Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School

There is a myth that people who look “richer” are thought to be “wealthy, but in reality, all that tells us is they have a more expensive lifestyle. Tied to that is the myth that big incomes mean you are wealthy. But income is not wealth, and wealth is not income. In this episode Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and David R. Carothers, CIC, CRM, CWCA discuss the secrets of millionaires of converting income...

Discover how $350,000,000 is making a profound impact in New Orleans! In this episode, Inman Houston, President and CEO of Baptist Community Ministries (BCM), sheds light on how BCM is transforming lives by financially supporting organizations that address crucial community needs in safety, education, and health. However, the true highlight lies in Inman's compelling personal narrative. Joined by...

FAFSA? EFC? SAI? What does all this mean? College planning is complicated and overwhelming for both the student and the parent. There should be an easy button to plan for college.  In this episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia, CFP®, has a candid discussion with John Hupalo (4-time guest on the show) on navigating the FASFA maze. From demystifying FASFA responsibilities to understa...

In this episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, hear from Alexander Bigbie of Flyte as he shares his story of running small programs to help individuals in vulnerable communities with their financial literacy. Be prepared to be inspired. Episode Highlights: Alexander explains that establishing credit at a young age and learning how to e...

If we could predict how the stock market performs, we'd be retired! The only thing CERTAIN right now is UNCERTAINITY. But is this uncertainty, new? War, presidential elections, inflation, oil, & ongoing recession talk have us all feeling a bit, well, yucky!  In this episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA sits down with Michael Laughlin, CFA, FRM, Head of Portfolio Special...

Bánh Mìs and Daiquiris have nothing to do with money. But what better way to celebrate achieving a financial milestone than with a bang bang shrimp Bánh Mì (Vietnamese po-boy) and a crawgator Daiquiri? In this episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA celebrates with Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC as he recently achieved a financial goal that took self-discipline and a lot o...

Puff Daddy wasn’t Roman, but "Mo Money Mo Problems" may have resonated with the Stoics. Apparently, Erik thinks more about Roman views on wealth than he realized. And the Roman Empire is alive & well & taking TikTok over by storm thanks to Gaius Flavus…who?  In this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and guest host Dr. Matt Morris LPC & LMFT discuss what some well-known Stoics had to say about wealt...

Are girls really bad at math? If something costs less than $5, it’s practically free, right? If I return something and get a store credit, I make money, correct? LOL Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, discuss one of the latest TikTok trends #girlmath. Erik dispels the myth that girls are worse at math than boys. They discuss how we all tell ourselves stories to justify wha...

Business owners often have the majority of their net worth tied up in their business. Does it make sense for them to diversify their wealth to protect their assets and achieve long-term financial security? Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, talks about why it’s a bad idea to have all your eggs in one pocket and shares his 8 compelling reasons why business owners should diversify their wealth (reason #8 is th...

Making a financial plan is complicated. There are a lot of moving parts and complexity…you could fill a book with just one plan! But often, more isn’t always better. Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, talk about the benefits of keeping it simple. From children practicing copyright law to adults presenting too-long packets of paper to a 40 year monster of a plan, our intrepi...

Erik has a confession to make... he dislikes budgeting. Yep, even though he created a budgeting course for his clients, he shares why he has an aversion to traditional budgets. In this episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA flies solo as he explains his fresh take on budgeting. He gives you 3 reasons why managing your cashflow is foundational to building wealth. Check out...

Or, the return of Xavier’s car: The 2008 Accord Strikes Back! Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, have a discussion about making and setting goals - particularly, about how sharing those goals can make them easier to achieve! They talk about everything from collaboration to accounting, hard stats to practical advice, Xavier’s car to Erik’s recliner… this episode truly has i...

This is the Stuff About Money podcast, and here, we talk about… well, stuff about money! Some episodes are super specific and get into specific case studies, but sometimes, it’s good to get back to the basics. From Dave Ramsay, to teaching your children, to explaining the local dialect, Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, host Daniel Prudhomme in a wide-ranging conversation...

Xavier’s a Certified Financial Planner driving a 2008 Accord. What? Why? Well, he drives his old car without air conditioning for a simple reason: No car note! Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, chat about what having no car note opens up and about how it can be hard to reach your financial goals. In addition, Erik tries his hand at rapping to better illustrate his point… W...

Education planning comes with many obstacles, like student loans, meal plans, housing… and, as some of you will come to find out, what happens after graduation. Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, tells Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, his and his family’s story of having to financially plan for a recent college graduate. The two discuss values-based planning, moving complications, “working your way through co...

Building wealth is the central part of a financial planner’s livelihood. So, entering into the industry, they’d be given good, sound advice… right? Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, share advice they’ve gotten while getting into the financial planning industry and why it’s not the greatest. In addition, our hosts discuss actual, sound advice on getting wealth. Xavier discu...

Mom and pop pharmacies are a part of many people’s lives. But behind the storefront, there’s a whole world of owning your own business, managing finances, and paying off student loans! Family pharmacy owner and pharmacist Jeff Rodriguez joins Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, to talk about the financial ins-and-outs from being a pharmacist. In addition to chatting with ou...

Does your household need a Chief Financial Officer? Revisit this throwback episode of the Building Us podcast, where hosts Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT. are joined by Sarah Fallaw, President at DataPoints, to discuss what it takes to run a financially successful household. Episode Highlights: Sarah shares her background in industrial psychology, and how she has applied the dat...

Paying for college is tricky! Filling out the FAFSA, applying for loans, trying for scholarships… and then, debt. The process is anxiety inducing and sometimes ambiguous - but that doesn’t mean it has to be! Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, are joined by John Hupalo, CEO and founder of My College Corner, to talk about the intricacies of applying to college, filling out t...

We all know that in the case of an emergency, it’s nice to have finances not tied up in stuff like real estate or the like - i.e., liquid assets. But did you know that’s not all that you want liquid assets for? This week, your Lords of Liquidity (not an actual title), Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, discuss liquid assets, what they are, where you’ll keep them, and what...

Your body is valuable, especially if you work in a physical industry! So, if something happens to it, it’s nice to have the peace of mind that cash won’t stop flowing. As always, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, take insurance and make it interesting: this time, it’s disability insurance. The two talk about what disability insurance is, when to get it, and what can cause...

Social media is ubiquitous. Everyone uses it, including us, and including you (if you’re counting podcasts)! This includes people who give financial advice, even if it’s not always the best. Your favorite financial influencers, Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, discuss different financial advice that’s given on social media, from crypto to life insurance, and why ultimatel...

Finances are important. Building wealth is important. At Plan Wisely, we deal with money and stocks and finance all day long. But you know what’s really, really important? Relationships. Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA welcomes longtime friend of the show Dr. Matt “The Relationship Doctor” Morris, a professor and relationship counselor, discuss 10 tenets of all kinds of relationships, from parents to sibli...

What a year 2022 was! Ups and downs in the market, financial happiness, financial sadness… and now, we usher it out the door and welcome in 2023. Who knows what 2023 will bring for you and your finances? Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC, reflect on the past year and finally welcome in the new year (about 2 episodes too late). They exchange their favorite moments from the...

For the majority of Americans, retiring is an inevitable stage of life, one that comes with both the promise of relaxing without having to work and the threat of saving enough to make that promise come true. It’s pretty easy to see that retiring comes with its challenges, and staying in the loop means that tackling them is that much easier. Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA, and guest Vinnie Allard, AIF®, di...