Dr. Sonya Lutter - Money and Happiness
Dr. Sonya Lutter is a CFP® professional, licensed marriage and family therapist, and researcher. She left academia and higher education administration to serve as the director of research and education at Herbers & Company.
Her research has been featured in news outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Sonya draws upon decades of experience in academia to apply theory to practice. She believes that any single issue is more complex than it initially appears and that a systemic approach will result in the best outcome.
Dr. Lutter won the Best Theoretical research paper award at the national Financial Planning Association meeting two years in a row with her colleagues on topics related to Savers & Spenders and The Financial Implications of Cohabitation. Her developmental work in financial therapy is summarized in Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice with co-editors Drs. Brad Klontz and Kristy Archuleta. Her research for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on The Intergenerational Transfer of Money Attitudes and Behaviors in 2015 was instrumental in moving practical implications forward at the national level.
Dr. Lutter has also been active in promoting financial literacy and financial well-being on college campuses. She has worked with multidisciplinary teams to focus on finances within relationships, food insecurity, and financial behaviors of veterinary and pre-veterinary students. Lutter’s work at the financial counseling centers at Texas Tech University and Kansas State University have guided her effectiveness of financial counseling research agenda, which culminates with a co-edited book with Dr. Dorothy Durband titled, Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development.
Tune in to hear:
- Are various addictive behaviors (e.g. gambling, drug abuse) potentially symptoms of larger societal issues?
- What percentage of people in standard therapy might benefit from a finance-centric therapeutic approach?
- What are some of the most common, or universal, expressions of financial dysfunction that Dr. Lutter sees in her work?
- Are there some cases where having financially dependent adult children is an appropriate course of action because of cultural differences or unique challenges?
- How does Dr. Lutter operationalize happiness?
- The four elements of happiness that Dr. Lutter lays out are heightened in those who work with financial advisors. Do what does she attribute this sizable happiness gap?
- Those who work with financial advisors are shown to have much better communication with their romantic partner or spouse. Why might this be the case?
- High net-worth individuals without financial guidance are less happy than those with financial guidance. Why might this be true?
- What are some of the most counterintuitive or surprising findings Dr. Lutter has encountered over the course of her career?
www.angieherbers.com
https://twitter.com/sonyalutter
Compliance Code: 0482-OAS-3/21/2022