The "Devil’s Kiss" Trap | Geoff Bruskin | Growing Money with Sean Trace

Money Feels Personal | Mindy Neira | Growing Money Podcast

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Mindy Neira, a certified financial planner and chartered special needs consultant, to talk about financial planning in a way that feels real, personal, and human. We discuss why money can feel overwhelming, why so many smart people still struggle with their finances, and why the first step is often not a massive plan but one small action, like automatic savings or simply looking at where your money actually goes.  Mindy also shares why financial planning matters deeply for LGBTQ individuals, couples, and families, especially when it comes to estate planning, legal documents, healthcare proxies, name changes, parentage, family building, and protecting chosen family.  This conversation is about more than money. It is about confidence, safety, identity, and building a financial life that actually fits your real life. What is one money conversation you wish more families started having earlier?

The Truth About Financial Freedom (Nobody Told Me This) | Growing Money With Sean Trace

Everyone wants financial freedom. But most people are focused on the wrong things. In this video, I share the real steps I'm taking in my own life to build financial freedom. I'm not financially free yet, but I'm actively working toward it every day, and these are the lessons that have made the biggest difference for me.  We cover: • Why you need to stop waiting to feel ready  • The importance of increasing your income  • How to develop high-income skills  • Why assets matter more than paychecks  • The danger of trying to look rich  • How delayed gratification builds wealth  • Why financial freedom is different for everyone For some people, financial freedom means driving a Ferrari. For others, it means picking up their kids from school, working on their own terms, traveling, or simply sleeping without financial stress. The goal isn't to copy someone else's definition of success. The goal is to build a life that aligns with your values. What does financial freedom look like to you? Let me know in the comments.

Senses And Scarcity | Khara Croswaite Brindle | Growing Money with Sean Trace

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with financial therapist and serial entrepreneur Khara Croswaite Brindle to unpack something most of us never learned, that your relationship with money is emotional first, logical second.  Khara breaks down what financial therapy actually means, how childhood money beliefs and generational trauma silently shape every financial decision you make as an adult, and why so many people feel anxious about money even when they have plenty of it. We explore the four money scripts developed by Dr. Brad Klontz: money avoidance, money worship, money status, and money vigilance, and Khara shares the three healthy money scripts she developed through her own client work: money optimism, money harmony, and money plentiful.  We also get real about burnout, hustle culture, the danger of comparison, and why calling it a "spending plan" instead of a budget actually changes everything. What's one money belief you grew up with that you've had to unlearn as an adult?

Dumb Money Lessons | Taylor Stewart | Growing Money with Sean Trace

I sat down with financial planner Taylor Stewart to do something nobody asked for but everyone needed: break down the financial disasters of Dumb and Dumber and find out why Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne might actually be the most relatable money story ever put on screen.  We kicked things off with the IOU suitcase scene, which honestly hits different when you realize it's just a funnier version of swiping a credit card you can't pay off. Taylor made the point that borrowing is always stealing from your future self, and spending a lump sum feels like having all the time in the world right up until the hourglass is empty.  That's the trap. Money that doesn't replenish itself disappears faster than you think, and no amount of optimism changes the math. What would you actually do if you found a suitcase with $1 million? Would you invest it, spend it, or something in between, and be honest with yourself about whether your answer changes if nobody was watching?

The Math of Enough | Colin Page | Growing Money with Sean Trace

In this episode of Growing Money with Sean Trace, I sit down with Colin Page, a CFP and flat-fee retirement planning advisor based in Charlottesville, Virginia, whose path into the financial world is anything but conventional. Colin brings a perspective on money that you genuinely do not hear anywhere else, and the insight he walked away with after years on the inside of professional investing completely changed how he advises clients today. We get into why so many smart, high-achieving people still struggle with their finances, what it actually means to take risk versus avoid it, and how to build a financial plan that bends with real life instead of breaking under it.  What is one thing you wish someone had taught you about money before you had to figure it out on your own, and how did not knowing it affect you?