Ben Higgins is the infamous former "Bachelor," and since - he's gained tremendous fame as a reality star. With 1.4 million Instagram followers and millions more who know his name, Ben decided to use his platform for a purpose greater than himself.

Back in 2007, Ben took a church missions trip to Honduras, opening his eyes to the extreme poverty of this world. And that trip - 11 years ago - sparked an idea.

As a financial advisor, I do a lot of writing on the topic of financial planning. I write about how to maximize your retirement savings, how to purchase your first home, and how to build a budget that works for you and while there are certainly a lot of details to keep track of when it comes to financial planning, writing about it is relatively straightforward. When it came time to sit down and write this article however, I found myself dragging my feet.

You know how seeing a picture can bring back memories?

I saw a photo recently that reminded me of a time in my life where I felt my lowest. It was a photo of myself and a few friends the day after I had a major anxiety attack. At the time the photo was taken, I had been living in Southeast Asia for almost 4 years as a missionary. I was involved in wonderful ministries, had amazingly encouraging friends, food to eat, a place to live, etc. Life was good. From the outside.

I grew up in the South which has more traditional views, and women often get married young. Some families in my circle had an opinion that a marriage proposal should be soon after a high school diploma. So while my gal peers got a husband, kid(s), and the white picket fence after high school, I got 3 degrees, loan debt, and adult braces.