Q&A with CCL’s Financial Advisor

Zachary C. Clark, CFP is the newest member of the Couple to Couple League’s Board of Directors and will act as Financial Advisor. As we chatted, it quickly became evident that he has a quick sense of humor and a big heart.

 

Forest Hempen: Do you go by Zach or Zachary?

Zachary Clark: I go by Zack, spelled with a “k,” despite it being spelled with an “h” in my given name. I didn’t get to choose that one — it was already on my birth certificate before I could protest it. It isn’t pronounced Za-CH, so why spell it that way?

FH: That seems really important to you. Any other nicknames our readers should know about?

ZC: My wife and I are cool so we play Yahtzee on the weekends…I am known in this very small circle as Yacht-Z.

FH: Tell me a little about yourself.

ZC: I’ve been married to Courtney, my high school sweetheart, for five years. Our son Isaac was born in May. One of them is adorable and cuddly. One cries a lot and sometimes smells weird. I’m not at liberty to say which is which. I’m an ultra sarcastic guy who incorporates humor into life as often as I can. That said, I’m taking this board position very seriously. I’m so excited for the opportunity to serve our Lord and I can’t think of a more useful way. It will be a new adventure for me and I am totally enamored with the organization. NFP has had such a profound impact on my marriage that I could speak about it for days. I believe that it has had as big an impact on my marriage as it has on my soul. I needed it in ways that I couldn’t comprehend before and now — as we tell the couples we teach for marriage prep — it solved problems we didn’t even know we had. CCL, best I can tell, is the  organization that best infuses the Truth into their training of the technical side of the method.

FH: Where are you from?

ZC: Louisville, Kentucky. It’s pronounced “Loo-uh-vul,” with a bounce off the “uh.”

FH: You’ll be acting as the financial advisor on CCL’s Board of Directors. Where did you study finance?

ZC: I have a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Loo-uh-vuhl. I did the coursework for my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification at Bellarmine University.

FH: So is your career in finance as well?

ZC: Yes, I actually just started my own firm, Clark Financial Planning — creativeness is not my forte. While I loved the place I worked, this is even better because I have complete flexibility with my schedule and call all the shots. I love analyzing big, complex systems and boiling them down to the important parts that create actionable changes.

FH: Have you ever dabbled in anything outside finance?

ZC: I used to be the ringmaster for a traveling circus. That’s not true, but it’d be interesting if it were! Unfortunately, I’m boring and have worked in this profession since graduating college.

FH: It sounds like you have lots of analytical expertise that will serve the board well. How did you get involved with CCL in the first place.

ZC: My wife and I went through the class through a local teaching couple. I met CCL’s executive director Chris Reynolds at a local promotional event here in Loo-uh-vul. We struck up a great conversation at dinner and meshed well with our entrepreneurial personalities.

FH: Any pastimes or hobbies you love to do when you aren’t crunching numbers or changing diapers?

ZC: Definitely bow hunting. We have a family farm in Southern Indiana about 45 minutes from Louisville and I take the lion’s share of my vacation there. My wife hunts, too — she’s pretty cool. A close second hobby is golf. I’m no good, but I try real hard.