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In Part 1 of our “Ask The Instructor” series, you met Dr. Cynthia (Thia) Crawford. Today, we want to introduce Lea Satterfield, MBA!

Lea is the Founder and CEO of MPower Co and instructor of our online financial course MPowered Couple. Lea is excited for the future of MPower Co and how the business, whether through its courses or coaching, can help you on your way to financial security. 

Lea loves storytelling and education. She completed her undergraduate with an emphasis in Personal Financial Planning—a degree not many know exists. The core courses are investment strategies, retirement planning, insurance, employee benefits, and more. 

While most of her career has been in the financial regulation field, she did work in insurance for a few years prior. In her career, she has witnessed the power of financial education and how having even a small amount of education in the field can put you leaps and bounds ahead of the curve. Because Lea has a young family and has just experienced combining finances, her first course offering is MPowered Couple. 

Here are a few questions to help you get to know Lea a little better.

How did you come up with the idea of MPower Co?

I love asking questions. One day I was with my nephew who was about 11 at the time and I asked him, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I was corrected by my husband who told me, “That’s not what you should ask anymore. Now the question is, what problem do you want to fix when you grow up?”

I was shocked. What a great question that I even needed to answer for myself.

My educational background is in personal finance. I personally am very confident in talking about money and finance, evidenced by candid and open conversations I have with my husband and other immediate friends and family. My husband and I regularly talk very openly about our goals and how we want to use our money to support our values. In my work history, I have witnessed firsthand how unsure people are about making financial decisions to the point that they fail to do anything, even when something would be better than nothing. I have seen how money has ruined so many important relationships (partners, parent/child, sibling).

I realized that if I could educate others so that they make good financial decisions over being paralyzed and helped people strengthen their relationships with others, I would feel like I had truly helped fix a problem.

couples financial planning coach Lea Satterfield

How would you describe your teaching style?

I am a facilitator. In my course(s), you will find that I facilitate your independent thinking about what is important to you. I will provide you with factual information based on the principles of personal finance in order to arm you as you make your decisions. 

However, at the end of the day, it is most important to me that you choose what is right for you and your independent situation.

What has been your biggest financial milestone?

I would say that working with my husband to get on the same page financially and stay on the same page financially has been my biggest financial milestone. 

When we met, our financial pictures and the way we managed money were very different. He had debt; I did not. He used credit cards; I used them very sparingly. I had retirement savings; he had none. The one thing we had in common was that we both worked hard to live within our means. 

It has taken a lot of communication, re-planning, and alternating roles within how we manage finances, but since we combined finances, we have managed to work together to make sure we continue to make our family more financially secure.

couple hugging together at the computer

Why is MPowered Couple important to you?

In a study conducted by a brokerage firm, 41% of divorced Gen Xers and 29% of Boomers say they ended their marriage due to disagreements about money. Societal pressure to keep up with the Jones’, increasing debt amounts, etc., are real issues couples face. 

MPowered Couple is about putting together a framework within a relationship that will combat these issues. It’s about increasing communication and awareness of our partner’s perspective. If we can do this through a financial lens, it’s sure to strengthen and empower couples so that money doesn’t become a core issue in a relationship.

Outside of personal finance, what do you love? 

Well, of course, my family. My husband and two girls are the centers of that and we have extended families that we love as well. 

My parents also instilled a love of travel in me. Before I was out of high school, I traveled to Washington D.C. and New York City without their supervision. Luckily, I found a spouse who loves to travel as well. While we like to relax on vacation, we enjoy actually doing things more, so for our honeymoon, we traveled to Peru and hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. 

We also are avid cooks. We have enjoyed a number of cooking classes, and while we lived in Los Angeles, we often enjoyed having cooking challenges where we would try making new types of food. Now that we are back in the midwest, we have started growing a garden each year and love shopping at the farmer’s market, which we turn into cooking challenges by using foods we don’t typically cook with but are in season. 

You can experience Lea’s passion for purposeful relationships backed by a firm financial foundation in her MPowered Couples course

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