Real Money, Real Experts: Highlights of Season 3

Written By: Dr. Mary Bell Carlson

I hope you’ve been able to tune into some of the great conversations we’ve had on Real Money, Real Experts podcast this season. If not, here are some of the highlights with quick links for easy listening! Download your favorites and catch up on your daily commute or morning walk. 

Season three is threefold; the first part is focused on careers in financial counseling and coaching. We spoke with a number of experts in various fields, including:

• Nonprofit: Marcy Reyes discussed how to start a non-profit and how to work within this sector. 
• Various government opportunities: I cover a number of experiences within the federal, state, and local government systems.
• Military and nonprofit:  Andia Dinesen, a military spouse, works for the American Military Banking Association, and provides a wealth of information on opportunities and connections across banking, military, and nonprofit. 
• Cooperative Extension & Education: Karen Richel is a teacher at heart. In this episode, she shares a wealth of wisdom and insight –  not only about how to get into Cooperative Extension, but how to be a better teacher and student.  
• Banking and Credit Union: Janie Bright, who has worked for a credit union for nearly 30 years, speaks to the power of mentorship, the importance of financial inclusion, and the value of doing well by doing good.
• Financial Education: Laura Levine, with Jump$tart, has been championing financial education for children for decades. She has unique insight and resources for those wanting to pursue this path and help teach this basic life-critical skill.
• And two episodes of Private Practice: 
  • The first was with Garrett Philbin and Joshua Escalante Troesh with Financial Coaches Network. Garrett and Josh talk about how to start your own financial coaching business and they share unique insights on what you’ll need and how to stay relevant with clients. If you are interested in private practice, this is an episode you don’t want to miss! 
  • The second was with Maggie Klokkenga and Rachel Roth, which was one of the funniest episodes we’ve ever recorded (it should probably be on our blooper reel)! These ladies were wonderful to chat with and give a unique insight into how they started their own firms and what it is like running your own business in the first few years. 

These were all fantastic conversations, and they are all applicable to anyone interested in joining the profession or simply wanting to further develop your career. If being a part of a diverse AFCPE community has taught us anything, it’s that we can learn valuable lessons across career lines. Just pick an episode and take a listen. You won’t be disappointed! 

For the second part of our 2022 season, we’ve been celebrating 30 years of the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC(R)) designation. We’ve had some incredible conversations. Some of my favorites included:

• A discussion of the history of the partnership with AFCPE & the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In this discussion, we take a deep dive with Pam Fraser and Sarah Bainton Kahn, who gives us the inside scoop on the creation of the CFPB Financial Coaching initiative and the success of its run during some challenging times. 
• We also had a great discussion on AFCPE’s military history with Mike Wood. Mike explained how AFCPE became connected with the military and how the military makes up a strong component of our membership today. He talks about how important it was for the military to have a credential to meet the needs of the servicemembers and what they were experiencing.
• Heath Carelock joined us for an interesting discussion on AFCPE’s Pro Bono Counseling Initiative that started at the height of the global pandemic, and how his interesting path has led him to the journey he is on today.  
• And as I’m writing this article, we just finished a great discussion with the Budget Mom, Kumiko Love. She is a practicing AFC with over 1 million social media followers. She talks about her own journey of self-love and compassion and how money was tied into her finding her true self. She was very open about her difficult journey as a single mother and it is inspiring to see how far she has come in such a short period of time. 

These and so many more are episodes you won’t want to miss! We plan on wrapping up the year with a taste of some of our speakers and presenters joining us at the 2022 AFCPE Symposium this year. We are excited to be back in person and look forward to seeing you in Florida this November! 

Stay connected to us and, as always, we welcome your shares so that others may find the podcast. You can find all of our podcasts and show notes here: https://www.afcpe.org/real-money-real-experts-podcast/ or listen below!