Money has a way of exposing parts of us we’d rather not see, and as Ed Coambs, CFP, CFT makes clear in this conversation, wealth doesn’t protect us from that. Together, Rick and Ed unpack why money anxiety grows right alongside income, how attachment styles quietly shape our financial decisions, and why couples keep having the same money fights no matter how smart or successful they are. Through personal stories and hard-earned insight, they reveal the uncomfortable true story behind money stress—it’s rarely about spreadsheets and strategies, and almost always about safety, shame, connection, and the emotional wiring we bring into every financial choice.
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The Emotional Wiring Behind Every Money Decision with Ed Coambs
About Ed Coambs
Ed Coambs is a Certified Financial Planner™, couples therapist, and financial therapist with over two decades of experience helping individuals and couples transform their financial lives. His path into this work has been anything but traditional.
He began his career as a firefighter, where he witnessed firsthand how financial communication could either strengthen or strain relationships. He later transitioned into financial planning, earning his MBA and CFP® certification with a goal of helping people build financial stability and confidence. Early in that career, he recognized that technical expertise alone wasn’t enough—money is deeply connected to emotions, relationships, and unspoken beliefs.
That realization led him into a second career in therapy, where he immersed himself in relational science, couples counseling, and trauma healing. There, he encountered a similar gap: little attention was being given to how couples navigate their relationship with money.
In response, Ed worked to bridge financial planning and therapy, earning a third master’s degree and contributing to the development of the Certified Financial Therapist designation. As a leader within the Financial Therapy Association and recipient of the Practitioner of the Year award, he has spent more than a decade refining this integrative approach.
Today, he brings this combined expertise to his work, helping couples rewrite their financial stories and build stronger, more connected relationships. He is the creator of Healthy Love and Money, a platform designed to help couples significantly improve their financial lives by fostering honest, meaningful conversations about money—conversations that ultimately strengthen both their relationship and their future.
About Rick Kahler:
Rick Kahler, MSFP, CFP® , CFT™, CeFT® , Certified Internal Financial Systems™ Financial Therapy Practitioner, president of Kahler Financial Group, is a lifelong resident of Rapid City, SD. He began his professional career in 1973 selling and appraising real estate He founded Kahler Financial Group in 1981. He became the first fee-only Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP ® ) in South Dakota in 1983. In 2020 he became one of the first Certified Financial Therapist (CFT™,) in the nation.
His firm, specializes in the integration of investment advising, financial planning, financial coaching, and financial therapy, serving small business and real estate owners, professionals, and retirees, as well as individuals and families.
He served on and chaired the South Dakota Investment Council and served in leadership capacities with the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Financial Planning Advisors. Kahler is also a nationally renowned speaker and educator. In 2003, National American University recognized Mr. Kahler with the Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
Interested in working with Rick Kahler, MSFP, CFP®, CFT™, CeFT®, Certified Internal Financial Systems™ Financial Therapy Practitioner? Please go to our website, Book a Financial Therapist Appointment and fill out a request for a 30-minute free consultation.
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A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive making them.
