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You've shown your client the numbers. Multiple times. The plan works, they can afford the house, they have enough to retire, the math is on their side. And yet they keep circling back to the same question, the same hesitation, the same "I just don't know." Sound familiar?

In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Kristy Archuleta, Professor at the University of Georgia and one of the leading researchers on financial anxiety, to unpack what's actually happening with clients who can't seem to move forward, even when the plan says they can.

Kristy walks through the critical (and often missed) distinction between financial stress and financial anxiety, and why it matters for how advisors show up. Stress is a reaction to a specific stressor that resolves when the situation does. Financial anxiety is persistent worry that lingers after the decision is made, shapes how clients engage with every recommendation, and begins to impact their relationships and daily functioning.

Ashley and Kristy also explore one of the most overlooked dynamics in retirement planning: the "Do I have enough?" question that may not actually be about the money. Sometimes it's grief. Sometimes it's identity loss. Sometimes it's both. Understanding that difference changes everything about how you respond.

You'll walk away with:

• A clear framework for distinguishing financial stress from financial anxiety in client meetings
• Why financially anxious clients often look the most "put together" (and why that makes them harder to help)
• The tiny-steps-and-experiments approach for clients stuck in decision paralysis
• Collaborative question examples you can use in your very next meeting
• Ashley's Vision-Reality-Plan framework for walking clients through stuck points
• Clear guidance on when and how to bring in a financial therapist or mental health professional

This is a conversation for any advisor who has ever sat across from a client and thought: The numbers work. So why aren't they moving?

Because, as Kristy says, numbers don't show up on paper because they just showed up. They show up because of how someone thinks, feels, does, and relates. When you understand that, you stop trying to solve with more data, and start helping clients actually move.

RESOURCES AND GUEST INFORMATION

About the Guest

Dr. Kristy Archuleta is a Professor of Financial Planning at the University of Georgia, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and one of the pioneering researchers in the field of financial therapy. She co-developed one of the most widely used financial anxiety measures and has spent her career helping advisors, therapists, and researchers understand the psychological dimensions of money. Kristy also speaks and consults through the Behavioral Keynote Group.

Connect with Kristy:

• University of Georgia (Financial Planning Program): fcs.uga.edu
• LinkedIn: Dr. Kristy Archuleta
• Behavioral Keynote Group: For speaking engagements and keynote bookings
• UGA Graduate Program: Behavioral Financial Planning and Financial Therapy graduate certificate (fully online) and master's track with experiential pro bono component

Connect with Host Ashley Quamme:

• Podcast Website: Planning & Beyond®
• LinkedIn: Ashley Quamme - Licensed Therapist & Financial Behavior Specialist
• Beyond the Plan®: Financial psychology integration services
• Monthly Newsletter: Subscribe at BeyondTheFP.com
• Advisor Foundations Com