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Rona Birenbaum has been a natural saver from day one. Raised in a middle‑class household, she learned to scrutinize every purchase – a habit that took decades to loosen.
After starting her career working as a multi‑branch manager at a credit union, Rona found sales targets and quotas clashed with the individualized financial planning that clients actually needed. In 2000, she took a major leap, going independent to launch Caring for Clients, a financial planning‑first advisory practice.
In this episode, Rona talks with Brenda about her decades‑long struggle with “saver’s guilt,” how she helps retirees feel secure about spending their hard‑earned money and why she thinks Mary Poppins would be a great financial advisor.