From Six-Figure Debt to Financial Freedom: How One Advisor Rewrites Money Stories

Altynai Strauss calls herself a behavioral therapist—but not the kind you're thinking of. She's a behavioral therapist for your money.

It's a fitting description for someone who arrived in the United States in 2009 from Kyrgyzstan with big dreams and a suitcase full of hope, but zero understanding of how money worked in America. Back home, people lived on a speed-of-cash system. Banks weren't really a thing for most people. Credit cards were almost unheard of.

"When I got here, I had a lot to learn about money, credit, debt, and how to survive financially in a new world," Altynai says. "At first, I made mistakes. I embraced debt without fully understanding it."

Soon enough, she was staring at six-figure debt—not including the mortgage. It was terrifying. But it also lit a fire under her.

The Book That Changed Everything

Altynai found a book about getting out of debt that didn't just talk about paying bills—it talked about building wealth, investing, and retiring inspired. The author said that anyone in America could become a millionaire. She devoured every page.

"I was on a mission," she says. "For the next two years, every dollar I earned went to pay off debt. During those two years, I didn't buy a single new t-shirt for myself. I worked like a crazy person."

Two years later, she was debt-free. She had built a solid six-month emergency fund parked in a high-yield savings account. And she finally opened her first Roth IRA.

Finding a financial advisor wasn't easy. Most of them said she didn't have enough money to manage. But Altynai kept calling, kept searching. She interviewed ten or twelve advisors before she found one person willing to work with her.

No matter where you start, it's possible to rewrite your future one decision, one dollar at a time.

Now, seven years later, Altynai fully funds her Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) each year as a financial advisor with Edward Jones. She's on a path toward the retirement she once only read about—and she's taking as many people with her as the Lord puts on her path.

A Faith Encounter That Changed Everything

Altynai grew up in a Muslim country. Her family is still Muslim. After graduating from university, she moved to Kazakhstan and worked as a translator and interpreter for a film production company. She wasn't a believer. She was fully embracing the world—smoking, drinking, clubbing, dancing, flirting. All the things.

On set with an American crew, she met Tanner, a technician who came to teach the local team how to operate a new camera. They started dating. Within a year, he proposed. She said yes, and they moved to Los Angeles.

The first five years of their marriage were pure Hollywood—a lot of partying, heavy marijuana use, friends who lived without standards or morals. Altynai felt like she'd made it: she was in America, married, living in LA, with good income. But she was always depressed.

Her best friend—who turned out to be a Christian—had been quietly observing her lifestyle, waiting for the right moment. Finally, she spoke up: "I know you're not a Christian and you call yourself Muslim, but you are always depressed and you live a lifestyle that's going to destroy you. I'd like to offer you just one thing: come with me to church once. You don't have to go back ever again if you don't like it. Just go with me once."

Altynai said yes.

"As soon as my foot stepped through the doors of Shepherd of the Hill, I had a physical experience with the Holy Spirit," she says. "I felt like something just came over me. I saw something light in front of me and I just started crying. I didn't even know why I was crying—I just felt a strong presence."

The lyrics of the worship songs felt like they were written specifically for her. They talked about how God is your Father, how He died for you, how it's just between you and Him. You don't have to tell anybody. Just invite Jesus into your heart and you can start fresh.

"I thought, I could use a fresh start actually," she says.

The pastor presented the gospel in the most grace-filled way she'd ever heard. He said there is a God, and He is your Father, and He loves you, and He died for you. You can have a relationship with the living God. Whether out loud or in your heart, you can just invite Him in.

Whatever this guy Jesus has to offer, it sounds so beautiful. I could use that.

That day was a total 180. Altynai went home and threw away all her party clothes. God took away the desire for partying and smoking immediately. Then He started chipping away at her character—the sanctification process began.

Her husband observed the change. "When I married you, I specifically made sure you were not a Christian," he told her. "That's a deal breaker for me. And here you are—you believe in these fairy tales. I cannot deny the difference that took place in you, but I am not going where you're going."

After ten years of marriage, he filed for divorce. "You have to choose either me or your God," he said.

Altynai signed the papers. "I can't make you stay," she told him. "God bless you, and you can go."

She's been single for five years now. She lives in Sacramento, plugged into a beautiful church with great friends and a strong community. And she's learning what it means to trust God every single day.

Leading With Grace Under Pressure

As a financial advisor, Altynai sees her role as stewardship. She's entrusted with people, responsibilities, and influence—and she wants to handle that in a way that honors God.

Her faith shapes how she responds under pressure. When the stock market drops and clients are fearful or frustrated—like it did two weeks ago—she approaches those moments with grace, remembering how much grace she's been given.

"I don't force my beliefs onto others, especially in a professional setting," she says. "Instead, I focus on living them out in a way that reflects God's love."

Edward Jones gives its advisors the liberty to have their own style. Altynai guides her clients toward living a debt-free life when it makes sense for them. She knows not everyone will embrace that approach—and that's okay. When they're not willing, she works around it, making sure they can manage debt while also saving for retirement.

This August, Altynai will partner with a faith-based school program to teach high schoolers financial literacy—budgeting, getting out of debt, investing, giving, and tithing. By 2030, every state will be mandated to implement a financial literacy class, and she's positioning herself to be part of that movement.

"Once you teach high schoolers, they'll share with their parents," she says. "Teachers will get exposure too. What an amazing way to impact all three groups of people on finance—with integrity and good stewardship of the resources God gives us."

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Altynai doesn't always get it right. She's had seasons where she worked and worked and worked—and burned out. She's now learning to implement Sabbath once a week and throughout the day.

A book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer was pivotal in opening her eyes to pausing, slowing down—not only the pace of her life, but even her physical walk and the way she speaks.

"At the end of the day, if I am striving and fully relying on my own ability, then where's the trust?" she asks. "I'm not trusting God—I'm trusting in my own abilities."

The biggest miracles I have witnessed are when I said, 'God, I'm opening my palm. It's out of my hand. I'm staying in my lane. The outcome is up to You.'

She's learned this from her 82-year-old mentor, Joy Merrill, a strong advocate for anti-legalism who drills into Altynai's mind the freedom that Christ died to give us. "It's the relationship with the living God," Altynai says. "You have the freedom to worship Him without doing X, Y, Z to be right with God. We can go freely to Him."

Even in depression, Joy tells her, just sit in it and invite the Lord instead of trying to get out of it or beating yourself up for not having enough faith. "That's why we have the book of Lamentations and the Psalms," Altynai says. "It's so real."

One Inch at a Time

Altynai's advice to other Christian business leaders sounds simple, almost cliché—but it holds a lot of truth: Trust God. He always shows up.

"Abba Father means Daddy," she says. "I know not everybody had a good father. I didn't have a daddy—I had a very strict father. But God is our Daddy."

Her mentor reminds her that trusting God is not a one-time thing. No one ever arrives at full trust on this side of eternity. Instead, we learn to trust Him a little bit more each time, with each trial. The trust muscle grows inch by inch.

Everything Altynai is doing now—where she is, what she does—is by the grace of God. He used all her experiences, her upbringing, her hurts and pains, and her joyful moments to lead her to this place. Without those hard times, she might not have developed patience and humility—critical traits in her line of work.

Isn't it beautiful how God uses the very thing that we struggled with and overcame to encourage others who are going through it now?

From six-figure debt to financial freedom. From a suitcase full of hope to a Roth IRA fully funded every year. From Hollywood parties to Sabbath rest. Altynai Strauss is living proof that no matter where you start, it's possible to rewrite your future—one decision, one dollar, one inch of trust at a time.