERICA and the Primerica Logo are trademarks of Primerica, Inc., registered in the U.S. and Canada. HOW MONEY WORKS™ is a trademark of Primerica, Inc. All rights reserved.