Don’t go Chasing Bigger Paychecks, with Joel Franks

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Joel Franks. On his daily commute from Westchester to New York City, Joel befriended a man—let’s call him Ben—who seemed to have it all together. Confident and well-dressed, Ben earned close to a million dollars a year, yet he was financially stretched, juggling an expensive lifestyle. That’s when Joel realized financial success isn’t just about income. It’s about behavior.

Joel is the founder of FinWizdom and an adult financial literacy facilitator. He is an accomplished financial content developer, author, educator and trailblazer in applying behavioral finance to connect with an audience. With extensive financial marketing experience in banking, investments and insurance, he offers a unique perspective to financial literacy.

In addition to consulting for financial industry pioneers and giants, he is an adjunct lecturer of Applied Behavioral Finance at NYU and Managerial Decision Making at CUNY. Joel is the host of the FinWizdom podcast series—an exploration of how your emotions influence your ability to manage money. He uses storytelling to explain investment concepts and various psychological biases that impact financial decision-making. Joel is also the award-winning author of Creating Wealth Starts with Financial Health, an international best seller and recipient of the 2024 EIFLE for Adults’ Book of the Year. His mission is to help individuals and organizations recognize behavioral risks and learn how to accommodate, not ignore, them.