What happens in the wide gray space between financial therapy and life planning? In this rich, unscripted conversation, Rick explores that question with a next-generation leader who brings both heart and rigor to the future of financial planning. Together, they unpack the difference between “snorkeling” and “scuba diving” with clients, why deep listening and long pauses can be more transformative than advice, and how practitioners can responsibly navigate emotional territory without overstepping their role. Along the way, they touch on the power of George Kinder’s Three Questions, the limits of traditional CFP training, the growing influence of Internal Family Systems, and why doing your own inner work may be the most important professional development of all. It’s a candid look at where the profession is headed—and what it takes to truly put humans first.

#FinancialLifePlanning #FinancialTherapy #HumanFirst #ValuesBasedPlanning #BehavioralFinance

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..

What happens when money struggles, relationship patterns, and personal history all collide in the same room? In this wide-ranging and deeply human conversation, Rick Kahler sits down with Dr. Megan Ford to explore how financial therapy grew out of systems thinking, why “fixing one person” rarely fixes anything, and how our earliest money wounds quietly shape our adult lives. Megan shares her journey from marriage and family therapy into financial therapy, including her own money avoidance and the self-work required to become an effective healer. Together, they unpack the importance of therapists and financial professionals doing their own inner work, the role of evidence-based practice in financial therapy, and why lasting financial change almost always requires looking inward—not just at numbers, but at relationships, beliefs, and emotional patterns that drive financial behavior.

#FinancialTherapy #MoneyPsychology #MoneyMindset #BehavioralFinance #EmotionalMoney #MoneyStories #MoneyWounds #FinancialHealing

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..

When financial conversations start sounding like political debates, something deeper is going on, and this piece explores why facts can feel threatening when emotions take the driver’s seat. It highlights how polarization has eroded our shared understanding of basic economic principles, leaving advisors torn between honesty and clients’ emotional reactions. Drawing on the lens of financial therapy, it reveals how identity, fear, and belonging shape our interpretation of financial truth, and why both clients and advisors must learn to regulate their own internal “parts” to stay grounded. The heart of the message is simple but powerful: emotional awareness isn’t a soft skill—it’s a financial one, and reclaiming it may be the only way to restore trust in objective guidance.

#FinancialTherapy #MoneyAndEmotions #EmotionalAwareness #FinancialPsychology #MoneyMindset #FinancialTruth #BehavioralFinance #MoneyBeliefs #IdentityAndMoney #EmotionsAndFinance #AdvisorClientTrust #FinancialWellness #MoneyConversations #Polarization #SelfRegulation

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..