
On the Embassy Wealth Podcast we interview members of the foreign affairs community to see how they’re building wealth both personally and financially, no matter where they’re posted. The views expressed on this podcast are only those of the individuals featured on the show and do not in any way reflect the official policy of the United States government.
Episodes

Thursday Jan 26, 2023
Is Your Relationship with Money Holding You Back? with Sherrette Garate-Estes
Thursday Jan 26, 2023
Thursday Jan 26, 2023
The Embassy Wealth Podcast is kicking off the new 2023 season with our favorite topic: money! On this episode, certified Trauma of Money coach and financial wellness practitioner, Sherrette Garate-Estes challenges us to dig deep for an introspective look at our relationship with money.
Do you overspend when you shouldn’t? Hoard money? Avoid looking at bills? Overwork because you feel stressed there won’t be enough money? Or maybe you are overly conservative and feel you should invest but have never taken any steps to study investments because you feel blocked or intimidated?
Join us for this fascinating discussion into the field of money trauma and how money events, especially negative ones experienced early in life, can continue to impact how we manage our finances even years after the event has passed. Learn how you can identify and remove these hidden mental and psychological obstacles to clear your path to financial wellness and success.
Hear Sherrette discuss:
- What is financial trauma and how it shows up in our lives
- The three money disorders that hold people back
- What is a healthy relationship with money?
- How examining your money story and relationship with money can clear your path to greater financial wellness and success
- How cultural and family programming plays a large role in how we perceive money and our relationship to it
…and so much more!
Sherrette is a certified Trauma of Money coach, financial wellness practitioner, host of the Disability Adjacent podcast, Sign Language Interpreter, and Child of Deaf Parents. Her current work is focused on people who are adjacent to a person with a disability and how to heal the financial trauma that often comes with those experiences.
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Dec 22, 2022
How to Have an Amazing 2023! with Acquania Escarne
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Financial coach and planner extraordinaire Acquania Escarne returns to the podcast to explain how listeners can begin organizing and planning to reach their goals in 2023! Having a clear picture about where you want to be starts with a solid plan: as we finish up 2022, it’s a great time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year, and think about what you’d like to achieve in 2023. Sitting down with a pen and paper to map out your goals takes time, but, as we learn from Acquania, breaking down the big picture to smaller steps you can scale will put you on the right track to making 2023 an amazing year!
Hear Acquania discuss:
- How to set “smart goals” that are measurable and obtainable
- Accomplishing long-term goals
- Why telling others about your goals holds you accountable to actually achieving them
- Modifying your goals so that they realistically fit your lifestyle (and budget!)
…and so much more!
Acquania Escarne began her diplomatic career in 2008. Today, she is also a financial coach, hotel owner, podcast host, and life insurance producer who is committed to helping people find financial freedom and build wealth. Learn more about how you can build generational wealth one dollar at a time with Acquania Escarne at https://thepurposeofmoney.com/
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Dec 08, 2022
“Retiring” from the Foreign Service at Age 50 with Nate Carter
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Nate Carter returns to the Embassy Wealth podcast to discuss life one year after retiring from the Foreign Service at the young age of 50! While this might seem like an impossible feat, Nate successfully transitioned and has had an amazing first year post-FS: consulting for foreign governments, adding more investment properties to his portfolio, starting new business ventures, and - most importantly - finding more time to be with his family and enjoy all of his hobbies. Proper planning by cutting expenses and putting money aside can lead to a successful retirement that can go the distance, even if you exercise that option at 50!
Hear Nate discuss:
- Leaving the Foreign Service after being overseas for nearly 20 years
- Using your retirement as an open door for new opportunities
- Leveraging your Foreign Service network post-retirement
- What it feels like to not report to work every day or get a steady paycheck
- Tips for how you can begin planning for your own successful retirement
…and so much more!
Check out Nate’s book “Become Loaded for Life: Financial Independence, Retiring Early, Maximizing Happiness” here: https://tinyurl.com/43pnmspj
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Preparing For Retirement with Abraham Grungold
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Preparing for retirement doesn’t need to be scary. After 36 years as a federal employee with multiple federal government agencies, Abraham Grungold retired with a hefty sum in his Thrift Savings Plan and a passion for helping other retiring federal employees. In this episode, Abe shares the key to a successful retirement and how one can continue their career while still receiving social security. Receiving a 20+ page retirement package to complete sounds daunting, but with the right advice and guidance, you can confidently make plans that will have a positive impact on your future retirement.
Hear Abraham discuss:
- The ideal time for a federal employee to retire to get the most out of retirement
- Working after retirement and how it can affect your social security (and some tips on how to make sure any income doesn’t negatively affect your retirement income)
- How you can retire happy - even if you aren’t a TSP multi-millionaire
…and so much more!
You can contact Abraham Grungold and read his blog posts here: https://grungold.com/
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Managing Your Home While Overseas with Stephanie Toler
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Stephanie Toler is the CEO of Nest, a property management company servicing DC. With over 1,400 homes under management and 40+ employees, Nest handles all of the headaches that come with property management – from tenant placement to maintenance requests to organizing property upgrades and other make-ready services. Being a landlord isn’t easy anywhere, but D.C. can be especially complex due to its landlord-tenant laws and city regulations. Hear Stephanie’s advice for those who choose to self-manage in the city and how important it is to find the right property manager.
Hear Stephanie discuss:
- Maintaining single family homes versus condos
- Getting your home ready to rent prior to going overseas
- Tips for those self-managing their rentals
…and so much more!
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Writing & Publishing a Travel Guide with Tim Tranchilla
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
With a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction Writing from The New School in New York City and an interest in travel, Tim Tranchilla’s three year assignment in Tel Aviv inspired him to write his guidebook, the Bucket! Guide to the Holy Land: A DIY Travel Planner to Create a Bucket List-Filled Dream Trip to Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and the Egyptian Sinai. Tim shares his journey of self-publishing and marketing his guidebook while living in a paperless, e-book world and the costs of being an independent author. With several five star reviews, the Bucket! series is just getting started.
Hear Tim discuss:
- How he made time to work on his guidebook while working full-time
- Whether you should self-publish or get a publisher
- Why publishing a physical travel guide was a bold choice in a sea of e-books
- The costs of publishing a book as an independent author
…and so much more!
You can purchase your copy of Bucket! Guide to the Holy Land here: https://tinyurl.com/2tz8dkms
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Part II: From Foreign Service Officer to Franchise Owner with Tanya Salseth
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
In this second part of a two part series, Tanya dives deeper into her decision to leave the Foreign Service and blaze her own path in the world of real estate. After being a solo agent for several years, Tanya discusses her experience going from single agent to team leader of Stateside Residential, a real estate team serving the DC area, as well as her most recent journey into launching a property management franchise.
Hear Tanya discuss:
- Considerations when deciding to leave the Foreign Service
- Following your inner compass when it comes to work
- Pivoting from real estate investing to buying a business
- Why franchises can be an attractive way to become a business owner
- How to purchase a franchise, the process, and what to look for
…and so much more!
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Part I: From Foreign Service Officer to Real Estate CEO with Tanya Salseth
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Time to meet the host! In this episode, Tanya Salseth shares how she went from working for the U.S. government to full-time real estate investor and agent serving the diplomatic community. Investing in real estate isn’t always pretty and can be scary, but once you learn the market and how to make the numbers work, the money will start to work for you. Tanya now owns 20 doors across the DC area, is a team lead for a real estate group of five agents, and isn’t done yet. Stay tuned for part II to see what Tanya has in store next!
Hear Tanya discuss:
- Buying her first property while overseas
- Leaving the Foreign Service
- Selling 6-7 homes from abroad
- The joys of being a self-managing landlord
- Renting vs buying in the DC area
…and so much more!
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom with Sam Dogen
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Sam Dogen, author of the instant Wall Street Journal bestseller “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom,” grew up thinking about money. After spending his childhood as a Foreign Service kid at posts around Asia, he studied economics at William & Mary, and then took a job working at Goldman Sachs, where he dived head first into the world of finance. In the midst of the 2009 global financial crisis, Sam started his blog “Financial Samurai,” which shared his personal wealth story and financial advice so others could achieve their own financial freedom. After 2.5 years of blogging, Sam was able to leave his corporate job to be a full-time blogger. Financial Samurai now receives over one million visitors a month, and Sam has engineered a life where he works with who he wants to, where he wants to, when he wants to. “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom” spells out his formulas for how to determine what to buy, how much to spend, and how to get the most out of your paycheck to build your path to financial freedom.
Hear Sam discuss:
- Where one should invest their money
- How to maximize wealth building
- Starting a blog that could eventually become your full-time job
…and so much more!
You can purchase “Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom” on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/4xtv67k4
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers

Thursday Sep 01, 2022
From Diplomat to Dedicated Politician with Patrick Branco
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
After 8 years and multiple tours in the Foreign Service, Patrick Branco left the Department to run for public office. He immediately entered the race for Hawaii State Representative for District 50 (Kailua & Kāne‘ohe Bay) and found himself campaigning during COVID-19, running vaccination centers, and knocking on nearly four thousand doors while wearing a lei and a mask to show the dedication he had to his community. Hear Patrick’s story about his journey post-Foreign Service, including his recent run for U.S. Congress (Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district) and how he has used the skills he gained as a diplomat in his next chapter as a politician.
Hear Patrick discuss:
- Transitioning out of the Foreign Service into a new field
- The process of going from underdog to Hawaii State Representative for District 50
- Running a political campaign during COVID-19
- How he used skills from his time in the Foreign Service as an advantage in his political career
…and so much more!
Music: “Higher Up” by Shane Ivers