Money Tales

Money lessons don’t have to be complicated—they can start with a batch of cookies and a generous heart. In this episode our guest is Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of the nonprofit, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF). Tim shares how real-world money moments spark big lessons about earning, saving, giving, and growing financial confidence for life.

Tim’s approach to financial education resonates with the way we think about money conversations at Aspiriant, empowering clients and their families to make informed, values-driven decisions. It’s not just about the numbers—it’s about building confidence, values, and decision-making skills that last a lifetime. Like Tim, we’ve seen how early exposure to real-world financial choices can shape a healthier relationship with money, whether it’s through a small job, a savings goal, or talking openly with family.

For more practical ways to build financial confidence, explore Four Financial Tips for Young Adults on Aspiriant’s blog, fathom, where our wealth managers share simple steps for saving, spending and investing early.

About Tim Ranzetta: Empowering the Next Generation Through Money Education

Tim is a co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, a non-profit that believes all high school students deserve a high quality, engaging and relevant personal finance education prior to crossing that graduation stage (#Mission2030).

NGPF serves more than 130,000 educators reaching more than 5 million students with free curriculum, professional development and advocacy tools. The team’s efforts have led to 22 states passing laws that will guarantee a personal finance course to high school students with 30 states in total (76% of students) now guaranteeing the course.

Tim’s volunteer experience teaching a personal finance course at Eastside Prep (East Palo Alto) demonstrated how these lessons empowered students and their families too and inspired him to start NGPF.

National speaker and advisor coach Laura Virili joins the Aspiriant Money Tales podcast to share how intentional money conversations empower women to build wealth, confidence and long-term financial independence. A leader in financial literacy, behavioral finance and women’s empowerment,  Laura shares practical insights and heartfelt inspiration drawn from her journey—from buying her first car with cash to guiding advisors in fostering financial confidence.

Her story aligns with themes explored in Aspiriant’s Women Taking Charge—a resource designed to help women approach wealth and major life transitions with greater confidence, purpose and clarity.

In a world racing toward artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, Laura reminds us that the most powerful connections—and lessons about money—are still deeply human. From handwritten thank-you notes to her teenage determination to buy a Camaro, Laura’s story is equal parts hustle, heart and financial wisdom.

About Laura Virili: Financial Literacy Starts Young

Laura has always been a connector. While other seven year-olds were playing with dolls, she was introducing hers to dolls across the street and across town.

Today, Laura is a trailblazing force in professional development and a top-rated national speaker, coach, consultant specializing in client acquisition and retention through marketing, branding, communication and engaging the female client.

With decades of invaluable experience, Laura consistently earns the top spot as the number one speaker at industry conferences, establishing herself as a distinguished figure in her field. With decades of navigating the intricate landscape of the financial services industry, Laura’s insights are a treasure trove for those seeking marketing, training, and communication expertise within Global Wealth and Investment Management. Her hands-on experience working alongside advisors, teams, and branch managers has shaped her into a true industry luminary.

Holding FINRA Series 7 & 66 securities registrations, Laura is not merely a Wall Street veteran – she’s the trusted expert advisors turn to for navigating the evolving landscape of social media and traditional marketing with unparalleled confidence and success.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Laura is a lifelong student and passionate educator, finding joy in empowering girls through financial literacy. As a Behavioral Finance Advisor™, Laura’s approach is not just theoretical – she walks the walk and talks the talk. Her programs seamlessly combine traditional marketing strategies, social media expertise, and behavioral finance principles to help advisors acquire and retain ideal prospects and clients.

Ready to elevate your confidence and clarity around money?

Explore how meaningful financial conversations can inspire you—or the women in your life—to build wealth, freedom, and lasting confidence. Tune in to a podcast on Women's Unique Money Experiences.

If you’d like to speak with an Aspiriant advisor about aligning your financial plan with your goals and values, connect with us here.

Subscribe to Money Tales on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Music for more inspiring stories about purpose, money and personal growth.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Dr. Claudia Six. Money and sex are two of the hardest topics to talk about, and yet the ones that touch every relationship. Dr. Claudia Six has spent decades helping people open up about both, and what she’s learned may surprise you.

In this episode, she shares how her unique path from growing up in Paris to counseling Silicon Valley entrepreneurs has shaped her understanding of connection, vulnerability and the role money plays in our lives.

Raised in the vibrant streets of France and now a beacon of sexual health in the Bay Area, Dr. Claudia Six brings over three decades of expertise to her private practice as a Clinical Sexologist. Fluent in the languages of both English and French, yet free from the stereotypical French accent, Claudia's approach to therapy is as direct and compassionate as her life's journey from Paris to San Francisco.

Educated with a Master's in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Clinical Sexology from the prestigious Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, Dr. Six is not just a therapist; she's a pioneer in her field. Her credentials, including board certification by the American Board of Sexology, underscore her commitment to excellence and her passion for helping individuals and couples navigate the complexities of intimacy.

Author of "Erotic Integrity" and a sought-after speaker, including a TEDx talk on 'Performance Anxiety in Women', Dr. Six has made significant contributions to the discourse on sexual health. Her practice is a haven for those grappling with a spectrum of sexual and relationship issues—from mismatched desires to the intricacies of performance anxiety.

Dr. Six's philosophy is straightforward: "Nobody is broken." She believes every sexual and relational challenge makes perfect sense within the context of an individual's life story. Her therapeutic style is candid, authentic and aimed at putting clients at ease, even when discussing the most vulnerable topics.

Beyond her professional achievements, Dr. Six is a mother, an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, and a member of professional organizations like the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and AASECT. Her work, both clinical and academic, is driven by a profound belief that understanding and addressing sexual health is integral to one's overall well-being.

To learn more about how Dr. Six can assist in transforming your relationship or sexual health, visit her at www.drsix.net or connect with her on social platforms where she shares insights on fostering intimacy and sexual wellness.

Remember, with Dr. Claudia Six, it's never just about sex; it's about the bigger picture of how we show up in the world.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is David Adjmi. From childhood, our money stories shape the way we see the world—sometimes with clarity, and sometimes with confusion. For playwright David Adjmi, growing up in a family and a neighborhood where money was about hustle, performance, and status left him questioning what financial security and self-worth really meant.

David Adjmi’s plays have been produced at theatres around the world such as Lincoln Center, RSC, Steppenwolf, and Soho Rep--where he was the Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence for three years. Stereophonic (music by Will Butler of Arcade Fire) is running on London’s West End after a successful run on Broadway, where it became the most Tony-nominated play in history. Stereophonic received the 2024 Drama Desk Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League, and Tony Awards for Best Play. The Stumble was recently excerpted in The Paris Review, and his two-part play The Blind King is currently in development with The Public. Adjmi’s controversial hit 3C was selected as one of the top ten plays of the year by the New York Post, Time Out and the Advocate. Elective Affinities premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company and received a sold-out U.S. premiere at Soho Rep starring Zoe Caldwell (Top 10 of the year in Time Out, The New Yorker.) Other plays include Stunning, The Evildoers, and Marie Antoinette. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Whiting Writers’ Award, the Kesselring Prize for Drama, and the Steinberg Playwright Award, among others. He holds commissions from The Public, Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, and the Royal Court (UK). His critically acclaimed memoir Lot Six was published by HarperCollins in 2020, and his collected plays are published by TCG.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Tomasina Williams. From watching the Voting Rights Act debated on TV as a five-year-old in the segregated South, to becoming the first Black girl to integrate her school, Thomasina Williams’ life has been shaped by powerful lessons about courage, opportunity, and money. In this episode, Thomasina shares how financial choices can be deeply connected to love, sacrifice and legacy.

Thomasina Willliams serves as a strategic thought partner, coach and consultant to financially successful families. She helps her clients do what their wealth alone cannot do: have difficult conversations, manage relationship tensions and navigate generational transitions.

As the first in-house “Family Dynamics Consultant” at one of the nation’s largest private banks, Thomasina guided ultra-high net worth families through the emotional undercurrents of generational transitions. One client described her as their “high beams lighting the pathway” through unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. Thomasina’s work at the bank also included training wealth advisors to better understand family systems, so they could be even more valuable resources for their ultra-high net worth clients navigating family challenges.

Thomasina is a third-generation member of a family that lost its wealth during her parents’ generation. Learning about the shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves-in-three-generations proverb ignited her personal passion to course-correct for her own family and her professional mission to help other families avoid that fate.

Thomasina is the founder of Sankofa Legacy Advisors and convener of The FEW: Family Enterprise Women™, an emergent community for women in business-owning families.

Prior to her work with families, Thomasina was a nationally recognized philanthropy strategist at one of the largest private foundations in the country. Her first career was as an award-winning attorney.

During the time that one of her younger brothers was a member of her law firm, Thomasina gained personal experience with the complexities of working with family. That lived experience continues today in her role as the manager of her family’s small real estate development company.

Thomasina serves on the boards of the Purposeful Planning Institute, a community of multi-disciplinary professionals who work with financially successful families, and SIY Global, whose pioneering emotional intelligence trainings originated inside of Google.

Behind every family is a money story. The way we learn about it, talk about it and pass it down shapes both our family wealth identity and our relationships. In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Josh Gentine, a third-generation member of the family behind Sargento Foods and an advisor to enterprising families.

Josh is a family business advisor, helping multi-generational families and their leaders navigate the complexities of family enterprise ownership. Josh is accredited as both a Hogan and Gallup Strengths coach. His background as an investor, advisor, corporate director, and third-generation family business owner gives him a range of perspectives to draw from when advising clients. Josh focuses his time on helping family owners transition ownership and leadership from one generation to the next, coaching family members and senior leaders, building boards of directors, and supporting operating strategies across family organizations. Josh sits on the board of directors at his family’s company, Sargento Foods Inc., as well as a $700 million ESOP auto dealership group. Josh runs family executive round table groups for middle-market and large-cap family run companies, and he is currently a part-time instructor with the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Family Enterprise Center.

Prior to starting Bench, Josh served as a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, where he focused on mergers & acquisitions as well as supporting the design of Deloitte Consulting’s global talent operations.

Josh earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Josh returned to Notre Dame following his MBA to study philosophy and theology in the seminary with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest. Josh and his wife, Meredith, have two young children, Henry and Juliette, and live in Charlottesville, VA.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Anne Bauer. Anne once believed she was “bad with money” because she struggled with math. Now, as the CEO of her family business, she proves just how sharp she is with both money and numbers. For her, money is energy.

Anne Bauer is a Family Business Coach, the President & CEO of Racket Merchandise Company, her family’s 6th-generation business, and the host of the Legacy: Navigating Family Business Podcast. Anne is also the editor-in-chief of Legacy Magazine.

With an educational background in psychology, coaching, and energy work, coupled with over 25 years of firsthand experience in not just one, but three multi-generational family businesses, Anne brings a deep understanding of the unique challenges family businesses face. She works alongside her husband, parents, and two siblings, making her perspective both personal and professional.

In 2020, Anne founded Legacy to offer holistic support for family businesses navigating generational transitions. She helps her clients through these changes in a way that is truly unique and invaluable to multi-generational businesses worldwide. Her approach is grounded in the three Legacy Family Business Pillars -- Clear Communication, Healthy Boundaries, and Energetic Awareness -- ensuring businesses thrive while preserving their legacies for future generations.

Learn more at www.thelegacyevolution.com.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Serene Lewis Lyles. What if retiring early isn't just about having enough money, but about designing a life where time becomes your most valuable asset? Serene, a former Meta executive, shares how she planned her exit from a billion-dollar ad business to retire at age 52 and move to Portugal.

Serene Lewis Lyles is a designer. Over her nearly 30-year career, she designed digital products and marketing experiences for some of the world’s leading brands and organizations. Today, as founder of Ready to Retire Coaching, she helps people design their ideal retirement, with a focus on purpose, finances, and community.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a BS in Journalism, Serene started her career doing public relations for some of the world’s leading brands, including Nike, Procter & Gamble, and eBay. During this time, she helped launch Luna Bars, NikeTown SF and TiVo digital recording, which is the foundation for streaming programming.

Serene’s career has spanned products and services around the world. While living in England, she led communications for standardized education products for the University of Cambridge. After returning to the Bay Area, she drove 60% of client engagement as marketing lead for a biotech company. And, after taking a senior director role at Epsilon (now a part of Publicis Groupe), Serene grew their small content strategy service into a core offering that generated millions of dollars annually.

In 2019, Serene joined Facebook (now Meta). As a senior director, she led the 100-person content design team behind Facebook and Instagram’s $1billion ads business. At Meta, she was also a leader of the employee resource group Black@ Design and founder of the Black@ Content Design Leads group.

After retiring from Meta, Serene founded Ready to Retire coaching. When not coaching, Serene can be found on a vineyard in Portugal, where she moved in 2024 with her husband and their Rhodesian Ridgeback. Serene’s retirement plans include learning Portuguese, long lunches with friends and making leather goods for pets and people.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Annelise Bauer. What if a rubber band ball that sold for 25 cents could hold more meaning than any other quarter you've ever seen? Annelise shares how her family of origin’s creative approach to frugality and giving shaped her journey from lawyer to nonprofit CEO.

Annelise Bauer is the CEO of SHE-CAN, which stands for Supporting Her Education Changes A Nation - a non profit organization that supports young women from post-conflict countries in accessing U.S. college education, mentorship, and leadership training so they can return home to transform their communities.

A passionate advocate for education and women’s leadership, Annelise practiced law for 21 years—18 of those at the Myers-Briggs Company—before moving into nonprofit leadership and education governance. She is the Founder and former Executive Director of Children for Change, where she led the organization for 10 years and now serves on its board. She also serves on the boards of The Bay School and Women for Women in Sierra Leone, is a member of the Leadership Council at Rise Up, and is a member of and co-chair of the Community Committee of the International Women’s Forum. Additionally, Annelise served as an elected member of the Ross Valley School Board for 10 years, shaping educational policy and championing public education in her community.

Born on the Navajo Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico, Annelise grew up with a deep sense of service before earning degrees in sociology and education from Princeton University and a law degree from Boston University. Her career—spanning law, education, and nonprofits—reflects her unwavering belief that when young people and women are given the right tools and support, they can change the world.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Lisa Merlo-Booth. Lisa grew up in a patriarchal household where money was power and control. In this conversation, she shares how that experience shaped her early beliefs—and what it took to build financial equality and true partnership in her own life.

Lisa isn’t your typical relationship coach. With over 20 years of experience as a relationship coach and trained therapist, she cuts through the fluff and gets straight to the heart of the matter. Lisa tackles complex issues head-on with clarity, humor and a no-nonsense approach that drives real, lasting change.

Her mission is to help individuals, couples, teams and organizations create radically new relationships and cultures that don’t just survive—they thrive.

The old relationship rules are broken, and Lisa is here to rewrite them. Through her Radically New Relationships™ Paradigm, she challenges outdated norms and replaces them with a bold, transformative framework. Her approach ensures relationships are deeply supportive, powerfully connected and built to last.