Stephanie Sammons: Financial Planner by Day, Songwriter by Calling | Curious Goldfish with Jason EnglishHost Jason English welcomes Stephanie Sammons to Curious Goldfish in Nashville for a conversation about her dual life as a Dallas-based financial planner and an emerging songwriter. Stephanie explains her holistic approach to wealth management—combining financial planning, tax planning, and investment management—while emphasizing the importance of behavior, long-term perspective, and living fully rather than following rigid rules. She shares how she decided to “go pro” as a songwriter without leaving her career, motivated by a desire to avoid regret and stop waiting for permission to be herself, including encouragement from songwriter Mary Gauthier to claim the title of songwriter. Stephanie discusses her Southern Baptist upbringing in Missouri, how coming out created a decade-long family disconnect, and how reconciliation eventually developed into mutual respect, including her parents’ relationship with her wife and their grandchildren. The episode explores themes of faith, nuance, fear, optimism, and how personal experiences become songwriting material, including her song “Faithless” and the origins of “Innocence Lost,” inspired by a childhood memory of shooting a bird with a BB gun and later shaped in a Mary Gauthier workshop. Stephanie notes she released her 2024 album “Time and Evolution” and is currently recording a second full-length album with Mary Bragg, expected in early 2026. The episode closes with Stephanie performing “Innocence Lost.”00:00 Music, Faith, and Finding a Hopeful Perspective

01:01 Welcome to Curious Goldfish + Meet Stephanie Sammons

03:15 Nashville Intro & Why Her Songs Hit So Hard

04:07 Holistic Financial Planning: Retirement, Spending, and Mindset

06:53 Market Chaos, Long-Term Optimism, and Tuning Out the Noise

08:05 Day Job vs. Art: Going Pro Without Quitting10:57 ‘Build Your Own Adventure’ + Claiming the Title Songwriter

12:06 No More Excuses: Regret, Calling, and Making the Leap

14:10 Faith Deconstruction in Americana Music (and Why It’s Taboo)16:52 Southern Baptist Roots, Sexuality, and a Complicated Belief

18:10 The ‘Billboard Sign’ Lyric: Family Rejection and Its Aftermath

18:59 Rebuilding the Relationship: From Pedestal to Reconciliation

19:40 The Turning Point: Letting Go and Parents Coming Back Around

21:33 Agreeing to Disagree: Family, Marriage, Kids, and Mutual Respect

22:30 Will Sexuality Always Be the Headline? Identity Beyond Coming Out

23:31 Deep-Cut Songs & ‘Innocence Lost’: Writing Empathy in the South

26:57 How a Workshop Sparked ‘Innocence Lost’ (Mary Gauthier Story)

27:46 Why Songwriting Is the Joy (and Co-Writing as the Next Step)

28:53 ‘Faithless’ and Living with Nuance: Doubt, Privilege, and Worldview

31:06 Going Pro, New Doors, and Album #2 in the Works (2026)32:02 What She’s Most Curious About: Media, Fear, and the Swinging Pendulum

34:39 Closing Thanks + Live Performance: ‘Innocence Lost’