Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School

Most people believe financial transformation starts with motivation. Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT argue the opposite: motivation fades, but habits compound. In this episode, they explain why relying on bursts of inspiration or willpower almost always leads to inconsistency — especially when it comes to money. Using stories from fitness, personal finance, and everyday li...

Money is emotional — and in this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT explore why emotions have such a powerful influence on financial behavior. From market volatility and economic uncertainty to comparison, insecurity, and fear of failure, people rarely make purely rational financial decisions. Instead, emotions often drive reactions that conflict with long-term goals...

In the opening episode of The Psychology of Money series, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT explore one of the most overlooked drivers of financial success: mindset. Long before people learn how to invest, budget, or build wealth, they develop internal “money scripts” — subconscious beliefs shaped by childhood experiences, family dynamics, culture, and personal history. Toge...

In this episode, Erik P. Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and Xavier J. Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, unpack a misunderstood truth about building wealth: real wealth takes time. Picking up from their earlier conversations on discipline, behavior, and consistency, they dive into the power of compounding—not just financially, but professionally and personally as well. Through stories, analogies, and practical examp...

In this third episode of the series, Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, uncover what they call the hidden engine behind wealth: consistency. After breaking down the behaviors that destroy wealth and the ones that protect it, this episode answers the real question—what actually builds it. The answer isn’t intensity, timing, or even talent. It’s doing the right things over and over again, lo...

In the last episode, we broke down the behaviors that quietly destroy wealth—emotional decisions, lifestyle creep, and overconfidence. But avoiding mistakes is only half the equation. In this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, flip the conversation and focus on what actually protects wealth once you start building it. Because wealth isn’t just created—it has to be preserved with i...

Before you can build wealth, you have to stop destroying it. Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler said it best: “People don’t act rationally.” And when it comes to money, that shows up in ways that quietly cost us more than we realize. In this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, break down three wealth-destroying behaviors—emotional decisions, lifestyle creep, and overconfi...

Landing that first job feels like the finish line, but for most young professionals, it is really just the beginning. In this episode, Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®, sits down with Christopher Bland, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA, BCPS, Albert W. Jowdy Professor in Pharmacy Care at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, to unpack the real-world financial questions that pharmacists and other gradu...

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, welcomes back Phil Blancato for their annual market conversation, now a tradition on Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School. Phil is Chief Market Strategist at Osaic Wealth, a regular on Fox Business, and an experienced portfolio manager who brings equal parts insight and humor, including a lightning round that somehow turns the 2026 market into a lasagna...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC® begin a two-part series on how wealth is actually built and why it often looks boring in real life. In Part 1, they tackle three common myths that derail people before wealth ever has a chance to compound. From the belief that wealth is built by luck or big brea...

In this milestone episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and co-host Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®, reflect on what they’ve learned after reaching 100 episodes of honest, practical money conversations.  This episode looks back at why the podcast started, the gaps in financial education that inspired it, and the themes that kept showing up a...

In this solo episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia CFP®, BFA™, ChFC®, reflects on King Cake season in New Orleans, an annual reminder that some things are wonderful precisely because they don’t last forever. Between questionable calorie intake and the collective sugar coma that sweeps the city, Erik is grateful that King cake is a season, not a lifestyle. That rhythm sparks a bigge...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Xavier Angel, CFP®, is joined by Shannon Mehaffey Ory, Owner and Senior Care Consultant at Avila Senior Advisors, for an honest conversation about something every family will face but few feel prepared for: caring for aging parents. Whether care needs change slowly or arrive overnight after a fall, hospitalization, or diagnosis,...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Erik Garcia is joined by Miles Clark, Senior Analyst at Nasdaq Dorsey Wright, to explore a simple but important question: what’s better—time in the market or timing the market? The conversation opens with a long-term look at how markets have behaved over multi-decade periods and what that data can teach investors when they’re de...

In this solo episode of Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You in School, Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC, steps behind the mic to wrestle with a tough truth: planning isn’t optional, not if you want control over your future. Fresh off his conversation with Giovanni Arenas about Gio’s life-threatening condition and remarkable double lung transplant, Xavier gets another call that hits just as hard...

In this solo episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, host Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ sits down for a candid one-on-one about goals. Not the shiny, New-Year’s-resolution kind, but the messy, honest kind we whisper to ourselves when no one’s listening. Erik shares two personal moments that reshaped how he thinks about goal setting, including the year Dr. Matt Morris bluntly told him, “You just...

In this moving episode of the Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School podcast, Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC, sits down with Giovani Arenas, business partner of Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA™, ChFC®, at Garcia Insurance Services, to talk about life, death, and everything in between. Gio, who received a double lung transplant just two years ago, shares his remarkable story of resilience and fa...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, hosts Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®, tackle a hard truth — sometimes, the biggest threat to our financial health isn’t the economy, it’s the lies we tell ourselves. From “I’ll save when I make more” to “I deserve this purchase” and “I can time the market,” Erik and Xavier break down how the...

In this Halloween-themed episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, host Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ is joined by Dr. Matt Morris and first-time guest Stephanie Osborn for a fun and insightful conversation about fear, especially the fear of money. The trio starts by sharing their thoughts on scary movies (and why Erik can’t stand them) and explores some New Orleans lingo abou...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC, tackle one of the most important yet often overlooked financial topics: long-term care. The conversation kicks off with a laugh as Erik shares how Xavier nearly got himself kicked out of a professional study group for challenging the conventional wisdom around...

In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, hosts ⁠Erik Garcia⁠, CFP®, BFA™, ChFC®, and ⁠Xavier Angel⁠, CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC, dive into what they call “backwards planning.” Erik shares a story about driving his daughter to college, where the destination was clear but the journey allowed for meaningful detours that still aligned with their ultimate goal. This idea of starting...

What do engineering, entrepreneurship, and divinity have to do with each other? Apparently, more than you think. In this episode, ⁠Erik Garcia⁠, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, sits down with Tulane professors ⁠Rob Lalka⁠, who teaches entrepreneurship, and ⁠Matt Escarra⁠, a professor of engineering, to talk about a course that challenges students to ask the big questions. They discuss technology, ethics, purpo...

Change is part of life—but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Transitions—whether personal, professional, planned, or unexpected—can shake our sense of identity, rhythm, and control. Even positive change can feel disruptive when it alters what we’ve known or how we’ve operated. In this episode, ⁠Erik Garcia⁠, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and ⁠Dr. Matt Morris⁠ explore how leaders can navigate seasons of change wit...

You can have the best ideas in the world—but if you can’t communicate them clearly, they won’t move anyone. Great leadership requires great communication. Whether you’re casting vision, navigating hard conversations, or just trying to be heard in a noisy world, how you say it matters just as much as what you say. In this episode, ⁠Erik Garcia⁠, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, and ⁠Dr. Matt Morris⁠ explore what...

As a leader, decisions are part of your daily rhythm. But not all decisions are equal—and some carry more weight than others. Under pressure, even seasoned leaders can fall into traps: overthinking, reacting too quickly, or second-guessing themselves after the fact. Stress clouds clarity, and fatigue makes it harder to trust your gut or your process. In this episode, ⁠Erik Garcia⁠, CFP®, ChFC®, BF...