51. Showing Up as Yourself: Why Authenticity Is a Business Strategy for Advisors with Justin Castelli

51. Showing Up as Yourself: Why Authenticity Is a Business Strategy for Advisors with Justin Castelli

Text us to share what you found helpful! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381993/fan_mail/new] You change clothes before a client meeting and feel like you are putting on a costume. Someone asks what you do at a conference and you lead with your title and your AUM, never the parts of your life that matter most. And underneath the professionalism, there is a quiet exhaustion you cannot quite name. In this episode, Ashley talks with Justin Castelli, a financial advisor of more than 20 years and the founder of RLS Wealth, now doing business as Santiago. Justin has built a reputation for showing up as unmistakably himself, and he argues that authenticity is not a personality perk. It is a business strategy and a buffer against burnout. Justin starts where most advisors do not. He introduces himself as a father and a husband first, advisor second. From there, he and Ashley get into what authenticity actually means, and why it does not require blowing up your life or your firm. You can be true to yourself inside real constraints, including a dress code or a compliance department. One insight worth sitting with: performing a version of yourself you are not is expensive. As Justin puts it, it takes energy to be someone who is not true to you, and over time that becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back. When advisors stop performing, they enjoy the work more, and clients feel that shift too. Ashley and Justin also explore authenticity as a series of low-risk experiments rather than one permanent decision, the difference between leading with your heart and overriding it with your head, and the story behind the Santiago rebrand and Justin's move toward life planning. You will walk away with: * A reframe that treats authenticity as something you practice within constraints, not an all-or-nothing leap * Why surface-level performing drives advisor burnout, and what changes when it stops * Places to experiment: how you dress, who you serve, how you serve, your fees, and your brand * A gentler way to think about niche, starting with the clients who energize you * Language for the moment a client faces a values-versus-logic decision Justin also names something many advisors quietly feel. Sometimes the honest question is not how do I serve clients better, but how did I get here. This is a conversation for any advisor who has wondered whether the practice they built still fits the person they have become. RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION About the Guest Justin Castelli is a financial advisor with more than 20 years in the profession and the founder of RLS Wealth, which he has run since 2015 and recently rebranded as Santiago. A prolific creator, Justin writes a daily note and a blog, hosts a podcast, and produces video, all built around what he calls "the business of the authentic life." Through Santiago he is moving toward life planning and a more collaborative, coaching-informed way of working with clients. Connect with Justin: * Website (everything in one place): justincastelli.io [https://justincastelli.io] * Firm: RLS Wealth, doing business as Santiago (santiago.life [https://santiago.life]) * LinkedIn: Connect with Justin Castelli [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justincastelli/] Connect with Host Ashley Quamme: * Podcast Website: PlanningAndBeyond.com [https://www.planningandbeyond.com] * LinkedIn: Connect with Ashley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-quamme/] * Beyond the Plan®: BeyondTheFP.com [https://www.beyondthefp.com] * Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com

50. What Is the Human Side of Money? A 50th Episode Conversation with Brendan Frazier

Text us to share what you found helpful! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381993/fan_mail/new] You've heard the phrase. It shows up in keynotes, LinkedIn posts, firm marketing, and increasingly, your own conversations with prospects. But if someone put you on the spot and asked what "the human side of money" actually means, could you articulate it? And more importantly, could you tell them what to do about it on Monday morning? For the 50th episode of Planning & Beyond, Ashley zooms way out with Brendan Frazier, Chief Behavioral Officer at RFG Advisory and host of The Human Side of Money podcast. Brendan has been sitting with this exact question since 2017, when reading The Undoing Project cracked open his interest in behavioral finance and set him on a path that quickly outgrew that label. Together, Ashley and Brendan unpack why "behavioral finance" was only ever the gateway, not the destination. They walk through the many dimensions that make up being human (individual, relational, cultural, societal) and how money layers on top of all of them. They draw a distinction that most advisors have never had named for them: the difference between the human side of money (what's happening inside your client) and the human side of advice (how you actually do this work). You'll hear Brendan's honest take on where advisors should start (hint: it's not a four-step framework), Ashley's Five Human Domains as a reframe of traditional planning categories, and the research-backed reason why helping clients vividly picture their future changes behavior in the present. A few ideas you'll walk away with: * Why money is a tool to fund the life someone wants to live, and what that means for how you structure conversations * The "just-in-time learning" approach to building behavioral skills without getting overwhelmed * How to think about security, freedom, connection, legacy, health, and growth as the real planning categories * Why communication skills offer the highest ROI of anything you could develop as an advisor This one is less tool and technique, more map and compass. If you've been doing this work for a while and feel like you're ready to think about it at a different altitude, press play. And thank you, seriously, for being part of 50 episodes. RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION About Brendan Frazier Brendan Frazier is the Chief Behavioral Officer at RFG Advisory and the host of The Human Side of Money podcast, where he has spent hundreds of conversations translating behavioral science, psychology, and communication research into practical tools for financial advisors. His work sits at the intersection of behavior change, client communication, and advisor practice management. Connect with Brendan: * The Human Side of Money Podcast: Available on all major podcast platforms * LinkedIn: Brendan Frazier (most active, daily content) * RFG Advisory: Monthly blog and newsletter on applying the human side of advice * Website: rfgadvisory.com Connect with Host Ashley Quamme: * Podcast Website: Planning & Beyond® [https://www.planningandbeyond.com/] * LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme - Licensed Therapist & Financial Behavior Specialist [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-quamme/] * Beyond the Plan®: Financial psychology integration services [https://www.beyondthefp.com/] * Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com * Advisor Foundations Community: Learn more [https://beyondtheplan.thinkific.com/products/communities/advisor-foundations] about the 7 Core Relational Skills by joining our community!

49. Beyond "Where Are You From?": Building Trust With Foreign-Born Clients with Jane Mepham

Text us to share what you found helpful! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381993/fan_mail/new] A young couple, dressed up for their first real financial planning meeting, sat across from an advisor who asked about retirement, income, and savings. He never asked why they were spending money on travel. He never asked about their immigration status, their mixed marriage, or the fact that two people had just built a life in a country that wasn't theirs by birth. Two weeks later, they came back for their plan and were told they were going to fail. They walked out feeling like failures in a country they had worked incredibly hard to call home. It would be five to six years before they approached another advisor. That couple was Jane Mepham and her husband. And that experience shaped the firm she now runs. In this conversation, Jane shares what advisors need to understand about serving foreign-born clients, mixed-marriage couples, and anyone whose cultural context shapes their relationship with money. She's a CFP®, founder of Elgon Financial Advisors, and co-host of the International Money Cafe podcast. She also has a specific answer for the advisor who wants to be curious but worries about saying the wrong thing. You'll hear why "tell me how you grew up" opens doors that "where are you from" closes. Why a color-coded spreadsheet of "Visit Family Back Home" belongs in the plan before anyone gets scolded for it. How to build a spending plan that assumes remittance, a retirement plan that respects education-first cultures, and an exit plan for clients whose visa status could change overnight. And why the clients Jane serves often say working with her feels like therapy. (Good news for advisors. You don't have to become a therapist to do this well. You just have to get curious.) You'll also hear how Jane helps clients who want to pull everything from the market when the world feels unstable, and why giving them numbers isn't the answer. Whether you serve one foreign-born client or one hundred, this conversation will change how you open your next discovery meeting. RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION About Jane Mepham, CFP® Jane Mepham is the founder of Elgon Financial Advisors, a firm registered in Texas and California that specializes in serving foreign-born nationals with holistic wealth management. Based in Austin, Jane brings a unique perspective shaped by her own immigrant journey and years of working with clients navigating visas, mixed marriages, cross-border financial questions, and cultural transitions. She is also co-host of the International Money Cafe podcast. Connect with Jane Mepham * Website: Elgon Financial Advisors [https://www.elgonfa.com] (AlgonFA.com) * LinkedIn: Jane Mepham, CFP® [https://www.linkedin.com/in/janemepham/] * Podcast: International Money Cafe (with co-host Manasa Nadig) [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-international-money-caf%C3%A9-show/id1706569864] Connect with Host Ashley Quamme * Podcast Website: Planning & Beyond® [https://www.planningandbeyond.com/] * LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-quamme/] * Beyond the Plan®: BeyondTheFP.com [https://www.beyondthefp.com/] - Financial psychology integration services * Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com * YouTube: Beyond the Plan Solutions [https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondthePlanSolutions/featured]

48. Financial Anxiety vs. Financial Stress: How Advisors Can Help Clients Move Past Decision Paralysis | Dr. Kristy Archuleta

Text us to share what you found helpful! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381993/fan_mail/new] You've shown your client the numbers. Multiple times. The plan works, they can afford the house, they have enough to retire, the math is on their side. And yet they keep circling back to the same question, the same hesitation, the same "I just don't know." Sound familiar? In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Kristy Archuleta, Professor at the University of Georgia and one of the leading researchers on financial anxiety, to unpack what's actually happening with clients who can't seem to move forward, even when the plan says they can. Kristy walks through the critical (and often missed) distinction between financial stress and financial anxiety, and why it matters for how advisors show up. Stress is a reaction to a specific stressor that resolves when the situation does. Financial anxiety is persistent worry that lingers after the decision is made, shapes how clients engage with every recommendation, and begins to impact their relationships and daily functioning. Ashley and Kristy also explore one of the most overlooked dynamics in retirement planning: the "Do I have enough?" question that may not actually be about the money. Sometimes it's grief. Sometimes it's identity loss. Sometimes it's both. Understanding that difference changes everything about how you respond. You'll walk away with: * A clear framework for distinguishing financial stress from financial anxiety in client meetings * Why financially anxious clients often look the most "put together" (and why that makes them harder to help) * The tiny-steps-and-experiments approach for clients stuck in decision paralysis * Collaborative question examples you can use in your very next meeting * Ashley's Vision-Reality-Plan framework for walking clients through stuck points * Clear guidance on when and how to bring in a financial therapist or mental health professional This is a conversation for any advisor who has ever sat across from a client and thought: The numbers work. So why aren't they moving? Because, as Kristy says, numbers don't show up on paper because they just showed up. They show up because of how someone thinks, feels, does, and relates. When you understand that, you stop trying to solve with more data, and start helping clients actually move. RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION About the Guest Dr. Kristy Archuleta is a Professor of Financial Planning at the University of Georgia, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and one of the pioneering researchers in the field of financial therapy. She co-developed one of the most widely used financial anxiety measures and has spent her career helping advisors, therapists, and researchers understand the psychological dimensions of money. Kristy also speaks and consults through the Behavioral Keynote Group. Connect with Kristy: * University of Georgia (Financial Planning Program): fcs.uga.edu [https://www.fcs.uga.edu/] * LinkedIn: Dr. Kristy Archuleta [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristy-archuleta-ph-d-lmft-cft-273a5722/] * Behavioral Keynote Group: For speaking engagements and keynote bookings * UGA Graduate Program: Behavioral Financial Planning and Financial Therapy graduate certificate (fully online) and master's track with experiential pro bono component Connect with Host Ashley Quamme: * Podcast Website: Planning & Beyond® [https://www.planningandbeyond.com/] * LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme - Licensed Therapist & Financial Behavior Specialist [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-quamme/] * Beyond the Plan®: Financial psychology integration services [https://www.beyondthefp.com/] * Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com * Advisor Foundations Community: Learn more [https://beyondtheplan.thinkific.com/products/communities/advisor-foundations] about th

47. The Sabbatical Conversation: What Financial Advisors Need to Know About Work Breaks and Client Wellbeing with Cady North

Text us to share what you found helpful! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2381993/fan_mail/new] You've run the numbers. The client can absolutely afford to take time off. And yet they won't. Or they want to, but they're terrified. Or they've mentioned burnout in every meeting for the last two years and still can't pull the trigger. Sabbaticals are showing up more and more in client conversations, and most advisors don't have a roadmap for navigating them. Not just the financial piece, but the human piece — the identity questions, the resistance, the fear of what comes next, and the return to work on the other side. In this episode, I'm joined by Cady North, financial advisor and author of The Art of the Sabbatical, who has built an entire area of her practice around helping clients plan for and navigate intentional work breaks. Cady brings both the planning expertise and a deeply personal experience with sabbatical, which makes her perspective incredibly grounded and real. We cover what a sabbatical actually is (it's not just for academics or people eating, praying, and loving their way around the world), why identity is often the biggest obstacle — not money — and what advisors can do to create space for clients to explore this without projecting their own fears onto the conversation. One insight that really stuck with me: most sabbaticals are completely unplanned. They start with burnout or a layoff, not a spreadsheet. That means your clients may already be in one without having prepared for it, and knowing how to support them in that moment is where advisors can offer something truly unique. You'll also hear about the "runway" framework Cady uses with clients actively in a sabbatical, how to recognize the signs that it might be time to bring this up, and what planning for return to work actually looks like — including how advisors can help clients negotiate their way back in stronger than before. RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION About Cady North Cady North is a financial advisor, solo practice owner of North Financial Advisors, and the author of The Art of the Sabbatical. With over a decade of experience in financial planning, Cady has developed a specialty in helping clients navigate intentional work breaks — from the financial logistics to the mindset shifts that make them possible. Connect with Cady North: * Website: cadynorth.com [http://cadynorth.com] (Note: spelled C-A-D-Y N-O-R-T-H) * LinkedIn: Cady North [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadynorth/] * Book: The Art of the Sabbatical — available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold (print, ebook, and audiobook) Connect with Host Ashley Quamme: * Podcast Website: PlanningAndBeyond.com [https://www.planningandbeyond.com] * LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-quamme/]— Licensed Therapist & Financial Behavior Specialist * Beyond the Plan®: BeyondTheFP.com [https://www.beyondthefp.com] * Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com