Keeley Simpson - Turning Personal Experience Into Sound Financial Advice for Women

When our guest was in university, her family faced two crises at the same time. Her mother, a business owner, fell seriously ill. And without proper financial planning in place, a health crisis quickly became a financial one too.

That experience lit a fire that would shape the entire direction of her life. She became a wealth advisor on a mission to make sure other families never face what hers did. And at the heart of that mission is a belief she holds deeply: that every woman deserves honest, straightforward financial advice.

This is a conversation about family, resilience, and what becomes possible when a painful personal experience is channelled into a life's purpose.

#pivotalmoment #family #financialadvice

Lesley Hawkins is a keynote speaker, leadership strategist, and storyteller who believes growth happens in the everyday moments that define who we become. Drawing on years of experience leading, guiding, and mentoring teams, Lesley brings authenticity, curiousity, and heart to the conversation, as each interaction is an opportunity to define what truly matters.

One question. One turning point. One powerful story. 

To learn more about Lesley: www.lesleyhawkins.ca / www.marsley.ca

@the_lesley_hawkins_podcast

The Lesley Hawkins Podcast is a Marsley Canada production.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Leslie Hawkins Podcast. Each week, my guest and I discuss one pivotal moment in their life, what they learned from it, and their words of wisdom. When our guest was in university, her family faced two crises at the same time. Her mother, a business owner, fell seriously ill. And without proper financial planning in place, a health crisis quickly became a financial one too. That experience lit a fire that would shape the entire direction of her life. She became a wealth advisor on a mission to make sure other families never face what hers did. And at the heart of that mission is a belief she holds deeply that every woman deserves honest, straightforward financial advice. This is a conversation about family, resilience, and what becomes possible when a painful personal experience is channeled into life's purpose. Welcome to the Leslie Hawkins Podcast. I am so grateful that you are here joining us today. Please welcome today's guest, Keely Simpson. So Keely is the CEO, the chief compliance officer, portfolio manager, and founder of RTech Wealth. So, Keely, welcome. Glad to have you here. Thank you. Thanks for having me. That's awesome. So this podcast is all based on one question, which is what is one pivotal moment in your life? And the one thing about that question is that it's universal. We've all had multiple pivotal moments through our life, irrespective of our age. And it can be some of those pivots that we take control of ourselves. And then there's other pivots that are sort of forced upon us. And in my journey, I found that some pivots have been a great experience and others have been a little bit more challenging, where there's a sense of loneliness, and I'm the only person in the world who's ever gone through this. And I wanted to create this platform where people could learn from amazing people like yourself, hear your story, and learn not only about you and your story, but about what's happening and how you know humans are so good at being resilient and agile, and people get this sense that they're not alone. So my question for you is what is that one pivotal moment in your life?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Thank you. Um, it's a great question. Um, I would say for me, I mean, I was 19 years old graduating from McGill University, and my mom kind of got sick out of nowhere. She had gotten bit by a tick in one of her work trips, and ended up with uh trigeminal neuralgia, which is when your brain swells and there's an artery root that wraps around it. So it just created this condition that has a lot of facial pain for her. Okay. And so she had to have quite a few different brain surgeries. And just living through all of that as, you know, graduating from university, thinking of like my what am I supposed to do next with my life, and just realizing pretty quickly that the advice that financial advisors are giving their clients is just so important because with my mom in particular, she was a business owner and just didn't have disability insurance. Oh. And that's something that as business owners, we can put through, make sure that we have disability coverage, because there's some statistics out there that say that between a certain age range, like of you know, 35 to 55, you're something like 40 times more likely. And don't quote me on that, but it's a big number uh to become disabled than to die.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Ouch.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

And so if you're a business owner and it's only yourself bringing in the income, then what are you to do if yourself cannot work anymore? Right. So for my mom, had she gotten, you know, that crucial advice, that financial planning advice, you know, that sort of moment for her could have been totally different where we're not dealing with this health crisis along with a financial crisis at the same time. Because at the time she was the main breadwinner of the household as a business owner, was doing super well, but it was her. She was the key person bringing in the business. Right. And so when she had, you know, to step back and she was taking care of her health, she couldn't really work anymore.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

No.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

And so that really kind of led us down a path. Moved back home, figured things out with my parents, and was there very present in terms of you know, the surgeries and stuff like that. Um, but yeah, it was a really challenging time. And my little sister was super young at the time. We're 17 years apart.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

So she's just graduating from university now. Oh, wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

That is a big difference. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

It is. Yeah, we're 17 years apart. And just, you know, really opened my eyes up to wow, as advisors, yes, you have this power to make or break a family's financial future by just providing the right advice.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

And this advisor was just more focused on life insurance. Life insurance pays way more in terms of commissions.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

And disability insurance doesn't really. So it's not like lining the right pockets, so to speak. But really, that's what fiduciary advice is all about is putting your clients' interests ahead of anything else. And that's part of the reason why I founded RTEC is that I'm a true believer that you need true fiduciary advice. Like that it's so important because you can't have a mix of different things going on in the background that the advisor has to think to themselves, hey, is this what I want to do for the client today? Okay. Because it may not make a difference for my pay today. But if I did this instead, then you know it's gonna make a difference to me. Right. And that's what's so important about having that fiduciary advice is that in the independent channel, you can't do that. You it's a legal responsibility to put the client's interest ahead of anything else. So ahead of the advisor, ahead of the firm. Right. Always client first. Interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

So you were 19. You were going to McGill.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

I was, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

And did you have interest in finance?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I did. I was actually working at a bank at a brokerage in Montreal.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

While I was going to university. So I was working part-time. I was working with an advisory team in Montreal.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

And I was very interested in it. I thought I was going to go into investment banking because back in 2008. Yeah. That was like the sexy thing to do when you're graduating from finance. Right. So anyway, I thought that was going to be my path. Um, the financial crisis happened at the same time. Not a good time. Not a good time for any of that. I had this opportunity to join the rookie program at the bank and work with the team as a junior advisor. So that's what I went and did. And that's what kind of led me down the path, like looking at my mom's situation. What do I really want to do? I really want to make a difference. I want to educate women specifically.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Not because I'm a woman necessarily, but more because she was sitting at the table and didn't ask any questions.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

And a lot of the times the man of the relationship will ask a bunch of questions, but my dad wasn't really there. He was working. So, you know, she just trusted the process. Yes. So I just, in my experience, um felt that it was really important to educate women because there's not a lot of material out there in terms of that financial education. That I just felt so important to educate women specifically on the questions that they need to be asking, the I the questions they need to be asking themselves. The idea behind having that education that's specific for women investors, not just everyone. And so I started a series of seminars with McGill, with the McGill Women's Alumni Association. Right when I graduated. Okay. And I've been doing them since 2009. Okay. That's really That's amazing. It's really a long time. Um, and now they've switched to webinars. So I do them in a web version. Um, do them every year. And yeah, it's been like like thousands of women have joined and been educated, and it's just been really um rewarding for me because I'm giving them this information that they wouldn't have elsewhere.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Elsewhere.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Okay. That's amazing. And if if you don't mind me asking, when your mom did get sick, what level of involvement did she have on the family finances? Like she was the main breadwinner. She was, yeah. But was she also the one that was handling the books and everything else? So she was really in tune with where the income was coming from and what they needed to do.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

It was just the advice wasn't the advice just wasn't there for her in terms of these are the things that you need to think about from a risk management perspective. Okay. If something were to happen today and you couldn't work anymore, uh what would happen? Yeah. Where would the income stream come from?

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Mm-hmm. Okay, that's a bit of a problem. Right. Right. Okay. Well, as an entrepreneur now, I can tell you the same questions are asked around this house. Like, what happens if something happens to us? Yeah. Like, what do we do now? Uh life insurance is one thing, but disability is disability is another one.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

But you don't want to buy disability like insurance, like it goes, you know, it's good until 65 years old. So um if a business owner is, you know, over the age of 60, then it wouldn't be worth an investment in that type of policy. But for sure, between the ages of 35 and even 50, it's it's worth the investment.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Definitely worth it. Interesting. Okay. And so specifically, you've done work with women, but it's it's it's not just female clients that you're working with, right? So it's pretty broad. And so 19 months ago, yeah, thereabouts, you start started your own business. Yeah. So why did you decide to do that? You were doing all this work with McGill and making all these differences anyhow. So why that?

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Well, I was working with the bank for almost 17 years. Okay. And it was it was fine, but I looked around and I thought, you know, is this really where I want to finish my career?

SPEAKER_02 11:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Um, I'm always put client first. Yes. Um, so that was one aspect that really had me thinking. And I just really felt in my heart of hearts that I could we could do it better in the independent space. That was really what I felt. Um, so I resigned. I wanted to hit the reset button. My mom was still been battling with some health issues.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

And my grandmother wasn't doing well. I have four young kids. So you have a busy life. I do. And I never took a Met leave. So I worked through all of my pregnancies and having my babies and I had four kids in five years.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

So good grief.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

I was a little tired. Yes, I can imagine. And I just wanted to take some time to hit the reset button and think about the future. Um, so I took some time and I registered uh my company with the Ontario Securities Commission.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

I went through a very lengthy application process with them. It took many, many months.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

And then um, once I launched, uh Will and his team ended up joining me as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Um, because they felt it would also be better to be in the independent world as well. So they came and joined me. And, you know, now we have about 420 million under management. Wow. And a few hundred families have joined us since our launch.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

And we're growing every day, which is really, really great. Um, clients have given us very positive feedback about the the overall transition, the technology, the reporting. It's just it's 2026 technology. Yes, right, exactly. And big institutions can't invest in technology the way that smaller firms can because it's kind of like building your own house. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like you can go and pick out all your cabinetry. Yes. You can go pick out all your flooring. Right. You can create a gym if you want. All that sort of stuff is up to you. And you know what you would want in your house. Right. Because you've lived in houses before. Yes. Right? Yes. And so I knew what I wanted or needed to deliver the best client experience. So good. And so that's what we went, and I created it all, you know, during my time. And so far, clients have been very pleased with it, which is which is really great. Amazing. And we're a team of eight people. So our team is growing. Okay. And we're three portfolio managers. Um, so yeah, I would say it's been a really great transition. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. And it's not for the faint of heart.

unknown 13:34

No.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Because you're, you know, it's being an entrepreneur, as I'm sure you've seen, like you're making a lot of decisions that you didn't have to make before. Correct. And it's not about the corporate world where decisions are made for you anymore. These are big decisions that you have to make on your own, and you have to be confident in the decisions that you're making. So your mom's health is good better? She's still been battling with it. Okay. She's still in a lot of pain. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

So did she has she managed to go back to work or no, she never did.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

She never did. No. Okay. So it's been a long time.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

A massive change. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

And my sister is graduating from university. So from the time that my sister was very little, my mom hasn't been able to work.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Okay. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

So that's major impact. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

But it's definitely formed how you've built your career. It has. I mean, it's taught me a lot of resilience. Yes. Um, a lot of mental toughness, if you will. Yes. Okay. Um and, you know, really like as a woman, like I just feel it's my responsibility to educate, um, just to edu like, just to be an educator and for people to learn from what I've learned from. Yes. Um, and just really important for us to be able to give that level of service to clients and that financial education is just so, so important.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Um, and my mom has, you know, she was a business owner before. And I watched her grow. And she was really an inspiration for me for a really long time. And that's what I always thought that that was like, oh, when I grow up, I kind of want to be like my mom. Exactly. Um, but yeah, I mean, things shifted and changed for her, and that's that's part of life, you know, and you have to you have to deal with the cards that you're dealt, and you have to you have to make the most of it.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Right. Yeah. The challenge is is trying to have a good view of of what all the potential scenarios are in your future and have something planned for it. I know. And it it's a bit of throwing a dart at the wall.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Sometimes. Some days. Yeah, sometimes. Right. Or you can sit down and just really look at a plan. Okay. Um, and that's the other thing. Like you could create your own death folder, which you know, let's talk more. We don't want to do that. But you could just have it on your computer. You could call it if I'm dead or if I've died. You can make a, I don't know, have some folder, have some fun. Um, I would probably password locket to the person that you'd want to open. Yes. And in there you would have where what what are your bank accounts? Okay. What's your password?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

What are the investments? Okay. What are the life insurance? Was there accidental insurance? Like whatever the insurance policies are. You want to make sure that your beneficiaries are all set up right on your registered plans. Yes. And if you have anything that's outside of a registered plan, but you're in a in a you're married, you want to make sure that you have joint ownership over those assets. Because anything that's not joint ownership will end up in in an estate account and go through probate. Okay. And that's just the Ontario government putting a stamp on it. Right. It just takes a long time. Yeah. Costs a lot of money. And it's not like fun for the person dealing with it.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

No.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Um, and then, you know, in that death folder, you probably want to have what your LinkedIn password is, like Yeah. All of all of the social media stuff. Okay. Car insurance, car information, like just all the things that would be important for someone to find. Okay. Just to have it all in one spot. And that same go the same thing would be important to have if something were to happen, like if there was a car accident.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

And the person needed to get power of attorney for a little while. God. And have access to all the stuff. Like bills needed to be paid. Like all the things.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

All the things.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Okay. I need to create a folder. I mean, I have stuff, but it's a little bit everywhere. It's not in necessarily in one spot.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Yeah, it'd be best if it's organized just in one folder.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

And then if you have a company too, you would want to have a secondary will. Yeah. So that not your corporate assets are not flowing through your personal assets. Okay. Um, just something to think about because it's always separate. It's always separate. There's just so much to know. There is a lot to know. There's a lot to know. So just having a power of attorney, too, really important. Yes. Yeah. Yes. One for property and one for care.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

And okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

All right. There's a lot to learn. All right. So now you have your own business. And what does life sort of look like for the next five years for you?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Um, growing the business. Yes. Um, making sure the kids are doing well. Um my oldest is eight and my youngest is four now. Wow. And then I have a seven and an almost six-year-old. So and we have a dog as well. So just making sure that the kids are doing well. They have lots of activities, hockey, soccer starting soon, lacrosse starting soon, spring hockey. So you're the Uber driver, got it? Yeah. I am, yeah. Yeah. I am the chaperone. Um, but it's fine. As long as they're busy and they're doing well, that's so important because that's that's when they're thriving. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And which I your mom too. I think that's definitely yeah. Yeah. You feel like a sense of joy and pride when they're doing really well. When they're doing well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

I know you sort of live and breathe by what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

And that was part of the other impetus, like having my own firm and even doing it with Will, who is my husband. He and I can be on the same page about everything, and we're not working in opposite directions. We're working on the same ship. Yes. Making the ship move in the same direction.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

So a lot of times we get asked questions like, Oh, how is it working with your husband? Right. Like, well, it's actually better that way because you're not having competing forces. Yes. You're working on the same overall goal, which is do really like the utmost best for the clients. Yes. Grow the business, take care of the family. Everything is aligned. So good. All the goals are in the same bucket on the same ship. Right. And you're working together to get to that finish line.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

So he's also a financial Yes, he's a portfolio manager.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

He's the president and chief investment officer. Okay. Um, at RTEC.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

So good. Okay. Well, yeah, I have to say, Mark and I get that question all the time. And it always starts with so how's it like working with your husband? Like people look at you like you've got four heads. Like, you must be crazy. I was like, no, actually, it works really well. Yeah. Right. For all those reasons. Yeah. There's built-in flexibility, but there's like a common understanding of what day-to-day is like, what the priorities are like, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:51

And just knowing without having to have 50 different conversations about something. Yes. You just know.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

You just know.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Okay. And so your relationship with McGill is because you were alumni. Yes. But you started that program like really soon after you graduated.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

It was like shortly after I graduated. It was an idea I had, and they went for it. They didn't have anything like it. I was even asked to do um to build out a financial education program for the McGill Executive Institute. Um, but because the institution larger institutions have rules about outside business activities and stuff like that, and it just didn't work out. But um so I just kept doing my seminars.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Okay. That's great. Yeah. Great value add. And a good, good university to be partnered with. I did love Miguel. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Fellow fellow alma mater, big cheerleader for it. Yeah. Okay. So through all of the um the learnings from your mom's illness and sort of pivoting. Into, okay, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to help women understand their financial literacy. Um, what have you learned about the community and what have you learned about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Well, I would say in terms of the community, like as women, we're all gonna be stewards of the capital uh one day. Okay. Whether it's through divorce or um like becoming a widow. Um, that those are the statistics today, anyways. And there's apparently this massive transfer of wealth happening. I keep hearing about it. I keep hearing about it too. Yes. Waiting for it to unfold. Hello. It's gonna happen, apparently, yeah. Through all the statistics. Exactly. Um so I just feel it's very important for women to have that knowledge because as the stewards of capital, they have to be the stewards for the next generation.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

For their kids and the grandkids. And sometimes we're talking about a lot of wealth here and making some not so great decisions in in a moment that maybe is like if you're grieving, yes, or if you're angry, then you know, maybe it's not right, not the best decision for the next generation. So really having that advisor that you can trust and rely on. And that's the thing about the advisor relationship with clients, it's who you like, know, and trust.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

And women, more often than not, are not the ones dealing with the advisor directly. Correct. And so a lot of times the stats show that if there's a divorce or the husband passes away, they change advisors within the first year.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Um, it's just that when you're grieving or if you're angry, yeah. Maybe it's not the right advisor. And don't get me wrong. Yes. But making those kind of big big decisions for your investments and the future of your financial, like your financial future for yourself and your family, you want to make sure that you're very careful about making those decisions and being well educated is the best way because then you can make an educated decision.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Yeah. For we work with a financial advisor and it's she's the person that like before we make a decision, even if it's not something that has massive financial implications, it's just uh I need another voice. Yeah, I need somebody else to kind of bring their insights in and it's really trusting relationship, right? And it uh I think to be able to uh build those relationships though, where you're talking to people about their financial situation, their financial future, the future of their family, to build that trust takes a really special kind of person and character because it's not something that I think is handed out easily.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

It's not, no. And they they keep talking about having more women as as advisors because it's still a very male-dominated industry.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

And it's not that men don't do a good job at it. I actually feel like Will and Greg on my team do an excellent job. Um, like almost I feel like better than I do sometimes. I'm like, what? Like, what the heck is they're very good communicators with both partners in the relationship. Um, and I think that that's really important is being a very good communicator, being able to listen and understand, and being able to understand what the person's goal is to be able to provide that right advice. Okay. Um, but they do keep talking about having more women in the industry and how there's like only 20% of women. Okay. It's all male dominated. Right. How do we get more women?

SPEAKER_01 25:52

But it's an odd yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

I don't think, you know, you have a a a person that you're dealing with who is a woman, so that's great.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

Um, but yeah, I don't think it's something that's going to be solved for anytime soon. It's just the facts that are the facts that it just happens to be a more male-dominated industry. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Well, having spent my career in the sporting goods industry, I can tell you the stats are not good. There's a lot of runway, but yes, trying to find ways to get more female into industry, period. Yes. But um, I definitely understand on this one that there's a there's a comfort level, quite frankly, in talking to somebody who has who understands, right? Talking to somebody who understands being a mom, being an executive, being a breadwinner, being all of that. Um it helps because it helps build the trust, to build the relationship, because there's a common understanding of what day-to-day life is like and all of the all of the things that you're managing, right? All of the hats. All of the hats.

SPEAKER_00 26:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

And there is no real work-life balance, like let's all be real here. Yeah. It is a total facade. No, if you're really focused on one thing, there is gonna be a ball that drops over here, and it's just about juggling which ball is more important at that moment, right? It's making work-life decisions, making choices, yeah. Exactly. And maybe friendships are not here right now, yes. Like, you know, a handful of friendships, yes. But you know, it's just it's part of life, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Yeah, yeah. There's only so much time in the day.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Yeah. And that there's at the at the core of it, it starts with family and then goes from there.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

Yeah. Yeah. Cause that's really what's most important. Yes. Right? Your family and your health. Yes. And everything else kind of can fall into place. Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

And you definitely learn that lesson from your mom's situation.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

I have health is yeah. It's a lot. You don't have your health. No, no, no. It becomes quality of life, just being able to enjoy your life altogether is you know, it's one day everything's fine, and then the next day it's not. It's not. And it can just flip on a dime. Yeah. You know, and that's being grateful for those days and looking forward to the next day. And, you know, like every day is a gift. Yes. Right. Um, and being just present in the moment, like my kids drive me crazy. I just spent a week away with them in Mexico. Will and I took them away for spring break. They become vacation gremlins.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Oh, yes. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

I mean, really, they do. Yes. It's very hard expression to describe it, but that's really what they become vacation gremlins. Yes. And Will's like, are you having fun? I'm like, I'm I'm trying to enjoy the moment. Yes. Because they're not going to be this little forever. Right. He's like, because I'm not, I don't, this is driving me crazy. Yeah. I'm like, I know, but you're going to look back on these moments. Like these are like the core memory-making moments. Yes. Where you're like, oh my God, you're driving me crazy. But at the same time, I'm not going to see you be seven years old in Mexico anymore. Exactly. Exactly. You know, like, yes, they were running around the water park acting like, yeah, you know, no care in the world, but they were having fun. They were having fun. They were drinking their fanta, they were having a sitting down on the chair, having some strawberry daiquis. I mean, seriously. They were living their best lives. Right, right. And you just get to run after them.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Well, I would I sat in one place or I stood in one place and I just watched them. And I was like, being partners. Yes. And I will watch. And it was just like bing, bang, boom.

unknown 29:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

You're like that lifeguard that just keeps looking.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

And I had the lifeguard standing next to me. So you can go sit. And I'm like, I'm not setting my four kids in here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Yes. Yeah. Vacation is a bit different when you've got younger kids because it's not really vacation.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

It's it's really just a relocation. It's yeah. It's just parenting in a new location, but with more challenging environments to deal with because they're out of their routine. Right. And they just go crazy.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

And they go crazy.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Yeah. Yeah. Kind of like Christmas. Yeah. Kind of. Or even Easter egg hunts. Just anything special. It's just chaos. Do you miss those days?

SPEAKER_01 30:21

Um parts of it. But I I only had two kids, right? I went by the old theory of I have two hands, two kids, we're done. Half cooked. Um and uh yeah, but now they're 20 and 22. And so it's a different set of conversations, different set of chaos. Okay. Right? It's more like paying rent and I need to buy a car. And you know, the conversations over the last five years are very, very different from when they were kids. Yeah. Heavier. So yeah. It's all different at different stages.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Yeah. Just get through it. You just get through it. You get through it. You just have to try to enjoy the moments. Yes. And you know, have those memories because you just don't know when something's gonna be. Totally, totally.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

Yeah. Yeah. So my last question for you is what would be from everything you've learned from the the pivotal moments in your life, what would be your words of wisdom for the audience?

SPEAKER_00 31:25

My words of wisdom would be um just do a financial checkup. Okay. You know, um, look at everything that you have going on and think about like a worst case scenario. Okay, and if that worst case scenario were to happen to you, is there a risk management plan in place? Okay. Um excuse me. It's okay. If there's not, figure something out. Yeah, talk to someone. Yeah, talk to your advisor, to a professional, like get a plan in place. Okay, because you just never know when something's gonna shift or change. Right. If you don't feel like you're educated enough to look at your situation and see any kind of gaps, there are podcasts, there are books, okay, you know, audible, yeah, like lots of different recommendations on there for just financial, just like a financial fitness. Yes. Um, information out there that exists. And just, you know, make sure that you're covered on all your bases. Right. Um, and then I mean, I would just say like my words of wisdom would just be like, you know, we're all resilient and we've all had to deal with like many different life challenges. Yes. And it just takes a lot of mental toughness and not all not everything is enjoyable, but just try to make the most out of what you have in front of you and just be grateful for for what you have.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Well said. Thank you. Yes, definitely. Well, I am my project now is to build a death folder.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

And I'm gonna come up with a different name because that freaks me out a little, but it's the concept of it that is so grounded.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

You can just call it emergency folder.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Which is just to make it that much easier for the other person who's having to manage whatever catastrophe is happening.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:29

And also the other homework I've got is to just make sure that we have some scenario plans. I think we've got some, but I probably need to broaden it a little bit more, having learned the story of your mom. Yeah. Um, that's yeah. So I appreciate you coming and sharing your story. It is great to finally meet you in person. And uh for everybody watching and listening, I know that there's some great takeaways with learning from your story, understanding that it's that you need to be empowered to take care of yourself, your own health, but also your financial health as well, and to find someone like you that can help you on the journey. So it's great. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Awesome. Thank you for joining me today. Keely's journey has certainly been tough, and yet she has turned it into a mission to help more women become financially literate. So now I'm off to work on my death folder. If this story resonated with you, please share it with someone you care about. And be sure to subscribe so you can continue to hear more pivotal stories involving one question, one turning point, one powerful story. I'll see you next week with another guest on the Leslie Hawkins Podcast.