<p>Today, our guest on our podcast is Merve Lapus, Western Regional Education Director of Common Sense Media (commonsensemedia.org). I got to know Merve a few years ago, as my school was implementing a digital citizenship program. CSM, goes way beyond from just being a program, to become a trusted resource for schools and parents on all things digital resources and media in education.</p>
<p>Merve and I chat about his rise from humble, but amazing, beginnings to being a director of CSM where he connects with schools all over with digital resources and getting the mindset of being an upstanding (digital) citizen.</p>

040: Hero's Journey and Spark Curiosity

Teaching didn't make us rich. But it made us resilient. And resilient is a foundation.

Our Beautiful Struggle is a personal finance and wealth-building podcast for teachers — especially those in private and independent schools — who started late, have no pension floor, and are figuring it out in real time.

Hosted by Fred J., a 27-year veteran classroom teacher who had under $20,000 saved at age 49. Not because he was careless. Because he was a teacher. He showed up, graded the papers, bought the supplies, and trusted the system — until the system made clear it wasn't thinking about his retirement.

He started rebuilding at 50. This is what he learned.

The show covers the stuff nobody told you in your credential program:
— How 403(b) plans at private and independent schools work 
— Why your HSA is actually a stealth retirement account — and how to use it like one
— How to build your own pension when you don't have a state retirement fund 
— Roth IRAs for late-starting teachers
— Mindset shifts that remove shame and replace it with a plan
— Honest portfolio decisions, real numbers, and public corrections when Fred gets it wrong

This is not a show for teachers who retired at 39 on index funds and extreme discipline. That's a unicorn story. This is for the teacher who's 45, staring at a $12,000 retirement account, juggling a mortgage, aging parents, and student loans — and still showing up every Monday.

You're not behind. You're building differently.

Our Beautiful Struggle. Money without shame. Retirement without panic. A future that feels earned.
Not financial advice. Just honest lessons from someone still in the classroom, still figuring it out, in public — so you don't have to figure it out alone.