Kahler recognized for pioneering contributions to financial therapy as a co-founder of the Financial Therapy Association and the field’s first financial therapy workshop.
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rick Kahler, MS, CFP®, CFT™, CeFT®, has become the fourth person to be inducted into the Financial Therapy Hall of Fame. The honor was presented at the annual gathering of the Financial Therapy Association in Austin, Texas on June 5, 2026.
Kahler opened Kahler Financial Group in 1983 as the first client-centered, fee-only financial planning firm in South Dakota. He is a co-founder of the Financial Therapy Association, a Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Professor at Golden Gate University, a co-author of nine books, a public speaker, and the founder of Advanced Wellbeing, LLC, a financial coaching and therapy practice in Rapid City.
“This honor is a marker on a path,” Kahler said. “There is no finish line in this work, no point at which the path ends, where you are done doing your own work. I am grateful for the many colleagues, mentors, and clients who have shaped my journey.”
In 2003, Kahler and Dr. Ted Klontz co-created what is believed to be the first financial therapy workshop in the United States, held at Onsite in Tennessee. The workshop was later featured in The Wall Street Journal and on ABC’s 20/20, bringing national attention to a field that at the time barely had a name.
In 2009, Kahler was among 30 practitioners and academics who met to determine whether financial therapy could become a formal discipline. That meeting led to the founding of the Financial Therapy Association. In 2015, the FTA launched the Certified Financial Therapist designation and Kahler became one of the first recipients, now considered the gold standard credential in the field.
Kahler has co-authored nine books on the intersection of psychology and personal finance, including Coupleship Inc. with Deb Kaplan, and three titles with Drs. Ted and Brad Klontz.
For more information, visit www.advanced-wellbeing.com or contact Rick Kahler at Rick@advancedwellbeing.com/605-390-7563.
