Welcome to the very first Millionaire Marriage blog post! We’re just recently kicking this thing off, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you guys.
Just a little heads up: Our blog posts will reflect topics from our podcast episodes, so if you’d like to listen, head over there. But, if you prefer to read, you’ve come to the right place!
What you may or may not know (and if you do know, you know it well), is that Taylor Kovar—the other guy behind this brand—just LOVES talking about himself. So today, I (Jeremy) figured I’d get this little introduction started.
My name is Jeremy Gilliam. I’ve been married to my wife, Erica, for 12 years now. We have three beautiful children: Bentley (9), Audrey (7), and Kingston (about a year and a half).
I’m a marriage/family therapist, and I also teach at a seminary here in Lufkin.
Taylor is a financial advisor who owns several small, local businesses. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Megan (they’ve been together since they were 14!).
They’ve got three kids as well: Kix (10), Kambry (7), and Kessly (3).
Over the years at his financial firm, Taylor realized that a lot of what he was running into with clients was more so marriage counseling sessions rather than financial. The issues most couples were having in their financial journey stemmed directly from their marriage! And so, Taylor decided to have me join the practice to really help couples with their relationships, in relation to finance.
At our investment firm, we preach a lot that wealth equals freedom, as it’s true not only from a financial aspect, but also in finding relationship wealth and walking in freedom together in our own marriages.
So, I mentioned I’m a marriage/family therapist. What exactly does that mean?
I work with—you guessed it!—families and marriages. The whole concept of a therapist of this sort is to essentially help people find wealth in their marriage. Not money, either: It’s about helping people elicit the strength they actually do have to make their marriage successful, whether they know it or not.
When I got into marriage and family therapy, at the time, my wife and I were pastoring a small church. That’s the role in which I even started working closely with couples and families.
I quickly realized that it’s not what I know that scares me. It’s what I don’t know.
And so, I got into this career to help marriages and families of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds to have fulfilled lives. Because what I found in just that short amount of time, is thatthere are so many families and marriages that could be whole, healthy, and strong—yet aren’t.
What are the reasons for that? That’s what started this whole journey. Honestly, I come from a pretty broken family, and I know there’s plenty of other people like me all over the world. My mission: How can I help them live whole, fulfilled lives? How can I help people restore their own internal confidence to help them thrive and, in turn, help their marriages and family life thrive?
Taylor says that on the money side of things, one of the first questions he gets asked by a lot of people is, “Are you like a second, third, fourth generation owner of Kovar Wealth Management?”
And the answer is, no—that was all him.
Taylor grew up in a house that was a converted barn. His father was a millwright and his mother worked for the water company. Blue collar through and through.
“In my town, there were more cows than people,” Taylor says. “This is not some huge prestigious firm that was handed down to me; no matter where you’re at in life, no matter what position you come from, if you’re intentional, you can achieve wealth.”
You may not be Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, but you can have freedom. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, or fight about money all the time.
A lot of what we’ll be talking about in The Millionaire Marriage podcast goes back to all of that. We’re going to talk about money and we’re going to talk about marriage in general.
Because all in all, it’s about you. Your marriage. Your life. You could be stripped of every other title you may be—CEO, community involvement, whatever—but at the end of the day, you’re still a husband. A wife. A mother. A father.
That’s what God has called you to be and told you of your responsibilities. Your focus must first remain on your relationship with Him, then your spouse, and then your kids.
I’ve used this concept in teaching and talking with people in the past.
Before I had any kind of title, I was Erica’s husband first.
Titles come and go. Positions come and go. Offices come and go. Companies come and go. When I get to the point in my life where I can’t be those other things anymore, I’ll still be her husband. And very, very close behind, I’m a father.
That’s the real heart behind it all—Taylor and I wanted to start something like this to be intentional about our own marriages as well. We work with a good-sized group of people here in the office every day who are each working on their own relationships and marriages as well.
So how can we make the most of this time? We’re having these conversations and getting all sorts of questions on a daily basis from people who are currently in relationships, or people who want to be in relationships. The topics always have to do with marriage, kids, money, and all of the other things that come with life.
We wanted to get some of this knowledge out to others. We wanted to choose a specific topic for each episode/blog and run with it. No scripts, no practice, no fake talk; just real, raw, “flow from the heart” type conversations.
Sometimes it’ll just be the two of us guys talking, sometimes Erica and Megan will join us to chat, and still other times we’ll have experts in certain fields come on to share value with everyone.
This launch is a huge deal—as a therapist and a financial advisor, we can only see a certain number of people for a certain amount of time each week, and this allows us to do something even bigger than an office session.
A podcast doesn’t limit the number of people you can reach and help in healing their relationships.
That’s the exciting part.
One time, I had someone ask me, “Do you think any marriage can work?” The answer is yes. I think any marriage can work IF the people involved are willing to put the time and effort into it to make it happen.
Because it’s not just a hug and a kiss goodnight, and a smile and a cup of coffee in the morning. It’s an investment, for life.
The way Taylor sees it, “I can go to the gym every morning and sit there and have all the tools around me that are freebies. I’m even paying to go to the gym to use these tools. But if I don’t actually use them, it’s not going to make a difference.”
Our hope with The Millionaire Marriage podcast is to help people put the tools in their minds and hearts to bring up relevant topics (no matter how difficult or tough they may be) and work through them for their own marriage. We’ll be bringing everyday, practical topics to couples and families about money, about relationships, about all of the little details that go into marriage behind the scenes.
Obviously, you’re reading this blog right now, so you’re doing something. If you’re trying, you’re doing better than the vast majority of the population. Whether that’s marriage, work, whatever— if you’re trying and showing effort, you’re doing way more than most others. It’s easier to not try at all.
And if you’re looking for sugar coated, watered down solutions and answers, this isn’t the podcast for you.
We’ll talk real life, raw topics, like marriage after kids; we won’t shy away from sex and infidelity; we’re going to talk about social media and marriage; and even some things like what we like to call “in-laws and outlaws” expectations.
Think of it this way: A physical therapist isn’t going to walk for you.
What they will do is give you the ability, the tools, and the exercises needed so you can walk for yourself.
Taylor and I can’t personally come to your house and magically fix your marriage or relationship in a snap. But we can absolutely be here for our listeners and readers with techniques, guidelines, and solutions on how to work on your marriage until it’s healthy and strong again.
That’s all for today, just a quick introduction on what to expect when a marriage/family therapist and a financial advisor walk into a bar…
Couldn’t miss that opportunity.
But all jokes aside, be sure to check out our podcast, The Millionaire Marriage, or check back here for more blogs to come over what we discuss on the podcast.
Again, we’re so excited you’re here. Let’s get started!
Still want to listen in on our podcasts? Check out an episode now. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
