Catherine Gateman CLU®, FIC, RICP®, CLTC®

What can skipping third grade teach you about managing your wealth? Perhaps the most important thing of all… Perspective.

Hi friends! I’m Catherine Gateman, Founding Partner of Sea Glass Wealth Advisors. For 15 years I’ve been teaching, guiding, and counseling folks like you how to secure what matters most in your life, create a deep and meaningful impact on the people and causes you care about, and…enjoy genuine confidence in your future. In other words, how to make smarter decisions with your money.

And believe it or not, you can learn an awful lot about what that means from skipping third grade.

See, in second grade, my teachers pulled me out of class and sent me to the third grade class for reading and math more suited to my academic level. Overachiever? You’re talking to someone who’s been working full-time since 19, and put herself through Wayne State. So yes, I was an overachiever. But I was also humiliated. Think about it! Singling out an eight year old like that is the definition of embarrassing.

The solution? Skip third grade.

That put me at the academic level I needed, and eliminated the embarrassment of being singled out. Many years later, though, that helped me learn a much more important lesson. I learned that when you’re in the right place—with the right people—you can’t help but thrive.

For me, that meant recognizing I was called to lead a genuinely collaborative team of my own. And to take charge of my own vision for the kind of impact I want to have on my clients. These days I educate people preparing for retirement. I help them better understand their benefits…avoid common mistakes…take advantage of opportunities they didn’t even realize they had. Definitely the right place for me. The right place to serve the people I care about. That starts with three amazing, inspiring children. But also the dynamic team my business partner Darren VanHevel and I get to lead at Sea Glass Wealth Advisors. And you.

Now, whether I’m working with an executive mapping out sophisticated strategies, maximizing complex compensation packages, stewarding multi-generational wealth for a family, or educating professionals on retirement planning, my approach is the same… Personal attention comes first. Because your dream is my dream. If you’ve been working hard for decades, saving and investing, paying down debt…and you’re looking forward to spending more time with loved ones, growing more as a person, and making an impact on your community… That’s the kind of future that deserves a dedicated, passionate guide to partner with. Let’s visit soon.