Tag: Jude Boudreaux
Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

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What does a theater degree have to do with running a financial planning firm?

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Matt Mercer, Chief Operating Officer and shareholder at The Planning Center, to talk about leadership, priorities, and the hidden work that keeps client relationships running smoothly. Matt shares how his theater background shaped his approach to people, process, and change, and why curiosity beats judgment when challenges arise. He opens up about the lessons of fatherhood, the mantra “you can do anything, not everything,” and what it means to put the right people in the right work. Listeners will hear how operations act like WD-40, removing friction so clients feel cared for, and why cooling down after change matters as much as the change itself.

What to expect:

  •  How curiosity creates trust in leadership and planning
  • Why “right person, right work” is client care in disguise
  • Practical rhythms for balancing work and family
  • Change management lessons that actually stick
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Matt Mercer:

About Our Guest:

As the Chief Operating Officer at The Planning Center, Matt Mercer focuses on optimizing our people, processes, technology, and compliance. Matt’s role involves everything from setting the company’s strategic plan to supporting our operations staff in their daily workflows, onboarding, and training on new technologies, updating internal processes, and overseeing special projects.

After graduating from St. Ambrose University with my B.A. in Theatre, Matt spent ten years working in Operations with multiple companies in the Quad Cities area. He is fortunate enough that these experiences have brought him to The Planning Center, where he enjoys working with our team. In my role, I aim to help build an efficient infrastructure that assists our advisors to focus on their clients.

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Finding Your New Normal: Planning Through Life’s Biggest Transitions with Michelle Malton (Ep. 7)

Finding Your New Normal: Planning Through Life’s Biggest Transitions with Michelle Malton (Ep. 7)

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Some seasons of life arrive suddenly, others build slowly. Either way, change can feel chaotic.

In this conversation, The Planning Center partner Michelle Maton CFP®, EA, CeFT joins Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale to share how she helps clients move from uncertainty to a grounded “new normal.” You’ll hear why big decisions can wait, how a decision-free zone brings breathing room, and what it really takes to navigate transitions like divorce, widowhood, sudden wealth, and retirement. Expect practical language you can use, gentle structure for hard days, and honest stories from the work of walking with clients through change.

What to expect:

  • The four stages of transition and why “passage” takes time
  • Creating a decision-free zone that protects you from regret
  • Retirement identity, cash-flow rhythms, and mini-experiments
  • The role of values in rebuilding what comes next
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Michelle Maton:

About our Guest: 

Michelle Maton, CFP®, EA, CeFT®, is a Senior Financial Planner at The Planning Center. Her most important responsibility as a partner is to help our clients achieve their financial goals. On any given day, you will find Michelle focusing on financial planning, tax strategies and reviews, and transition planning, which helps clients for the inevitable ups and downs in life, for better or worse. In addition, Michelle works with the rest of our team to create more efficient client service systems and processes.

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From History to Legacy: How The Planning Center Builds for the Future with Eric Kies (Ep. 6)

From History to Legacy: How The Planning Center Builds for the Future with Eric Kies (Ep. 6)

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When a firm chooses people over ego, everything changes.

In this conversation, CEO Eric Kies joins Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale to share how The Planning Center shifted from individual silos to an ensemble practice where clients are served by a team, not a single advisor. They talk candidly about investing in “soft” skills like communication, coaching, and retreats, why that’s actually the hard work, and how a 50-year vision creates stability for families across generations. You’ll hear stories about building systems, giving up control, and the human moments that money can’t solve, but great planning can hold.

What to expect:

  • Ensemble vs. siloed practices in plain language
  • The 50-year sustainability mindset
  • Why culture work beats quick wins
  • AI as a tool, not a substitute for real connection
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Eric Kies:

About our Guest: 

As the president of The Planning Center, Eric Kies is responsible for the daily management of the firm. Eric’s long-term goal for the firm is to continue building a team of talented financial planners and staff who are ready to serve successive generations of families. He wants our firm and its lead planners to be a resource in the community that people can turn to and trust for solutions to their problems. In Eric’s work with clients, his focus is on working with business owners and executives with complex planning needs and goals, such as those with significant or irregular incomes.

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From Chaos to Clarity: J.J. Sessions, CFP® on Family, Cash Flow, and Financial Freedom (Ep. 4)

From Chaos to Clarity: J.J. Sessions, CFP® on Family, Cash Flow, and Financial Freedom (Ep. 4)

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When J.J. Sessions walked away from running his own practice to join The Planning Center, he wasn’t just looking for a new job—he was searching for a better way to serve clients and his family. 

In this heartfelt conversation, J.J. reflects on the challenges of running a business, the stress of managing cash flow, and the joy of finding a system that supports both financial goals and personal values. Alongside Jude and Caleb, they explore how First Step transformed J.J.’s family dynamic, helping him and his wife finally feel aligned in their spending habits and priorities.

Listeners will hear J.J.’s story of moving from Minnesota to Fresno, the power of mentorship, and how teaching his six children about money has changed his perspective on wealth and legacy. This episode is a reminder that financial success isn’t just about numbers, it’s about creating space to focus on what truly matters.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Why J.J. gave up business ownership for more impact
  • How First Step simplifies cash flow conversations
  • Teaching kids financial boundaries (with a butcher paper trick!)
  • How to align money decisions with family values and community impact
  • And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with J.J. Sessions:

About our Guest: 

J.J. Sessions has been preparing for a career as a financial planner all his life. As a high school senior, he once gave a speech on the benefits of compound interest. Though he started college with a desire to be a marriage and family therapist, he found that he could do more for people by helping them with their financial lives. Things like effective cash flow planning and life planning can have a profound impact on reducing the stress and conflicts in marriages that surround money. J.J.’s primary responsibility as a financial advisor is to help individuals and families to achieve clarity on their financial and life goals, and work closely with them to accomplish those goals.

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The Stories Behind the Numbers: Why We Plan the Way We Do (Ep. 1)

The Stories Behind the Numbers: Why We Plan the Way We Do (Ep. 1)

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What if your definition of success wasn’t about money, but the life you get to live because of it?

In this episode, host Jude Boudreaux, CFP®, and his “Director of Positivity,” Caleb Arringdale, EA, introduce the heart behind Living Beyond the Numbers. They share their personal stories—from Jude launching a financial planning firm with a newborn at home, to Caleb’s journey from public accounting into people-centred planning, and what drives their work with clients today.

Key discussions include:

  • Why values should shape your financial decisions, not just the numbers
  • The early money lessons (and struggles) that shaped Jude and Caleb’s careers
  • How Jude defines success through his relationship with his wife, Karen
  • What “prioritize later” means for your financial and personal well-being
  • The power of integrated planning, mentorship, and intentional conversations
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

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