Are you ready for it? Join hosts Rachael Deleon and Dr. Mary Carlson for an engaging episode featuring special guest Amanda Christensen, AFC, Extension Professor at Utah State University, and Founder of Utah Money Moms. In our latest episode, Amanda shares her passion for empowering women on their financial wellness journey and reminds us how cultivating community can inspire women to take control of their financial futures. You'll learn how to engage with your local cooperative extension, the p...
Mar 05, 2024•29 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Join hosts Rachael Deleon and Dr. Mary Carlson in a captivating conversation with special guest Amy Smith, AFC, Founder of My BPD, My Money, and Member Engagement Coordinator for AFCPE. In this enlightening episode, Amy shares her inspiring journey to achieving the AFC certification, emphasizing the transformative power of vulnerability and authenticity. Discover how embracing her true self opened doors to countless opportunities, and learn invaluable insights on leveraging personal strengths fo...
Feb 20, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 4
"If you want to be a CEO, you have to start thinking like a CEO." In this episode, hosts Rachael Deleon and Dr. Mary Carlson are joined by special guest Tiffany Grant, AFC and owner of Money Talk with Tiff. Tiffany, an award-winning financial literacy expert and educator, has empowered countless individuals and organizations to achieve financial success and well-being. Join us as Tiffany reveals her personal journey to obtaining the AFC certification and how embracing the CEO mindset transformed...
Feb 06, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Brent Neiser has an incredible range of work and impact in the personal finance space. Every time we connect, we learn something new! Brent started his journey as a financial planner, but his heart for service led him to a rich career in financial education. On this episode, we learn how the AFCPE community has impacted his career, why he believes in the value of the AFC, and why he calls himself "Mr. Horizontal" - hint: it has to do with his curiosity and passion for a breadth of knowledge. Bre...
Jan 23, 2024•27 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Markia Brown is an award-winning financial educator and content creator, an Accredited Financial Counselor, and an AFCPE member with a talent for making complex financial topics accessible, particularly to younger generations. Her mission focuses on uplifting underserved communities and offering them vital tools and education to achieve their definition of financial success. She believes that its not just about bridging gaps, but reshaping financial narratives for the better. On this episode, Ma...
Jan 02, 2024•27 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Every December, Real Money, Real Experts takes a break to prepare for the year ahead. As we head into the busy holiday season, we're happy to re-share a fan favorite - our episode on empathy and the art of listening with Dr. Michael Thomas, AFC. Enjoy and happy holidays from Rachael, Mary, and the entire podcast crew! Want to get involved with AFCPE®? Here are a few places to start: Become a Member, Sign up for an Essentials Course , or Get AFC Certified today! Want to support the podcast? We lo...
Dec 19, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 26
This week, Real Money, Real Experts , was live on YouTube with AFCPE Board President, Andi Wrenn. Andi, Mary, and Rachael recap all things 2023 AFCPE Symposium. If you joined us for Symposium this year, come reminisce with us. If you didn't attend this year, tune in to learn what its all about. We also get to learn more about Andi's professional journey, and she shares two times the two cents! Want to get involved with AFCPE®? Here are a few places to start: Become a Member, Sign up for an Essen...
Dec 08, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 25
This week we welcome financial therapist, Nathan Astle, to the show. Nate is the founder of the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute, which is a collaborative practice that includes financial counselors, therapists, and planners working together to meet the needs of their clients. On this episode, Nate shares what inspired this unique practice model, the roles that each practitioner plays in the practice, the fee structure they've adopted to ensure the practice is profitable but also affordable ...
Nov 22, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Lazetta Braxton, MBA, CFP® is on a mission to create wealth for the common good. She believes in fighting for voices that have not been heard, and has built her career around making room for underserved and overlooked populations. In this episode, we get to know Lazetta - her family history and her career path, and she shares a preview of the conversation we'll be having as part of her keynote presentation at this year's Symposium. We talk about the importance of cultural competency, understandi...
Nov 07, 2023•23 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Today’s guest is John McNamara, Principal Assistant Director of Consumer Credit, Payments, and Deposits Markets at the CFPB. In this episode, John shares his professional journey from debt collection to his current role at the CFPB. He talks to us about the latest research from the Bureau, and gives us some of his favorite CFPB resources - designed to support you and your clients. We’re excited to have John join us on the main stage later this year. To hear more, we hope you’ll join us in NOLA o...
Oct 24, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Dr. Preston Cherry, AFC®, CFP®, CFT-1 is the Founder & President of Concurrent Financial Planning, the Head of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay Financial Planning Program, and also a keynote speaker at this year's AFCPE Symposium. Preston is passionate about the ways that storytelling and listening can help us better connect with clients, advance human lives, and inspire transformation. In this episode, Preston shares the influence of stories in his own life and how they have shaped his...
Oct 10, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 21
On today's episode we talk to AFC candidate, Rahkim Sabree, a financial coach, entrepreneur, and thought leader on the topic of financial trauma. We discuss how personal background, cultural experiences, and mental health all play a role in personal finance, and how financial professionals can add a trauma-informed lens to your work with clients. With the rise of one-size-fits-all, and often inaccurate, personal finance information being shared on social media, Rahkim shares how his perspective ...
Sep 26, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 20
“Whether someone wants to be independent with their finances is their absolute decision…but what I don’t want that decision to be based around is the fact that someone cannot see anymore…I want to help [people] realize that there are options.” - Liz Bottner On this week’s episode, we get to know Chris Peterson and Liz Bottner of Penny Forward. Penny Forward is a non-profit organization that offers accessible financial wellness education and counseling programs for people who are blind or disable...
Sep 12, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 19
With the student loan pause coming to an end and a new repayment plan announced, we wanted to answer your questions. And who better to help us break down the new Student Loan SAVE plan than Ryan Law. Ryan H. Law is an award-winning educator who teaches in the Personal Financial Planning program at Utah Valley University. He’s a Certified Financial Planner, an Accredited Financial Counselor®, past President of the AFCPE Board of Directors, and also a leading expert in student loans. In today's ep...
Aug 29, 2023•30 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Sarah Newcomb is an applied scientist, behavioral economist, and the Founder of the Thrive Financial Empowerment Center. Her work bridges the gap between research and practice, adapting the findings of academic research for practical use in personal financial management. In this episode, Sarah shares her own personal story and how it led to her current work - exploring the connection between mental and financial health, particularly among our youth. We discuss the need for empowerment-based and ...
Aug 15, 2023•35 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Rhonda Noordyk, founded The Women's Financial Wellness Center in 2014. Her mission is to help reduce financial vulnerability for women going through divorce. In this episode, Rhonda talks to us about the challenges women face when going through divorce, the financial considerations, and the importance of having a support team to provide legal, financial, and emotional support. As an advocate for women, Rhonda believes that knowledge plus experience equals confidence, and she understands the valu...
Aug 01, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Kimberly Henne is a board member and financial wellness coach for a local nonprofit, Ways for Life, an organization that works with youth aged 15 - 25 who are touched by foster care or homelessness. In this episode we learn more about Kimberly's personal journey with the foster care system - she adopted both of her children out of foster care - as well as some of the unique challenges facing foster youth. We also discuss the opportunity for AFC professionals to marry their skills and passions to...
Jul 18, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Today’s guest, Jonathan Walker, has spent much of his career studying American households - to better understand human behavior and figure out how to create environments where people can succeed and thrive. Jonathan is a practitioner who understands the value of research and how these findings can be translated into practice. In this episode, Jonathan shares the three big components to how people function in their finances - numbers, behavior, and values. We discuss the importance of providing i...
Jul 05, 2023•39 min•Season 4Ep. 14
"The greatest gift we can give our clients is providing that space where they can find the presence of the feeling that they are not alone.” Today’s guest, Dr. Erika Rasure, is a financial therapist and deep transformational coach; the Chair of the Research Board for the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute; and a Client Financial Therapist for Beyond Finance. In this episode, we discuss the biases that exist within the industry; how money stories and very human decisions are too often surrounde...
Jun 20, 2023•24 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Our guest today, Michael Kothakota is the head of research at the CFP Board. In this episode, we learn about Michael’s path into financial services, and how the AFC curriculum - on the way to becoming a planner - helped broaden his perspective and enabled him to better support clients. We discuss how critical it is for financial professionals to be able to effectively connect solutions to human needs, and the importance of relational skills and building trust with our clients. We also get a glim...
Jun 06, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 12
"Don't let fear and hesitation hold you back." This week's guest is two-time Olympian and financial coach, Keturah Orji (“K.O.”). Keturah is a decorated Track and Field athlete, who is balancing the pursuit of her athletic dreams with studying for the AFC and building a financial coaching practice. Keturah is as authentic as she is driven. We talk about why she became a financial coach, what led her to the AFC, and how she finds balance. She shares advice for other AFC candidates and entrepreneu...
May 23, 2023•26 min•Season 4Ep. 11
This week on "Real Money, Real Experts", Rachael and Mary sit down with psychologist and behavioral finance expert, Daniel Crosby. This conversation was a fun one, covering everything from epic failures to Chat GPT to the power of authenticity - which starts with doing the hard internal work on ourselves. Daniel reminds us that technology is our friend, shares some great book and podcast recommendations, and offers words of wisdom from his father that we can all benefit from remembering. Show No...
May 09, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Today’s guest believes that personal finance is a topic to sing and dance about! Julie Beckham, AFC® has taken her passion and turned it into a career, marrying her love for the arts with financial education. Her musical, Ms. Money and the Coins, has been shared with more than 80,000 elementary-age students in Massachusetts and is now available nationwide as an online learning platform - in both English and Spanish. In addition to all things K-12 financial education, we also discuss the amazing ...
Apr 25, 2023•24 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Our guest this week is Kia McCallister-Young, AFC, Director of America Saves. With a background in marketing and communications, Kia knows how to create a compelling message that moves people to action. And it’s a skill she uses often in her work at America Saves. Today Kia shares some of these tips and strategies, and gets us up-to-speed on all the America Saves campaigns (including this month’s Military Saves Week, America Saves at Work, America Saves for Young Workers, and launching this mont...
Apr 11, 2023•22 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Heather Jarvis is an attorney and a nationally recognized expert specializing in student loan law. As a first-generation college student, Heather got her start in the nonprofit space and was an early advocate for policy change. In this episode, we take a deep dive into all thing student loans - from forgiveness to bankruptcy to changes in trends, regulations, and legislation. A must-listen for anyone who is helping individuals and families navigate student loans. Show Notes: 1:26 How Heather got...
Mar 28, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 7
“If you want to belong, there is a place for you.” Our guest this week is Dr. Cherie Stueve, an AFC, a military spouse, and a self-described consummate learner. Cherie shares her journey from farm life to spouse life, the money lessons she learned along the way, and why she is such a strong advocate for the AFC designation. We learn about her journey to the FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship, and how it served as not only the foundation for her career but how it led to life-long friends...
Mar 14, 2023•32 min•Season 4Ep. 6
This week we sit down with Chris Browning, the creator and host of the award-winning, short-form podcast Popcorn Finance. Chris is an OG in the personal finance podcast space with more than 350+ episodes that cover popular finance topics in about the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn. In this episode, we dive into his start as a podcaster (spoiler, it literally started from the front seat of his car!) his business model, and how he keeps his content new and fresh. Chris is down-to-earth, hu...
Feb 28, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Andy Hill, AFC® candidate, is the award-winning family finance coach behind Marriage, Kids, and Money - a platform dedicated to helping young families build wealth and happiness. Andy believes that money is a tool that helps you move toward the life you want to have, and is on a personal mission to help more people get there. In this episode, we learn more about Andy's business model, the importance of balance, and what it means to be an influencer. We also touch on destigmatizing talking about ...
Feb 14, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Show Notes: 2:22 What led Meghan to financial counseling 5:15 Inside Meghan's business model 6:36 How she serves her clients 7:25 The setup of her business 8:53 Advice for approaching employers without a financial wellness program 10:57 How to best network with businesses 13:26 Advice for other counselors interested in this work 15:35 Meghan's final 2 cents Show Note Links: Connect with Meghan on Linkedin and her company CIF Financial Planning Financial Health Network Studies PolkaDot Powerhouse...
Jan 31, 2023•23 min•Season 4Ep. 3
This week we are excited to welcome Sasha Grabenstetter to the show! Sasha is a new AFCPE Board Member and the Financial Planning Education Consultant at eMoney Advisor who shares AFCPE's passion for creating a more integrated field that better serves all individuals and families. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of building financial planning practices that offer wrap-around services and talk about the value in building strong referral partnerships between counselors, coaches, and plann...
Jan 17, 2023•28 min•Season 4Ep. 2
