Facing Debt Without Shame with Dr. Erika Rasure

Regina McCann Hess | Aug 6, 2025

Main Episode Description:

Welcome back to another edition of Women and Wealth – this week, Regina invites Erika Rasure on the show to explore the dreaded “d” word:

Debt.

It’s something nobody wants to be in – or have to deal with. Add on the shame and social stigma that can come with it, and you have a recipe for a seriously negative experience.

Erika is the Chief Financial Wellness Advisor at Beyond Finance and her life’s work is helping people climb out of debt and build towards financial freedom. Her approach to the behavior and psychology behind money, debt and everything it encompasses – stands in stark contrast to many experts today.

Together, Regina and Erika discuss her background, how she developed her skills in debt remediation, what exactly makes her different and why she does what she does. They also talk about her experiences as a professional woman as well as the struggles they both deal with in expanding financial literacy for everyday people.

Listen To The Episode Here:

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Introduction

0:31 - Episode beginning, meeting Dr. Rasure

3:57 - Shame, lack of education and talking about it

7:30 - How Erika starts with her clients

11:31 - Getting help and the real costs of debt

13:55 - “Figuring out” money

17:09 - Where you can learn more about Erika

17:48 - Struggles Erika faced as a professional woman

21:00 - Erika’s vision of retirement

25:03 - Action item

26:35 - Episode wrap-up

ABOUT REGINA MCCANN HESS

Regina is the author of Super Woman Wealth: How to Become Your Own Financial Hero. As an advocate for women’s financial freedom, she wrote this book to help empower women to take a bigger role in handling their money.

Regina has appeared on Schwab TV, Yahoo Finance, Forbes.com, NTD Television, CBS 3 Philadelphia, Fox 29 Philadelphia, King 5 Seattle, KTLA 5 Los Angeles and Scripps News. She has also been quoted in numerous articles in publications such as Forbes, Business Insider, U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, USA Wire, Word in Black, WTOP News, Mind Body Green, Money Digest, New York Post, Defender, Authority Magazine, GoBankingRates.com, Scripps and The Muse.

As Founder of Forge Wealth Management, Regina utilizes her 25+ years of financial services experience to help individuals plan, preserve and diversify their wealth. She focuses on educating her clients while building long-term relationships with them and their families. Her experience throughout major shifts in the markets, enables Regina to structure balanced portfolios to address specific financial goals.