134: What Therapists Were Never Taught About Money With Randall Avery

In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky talks with Randall Avery, CFP and owner of Deasil Wealth Management, about the part of private practice ownership most clinicians were never trained for: money. Randall built his career in corporate financial planning, but it wasn't until a therapist friend described the impact of her work that he found the "soul" missing from the numbers. His central reframe for the conversation: every practice owner is quietly running two sets of books, business and personal, and most therapists have only ever been taught to ignore both. Together, they work through what it actually looks like to build financial competence without shame. Randall walks through the natural progression from spreadsheets to QuickBooks to a bookkeeper, breaks down the retirement account ladder (SEP IRA, solo 401K, SIMPLE IRA), and shares his rule of thumb for cash cushions. Underneath the mechanics, Sindee and Randall keep returning to the emotional core: the shame clinicians carry around money, the training that told them profit shouldn't matter, and how staying "on offense" rather than reactive can quiet a lot of that anxiety before it starts.   00:48 - Meet Randall Avery  03:05 - Finding the "Soul" in Financial Planning  05:30 - Running Two Sets of Books  06:22 - Building Business Equity Through Systems  09:10 - The Belief That Keeps Clinicians Stuck  11:15 - Nobody Cares What You Know Until They Know You Care  14:53 - Know Your Numbers: Budgeting Basics  15:53 - Where Taxes and Reinvestment Fit In  18:01 - From Spreadsheets to QuickBooks to a Bookkeeper  20:08 - SEP IRA, Solo 401K, and SIMPLE IRA Explained  27:25 - Building Your Cash Cushion  28:29 - Taking Care of Employees Financially  32:51 - Playing Offense Instead of Reacting  37:01 - Signs You're Ready for a Financial Planner  39:00 - What to Look for in a Fee-Only Fiduciary  40:20 - Actionable First Steps This Week  42:22 - Talking Money With a Partner Without Judgment  45:43 - Where to Find Randall Check out Berries: Berries Referral Link: heyberries.com/?via=heart-centered Discount code: Sindee50 for $50 off your first month   Shop Mental Health Threads: https://mentalhealththreads.etsy.com   Connect with Randall Avery:   Website: https://deasilwm.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randallavery/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rsadeasil50/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Deasilwm  Book: https://deasilwm.com/book/    Connect with Sindee Gozansky: Visit my website: asimpletherapypodcast.com/ Join the Heart-Centered Therapist Community FB group: facebook.com/groups/478651669638167 Instagram: 
instagram.com/heartcenteredtherapist/ YouTube: youtube.com/@asimpletherapypodcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sindeegozansky/   Want to be a guest on the podcast?  Email Sindee: [email protected]