9 Lessons I’ve Learned About Death and Money
My dad died in July of 2023. These are the 9 lessons I learned about death and money during his 7 year battle with Stage IV Lung Cancer, increased cognitive impairment, relapse after 20 plus years of being sober, his death, and life post-death. As a financial planner, I’m privileged to be alongside people as […]
27 Retirement Planning Mistakes People Make That You May Regret
Retirement is an exciting milestone! Many look forward to it, eager to experience weeks without work and time to do as they please. They’ve worked decades, and now, want to enjoy the fruits of their labor. You get one opportunity to retire well. If you don’t, you may need to head back to work. These […]
How to Create a Digital Estate Plan – 3 Steps You Can Take
Let’s run through a scenario: you are driving home tomorrow and are hit by a reckless driver. You die on the spot. What happens to your digital assets? Do you have a digital estate plan? How do your family or friends access it? I’ve helped people pick up the pieces after a death and know […]
What is Life Planning?
Does it ever feel like your money is disconnected from your ideal life and what you value? In my experience, our money is often put on autopilot, which can be a good thing to a certain extent, but if you never come back to what your money can do for you, you may be missing […]
What Is It Like Working With a Virtual Financial Planner?
What is it like working with a virtual financial planner? For many people, it can be a new experience. They may be used to going into their financial planner’s downtown office, in a crowded city, with cramped parking, and rush hour traffic. The office may be a little too sterile or fancy, devoid of any […]
How to Optimize Social Security Survivor Benefits as a Widow
Deciding how to claim Social Security survivor benefits as a widow could be a decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Deciding how to claim Social Security survivor benefits, while trying to navigate everything else when your loved one dies, is not a straightforward decision. Optimizing Social Security benefits requires you to consider your life […]
Is Long-Term Care Insurance Worth It?
How to plan for long-term care and whether to purchase long-term care insurance is a difficult decision. Most people never plan on living years or decades with health issues, but it is becoming more common, which makes planning for long-term care important. How will you pay for care? Which assets will you use? Do you […]
4 Ways to Help a Widow
Losing a spouse and experiencing the accompanying grief is heartbreaking. Life changes overnight. What was once easy can become difficult. It could be paying the bills, cooking, eating, getting out of the house, or remembering appointments. Widowhood is unlike anything someone has typically experienced. The brain fog that can come with the death of a […]
Family or Professional Trustee? Pros and Cons of a Professional Trustee
While people create trusts during their life, estate plans often include the creation of trusts at death. Knowing who you will put in charge of the trust is vital, including backup options. You have to specifically name them in the documents. They will be responsible for carrying out the terms of the trust, making distributions, […]
The Negative Effects of Caregiving
Let’s talk about the impact of caregiving – notably, the negative effects of caregiving. I’ll spend a little time talking about the positives of caregiving, but I want to give more attention to the negative effects of caregiving because they often outweigh the good. I’ve experienced it first hand and seen it in other families. […]
