Advisor aims to empower the working class

George Grombacher, the chief community officer at Money Alignment Academy, has dedicated his career to a mission that many in the financial industry overlook: serving those who often fall through the cracks of the financial advisory system.

His aim? Not just to educate but to empower the working class - that 80% who will likely never directly interact with a financial advisor.

"My whole mission is to help people get better at money so they can live how they want," Grombacher tells IN. “Money is such a big part of our lives. Just because we use it all the time doesn’t mean we use it well.”

As an author of five books at this point and a host of two podcasts, Grombacher is well versed on training other financial advisors. These diverse mediums form the bedrock of his strategy to reach and influence a million people. Through these channels, he believes reaching a million people over the next 10 years is not just a target but an achievable milestone. For Grombacher, these beliefs emanate from his own personal philosophy – to bridge that imposing gap between financial literacy and financial wellness.

“Literacy is what you know, wellness is what you do. The work is closing that behavior gap. There’s a world littered with educated derelicts—people who know a lot but can't put it into practice.” 

Grombacher emphasizes the basics—debt reduction and savings—as foundational steps toward financial health. He also lauds figures like Dave Ramsey for tackling the root causes of financial instability.

“Until people can stop living paycheck to paycheck and start saving money, the rest doesn't matter," he says. Core values like confidence, community, and intentionality are central to Grombacher’s teachings.

“Confidence comes from proving to yourself that you can handle financial tasks, like managing cash flow or getting out of debt," he explains. The sense of achievement that comes from small financial victories can fuel larger successes and build a robust foundation for financial wellness. 

Community support is another pillar of Grombacher's approach.

"Life is the sum of our interactions with other people," he says. "Finding people who have achieved what you want to achieve and who can offer support is invaluable. You have to know what you want out of life to make deliberate steps towards it.”

And, addressing misconceptions about financial wellness, Grombacher is candid about the pervasive belief that financial success is out of reach for many.

“A lot of us think that financial success is for other people," he laments. "We are all worthy and deserving of financial success, but we're not entitled to it. It requires effort and intention.”

Grombacher also delves into the psychological aspects of financial behavior, recognizing that many financial habits and beliefs are ingrained from a young age. He shares his personal experiences, growing up in a single-parent household where money was a constant source of stress.

“[Why] did I spend my 20s living paycheck to paycheck? I was working in personal finance. Why did I keep getting in and out of credit card debt? Why did I not pay attention to finance? Why did I never budget? And it was because I was raised by a single parent. There was never enough money to go around. Once a month, my mom would pay bills and that meant we would literally spread out all of our monthly bills on our dining room table.”

It was these was a stressful time that actually inadvertently led to Grombacher’s own personal relationship with money – especially around limiting self-belief.

“The good news is once you identify belief, you can go about changing it to a positive belief,” he says. “That's one of our superpowers. We get to choose voice. I get to choose how I think, feel and respond to circumstances in life. I get to choose how I feel about money. I get to choose what my identity and future is going to be like.

“Once you have that, it’s a very empowering thing that can help us move forward in all positive manner.”