Meet River Nice

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to River Nice. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

River, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I do feel like my calling, at least currently, is to help trans & queer people navigate personal finance while naming, and hopefully resisting, capitalism and white supremacy. The first step toward this work was helping a member of my chosen family (we were a couple, now we’re close friends, you know how it goes) make a plan to survive the debt she was in. Most of the debt came from her gender transition, and from using credit cards for survival. By the time we were together, she had been trying to get out of debt for a while, but didn’t have nearly enough information or resources to feel in control. I helped her make a realistic budget and debt plan, and do some credit score repair. She’s the one who told me that this is the type of work I should be doing, and I’m very grateful to her for that!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I teach people how to manage their own personal finances, through an anti-capitalist lens. The main thing I offer is my Take Control of Your Money program. It’s a small group that meets with me for 12 weeks, during which I am both teaching and supporting folks in taking action for themselves. We cover topics like budgeting, debt, savings, mutual aid, credit scores, buying property, investing, retirement, insurance, and emergency preparedness. I do my best to include historical and political context for these topics – for example, the US has only had credit scores since the 80s, and they’re pretty clearly designed to make poor people poorer.

I’m running TCYM again starting in April 2025, and again later this summer. I’m particularly proud of how ADHD-friendly the program is, thanks in large part to Ray Todd (they/them) of Render Consulting!

I also sometimes offer one-off workshops on topics like “how to buy a house with your friends” and “how legal marriage can affect your finances.” I announce these workshops via my email newsletter, Instagram, and TikTok!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The first one that comes to mind is emotional resilience. I’m very grateful to the therapists and mindfulness educators I’ve worked with over the past 10+ years. Self-employment is an ongoing emotional rollercoaster, and I wouldn’t still be doing it 6 years later if I didn’t have the tools and skills to ride that rollercoaster!

Similarly, I’d say the skill of asking for help has been crucial. It’s very hard to be vulnerable and admit when I need something. But asking for emotional support from my chosen family, hiring people with different skillsets to help me improve on what I’m doing, and learning from other finance professionals have all been necessary for me to be able to do quality work for my clients. I also wouldn’t be where I am without a couple of key people lending me money at a low interest rate when I needed it to move forward with my business.

And of course having knowledge about finance has been really important, both because it’s literally what I can offer to my clients, but also because I have to manage my own business and personal finances.

I would advise folks to practice asking for help. For me, it’s truly felt like a skill that I’ve had to practice and get better at, and that work is still ongoing. It’s easy for me to get trapped in the mindset that building relationships (romantic, platonic, business – any type) is just about what I can offer to other people, but I also need to offer my vulnerability in asking for help, or else I’m not getting the depth of relationships that I want, and I’m not getting support to be the best version of myself I can be!

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

The people who’ve benefitted the most from my work: 1) have been able to set aside time and energy to work on money most weeks; 2) have built up some emotional awareness and resiliency to be able to engage with money regularly; and 3) have enough financial stability that they’re not forced to panic about whether they can make rent each month.

I wish that I could be of more immediate help to folks who don’t have all of that, but I don’t want to pretend that financial literacy can solve poverty. Learning about budgeting and mortgages doesn’t do very much if you’re not being paid enough to have housing stability and healthcare.

I also would say that anyone who believes capitalism is a good thing, or who thinks white supremacy isn’t real, probably WON’T enjoy my work!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beintentionalfinancial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rivernice.financialplanner/
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rivernice.finance