Welcome back to Diary of a Financial Advisor! Now a webinar series, Eric Brotman and Hannah Dennis kick off season seven by celebrating the podcast’s very own “Honor Roll.” Together, they take us behind the scenes, sharing how they selected the top episodes from years of empowering conversations—basing their choices not just on popularity, but on content and the impact these episodes had on listeners and clients alike.
Eric Brotman and Hannah Dennis reflect on standout moments, memorable guests, and compelling topics ranging from financial independence and behavioral finance to downsizing, passive income, and the unique financial challenges faced by service industry workers. They highlight both powerful guest stories—including overcoming adversity and finding hope—and practical webinars that sparked ongoing conversations with their audience.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the show, this episode is an invitation to revisit some of the most talked-about and meaningful episodes the podcast has aired, and to get a sneak peek at what’s coming up in season seven. So tune in and join the celebration of learning, growth, and the journey to financial freedom—one episode at a time!
Find the full lists and listen to or watch the inductees:
Eric Brotman [00:00:01]:
This is Eric Brotman, Chairman of the board and Chief Growth Officer of BFG Financial Advisors. Welcome to our webinar series Diary of a Financial Advisor, where our BFG team talks about current events and financial planning and share their professional journeys and their passion for helping others succeed. Today, I can’t even say I’m being joined by my co host. I’m her co host, Hannah Dennis. Welcome back to Diary. Hi.
Hannah Dennis [00:00:25]:
Thank you.
Eric Brotman [00:00:26]:
This is a special episode. First of all, we’re just starting season seven, which is unbelievable. And for the first time, we decided with our school theme to bust out an honor roll. All of our favorite episodes, some of them based on popularity, some of them based on content, some of them based on both, actually. And Hannah, why don’t you talk a little bit about how we, how we did this, because we’re not doing a countdown. So for the co hosts and the folks, we’re going to mention you all and we’re going to push these episodes out again. Don’t feel like you’re number one or number ten. We were agnostic about that.
Hannah Dennis [00:00:58]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:00:58]:
But let’s talk about the process.
Hannah Dennis [00:00:59]:
Yeah. So there are, there is a lot of content that we pushed out. So the first thing we did was we looked at the data on our platforms, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Apple podcasts, and we saw which ones were the most successful, which ones did people go back to and rewatch, and which ones continue to get watches and views even if we’re not pushing them out. And we paid attention to what was doing well there. And then we also kind of reflected back and thought, what were our clients interested in? A lot of these episodes, you know, create a great opportunity for conversation during meetings. And a lot of clients will reach out on social media and comment on the episodes that they got a lot out of. So, and for the webinars, we looked at our attendance rate. What topics were people interested in? How much communication do we get out of those webinars? Did people reach out with follow up questions? So we kind of really took the data of, you know, what were the numbers? And we took kind of reflection and who, who liked it? And like, did our clients actually respond to the episodes? Because we love when they do that.
Eric Brotman [00:02:03]:
So let’s start with audio only. These were the episodes that, that we did that were simply podcasted out. But they, we didn’t do video. I was told many years ago that I have a face for radio. So that’s how I got started. There were 10 episodes and in no particular order, hopefully all the folks who were Participating in these episodes will get excited to be included here. So the first was one with Christy Shiano on why are you happy? Finding joy and strength in the wake of tragedy. Christy was part of season one and came to studio, actually, and we, we did a, a, a, a conversation.
Eric Brotman [00:02:41]:
We had a conversation that was so personal and so moving that hopefully folks will check her episode out again. The second one was with the incredible Jean Chaty. You know when you get a call from NBC and the Today show says, hey, would you like to, to host. Would you like to host Jean Chatsky for your show? You say yes, generally she was actually on twice, but the episode I’m thinking of was middle of season two on owning your money, your life and the next chapter. And that whole don’t retire graduate piece was the next chapter. Number three was Kate Stalter. Now, Kate is also a media guru and she talked a little bit about some of the secrets of financial media and some of the things that really we have to look for as consumers when we’re talking about that. The fourth one was the pilot, Robin Costello, who I can’t thank enough.
Eric Brotman [00:03:34]:
She was literally the first one to sit in this chair and took a flyer on being on a show that didn’t exist. She had just retired and she was envisioning her own retirement. And I can now say after seven years, I think she’s doing great with it. But, Robin, thank you. Thank you so much for, for being the very first guest. I’m going to do number number five, and then I’ll let you talk a little bit about the next ones. Now, you weren’t here for it, so I may have to pitch in a little. You’ll be, you’ll be doing more at the end.
Eric Brotman [00:04:01]:
But the fifth one, and this is hard for me, for anybody who knows me, to suggest that Yanni Niebuhr, my partner and shareholder here at bfg, was one of the great audio episodes. It’s true. He was Yanni, you know I love you. He did. In summer of 2022, we had a conversation that we referred to as Generation wars. And we really had a lot of fun. I love picking on millennials. And you’re a Gen Z, so I could pick on you all.
Hannah Dennis [00:04:27]:
I’m technically a millennial.
Eric Brotman [00:04:28]:
I think of you as an alpha. But nonetheless, it’s good fun to pick on generations. So that was Yanni. So let’s talk about the next five.
Hannah Dennis [00:04:35]:
So the next one we have Rachel Richards. She’s from season four. And the category was passive income, which anytime we Put anything out about passive income. People are interested in it, definitely.
Eric Brotman [00:04:45]:
And Rachel wrote several books. She was, she is an author and a. Just a neat, neat human being who I thoroughly enjoyed having on the show. So hopefully, hopefully you’ll check out Rachel’s episode too.
Hannah Dennis [00:04:57]:
Next, for number seven, and again, these aren’t in any particular order. We have Emily Guy Birkin. She’s from season four. And you guys discussed gamifying your budget.
Eric Brotman [00:05:06]:
Yeah, Emily and Joe Saul Sei, who is also on this list, co wrote a book called Stacked, which is really funny and it’s a great look at money. And Emily was talking about the ways that we gamify a budget to make it, to make it a little more palatable. And I of course, refer to, on the show, I refer to budget as the B word. Nobody likes it. But Emily Guy Bergen did a great job with that and her book is so good. They did such a great job together that I can’t think of it highly enough.
Hannah Dennis [00:05:36]:
The next one we have is number eight, Rob Berger from season two. And you guys talked about seven reasons to never, ever, ever retire.
Eric Brotman [00:05:43]:
Never, ever, ever. Well, and here’s the thing. Rob also wrote a great book and it’s called Retire before Mom and dad. Oh. Which is such a cool concept. And I think he actually did that. And Rob’s just a neat guy. And Rob was actually instrumental in helping me get involved years ago with Forbes.com and doing some writing.
Eric Brotman [00:06:01]:
And Rob has been a, a real ally for our show and for our firm. And, and his book is excellent and I encourage folks to check it out. Yeah.
Hannah Dennis [00:06:10]:
Next we have Joe Saul sehi from season four, episode 12. He’s, he’s been on other episodes as well. But you guys talked about smart financial moves.
Eric Brotman [00:06:18]:
Yeah, Joe’s great. I mean, Joe is, he is the definition of edutainment.
Hannah Dennis [00:06:25]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:06:25]:
You know, you can learn something and have some fun while you do it. And he was toward the end of season four. And then, you know, we’re going to talk in a minute about video. He was the first video we ever did. So in the same way that Robin Costello was our first audio guest, Joe took a flyer on us when we switched to video. But I, but I digress. Let’s get to number 10 and then we’ll talk about some webinars.
Hannah Dennis [00:06:45]:
All right, number 10, we’ve got Dan Crosby for. He was on in season four and he was a psychologist in, in behavioral finance.
Eric Brotman [00:06:53]:
Yeah. Daniel Crosby is, I think, the preeminent scholar on behavioral finance, which is the. Why. Why do we do the things we do? You know, why do we make the decisions we make, whether it’s at a casino or at a restaurant or just in our. In our paying our household bills. And he has written multiple books on the subject. If there’s a trend, it’s that a lot of our best guests are authors and have a story to share so that there’s information, but there’s also the personal side of it, which has been so, so good over the years. And Dr.
Eric Brotman [00:07:23]:
Crosby was season four also and did just a terrific job. And so I can’t thank you enough. So those are the top 10 audio episodes. Now, that’s four seasons. So that was close to 100 episodes that we pushed out during that. So top 10 is pretty good stuff. And for all of you who I did name, congratulations. You’re on the Honor Roll.
Eric Brotman [00:07:41]:
And you’ll have to try and keep that up by coming back on the show for sure. So let’s switch to webinars, which I know is something that you hold near and dear, Hannah, because you’ve been sort of quarterbacking that for VFG for many years.
Hannah Dennis [00:07:53]:
Yeah, I love webinars. I feel like we have been working on kind of honing in on the process and making them just better and better each time we do them. So I’ve really been enjoying working on the webinars. Downsizing. In ret. Just to go right into it. That has done better than anything. People keep coming back to it.
Hannah Dennis [00:08:15]:
It was one of our earlier webinars. It was before my time, but go ahead and.
Eric Brotman [00:08:20]:
Yeah, no, you know, I talked about Yanni Niebuhr in the audio only this one’s going to be equally challenging because Cody Niedermeyer, another one of our advisors, four of the five webinars that we wound up choosing as the most popular, the most impactful, and the most successful for the Honor Roll involve Cody.
Hannah Dennis [00:08:37]:
Yeah, he’s great.
Eric Brotman [00:08:38]:
Apparently he should be doing these and I shouldn’t. So I. One less job around here. But yes, downsizing in retirement, the idea of should you stay or should you go? Do you. Do you look at a condo? Do you. Do you downsize? Your home is so emotional because your home is your nest, and it’s such a difficult thing. So let’s talk about the others, because Cody was in the first four, which is unbelievable. Yeah.
Hannah Dennis [00:09:00]:
The next one that did really well is the webinar titled are you ready to retire? So people kind of questioning, is it even time yet?
Eric Brotman [00:09:08]:
It’s never time. No one should retire. No, that’s not true. No one should retire in the traditional sense, as you well know. And being financially independent is a terrific goal. And Cody did a great job of breaking down whether you are in fact financially independent.
Hannah Dennis [00:09:22]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:09:23]:
And I think the reason why this was so successful was that a lot of people want to know, can I, can I even think about this? You know, and when we did the Season 7 kickoff of, of don’t retire graduate and we had Jeremy Kyle on and he was writing a book called retire today. I mean, this whole idea that you’re more prepared for it than maybe you think is great because we’re constantly told it’s impossible. It’s impossible. It’s not impossible. It’s hard. It’s hard. You have to make decisions, but it’s not impossible. So the third one was also a big hit and Cody had a co host and it wasn’t me.
Hannah Dennis [00:09:58]:
Oh, it was Lena, our former president, now CEO of Brotman Financial Group. And that was titled understanding your employee benefits, which is always a tricky topic.
Eric Brotman [00:10:09]:
It is. And one of the things that we’ve done is we’ve created financial wellness programs for companies and for nonprofits and tried to help people understand how to use their employee benefits. You know, people get their new welcome kit, you’re a new employee, and they get this hundred page manual and they’re told, hey, I need this back by Friday. That’s hard. And especially for young people with your first job, what in the world do you do? And HR departments aren’t allowed to tell you a whole lot. And the vendors who work for the 401k or work for the insurance company, they’re going to tend to push what they know the best, which is their angle. So understanding employee benefits. There’s so many employee benefits that go underutilized or unused entirely.
Eric Brotman [00:10:53]:
And Lena and Cody did a great job of breaking some of those down. So, Cody, you know, I’m tired of hearing your name, sir, but we did get a fourth one and it was all you.
Hannah Dennis [00:11:02]:
Yeah, Fourth one was practice makes perfect. That was also Cody.
Eric Brotman [00:11:06]:
That was fun.
Hannah Dennis [00:11:07]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:11:08]:
That was where we talked about practicing retirement. Like, what would it really be like? You know, I tell a lot of people who think they’re ready for retirement to take three or six months off. Now, I realize not everybody can do that based on your job or what have you, but if you can take three months off, take six months off and see how you do, I would be bored out of my mind in 15 days. Like, I can’t retire. I don’t know what I would do with myself, it would be a disaster. But practice makes perfect. Very cool episode. And Cody, I can’t let you have five for five.
Eric Brotman [00:11:37]:
So the most recent one was just this past Halloween. It was a ton of fun.
Hannah Dennis [00:11:41]:
Yeah, this one was my personal favorite. Sorry, Cody, but this one’s my favorite on the list we have here. It’s Estate Planning Nightmares. And it was a lot of fun. We themed it around Halloween and. Go ahead.
Eric Brotman [00:11:52]:
Well, and we talked about Amanda Plant was the co host. She’s an attorney in the D.C. metro, working in in Maryland and Virginia in the District. And we talked about some of those horror stories and it was perfectly themed for Halloween. If you’re into orange and black, it was perfect for that. But those were the top five BFG University webinars. And to check those out, they’re all online@bfguniversity.com correct?
Hannah Dennis [00:12:16]:
Correct.
Eric Brotman [00:12:17]:
Yep. So you can check out all of this content now. Last but definitely not least, since don’t retire. Graduate moved to video. And. And that was a major shift because. Because it really did. It required a different kind of studio, a different kind of setup.
Eric Brotman [00:12:33]:
And for guests, it’s a little bit more daunting, actually. Hannah’s a trained professional at this, but the first time, boy, you’re talking sweaty palms and the whole thing, you know, it’s scary stuff. But we have 10 episodes that we thought were absolutely impactful that we hope folks will check out again. Why don’t you take the first five.
Hannah Dennis [00:12:51]:
Alrighty. First one we have good old Joe. So I’ll see.
Eric Brotman [00:12:54]:
Hi back.
Hannah Dennis [00:12:55]:
Season five, episode one, you guys talked about smart financial moves.
Eric Brotman [00:12:59]:
We did. And some of the things Joe and I have talked about on the show are some of the secrets of financial advisors, the things that financial advisors maybe don’t tell a consumer and what you have to watch out for. And so some of the smart financial moves are understanding the game before you try to play it. And it was such fun to be on video with Joe. You know, I have had the chance to guest on his show a number of times. And Stacking Benjamin’s is such a good show. They do such a great job. And so it was nice of him to come and be a part of that.
Hannah Dennis [00:13:30]:
Number two, we have Bobby Rebel from season five, episode 13. And you guys talked about money, conversations we should be having, which is a great topic.
Eric Brotman [00:13:40]:
It is. And Bobby’s great. I mean, I absolutely, at one point I actually pitched the idea of writing a book with her because I love to write and she’s so talented, and I think she’s got her own full plate. So, Bobby, I forgive you for saying, no, let’s do that, but it was so good to have you on the show. I would have you back anytime, any day to talk about these things. She just really breaks things down in a way that consumers specifically can understand. She just does a really good job with that.
Hannah Dennis [00:14:08]:
This next episode, I really like the topic because I think it’s a. It’s niche, but it needs to be talked about. It’s Barbara Sloan and you guys talked about. The topic was Tipped, which is bringing service industry employees into the personal finance conversation. Kind of talking about that. Yeah, finance is for everybody.
Eric Brotman [00:14:27]:
Finance is for everybody. And people who don’t get W2s, people who don’t have a straight salary, people who don’t. Who are either commissionable or who work on tips, which is the. The focus of her book. She actually wrote a book called Tipped, and it’s terrific. I. I will warn you, it’s not for kids because it talks about lots of different kinds of industries. But.
Eric Brotman [00:14:47]:
But nonetheless, it is. It is really well done, and it breaks down the things that you have to do differently. If some of your income is coming in cash at the end of the night when. When the drawer gets cashed out. You know what I mean? It’s a. It’s a different kind of thing.
Hannah Dennis [00:15:01]:
Number four, we have Ma snack. You guys talked about knowing your numbers and unlocking your best life.
Eric Brotman [00:15:07]:
So Ma is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She’s in Edmonton, Alberta, where I’ve never set foot but. But am threatening to go to a hockey game there someday. And she is. She’s a financial confidence coach. And she just does such a good job of explaining. Again, so many of our guests do such a good job of explaining complicated things in a way that people can really. Can really grapple with.
Eric Brotman [00:15:31]:
And she put together a workbook that I think is terrific. And of course, you know, DRG is a workbook, too, But I really like the way she did it. And it was a way to really gauge yourself on how adept are you at personal finance and how confident are you? Because confidence matters. Now, you don’t want to be cocky, but confidence matters. And Marika was great. I would have her on again in two seconds flat.
Hannah Dennis [00:15:56]:
All right, last for me, number five is Hassan Thomas. You guys talked about college to Covid to recession, navigating finances in changing times.
Eric Brotman [00:16:07]:
Hassan’s a rock star. We met at. We met at one of the. At one of the Many conferences for podcasters. I think we met at fincon at some point. He has a presence about him, like, you know, when he walks into the room, partly because he dresses a little more. More flamboyantly than I do, but. But he has written books and he’s done a lot of speaking, and he’s talking to a lot of underserved communities and does such a good job, especially with young people.
Eric Brotman [00:16:33]:
Man, I think I’m twice his age. But nonetheless, he. He does such a good job of speaking to young people. And it.
Hannah Dennis [00:16:38]:
It.
Eric Brotman [00:16:38]:
And for him to talk about coming out of school during the pandemic and then. And then immediately going into some tough financial conditions. I mean, when I came out of school, things were pretty rosy. The mid-90s were pretty easy. All things considered for him, this was very, very different. And he tells a very personal story, which I hope folks will check out. So I get to do the last five.
Hannah Dennis [00:17:00]:
You do.
Eric Brotman [00:17:01]:
All right. More favorite people. Chelsea Williams, who is known as the Money Whisperer. And I was on her show and she was nice enough to be on Don’t Retire, Graduate. And she’s funny. She’s also just so. Right.
Hannah Dennis [00:17:15]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:17:16]:
You know, you meet people and you’re like, ah, she has a lot to say. And she talks about empowering women to master money. And, you know, you don’t have to speak money differently necessarily to women. And it would be foolish for me to try. It would sound disingenuous, but there are. There are definitely nuances, for lots of reasons about the way women, sometimes girls grow up believing they’re not good at math. And by the way, financial planning is middle school math. This isn’t calculus.
Eric Brotman [00:17:47]:
It’s not. It’s not calculus. But, you know, there’s personal. There’s personal effects to it and so forth. But. But she does a great job. She calls herself the Money Whisperer. I totally encourage you to check out her episode.
Eric Brotman [00:17:58]:
And she had some fun with me on her show. Good episode it is. But on her episode, I accidentally swore. I know it’s supposed to be a clean show. I swear it was a complete accident. And I think she aired it anyway, so thanks a lot, Chelsea. I appreciate you. Number seven was Matt Paradise.
Hannah Dennis [00:18:17]:
Love this episode.
Eric Brotman [00:18:18]:
Holy cow. Matt is. Is just a. He’s a superhuman being. And he. He did. He shared his story. I mean, and his story is.
Eric Brotman [00:18:27]:
It’s heavy.
Hannah Dennis [00:18:27]:
Incredible.
Eric Brotman [00:18:28]:
It’s heavy. And he talked about going from a homeless teenager to being a millionaire. And he talks about hope and resilience and financial wellness. All things that resonate with, I think, everybody but his story. I mean, it was hard for me to even keep it together during the conversation because it was so intense. And, you know, you hear stories like that sometimes and people who’ve really overcome.
Hannah Dennis [00:18:53]:
Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:18:53]:
Some really hard stuff. And Matt was. Was good enough to share that story. And he’s a speaker and an author and podcast host, but he. He knows how to tell his story in a way that. That makes people. It moves people. Yeah.
Eric Brotman [00:19:07]:
Which is really good. Number eight was Jude Wilson. Now, Jude Wilson, this was another one of those generational kind of things we talked about. Henry’s. For those of you who don’t know what a Henry is, it stands for high earner, not rich yet.
Hannah Dennis [00:19:20]:
You should have asked me. That’s a financial question. I should. I knew the answer to.
Eric Brotman [00:19:23]:
Well, I’m very glad to hear that you. It only took four years, but you got it down. A lot of that good stuff. But. But we talked a lot about what it’s like to be young and hungry and making a living, but facing taxes and facing the headwinds. And, you know, I. I’ve said on the show I don’t know how many times that it’s easier to stay wealthy than to get wealthy. And he talks to people about how do we get there, how do we break.
Eric Brotman [00:19:48]:
Break through that. Which is. Which is amazing. Number nine was Jasper Smith, another phenomenal speaker and another really good storyteller. And he talks about generational poverty and really the ways in which you can break a cycle and the ways in which families, you know, it takes a village to raise a child. The ways in which families can overcome, again, some very tough circumstances. He does such a good job of breaking that down and things that, you know, I’m blessed to not think about a whole lot. So it’s.
Eric Brotman [00:20:19]:
It’s nice to get that perspective. And Jude, Jasper was a great guest. And then last but not least, I swear, you’re not least was Tara Rudo.
Hannah Dennis [00:20:26]:
I love Tara.
Eric Brotman [00:20:27]:
Tara. Totally different. This was a completely different take on. On our. On our show. And she talked about downsizing, but not necessarily selling the house, but getting rid of the stuff. You know, whether it’s because somebody’s passed away or whether it’s because you’ve accidentally become a hoarder in your 40 years in the house. And she talks about not only some of the treasure troves that have been uncovered in people’s homes, which is amazing, but also the emotional side of parting with things that feel like part of your story and part of Your history.
Eric Brotman [00:20:58]:
And so Tara, she was great, and she runs a business around that. So, you know, it was something that I felt incredibly compelled to support, but she just did a great job. So there you have it, our honor roll. We’ll have to do this again in a couple years, but season seven is underway every other Thursday. Don’t retire. Graduate has a. A guested episode of the podcast. And Hannah and I, or sometimes Hannah and I, are going to be here with diary episodes every other Thursday on the alternating weeks for bfg.
Eric Brotman [00:21:32]:
Our next conversation, we’re actually bringing Sarah lose in. Yes, we’re going to talk about side hustles, which is going to be a ton of fun. Sarah’s been a not only a champion for BFG and a dear friend and a huge help to our podcast over the years, but she also turned a side hustle into a business in a way that I think is. Is a really cool story. So incredible. So she’ll be here two weeks from today. Hannah, you know, you’re great to work with. I appreciate you.
Hannah Dennis [00:21:56]:
I love it. I love it here. I’m getting used to it.
Eric Brotman [00:21:59]:
Well, you know, if I told you this when we were on for the first time, I said, eventually we’re going to co host something. And here we’re getting closer. We’re getting closer. She. She has decided it’s going to be called the Hannah Dennis show. And I’m going to be just sort of the sidekick. Exactly. That’s a little hurtful, but.
Eric Brotman [00:22:14]:
But that’s fine. I think that’s the way it works. I would like to thank everybody for watching today. I hope you’ll check out these episodes. You know, it took us some time to cultivate this, but over seven years, we’ve come up with some really good content, some amazing stories, met some very cool people. And so we will be pushing these out in the weeks to come so that you can check them out again. But please also subscribe and check out our new episodes because you know, we’re getting better at this. None of us were professional broadcasters.
Eric Brotman [00:22:41]:
I certainly was not a professional podcast host, webinar host, any of those things. We’re learning as we go. We’re making all new mistakes, so don’t miss those. That’ll be good fun, too. If you enjoy our webinar and our diary program, please subscribe so we can continue to be part of your journey to financial freedom. And we’ll be back in two weeks with the next entry in our diary with Sarah. Can’t wait for that. For more content, free resources.
Eric Brotman [00:23:06]:
And to check out this whole list, go to bfguniversity.com and we encourage you to check out the Don’t Retire Graduate podcast every other week. And thanks for joining us. This has been fun. We should do this again.
Hannah Dennis [00:23:17]:
Yes, for sure.
Eric Brotman [00:23:18]:
Thanks everybody.
Hannah Dennis [00:23:19]:
Take care.
Eric Brotman [00:23:23]:
Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, llc. Kestra is member finra SIPC Investment Advisory Services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, llc. Kestra, as an affiliate of Castra is is Kestra IS or Kestra as are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.