Get Ready: Before Life Happens Podcast

Tony Steuer
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Tony Steuer is a Financial Readiness Advocate, award-winning author, and host of Get Ready: Before Life Happens. Drawing on nearly 40 years of experience in insurance, financial education, and consumer advocacy, he helps people create their in-case-of-emergency plan, ask better questions, recognize red flags, and prepare before life happens.On this channel, you’ll find conversations with experts, authors, advocates, educators, and other trusted voices, along with practical ideas about financial readiness, life transitions, insurance, consumer protection, scams, and better money decisions.Create your own in-case-of-emergency plan when you Start your free Financial Readiness Plan at tonysteuer.com. You can also support this podcast by becoming a Get Ready Insider at https://www.tonysteuer.com/get-ready-insider

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Every Money Decision You Make Sends a Signal

    Send us Fan Mail Your money decisions show what matters most to you. Cecile Biccari, sustainable finance specialist and author joined me on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast to talk about how money influences more than your personal finances. Cecile shares how sustainable finance connects everyday decisions, from spending to investing, with real-world impact. This conversation explores how anyone can align their money with their values and contribute to a more intentional future. Key Takeaways Sustainable finance applies to everyday financial decisions.Your spending and investing reflect what you value.Investment choices influence real-world outcomes.Sustainability includes environmental, social, and governance factors.Impact can come from money, time, and attention.Early money conversations help shape lifelong beliefs.You can align your money with your goals and values. 🧠 Tony’s Take: What stood out is that money is more than a financial tool. It’s a signal. When we align our decisions with what matters most, we create impact in our own lives and in the world around us. Connect with Cecile Biccari: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilebiccari/Your Money, Your World / Nora’s Treasure Website: https://www.norastreasure.comEthos education platform focuses on sustainable finance: https://ethos.hiveq-cloud.com/ch/en-GB/Home Book: Your Money and the World: How to Spend, Save, Donate and Invest Sustainably by Cecile Biccari (Amazon) (Bookshop) Resources mentioned: Impact Philanthropy Advisor from Daylight Advisors (here)Invest for Better website (here). Check out my conversation with Invest For Better Founder: Janine Firpo on the Get Ready Before Life Happens podcast: Invest In Alignment With Your Values (here)Morningstar - Sustainable Investing (here) Bio: Cecile Biccari has worked in sustainable finance for more than 20 years. She started her career at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in early 2000s and then worked in the finance industry, helping investors to understand the social and environmental challenges we face, and how to incorporate these factors in their financial decisions. Along the way, she helped develop a number of training courses for investment professionals.  When her children, aged 7 and 5 at the time, started asking her questions about money, she decided to write a story to explain to them the basics of sustainable finance. Illustrated by Naiade Lacolomb and published by HELVETIQ, a Swiss publishing company, at the beginning of 2024, her book combines a comic strip story and a documentary explaining the connections between money, happiness, impact and responsibility. Cecile currently works at the Ethos Foundation to develop education programs on responsible investment for Swiss pension funds. In collaboration with The Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (the MAIAs) which celebrate the increasingly important work being done to help people understand money better. Learn more: https://www.maiawards.org.   👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support the Mission: Become a Get Ready Insider and receive access to the Get Ready Library while helping support my mission to help people prepare before life happens. Become a Get Ready Insider  https://www.tonysteuer.com/get-ready-insider Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  2. 4d ago ·  Video

    Why Financial Confidence Takes More Than Just Money

    Send us Fan Mail Financial success grows when your money aligns with the life you truly want. Danqin Fang, CFP®, CFA, RLP®, founder and CEO of Wealth Beyond Math joined Tony on this episode of Get Ready Before Life Happens to talk about how holistic financial planning evolves through a process of awareness, clarity, and alignment. Even people who appear to have everything in place often feel held back by fear, scarcity, or limiting beliefs. This conversation explores how understanding your relationship with money helps you make more intentional decisions and build a more meaningful life. Key Takeaways Holistic financial planning is an ongoing process, not a one-time plan.People who “have it all” can still feel stuck or unfulfilled.Scarcity and fear often shape financial decisions.Core beliefs about money serve a purpose and can evolve over time.Clarity about priorities helps you make more intentional choices.Awareness creates space to pause and choose differently.Money is a tool to support experiences, impact, and quality of life. 🧠 Tony’s Take: Financial readiness grows from awareness and alignment. When people understand their money patterns, gain clarity on what matters, and give themselves permission to act, they begin to build a life that feels both intentional and fulfilling. Connect with Danqin Fang, CFP, CFA, RLP: Website: https://www.wealthbeyondmath.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danqinfang/ Bio:  Danqin Fang, CFP®, CFA, RLP®, is the founder and CEO of Wealth Beyond Math, a modern, virtual, fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm based in Austin, Texas. A first-generation immigrant from China, Danqin came to the U.S. to earn a master’s degree in financial planning from Texas Tech University and spent more than 15 years working with fiduciary registered investment advisory firms before launching Wealth Beyond Math. Having advised 200+ families and over $500 million in assets, Danqin combines rigorous financial planning and investment expertise with a deeply human, life-centered approach to helping people align their money with the life they truly want to live. Danqin’s work integrates the technical discipline of comprehensive financial planning, investment strategy, and fiduciary advice with George Kinder’s life planning methodology. As a Registered Life Planner®, Danqin helps clients move beyond scarcity, guilt, and autopilot money decisions while grounding every recommendation in sound financial analysis. Danqin believes financial planning should start with life—not just numbers—so money becomes a tool for clarity, confidence, and meaningful impact, rather than an end in itself. 👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan 👉 Support the Mission: Become a Get Ready Insider and receive access to the Get Ready Library while helping support my mission to help people prepare before life happens. Become a Get Ready Insider Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  3. Aug 7 ·  Video

    Can You Learn Money in 2 Minutes a Day?

    Send us Fan Mail Small, daily habits can turn financial confusion into confidence. Emily Boxall, Founder of the 2Mins App joined Tony on this episode of Get Ready Before Life Happens to talk about how gamification and bite-sized learning can transform financial education. From quirky characters to two-minute lessons, Emily shares how making money more approachable, interactive, and judgment-free can help people build confidence and lasting financial habits.  Key Takeaways Financial education works best when it is simple and accessible.Two-minute lessons make it easier to build consistent habits.Gamification helps people engage without fear or judgment.Repetition and interaction improve long-term retention.Many people feel money is “not for them” due to how it’s taught.Confidence grows when people apply what they learn.Financial education should start early and continue over time.  🧠 Tony’s Take: Financial confidence comes from small, consistent steps. When we make money approachable, people engage. And when people engage, they build habits that lead to better decisions. Connect with Emily Boxall: LinkedIn (Emily): https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-boxall-ab3b53172/Website (2mins app): https://microfact.co.ukLinkedIn: 2mins Instagram: @2minsappTikTok: @2minsapp Bio:  Emily Boxall is the Co-founder of 2mins, the app turning financial education into engaging, bite-sized games. Her background spans marketing, communications and journalism, including freelance writing for the Investors’ Chronicle. She co-founded 2mins with her dad, Chris Boxall, and together they are on a mission to build financial confidence through humour, creativity and fun. 2mins was recently named runner-up in the Best Fintech/AI by a For Profit Organisation category at the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIAs)  This episode is a collaboration with The Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (the MAIAs) which celebrate the increasingly important work being done to help people understand money better. Learn more: https://www.maiawards.org.  Start your Financial Readiness Plan You can create an in-case-of-emergency plan for the people who count on you by starting your free Financial Readiness Plan at tonysteuer.com. Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  4. Aug 4 ·  Video

    Do People Make Better Money Decisions With Logic or Emotion?

    Send us Fan Mail The best financial decisions happen when emotion opens the door and logic helps shape the plan. Bill Comfort and Maxwell Schmitz joined Tony Steuer on this episode of Get Ready Before Life Happens for a lively debate about whether people make better insurance and financial decisions through numbers and probabilities, or through a clear understanding of the real-life impact on the people they love? This conversation explores where emotion, logic, and lived experience intersect, and why the best planning conversations need all three.  Key Takeaways Emotion often helps clients engage with difficult financial decisions.Logic and data help quantify how much a risk truly matters.Insurance decisions are often driven by responsibility and love.Statistics should inform design, not drive fear.Lived experience often makes risk feel more real than probabilities alone.Risk protection must be part of every financial plan.The strongest decisions combine heart and numbers.  🧠 Tony’s Take: What stood out in this conversation is that this is not an either-or question. Emotion helps people connect with why a decision matters. Logic helps them understand what action to take. Financial readiness lives at the intersection of both. Connect with Bill Comfort: Comfort Long Term Care Website: (here)LinkedIn: (here) Connect with Maxwell Schmitz: LinkedIn:  (here)Dingo Technologies website: (here)Yetworth website: (here) Resources mentioned: Why Disability Insurance Is the Foundation of a Real Financial Plan with Maxwell Schmitz and Tony Steuer on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast (watch or listen)  Bios:  Bill Comfort is an independent LTC specialist agent with Comfort Long Term Care. Bill hosts the broadcast & podcast show: “Aging America Radio” with a focus on a wide range of topics supporting "successful aging". Maxwell Schmitz, MSFS, CLTC is a third-generation DI specialist.  He is co-founder of Dingo Technologies, Inc. and President of Yetworth Insurance Solutions, a disability-focused insurance agency.  He also currently serves as President of the International DI Society, an association of the nation's top DI minds. Max also serves as the chair of his town's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He is a sitting member on the board of The Plus Group, America's Premier Disability Insurance Marketing Organization. In his spare time he is also the father/coach of three energetic/athletic kids (ages 7, 5, and 3), husband to an amazing wife, and is a thru-hiking junkie. ☕ Support the Get Ready Movement. If these conversations help you think differently about money or prepare for life’s what-ifs, your support helps expand financial readiness education and keep this work accessible. 👉 Support (here) Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  5. Jul 31 ·  Video

    How to Build a Healthier Relationship With Money

    Send us Fan Mail Money works best when it supports the life you want to live. Dana Miranda, author, content creator, and money writer joined me on Get Ready Before Life Happens to talk  about what it means to build a healthier, more empowering relationship with money. We explored why traditional money advice often misses the lived experiences of women, people of color, and LGBTQ communities, and how understanding financial tools can replace fear with confidence and choice. Key Takeaways 🔹 Financial products are tools, not goals. 🔹 Understanding how money works helps reduce fear and uncertainty. 🔹 Traditional advice often reflects an idealized life that many people do not live. 🔹 Your identity and lived experience shape your relationship with money. 🔹 Good money management does not have to mean restriction. 🔹 “Enough” is personal and can change over time. 🔹 Money should support your life, not become your boss. 🧠 Tony’s Take: Healthy wealth begins with self-trust. Financial readiness is not about following someone else’s rules. It is about understanding the tools available to you and using money to support the life you want to build. Connect with Dana Miranda: Website and newsletter: https://www.healthyrich.coLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justdanamiranda/overlay/contact-info/Forbes Advisor Columnist: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/author/dmiranda/ Books:   You Don't Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease (Amazon)  Bio:  Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and author of You Don’t Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease (Little, Brown Spark 2024). She’s been writing about personal finance as a staffer, freelancer, author, and creator since 2015, sharing her innovative budget-free approach, which recognizes the ways financial education fails to meet the needs of marginalized folks and shifts the conversation toward a better relationship with money for everyone. ☕ Support the Get Ready Movement. If these conversations help you think differently about money or prepare for life’s what-ifs, your support helps expand financial readiness education and keep this work accessible. 👉 Support (here) Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  6. Jul 28 ·  Video

    How Do You Know Who to Trust for Financial Advice?

    Send us Fan Mail Financial decisions are becoming more complex every year. This episode explores how to find trusted expertise, ask better questions, and build confidence in the advice you follow. Tom Dickson, founder of the Financial Experts Network joined me on this episode of Get Ready Before Life Happens to explore why trusted expertise matters in today’s complex financial world, how advisors can better serve clients through collaboration and lifelong learning, and why understanding a person’s background and credentials is essential before following financial advice. Key Takeaways Financial planning requires expertise across many different and evolving areasUnderstanding a professional’s credentials and background helps build confidence in financial adviceLifelong learning is essential in a rapidly changing financial landscapeSpecialized expertise can help people navigate complex financial decisions more effectivelyConsumers should research financial professionals and understand the source of advice before actingTrusted advisors often work collaboratively with specialists to better serve clients In a world full of information, trusted expertise becomes even more valuable. The right guidance usually comes from people who understand their specialty deeply and continue learning as the world changes. Asking better questions about credentials, experience, and expertise helps people make more confident financial decisions. Connect with Tom Dickson: Website: www.financialexpertsnetwork.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialexpertsnetwork/ Bio:  Tom has over 40 years of experience in many sectors of the financial services industry, including asset management, brokerage, custody, trust, mortgage and fintech.  It’s Tom passion for personal finance education that led to the development of the Financial Experts platform.  Launched in 2008, Financial Experts has educated tens  of thousands of Financial Planners with LIVE webinars that feature true subject matter experts.  Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  7. Jul 24 ·  Video

    Recognizing Financial Abuse: How to Protect Yourself and Find Hope

    Send us Fan Mail Financial abuse often leaves no visible signs. Recognizing the signs can be the first step toward protecting yourself and finding hope. Sandhya Gopal, divorce financial planner joined Tony on Get Ready Before Life Happens to explore the warning signs of financial abuse and what women can do to protect themselves during major life transitions. They discuss how financial control can be subtle and invisible, the importance of access to cash and trusted support, and how small steps and community can help move someone from fear and paralysis toward clarity, confidence, and hope. Key Takeaways 🔹 Financial abuse is often psychological, subtle, and difficult to recognize. 🔹 Red flags include secrecy, gaslighting, and money moving to untraceable places. 🔹 Emotional paralysis can keep people feeling trapped and powerless. 🔹 Access to cash and a trusted confidante are critical first steps to leaving an abusive relationship. 🔹 Small, practical steps help rebuild confidence and agency over time. 🔹 Support communities, including virtual ones, can reduce isolation and restore hope. 🔹 Financial confidence grows when people realize they are not alone and have options. 🧠 Tony’s Take Financial abuse often hides in plain sight. Recognizing the signs is the first step toward reclaiming clarity, safety, and control. Financial readiness means making sure people know they have resources, support, and a path forward before life’s hardest transitions force decisions. Connect with Sandhya Gopal: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandhyagopal/Spend It Right Website: https://www.spend-it-right.com Books:   Breaking Free: Empower Your Mindset, Master Your Money (Amazon) Resources mentioned: Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast: Connecting Wealth and Great Health With Chris Heye (here)Facebook Support Groups (search for divorce) Bio:  Sandhya Gopal is a financial advisor, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, and founder of SpendItRight. After going through her own divorce, she saw how overwhelming financial decision-making can feel when you suddenly have to navigate it on your own - even if you’re otherwise capable and successful. That experience led her to start teaching financial literacy, where she noticed a clear pattern: many capable women lacked visibility into their finances until life forced them to be involved. Today, she helps women navigate financial transitions with clarity - especially during divorce, where what looks equal on paper is not always equal in reality - and supports them through the rebuilding phase that follows. Her work focuses on helping women understand their numbers so they can make confident, grounded decisions. ☕ Support the Get Ready Movement. If these conversations help you think differently about money or prepare for life’s what-ifs, your support helps expand financial readiness education and keep this work accessible. 👉 Support (here) Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  8. Jul 21 ·  Video

    How Curiosity Helps Rewire Your Relationship With Money

    Send us Fan Mail Better money decisions begin when we slow down enough to understand ourselves. On this episode of Get Ready Before Life Happens, Tony sits down with DonJay Rice to explore how curiosity, reflection, and emotional awareness can help rewire the way we think about money. From scarcity mindset and workaholism to gratitude and values alignment, this conversation highlights how financial healing begins with asking better questions and taking one small step at a time. Key Takeaways 🔹 Take time to recognize and celebrate our wins  🔹 Our money behaviors are often rooted in childhood experiences 🔹 High achievement can sometimes mask fear and scarcity 🔹 Curiosity is a powerful tool for uncovering what is really driving behavior. 🔹 Silence creates space for truth in conversations. 🔹 Financial change happens through small, consistent improvements. 🔹 Understanding what is true today helps loosen the grip of old beliefs. 🔹 Aligning money decisions with values leads to greater life satisfaction. 🧠 Tony’s Take Money and emotions are deeply connected. When we slow down, get curious, and stop judging ourselves, we begin to shift from reacting out of fear to making decisions that reflect our values and goals. Connect with DonJay Rice, FBS: Drumbeat Of Wealth Website: https://www.drumbeatofwealth.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donjay-rice-fbs®-36950a297/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551358480000Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drumbeatofwealth/?hl=en Resources mentioned: The Enneagram Institute: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com Bio:  DonJay Rice is a Certified Financial Behavior Specialist. With that title he works with clients, couples and families to heal and create a path forward when their relationship with money becomes unhealthy. He is also a public speaker who leads audiences to discover how money behaviors impact relationships with others as well as the relationship they have with themselves. DonJay is a Certified Christian Life Coach through the American Association of Christian Counselors. A certified Enneagram Coach and a Certified Trauma Coach. He has been a guest on several international podcasts and has written articles for the Journal of Financial Planning. He holds a Masters Cert in Financial Psychology and Behavioral Finance from Creighton University. Prior to being a Financial Behavior Specialist/Coach, DonJay was a financial advisor for 28 years, developing a special niche in working with clients where money behaviors were entangled with past or present, grief and trauma. Working for a brokerage firm with over 19,000 advisors. DonJay grew his practice from zero clients, zero assets and zero leads to be in the top 2% of the firm in terms of annual gross production. DonJay also consistently scored in the top 10% of the firm in terms of client satisfaction surveys while performing several volunteer leadership roles within the organization. That is what he DOES, or has done, but it doesn’t describe who DonJay IS? So, who is DonJay Rice? His family and close friends describe him as: Kind, Optimistic, Creative, Generous, Vulnerable, and a heart filled with Empathy. Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

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About

Tony Steuer is a Financial Readiness Advocate, award-winning author, and host of Get Ready: Before Life Happens. Drawing on nearly 40 years of experience in insurance, financial education, and consumer advocacy, he helps people create their in-case-of-emergency plan, ask better questions, recognize red flags, and prepare before life happens.On this channel, you’ll find conversations with experts, authors, advocates, educators, and other trusted voices, along with practical ideas about financial readiness, life transitions, insurance, consumer protection, scams, and better money decisions.Create your own in-case-of-emergency plan when you Start your free Financial Readiness Plan at tonysteuer.com. You can also support this podcast by becoming a Get Ready Insider at https://www.tonysteuer.com/get-ready-insider

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