Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris

Send us Fan Mail Ever had your personal data compromised? I did, and it was a lesson I never saw coming. Hear the full story on how I navigated this nightmare.  Understanding the Breach: A Personal Account In today's digital age, the amount of personal information that's vulnerable to breaches is overwhelming. I recently experienced a security breach that laid bare the fragility of our d...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I interview Marinda Freeman. Marinda is an awe-inspiring widow, whom I met by chance while speaking at a conference earlier this year. We talk about her journey through widowhood. Marinda's inspiration has come through a book which she authored called "The Grief Train". She ties in her experiences as a widow to those of many other widows in t...

Send us Fan Mail Ultimate Financial Hacks for Young Adults and Families  In this episode of Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris, I share valuable financial hacks suitable for young adults, young parents, and anyone looking to make prudent financial decisions. I provide practical tips on buying and selling vehicles, understanding the car loan process, the importance of good credit when buying a h...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I answer financial questions for middle school students. 1.  "Does everyone need a budget?".... Everyone needs a budget to make sure you have more money coming in versus going out. 2.  "How do I make money now?".... Odd jobs, tutoring, mowing lawns, dog walking, car washer, yard work, assistant, etc.   3.  "What leads to making...

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode is all about teaching kids good money habits. In this episode, I use personal examples of things I have learned and implemented with my own boys to build good money habits. I also explain many ways to teach kids about money.    --- Pay Yourself First --- Count Your Money --- Stuff Costs Money --- Talk About Money --- Delayed Gratification --- Giving --- Co...

Send us Fan Mail Today I had an awe-inspiring conversation with college student, Adam Delisle. Adam lost his father at the age of sixteen. He also witnessed his mother and family picking up the pieces during his formative years. The financial impact made a lasting impression on Adam. Adam approached me due to the unique nature of my firm. He is very outgoing and had the courage to reach out and as...

Send us Fan Mail Today's podcast is with SuperStar US Naval Academy Student, Maddox D.  Maddox challenges me with real life questions facing college students aspiring to transition to careers after college. He also asks great questions pertaining to any young adult, who has recently transitioned from high school to college. Maddox's parlay into the the US Naval Academy is no easy feat. T...

Send us Fan Mail Today I had the pleasure of interviewing High School Student/Athlete Luka D.  Luka is also known as my godson and nephew. Luka came to me about a year ago and asked why I have not interviewed any young folks on the podcast about their questions about finance. Well, I decided to bring his question to life. Luka is wise beyond his years as you will see by his questions and methodica...

Send us Fan Mail We are back for another wonderful season of Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris.  The opening of Season 7 is all about teenagers and college students asking financial questions. During Season 6, I was probed by some very curious high schoolers and college students to answer financial questions, which are important to up and coming full-fledged adults.   This was really fun for m...

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode of Season 6, I bring a life of trauma full circle.  I talk about being grateful in spite of all that life has thrown my way. The people in my life have carried me to the promise land of Life After Grief. Honorable mention includes:  my wife, my sons, Fr. Leo and my family and friends.    We will return in the fall.  Have a great summer!  Cheers and Be Well!! S...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I have someone who knows all of my podcasts very intimately.  Meet Caroline Schafer.  She is a friend and also happens to be my podcast editor.  Caroline is very similar to many of my podcast listeners through our shared experiences.  We share experience with childhood trauma.  We also share experiences through the lens of parental caretaker.  Her stor...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I go into detail about Trauma Response.  More specifically, the six trauma responses.   I talk about the details of each response and provide personal examples.  I was asked to somewhat normalize the explanation, to help others feel at ease when understanding their trauma responses. I hope you like this week's episode.  See on next week's epis...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode I talk about the idea of a Bliss List.  I did not create the idea or resource, but I do use it in practice for myself and with clients.  Basically, a Bliss List is an idea list of things you would like to do or accomplish if time or  money were no object.  I like to keep things simplistic and remove barriers to happiness in life.  I am  happy to say tha...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I talk all about Self Care.  I have spoken loosely about self care over the last few seasons.  I was recently asked, "How Do I Self Care?"  I go into detail about the self care wheel I use.  I also provide a ton of examples with regard to each part of the self care wheel.   I hope you enjoy this week's episode.   Cheers & see you on...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I share some listener feedback. I was simply wowed at  the folks who reached out to me to share their trauma experiences. I was equally amazed how certain therapies, including EMDR really helped them.   Some of the listeners I spoke to talked about the gravity of their trauma such as: abuse, molestation, death, addiction, racial trauma and many other f...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever heard of a Certified Divorce Coach?  I recently met and had the pleasure of interviewing Debra Doak.  Debbie is a Certified Divorce Coach.  She helps with those hard decisions concerning marriage, divorce, money and life.  My initial exposure to Debbie was based on a presentation she did about Financial Abuse.  And boy, was I blown away with her expertise. I was simp...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris.  We have made it to Season 6 with a tremendous amount of support.   This season is all about Trauma. On the heels of releasing a lot of information at the tail end of Season 5, I thought a natural extension would be a deep dive into trauma.   As trauma can very emotional and triggering, I am going to be very thoughtful as to a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Real Talk with Life After Grief Chris episode 2. In this episode, I go into further detail about trauma. Listen in as I provide a personal example as well as the emotional and physical effects. Trauma is not something we create, but something from which we recover.    I also provide a link, which details the dramatic effects on both the mind and body.  themind.org....

Send us Fan Mail Greetings and welcome to Episode 3.  In this week's episode, I use a personal example of a traumatic event to demonstrate its emotional effects.   I share the many emotional and physical effects of trauma. I share what trauma looks and feels like.   My hope is to normalize trauma and shed light on the subject. I hope you like this week's episode. Cheers and see you next...

Send us Fan Mail Greetings and welcome to episode 4 of Season 6-Racism and Discrimination I decided to reboot a previous episode on the subject.  As I have gotten older, and maybe wiser, I understand the traumatic effects of dealing with years of unsolicited biases due to the color of my skin.   In this episode, I describe some horrible experiences I have had with racism and discrimination.  These...

Send us Fan Mail Depression is a subject not often talked about by men.  In this episode, I will talk about my experience with depression.  I also talk about how I identified periods in my life where I experienced depression.  With a ton of support and resources at my fingertips, I have a steady flow of positivity that helps me deal with extreme hardship and trauma.  You will hear ongoing habits t...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I want to talk about trauma therapy.  Specifically, one that I have experienced called EMDR.  EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. Let me describe EMDR in layman’s terms.  Imagine  walking past a grassy area and have no emotional response.  Imagine, I walk by that same grassy area and my heart begins to race, I get anxious, I start t...

Send us Fan Mail Allow me to Re-Introduce myself.....  I have been leading up to some very traumatic stuff that has happened in  life. I thought that I should lead up to the next podcast (where I fully disclose) with my initial  introduction before I could no longer hide what transpired.   Below is what I used to introduce myself on my inaugural podcast.  I am  both a financial planner to clients...

Send us Fan Mail I have been leading up to some heavy stuff this season.  I have also been told that my willingness to share my experiences with trauma could ultimately help others with theirs.  I am opening up about some of the traumas of my past.   Infidelity and Child Abuse are often taboo topics.  Unfortunately, I have trauma from both as they overlapped most of my life.  Take listen to my sto...

Send us Fan Mail Coming on the heels of the first of a 3 part mini-series.  In last week's episode, I shared a surprise that would lead me down a dark path of discovery, highlighting significant traumas early in my life.   I've been told that my willingness to share will help others. If you are wondering if I received help dealing with these traumas----the answer is yes.  As I advise any...