Growing Money with Sean Trace

One thing I’ve noticed after talking to financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and families is that making more money doesn’t magically make money stress disappear. In fact, sometimes it makes it worse. In this episode, I sit down with financial advisor Ryan Johnson, who works with high-earning young families making anywhere from $200K to $500K a year. And what surprised me is that the biggest problem...

In this episode, I sit down with Certified Financial Planner Cristian Mundy to talk about what really happens when people start making more money but still do not build real wealth.  We get into financial literacy, lifestyle creep, immigrant family pressure, generational wealth, athlete and entertainer money mistakes, and why high income does not automatically mean financial security. Cristian sha...

In this episode of Growing Money , I introduce one of the strangest, and honestly most fun, frameworks I have ever used to explain personal finance. I am building a new book that breaks financial survival down through the lens of a zombie apocalypse. It sounds ridiculous at first, but the more I thought about it, the more the metaphor made sense. In every zombie movie there is always a moment befo...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Matthew Filepp, CFA, CFP®, founder of PB Wealth in Charlotte, North Carolina, to talk about what actually makes financial progress stick, especially for people who are busy, high-achieving, and still feel like their money disappears.  We get into why fee-only, advice-only financial planning builds real trust, how lifestyle creep qui...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Bryan Jepson, a former emergency medicine physician who just retired after a 30 year career and made a bold transition into the financial world as a CFP financial advisor.  We talk about why so many people feel behind with money, and why that feeling is usually not about a number, it is uncertainty and a lack of structure. Bryan bre...

In this episode of Growing Money, I sat down with CFP Uziel Gomez to talk about something that doesn’t get discussed enough in personal finance, what it actually feels like to be a first-generation wealth builder. We didn’t just talk about investing or retirement accounts.  We talked about money mindset, survivor mentality, overspending versus hoarding, being your parents’ retirement plan, and the...

Two years ago, I recorded this conversation with Ramon Ray for the Growing Money podcast.  And then… the audio failed. At the time, I couldn’t properly process it. The quality just wasn’t there. So it sat. Now, with new AI tools, I’ve been able to restore the audio and finally bring this conversation back to life. Quick apology to Ramon for the long delay, and big shoutout to him. His message on v...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with returning guest Sandra Park, a Ramsey financial coach, engineer, single mom, and debt free multimillionaire, to get brutally clear on what “debt free” actually means in real life.  We break down the difference between being consumer debt free versus truly 100 percent debt free, why credit card interest rates are the real silent kill...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace , I sit down with Joe Moss, founder of Advisor Techbook, to talk about a problem almost everyone has but few people solve, how to charge more money without feeling like a fraud.  Joe breaks down a simple but mind-shifting idea, people invest in potential all the time, so your job is to get clear on what you are building, what you actually want to do...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Asher Dahlgren, a young entrepreneur and founder of Dahlgren Social, to talk about financial independence, financial literacy, and what it actually takes to build wealth early without pretending it’s complicated.  We get into why schools still don’t teach money basics, how stigma and jealousy keep people quiet about finances, and wh...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Brian Carney, partner and founder of RiversEdge Advisors, an independent wealth management and registered investment advisory firm in Delaware, to talk about the side of money nobody can spreadsheet, the emotional, behavioral part that drives real decisions.  Brian shares how he accidentally became a financial advisor after ditching...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Patrick, a CFP and the founder of Noor Financial Services, to talk about the real starting point for building financial security, awareness.  We get into why so many people feel overwhelmed by personal finance, especially if they were never taught money at home or in school, and how simple daily habits like checking your accounts, r...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with tax planner and financial pro Felicia Greenwald to talk about how to stop being reactive with money and start getting intentional, especially with taxes, spending, and retirement planning.  We dig into why so many people fall for viral money tips and tax “hacks,” why “it’s a write off” can still be a terrible decision, and how simpl...

In this episode, I sit down with financial planner Taylor Stewart for one of the most honest conversations I’ve had about money, uncertainty, and what real financial planning should look like. We talk about the messy reality of life, diapers, dogs, spilled coffee, bad first dates, and why those imperfect moments actually mirror how most of us handle money. Taylor shares how growing up around finan...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with financial coach Hannah Newberry from Map Your Money to talk about the real foundation of personal finance, budgeting, debt payoff, saving, and starting to invest without getting sucked into market panic or the nonstop noise of social media.  We break down why “confident advice” from friends or family can still be wrong, how to spot...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Steven Fox, a former Marine turned CFP who built, scaled, and sold his financial planning firm, and is now reshaping how financial advice works.  We dig into the uncomfortable truth behind traditional financial planning, why so many advisors are really salespeople in disguise, and how everyday people get stuck buying products they d...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Michigan State finance professor and registered investment advisor Steve Schiestel to talk about personal finance basics that actually stick, especially saving habits, wants versus needs, building an emergency fund, and why most people do better being consistent savers than trying to be genius investors.  We start with kid level mon...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Steve Heinemann, a financial planner in Southern California who helps busy mid-career professionals and families create financial clarity, reduce money anxiety, and make confident decisions even when real life is messy.  We talk honestly about how chaos at home can spill into your money life, why an emergency fund matters more than...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Ron Kmetovicz, a 78 year old dad, grandpa, and great grandpa who built his life as an engineer and entrepreneur, and now wants to pass down a simple, real-world pathway to financial independence.  Ron breaks financial freedom down into something you can actually remember and actually do, a five step process he teaches using nothing...

In this episode, I sit down with Randy Gage for one of those conversations that just goes deep: talking about prosperity, what it actually takes to build something, and the mindset shifts that change everything. We get into why entrepreneurs are really just artists, why money isn't the point (it's just a tool), and why most people are playing the money game with the wrong rulebook. Spoil...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Adam Bruderly, founder of the 903 Collective and a former Vanguard finance leader, to talk about the question that quietly changes everything, what is your enough number.  We dig into why chasing a bigger title, a bigger account balance, or some imaginary finish line can leave you emptier than you expected, and how real wealth looks...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with insurance pro Broc Buckles to talk about the unsexy side of wealth that actually keeps your whole plan from falling apart.  We get into why fee-only financial planners are such a game changer for regular people, how term life insurance, disability insurance, and umbrella policies quietly protect your future, and why “it won’t happen...

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with financial advisor and life planner Justin Castelli to talk about what it really means to live an authentic life and align your money with who you actually are.  We get into intuition, synchronicity, manifestation and the law of attraction, but in a grounded way that still respects real world financial planning, budgets and cash flow...

In this episode of the Growing Money with Sean Trace podcast, I sit down with financial coach and counselor Jackson Larimer, host of the Money with Jackson podcast and a creator of a powerful millionaire interview series, to dig into what really separates people who get rich once from those who stay wealthy over the long term.  Jackson walks me through the three main millionaire paths, the stock m...

In this episode of the Growing Money podcast I sit down with Grant Ellis to get brutally honest about what building real wealth actually looks like in real life.  We talk about how our definition of wealth changes once kids show up, why freedom of time matters more than flexing on social media, and how much of personal finance is really psychology, behavior and self talk. Grant breaks down simple...