Breaking Money Silence

Is Your Partner Cheating on Youwith Money? (Financial Infidelity) Episode 114 Replay This is a replay of an episode originally aired on February 15, 2021, about the awkward conversation of financial infidelity. Financial infidelity is a money problem that can range from little white lies about finances to secretly investing or spending large sums of money without your partner’s knowledge. In this episode, Dr. Alex Melkumian, a financial therapist and owner of Financial Psychology Center, joins me to discuss the reasons a partner may be financially unfaithful, how to heal and grow after financial infidelity is discovered, and how to prevent this from happening in your relationship. Want to connect with Alex: Alex Melkumain, Psy.D., LMFT bio Confessions of a Financ

Awkward Money Conversations: The Cost of Senior Care Episode 166 In today’s episode, I talk with Dr. Jennifer Pilcher, founder of Clear Guidance, a senior care consulting and management firm, about aging and talking to your family about the inevitable. While these can be awkward conversations, proactively creating an aging plan and how you plan to pay for care is an important part of financial planning and taking care of the next generation. In this episode, I share my personal experience and why you don’t want to put off this family money talk for too long. Listen to this podcast and discover: Why you don’t want to start talking about senior care during a medical crisis The truth about what health insurance covers when it comes to elder care The types of i

Awkward Money Conversations: Inheriting a Second Home Episode 165 In today’s episode, I talk with Amy Mariani, a former trial attorney turned mediator, about helping families navigate passing on a second home to the next generation. Often siblings and inheritors don’t agree on how the home should be used or if the home should be sold. That is when a neutral third party can be useful in helping the individuals resolve the conflict in a way that preserves their relationship. Amy shares when and how a mediator can assist families and individuals mediate differences to avoid a costly legal battle.  Listen to this podcast and discover: Why next-gen often fights about how to handle a second home When to hire a mediator vs. a facilitator vs. a conflict coach The 3 “P”s

The High Cost of Compassion Fatigue Episode 164 Compassion is a good thing, right? It is generally a nice quality but when you find yourself overwhelmed, easily frustrated, or quick to snap, you may just be struggling with compassion fatigue.  In today’s episode, I interviewed Angela Sarver, Founder of EllieBlu Human Resources Consulting, about compassion fatigue and the high cost businesses (can you say $150 a billion a year!) and individuals pay for not addressing this problem. As a seasoned HR consultant, Angela assists leaders in addressing this issue, and now she is here to help you. Listen to this podcast and discover: The difference between burnout and compassion fatigue The industries that are prone to compassion fatigue The signs to look for in yourself

Are You Too Old to Learn New Tricks? Episode 162 There is a saying, “An old dog can’t learn new tricks,” and it exemplifies the societal taboo against aging. But aging doesn’t mean you can’t be creative and live the life you want. In fact, often people over 50 years of age find a renewed sense of purpose in life. In today’s episode, I interview Rochelle Seltzer, author of Live Big, A Manifesto for a Creative Life about how to bust through this myth and start living a more creative and joyful life - no matter what your age. Listen to this podcast and discover: The impact of the societal taboo against aging on professional women's lives How to shift limiting beliefs about aging and start living big The definition of creativity and why you don’t need to be the best T

Estate Planning Tips for the LGBTQ+ Couples Episode 161 Do you have an estate plan that clearly communicates your wishes as you age? All individuals and couples need one, especially if you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community. In today’s episode, I talk with Deborah Danger, founder of Danger Law about the current political environment, its impact on estate planning for members of the gay community, and what steps you can take today to protect your legacy tomorrow.   Listen to this podcast and discover: The similarities and differences in estate planning for LGBTQ+ couples The #1 common mistake people make when estate planning How the current political environment is influencing people to act Practical steps for putting your wishes in writing Conversation starters for breaking money silence across generations B

The Team Approach to Financial Wellness Episode 158 Financial wellness is the state of being where you can meet your current and future financial obligations, feel secure in your financial future, and make choices that allow you to enjoy life. It is about money, but more. It is about feeling comfortable and at peace with your financial decision-making, and sometimes involves working with a financial planner and a wealth psychology coach. In today’s episode, I talk with Carolyn McClanahan, CFP® and founder of Life Planning Partners, about how we collaborate together to increase the financial well-being of our shared clients. Carolyn worked as a physician before she became a financial planner and discusses the similarity between medicine and financial planning. And I worked as a mental health c

How Financial Life Planning Improves Financial Literacy Episode 157 George Kinder is internationally recognized as the Father of the Life Planning movement, seven-time author, and founder of the Kinder Institute for Life Planning. For those not in the financial services industry, Life Planning connects the dots between our financial realities and the lives we long to live, so we can live free to pursue our life’s passions, wherever that may lead us. Today’s episode is a conversation with George about his revolutionary career, how life planning can improve financial literacy, and his latest project - a book of poetry!  Listen to this podcast and discover: How financial life planning differs from traditional advisory practices  The power of empathetic listening in f

A Podcast Even Your Mother Would Love Episode 156 Mother’s Day is just a few days away and this week’s episode is a podcast even your mother could love. To celebrate, I interviewed my colleague and friend Dr. Amy about the importance of moms being good financial role models for their daughters. As a proud Aunt myself, we expanded the discussion to include aunts and nieces, too! If you think you have heard Dr. Amy on the podcast before, you are right. She is a repeat guest and such a great person to break money silence with. Amy D’Aprix is an internationally respected expert on lifestyle issues relating to retirement, aging, caregiving, and family dynamics. With a Ph.D. in Social Work, “Dr. Amy,” as she is affectionately known, has provided down-to-earth, practical, and professionally informed

Fintech Takes on Financial Literacy Episode 154 Can a phone app really teach kids about money? Mac Gardner, founder of FinLit, thinks so. In this episode, I talk to Mac about how technology can teach young kids about money and help them develop better financial habits. His firm, FinLit Tech, is developing an app based on his book, The Four Money Bears that makes learning about money fun and engaging. Listen to this podcast and discover: How the idea for the book, The Four Money Bears, was born Why apps are the next frontier of financial literacy How your zip code is correlated with your financial success Why it’s vital for young people to have diverse financial role models The role parents, educators, and advisors play in making sure financial literacy education

Be a Financial Literacy Changemaker Episode 153 Did you know that only 24 states in the United States require a high school personal finance course to be offered to its students? Most school systems that do require it don’t make it mandatory for graduation. The result is many young people are not adequately prepared to manage money responsibly as adults. Today’s guest, Michelle Arpin Begina, CFP®, CIMA®, is an advisor and changemaker who decided to take action in her home state of New Jersey. She contacted her local legislators, joined a task force charged with updating the financial literacy standards and was instrumental in getting behavioral finance added to the curriculum. This podcast is about how she went from being curious about the financial literacy problem in our country to being an

Teaching Teens About Money Episode 152 April is Financial Literacy Month. To celebrate, I am interviewing guests all month long who are committed to educating students of all ages on personal finance. In this first episode of the series, I talk to Courtney Poquette, an award-winning high school teacher, about how she creatively educates her students and gets these teens excited about learning more about money management.  Courtney Poquette has been a teacher and advocate for Personal Finance at Winooski High School for the past 15 years. After attending a Vermont State Jump$tart conference, she introduced the first Personal Finance class and has developed a spin-off, Financial Decision Making Class, where students get real money to set up bank accounts and invest. Her advocacy work is now foc

Entrepreneurship: A Leap of Faith Episode 151 Starting a business is a leap of faith combined with a lot of hard work. It helps if you are passionate about your product and have a unique perspective from your competitors. Today’s podcast guest has both of these traits in spades and was nice enough to stop by the Breaking Money Silence® podcast to celebrate her 10 years of entrepreneurial success.  Ashley Rankin, is the founder of Shredly, a women’s athletic apparel company. She grew up loving the outdoors and thought mountain biking was awesome, but the selection of riding apparel for women was boring, baggy, and looked like it was made for the boys. In 2012, she founded Shredly, with the goal of giving women of all sizes something to wear mountain biking that was fun and fashionable. A decad

Being Well-Behaved Might Hurt Your Career Episode 150 Is being well-behaved at work hurting your career? It just might be. Too many women focus on trying to fit in with the idea that it will help them get ahead in the male-dominated business world. The results range from getting passed over for promotions, failing to negotiate an equitable wage, and ending up overworked and burnt out.  Today’s podcast explores why so many women strive to fit in and how being your authentic self is actually a better path to success. My guest is Shannon McCombie, a leadership expert with a career background in national security, biomedical technology, and corporate strategy. She has years of international experience and has chosen a career path that is interesting and varied - which makes her a perfect guest to discuss the value of not fitting in!  

#BreaktheBias Episode 149 Today is International Women’s Day! To celebrate, I interviewed my colleague and friend, Meg Smith about her work as the Director of the Vermont Women’s Fund. While her work is specific to Vermont, the initiatives to #breakthebias and achieve gender parity are applicable around the nation. The Vermont Women's Fund, a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, was established in 1994 as an enduring resource for Vermont women and girls. The Fund remains the first philanthropic resource in the state dedicated exclusively to this mission. A council of women from around Vermont advises the Fund and participates in its grantmaking, fundraising, and leadership work. As Director, Meg is helping to improve the future for young women and girls using her community organizing, marketing, and fundraising skills.