UNMASKING ADVENTURE
His formative years knowing only the humid warmth of Guatemala, he dons bulky winter garb to shield him from his first Idaho winter. Snow clumping in his hair, he giggles as if this strange world were an exciting new adventure. It is.
We adults are not as adaptive as children, but we often underestimate our adaptive limits. Meanwhile, whose nimbleness is greater—yours or your child’s school?
Public schools have an incredibly difficult—in some respects impossible—job to do.
Who could be more focused on your child’s education versus managing:
the clamor of hundreds of children other parents
teachers local health experts
teachers’ unions state testing authorities
principals state departments of education
school boards state health authorities
curricula sellers lobbyists
school lunch programs U.S. Department of Education
and the flip-flopping conflicted federal health officials bus drivers
→ public school?
or
→ you?
If you don’t think you have the right stuff. You might be right.
If you think you might have the right stuff, allow yourself the benefit of the doubt. With a little help, you can do this—educationally and financially.
The pace of today demands continual learning—stagnation fast begets irrelevance, whereas continual learning with doing begets benefits. What better way to convey that principle to your child than to embark on learning how to homeschool with your child?
What better way to deepen your connection with your child
than
to learn with your child?
What might that be worth as your child matures?
If you’ve ever wondered whether homeschooling could actually work for your family, that little spark of curiosity is worth paying attention to. Planning requires assumptions—and sometimes the best way to test them is simply by talking them out.
I’d love to have that kind of conversation with you—casual, no pressure, just exploring what it might look like for your child and for you. You can grab a time that works for you, and in the meantime, I’ve put together some helpful articles you can browse at your own pace: click HERE
Think of it as a chance to sit down, sip some coffee, and ask, “What if?”
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 you’re no longer around to answer questions
Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when you’re 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
“Mom, Dad, we’re getting married!"
“Wonderful, congratulations! Here’s what you both need to do first.”
Equipping newlyweds with essentials of responsibility leaves plenty of life yet to be discovered on their own. Adults understand that love isn’t oogly feelings; it’s a hard choice. It’s putting your commitments and your money where your mouth is.
Many of the following steps also apply to one’s 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 children’s college education keeping you up at night?
You’re 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 “endgame”). 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? It’s all too common for one spouse to blindly trust the planning spouse. Countless endgame “plans” were created by 50% of a couple:
