About Real Money, Real Experts
Real Money, Real Experts is a personal finance podcast written and produced by AFCPE®. With an audience of financial professionals, we strive to educate and entertain with a combination of expert tips, engaging interviews, and real-life storytelling.
- Covering real stories about how professionals like you are impacting their clients.
- Offering tips from real experts on how to improve client interactions and grow your business.

AFCPE® ensures the highest integrity of the financial counseling profession by certifying, connecting, and supporting diverse professionals. Our comprehensive programs, the AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor®) and represent the gold standard of financial counseling and coaching certifications. And our membership community offers a place to share best practices, solve similar struggles, and access tools and resources that advance your career and enable you to better serve your clients.
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Meet the Hosts


Rachael DeLeon, AFCPE® Executive Director
Rachael DeLeon, Executive Director of AFCPE®, is co-host of Real Money, Real Experts podcast. Rachael leads AFCPE, a national association for financial counselors, coaches, and educators. AFCPE certifies, supports, and connects professionals across the personal finance field who are committed to the highest standards of professionalism and passionate about helping people with their money.
Mary Bell Carlson, AFC®, CFP®, Ph.D.
Dr. Mary Bell Carlson is a financial behavior expert and is currently the President and Founder of Financial Behavior Keynote Group, a speaking and consulting firm providing thought leadership around financial behavior change. She also teaches at the University of Georgia and Texas Tech University in personal financial planning and holds both the AFC® and CFP® credentials.
Recent Episodes

Real Money, Real Experts: Nathan Astle
Episode 90: Building a Collaborative Practice Model with Nathan Astle Download the transcript! This week we welcome financial therapist, Nathan Astle, to the show. Nate is the founder of the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute, which is a collaborative practice that includes financial counselors, therapists, and planners working together to meet the needs of their clients. On this episode, Nate shares

Real Money, Real Experts: Lazetta Braxton
Episode 89: Recognizing the Value of Cultural Competency with Lazetta Braxton Download the transcript! Lazetta Braxton, MBA, CFP® is on a mission to create wealth for the common good. She believes in fighting for voices that have not been heard, and has built her career around making room for underserved and overlooked populations. In this episode, we get to know

Real Money, Real Experts: John McNamara
Episode 88: Facets of Consumer Protection with John McNamara, CFPB Download the transcript! Today’s guest is John McNamara, Principal Assistant Director of Consumer Credit, Payments, and Deposits Markets at the CFPB. In this episode, John shares his professional journey from debt collection to his current role at the CFPB. He talks to us about the latest research from the Bureau,

Real Money, Real Experts: Dr. Preston Cherry
Episode 87: The Art of Storytelling and Story Listening with Dr. Preston Cherry Download the transcript! Dr. Preston Cherry, AFC®, CFP®, CFT-1 is the Founder & President of Concurrent Financial Planning, the Head of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay Financial Planning Program, and also a keynote speaker at this year’s AFCPE Symposium. Preston is passionate about the ways that

Real Money, Real Experts: Rahkim Sabree
Episode 86: Financial Trauma with Rahkim Sabree Download the transcript! On today’s episode we talk to AFC candidate, Rahkim Sabree, a financial coach, entrepreneur, and thought leader on the topic of financial trauma. We discuss how personal background, cultural experiences, and mental health all play a role in personal finance, and how financial professionals can add a trauma-informed lens to

Real Money, Real Experts: Penny Forward
Episode 85: Building Accessible Financial Education with Penny Forward Download the transcript! “Whether someone wants to be independent with their finances is their absolute decision…but what I don’t want that decision to be based around is the fact that someone cannot see anymore…I want to help [people] realize that there are options.” – Liz Bottner On this week’s episode, we
Listener Reviews
"I am excited about the Real Money, Real Experts Podcast. The hosts Rebecca and Mary have such rich and diverse background in the financial counseling and education space and they complement each other well. Usually in the first few episodes of a podcast, there is a sense of working out the kinks and getting comfortable with the format but this was a polished effort from the start. I also like the 20-min format, perfect for a listen on my morning jog or while running errands. I look forward upcoming episodes."
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Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you!
Do you have a topic you’d like us to explore, or feedback for the podcast? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us or comment below to let us know your thoughts.
Hello! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!! l just finished listening to Real Money/Real Experts, Pilot Episode and truly enjoyed meeting you! I was so INSPIRED and MOTIVATED that l WILL cease PROCRASTINATING and get started on reaching my next life’s goal of becoming a financial Coach/Counselor. Thank you so much for the AMAZING LEADERSHIP! Ms. Farrow
Thank you so much for listening! We hope you stick around and enjoy future episodes. Thanks for the feedback!
How can we get FICO open access- for free for our clients instead of paying the fees associated with getting the score and the needed education/coaching? Can this not be waived for financial coaching for AFCPE members?
Carol Ehlers
ISU Extension
712-732-5056 (home office/not open yet)
712-299-3454 (personal cell)
xehlers@iastate.edu
Carol, we are offering a webinar with the FICO team. Register now: https://bit.ly/309NsuT
Great podcasts so far. I have listened to the first three. Kudos to Rebecca and Mary.
Thank you for listening! We’d love to have you on sometime 🙂
I use the PodCruncher app for iPhone. Thoroughly enjoyed the interesting and informative first four podcasts. I’m going to listen to E5 sometime this afternoon. Terrific job so far! Thank you!
Thank you for listening!