The Best Community Isn't Always Next Door
Everyone hopes they'll have someone nearby when life gets hard.
A friend who can stop by.
A neighbor who checks in.
A family member who lives just a few minutes away.
That's the ideal.
But life doesn't always work that way.
Children move across the country.
Parents relocate.
Friends retire elsewhere.
Communities change.
Does that mean you're alone?
It shouldn't.
While nothing replaces someone who can literally hold your hand, meaningful support isn't limited by geography.
Sometimes the encouragement you need comes from someone who's walked the same path.
Someone who understands caregiving.
Someone who has already faced difficult retirement decisions.
Someone who simply says, "I've been there."
Those conversations remind us that we're not navigating life's biggest transitions by ourselves.
Community isn't defined by distance.
It's defined by connection.
And connection has a remarkable way of replacing isolation with hope.
One key insight: Community isn't measured in miles. It's measured in meaningful relationships.
One memorable takeaway: The next best thing to someone beside you is someone who truly understands you.
Discover why preparation begins with community.
HOMESCHOOLING: Haven or Havoc?
Your child's school years are precious and fleeting.
Now could be your best time to step up where your school is letting your child down. Let this series of myth-busting short chapters encourage you.
2 Major Mistakes
Which one will you make?
Which of these 2 retirement mistakes are you making right now? It's impossible to entirely avoid both mistakes.
You won't know for sure which mistake will work out better for you until it's too late.
How to choose?
Finding the Will
(Part 1)
Part 1: Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when youβre no longer around to answer questions
Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when youβre no longer around to answer questions (Part 1)
Ensuring your children or other Loved Ones can readily access your important papers when you die entails a sound process versus one or two conversations. You must overcome aversion to the subject of death, procrastination of anything that is long-term, and the tendency to assume things will be fine. Family dynamics can be sweet, spicy, or dicey.
Finding the Will
(Part 2)
Part 2: Getting Organized
While the internet permits convenient access to accounts, policies, and stored documents, it presents a plethora of password management problems. which too many people avoid by succumbing to password laziness, such as:
- re-using passwords for multiple logins, or
- use simple, easy to remember passwords, or
- writing them on sticky notes placed on their monitor or under their keyboard, or
- keeping them in a spreadsheet on their computer, or
- letting their browser remember passwords for them
Embrace Your Clarence
Is Clarence your future?
Golden insight from a golden retriever.
Post-Pandemic W.E.L.L.ness
Working, Earning, Learning, and Launching to Thrive
Where life drastically changed forever two years ago, everyone adjusted to the best of their abilities.
Here are a few of the key adjustments--"pandemic pivots"--that sustained some and prospered others.
Prenuptial Adulting
Equip Them for Happily Ever Afterο»Ώ
βMom, Dad, weβre getting married!"
βWonderful, congratulations! Hereβs what you both need to do first.β
Equipping newlyweds with essentials of responsibility leaves plenty of life yet to be discovered on their own. Adults understand that love isnβt oogly feelings; itβs a hard choice. Itβs putting your commitments and your money where your mouth is.
Many of the following steps also apply to oneβs turning 18 years old. Becoming engaged adds urgency and a deadline.
Rethinking Competing Funds for College and Retirement
We live in a time of skyrocketing inflation topping decades of unbridled higher education costs.
Is the tension between funding your retirement and funding (at least partially) your childrenβs college education keeping you up at night?
Youβre not alone.
Married? Is Your Endgame 100% or Just 50%?
Are you single? That other 50% could be whoever is most important to you.
Multiple unforgiving players factor into your retirement and estate plans (collectively your βendgameβ). Household names include the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Key decisions with these players are nearly impossible to reverse. Plus, if you qualify for a pension, how you activate it is another irreversible decision.
Are you more of a planner than your spouse? Itβs all too common for one spouse to blindly trust the planning spouse. Countless endgame βplansβ were created by 50% of a couple:
