What would it look like if your financial plan actually included a line item for aesthetics? Melissa Joy, CFP®, sits down with Stephanie Stewart, PA-C, founder of The Aesthetic Method, an award-winning medical spa in Ferndale, Michigan, to have the honest conversation that most financial planners and patients avoid entirely. From the secret dollars women squirrel away for skincare to the emotional weight of wanting to invest in how you look and feel, this episode brings a private topic into the open where it belongs.

Stephanie shares her remarkable path from emergency medicine to entrepreneurship, sparked by a car accident at 15 that required years of facial reconstructive surgeries. She opens up about the real cost of injectable treatments, what a full face assessment actually looks like, and how to find a provider you can trust. Melissa and Stephanie also explore the parallel between financial planning and aesthetic medicine, two fields built on transparency, trust, and the courage to say no when it is not the right fit.

What You'll Learn

• How burnout in the emergency department led Stephanie to found The Aesthetic Method in 2018
• Why women often keep aesthetic spending secret, and how to change that conversation
• What happens during a full face assessment and how a personalized treatment plan is built
• The difference between neuromodulators, bio-stimulators, and filler, and how long each lasts
• Real cost ranges for common injectable treatments, from 500 dollar Botox sessions to 3,500 dollar Sculptra plans
• Green flags and red flags to look for when choosing a med spa provider
• Why a provider willing to say no is a sign of someone looking out for you
• How financial planners and aesthetic professionals share a standard of care worth seeking out

Connect with Stephanie

theaestheticmethod.com

Instagram: The Aesthetic Method

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...

Debt is one of the most emotionally charged topics in personal finance -- and one of the most common. This week Melissa Joy, CFP®, sits down with Bruce McClary, lead spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), to take the stigma out of the conversation and walk through what it actually looks like to get professional help with debt. Whether you're watching balances creep up, fielding collection calls, or just feeling the financial squeeze of a world where credit card interest rates are hovering around 23%, this episode is for you.

Bruce brings decades of front-line experience as a former credit counselor, debt collector, and lender to the conversation. Together, he and Melissa break down how nonprofit credit counseling works, what a debt management plan (DMP) actually involves, and how it compares to for-profit debt settlement companies -- including the details those TV commercials conveniently leave out. They also cover when bankruptcy might be the right move and where to find trustworthy, low-cost help.

What You'll Learn

• Why debt struggles are more common than you think -- and affect households at all income levels
• What happens during a free initial credit counseling session with an NFCC member agency
• How a debt management plan (DMP) works, including reduced interest rates, eliminated fees, and account re-aging
• What unsecured debt is and which types of debt can be enrolled in a DMP
• The real math behind for-profit debt settlement programs -- and what those commercials don't tell you
• How student loans, medical bills, and other debt types fit into the bigger picture
• When bankruptcy might be a suitable option and how nonprofit counseling factors into that process
• Where to find a verified nonprofit credit counselor through NFCC.org or by calling 1-800-388-2227

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...

In many households, one person quietly carries the full weight of the family's financial life: tracking premiums, coordinating with advisors, managing the budget, and planning for the future. Melissa Joy, CFP®, founder and president of Pearl Planning, calls this person the family's chief financial officer, and she has been seeing the role come up repeatedly in client conversations.

Whether that responsibility falls on a spouse, a partner, or a single individual managing everything alone, the invisible work of being the household CFO deserves a closer look.

In this solo episode, Melissa Joy, CFP®, explores the hidden costs of carrying that financial load, the risks that can build when only one person holds all the knowledge, and how to build a stronger financial team, with or without a financial planner.

She walks through practical steps for creating regular money meetings, shares what a productive financial check-in actually looks like, and explains when it might be time to bring in outside support. If you have ever felt the weight of managing your family's money mostly on your own, this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn

• What the role of the family CFO actually looks like, and why so many people fall into it by default
• The hidden costs and invisible mental load that come with being the primary financial decision-maker in a household
• Signs that you may be carrying too much financial responsibility on your own
• What those not in the CFO role may be missing, and why that gap can matter
• How to run a productive monthly money meeting using a structured agenda
• When it makes sense to bring in a financial professional to help share the load
• How the stakes change as you approach retirement and why more shared financial knowledge matters then

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...