Retirement is supposed to be a finish line, but for a lot of people, it’s really a transition, identity, purpose, relationships, and what you do with your time when the calendar finally opens up.

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale discuss retirement, legacy, and what it looks like to build a people-first planning career with John Longstaff, founder of The Planning Center’s Fresno office. John shares his unexpected path from pharmacy to financial planning, his leadership experience during the early CFP organization years, and what he learned after decades of guiding families through real-life money decisions. He also reflects on succession, trust, and why consistency matters more than perfect timing.

Here’s what you can expect:

• John’s transition from pharmacist to planner, and why service always came first
• What it was like helping shape the CFP profession through the ICFP and the eventual merger into today’s landscape
• The real drivers behind moving a firm to fee-only, and how client trust made the transition work
• Retirement realities, purpose after work, and how a chef gig became a second calling
• And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

• The Planning Center
• LinkedIn: Jude Boudreaux
• jude@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (504) 717-4862

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

• LinkedIn: Caleb Arringdale
• caleb@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (309) 797-4030

Connect with John Longstaff:

• LinkedIn: John Longstaff

About our Guest:

John Longstaff is the retired founder of The Planning Center’s Fresno office and a longtime financial planning practitioner with more than three decades of experience. He has served in leadership roles within the CFP profession, including as president of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), and has been deeply involved in the evolution of the planning community. In retirement, John stays active through service and community work, including leading meal preparation for events at his church.

What happens when financial planning stops being about products and starts being about people, trust, and long-term relationships? This episode pulls back the curtain on what it really means to live beyond the numbers.

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Marty Kurtz, founder of The Planning Center Moline office, and senior planner Matt Sivertsen to reflect on the firm’s origins, Marty’s retirement, and the philosophy that shaped decades of client relationships. The conversation explores how financial planning evolved from transactional sales to a deeply relational, multi-generational process rooted in trustworthiness, curiosity, and life context.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Why trustworthiness matters more than asking for trust
• How financial planning became a 30–40 year relationship, not a one-time decision
• The shift from selling products to creating lifelong clarity
• What it really means to help clients live beyond the numbers
• And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

• The Planning Center
• LinkedIn: Jude Boudreaux
• jude@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (504) 717-4862

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

• LinkedIn: Caleb Arringdale
• caleb@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (309) 797-4030

Connect with Matt Sivertsen:

• LinkedIn: Matt Sivertsen
• matt@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (309) 797-4030

Connect with Marty Kurtz:

• LinkedIn: Martin Kurtz

About our Guests:

Marty Kurtz is the founder of The Planning Center and a pioneer in the financial planning profession. After beginning his career in food distribution and insurance, Marty helped shape a more holistic, relationship-driven approach to financial planning. Over more than two decades, he built The Planning Center around the belief that trustworthiness, curiosity, and long-term partnership matter more than products or short-term outcomes. His legacy continues through the firm’s multi-generational client relationships and planning philosophy.

Matt Sivertsen is a shareholder and senior financial planner at The Planning Center’s Moline office. Joining the firm in its early years, Matt played a key role in helping formalize the planning process, deepen client relationships, and carry forward the firm’s values. With decades of experience, Matt is known for his thoughtful, client-centered approach and his commitment to helping families navigate life transitions with clarity and perspective.

Money decisions are rarely about numbers alone. They are shaped by emotions, life transitions, and the relationships that surround them, often long before logic enters the conversation.

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Cicily Maton, Partner at The Planning Center, to explore why meaningful financial planning starts with understanding people first. Cicily reflects on her decades-long career, her role in shaping a values-based planning approach, and what retirement has taught her about clarity, connection, and intentional living.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Why financial decisions are emotional first and logical second
• How life transitions like divorce and retirement change money conversations
• What planners learn when they slow down and truly listen
• Wisdom for couples who want to stay aligned through every season of life
• And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

• The Planning Center
• LinkedIn: Jude Boudreaux
• jude@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (504) 717-4862

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

• LinkedIn: Caleb Arringdale
• caleb@theplanningcenter.com
• Phone: (309) 797-4030

Connect with Cicily Maton:

• LinkedIn: Cicily Maton

About our Guest:

Cicily Maton is a Partner at The Planning Center and the founder of its Chicago office. With decades of experience in financial planning, she is widely known for her work helping individuals and families navigate major life transitions. Cicily has been a longtime advocate for understanding the emotional side of money, contributing to the evolution of financial planning as a people-centered profession.