Financial Crossroads

In the Financial Crossroads podcast, Rand Spero shares stories about people adapting during their personal transition.

15: Young People Navigating Their Financial Future 05/22/2024

15: Young People Navigating Their Financial Future Young people must navigate a financial world filled with manipulative traps. How we help them become smart consumers? Media and financial literacy become critical skills. Jim Wasserman and Jiab Wasserman address this educational challenge in two exciting new books “The Social Media Diet “and “Behavioral Economics.” Both bring a wealth of knowledge to this endeavor. Jim Wasserman is a former business litigation attorney who for the past two decades has been a media literacy, economics and humanities teacher. Jiab Wasserman is a former industrial engineer and Vice President at Bank of America. I am thrilled to have a chance to talk to them about how teachers and parents can provide needed guidance as students face their own financial crossroads. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/31422962

14: Margin For Error 07/31/2023

14: Margin For Error Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the fifth episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Anika Hedstrom is a certified financial planner who co-founded the advisory firm Uplevel Wealth. Her previous work experience included international and domestic investment trading. In her essay “Margin for Error” written for the book My Money Journey, Anika shares how she faced unexpected medical and financial challenges with her young family. This profound experience helped shape her business vision, while she grew her advisory practice. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/27610338

13: Taking Control 06/10/2023

13: Taking Control Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog https://humbledollar.com/, to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the fourth episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Jiab Wasserman, grew up in Thailand, and received an engineering degree at a top university in her native country. Two years later, she moved to the United States to pursue her MBA degree. Overcoming challenges as a frugal, single Mom who worked in a traditional male field, Jiab became a successful financial services executive. At the peak of her career, she retired at the relatively early age of 53, to travel and live overseas with her husband. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/27098808

12: A Costly Education 05/28/2023

12: A Costly Education Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the third episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Dr. John Lim is a practicing radiologist and financial educator, who is fascinated with behavioral finance. In his essay “A Costly Education”, John tells stories about his own mistakes as an overconfident investor, and the lessons he learned. John’s passion for spreading financial literacy can be seen through his offering classes at the hospital where he works, and at a local university. He is a regular contributor to HumbleDollar, and John has published a book, How to Raise Your Child’s Financial IQ: The Most Important Things. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/26972388

11: A Rocky Road 05/12/2023

11: A Rocky Road Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog , to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with other contributors. This is the second episode of a series of talks with these writers. My guest Don Southward transitioned from the corporate finance and sales world to become a Unitarian minister. From his early life with gambling addiction, he learned how to heal himself and help others. He was able to integrate his values of charitable giving and effective money management. In his essay “A Rocky Road” Don shares how he had “enough” far earlier than he ever expected. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/26823990

10: Driven to Succeed 04/28/2023

10: Driven to Succeed Last year I was asked by personal finance writer Jonathan Clements, who founded and edits the blog , to submit an essay about my own financial journey. The process required considerable personal reflection. His recently published book My Money Journey – How 30 People Found Financial Freedom provides many interesting stories. It inspired me to conduct interviews with some other contributors. This is the first episode of a series of talks with these writers. My first guest Dick Quinn rose from a modest background to become a successful compensation and benefits executive. Reading his essay Driven to Succeed, he exudes a determination to be financially independent while having a positive sense of family and self. Retired since 2010, Dick and his wife have visited 44 countries. He frequently writes for HumbleDollar and has his own blog . /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/26681166

9: Musical Marvel 07/11/2022

9: Musical Marvel My guest Thomas Stumpf is a musical marvel. He is on the faculty of Tufts University and has previously held academic positions at Boston University and the New England Conservatory. Thomas has composed and recorded a wide range of classical pieces, both as a solo performer and as a frequent collaborator with musicians around the world. But in his forties, Thomas reached a personal crossroad when he decided to move away from an ivory tower college position to engage as a full-time music director for a church with an extraordinary musical tradition. After two decades of engaging that community with inspiring musical leadership, Thomas again faced a crossroad by moving beyond his comfort level to expand his musical reach. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/23705183

8: Later Life Fulfillment 06/02/2022

8: Later Life Fulfillment These days we are hearing a lot about disgruntled people as they reach retirement age. But what about those who find a new calling? These people continue to work past their retirement to follow their own curiosity and interest. Phyllis Paster had a successful health care management career in the Boston area for over 25 years before she felt burned out and took an early retirement. But soon she got reenergized and developed satisfying encore careers. Phyllis started her own business “It’s about Time” which provides professional organizing services primarily to seniors. She loves bringing order to her clients’ lives. Phyllis also offers a genealogy service where she helps her clients explore their family roots and stories. Unlike the recent “resignation generation”, she has no plans to stop working. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/23306312

7: Multi-Dimensional Role Model 12/02/2021

7: Multi-Dimensional Role Model Dr. Luis De Leon teaches evolutionary biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Born in rural Panama without running water in his house, he followed his passion for science to become the first in his family to attend college at the University of Panama. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/21359540

6: Follow Your Passion 10/29/2021

6: Follow Your Passion Losing a high-level software development job during the 2009 recession can be devastating. Having the courage to explore your hobbies can lead to new opportunities. Following his love of grilling and food, Ivan works as a “food rescuer” as the Chief Procurement Officer for Lex Eat Together and is a Board member of the non-for-profit Food Link which rescues surplus fresh food and delivers it to community organizations. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/20984339

5: Elevating Careers 10/14/2021

5: Elevating Careers Imagine having a full-time, high-level career and simultaneously developing a successful executive coaching practice. Joe Kwon is a global privacy attorney for the accounting firm KPMG. He is also the Connection Counselor. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/20816420

4: Scale to New Heights 09/20/2021

4: Scale to New Heights Anwell Tsai is a self-described introvert and relentless optimist. Instead of following a traditional musical career, Anwell created an innovative, hands-on program for preschoolers. His company, Playful Tunes, inspired over 100,000 kids to love music. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/20536118

3: A Russian Immigrant’s Journey To Find a Home 09/17/2020

3: A Russian Immigrant’s Journey To Find a Home Irina Morrison studied and worked on three continents. She faced career and financial challenges that would have overwhelmed most people. Listen to her inspiring story. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/16068932

2: Smooth Transitions to Encore Career w/ Kevin Dorr 09/03/2020

2: Smooth Transitions to Encore Career w/ Kevin Dorr Kevin Dorr, a successful direct sales manager who saw the need for a late-career transition. Then years later, he was unexpectedly forced to face a second career transition at an age many people retire. Hear how Kevin makes decisive moves at times when other people might get stuck in an uncomfortable situation. /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/15776465

1: A Dry Clean Owner Discusses His Pandemic Responses 08/27/2020

1: A Dry Clean Owner Discusses His Pandemic Responses A family business owned for 103 years faces its second pandemic (first one in 1918). Learn how has it handled both pandemics and how the owner plans for upcoming uncertainty and adapts /episode/index/show/financialcrossroads/id/15776015

Financial Crossroads

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