Coming Home from Schwab IMPACT: Money Is Never Just Math

I spent the week at Schwab’s IMPACT 2025, and it reaffirmed everything I care about in this work. I want to share a few ideas I’m bringing home from the speakers who stood out.

Amy Florian set the tone for me. She reminded me that money is never just math; it’s love, loss, identity, and transition. Her approach to conversations around widowhood, retirement, and other big life moments pushed me to prepare clients not only for the decision itself, but for the quiet after—when the emotions arrive and the plan needs to feel humane.

Simon Sinek brought me back to purpose. Start with “why,” yes—but return to it when markets get noisy and life gets complicated. That’s how I help clients align cash flow with what they value most. When the plan sounds like their own voice, discipline follows.

Kasley Killam put social health on the main stage. She made a compelling case that connection belongs alongside sleep and nutrition as a pillar of well-being. That clicked for me: relationships are a form of life’s compound interest. I’m weaving more community, routine, and purpose prompts into planning—not as fluff, but as real risk management for a good life.

Greg McKeown’s essentialism was my operational wake-up call. Do fewer things, better. I’m trimming anything that doesn’t serve outcomes: cleaner meeting prep, review notes that highlight “what changed and why it matters,” and ruthlessly clear next steps. Simpler isn’t less; simpler is kinder.

On the market front, Kathy Jones and Liz Ann Sonders offered grounded context I can translate into calm, practical action. Their frameworks help me filter headlines into what matters, what doesn’t, and what to do next—so clients can breathe and stay steady.

Between sessions, I dug into client-experience design, behavioral nudges, and planning tech. I’m coming home with specific upgrades:
• a check-in cadence that matches life’s rhythms,
• dashboards that show progress at a glance,
• wellness resources embedded directly into financial action steps,
• and shorter, clearer communications that respect attention.

Here’s the heart of it: Abaya Wealth Management is built on the belief that wealth includes health—financial, social, mental, and physical. Money is the engine, not the destination. This week didn’t change that; it confirmed it and gave me even better tools to deliver on it.