Taboo Money Conversations, with Nick & Amanda Christian

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When Nick Christian was a kid, he always wanted to be a businessman. He didn’t know what that meant, but he enjoyed walking around with his dad’s old briefcase full of Monopoly money and Fruit Roll-Ups. Nick’s father was a businessman who traveled the world, and his grandfather before him. He wanted to be like them. By the time Nick got to college, he had pursued a bachelor’s degree in international business. In his spare time, he was learning as much as he could about the stock market.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professionally, Nick spent most of his career working his way up the ladder in different accounting and finance departments both in the U.S. and abroad—initially as a financial analyst, then as a manager, and most recently as a director of finance and data analytics. Somewhere in the middle, he got itchy feet and took two years to complete an MBA in China.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nick spent both my undergraduate and graduate years learning to analyze financial statements but the dangers of predatory lending from high-interest credit card companies were not part of his consciousness. He was encouraged to work at large corporate banks, but no one ever discussed how these banks were making billions charging overdraft fees that especially prey on the most vulnerable Americans.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amanda Christian dreamed of being a physician since she was a child. She wanted to help people in a meaningful way and pursue her interest in science. Amanda attended the University of Chicago, where she received her bachelor’s degree in biology. Those were challenging years financially, and she needed to be resourceful to stay in school. Amanda participated in the work-study program at the university and obtained Pell Grants for financial support.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During her time in Chicago, she had several odd jobs to make ends meet. Amanda worked full-time in the summers doing researc