The Coin Over Your Eye
Imagine holding a coin at arm's length.
You can see every detail. You understand exactly what you're looking at.
Now move that same coin until it touches your eye.
Suddenly you can't even see the coin.
In fact, you can't see much of anything.
Life works the same way.
When a crisis is still far away, you have perspective. You can think clearly. You can ask questions, explore options, and make thoughtful decisions.
But once the crisis is directly in front of you, everything changes.
Fear grows.
Stress increases.
Choices feel limited.
That's why so many families feel overwhelmed. Not because they're incapable, but because the situation is too close to see clearly.
Community creates distance.
Not distance from the people you love, but distance from panic.
Hearing how others navigated similar challenges gives you perspective you simply can't create by yourself.
You begin to recognize possibilities before you're forced to choose among them.
Preparation isn't about predicting the future.
It's about seeing clearly while you still can.
One key insight: Perspective disappears when pressure takes over.
One memorable takeaway: Don't wait until the coin is over your eye.
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 youโre no longer around to answer questions
Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when youโre 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 After๏ปฟ
โMom, Dad, weโre getting married!"
โWonderful, congratulations! Hereโs what you both need to do first.โ
Equipping newlyweds with essentials of responsibility leaves plenty of life yet to be discovered on their own. Adults understand that love isnโt oogly feelings; itโs a hard choice. Itโs putting your commitments and your money where your mouth is.
Many of the following steps also apply to oneโs 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 childrenโs college education keeping you up at night?
Youโre 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 โendgameโ). 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? Itโs all too common for one spouse to blindly trust the planning spouse. Countless endgame โplansโ were created by 50% of a couple:
