Category: Education
Managing Money as a Couple (Ep. 32)

Managing Money as a Couple (Ep. 32)

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Money can be a source of contention in a relationship, but it doesn’t have to be.

Today, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, talks about the mindset shifts and practical actions you can take to manage money as a couple in a more harmonious way. She explores how to handle your cash with your better half without the drama and is all about how to play nice with your partner when it comes to your finances. Christine is a big fan of chatting it out, getting cozy with each other’s money histories, and penciling in some adorable “money dates” to discuss spending and financial plans. She shines a spotlight on the must-haves: being as clear as crystal, building a fortress of trust, and kicking financial secrets to the curb. Plus, she’s all about mixing it up with a sprinkle of yours, mine, and ours when it comes to bank accounts.

So, buckle up. It’s time to make managing money with your main squeeze a walk in the park.

Christine discusses: 

  • The importance of open communication when managing money as a couple
  • Understanding each partner’s unique money blueprint
  • Being financially transparent and addressing financial secrecy
  • Having a weekly “money date” as a couple
  • Why both partners should be involved in financial planning and decision-making
  • And more

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I’m an Executor, Now What? (Ep. 31)

I’m an Executor, Now What? (Ep. 31)

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It takes approximately 500 hours for an executor to complete tasks that have been designated to them by their deceased loved one.

If you’ve been appointed as an executor, this episode of Money is Emotional can help you learn how to best prioritize tasks, solidify decisions without guilt, and provide you with much-needed encouragement as you carry the weight of executing a will.

Join Christine Luken, Financial Dignity® Coach in a soul-stirring conversation with Rachel Donnelly, CEO and founder of AfterLight as they discuss what to do as an executor of an estate. Rachel shares practical advice on when to seek professional help and how to navigate estate administration. She emphasizes the importance of collaborative estate planning, a way to make informed decisions that pay homage to the departed’s legacy.

Learn how to balance mourning with managing the intricacies of being an executor as Christine and Rachel touch on:

  • Responsibilities of an executor, and the first steps to take when a loved one passes
  • Their personal experiences with being an executor and estate planning
  • Emotional and financial challenges that come with losing a loved one
  • How to detail your estate plan to ease decisions and actions for your executor
  • When an executor should reach out for help
  • And more

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About Our Guest:

Rachel Donnelly is the CEO and founder of AfterLight, a company that provides legacy planning and After Loss Consulting. She has dealt with the loss of many of her loved ones and often wishes they had been better prepared. Rachel aims to give families in the same situation the guidance, space to grieve, and ability to get back to their everyday lives by taking after loss and end-of-life tasks off their plates.

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The Dangers of Girl Math (Ep. 30)

The Dangers of Girl Math (Ep. 30)

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Have you ever fallen prey to the infamous “girl math”? 

If you’ve ever succumbed to an impulsive shopping spree, you’re probably guilty as charged!

Today on Money Is Emotional, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, dives headfirst into the world of “girl math” – those quirky rules women supposedly abide by when justifying their impulse buys.

 Christine takes a magnifying glass to this flawed logic, sharing a jaw-dropping example that’ll leave you questioning the sanity of “girl math.” Get ready for a rollercoaster as Christine passionately voices her concerns about this trend and its impact on the financial well-being of women. She stresses the urgency of financial literacy and responsible spending, urging her fellow ladies to reclaim control of their finances. Out with “girl math,” in with “wealthy woman math” – making informed financial decisions!

Christine discusses: 

  • What “Girl Math” is and where the trend started
  • The omnipresence of Girl Math
  • Why Girl Math  is a cutesy way to keep women dumbed down about money
  • The liberation of not needing to justify your spending when you’re in control of your money
  • Trading “Girl Math” for “Wealthy Woman Math”
  • Recognizing if you’re using Girl Math as an occasional funny joke or as a way to justify self-destructive financial behavior
  • And more

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Helping Your Senior Parents with Money ft. Julianne Miller (Ep. 29)

Helping Your Senior Parents with Money ft. Julianne Miller (Ep. 29)

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How can you help your aging parents with their finances?

In this episode, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, welcomes her friend and special guest, Julianne Miller, an accredited financial counselor and the owner of Life Money Management. Christine and Julianne answer how you can help your senior parents with money and discuss the challenges and solutions of managing finances for aging parents. They highlight the signs that indicate a need for assistance, such as forgetfulness and disorganization, and discuss the role of a daily money manager. They also dive into the importance of using personal finance apps for transparency and communication, preparing legal documents in advance, and protecting seniors from scams.

Julianne discusses: 

  • What led her to financial coaching and daily money management
  • The signs that our senior parents or loved ones may need assistance with their personal finances
  • Various options we have to help our senior family members with money management
  • Protecting aging parents from scams and the importance of being vigilant
  • How to begin the conversation with our senior parents
  • And more

Resources:

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About Our Guest: 

Julianne Miller, AFC ®, is the founder of Life Money Management. For over 26 years, Julianne Miller has been bringing calm to the people she works with. Whether it was in corporate jobs where her calm demeanor helped calm a stressed boss, or in the accounting and tax world where she brought calm to elderly clients and sole proprietors nervous about their tax liabilities and bills to be paid, she has always had the ability to be a careful listener, diligent researcher, and finder of answers. She has always been able to simplify the complex so others could understand and make the best decisions with what they had. Her love of helping others, especially women and their money, brought her to Financial Counseling in 2017. Since then, she has loved bringing Clarity, Confidence, and Peace to her clients who want to make smart decisions with their money so they can finally reach their dreams and goals.

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Dear Fellow Spender with Emily Burnett (Ep. 28)

Dear Fellow Spender with Emily Burnett (Ep. 28)

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Are you looking to improve your relationship with your personal finances?

In this episode, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, welcomes her fellow friend, financial coach, and the author of “Dear Fellow Spender: Enjoy Using Your Money to Get Out of Debt, Build Savings, and Create a Life You Love”, Emily Burnett. Together, they talk about the emotional side of personal finance, emphasizing the importance of budgeting, not as a restriction, but as a way to plan for joyful and fulfilling spending. Emily shares her personal journey of paying off $50,000 in debt in less than two years, highlighting the role of intentionality and control in financial management.

Emily talks about: 

  • Her journey as a “former money mess” and what her turning point was
  • Her love for budgeting and why she reframes it as the “active cycle of organizing your money and planning your spending”
  • How to regain a sense of control over your money by remembering “money doesn’t spend itself”
  • The challenges women may encounter when managing personal finances as a single person
  • And more

 

Resources:

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About our Guest: 

Emily Burnette is a financial coach, the founder of Moso Money, and the author of “Dear Fellow Spender”. Emily is passionate about helping others get out of debt by adding a happy structure to their money and habits. She has written extensively about the subject and coached dozens of others to healthier money and thus happier lives. Emily left corporate in 2022 and has been traveling and building her business full-time ever since. She loves the open road, literally and figuratively, and her first book was published, “Dear Fellow Spender” in July 2023.

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The Problem with Budgets (Ep. 27)

The Problem with Budgets (Ep. 27)

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Is anyone honestly excited about budgets? Maybe two people out of 100!

Let’s explore why we don’t like traditional budgets and how to shift our mindset around tracking out numbers.

In this episode, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, talks about the challenges of traditional budgeting and offers a new perspective on managing personal finances. She suggests reframing budgeting as a prosperity plan or a wealth accumulation plan and emphasizes the importance of a sustainable and personalized approach. Christine also touches on the importance of both micro and macro budgeting and explains what they’re best suited for.

Christine talks about: 

  • Why budget is an emotionally loaded word
  • The cookie cutter problem with traditional budgeting
  • Why the pass/fail paradigm is a problematic approach to budgeting
  • Macro vs Micro budgeting
  • And more

 

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Retirement Options for Entrepreneurs with Darren Wurz (Ep. 26)

Retirement Options for Entrepreneurs with Darren Wurz (Ep. 26)

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As a business owner, securing your financial future requires making important decisions and considering various factors. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily hustle and forget about the need to build a strong retirement plan.

In this episode, Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, sits down with Darren Wurz, co-owner of Wurz Financial Services and host of The Lawyer Millionaire™  Podcast. They dive into retirement savings options for business owners. They explore strategies like backdoor Roth IRAs and solo 401(k) plans. Darren also highlights the importance of building savings outside of retirement accounts and cautions against relying solely on the sale of assets.

Christine and Darren discuss: 

  • Darren’s background and experience in financial planning for attorneys and law firm owners
  • The difficulty for self-employed individuals to prioritize saving for retirement
  • Retirement savings options for solo entrepreneurs and small business owners
  • The benefits of a cash balance plan for retirement savings
  • Non-qualified compensation plans
  • The importance of considering saving and investing outside of retirement accounts
  • The potential pitfalls of relying solely on the sale of a business or property for retirement savings
  • And more!

 

Resources:

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Connect with Darren Wurz:

About our Guest: 

Darren Wurz specializes in financial planning for law firm owners. He is a Certified Financial Planner® Professional with an M.S. in Financial Planning from Golden Gate University. As a fiduciary and fee-only advisor, he has developed expertise in the unique financial planning needs of those in the legal profession, and he now specializes in serving attorneys and law firm owners across the country. His mission is to help his clients achieve financial independence as they define it. As a small business owner himself, he is deeply familiar with the challenges of solo practitioners and small firm owners.

He is the host of The Lawyer Millionaire Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts, and author of The Lawyer Millionaire: The Complete Guide for Attorneys on Maximizing Wealth, Minimizing Taxes, and Retiring with Confidence, published by the American Bar Association. Darren is a member of the American Bar Association and the Financial Planning Association. Locally, he is a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association, and the Covington Business Council. His office is located in Cincinnati, OH, and he was born and raised in Toledo, OH.

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Money Is Not Evil (Ep. 25)

Money Is Not Evil (Ep. 25)

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Have you ever felt guilty about desiring wealth? Have you been told that money is the root of all evil? 

Dive into this episode as Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, unravels the intricate ties between money, spirituality, and morality! Dismantling long-standing myths and drawing from the wisdom of thought leaders and spiritual  teachings, this transformative journey offers a balanced view of wealth, fostering a positive and dignified relationship with finances.

Throughout the episode, Christine dives into:

  • Discover the paradigm shift that recognizing money as a tool creates in your wealth perspective
  • Debunking misconceptions around wealth and spirituality
  • How to navigate wealth, embody generosity, and respond to scrutiny with grace and dignity
  • How to ensure that money is your servant, not your master 
  • How to uncover, process, and heal your emotional money triggers to achieve financial dignity and success
  • And more!

 

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Understanding & Healing Money Wounds With Emily Wilcox (Ep. 24)

Understanding & Healing Money Wounds With Emily Wilcox (Ep. 24)

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It’s rare to find a person without emotional money baggage. Most of us have at least one money wound haunting us from the past. What’s yours?

Dive into this episode with Financial Dignity® Coach, Christine Luken, as she hangs out with the fabulous Emily Wilcox, the Money Healer and Business Guru. Emily reveals  her own money wounds  and how they inspired her to make it her medicine to help fellow female  entrepreneurs. Ever heard of the “Money Shame Wound” and “Hard Money Wound”? Emily breaks them down and lets us in on her secret to make those money wounds vanish!

Christine and Emily discuss: 

  • Emily’s journey from money mishaps to financial finesse, and why she’s passionate about guiding entrepreneurs on a similar path
  • The skinny on money wounds: What they are and the signs you might have one
  • Unraveling the mysteries of the “Money Shame Wound” and the “Hard Money Wound”
  • Emily’s effective strategies to smooth out those financial creases
  • And more

 

Resources:

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Connect with Emily Wilcox:

About our Guest: 

Emily Wilcox is a Multi 7-Fig CEO and Business Coach, Money and Business Mentor, Podcaster, and Creator of Money Wound Medicine. Emily is on a mission to bring more conscious wealth to this planet by helping entrepreneurs heal their money wounds and call in big, aligned, joyous moolah. She is happily married for over 12 years, a mom of two amazing kids, and loves crossfit and pilates in her spare time.

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Debt with a Purpose (Ep. 23)

Debt with a Purpose (Ep. 23)

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Are you using debt as a sling shot or a shovel?

In this episode, Financial Dignity® Coach Christine Luken challenges conventional wisdom about debt, offering a nuanced perspective on what is often viewed as a financial no-go zone.  Far from being just a problem or a solution, debt is a tool with many faces. Christine breaks down how to navigate debt responsibly, and what sets “good debt” apart from “bad debt.”

Throughout the episode, Christine covers:

  • How chef’s knife and dumbbell analogies illuminate debt’s dual nature: useful or harmful
  • The essential differences between “good debt” that propels you forward and “bad debt” that entraps you
  • How to assess your comfort level with debt before taking the plunge
  • Why the concept of “prolonged pleasure” is a healthier alternative to instant gratification
  • And more!

 

Resources:

 

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