In this episode, our guest Nicole Stanley and I dive into the emotional, strategic, and systemic layers of personal finance. Nicole is the founder of Arise Financial Coaching and the creator of the Money Momentum Method—a system born from her own transformation from debt and anxiety to a thriving six-figure net worth by age 27. We talk about the real reasons money creates so much stress, how our childhoods shape financial behaviors, and how to build confidence even when things feel uncertain.

Through her ADHD lens, we see a different way of thinking about financial planning—one that values automation, visual cues, and goal-based tracking over rigid spreadsheets. And when we talk about changing the world, Nicole makes it clear that empowered women with financial literacy aren’t just making better lives for themselves—they’re lifting whole communities.

Nicole Stanley is a financial coach, entrepreneur, and the founder of Arise Financial Coaching, a growing practice that has already served over 600 clients worldwide. She developed her signature approach, the Money Momentum Method, after transforming her own life: from drowning in debt and stress to building a $250K+ net worth by the age of 27—all on an average salary and without shortcuts. Her journey was fueled not just by numbers, but by a deep need to reclaim her peace of mind and autonomy from the grip of financial anxiety.

Nicole began coaching informally—helping friends and family navigate their budgets—before realizing the power of what she’d created. In March 2020, in the midst of global uncertainty, she launched her coaching business officially. Since then, Arise Financial Coaching has grown to include a team of ADHD-informed coaches, group programs, and accolades from platforms like TIME, Yahoo Finance, and CNET. Nicole’s mission is clear: to help people stop feeling behind and start building financial lives that feel aligned, joyful, and free.

[00:01:41] Meeting Nicole and her early money story [00:05:31] Coast FIRE by age 27 [00:07:19] Detaching from Dave Ramsey-style deprivation [00:10:56] ADHD, money, and the myth of laziness [00:18:21] Childhood financial anxiety and parental influence [00:23:48] Building confidence even in financial chaos [00:29:41] Redefining social justice through money [00:33:19] Coaching clients through tithing and debt [00:37:41] Resignation and learned helplessness in today’s economy [00:41:27] Why empowering women financially transforms communities

#FinancialFreedom #DebtFreeJourney #ADHDAndMoney #WomenAndWealth #FinancialCoaching #MoneyMindset #EmpoweredSpending #CoastFIRE #MoneyAndFaith #NeurodivergentMoney

Instagram Website Threads TikTok Francis Cabrini Prince Charming Isn't Coming: How Women Get Smart About Money by Barbara Stanny Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians Got It Right-and How We Can, Too by George Lakey

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.

In this episode, our guest DonJay Rice and I take a deep dive into the complex relationship between money, grief, and healing. Early in DonJay’s career as a wealth manager a series of personal and professional turning points led him to add behavioral coaching skills to his work, way before it was a common practice for wealth managers. In our conversation, he opens up about how an experience with three widowed clients changed everything he thought he knew about money and human connection.

We explore how personal history shapes our financial behaviors, the ongoing impact of childhood experiences, and what it takes to truly feel emotionally safe with money. DonJay shares insights about his own upbringing in poverty, becoming the legal guardian of his special needs brothers, and how discovering his "transferable skills" outside of traditional finance became a catalyst for work filled with purpose and meaning. We also reflect on the journey from emotional numbness to the subtle joy of appreciating nature and why helping others reclaim their voice is part of his life’s work.

DonJay Rice is a Financial Coach and the founder of Drumbeat of Wealth, where he specializes in guiding clients through the tangled intersections of money, grief, and trauma. With over 25 years of experience in financial services, including 28 years as a wealth manager, DonJay brings a unique blend of financial expertise and deep emotional insight to his coaching practice. His work is grounded in behavioral finance and shaped by his own journey through personal loss, hardship, and healing.

Having grown up in poverty and navigated complex family responsibilities from a young age—including becoming guardian to his special needs brothers—DonJay developed an acute sensitivity to how unresolved grief can shape our financial lives. Today, he draws on that lived experience, as well as formal training in financial psychology, to help others find clarity, purpose, and a renewed relationship with money. Whether it's unspoken money anxieties or long-standing emotional patterns, DonJay helps clients find their rhythm again—one beat at a time.

[00:01:50] Meeting DonJay Rice [00:04:48] The moment three widows changed his career [00:08:29] Leaving financial advising without a plan [00:12:10] Realizing he had transferable skills [00:16:22] Childhood financial enmeshment and trauma [00:21:22] Why people box up pain and how we eventually unpack it [00:26:02] The value of sensitivity and unstructured time [00:32:22] Bringing social justice into financial coaching [00:38:20] How DonJay works with clients post-therapy [00:41:53] Exploring “half-truths” and inherited money beliefs [00:47:50] The role of a coach: not an expert, but a mirror

#moneyandtrauma #griefsupport #financialcoaching #healingjourney #financialbehavior #socialjusticework #donjayrice #traumainformed #moneyhealing #coachingwithpurpose #drumbbeatofwealth

Drumbeat of Wealth LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl by Donna Williams

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.

In this episode, I take the mic solo to talk about something I've struggled with for years: rest. As a woman of color, entrepreneur, and daughter of workaholics, rest has never come easy. I share personal stories—from my time hustling in Los Angeles to a life-changing sabbatical in Costa Rica—and unpack how I’ve slowly learned to embrace rest, not as a luxury, but as a necessity, especially as I’ve learned more about what I need as a Highly Sensitive Person.

This conversation weaves through memories of burnout, the lessons I picked up in cultures that value community and slow living, and the deep unlearning required to step away from internalized capitalism. I reflect on what it means to decouple productivity from self-worth, how Highly Sensitive People are wired for rest, and why our society’s obsession with overwork is exploitative. If you’ve ever needed permission to slow down, this episode is for you.

[00:01:50] Why rest matters for entrepreneurs [00:08:00] Challenging the idea of “charging your worth” [00:09:40] Lessons from Tico culture and slowing down [00:11:20] Discovering that rest improves productivity [00:18:20] Hitting a wall: the moment of deep burnout [00:19:50] The illusion of rest while digital nomading [00:26:00] Building white space into the calendar [00:31:10] Rest as a core need for sensitive minds

#MindfulBusiness #RestIsRevolutionary #BurnoutRecovery #WorkLifeBalance #RestOverGrind #MoneyMindset #WomenInBusiness #MinorityOwned

Breaking Toxic Patterns of Workaholism Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.

In this episode, our guest Val Nelson and I open up about the beautiful, complex journey of building a career that actually fits. Val shares how her path—from burnout and confusion to alignment and clarity—was anything but linear. We talk about what it really means to be someone who craves both meaning and stability in their work, and how energy, money, and purpose intersect. Along the way, Val shares how discovering her sensitivity shifted her relationship to career, business, and self-trust.

We also explore how social justice shows up in pricing models, what scarcity feels like in the body, and how nature’s seasons can become guides for our work. Val’s honesty and presence make this conversation a grounding space for anyone navigating a tender chapter in their professional life. Whether you're dreaming of self-employment or just need permission to take more breaks, you’ll find something in here that speaks to your inner knowing.

Val Nelson is a career and business coach with over 15 years of experience supporting introverts and highly sensitive people (HSPs), including those who identify as sensitive extroverts. Known as the Black Swan Coach, Val helps clients find meaningful, sustainable work that aligns with their energy and values. Her compassionate, intuitive approach has guided countless INFJs and ENFJs toward careers and businesses that nourish both their souls and their bank accounts.

Val offers career clarity coaching, business mentoring for women solopreneurs, and online courses such as Find the Best Use of You Now and Could I Leave My 9-5?. She also leads intimate groups for SOULpreneurs—heart-centered entrepreneurs seeking wise pacing and grounded purpose. With a deep commitment to accessibility and social justice, Val integrates reparative pricing models and equity-based practices into her business. She lives in New England, where the rhythm of the seasons informs both her personal life and professional planning.

[00:03:33] A Winding Path to Purposeful Work [00:05:44] The Myth of Choosing Between Meaning and Money [00:08:06] Discovering Sensory Processing Sensitivity [00:12:07] Sensitivity as a Superpower in Coaching [00:22:04] The Financial Messages from Childhood [00:28:34] How Scarcity Feels in the Body [00:36:10] Seasonal Planning as a Grounding Practice [00:38:34] Reparations and Equity-Based Pricing as an Entrepreneur [00:45:04] Navigating Criticism Around Equity and Inclusion [00:50:04] Purpose-Driven Work and Social Justice in Coaching

#SensitiveEntrepreneur #EnergyBasedPlanning #PurposeDrivenWork #SensitiveFounder #QuietLeader #IntuitiveEntrepreneur #MindfulCareer #AuthenticWork #EconomicJustice #SomaticCoaching #BodyWisdom #HolisticMoney #ConsciousCapitalism

Val Nelson Courses LinkedIn

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.

In this episode, our guest Sarah DeLuca and I dive deep into the emotionally charged and politically potent topic of money as a tool for social change. Sarah is a Money and Philanthropy Coach who supports individuals and families in aligning their resources with their values—and in doing so, healing their relationship to wealth. We talk about her transition from nonprofit organizer to coach for high-net-worth individuals looking to redistribute wealth more effectively and ethically.

Together we explore how perfectionism and burnout manifest in activist spaces, how financial privilege can sometimes obscure our ability to connect across class, and what it looks like to use money not just for safety, but for liberation. Sarah shares what politicized her, how growing up in a financially open household shaped her comfort with spreadsheets and stock markets, and the deeply human struggles her clients face—from secrecy and shame to shoulds and martyrdom. There’s also a powerful thought experiment imagining the world in 2035—what happens when we build it, and it falls apart, and we choose to build again.

Sarah DeLuca is a Money and Philanthropy Coach with Move Money Shift Power where she focuses on social change philanthropy with individuals, families, and foundations.

Sarah began her social justice career working in documentary filmmaking in LA, but quickly realized she wanted to be more deeply involved in activism. She spent a decade working for social justice non-profits, building grassroots movements and raising millions of dollars. In addition to honing her organizing and fundraising skills there, Sarah developed her critical analysis of corporate power and systemic change. In 2018, she opened Move Money, Shift Power. There, she works directly with funders who want to move wealth and power to grassroots movements, and heal their relationship to money.

She is a Capricorn and an 8 on the Enneagram, making her a BOSS lady, lover of spreadsheets and helping others “get sh*t done!”

She and her husband live on the North Shore of Massachusetts with their dog, Freddie Mercury.

[00:02:05] Sarah’s Journey from Activism to Radical Finance [00:06:18] Early Money Lessons from Her Family [00:09:00] Living for Now vs. Saving for Retirement [00:11:14] How Social Change Happens (and Why It Feels Hard) [00:14:32] Burnout, Perfectionism, and Hitting a Wall [00:19:16] Recognizing Privilege and Early Class Awareness [00:26:22] Political Awakenings and the Limits of People Power [00:30:00] Freeze Mode: When Funders Retreat from Movement [00:35:00] Philanthropy as a Family Practice [00:37:40] Conversations About Money with the Next Generation [00:43:00] Expanding Our Vision: Safety Nets, Resilience, and Shared Futures

When we talk about money, we’re rarely just talking about numbers. We’re talking about values, trauma, identity, justice, and belonging. This conversation with Sarah goes far beyond conventional philanthropy or financial coaching—it offers a glimpse into what’s possible when people with wealth move beyond guilt or shame and begin to show up as co-conspirators in change.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the scale of injustice or unsure of your role in the movement, this episode will remind you that your resources—emotional, financial, and relational—are powerful tools. Sarah’s candidness, warmth, and strategic mind will resonate whether you’re navigating your own inherited wealth, supporting clients through their money stories, or simply trying to figure out how to live in a world that can feel so confusing.

Sarah's Website Instagram

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.

In this episode, I share my journey of becoming an investment manager at Natural Investments, a firm focused on socially responsible and impact investing. I discuss how I overcame my initial hesitation about joining the investment world and found alignment between my values and my work managing investments that create positive social and environmental impact.

I explore how highly sensitive people like myself can bring our values into our financial decisions, challenging the notion that values-aligned investing means sacrificing returns. I share personal stories and practical advice on how listeners can create more coherence between their money and their values, whether through investment choices or banking decisions.

[00:01:00] My story of Natural Investments' 40-year history [00:02:00] Focus on impact investing beyond returns [00:04:00] Client-focused preparation process [00:05:00] The approach to long-term strategy vs. market timing [00:06:00] Examples of values-aligned investments [00:09:00] My perspective as a highly sensitive person [00:12:00] A comparison of screened vs. conventional returns [00:14:00] Challenges to the profit-values tradeoff myth [00:15:00] My role supporting clients through challenges [00:21:00] My "one degree turn" philosophy

#ImpactInvesting #SociallyResponsibleInvesting #ValuesAlignedMoney #NaturalInvestments #HighlySensitiveMoney #ESGInvesting #SustainableFinance #EthicalInvesting #FinancialWellbeing #ClimateFinance

Natural Investments Banking on Climate Chaos report (2024) Better Banking Options All the Colors

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Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.