“One step at a time.”

“Life is not a sprint.”

“Keep grinding.”

Grit, Grind, and Persistence are critical for achievement and success. 

But…there’s also a time to quit and for good reasons. Listen in as Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT, and Erik Garcia, CFP® discuss why winners sometimes quit.

Episode Highlights:

• Erik & Matt discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. (0:53)
• Matt & Erik discuss the idea of quitting in general. (5:09)
• Matt mentions that the quitter should not be shamed. (9:04)
• Matt discusses the mentality of the word don't quit. (10:32)
• Matt explains that sometimes people must give up something in order to pursue something better. (14:17)
• Matt mentions that people sometimes quit something that is now inconsistent with their values. (17:04)
• Matt discusses how people may stop something because it is counterproductive to their preferred quality of life. (19:54)
• Erik defines the term "return of investment". (21:11)
• Matt mentions that another good reason to quit is when what you're doing is harmful. (23:16)
• Matt gives an example of a good reason for a marathon runner to abandon the race. (24:32)
• Matt explains that there are occasions when it's a wise choice to end a partnership. (26:50)
• Matt and Erik talk about the pros and cons of divorce. (30:10)
• Erik believes that there is a time to get away to gain clarity in order to figure out what is going on and what the next step should be. (36:24)
• Matt mentions that relationships are naturally difficult. (39:14)
• Matt explains that relationships do not begin as harmful or abusive. (44:24)
• Matt and Erik talk about their decision to quit the podcast. (47:04)

Key Quotes:

• “There is a really good time and reason to quit. And we shouldn't shame the quitter. Sometimes it's good to quit.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “People choose different paths, and we can respect both positions, we can support both positions and both positions can be healthy at different times for different people for different reasons. There is a time to quit, and there are clear benefits to quitting.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “There are things that you're doing that are inconsistent with that value of freedom of your own time, if that makes sense. So it's almost like a rediscovery of your values and realigning behaviors with those values.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• What's a typical vacation for Ryan? (5:01)
• Ryan gives a brief background of what Think2Perform is all about. (11:31)
• Ryan mentions the five values he utilizes on his best day. (14:24)
• Ryan explains why one of his values is health. (16:16)
• Ryan shares why he had viewed himself as indestructible. (18:07)
• Ryan explains what financial intelligence means. (20:36)
• Ryan shares why it’s important to understand values. (25:07)
• Ryan mentions why values are a huge point of differentiation. (33:01)
• What were Ryan’s foundational ideas that have become clear in a new way over the last 18 months? (35:02)
• Ryan explains the alignment model. (42:27)

Key Quotes:

• “My values happen to be integrity, family, health, excellence, and achievement. So, on my best day, I am utilizing all five. Now, that's extremely, extremely hard for a lot of variables. But, if I see that and reflect on my values, and think about those values as I make choices throughout my day, then my behavior gets in line. Then, my goals for myself get in line.” - Ryan Goulart
• “One of my values is health, and I want to be healthy. I define health as I want to be both mentally healthy, financially healthy, and physically healthy. So, I need to do something in the moment right now to be able to fix that.” - Ryan Goulart
• “Values and value-based decisions can help guide that behavior. It's not going to mean that just because you know your values, you're going to be immune to poor decisions, but it increases the likelihood and increases the probability that the decisions you make will be value-based.” - Ryan Goulart

Resources Mentioned:

• Ryan Goulart LinkedIn
• Think2Perform
• Think2Perform Facebook
• Leveraging Your Financial Intelligence: At the Intersection of Money, Health and Happiness
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

The goal of today’s podcast is not to defend separate or joint accounts. However, we do want to explore some of the obstacles around joining accounts. Establishing a healthy dialogue about finances can help couples get on the same page and result in happier relationships in the long run.

Episode Highlights:

• Erik explains the point of today’s podcast episode. (2:06)
• Does Matt think that money is often a more difficult part to integrate with relationships? (4:24)
• Erik gives a couple of interesting statistics about couples having joint or separate bank accounts. (8:22)
• Erik shares some of the pros and cons of having joint accounts. (9:58)
• Matt explains the first obstacle of merging your accounts. (15:56)
• Matt gives his thoughts on the next obstacle: the idea of control. (20:18)
• Matt shares why income disparity has become a common concern. (24:02)
• Matt shares his thoughts on the final obstacle, which is debt disparity. (27:32)
• Matt mentions what his couples regularly tell him. (30:31)
• Matt gives some advice to the couples that are navigating their finances. (31:41)

Key Quotes:

• “I want people to have the healthiest relationship that they can possibly have. Being connected in a very healthy and secure way with our spouse can be one of the most meaningful things we experience in this life.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “If you and I were to go into business together, we would probably have a joint business account to help us meet the goals of the business. So, just for relationships, for family, there's an aspect of family that's business. To meet the goals of the family business, you probably would enjoy yourself in an account.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “Any kind of secret, any kind of hidden stuff, any kind of suspicion, lie, paranoia, ends up eroding that connection and eroding that feeling of safety and security. Financial transparency is a way to kind of just bring us all back on the same page. If this is what we have, this is where we're going.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Erik shares a recent article from inc.com, entitled, Warren Buffett Believes 3 Decisions in Life Separate Those Who Succeed From Those Who Fail. (1:05)
• Erik explains more about who Warren Buffet is. (1:25)
• Erik gives us the first piece of advice from Warren Buffet, that separates those who succeed from those who fail. (8:21)
• Erik discusses Warren Buffet’s philosophy on clear communication. (10:15)
• Matt explains how you can learn to become a better communicator. (10:52)
• Matt shares the second piece of advice from Warren Buffet: How to measure success by using your inner scorecard. (17:36)
• Erik explains the importance of scorecards and measuring. (22:44)
• Matt gives us the final piece of advice from Warren Buffet: Pay attention. (27:07)
• Erik shares some advice from a financial advisor’s standpoint. (32:19)

Key Quotes:

• “If you can make less poor decisions with your money, not better decisions necessarily, just less bad once consistently... that's going to add up, it's going to accrue, it's going to accumulate, and you have a good shot at being successful.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “Other ways to invest in yourself will really help you insulate yourself against unknowns in life, and economic downturns, and changes in the job market. If I can continue to grow and develop, and be flexible, I can usually find success somewhere out there.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “If you invest in your relationships, they're not perfect investments, but you'll most likely receive a lot of love and care and concern that will make your life full.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT

Resources Mentioned:

• Warren Buffett Believes 3 Decisions in Life Separate Those Who Succeed From Those Who Fail
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces his wife, Jen Garcia. (3:45)
• Jen shares how their son’s severe food allergy started. (5:57)
• Erik mentions one of the things that comes commonly with food allergies. (8:52)
• Erik explains the difference between food allergies and food sensitivities. (10:40)
• Jen explains why they carry more than one epi-pen. (12:15)
• How did Jen and Erik explain their son’s condition to other family members? (21:24)
• Jen shares some of the home modifications they did for the safety of their son. (26:43)
• Erik shares how he coped with all of the adjustments they did. (29:31)
• Erik shares the lessons he’s learned from food allergies. (45:09)

Key Quotes:

• “Honestly, I just wish people would allow us to keep him alive. That's all I'm trying to do, that's all he's trying to do is just to stay alive and enjoy other parts of life.” - Jennifer Garcia
• “I've told people many times, we can't come to your house, but, you are more than welcome to invite yourself to ours. And, the friends that have done that for us, those are the ones that have stuck by us and it's made this doable.” - Jennifer Garcia
• “I wish people understood the severity of food allergies...that it's not like respiratory allergies, where treatment is a little bit of exposure and small amounts, like food allergies. Any exposure of any amount is not good. A lot of people think that if I just have a little bit it’s not going to hurt. A little bit is all it takes.” - Erik Garcia

Resources Mentioned:

• Jennifer Garcia
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Xavier shares the best advice he has ever been given. (3:03)
• Xavier explains what generational wealth is. (3:41)
• Xavier discusses savings goals. (5:18)
• Xavier shares a story about a conversation with his oldest daughter, several years ago. (12:50)
• Xavier mentions the importance of proper planning. (25:27)
• Xavier shares why a mortgage is something that people really have to think about. (34:18)
• Xavier gives his closing thoughts on the best financial advice. (43:16)

Key Quotes:

• “I want my children to be in a better position than what I'm in today. And, that's why we have to make sure we're saving and we don't buy those big purchases.” - Xavier Angel
• “How much you save is going to depend on the individual. Not everyone is going to be able to save 25%, and give 25%, and live off of 50%. But, I think putting together that strategy or building a plan while leaving something behind… that's where you start.” - Xavier Angel
• “We need to teach our children that as they save, teach them what compound interest is. Because, what they're putting away today, whether it's $2 or $5. Today, here's what it could potentially grow to when they're 60 or 65 years old. And that's going to be how we start that generational wealth... by teaching our children at an early age.” - Xavier Angel

Resources Mentioned:

• Xavier Angel, ChFC, CLTC, LinkedIn
• Angel Wealth Strategies, LLC
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• What's the worst financial advice that Xavier has ever received? (2:38)
• Xavier mentions some of the goals he had, when he moved to Holland. (3:59)
• What happened when Xavier tried to purchase his first car? (9:34)
• Xavier explains how his credit card debt demotivated him. (15:16)
• Xavier mentions how debt becomes a cycle. (21:34)
• Xavier shares a story about the phone call he received a couple of weeks ago. (34:22)
• Xavier gives his closing thoughts on bad financial advice. (40:40)

Key Quotes:

• “I think walking into the bank and having family members talk to you about how money works… that is lost in today's age.” - Xavier Angel
• “These individuals graduating from college or in their mid to late 20s, they just don't realize how much that debt that they've accrued over their short lifetime... the effects that it has going forward. Whether it's purchasing a home, whether it's purchasing a car, that debt has a lasting effect on them.” - Xavier Angel
• “You still have that bad advice when you're looking at those salespeople coming in and trying to do something that's going to better themselves. They're still out there doing that same practice that you experienced.” - Xavier Angel

Resources Mentioned:

• Xavier Angel, ChFC, CLTC, LinkedIn
• Angel Wealth Strategies, LLC
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights: 

• Andrea and David introduce themselves. (1:53)
• Andrea shares how the pandemic affected her. (2:59)
• Andrea gives a background about their son, Ethan. (7:09)
• David the difficulties of not having control. (8:56)
• How did Ethan’s special needs affect their family? (15:55)
• David gives a piece of advice to the parents that have multiple kids in a household, with a special needs child. (21:19)
• Andrea gives us some context on Ethan’s capabilities. (23:17)
• David mentions the biggest struggle for him, coming from the business world. (39:51)
• Andrea explains why mental health is so important. (45:12)

Key Quotes:

• “I tell people all the time he couldn't have been born to two better parents. He's exactly where he needs to be for those reasons.” - David Carothers
• “What scares me to death is the number of kids out there that don't have parental advocates. Whether it's because they don't understand they need to do it, or they're just disinterested, it's insane to think there are that many kids going without people fighting for them.” - David Carothers
• “I'm a firm believer in this: Nobody is going to advocate to make sure your kid gets what you need, other than yourself. And, if you believe in something, and you want to change... you have to be that driving force.” - Andrea Carothers

Resources Mentioned:

• David Carothers LinkedIn
• Florida Risk Partners
• Andrea Carothers LinkedIn
• PRC-Saltillo
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Erik mentions today’s SIMPLE series, Money Edition. (00:56)
• Erik explains the definition of net worth. (2:52)
• Erik shares why tracking our net worth is significant. (4:44)
• Erik mentions the difference between income and wealth. (5:18)
• Erik shares how we calculate our net worth. (5:34)
• Erik explains what liabilities are. (8:08)
• Erik explains what happens if your net worth increases. (11:01)

Key Quotes:

• “I love this SIMPLE: Money series because it's just getting back to the basics about the simple things that we can all do to improve our financial security.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “The reason why we track net worth... it's a measurement of how we're doing financially, because it's advancing us towards some goal, some objective, some end that we find valuable.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “I like to say what gets measured gets done. So, the idea is to increase your net worth to increase your financial position. This is a good measuring tool, if you will, to kind of see where you are.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

This is SIMPLE: Money Edition, from Building Us.

Episode Highlights:

• Matt mentions why he’s excited about this series. (2:39)
• Erik mentions today's simple technique. (3:31)
• Erik shares why printing the last quarter’s worth of statements is beneficial. (4:38)
• Erik explains the first part of reviewing your statements. (5:33)
• Erik gives us the second part of reviewing your statements. (6:59)
• Erik mentions why tracking your expenses is a painful thing for some people. (8:07)
• Erik shares how to categorize your expenses. (10:06)
• Erik explores some factors about credit cards. (12:53)
• Erik gives us the final part of reviewing your statements. (16:06)

Key Quotes:

• “It's not necessarily the big expenses that keep you in a position of not being able to advance financially. It's the little things. It's all the little bitty expenses that you buy throughout the month that add up consistently over months and over years.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “We're creatures of habit… which you start to find is like, your spending becomes very predictable. So you know, we spend money at the same places. We shop at the same places. So, once you start to get kind of a baseline, you start to understand your spending habits, and you can start to make some changes in some improvement.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “I don't have a problem with separate accounts in general. But if separate is hiding, if separate is privacy... like, I'm married to you, we have a shared vision of a future and I don't want you to know what I spend... that seems problematic.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Erik shares how their teaching presentations have been doing recently. (2:30)
• What is the SIMPLE money task for today’s episode? (4:00)
• Erik explains the idea of automating. (4:32)
• Erik mentions three ways to automate your finances. (5:20)
• Erik explains how to automate your debt payments. (6:36)
• Erik explains the idea of short-term savings. (8:55)
• Matt shares his testimonies about automating. (10:26)
• Erik shares the third automation idea. (12:10)

Key Quotes:

• “If you can help people level up their financial management and clean some things up, that might give them a better shot at better stronger relationships. And, that's kind of the idea of our presentations.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “Most of us don't have the self-discipline to do the things that we know we need to be doing to meet our goals, or to... whatever. We just lack as human being self-discipline. So, we need to build in these guardrails, if you will, and one of the techniques is to automate.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®
• “Finances are generally not the main reason for divorce, but they're a huge part of the conflict that can lead to divorce.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Does Tralana think that selling is part of the counseling business? (4:49)
• Tralana shares her opinion about strong arming and counseling. (8:41)
• Tralana tells us what she’s actively thinking about. (10:43)
• Tralana mentions a book she’s currently reading entitled Primalbranding, by Patrick Hanlon.  (14:36)
• Does Tralana think that marketing is somewhat tied to an ideal client? (16:36)
• Tralana mentions why a lot of therapists depend on other types of platforms. (29:46)
• Tralana shares what a therapist’s office should look like. (40:47)
• Tralana mentions why the burnout rate for counselors is something that people need to be thinking about. (47:30)

Key Quotes:

• “It’s very important to think about what you’re passionate about...If you're starting a practice, you definitely want to make sure you're putting it out there, so that the clients that you prefer to work with... those are the clients that you're attracting.” - Tralana Eugene
• “If my website had everything that a client needs to know about the work… If I answered those common questions that I typically get asked in that phone consultation… now, I’ve just saved money, because I've saved myself 20 to 30 minutes, right?” - Tralana Eugene
• “Working from home can be great but, sometimes it's actually nice to have to work outside of home. So, I'm thinking about self care boundaries... things like that.” - Tralana Eugene

Resources Mentioned:

• Tralana Eugene LinkedIn
• University of Holy Cross
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Lee introduces the new member of their family. (2:10)
• Izabela shares how her pregnancy went. (8:58)
• Lee shares the feeling of being involved in Izabela’s pregnancy. (15:33)
• What were Izabela and Lee’s first experiences like holding their newborn baby? (20:41)
• Izabela shares what happened after waking up from her pregnancy. (24:37)
• What are some of the unexpected experiences in Lee and Izabela’s new parenting journey? (26:31)
• Izabela shares her anxiety experience. (33:31)
• Lee discusses the protective instincts he’s experiencing as a parent. (38:06)

Key Quotes:

• “Since then, we've had a couple of scares here and there. And, most of them due to us being new parents, and not knowing what we're doing, and trying our best to know what we're doing, and to keep her safe and healthy.” - Lee Cormier
• “ As a dad, as a partner, your role is to be the best sidekick possible, and alleviate any type of pain and pressure and stress. Then, you can do the best job in the world.” - Lee Cormier
• “I think me, as a mom... it's brought out depths that I didn't know were there. And, I can be a lot more empathetic with a lot more people now. Like, other people who have had children, who have had losses, and things like that... I can understand what they're going through.” - Izabela Cormier

Resources Mentioned:

• Lee Cormier
• Izabela Cormier
• Canal Street Church
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• What kind of technology is Austin working on? (4:27)
• Austin mentions how he met Erica. (6:40)
• Erica explains what childhood Apraxia is, and its symptoms. (10:18)
• How did they notice that their child has Apraxia? (12:26)
• How does Austin’s career of helping people express themselves begin to intersect with his daughter's life? (18:29)
• Erica mentions the difference between a phonological disorder and a motor planning disorder. (20:11)
• Austin shares how his work started to connect with speech disorders. (21:51)
• Austin mentions one thing he noticed about their therapist. (25:43)
• Erica and Austin speak about how people tend to interact with those who have disabilities. ? (28:48)
• Austin mentions one of the things people may not be aware of. (38:19)

Key Quotes:

• “Her having an iPad to communicate now, that success isn't always measured by what she can voice, but people can communicate through technology now.” - Erica Edenfield
• “Now our daughter is around the best kind of communication intervention, the best kind of team that she could be around. We're around some of the best of the best here in the Nashville area. So, a lot of positives have come out of it.” - Austin Edenfield
• “Knowing that person's why is as important as knowing what they know. People can always acquire knowledge down the road, right? But, if someone's passionate and driven to help your child, I would take that over someone who has a Ph.D. and all these other things.” - Austin Edenfield

Resources Mentioned:

• Erica Edenfield LinkedIn
• Missio Mosaic
• Austin Edenfield, ATP/SMS LinkedIn
• Pride Mobility Products Corporation
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Moms are the foundations and cornerstones of our families . They are the epitome of what it means to “invest in your relationships” as they sacrifice so much for their families.

Moms don’t listen alone!   Invite your spouse to join in as Matt, Erik, Seleigh, and Joey wrestle with questions like:

Is balance real?

Would you rather hire someone to do your laundry or cook your meals?

What’s worse, too much routine or not enough?

How do you have hard conversations with your partner about your feelings of overwhelm?

Moms: Visit NewOrleansMom.com for a chance to win a Staycation here in New Orleans. You have 2 chances to win thanks to our partners at Higgins Hotel and Southern Hotel in downtown New Orleans.

Building-Us.com

NewOrleansMom.com

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us. 

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us.

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us. 

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us. 

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us.

Every week Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT and Erik Garcia, CFP® end the show with the encouragement to “Invest in Your Relationships.”

But how? How do you invest in something that feels intangible? It’s SIMPLE. The Simple series provides you with simple, everyday, practical, and tactical strategies for investing in your relationships and Building Us. Matt and Erik believe these strategies are guaranteed deposits in your emotional bank account. 

This is SIMPLE from Building Us.

Episode Highlights:

• Elizabeth and Ashley share their background. (3:47)
• What’s Elizabeth’s top transferable skill that she brought from corporate accounting to the New Orleans mom blog? (6:47)
• Ashley shares why the enneagram has been immensely helpful. (11:21)
• How does Elizabeth manage a work-life balance? (14:47)
• Ashley gives a little background about their business. (17:45)
• Elizabeth shares how their business has evolved. (20:06)
• How did they transition from part-time to full-time? (23:15)
• Ashley talks about their first ever event and plans for the future. (25:40)
• Elizabeth shares a personal story in a blog she’s written. (32:17)
• What are some topics Elizabeth has discovered moms are really interested in? (36:15)
• How do Ashley and Elizabeth approach creating content for diverse groups? (38:34)

Key Quotes:

• “The website is designed to be optimized for people that are specifically looking for what we're offering. That's... things to do in New Orleans, raising a family in New Orleans, traveling to New Orleans with kids. So, we've worked really hard over the past nine years to make sure that we're a top-ranked website when it comes to seeking that information out. So, anybody who finds us can use us.” - Ashley Angelico
• “Finding stories and local moms who have experienced the same thing, to help you feel that you're not on this journey alone...To advocate for yourself, your kids, and your family. I feel like if that's one of the ways we can help others and navigate through those challenges... then, that's what we're here for.” - Elizabeth Schmelling
• “A lot of humans, not just moms, are nervous and intimidated by the idea of sharing their voice. A lot of people think that they don't have something to say, or they don't have something of value to say. Elizabeth and I always try to remind people... if you are human, you have something to share. It doesn't matter if you're a professional writer or if you've ever written before, formally. If you have been through something...which if you're human, you have...we want to hear from you.” - Ashley Angelico

Resources Mentioned:

• Ashley Angelico LinkedIn
• Elizabeth Schmelling LinkedIn
• New Orleans Mom
• Lafayette Mom
• Red Stick Mom
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Izabela and Lee share a little bit about themselves. (6:51)
• How’s the pregnancy been going for Izabela? (10:03)
• Izabela shares one of the factors that surprised her about being pregnant. (13:21)
• Lee shares one of the factors that surprised him. (16:45)
• Lee mentions why there still isn’t an emotional connection. (17:10)
• Lee shares one of the factors that made an emotional connection to him. (21:25)
• What is Lee’s main concern? (24:17)
• Izabela shares why she’s been focusing all of her energy and thoughts on the actual labor and delivery. (25:31)
• Is there any aspect to finances that stresses Lee and Izabela the most? (35:38)

Key Quote:

• “I'm a pretty loyal and protective person. If I care about you, if you're my friend, or if we have a deep relationship, I care for you deeply. I want to protect you at all costs.” - Lee Cormier
• “I hope that I will be able to transfer the receiving gifts part, even like buying things for myself and giving it to our child and being a father who gives good and abundant gifts to our children. And that's how I'll find satisfaction.” - Lee Cormier
• “I'm bringing our child into a healthy environment where its needs will be taken care of. So when things do come up that are potentially stressful financially, I just kind of fall back on being grateful for the position we're in.” - Izabela Cormier

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Lee Cormier
• Izabela Cormier
• Canal Street Church

Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares her background. (5:45)
• How has the pandemic impacted Dr. Laura Hernandez’s practice?. (6:46)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares how the pandemic has changed her personal life. (7:36)
• Why do disruptive events force people to change? (9:34)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares her poem entitled, Feeling Upside Down. (15:16)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares the origins of her poem. (18:59)
• What is one of Dr. Laura Hernandez’s biggest passions? (21:02)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares why it's okay to feel a little upside down. (23:35)
• What would Dr. Laura Hernandez recommend to help kids stay grounded? (28:10)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez discusses ways to practice gratitude. (38:01)
• Dr. Laura Hernandez shares the significance of flexibility. (44:04)

Key Quotes:

• “I knew having more time with each family, the parents, the children and adolescence was going to be so fulfilling. I think just the switch... human beings, we don't love change. So, I think just kind of shifting from what I was used to, with a typical school setting was sort of an adjustment. But, it's been really fun. I feel like I'm growing and loving it.” - Dr. Laura Hernandez
• “When our world seems rocky, like we're on a roller coaster going too fast... think about all you've learned to help you on your path. Remember, we're all in this together. Take one moment at a time. Things are a little different. But let's be an encourager and be kind.” - Dr. Laura Hernandez
• “I think the mindful piece of it is that big pause button has helped us to reevaluate and be mindful of the things that either we need to add into our day, or things we were doing that maybe we didn't even realize were, or part of, what made us who we were.” - Dr. Laura Hernandez

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Laura Hernandez
• Be Well NOLA Counseling
• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

In Part 2 of this two-part series, John Hupalo, founder of My College Corner and Invite Education, joins Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT to wrestle with these tough college planning and college funding questions.

Episode Highlights:

• John mentions the only factor that will not change around higher education. (3:59)
• John shares when the idea of the shifting sands started. (4:48)
• John shares that student loans should be the last resort and not the first option to pay for college. (9:14)
• Does John think that kids who work through college to help pay for college tend to outperform kids who don't work through college? (13:20)
• What are some tools that families have access to that they can use to pay for college? (14:43)
• John mentions the program in Louisiana called the Student Tuition and Revenue Trust (START). (19:02)
• How does John help people make decisions around taking on student debt? (31:51)
• John shares why the federal student loan program is beneficial. (33:24)
• John shares the two reasons why student loan debt is good. (46:16)

Key Quotes:

• “There's a myth out there that if you save too much, you're going to be hurt in the financial aid process and there's a myth out there because it's a myth.” - John Hupalo
• “I think there has to be student loan debt because when properly used, you can apply that to get the leverage of the investment and get a return on that...I say though, student loans should be the last resort, not the first option to pay for college.” - John Hupalo
• “The young adults, no longer your toddler, have a responsibility here. Right? The more skin they have in the game, and the more it's real for them, the more success I think that they can have. They can define that success how they need to, but the whole idea is making sure they have the right tools to do that.” - John Hupalo



Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• John Hupalo LinkedIn
• Invite Education
• 
  

In Part 1 of this two-part series, John Hupalo, founder of My College Corner and Invite Education, joins Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT to wrestle with these tough college planning and college funding questions.

Episode Highlights:

• John shares his background. (2:41)
• John mentions how Invite Education started. (4:07)
• Why is borrowing from a 401k a bad idea to pay for college? (6:50)
• John shares his understanding of how to afford college. (7:52)
• John mentions the piece of advice that Erik said to Matt. (8:26)
• John shares the benefits of saving. (9:05)
• Does John have any kind of rules in terms of how parents and students should make decisions in terms of what's next for them? (11:09)
• John mentions why emotion is the problem. (11:17)
• John mentions the three aspects to identify if a college is a good fit. (15:21)
• John mentions his book entitled, Plan and Finance Your Family's College Dreams. (17:00)
• John shares how to utilize their website. (25:37)

Key Quotes:

• “I think a lot of parents have that perspective that we're going to do the best we can and we're going to kind of figure it out. The problem for some families is, when they get to that “we're going to figure it out” point, that's when they start over-leveraging, right? And then the emotion overtakes the reality” - John Hupalo
• “No matter how old your kid is, I don't care if they're like six months from graduating from high school or they're six months old, just open a savings plan and start saving. So I say, it's never too early, never too late to start saving.” - John Hupalo
• “You have no idea if a college is affordable for you until you get the financial aid award letter in your hand. Right? Because it might be that you're going to get a full ride...and what you think is the most expensive school that you could never afford may be perfectly affordable.” - John Hupalo

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• John Hupalo LinkedIn
• Invite Education
• MyCollegeCorner.com
• FAFSA
• Student Loans
• ARCollegeSaver.org

Episode Highlights:

• Erik shares a study from Harvard that said, happiness and health aren't the result of wealth, fame, or working hard. But instead, it comes from our relationships, and being in a stable relationship is linked to both physical and mental health benefits. (1:43)
• Matt shares a small detail about their 2021 mini-series called, The Next Normal. (2:39)
• Matt thinks that love and marriage are at times crazy-making and at times gloriously beautiful, and experiencing both are part of being married. (7:31)
• Matt shares that if you accept them the way they are, they’re more likely to grow and change that there is a relationship between acceptance and change, or acceptance and growth. (9:13)
• Matt shares that marriage reveals our selfishness, and being married to the right person will still reveal your selfishness which you'll be then motivated to grow through and change so that both are focused. (13:42)
• Matt mentions that marriage doesn't mean you can keep doing whatever you want, for the rest of your life. But if that's your definition of a straightjacket, then maybe your expectations about marriage need to change. (15:34)
• Erik shares that the beautiful aspect of marriage is the commitment that two people make to each other, to accept, and love each other, unconditionally. (17:33)
• Matt shares that we need a partner with whom to go through life and we crave to create both love and family, and having a relationship that’s similar to marriage gives us the best opportunity. (20:02)
• Matt mentions that marital love is made up of different strands woven together, and he explains the meaning of each strand. (21:24)
• Matt shares that there’s an aspect of restraint to marital love. But not all marital love is restraining. There's a lot of freedom, fun, and enjoyment in marital love as well. (23:16)
• Matt mentions that not all marriage experiences the freedom to become their true self to the fullest. (28:29)
• Matt shares a story about how marriage is both constraining and liberating, at the same time. (37:29)
• Matt thinks that marriage is not a straight jacket. Rather, it comes with constraints that will lead to a greater sense of freedom and joy. (45:58)

Key Quotes:

• “I think there is a protective element to a healthy marriage that does enhance our life that does bring health and wholeness and protection and security and a better judgment to our life. It makes us better people.” - Dr. Matt Morris
• “My experience in being married is the woman who absolutely adores and absolutely loves, and has the ability to make me feel the happiest and the most joy inside has also the ability to evoke the complete opposite reactions and that crazy feeling.” - Dr. Matt Morris
• “The adventure of marriage should continually be inspirational, that I should find inspiration from both my own marriage and from my spouse. And I think that if you, if you are no longer doing that, or haven't been doing that, that's something to talk about.” - Dr. Matt Morris

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Matt discusses the difference between crisis fretting and crisis planning. (1:53)
• Matt shares that crisis fretting is what we all want to avoid as much as possible. (2:03)
• Matt explains that crisis planning is focused on now or today. (4:25)
• Matt mentions that there’s a lot of unknowns between now, and a month from now. (5:30)
• Matt shares that crisis fretting will just drive people crazy. (6:10)
• Matt explains that crisis planning is live, reassuring, and smart. (6:24)

Key Quotes: 

• “In times when we're feeling really threatened and uncertain about what's next. It's best to just focus more on now. Focus on Now” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• “You can really overwhelm yourself looking too far ahead.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Matt shares that the significance of taking time to be grateful and appreciative of all the things that are good in our lives, at this moment, and one of the best aspects that we can give each other this holiday season, is appreciation. (2:27)
• Erik shares that he’s trying to be intentional about looking for something every day to be grateful for it and looking for opportunities in 2020. Because we've been dictated so much by today’s outside forces. (3:01)
• Erik mentions the one lesson that his father always shared that it still resonates with him. (8:36)
• Erik shares that sometimes, saving is used interchangeably with the idea of investing. The idea of saving is putting something away in a safe place to be used at another time. On the other hand, investing is saving with the expectation to make more money. (12:42)
• Matt mentions that putting money in a piggy bank is not an investment. (14:34)
• Erik mentions that when he first wrote his e-book, he talked about the three types of savings: short term, midterm, and long term savings. (15:41)
• Erik mentions that as a general rule of thumb, three to six times your expenses, of what it costs you to live is what you should have in a short term account. (19:32)
• Matt mentions that behavioral finance is an understanding that we're not robots, that we do things based on emotion, we do things based on preconditions, assumptions, and history. (22:29)
• Matt shares that If you're saying yes to saving the money, you're saying no to something else, and saying no is essential. But also, being aware of both sides of the equation is significant. (25:34)
• Matt mentions one reason that saving is very difficult is because of the opportunity costs.
• Erik mentions that financial planning is all about understanding what your values are, and what's vital to you. (30:04)
• Matt shares another reason why saving is difficult for people is because of the right skill sets to do it and proper money management. (30:57)
• Matt shares that saving is not equally easy for everyone. Because not everyone has the same income, and there’s a limit on how much you can save if your income is beneath your living expenses or right at your living expenses. (37:04)

Key Quotes:

• “It's hard to say because it's so easy to spend and something like a piggy bank makes it a little harder to spend. You have to open the piggy bank, you have to extract the money. it's not as easy just to spend it.” - Dr. Matt Morris
• “I am a coffee drinker. I love coffee. I'm not telling anyone right now to not drink coffee, I think it's just something that we have to be aware of when we spend, it's robbing us of the ability to do something else with that money, that opportunity costs which could be saving. So if we're not saving, and we have a lot of these habits of buying little small things regularly over time, it costs us a lot of money.” - Erik Garcia
• “Saving is a skill, and the only way sometimes to get better at a skill is to practice it.” - Erik Garcia
• “We're not advocating not spending just to save. What I advocate all the time is to spend money in a way that's aligned with what's important to you, that's aligned with your values.” - Erik Garcia

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates

Episode Highlights:

• Matt introduces Dr. Arwen Podesta. (1:22)
• Arwen shares her background. (1:40)
• Arwen shares that she’s a board-certified adult psychiatrist with sub-specializations in integrative and holistic medicine, addiction medicine, and forensic psychiatry. (1:48)
• Arwen mentions that she’s a clinical faculty at Tulane and LSU. (4:47)
• Arwen shares that Hurricane Katrina was a traumatic couple of weeks on the ground in New Orleans, from the actual storm disaster and breakwater flooding. (8:58)
• Arwen explains a new diagnosis called Chronic Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (9:37)
• Did Arwen foresee the same chronic post-traumatic stress across all demographics? (15:37)
• Arwen mentions that if the place you start is lower because of socio-economic background or trauma in your childhood, you're already behind when the general trauma occurs. (16:11)
• Arwen shares that the traumatic disorder is having a fear of it happening again or a fear of re-experiencing, and it disrupts your life and your ability to plan. (18:29)
• Matt mentions that it’s very hard to diagnose someone accurately when they're using substances daily. (27:30)
• Arwen shares that the symptoms of ADHD must be present before the age of 12 and plenty of people don't get into the testing system until someone recognizes it. (28:58)
• What are some of the root causes of ADHD that Arwen is interested in? (31:13)
• Arwen shares that there are thoughts that some medicines and some neurotransmitters are responsible for certain elements and some micronutrients are responsible for certain symptoms. (38:48)
• Arwen mentions that she has a fantastic nutritionist who’s been doing functional medicine for a long time and works closely well with children and adults that have any nutritional symptomatology. (41:08)
• Arwen mentions that classic Attention Deficit Disorder is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and disorganization. (42:31)
• Arwen shares that ADHD is thought to be a decrease in dopamine and dopamine deficiency, sometimes ADHD might be more dopamine and serotonin deficiency. (45:56)
• Arwen mentions that there's a new medicine called Dayvigo, which is a sleeping aid. (51:40)
• Arwen mentions that Iron plays a key role in dopamine metabolism. (53:12)
• Arwen thinks that food additives are a huge issue and plenty of people know that hyperactivity comes with some of the additives. (54:23)
• Arwen thinks that for all mental health issues, if we don't get to the root cause, it'll keep coming back, and keep causing disruption and problems. (57:31)
• Arwen shares that there are online resources that are looking into functional medicine or integrative medicine. (1:01:01)
• How has COVID-19 changed the delivery of mental health services in New Orleans? (1:02:43)
• In Matt’s opinion, protecting his sleep is vital. Therefore, he loves the idea of paying attention to what may be underneath our attention issues. (1:08:36)
• Erik thinks that awareness plays a huge role, but also understanding and becoming aware of your tendencies, or if you have ADHD or someone you're in a relationship with has ADHD, learning to relate to them. (1:09:05)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Dr. Arwen Podesta, MD, ABPN, FASAM, ABIHM
• Podesta Wellness
• Learn To Live

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces Dr. Stanton McNeely. (1:08)
• Stanton shares that they’re working through the dynamics of the pandemic which is a reduced occupancy on campus, continuing some things from a distance modality online, and they also have some focused instruction on-site as well. (2:31)
• Stanton mentions that in today’s century, everyone can receive information in the palm of their hand, as much as on a desktop or a tablet. (4:20)
• Stanton mentions that it’s significant that they’re present as much as they possibly can. (4:39)
• Stanton shares his experiences from Hurricane Katrina, back in 2005. (5:38)
• Stanton shares that the radical change of 2005 has been a good lesson of working with city officials, state and federal officials, as well as other education partners to lead a university through a dynamic change situation. (8:16)
• How’s Stanton making decisions about suspending physical learning and moving to remote learning? (10:47)
• Stanton mentions that his experience together with the other faculty and staff, on distance education allowed them to pivot as best as they could. (13:41)
• Stanton thinks that having the ability to pivot and continue teaching and learning online, is the key. (14:13)
• Stanton shares that the technology at the secondary level is more of a supplement to what's important for a developing mind in terms of in-person learning. (14:33)
• Stanton thinks that the individualized intention, close relations between faculty and staff, and the ability of college students to flip to distance helped. (15:49)
• Stanton shares that some universities have more in-person instruction right now than others and well-intentioned to optimizing the balance of health and safety responsibility, with educational responsibility, as well. (18:46)
• How does Stanton balance the financial needs of the university, the faculty, and staff? (19:02)
• Stanton explains conservative financial planning. (20:59)
• Stanton shares one of the transformations that occurred during the disruption in March and April was the opportunity that came with their counseling and training center. (22:43)
• Stanton mentions that he views telemental health as an opportunity for the continued growth of the counseling programs and it’s going to help them financially as well. (23:48)
• Stanton shares that it’s essential that every student, faculty, and staff member in their community and their families feel that they’re doing the best to help them through this time. (39:45)
• Stanton mentions that when he talks about health and safety, it includes financial safety for our students, knowing that they’re a family member, going through tough times. (41:37)
• How would they do the next normal, or the next iteration of online education in a sustainable way? (49:01)
• Stanton mentions that there’s no stopping point in learning, growth, development, and upward mobility. (52:09)
• What would be Stanton’s message to people who may be listening about the overarching value of higher education in general, but Holy Cross in particular? (53:29)
• Stanton shares that the biggest breaking cycle of poverty is higher education combined with work. (55:02)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Dr. Stanton F. McNeely III, Ed.D
• University of Holy Cross

Episode Highlights:

• Matt shares that laughter is a wonderful medicine for relationships and people who laugh together, tend to love together. (1:18)
• Matt introduces Mary Dawn Pugh. (3:20)
• Mary Dawn shares her background. (3:54)
• What is it about teaching high school that Mary Dawn enjoys most? (4:33)
• Mary Dawn shares that she teaches freshman Geography and senior Civics. (5:15)
• Mary Dawn thinks that this is a great year for high school students to learn about government. (5:21)
• Mary Dawn mentions that she uses the constitution more than a textbook. (6:24)
• Mary Dawn shares that her students were also interested in the actual mechanics of impeachment. (6:59)
• Mary Dawn shares that they also discuss taxes, free speech, and forms of government and they do it in a way where they can learn a lot. (8:54)
• How does being an attorney help Mary Dawn in teaching civics and geography? (9:36)
• When it comes to racial justice and police brutality issues, are those issues being discussed in Mary Dawn’s class, if so, how? (12:05)
• Mary Dawn shares one of her best experiences as a teacher and it happened last year in advanced placement Geography class. (12:28)
• Mery Dawn mentions that letting her students lead the class was the most remarkable educational experience she ever had. (13:52)
• Mary Dawn shares that she starts her classes every year with an activity she learned from the facilitations for the anti-defamation league, and it's built on the idea and the word respect. (14:36)
• Erik shares that we don't have to believe the same thing about politics, but we can still be in a relationship. We can still have a fruitful conversation, productive conversation, and live in a better position. (18:34)
• Mary Dawn shares that one of the things they managed to do is keep it academic and not personal. (21:05)
• Mary Dawn explains how presidential bingo is played. (24:32)
• How does Mary Dawn teach her students currently? (26:31)
• Mary Dawn shares that as they started the year, she was worried about her students not being able to engage, talk, or be involved in topics. (26:54)
• Matt mentions that he’s been doing teletherapy with families and couples. (28:31)
• Matt thinks that one aspect of doing virtual therapy is that we're not as physically close to each other, the screen provides some distance and some level of protection. (28:5)
• How does the virtual learning environment enhance Mary Dawn’s teaching? (29:39)
• Mary Dawn mentions that the more they can laugh together, the more it builds their trust. (31:05)
• Does Mary Dawn feel that her students are responding to the new environment? (31:42)
• What memories will Mary Dawn look back upon and remember, about this year? (34:38)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Mary Dawn Pugh

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces David “Dee-1” Augustine Jr. (2:15 )
• Dee-1 mentions that he hates labels because he thinks that it boxes you in, or you’re trying to prove to other people who you are and what you do. (3:07)
• Dee-1 shares that he wants to prove to everyone that you can do a lot of things in life. Because at the end of the day, it's about what type of person you are as you're doing what you do. (4:36)
• Dee-1 shares that hopefully, his character could be as impactful as his numbers or his platform, because it has produced longevity in what he does. (5:09)
• Erik mentions a line from the song, I’m Not Perfect (I’m A Christian). (7:09)
• How significant is it for Dee-1 to align what he does with who he is, and what he values? (7:29)
• Dee-1 thinks that maturity sets in when we realize that just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do it, and just because you can afford something doesn't mean that you should buy it. (9:16)
• Dee-1 shares that his song called I Don’t Wanna Let You Down, is a song for all of the people who realize that they're not just a symbol but, they're a symbol of something greater and they’re doing it for more than themselves. (10:41)
• Dee-1 mentions that the key to becoming the best version of yourself is by adding value to other people's lives. (13:30)
• Erik mentions Dee-1’s album entitled, Slingshot David. (13:54)
• Erik mentions that leadership is about influence. (15:00)
• Dee-1 mentions that Erik and his family made a cameo in one of his music videos, Long Time Coming. (15:37)
• Dee-1 shares that nowadays, there's a lot of twisted agendas that people have, particularly when it comes to crossing racial lines. (15:53)
• Dee-1 shares that he’s into highlighting our similarities and our commonalities more than our differences because leading with love allows you to see the best in somebody. (20:11)
• How did Dee-1 come up with the song Sallie Mae Back, and where did that song lead him? (23:52)
• Dee-1 explains how the name of Sallie Mae is associated with administering student loans and Sallie Mae has funded a lot of people's education. (24:16)
• Dee-1 mentions that he used to be a middle school teacher. (27:15)
• Dee-1 shares that at one point, he strategically signed a record deal with one of the biggest labels in the world, RCA Records. (30:11)
• Dee-1 shares that he was a featured speaker at FinCon, and was also featured at Forbes and Washington Post. (33:37)
• Erik mentions that in 2016, he wrote a blog about Dee-1’s song Sallie Mae Back called, Squash Debt: Nine lessons from Dee-1 on paying off debt. (36:07)
• How does the idea of lifestyle, and spending money on lifestyle often come up? (44:32)
• Dee-1 mentions that going to Africa changed his life forever. (45:15)
• In Dee-1’s opinion, it’s powerful not having a car note. (48:37)
• Did people tell Dee-1 that they don't want to listen to his music because he doesn’t drive a fancy car like a real rapper? (48:33)
• Erik shares that finance is all about priorities and decisions and people don't understand the difference between income and net worth. (51:29)
• What is the Mission Vision Lifestyle all about? (54:10)
• Dee-1 explains the three core principles of the Mission Vision Lifestyle. (54:32)
• Dee-1 mentions that the people who are aligned with those core values are the ones who are going to make this world a better place. (56:31)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Dee-1 LinkedIn
• Dee1music
• Mission Vision Lifestyle

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces Janine Crum and Christian Moore. (1:58)
• Janine shares her background and her career. (2:16)
• Christian shares his background and his career. (2:47)
• Erik shares a quick story about how he met Christian Moore. (3:13)
• Erik mentions that he and Christian exchanged many ideas together, and Christian has been an influence in his life and his business. (3:23)
• What is the Enneagram? (3:58)
• Janine shares that Enneagram is a tool for personal development and personal growth that not only helps you identify yourself but how you operate within the bigger picture of the people in the world around you. (4:19)
• Christian shares that by taking the Enneagram test, and by reading and understanding the differences and nuances of your key motivations and fears, you could discover which tool fits for you. (5:15)
• Erik mentions that the word Enneagram comes from the Greek word Ennéa, meaning Nine. (6:53)
• Janine explains the first to the fourth personality types. (7:33)
• Janine mentions the set of the triad which is the heart, the head, the gut. (8:49)ins the general breakdown and the corresponding personality types on each triad. (8:59)
• Is there an emphasis on the weakness, and what’s the remedy for it? (11:23)
• Janine mentions that most people miss type themselves in the beginning until they begin to tackle and see an overview of all the types. (13:10)
• Is Christian a vengeful person? (13:49)
• Christian mentions one of the things that he loves about the Enneagram is that it presupposes the spiritual being. (13:55)
• Christian shares that it's very difficult to believe in the Enneagram without believing in the concept of a spirit or soul. (14:29)
• Janine explains the Enneagram Symbol. (18:32)
• Janine mentions one of the cardinal rules about the Enneagram. (24:51)
• Christian mentions that the core fear is feeling fear itself of actually being afraid, or being without support security. (27:05)
• Matt mentions that an Enneagram is a tool for understanding yourself, understanding your worldview, and understanding your relationship with other people. (31:28)
• How has the Enneagram helped in Janine and Christian’s relationship? (32:44)
• Janine mentions that the Enneagram has single-handedly been the element that has grown her marriage, more than anything. (32:56)
• Janine talks about the Enneagram Institute. (35:05)
• Janine thinks that the Enneagram gave their marriage a direction on how to continue to grow. (35:44)
• Christian shares that the aspect of type nine is that they understand every other number on the Enneagram better than they understand themselves. (44:48)
• Janine shares that there’s a common saying amongst the Enneagramers that, the enneagram is neither a sword nor a shield. (45:55)
• Does our number change depend on who we're among? (50:22)
• Christian thinks that the Enneagram helps him see a person’s skill or natural ability. (59:29)
• Janine shares that the growth part of the Enneagram is that you realize your strengths but you make them stronger by understanding that they inhabit your weakness. (1:00:33)
• Christian thinks that there's a difference between humanity and a person’s thought. (1:01:23)
• Christian mentions one of the things that’s unique about the Enneagram is that there are levels of maturity. (1:08:22)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Janine Crum Instagram
• Christian Moore LinkedIn
• Real Good Group
• Agent Refined

Episode Highlights:

• Jesse shares his background and his career in the publishing industry. (2:54)
• Jesse shares that the stories they created for their publishing house called Jesse B. Creative, focus on stories that not only feature diverse characters but are created by diverse creators. (2:58)
• Erik talks about reading Sunny Days last night, with his daughter. (4:21)
• Jesse mentions that it’s vital to guarantee that everyone has a place, and everyone can see themselves reflected. (6:05)
• Matt mentions that he had always thought that the idea of colorblindness is a real fallacy, and kids notice color all the time. (6:33)
• Jesse talks about the practice that they’re doing called, vertical diversity. (7:02)
• Jesse shares that what they focus on is not just diversity on the page, because 50% of books featuring black kids aren't written by black creators. (8:14)
• Matt talks about when he grew up in New Mexico and he would read Native American children's books. (10:11)
• Jesse shares that today's market is the most experiential publishing market that you will see in terms of, people taking risks. (11:26)
• Jesse mentions that there are a lot of books that don't go through the process of approval from traditional publishing. (12:32)
• Erik shares a prologue from the book, King Penguin. (13:42)
• Jesse mentions that the issues from his books are real issues that not only affect the world but also children that are growing up. (14:54)
• Jesse thinks that one of the most significant ways of showing that people are capable of anything, by showing the diversity of what they’re doing and being anything on the page. (18:49)
• Jesse mentions that it’s difficult to have compassion without having an awareness first. (19:35)
• As a children's book author, how does Jesse handle the different forces at play? (21:54)
• Jesse shares the passage from a book entitled, Real Jungle Tales. (24:55)
• Jesse shares that every once in a while, he does a costume theme reading at elementary schools. (28:30)
• What has Jesse’s journey been like? (29:34)
• Jesse shares that because of his injury, he realized that he’s always been passionate about storytelling. (31:07)
• Erik shares how he met Jesse. (31:46)
• Jesse mentions that he adores business writing because it teaches you how to be efficient, how to be on voice and on-brand. (33:19)
• Jesse explains his four principles of business writing. (34:36)
• How does supporting black-owned businesses and learning more about economic forces that affect black-owned businesses show up in the publishing industry? (35:54)
• Jesse mentions that he and his mother have been in the publishing industry for 31 years. (36:12)
• Jesse mentions that they want to become “The Motown” of children’s book publishing. (39:17)
• Jesse shares that they are about to enter their fundraising round for publishing for their diverse publishing company. (43:22)
• Jesse mentions that they want people to have access to opportunities and for equity. (44:03)
• Jesse mentions that scale is something that he finds amusing. (48:38)
• Jesse shares that one of the first ways kids are introduced to the world is through the books and the cartoons that they read. (53:14)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Jesse Byrd LinkedIn
• Jesse B. Creative Inc.
• Gift Books to Kids

Episode Highlights:

• Matt mentions that Erik has written an introductory guide to financial advising and financial planning called the 5 Pillars of Financial Security. (4:35)
• Erik explains the main reason why he wrote the guide. (5:04)
• Erik shares that as a financial advisor and investment advisor, his world can get very technical and a lot of things that he talks about, might not be specific to everybody. (5:32)
• What did Erik learn from his grandparents about money? (7:09)
• Matt shares that he’s always interested in people's family stories. (9:28)
• Matt mentions the three statements about Erik’s approach to helping others manage their money. (11:08)
• Erik mentions that if you follow the three statements, you’re going to have success in managing your money. (11:57)
• Erik shares that from a basic principle, at the end of the day, you have to save and you have to put something aside, for tomorrow. (13:12)
• Erik mentions that sometimes, there's value in having an outsider look at your financial decisions. (16:30)
• What are the values that Erik hopes people consider and reflect upon? (17:06)
• Erik thinks that most money management and good money management should be intentional and purposeful in what you're doing with your money and with your values. (20:01)
• Erik mentions that he’s a big fan of spending money on experiences and building memories. (21:51)
• How did Erik get into financial advising and money management? (22:03)
• Erik shares his backstory, growing up in the insurance industry. (22:13)
• Matt mentions that he thought about his educational journey into family therapy, and how he got into where he is at this moment. (24:09)
• Is Erik writing and advising only rich people? (25:11)
• Erik shares that the big misconception of people about money is that they think if you make a lot of money, you're wealthy. (25:17)
• Erik mentions that money management is irrelevant to how much wealth you have. (25:31)
• What does Erik know about the people that were influencing his parents when they immigrated? (28:55)
• Matt mentions the importance of working within someone's values, rather than indoctrinate them into your values. (34:27)
• Matt thinks that budgeting is just a spending plan. (41:30)
• Erik mentions that budgeting is being purposeful and intentional with what you do with your money. (44:45)
• What are some examples of bad debt and some examples of debt that can help us get ahead? (46:34)
• Matt mentions that debt is expensive, both financially and emotionally. (49:09)
• How does Erik see debt show up for his clients? (48:50)
• Erik mentions that if you're stressed and anxious, that can't be good for relationships. (49:05)
• What’s the significance of saving? (50:30)
• Erik explains the three types of savings, short term savings, midterms savings, and long term savings. (50:42)
• Erik shares that if your job is seasonal, commissioned based, or if your income is variable, the short term savings account becomes more significant to fund. (53:24)
• Erik mentions that he’s a big fan of having separate accounts for separate purposes. (56:02)
• Erik thinks that when you're motivated and driven by something outside of yourself, you start to think about your money a little bit differently. (57:30)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• 5 Pillars of Financial Security: A Guide To Managing Your Money Wisely

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces Daniel Prudhomme and Julia Prudhomme. (1:42)
• Daniel mentions that they have been married for almost 16 years. (2:05)
• Daniel shares that he’s African American and his wife, Julia is Caucasian. (2:11)
• How did Daniel and Julia meet? (2:29)
• How did their relationship develop from friendship to love? (3:10)
• Julia shares that her constant communication with Daniel helped them get to know one another and who they were fundamentally. (3:52)
• When did Daniel feel his attraction for Julia? (4:06)
• How did Daniel’s community, friends, and loved ones initially respond to them as a couple? (4:28)
• Julia mentions that when they first started dating, her family liked Daniel immediately. (5:50)
• Julia shares that the early stages of their relationship were easygoing, fun-loving, and enjoyable time. (6:21)
• Julia shares that her mother’s only concern is that the children might have difficulty understanding who they were because they weren't Black and they weren't White. (7:23)
• Daniel shares that some extended family members expressed a few significant concerns, but that concern was more expressed to others when they’re not there. (8:20)
• Being in Cincinnati and being in the Southern US, did Daniel and Julia experience something different than where they are now? (12:38)
• Daniel shares a story about his experience at a restaurant in New Orleans. (14:22)
• Being a Black male, has Daniel received any messages about marrying a white woman from the Black community, and has that been part of his experience? (15:06)
• Julia shares that during her teenage years, interracial dating was not allowed in their family. (17:55)
• Had there been some funny ways in which growing up differently has shown up in their home? (21:22)
• Julia thinks that in all cultures, food is probably the easiest one to laugh about. (21:51)
• Julia shares a story that she will never forget, and it’s about her first Thanksgiving with Daniel’s family. (22:07)
• Did Daniel and Julia have more conversations and thoughts around what their kids would look like? (25:47)
• Daniel thinks that mixed-race babies are beautiful in their skin complexion and hair. Therefore, they were excited about the outcome, and God has done good favors in their family. (26:13)
• Julia shares that a few awesome surprises in life are good, and it made her think of not knowing the gender because they wanted to be completely surprised. (26:41)
• Julia mentions that having biracial children didn’t affect her because it didn’t matter. (28:34)
• What is the significance of having a Black influence in their children’s lives and seeing successful Black people in different aspects of their life? (31:17)
• What kind of feelings has Daniel and Julia had about parenting their children and keeping them safe, in a culture and a climate that doesn't always accept them on face value? (33:07)
• When it comes to race and ethnicity, how do Daniel and Julia navigate that kind of conversation with their kids? (42:06)
• What are some aspects that Daniel and Julia would hope that people would understand? (48:05)
• Daniel mentions that he’s a big proponent of the fountain in the drain theory. (49:35)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• A Framework for Understanding Poverty
• Daniel Prudhomme LinkedIn
• Julia Prudhomme LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:

• What are some ground rules for healthy communication, and for having a healthy conversation? (2:32)
• Matt talks about the importance of staying connected. If you conflict with somebody, you want to try to stay connected to them. (4:17)
• Matt shares that he doesn’t want people to use aggressive and verbally abusive language to each other. (4:49)
• Erik mentions that sometimes money is like the window into our souls, and money makes us feel vulnerable. (5:58)
• Matt says that curiosity is the other side of communication. (6:47)
• What are some healthy questions that couples can ask each other? (7:12)
• Erik shares that retirement is somewhat a goal, but it's a goal that doesn't have an end. (7:39)
• Matt talks about the attitude and values of money. (7:39)
• Erik thinks that part of understanding your attitude is understanding the environment in which you were raised. (9:43)
• Matt sees that when couples are coming together, sometimes one of them grew up in a home where money was handled in a very healthy way, very open way, and the other spouse or partner was raised in an environment where money was more toxic in some way. (10:18)
• Matt says that debt was something that he and his spouse needed to talk about. (13:10)
• Matt shares that feelings are significant and feelings often drive our reactions and behaviors about money. (13:54)
• Erik shares a good example of understanding your partner in terms of how they feel about money. (14:36)
• Matt mentions that his financial values have changed from being entirely about himself to partly about him, partly about others, and leaving a legacy. (16:12)
• Erik shares that money is one of the issues where he often sees people don’t have healthy conversations. (16:40)
• Matt talks about financial skills and habits. (17:03)
• Erik shares a story about his first wedding anniversary. (17:32)
• Erik mentions that couples that report on having less financial conflict, tend to have healthier and more intimate lives. (19:55)
• Matt shares that generally for couples, their finances get more complicated over time, and even if they have good foundational skills, those skills and habits may need to adjust over time. (20:45)
• Matt talks about creating a Venn diagram for couples’ values and skills. (23:28)
• Erik mentions the book entitled A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruby Payne. (24:37)
• Matt talks about collaboration and communication. (27:44)
• Matt talks about being able to communicate openly and transparently. (29:39)
• Matt shares that a lot of people when they're worried about something, will just avoid it and come up with 100 different reasons not to talk about it. (30:21)
• Matt mentions that stress can sometimes come out as anger and criticism but it can sometimes come out as shutting down and avoiding it. (30:49)
• Erik mentions that in his e-book, he talked about how to distill financial principles that transcend income, and transcends wealth. (32:44)
• Erik shares that the ground rule of healthy communication if you're asking questions, is to ask questions to learn. (37:14)
• Matt mentions that the great ground rule is not to ask a question with the intention to educate your partner. (37:47)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• A Framework for Understanding Poverty

Episode Highlights:

• Erik introduces Ben Dichiara. (00:38)
• Ben shares his background and his business. (00:51)
• Ben mentions that the DC behind a name means, Doctor of Chiropractic. (2:08)
• What kind of attitude adjustment has Ben had to make? (3:51)
• Ben talks about the attitude of gratitude. (4:45)
• Erik shares that if you approach attitude with a positive perspective, you’re going to set yourself up for greater success. (6:03)
• How has Ben found a work-life balance that works for him and his family? (7:49)
• Matt thinks that a lot of people are currently adjusting their attitude about how their work-life is considered, and businesses are adjusting their attitudes about how frequently employees are at work. (8:11)
• Ben mentions that he learned more about life, accountability, and responsibility in his first job than anything else. (9:38)
• Ben shares that one of the great books that has helped to establish their core values, and what they want to be known for in the business world is entitled, Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. (11:32)
• Ben mentions that the three core values are service, integrity, and quality. (12:08)
• Ben says that there's a difference between starting a business and sustaining a business. (14:37)
• Ben mentions that he’s a strong believer in God and the plans that God has for them are better than the plans that they have for themselves. (17:52)
• Ben mentions that everything comes with the cost. (20:52)
• Ben shares something interesting that happened when he was halfway through in his satellite clinic. (21:30)
• Matt mentions that culturally, a lot of men get the message that their value as a person is connected to their work or connected to their income. (23:40)
• How does Ben balance his need to earn an income and put money in the bank account for his family, but also that less tangible cost or that less tangible contribution of the investment he’s making for his family? (24:18)
• Ben says that when you're talking about the money matter, it's a bottomless pit. (25:23)
• What does Ben value? (27:05)
• From Erik’s perspective, relationships are important, and at the end of the day take all my money from him, but if he has good close relationships, he’s fulfilled. (27:55)
• Matt shares that from afar, it's easy to quantify success as being material goods, but it's much harder to quantify healthiness relationships and the quality of the relationships. (29:42)

Resources Mentioned:

• Erik Garcia, CFP®
• Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT
• Garcia Financial Group
• Matt Morris & Associates
• Ben Dichiara
• Allied Chiropractic and Wellness
• Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey