21. Financial Planning for Seniors: What You Need to Know

In this episode, we’re joined by financial advisor, Beth Beebe, who specializes in helping people navigate money decisions with clarity and confidence.

For seniors looking at downsizing, these conversations can be even more important to navigate upcoming decisions such as managing a fixed income or preparing for rising healthcare costs. This conversation covers the essential building blocks of a solid financial plan in your later years. If you’re downsizing, planning for retirement, or thinking about your legacy, this one’s for you.

We talk about:

• Why financial planning looks different in your 60s, 70s, and beyond
• Common mistakes to avoid when budgeting on a fixed income
• How to prepare for healthcare and long-term care costs
• Key estate planning documents to have in place
• What to know before hiring a financial advisor
• How to protect yourself from scams targeting seniors

This episode is packed with practical guidance and encouraging insights for anyone wanting to feel more secure about their financial future.

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Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time.

Heather Fisher 0:17

Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. We are going to talk today about financial planning for seniors, everything that goes along with perhaps a downsizing move, perhaps retirement, all of those key pieces. And we're really excited. I'm Heather Fisher.

Jodi Rosko 0:36

I'm Jodie Roscoe.

Heather Fisher 0:37

And we have a guest with us today. We have Beth Beebe. She's with Craig Capital Wealth Management, Raymond James. And we're so excited, Beth, that you joined us to answer some of these key questions.

Beth Beebe 0:48

Yeah, I'm super excited to join you, ladies, and very appreciative of the opportunity. I think a lot of what we do lines up for sure. Before we dive in, I do want to mention that while I am a financial advisor, everything I'm sharing today is meant to be general education, not specific financial advice. So everyone's situation is different and unique. If you do need help with any of these topics, obviously we are here to help. So we just need to figure out a tailored plan for you.

Jodi Rosko 1:19

Yeah. Every yes. So this is just general conversation. Everybody does have very specific things, but I do feel like people have a lot of financial questions up front. And so I think it's a great topic to have people talk about or listen to today.

Heather Fisher 1:34

I think the most that people will get from this is what questions should I be asking of you know my team of people or reaching out to Beth to get specific answers? And we'll talk a lot today about just those topics that you need to not not skip over when you're making these decisions and some general general information on them. So how would someone begin preparing financially before they think about downsizing their home?

Beth Beebe 2:06

So I think there are many things to do, honestly. And I think you hit on one just now by talking about the team of people that you can put together to help you with these topics. So just like when you're getting ready to plan to move, you're gonna contact a real estate agent. That's kind of your natural, you know, first approach. The second thing, talk to your financial advisor. You also want to have a tax professional in your back pocket, um, an attorney per potentially could be one of those people as well. And all of those uh uh uh uh people can come together to help you do whatever it is you're planning to do. Um and it's always great to have you know professionals in each wheelhouse to give you tips and you know make you aware of things that could come up. Yeah, how'd you get started? So I got started in the industry um because we are a second generation financial firm. So we are with Raymond James, we are an independent branch of our broker dealer, and we are located in Mason, Ohio. My partner is my father, David Craig, and we have been in the area for about 24 years. So he has a wealth of knowledge. We have a great team with Raymond James and super happy to partner with them. So really any kind of situation that comes up, we have people in place to help.

Jodi Rosko 3:26

I love that.

Heather Fisher 3:27

Yeah, we love your dad. We see him when we stop by to see you, and and we love that that second generation, and I think you know, just like all of us, you're in that generation where we're all dealing with our kids and our parents and all of that, and you have such a unique perspective in your brokerage with both of you working together. We love that.

Beth Beebe 3:48

Well, and it's been amazing because you know, a lot of these topics I didn't think about before joining our team. You know, I was in education before this, so I was a teacher for about 13 years. And well, I saw it down the pipeline, you know, you're young, you're not paying as much attention. But now that I faced with it with clients on a day-to-day basis, having a plan is the best thing you could possibly do. Um, it alleviates stress, it gives you a roadmap. Yeah, yes, exactly. Exactly. A downsizing roadmap process. Exactly, and it really is helpful.

Jodi Rosko 4:23

Yeah, for sure. And I'm sure you heard about all of that as you were growing up, since that was your dad's business. I'm sure that you have it's just in you to know much about it. And so you can use that as well, just all of the stories that he's had over the years of all of the people. I think that's what really gets to us our own personal stories, um, and then the stories of the people that we help. It's it's like, okay, this is why you have to do these things. We please do them. Please don't end up like some of the people that we've had, right? Like we want to make sure that everybody's talking to a financial planner planner early and you know, getting their plan set in place so that they're ready whenever that is.

Beth Beebe 5:01

Well, and I think you're right too. We all have a story in history with money and finance. And there are reasons we feel the way we feel about certain topics with that as well. You know, as we were talking about doing this podcast, it made me think of my great-grandmother Nan, who she had everything planned as to what she was doing. She had really created a legacy for her family and her, you know, heirs and and all of that. But even with the downsizing process, there were things that she did that I think, oh, that's a that's kind of a great way to do it. You know, like what'd she do? So one of the things that she did, she ended up um, she lived independently for a very long time, and then kind of the normal sort of thing started happening. I think she broke her hip, um, had to go into assisted living shortly after. But before she did that, so one thing she loved to do with her grandkids was travel with them. And she did that because her husband didn't love to travel. So she had a workaround. She was a smart lady, and she would say new travel partners. Exactly. She would take one of the kids with her, so then he didn't have a problem with it. Um, but they traveled extensively. So things that she would pick up from those travels, she would go back through and write a note and put it inside or underneath or wherever on that item to say who it was going to and why. So whether it was my dad, it would say David. We went to, you know, I don't know, Tanzania. They went to crazy places. Wow. Um, you know, this is going to him. And she put a note literally on most of her items that's amazing. Virtually everything of where she wanted it to go.

Heather Fisher 6:33

We talk about that so frequently about the stuff is just stuff, unless it has the story and someone knows the story, then it's the memory and and wanted and appreciated. So I love that.

Beth Beebe 6:48

Well, and it lets your people or your heirs go back through those stories too. You know, and he remembers a lot of things because she did those sorts of things for her family.

Heather Fisher 6:59

Yeah, I love that. What would you say um are some mistakes that people who aren't as smart as Nan make? And and you know, financially, you know, we always would want people to start very early because time is on your side uh for that always. But if someone, you know, hasn't quite gotten all their plans together, where what should they start with and when in in life?

Beth Beebe 7:24

So I think the first thing is it's it's never too late. So even if you haven't started planning, you can always get there. You know, whether it's listening to this podcast and thinking, oh, you know, I haven't done that, you know, go ahead and get started. Think about where you want to be in 10 years or five years, whatever your time horizon is. I would start with your time horizon and see, you know, where do I want to be? How do I want to live in retirement? You know, for some reason, we don't tend to think in that way. And you absolutely can. And none of those thought processes need to even be outlandish. It's just sort of what kind of lifestyle do you want? One of the activities that we do with clients is we think about who are you gonna have an ice cream cone with in that time period, you know, and how are you gonna facilitate that? Do you even want to have an ice cream cone with somebody? Maybe you don't want to end up in, you know, some sort of large group. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like those kind of the villages in Florida, or maybe you do, right? You know, so some of those easy kind of things to think about, it's an easy way to start it of okay, what are my plans? How am I gonna get there? Um you know, you need to look at your financial situation as a whole as well. Yeah. What funds do you have to support the lifestyle that you want to have? Um, maybe you're already there and like we talked about you're the sandwich generation and you're dealing with your parents. Maybe that gives you some insight on okay, mine didn't plan well enough. Maybe I need to look into long-term care for myself because I may not want my kids to have to do some of the things that I'm having to do right now because it it's sad and it's hard. It's a very hard phase for for people to go through with their parents.

Jodi Rosko 9:10

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 9:11

I think personally, uh, you know, but I think we've seen other people like this, but with my parents, you know, they very much did a very traditional path of just working and putting things more in save, you know, some investments, but more just savings. Like you work hard, you save your money, and it's just, you know, a difficult situation when that's not enough, uh, you know, in this day and age when uh the costs are expensive for care and and things cost so much. And so I think we find a lot of people that just um, you know, we want them to find you know, people to give advice like you are, because it is possible to change at any point and start having your money work better for you to get m you know a different lifestyle than you want. But I think there's a lot of people that thought just working hard at their career and saving would be enough, and it it's just not and we see that a lot too.

Beth Beebe 10:17

Um I've seen that in my own family, my grandfather on on the other side. He he he actually did do enough. He was able to, you know, pay for his own care, but it was all out of pocket. Um he and that was another thing. A good person to bring in sometimes could be a senior advisor who will meet with you, they'll meet with your clients and talk to you about the best types of facilities that are available, and they know him in and out.

Heather Fisher 10:43

Yeah.

Beth Beebe 10:44

Um but in that situation, they even gave us insight on you know VA benefits because he had been in the Korean War. So he was able to get some, you know, funding for that too, which was helpful. But I totally agree with you on that side of things. It wasn't necessarily I'm gonna put this here and I'm gonna invest this here. He did well for what he knew.

Heather Fisher 11:05

Yeah, you know, but yeah, that's what we see too, and and it's just it wasn't talked about um, you know, finances and money.

Jodi Rosko 11:14

So well, and I think a question that we get a lot is how do I know if I'm gonna have enough? You know, right? And so that's very specific to them.

Beth Beebe 11:25

And I think the best uh advice maybe to give in that situation is to have them reach out to a financial advisor, truly, because we can look at their entire you know, financial snapshot. Yeah. We'll do a complimentary, um, you know, and just get that relationship going. Or if you have a financial advisor, reach out to that person and go over everything and say, you know, these are the things that I'm concerned about for the future, because that truly is what we're here for. We go through this all of the time with people, you know, who have saved at their 401k. Maybe they have tax efficiency issues that they're concerned about.

Heather Fisher 12:01

Yeah.

Beth Beebe 12:01

Um, those sorts of things, especially in real estate. I mean, there's so many investment strategies to look at.

Heather Fisher 12:09

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Jodi Rosko 12:10

Right. And then they're changing from trying to, you know, build it to like protection, asset protection, right?

Beth Beebe 12:16

And distribution. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 12:18

So it's a different thought process. So even if you've had somebody who's been working with you, you have a different plan now. Like you have a different thing. And that person needs to know that plan purpose. Yes. And what the timing of that is, right? Absolutely. If you're like, hey, I think I'm thinking about doing this in a couple years or five years or ten years, really, honestly, you need to know that as a financial planner. You need to know all of that. 100%. Oh, yeah.

Beth Beebe 12:40

Yeah. Your time horizon is huge in planning, you know, for us to look at that and to consider it. You know, you want to make sure another maybe financial mistake is to not look at and evaluate your liquidity needs closely enough. You want to make sure to keep an emergency fund. Um, but you also want to make sure that if you have proceeds from the sale that you're utilizing that money to work for you for the future because it could also help your future, you know, life plan in right now. Right.

Jodi Rosko 13:12

So what you're saying is don't take all the money from the sale of your house and put it in your checking account. Yes, ma'am. And sit it and let it sit there. Exactly. You're saying like how much might you need in the next certain amount of time. Right.

Heather Fisher 13:22

And then what can we how can we use the rest of it, multiply and grow in the m most productive way?

Beth Beebe 13:30

Absolutely. And the market changes so much all the time. You know, interest rates right now are decent and it's an you know, fixed income is has some good rates to to handle some of those things for you with less risk.

Jodi Rosko 13:44

So Yeah, I think and that's uh the other thing that, like you said, you're up on the all of that stuff and how that's going. But leaving it in your checking account or savings account is actually losing you money, right? Because if it's just you're probably not even keeping up with inflation. So sometimes I think there's a mentality of like, I want it to be safe in this safe place. It's under the bed.

Beth Beebe 14:15

But back up together.

Jodi Rosko 14:17

So Yeah. And so it's a mindset of like what can you know, how much will make you feel safe in your in your nesting that you're kind of keeping for your day-to-day stuff, right? And then what can we do with the rest to make sure that it's growing so so that it will take care of us later?

Beth Beebe 14:32

Right. And then that's where you get into that distribution phase that you talked about earlier is we look at that and we determine, well, how much can we pool, you know, and and those sorts of things to to fund that lifestyle.

Jodi Rosko 14:44

Without taking away from the main as much as possible.

Beth Beebe 14:47

Correct. Yeah. So lots of different pieces to this puzzle. Right. You know, right. Too many for me. That's why you're the smart one. So much fun to me. It's just like fun to strategize and to figure out how we can get to where we need to get. And you know, right now, we know the market has been volatile. Um working with somebody who's proactive, I think, is important too. I've spent the last three weeks on the phone, you know, kind of guiding people through this and talking to people and reaching out. So that's another piece is if you're not happy and want proactivity, find the people that will do that with you.

Jodi Rosko 15:27

Yeah.

Beth Beebe 15:27

Yeah. Because there's lots out there too.

Jodi Rosko 15:29

Well, and I think the market too, you can, you know, you can put your two cents in worth, but like over the long haul, it's gonna be okay. It's scary at certain times.

Beth Beebe 15:39

It is. And unfortunately, there are people who are experiencing the scary times at the least ideal time for going into retirement and making these plans. So you really want to look for somebody who can strategize for that. Yes, too.

Heather Fisher 15:55

Yeah. Yes. I love that. And we advocate every episode, everyone we talk to. When you have that strategy and that plan, the bumps that will come with any of the pieces you can get through them. And, you know, plan A, plan B, uh much easier than blinders on and hope it all works out.

Beth Beebe 16:17

I know people say it all the time, but you really don't know what you don't know. Yeah. So true. I hate to overuse the phrase, but it's just so true. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 16:26

I that's I think that's one of my favorite parts about this whole journey that we've been on with the whole downsizing roadmap, is is meeting so many people like you, and like the people who we have we have people who will help um seniors find the right place. They're brilliant. I I mean, we've had uh uh estate sale people, we've had um estate lawyers, like just everybody is so smart in their own ways, and I just love talking to all of you about it and figuring out how all those pieces of the puzzle, when you put all those people together, how much easier they can make your life.

Beth Beebe 17:00

Well, and I told you I loved that episode. I listened to that, you know, over the weekend, and I she gave great tips, some information that I thought, oh yeah.

Jodi Rosko 17:09

She's talking about the episode about um when the title company came and Taylor from MM Title came. Um so if you haven't listened to that episode, go listen to it. There is some really great information there as well.

Heather Fisher 17:19

Power of attorneys and your deed and just making sure those for undead, yeah, all of those um are in line for your estate to to transfer easily and to avoid scams. It was a great episode. So thank you for bringing that up.

Jodi Rosko 17:34

Yeah, but you're right. You don't know what you don't know, and there's so much I didn't know when I was dealing with my mom, and it would have been um so much nicer if I'd had some of these people to help me.

Beth Beebe 17:46

Yeah, you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of feelings involved with that when you see parents. Yeah, yeah.

Heather Fisher 17:54

How much um, you know, going back to sandwich generation and adult kids being in the picture and and seniors and um, you know, those at the cusp of moving from one to the other and all of that. How much of a total family picture or how much involvement do you see people wanting or need or do you suggest?

Beth Beebe 18:17

Or is it just so what I see versus what I suggest would be Yeah, tell us both. Yeah, yeah. So, and I've seen it around the gambit, honestly. I have one client who she has her children very involved. One of them is the POA, one is healthcare, power of attorney, and so one's financial. Um, and that seems to work for them. Now I don't know, every family is different, you know. Um but that was helpful because there was a downsizing situation. They had to go through all of the things, you know, and get rid of, pitch, keep, whatever. Um and it seems that it's been helpful to have somebody have financial power of attorney because this is a memory situation too, yeah, where she does not have the memory that she once had. Um so now, even as her advisor, I can call and check in with her son and say, Hey, just to let you know, this is our thoughts on this, you know. But I still I still call mom too. Yeah. And check in and talk about how she's loving her place that she's in and you know, all of that. So it's really worked out for them, which is a great, you know, story. And most of the time we see it work out when you have a plan. Even in the worst kind of case scenarios, I have another client who um they've been clients for a very long time. Her husband ended up having memory issues, dementia, had a stroke, and was really pretty incapacitated from that. They ended up in um you know, assisted care. And uh she we had such a good plan in place. She also has a son who's dealing with things for her too, um, which made it helpful as well. But but had she not had she kind of waited a while too for the plan, so it was a little bit more stressful there because then she ended up having a stroke too. So then you had thankfully hers wasn't as bad. But you still have kind of those last minute prepping that come come on kind of fast. Crisis prepping. So yes.

Jodi Rosko 20:16

So what we talk so much about um about be just being ready. Just be ready. It doesn't have to happen right now. But everybody should have a financial power of attorney and a um health care power of attorney. Like everybody should just have have that health care for sure. Um because things happen, you're fine until you aren't, right? Right. Exactly. And then when you aren't, and if you get that, you know, diagnosis of dementia, it's harder, much harder to get that power of attorney. Oh, absolutely.

Beth Beebe 20:46

That's true too. Yeah, from what I understand.

Jodi Rosko 20:48

Yes. And so we so um so just be ready. Like be ready for those unexpected things and hope that that never happens. But I think that takes the stress off of you. I think people, like you said earlier, we've had a lot of conversations about money and how it shows up in people's lives based on their childhood, based on all kinds of things. And a lot of people are afraid to talk about money.

Beth Beebe 21:14

Absolutely.

Jodi Rosko 21:15

Um, and so um but that planning is the part that takes that fear away. And even and they're afraid to make the plan, but then the only way to get that real fear of the money out away is to be is to have the plan about it and know what's gonna happen. Because I think, you know, you either have an abundant mindset about money or you have a scarcity mindset about money. And if you have a scarcity mindset about money and you don't have a plan, then you're just always in this turmoil of like what's gonna happen next, and what about this and what about this? But I'm afraid to go find out. And it's a terrible place to live in your brain.

Beth Beebe 21:52

And I think the earlier you can have those conversations, maybe the better too, especially with your parents, you know, that are aging, because There's less, I don't want to say animosity, but maybe negativity to or just the feeling the the the switch of parent child relationship.

Jodi Rosko 22:10

My mom did not want me to take any part of that.

Beth Beebe 22:12

Like that was not and sometimes and maybe not in every situation, but if you could have those conversations earlier to where it feels more like sharing your family history, you know, that that could be the beneficial. Typically in February, I do a client education on the family love letter where you can write out exactly where you want your things to go, you can write out where everything is and have it on one sheet. And also even talk about your values. You know, what's important to you as an adult right now that your pa your kids could be interested in and what they know about you. Yeah, I love that.

Heather Fisher 22:49

I love that too. Yeah. I I I think that um you know those conversations are just hard for some families to have or they just never have, so it seems like a taboo subject. And um, you know, I then I know Jody and I go and have adulting classes with our young young daughters and our kids, like, okay, here's all the things that no one told us, and you know, yeah.

Beth Beebe 23:17

That's a generational change too. I do feel like people are getting more comfortable, probably because there's more education about it and just yeah, you know, people were talking about it.

Jodi Rosko 23:26

Yeah, I I mean m my parents didn't talk a lot about money with me and um because their parents didn't talk with them like ever. Yeah. I don't think.

Beth Beebe 23:37

I don't think that was a conversation. Whereas my dad's a financial advisor. So you talked about money all the time. My kids know everything about houses. Exactly. Well, and like you said, you're going through things with your kids to let them know. I will say my mom's not a financial advisor, she was a nurse, and which also leads to this next comment. She created a binder for me that the title of it is What to Do When I Die. Perfect. And she, I mean, it's about this thick, and it literally lists everything. It's got her, you know, will, her POAs, all of that stuff. We advocate for that that she has.

Jodi Rosko 24:11

We at every class we give, we say we that people need to do that. Yeah, yeah. Because it's the biggest gift ever. That you you're already sad, and you just want to do what they want and what would they would have wanted and what's right for them. And so having them tell you that through paperwork or whatever and is amazing. I would have loved that.

Beth Beebe 24:33

Yeah, and I think you just nailed it. I mean, that's exactly how I feel about it too. It's like just lifted shifts already. Yeah. Of things you don't necessarily have to think about.

Heather Fisher 24:42

Yeah, so many things um that aren't necessarily the big picture, you know, here's you know, my bank account number, but simple things that I know were hurdles when Jodi went through things with her mom, like passwords to things and funeral arrangements for, you know, when someone passes and all of those things, having it in one spot. We are big advocates for um, you know, filling out a binder of some sort and just making it easy when whether it's someone passes or just a crisis. I know there was one time a couple years ago when um my dad was in the hospital for something and you know, we were my siblings and I and my mom were dealing with that. And then I went left to go home and got a phone call that my mom was in the hospital the same, you know, uh went in and so had both parents in the hospital and different. They were both home in a couple days. It was, you know, it didn't end up being, you know, something catastrophic, but it's like, oh gosh, wait, mom knows everything and we she can't be not available too. So absolutely. Just that availability of information.

Beth Beebe 25:56

And I know you guys may have touched on this in previous episodes too, but just to reiterate, your beneficiaries, that's something easy and simple, no matter really your asset size or anything like that, but make sure to update them. And you're talking like account by account, investment accounts, and bank accounts. Bank accounts, investment accounts, um and that even goes to insurance. I mean, make sure you're getting a review of your insurance, I would say yearly, to make sure that you're covered for what you feel you need. Yeah, um, whether that's term insurance, you know, all the different types of insurance can fall under that. Um but definitely make sure that those are up to date. Uh things like TOD own your accounts, transfer on death. Most institutions are are doing that kind of automatically now, but just double check that it is too. Is that different than the beneficiary or that's the same? It's a different beneficiary. It helps with probate and um kind of skipping that piece for people with the transfer on death. So and any questions like that, speaking with an attorney is a great option to kind of get their insight on how should I have my account set up? Yeah. You know, do I need a trust? Those sorts of things. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And if you speak with your financial advisor, I give referrals for those types of situations all the time, too. So if you have a need, talk to them. Yeah, they're happy to help you do that too. I think that's our circle, right?

Heather Fisher 27:20

We just have like all of us like around.

Jodi Rosko 27:22

So like, wait, now I know who you need to talk to. Yes, yes, yeah. Because it's true, like everybody has that specialization, and so you you you do need more than one person to talk to you about it. Absolutely.

Beth Beebe 27:35

And you know, you know your client, you know, you know what kind of personality they'll fit with somebody else, right? So it's that's kind of something to think about too.

Heather Fisher 27:43

Well, I think we think about it more on like health healthcare side, like, oh, uh, you know, you go to one doctor and then you go to another doctor for a different specialty, and you hope that they're asking, oh, what prescriptions are you, you know, that whole thing is talked about in healthcare. But I think if you're not establishing your financial people as a team, meaning they all know the names of each other, or you've facilitated conversations, or you know, in whatever way it's connected, people that already work together and refer, you can have your financial pieces fighting against each other, or at least not working together all for one plan.

Beth Beebe 28:29

So great analogy. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 28:32

And because you hear it talked about on the healthcare side, well, I didn't know that this that you were on this drug from that doctor and this and all of that, but it's the same in your financial pieces, just talk to all of them either together if that works, or at least let them know what you have done with a different one or introduce them. Absolutely. And let everybody work. That team word is the most important word that we've said.

Beth Beebe 29:02

And I think a lot of times, at least in my experience, when I do get the introduction to a tax professional, it's almost another relief for the client of, oh, okay, I don't have to try to get this information that she gave me over to this information that he needs, you know, so that can take the middleman out of it. Yeah. And we all work really well together. We play nicely in the same way.

Heather Fisher 29:24

You guys are the smart ones on these topics. Oh my goodness. So we it's what we study though, too.

Beth Beebe 29:28

You know, I mean, we are licensed and you know, getting constant education on this all the time. So, and I always tell my clients, you know, if I don't know the answer, I'll find it for you. Yeah. I'm super good at research. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 29:40

I mean, that's what you know, personally I w w want on my side as someone that knows the questions to ask the other professional on my team and knows that it's all being handled because I am not savvy on that and don't want to be.

Beth Beebe 29:56

So well, and if you've never dealt in a situation, you know, a lot of times we deal with, you know, things with charitable contributions too. Um that's not necessarily in everybody's wheelhouse. It's not something that comes up all the time, but it's something that can be talked about and utilized for people in certain situations as well. So, you know, there's just a like we said earlier, there's so much to it. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 30:20

Yeah. And we don't know what we don't know. We keep saying that, right? I love, I love what we're talking about though, is all the same stuff that we're talking about in our downsizing roadmap, you know, five steps, right? Number one is is getting dreamy about your future, right? And we tell them to do that about their house and their what what they're gonna look like and what that future is gonna look like, because we don't do that enough. But that's also what you you need to do so that you can talk to your financial planner about what's next and and what what you actually have. How are we funding this dream that I now have?

Beth Beebe 30:56

Yeah. Those are some of the best relationships we have of people who just get nitty-gritty and granular about what it is they want. Yeah. And that helps us so much on our side of planning too. Yeah, I love that.

Jodi Rosko 31:08

Well, and I do think the more clear you you are on what your vision is of what you want your life to look like, then that can be your your house, it can be travel, it can be your financial stuff, it can be all of that. Like you know what you want it to look like, then you can make that happen.

Beth Beebe 31:23

And it doesn't mean that life's not gonna, you know, come up and smack you on the face either. And you have to adjust those plans, but take the opportunities and adjustments to look at the plan again. Yeah. You know, when something happens, that's typically when people are forced to look at the plan or to reach out for help, you know, whether it's becoming, you know, widowed or a divorce that you didn't anticipate. Um injury. Or injury or, you know, anything like that, that's again another time to look at your right? Yeah. Yeah, it's it you can be scary when you think about it in those terms, but I think thinking about it and planning for it, it's better than the alternative.

Jodi Rosko 32:03

Well, that's the thing. I think that's just like in all of it, the fear comes from the unknown. And sometimes you just live in that fear instead of just going to find out the answer because you're afraid of the answer or whatever that looks like. But oh yeah, avoidance. Yeah, right.

Heather Fisher 32:18

I mean, and I have avoided topics in my life and all of that. But what I have almost, you know, I can't think of a time where I didn't discover that when I finally went to the right person and asked for help with the solution, that the solution was so much easier than I had built it up in my head with the fear and the unknown. And if I would have done it way earlier, probably could have addressed it. I mean, we talk about that even with like walking through someone's home and you know, a spot on the wall that you never repaired, and oh, that I just have been living with that for 10 years because that seems so overwhelming. And we're like, well, the contractor could fix that in an hour for a hundred bucks. And they're like, wait, what?

Beth Beebe 33:06

Sometimes I feel that way about the items in my basement. Yeah. Right? Like, why didn't I get rid of this four bags of clothes? You know, yeah. Of my kids that haven't worn it in a year.

Heather Fisher 33:16

Yeah. And so I think all of us walk around on various times and topics with that anxiety of the unknown, but it's almost always easier and solvable and better if you just handle it and get the information.

Jodi Rosko 33:32

That should be just our new mantra is just handle it. Honestly. Handle it. Like we were talking about stuff, like there'll be a pile of stuff and you walk by it for like three years or something, and then you go clean it up, and it took you like 20 minutes. Right. And it's been irritating.

Beth Beebe 33:45

I handled it last week and I feel so much better. I passed it off to a great friend who sent me the outfit that her son wore for Easter and was like, look, these are BB's clothes. I was like, oh, yes, so perfect. And they're so nice. You know, in some of this, they were one time. Right. You know, don't get me started. I know. Yeah, I know.

Heather Fisher 34:04

So if you're out there and you're just feeling anxious about not knowing if you have enough or not knowing if your plan, you know, your dream is possible, I think most importantly, we're saying go talk to someone, whether that's reaching out to Beth, and we'll get you all of her information before we're done here, but that's reaching out, or if you have someone, just making sure you're doing those check-ins to invoicing what your dream is and what your concerns are and how can I get there. And you know, that plan, there's always a way or you know, a way to find the best path for your situation.

Jodi Rosko 34:46

And it's not a one and done. Like it is something you need to look at yearly at the minimum, right? I would say, yeah. At minimum. Um because people will make a plan and then just let it ride and like kind of not deal with it again.

Beth Beebe 34:59

Right. Or they may not think to do it. Yeah. Just think, oh, well, I bought this insurance, you know, right, five years ago. Still probably good to look at because your situation could have changed, you know, any of that. But like we said, beneficiaries is the minimum, but you know, at least once a year, make sure that all that paperwork is put together in your book on when you die. Um, but it doesn't have to be fancy either, guys. It could be a binder.

Jodi Rosko 35:24

And once it's done, it's not just done. You have to go back and look at that. And if you have financial questions, you ask your financial person. You know, if you have questions about your estate, you get an estate attorney, all of those things. You just have to kind of continue to look at it.

Beth Beebe 35:38

Absolutely.

Jodi Rosko 35:38

When my mom passed away, I didn't even think about it for a year, but um, she was who the kids were to go to, like, right? And so it's just that's not what's on your mind at you know, so you just have to get in your habit of like looking at that. Right.

Beth Beebe 35:54

And that's a huge topic to think about, you know, what what's my alternative gonna be and those sorts of things too. So the whole, you know, you open that box can of worms. Yeah. Right. But it's a it's good to do. I mean, you need to figure it out, and like you said, it alleviates a lot of anxiety and stress. Yes. Yes.

Heather Fisher 36:10

And the alternative to not doing it is the crisis arises and it's harder and make the decisions yourself and family decisions. So you know, uh you do all of this prep work, all of the planning and prep and dreaming and all of it takes some work, but it makes the load off your mind, and uh when something happens, you are ready for it.

Beth Beebe 36:37

And it's just like hope for the best, but plan for the worst, honestly. And we we do that all the time. Yeah. Um, because you you do want to hope that life is easy and things are gonna go smoothly, but so often it ends up not being that way because life is gonna keep lifing.

Jodi Rosko 36:53

Right. But if in the meantime all of that is off your shoulders, absolutely, I think that that is a freer way to like 100% in your brain and utilizing that team that you put together.

Beth Beebe 37:04

Um, I know you guys have a team of people that you enjoy working with. We I can tell you in my line of work, and in Jody and Heather, we network all the time. So if there is a need, reach out to any of us because we know a person. Yes. Yes, we are. Well, tell us your info. Tell us about how they would reach out to you. You can reach out to me, and I have to read a disclosure to you all too at the end because I'm very compliance oriented. Uh we all have rules. Yes, we are. And we're a fiduciary firm, um, but definitely heavy on compliance. So you can get a hold of me on www.craig-capital.com. Um, I'm also on LinkedIn if you'd like to connect. Love that. And our address is 8485 Mason Montgomery Road, suite one, Mason, Ohio, 45040. And here's for the disclosure. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRRA SIPC Investment Advisory Services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Craig Capital Wealth Management is not a registered broker dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Perfect. Yes, best baby.

Jodi Rosko 38:11

Yes, check her out. She definitely can help you.

Heather Fisher 38:13

Yeah, so what is one action step someone should take this week if they wanted to start on this path? I would say call back. Call back. Call me. Call back any, you know, anything else to start that dreaming?

Beth Beebe 38:29

Honestly, I think meeting with your financial advisor or a new financial advisor if you're so inclined is probably the first step to look at your overall plan. And then, you know, talking about the downsizing side, those are where you can really develop the ideas with somebody who's objectively looking at your situation too, you know, and then the next step. So those conversations are what type of downsizing are you gonna do? What's your plan for this? You know, are you an empty nester? Because that's a totally different conversation than somebody who's a senior that, you know, maybe have health issues or things like that. And that person can really delve into the plan with you and the ideas that you have and guide you from there.

Heather Fisher 39:11

Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us today, Beth. We loved having you and we'll have you back for some more information. So I love chatting with you guys, and you're doing a great service to people as well. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks everybody for listening. If you need more resources, you can find those at our website, uh www.downsizingroadmap.com. See you. See you next time. Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Put us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.