Martha McNeely
Financial Planner
You may be surprised to learn that I do not come from a finance background. I have an MA in Counseling Psychology and when I’m not working at Creative Money, I’m seeing therapy clients in my private practice.
After opening my practice years ago, I quickly realized that I knew nothing about planning for retirement (something I very much hope to do one day) so I dove headfirst into learning all I could about a number of financial planning topics. I enjoyed this self-learning so much that I enrolled in a CFP® course and decided I wanted to split my time between therapy and financial planning.
I believe my unique skill set helps me connect with people, particularly those who may be intimidated by the financial planning process.
What is your favorite part about being a financial planner?
Problem solving! Each person’s financial circumstances are different and I love finding ways to help clients meet their goals.
What are the best skills (is the best skill?) that you bring to this job?
Curiosity and lack of judgment. I also think that coming from a non-finance background, I do a good job of explaining complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner.
After a Strategy Session, how do you hope your clients feel when they leave the meeting? (choose one word and expand)
Motivated and relieved. Talking about finances can be such a loaded topic so I hope people feel energized to put their next steps into practice and relieved that they have a clear path forward to reaching their goals.
If you could pass on only one piece of advice to your clients, what would it be?
Small steps and changes can really add up.
What is one thing you wish people understood about financial planning before working with you?
Financial planning is for everyone, not just the super wealthy.
On the weekends, you can find me…
Paddleboarding, exercising, reading, walking my dog, and eating a good cheeseburger!
Bucket list travel destination?
Oh wow, I love to travel so this is a tough one! Currently Antarctica is high on my list! While I don’t like to be cold, I would really love to see some penguins in the wild.
What is one thing your coworkers didn’t know about you… until now?
I have a goal of visiting all 7 continents. I have three to go!
