Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School

By Erik Garcia, CFP® & Xavier Angel, CFP®Business Education Investing

Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School episodes

October 20When Our Emotions Make Investing Riskier
What if trying to protect your money is actually putting your financial future at risk? Market volatility, political uncertainty, and the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence can make even experienced investors question their decisions. But while we spend a lot of time worrying about what the stock market might do next, we don't always consider how our own reactions can affect our long-term financial success.
In this solo episode of the Stuff About Money podcast, financial advisor Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™, explores three things every investor should understand: how markets work, how investors feel, and how successful investors behave. Through historical market data and a real-life story about a husband and wife who took very different approaches to investing, Erik explains why avoiding volatility isn't the same as avoiding risk, how fear and FOMO can derail a financial plan, and why staying disciplined through uncertainty may be one of the most important investment decisions you make.
Episode Highlights:
Since 1980, the stock market has averaged a 14% decline at some point each year, yet still finished positive roughly three out of four years. (02:28)

Erik explains why nobody knows what the stock market will do next, no matter how convincing the predictions sound. (05:09)

Erik breaks down the difference between volatility and risk from a financial planning perspective. (07:07)

The S&P 500 averaged about 10% over 100 years, but 26 of those years were negative, a reminder that the average return isn’t the actual experience. (09:03)

Erik shares how a client who moved her investments into cash didn’t eliminate risk but introduced a different kind of risk. (11:32)

Erik explains why being excited about AI and making a good investment in AI are two different things. (14:17)

Since 1938, the S&P 500 has posted a gain in the 12 months following a midterm election 95% of the time. (15:48)

Successful investors start with an actual financial plan that balances the risk they need to take against the risk they can tolerate. (17:10)

Charles Schwab data shows that missing just 10 of the best trading days over 20 years dropped annualized returns from about 11% to 6.6%. (19:09)

Erik shares why sometimes the best thing to do with your investments is nothing. (20:41)

Before making an investment change, Erik encourages listeners to ask whether something changed in their financial life or simply in the headlines. (23:09)
Key Quotes:
“ We can't eliminate emotions from investing, but we can learn to recognize when those emotions might be influencing our decision that are contrary to our goals.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“The goal of investing isn’t necessarily to eliminate volatility, it’s to take the appropriate amount of risk to accomplish our financial goals.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“Maybe being a successful investor isn’t so much about getting better at predicting what the market’s gonna do. Maybe it’s about getting better at understanding how we’re gonna respond when the market does something we didn’t expect.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™
Resources Mentioned:
Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
25 min
October 06Building Wealth When You’re Just Starting Out
What if you’re not behind financially? What if you’re just getting started? In this episode of Money in Real Life, Stuff About Money co-hosts Xavier Angel CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®, and Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA™, tackle the pressure young professionals feel to build wealth while paying down debt, starting careers, managing everyday expenses, and still trying to enjoy their lives.
Xavier and Erik explore why building wealth isn’t about following someone else’s formula or trying to build in five years what may have taken others 30. They talk about comparison, creating financial breathing room, building an emergency reserve, and developing small financial habits that can grow along with your career and income. Because financial progress isn’t about hitting someone else’s benchmark. It’s about using your money to create more opportunity and more choices in your own life.
Episode Highlights:
Xavier shares common listener questions about saving, building wealth, and managing student loan debt on an entry-level income. (02:57)

Xavier explains how defining wealth on personal terms, rather than by industry standards, leads to the next step of building breathing room. (08:19)

Erik explains how comparison culture and social media push young professionals to accumulate in five years what took their parents 30 years. (12:53)

Consumption smoothing is explored as a way to balance spending and saving when strong future income growth is likely. (19:15)

Erik shares an idea for parents to give young professionals a meaningful gift by seeding an emergency fund. (24:44)

Xavier reminds listeners that the destination of financial planning is opportunity and choices, not money. (29:37)
Key Quotes:
“You could start with $25 or $50 or $150 a month. The importance right now is to start creating the habit, the habit of saving.” - Xavier Angel CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®

“Life is a series of decisions, and sometimes you have to make hard decisions to get to what you really want.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA™

“The destination of financial planning is not money. The destination of financial planning is giving you opportunity and choices.” - Xavier Angel CFP®, ChFC®, CLTC®
Resources Mentioned:
Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
33 min
September 22Building Wealth When You Don’t Feel Wealthy
What if the biggest thing keeping young adults from building wealth isn’t how much money they make, but believing wealth is even attainable? In the second episode of Money in Real Life, Xavier Angel, CFP®, and his daughter Caitlin tackle the question that naturally follows their first conversation: I know what I want my money to make possible, but how do I actually get there?
Xavier and Caitlin talk through why building wealth can feel so far out of reach when rent, groceries, debt, and everyday life consume so much of a paycheck. They explore how understanding where your money is going, creating some financial breathing room, and starting small can begin to turn something that feels impossible into a plan. Because building wealth doesn’t start when you finally have enough money. It starts with what you decide to do with the money you have today.
Episode Highlights:
Caitlin explains that her father's wealth-building presentation wasn't landing with young adults and that there were steps they needed first. (03:38)

Caitlin describes the wave of real questions from her age group after she posted a clip from their last episode, from Roth IRAs to buying a house. (06:20)

Xavier explains that building wealth isn't about already being wealthy, but about what you consistently do with the money you have. (10:10)

Xavier discusses"breathing room," the cash buffer that sits between you and your next unexpected expense. (13:10)

Xavier explains that building wealth starts with a decision to set money aside for your future self, not with hitting a dollar amount. (20:10)

Caitlin closes the episode with an action plan: define what wealth means to you, then map out where your money is actually going. (23:40)
Key Quotes:
"You build wealth because of what you consistently do with the money that you have, and that means that the starting point isn't how much money do I have, the starting point is actually what am I doing with the money that's coming through my hands?" - Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

"Number one, you have to define what wealth is for you. Now the next step is now that we know what wealth means for us, we need to know where our money is going, and we need to be able to map that out." - Caitlin Barnes

"You don't need to know everything about investing to start building wealth. You just need to understand the next step." - Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC
Resources Mentioned:
Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
27 min
September 08What Does Wealth Mean to You?: A Father-Daughter Conversation
What does “building wealth” mean when you’re still trying to figure out rent, your career, debt, relationships, and adulthood?
In this episode of Stuff About Money They Didn’t Teach You in School, Xavier Angel, CFP®, sits down with his daughter, Caitlin, for a conversation that started when she gave him some unexpected feedback: “I don’t think you should give this presentation.” Xavier had built a financial presentation for young adults around investing early, compound interest, and building wealth. The problem wasn’t that the advice was wrong. Caitlin helped him realize he was talking about what young adults needed to hear without first asking what they were ready to hear.
Together, Xavier and Caitlin explore what the word “wealth” means to a younger generation, what young adults are actually thinking about financially, and why building wealth may need to be framed less around a number and more around creating choices. Because before we ask, “How do I build wealth?” there may be a more important question: What do I want my money to make possible?
Episode Highlights:
Caitlin shares that she wished she'd known money wouldn't work the simple way she expected: paycheck in, bills on autopay, and leftover cash to spend freely. (03:45)

Caitlin explains that the original presentation missed the mark because it assumed young adults already understood why the concepts mattered, when they were focused on immediate financial survival. (06:15)

Caitlin describes wealth as "the margin," meaning bills on autopay and being able to buy what she needs or say yes to plans without running the numbers first. (09:50)

Caitlin shares how immediate pressures like rent and debt make it hard to think about long-term wealth when she's focused on getting through the week. (12:30)

Caitlin completes the thought "I would feel wealthy if..." by describing being able to send a future child to the school of her choice. (15:45)

Xavier discusses the building blocks of wealth for young adults: understanding cash flow, building emergency reserves, controlling high-interest debt, and using employee benefits like a 401(k). (19:30)

Xavier explains the "pay yourself before you pay debt" approach, walking through how to redirect leftover cash flow into savings first. (24:15)

Caitlin advises listeners to find a neutral, outside person like a financial planner to talk to about money instead of relying only on family. (26:45)

Xavier shares that a financial planner also serves as an accountability partner and cheerleader who helps clients celebrate their financial wins. (28:00)
Key Quotes:
“As of now, building wealth seems like something that I'm gonna have to do eventually when I get a job that supplies more for me than what I'm currently paying for.” - Caitlin Barnes

“ To me, wealth, if I were living here and where I am now, and I still had an excess amount of money to build an investment portfolio, that would mean wealth to me.” - Caitlin Barnes

“ Wealth is what you're able to build and keep from what comes in, keep from what's coming in, and ultimately, the goal isn't simply to make more money. It's to turn that money you make into greater security, the freedom and choices over time” - Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC
Resources Mentioned:
Erik Garcia, CFP®, BFA

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
31 min
August 25Your Thoughts Shape You. Your Habits Build You. Your Choices Define You
In the final episode of the series, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT bring together the core ideas explored throughout The Psychology of Money. They revisit the framework that ties the entire series together:
Your thoughts shape you
Your habits build you
Your choices define you
The conversation expands beyond investing and budgeting into fulfillment, relationships, identity, and purpose. Erik reflects on how his work as a financial planner has evolved from simply giving technical advice to helping people create meaningful behavioral change. Together, they explain why financial success is ultimately less about spreadsheets and more about psychology, self-awareness, discipline, and consistency over time.
This episode serves as both a recap and a challenge: if listeners want financial freedom, they must begin paying attention not just to what they do with money — but why they do it.
Episode Highlights:
Erik explains that the future of financial planning is about helping clients make meaningful behavior changes, not just giving technical advice. (03:22)

Dr. Matt discusses how mental health and financial health are closely connected, noting it's still overlooked in therapist training. (06:19)

Erik shares that clients often hire him for technical help but find greater value in having a thought partner for financial decisions. (08:26)

How a client's stated priorities, like family time, can directly conflict with their actual spending and time habits. (10:37)

Dr. Matt explains how emotions act as data points revealing what matters, rather than instructions for what to do. (13:18)

Dr. Matt shares an example of a 20-year-old investing $100 a month, showing the long-term power of compounding. (16:11)

Erik mentions that financial success is shaped by psychology and habits as much as by numbers. (19:34)
Key Quotes:
“Spend less than you make, save as much as you can, and don't do anything foolish with your money. Super simple.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“It's really our behavior and our habits that will determine our financial future so much more than our motivation, our intentions, or things that are beyond our control, like the market ups and downs.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“ Good financial habits compound more powerfully than investment returns.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Dr. Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
22 min
August 11Is Financial Control an Illusion?
How much control do we really have over our financial future? In this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT explore the tension between external circumstances and personal responsibility. While economic conditions, inflation, taxes, and unexpected crises are outside anyone’s control, the conversation highlights the many financial choices that still remain firmly within reach.
Using concepts like “internal locus of control” and “external locus of control,” they explain how mindset shapes behavior and outcomes. Erik shares practical examples of decisions people can control — saving, spending, insurance, debt management, and lifestyle choices — while Dr. Matt explains how a sense of agency creates resilience and confidence. The episode challenges listeners to stop wasting emotional energy on uncontrollable variables and instead focus on the habits and decisions that move them forward.
Episode Highlights:
Erik discusses the belief that financial success can feel dictated by external forces outside someone's control. (02:19)

Understanding how much control you actually have over your finances is the focus of this episode, Dr. Matt shares. (03:13)

Dr. Matt explains the psychological concept of an internal locus of control, describing it as being "the captain of your own ship." (04:44)

Entrepreneurs often carry a strong sense of influence and control over their financial outcomes, Erik shares. (06:47)

Erik shares a friend's rule that if you can't afford something twice, you can't really afford it, using a car purchase as an example. (09:22)

Dr. Matt recounts helping under-resourced clients in New Orleans save small amounts toward $100 so they'd have money to evacuate during a hurricane. (10:36)

Recognizing personal control over spending and impulses, rather than adopting a victim mindset, is key to financial success, Erik shares. (13:00)
Key Quotes:
“Money's emotional. It's tied to fear, identity, habits, and even relationships, and we've learned that long-term financial success is as much about behavior as it is math.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“Even the best financial plan can be undone by poor behavior, while good financial behavior has the potential to compound more powerfully than investment returns.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“We don't have control over the weather, but we do have control over saving a little money so we can get to a destination that might be safer.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Dr. Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
17 min
July 28Love, Trust, and Money
Money is rarely just about numbers inside a relationship. In this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT unpack why financial conflict in marriages and partnerships is often rooted in deeper emotional needs like trust, security, control, communication, and vulnerability.
Drawing from years of counseling couples and advising families, they discuss financial infidelity, power imbalances, differing money philosophies, and the emotional meaning attached to spending and saving. Rather than focusing solely on budgets and spreadsheets, the conversation centers on how couples can create healthier conversations around money — with more compassion, curiosity, and honesty. This episode helps listeners understand that strong financial partnerships are built less on perfect math and more on trust, communication, and shared purpose.
Episode Highlights:
Erik recounts the phone call years ago that sparked his ongoing collaboration with Dr. Dr. Matt Morris. (02:14)

Financial infidelity surfaces in couples counseling as a serious, though less frequent, presenting issue. (03:23)

Money problems in couples counseling are rarely about the money itself, but a disguise for deeper relationship issues. (07:34)

Dr. Matt explains how people protect themselves financially in relationships with earning discrepancies, from squirreling away money to becoming controlling or people-pleasing. (08:59)

Erik shares that even as a financial planner married almost 25 years, money has still been a point of pain in his own marriage. (10:44)

Dr. Matt explains that financial planners should first determine whether a couple's conflict is a technical money issue or an emotional relational one. (12:14)

Money conversations go further when approached with care, curiosity, and compassion instead of criticism. (14:56)
Key Quotes:
“We're going to have to learn to talk about money in new and different ways.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“Money is like this persistent stream that kind of runs in the background that impacts everything.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“As a financial planner, I think when a couple comes to you, you need to be thinking about is this a problem that relates to the technicalities of money management.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Dr. Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
19 min
July 14Your Past Financial Mistakes Are Not Your Identity
Everyone has financial regrets. In this episode, Erik and Dr. Matt tackle the emotional weight people carry from past financial decisions — debt, overspending, failed investments, divorce, financial scams, and seasons of instability. The real danger, they explain, isn’t the mistake itself; it’s allowing the mistake to become an identity.
Dr. Matt introduces the difference between guilt and shame: “I made a bad decision” versus “I am bad with money.” Together, they explore how language, self-perception, and emotional patterns influence future behavior. Erik shares examples of clients who rebuilt their financial lives after major setbacks, proving that financial mistakes can become chapters of growth rather than permanent labels. The episode is ultimately about hope, ownership, and reclaiming the belief that your financial story is still being written.
Episode Highlights:
Dr. Matt discusses the range of financial mistakes he sees in his practice, including overspending and secret debt kept from a spouse. (03:11)

Dr. Matt shares the costly timeshare he and his wife bought while on their honeymoon in Mexico. (04:38)

A language strategy for separating personal identity from a past financial mistake. (07:52)

Dr. Matt mentions that reframing a mistake as "a chapter, not the whole story" is a simple but powerful shift. (10:54)

Erik shares an analogy about his CrossFit coach calling him an athlete and how that language shaped his choices. (12:01)

Erik concludes that a past financial mistake doesn't determine your future and that it's never too late to build wealth. (14:19)
Key Quotes:
“There is a difference between a bad decision and feeling some regret about that decision versus shame over that decision.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“You want to start separating yourself from the problem. And the first way to do that is linguistically, using your language.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“If you make a small plan and you strategize on small wins and you celebrate those small wins as you go, that reinforces this idea that, hey, I can do this. I can overcome this, that that is a chapter. The story is still being written.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Dr. Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
16 min
June 30Motivation Won’t Build Wealth. Habits Will
Most people believe financial transformation starts with motivation. Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT argue the opposite: motivation fades, but habits compound. In this episode, they explain why relying on bursts of inspiration or willpower almost always leads to inconsistency — especially when it comes to money.

Using stories from fitness, personal finance, and everyday life, they break down how systems and routines quietly shape long-term outcomes. From automating savings and debt payments to separating spending accounts and reducing decision fatigue, listeners learn practical ways to create financial habits that work even when emotions and motivation disappear. This episode reinforces one of the core themes of the series: long-term financial success is behavioral more than intellectual.

Episode Highlights:
Erik explains why motivation is a poor long-term financial strategy. (04:41)

Dr. Matt shares that habits and systems are the real answer to lasting financial change. (05:49)

Erik connects accountability and environment-building to showing up consistently, using his gym experience as an example. (08:27)

Automating savings removes the need to make the same decision repeatedly. (09:14)

Dollar cost averaging is explained and how automated investing helps combat emotional reactions to market swings. (10:42)

Automating debt payments eliminates willpower battles when tempting expenses arise. (12:48)

A one-week waiting rule is shared as a practical way to curb stress-driven impulse shopping. (13:52)

Erik walks through his budgeting system of separating fixed expenses from variable spending into different accounts. (15:31)

Dr. Matt reflects on how good financial systems become boring in the best way, eliminating repeated emotional decision-making. (17:26)

Erik recommends keeping savings at a different bank to create friction and reduce the urge to raid savings impulsively. (19:00)

Building systems tailored to your own tendencies works better than following generic budgeting advice. (20:01)

Dr. Matt closes by reinforcing that willpower has limits and lasting financial progress comes from habits and systems. (21:09)
Key Quotes:
“Motivation deals with willpower, and generally speaking, we have willpower to do things in bursts, but anything that takes energy is really, really, really hard to sustain.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“You need habits. You need patterns. You will not rise to the level of your financial intentions. You will fall to the level of your financial systems.” - Dr. Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“It really helps to have a disinterested third party to help you think. We have blind spots, and oftentimes we don't know what we need to do.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Dr. Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
24 min
June 16Emotions Are Signals, Not Instructions
Money is emotional — and in this episode, Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ and Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT explore why emotions have such a powerful influence on financial behavior. From market volatility and economic uncertainty to comparison, insecurity, and fear of failure, people rarely make purely rational financial decisions. Instead, emotions often drive reactions that conflict with long-term goals.

Dr. Matt introduces a powerful framework: emotions are signals, not commands. Fear, anxiety, and stress may reveal that something matters deeply, but they should not automatically dictate behavior. Erik shares real examples from his work as a financial planner, explaining how emotional reactions during market downturns or financial stress can sabotage otherwise solid plans. The episode offers practical tools for slowing down emotional reactions, identifying what feelings are trying to communicate, and responding with intention rather than panic.

Episode Highlights:
Dr. Matt explains that emotions drive thoughts and behaviors, making it essential to pay attention to the feelings behind financial actions. (03:03)

Dr. Matt clarifies that people tend to treat emotions as facts rather than signals worth examining. (04:44)

Dr. Matt shares that emotions are good data points but not directives. (06:05)

Erik recalls choosing to validate clients' fear during a market crisis rather than dismissing it with "don't panic." (07:52)

Dr. Matt recounts calling Erik during a market drop and how Erik's grounding in market history helped calm his fear. (09:00)

Erik discusses how social media and financial content creators trigger emotional responses that push people toward decisions inconsistent with their values. (10:48)

Dr. Matt explains that financial fear often points to a deeper concern such as "Will I have enough?" rather than surface-level market activity. (14:24)

Erik emphasizes that emotions have legitimacy and decisions should align with what matters most rather than being hijacked by emotion. (15:31)

Dr. Matt recommends using an emotions wheel to name feelings precisely, which slows reactive thinking. (17:07)

Erik believes that talking through high-stakes emotional moments with a professional, whether a therapist or financial planner, is especially valuable. (19:01)
Key Quotes:
“Emotions are good data but they're not directives. They're not marching orders.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

“Let's make sure that we make a good decision that's consistent with the things that are most important to you.” - Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

“We think about feelings as being signals that something is really important to you. And then we want to be able to connect that to the thing that's really important.” - Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT
Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Matt Morris, LMFT

Matt Morris & Associates

Erik Garcia, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™

Xavier Angel, CFP®, ChFC, CLTC

Plan Wisely Wealth Advisors
21 min

About Stuff About Money They Didn't Teach You In School

From the publisher's feed

They might not have taught you the stuff about money you needed to know to build wealth, but Xavier and Erik are ready to take you back to school. When it comes to money, it is never too late to start…