Episodes

Meet Juan: a resilient first-generation immigrant from Honduras whose early relationship with finance might sound familiar to some. Growing up in a family that feared spending money, he learned early on to avoid financial products, including credit cards. Juan yearned for a career in acting, but when he graduated college, his dreams were abruptly halted by the pandemic. As a result, he found himself at a crossroads. Although his income was limited and his cost of living was high, Juan became a...

Meet Ben, a man faced with many crossroads on his financial journey. Reflecting on his early work experience as a commercial fisherman, his struggles with debt during his first marriage, and the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy, Ben learned about money management like so many of us have: the hard way. Despite using various tools to manage his cash flow, debt remained a barrier. Emphasizing his analytical approach to challenges, Ben explored debt settlement, consolidation loans, and fin...

Join Real $tories Live! Episode 54 to explore the vital link between mental and financial health with expert panelists.

At age 22, Elyse was standing at a crossroads with $34,000 in debt with credit card payments, student loans, and a car loan all due at once. Her chosen path: a radical approach to pay off all debt by the time she turned 24. Within months, she went even further, buying her own house using a VA loan. This is not to say that her road to financial wellness has been linear. Now a single parent in her late 20s, Elyse still faces financial challenges that she documents on her personal finance blog, th...

Meet Frankie: a financial coach for Ent Credit Union, one of GreenPath’s partners in Colorado. She has expertise in helping others manage their money—and was financially self-reliant from a young age—but it’s often harder to see ourselves as clearly as we see others. Frankie’s “Aha moment” came during a conversation with a GreenPath counselor, during which she gained a new perspective on the money dynamics in her marriage; she recognized that if she stayed with her husband, she would continue t...

Meet Racheal. She is a true role model when it comes to financial resiliency. Her reality was many people’s worst nightmare: $124,000 of credit card debt following her divorce. Racheal worked with GreenPath to pay off what she owed, enduring Hurrican Ida and a pandemic along the way. As she made progress toward being debt-free, she set aside funds to buy a home for her and her son. Today, she is putting her son through college and has created a structure to pay off her mortgage in seven years! ...

Today’s story features Nadine, a caregiver and empath who eventually had to focus on her own financial self-care. After retiring earlier than she originally anticipated, Nadine transitioned to caretaking for her husband. Following this period of support, she pondered where to direct her energy and focus, eventually finding herself on an introspective journey that led to GreenPath. As she works on paying down her debt through the Debt Management Program, Nadine also strives to improve her relati...

Today’s episode features three interwoven stories of financial resiliency. Wendy, a GreenPath employee, invited her mother and younger sister to share their experiences alongside her. In talking with all three women, we explore the unique challenges of different life events: moving to a new country, buying a new home, foreclosure, and paying for college and retirement. Each of these milestones created cross-generational ripple effects: we hear about how foreclosure affected Wendy’s then ten-ye...

Today’s episode features Jasmine Paul, award-winning children’s book author, certified financial education instructor, and speaker focused on making wealth fun. After finding herself homeless for a brief period during college, Jasmine resolved to turn her financial life around. Learning through books and conversations during her career in the Airforce, she achieved the remarkable milestone of becoming a homeowner by 23. But she didn’t keep her newfound knowledge to herself. She took her friend...

A year into a promising new career path, Jesse was unprepared to lose his job. He found himself relying on his cards for basic living expenses and rent as his credit debt accumulated. He was optimistic that he could make things work with freelancing, but the income wasn’t sustainable. As he considered options to tackle his debt–amidst mounting anxiety–he decided to take out a consolidation loan. Ultimately, he found himself owing on both the consolidation loan and credit cards. Jesse was deter...

Early in their marriage, Matt and Kendal found themselves at a financial crossroads. Both entered their relationship with children from previous marriages and past bankruptcies. Together, they sought the guidance of GreenPath, creating a strategy to tackle their debt and build sustainable financial habits to carry them into their future. Matt and Kendal’s story is one of resiliency and making money meet your needs. Tune in to learn about their creative approach and consider how their narrative ...

LeAnn takes pride in helping others. But when it came to asking for help, that didn’t come as naturally. She found herself in a frustrating cycle with her credit card debt: able to maintain minimum payments, but unable to make progress towards payoff. Beyond the financial implications, her mental and physical health were impacted. After making the important decision to connect with a therapist, she eventually found a solution that put her finances back on track. Now, she shares her struggles an...

Like many people, Khalil was excited to get his first credit card. But not knowing how they worked, he soon found himself in over his head. Eventually, with the help of an innovative program at his college, he learned more about credit and vowed to do things differently in the future. After his career path connected him with a credit union and GreenPath, he started helping others in his community get access to transportation. Khalil eventually partnered with GreenPath to improve HIS credit and ...

Before she was a financial wellness expert and best-selling author, Ericka Young was a person navigating debt. She and her husband accumulated $90,000 worth of debt early in their marriage. As the parent of a college student and daughter starting off on her own, Ericka has prioritized honest communication when it comes to money. With 17 years in business, Ericka has supported over 500 families as a certified financial coach. Her mission? Helping people crush debt so that they can design a vibr...

In continuing our theme from last month, today’s episode features stories of financial resiliency from two former guests. These are stories of job changes, family growth, and finding safety in savings. Lavell first talked to us in Episode 22Episode 22. He acquired debt by “swiping like a ninja,” and eventually made the pivotal decision to work with GreenPath in paying down what he owed. The result? Financial stability that enabled Lavell and his new wife to find their collective footing again. ...

Today’s episode features two stories. We regularly talk with our clients at GreenPath to hear about their experiences in pursuing financial wellness. These voices are a reminder to others that when it comes to debt (and the stress it brings) you are never alone. We begin the episode with Nichelle, a single mother who is working hard to balance everyday expenses with debt payoff. In the second half, we meet Oscar who shares how the Debt Management Plan has greatly reduced his stress. We know th...

As the son of immigrants who had to work extremely hard to make ends meet, David knows first-hand the importance of financial education and access to resources and opportunities. He is especially driven to connect with people who have limited access to the tools they need to be financially healthy. Today, David is a trusted leader at GreenPath. Early in his career, he achieved his dream of completing his law degree. But he was at a crossroads as he considered how to tackle $200,000 in student l...

Molly MacDonald has lived at both ends of the financial spectrum. As a single mom of five, she rebounded from a financial catastrophe – only to be faced several years later with a new one after a breast cancer diagnosis. She was unable to start her new job as planned. Her family’s already tight budget was immediately overburdened with the addition of a monthly COBRA health insurance payment, coupled with the loss of her income. Within months, MacDonald and her family faced the potential loss of...

Stephanie has navigated payday loans, credit card debt, student loans, a foreclosure and an eviction. Through it all, her mindset facing these concerns has been inspirational. She’s been skillful at putting out each fire but she’s also working towards a future state where she can better absorb a financial shock. Key Moments 2:48 Stephanie discusses what led to her losing her condo in foreclosure. 8:00 She gets evicted after falling behind on her rent but is now exploring resources to help her...

Throughout 2022, we’ve had lots of amazing guests. Three of our guests not only shared their personal stories but their professional expertise. So, today’s episode features the best of their advice. Danny Kofke Danny has written five personal finance books and appeared on numerous national television shows. He has given hundreds of presentations across the country helping others with money management. His mission is to show others that if a former schoolteacher can do well financially, they ca...

In last month’s episodelast month’s episode, we introduced you to Derek. Today, we continue our conversation with him. Derek runs several small businesses, something that seemed unlikely several years ago. Despite spending ten years in federal custody, he remained laser focused on learning as much as he could when it came to money. He even started a financial education program for his fellow inmates which he enhanced with materials from GreenPath. Upon his release, he faced an economy and worl...

A native of Chicago, Derek runs several small businesses. For him, success is not just measured by his financial success, but by the opportunities he creates for others in his community. Derek’s money story is as real as it gets. He has taken the lessons from his past life to fuel his personal growth. His wisdom reaches beyond money. Our conversation is a roundtable interview with our co-hosts, Omari and Shamica and special guest, Mick Dumke. A reporter for ProPublica, Mick had originally inter...

Today’s episode features Kristin, a loyal listener of our podcast. As she reflects on her experience with GreenPath, she noticed that she had a smaller amount of debt than many of our guests. Despite this, her feelings of financial stress were just as great. In our conversation, Kristin talks about how she ended up in a cycle of debt with payday loans before she eventually got things under control. Are you a GreenPath client? Consider sharing your story with us! Key Moments 2:36 Kristin descri...

While each Real Stories episode is unique and each individual has their own money story, there are many similarities between them! This episode highlights previous Real Stories guests and discusses the common themes of financial related stress and anxiety. In each case, see how a call to GreenPath improved people’s financial and mental health long term. We’ll hear from Liz, Nina, Jessie, Lavell, Lauren, and Katie who teach us that while our circumstances may be different, we share the same str...