Let me tell you a little story ’bout a man named Jed. His story is one we can all learn from. (with a nod to the Beverly Hillbillies)

This is the third in a series on caregiving, provided by my friend Barbara Shaffer. Part One of the series can be found here and Part Two here. Trying to help the caregiver can create its own set of issues. There are many variables in any care-giving situation that can be hard for the would-be helper to navigate. Being clear about one’s ability and availability are ways to manage expectations, […]

Time Can Be Short – Are You Ready In Case Of A Disaster? During and after a natural disaster we hear a lot about preparedness kits and being prepared if a natural disaster occurs in your area. Are you prepared? Do you have a disaster plan for your family? Do you have a disaster plan for your aging parents? Specifically aging parents who live distant from you? Ways To Prepare […]

The new year is often a time when people decide to bring organization to the chaos and disorder in life. While this often means tidying up physical objects, don’t forget to tidy up the electronic computers as well. Since smartphones are really hand-held computers, that means tidying up them as well. Hackers know about a lot of software and the bugs and holes that allow them to either take over […]

The late First Lady Rosalynn Carter had a famous quote: “There are only four kinds of people in the world — those that have been caregivers, those that are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Given that this affects so many of us, I asked a psychologist friend of mine, Barbara Shaffer, to provide some of her expertise on staying healthy as a caregiver […]

As a daily money manager (DMM), I like to say that I help people achieve financial goals that a person is having trouble meeting themselves. Money is emotional and sometimes it is hard to see the bigger picture forest through the day-to-day trees. Our society is also reticent to discuss money. When we don’t manage it well, we don’t want to reach out to others for help. I can recall […]

If you’ve recently received a text message from the post office saying there was a problem with package delivery and to click a link to fix it, you’ve been a target of Smishing. For years, I’ve received these type messages in my spam email. They are called Phishing in email. The name Smishing comes from the fact that they are Phishing over SMS (text) or “SMishing”. What Is Smishing? Generally, […]

For someone just retired, a thought might be to move closer to children or grandchildren now that the job no longer is a factor. This can be a compelling idea, particularly as one thinks about spending more time with others. Another thought would be that living close to relatives provides a source of care when that is needed. Before pulling the trigger and making that move, it is wise to […]

The hurricane season runs from June through November each year. However, much like deer do not always cross at deer crossing signs, hurricanes do not limit themselves to just these months. There is also a known correlation between the solar cycle of sunspots and the intensity of hurricanes, and the next solar maximum will occur next year. Given we are in the midst of the 2023 hurricane season, this is […]

What do the companies Vonage, Epic Games, and Amazon have in common? All have been fined by the Federal Trade Commission for dark patterns that went afoul of FTC rules against websites that misdirect, or otherwise result in charges for which the consumer did not intend to make. Epic Games (the company that makes Fortnite) and Amazon were both taken to task for offering free applications, but which contained in-app […]

When I get a new older adult client, more often than not, their finances are a mess. There are missed payments, accounts that have gone to collections, a large spend of assets, bounced checks and more. These are people who tell me (or family tell me) that they were always on top of their finances, had a good credit rating and never had credit card balances or bounced checks. The […]

Married couples looking to retire, or already in retirement, may be living comfortably on income from both spouses. Planning for the post-retirement years often involves reviewing what the income will be as a couple in retirement. However, what will the financial situation be after one spouse (often the husband) passes away? Sources of Income For The Couple Another source, particularly for younger retirees, is the 401(k) or an IRA created […]

Have you been named to be an Executor (or Executrix) in someone’s Will? If so, do you have any idea of what you’ve signed up for? At a high level, you probably know that it means going through all of the deceased’s worldly possessions and distributing them the way they wanted. But it is more than that. I’ll let a fictional friend, Sandra, describe her experience of being an Executrix […]

As we parent our children, we only have so much time to spend with them. And we all want them to turn out well as independent adults once they leave home and set out on their own. It makes sense to spend time with children on the topics that will make them good adults later in life. One of those areas that can make a big difference is teaching about […]

Now that we are beyond the most difficult days of Covid, we have returned to a level of living that looks more like the days before Covid than the past two years. At that time, I was recommending that people handle money management by having an Emergency Fund, tracking Income and Expenses to see how to live in a way that leaves some money left over at the end of […]

The game between fraudsters and credit card issuers is a cat and mouse game. Just as fast as merchants put something in place to dissuade fraud with their cards, the fraudsters come up with a way to defeat them. One of the struggles is online purchasing because the card doesn’t actually have to be present to make a purchase. All that is needed is the credit card number, expiration date, […]