Career Pivots – Living Beyond the Numbers

Designing a Meaningful Retirement with Mike Branham (Ep. 15)

By Living Beyond the Numbers | April 7, 2026

Sometimes the path forward looks more like a winding trail than a straight line.

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux, CFP®, and Caleb Arringdale, EA, sit down with Michael Branham, CFP®, Shareholder and Senior Financial Planner at The Planning Center’s Alaska office, to talk about career pivots, family priorities, and why retirement isn’t really an ending, it’s a transition into a more intentional way of living.

Mike shares how his journey, from the Midwest to Alaska and from chasing success to defining balance, has shaped his perspective on money, legacy, and fulfillment. Together, they explore what it means to build a financial life that’s resilient, values-driven, and grounded in real life.

Listeners can expect insights on:

Navigating major life transitions with clarity and adaptability
Redefining retirement as a phase of purpose and reinvention, not withdrawal
Understanding your “why” before focusing on “how much”
Finding a balance between professional ambition and a meaningful personal life
And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Mike Branham CFP®:

About our Guest:

Mike embraces his fiduciary duty to clients and believes that the best path to help you reach your life’s goals is through an integrated planning approach that coordinates each facet of your financial life. We start each engagement with an in-depth conversation about your goals and aspirations. Next, we collaborate to customize a plan that incorporates your resources, current and future, into achieving your life’s dreams. From there, we continue our work together to maintain and adjust your plan as “life happens”, and to help you navigate each of your key personal and career transitions along the way.

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How a CFO Built a Career Around Life, Not Just Work with Amy Tessmer (Ep. 9)

By Living Beyond the Numbers | December 9, 2025

What does it mean to lead with both confidence and compassion, especially in a numbers-first industry?

In this episode of Living Beyond the Numbers, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Amy Tessmer, CFO of The Planning Center, to explore how values-driven leadership, intentional balance, and quiet influence are reshaping the financial services landscape. Amy opens up about walking away from the CPA track, why she embraced a flexible schedule even in an executive role, and how financial decision-making becomes more powerful when it’s grounded in personal purpose. She also discusses how women in leadership can become visible examples for others, even when they’re not trying to be.

What you can expect from this episode:

What CFOs really do (and why it’s not just about spreadsheets)
Why Amy rejected the traditional partnership track in accounting
How flexible schedules can unlock high-performance leadership
Practical advice for professionals seeking more alignment in their work
And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Amy Tessmer:

About our Guest:

Amy Tessmer is involved in overseeing the accounting function, reviewing financial information, and planning and forecasting. Prior to joining The Planning Center, she spent more than a decade working for CPA firms as a financial statement auditor. Amy loves her role because she gets the opportunity to support the operations of the company so it can continue to grow and impact the lives of more families and individuals across the country.

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