When Life Changes: Creating Financial Confidence in Retirement

In this episode of Reverse Mortgage & Beyond, host Cheryl Scheidell with Barrett Financial Group sits down with financial educator and retirement strategist Betty Pecha for an eye-opening conversation about what retirement planning really means—especially for widows, women in transition, and those facing “gray divorce.”

Betty shares why having retirement accounts is not the same as having a retirement plan, how taxes and timing can dramatically impact long-term income, and why education—not fear—should drive financial decisions. Together, Cheryl and Betty explore how housing wealth, reverse mortgages, and smart financial sequencing can work alongside traditional retirement strategies to create stability, flexibility, and peace of mind.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

•  Why a 401(k), IRA, or pension alone does not equal a retirement plan 
•  The difference between qualified, non-qualified, and Roth accounts—and how they’re taxed 
•  Why “50/50” divorce settlements may not be financially equal long-term 
•  The importance of sequencing income to reduce taxes and extend retirement funds 
•  How Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) can impact taxes and Social Security 
•  Why liquidity matters—especially for healthcare, emergencies, and aging expenses 
•  Betty’s “gardening analogy” for building a sustainable retirement income strategy 
•  How reverse mortgages can complement—not replace—financial planning 
•  Why having a clear plan reduces emotional decision-making during life transitions 

Who This Episode Is For

✔️ Pre-retirees and retirees
 ✔️ Widows and women navigating financial transitions
 ✔️ Seniors concerned about taxes, income, and longevity
 ✔️ Families planning for healthcare and aging in place
 ✔️ Anyone who wants clarity instead of confusion about retirement

Cheryl Scheidell is a reverse mortgage specialist with over 20 years in the mortgage industry and more than a decade dedicated to reverse mortgages. She is passionate about educating seniors, families, and professionals on how housing wealth can be used strategically to support aging, independence, and retirement security. 

Catch Cheryl every week on her radio show:
“Is A Reverse Mortgage Right for You?”
📻 Sundays at 3:30 PM on AM960.

Contact Cheryl Scheidell
If you’d like to explore your options or simply want education tailored to your situation, Cheryl is happy to help.
Reverse Mortgage Specialist | NMLS #886425
 📞 480-817-4324
📧 cheryls@barrettfinancial.com
▶️ YouTube: @reversemortgageandbeyond
🌐 ReverseMortgageAndBeyond.com

👉 If you enjoyed this episode, please SUBSCRIBE, RATE, and REVIEW Reverse Mortgage & Beyond so more people can discover these meaningful conversations.

About the Guest

Betty Pecha is a financial educator and retirement strategist who specializes in helping people—especially women—navigate retirement with confidence. With a background in legal compliance and financial education, Betty focuses on creating clear, understandable plans that help clients make thoughtful decisions over the long term, not emotional ones in moments of stress. 

 Financial Educator & Retirement Strategist

A&M Futures
📞 602-524-9230
📧 betty@amfuturesllc.com

 #ReverseMortgage, #RetirementPlanning, #AgingInPlace, #FinancialEducation, #WidowsSupport, #SeniorFinance, #HomeEquity, #WomenAndMoney, #RetireWithConfidence, #ReverseMortgageAndBeyond 

Disclaimer: Cheryl Scheidell | NMLS #886425 | Barrett Financial Group, LLC. | NMLS #181106 | 2701 East Insight Way, Suite 150,
Chandler, AZ 85286 | AZ 0904774 | NV 5091] OR | TX view complaint policy at barrettfinancial.com/texas-complaint.

Information discussed is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, financial, or cybersecurity advice and does not constitute a loan offer or credit decision.. Reverse mortgage programs are subject to eligibility, underwriting, and approval. Loan programs, rates, and guidelines are subject to change. Always consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific situation.

 | Equal Housing Opportunity | Equal Housing Lender | This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to
 credit approval. | nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/181106 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Reverse Mortgage and Beyond, the podcast where we take you inside the world of reverse mortgages. I'm Cheryl Schidell and I have been in the mortgage industry since 2002 and have specialized in reverse mortgages for the past 10 years. We'll cover topics like reverse mortgage basics, purchasing a home, and the myths about reverse. You'll also hear from some trusted referral partners. Let's get started. Hi everyone. Welcome back to Reverse Mortgage and Beyond. I'm your host, Cheryl Scheidell and with Barrett Financial. And I just want to say right off the bat here, I also have a radio show. I want you to check in at AM960 The Patriot on Sundays, 3:30 p.m. Arizona time. And you can listen to some past podcasts there or on Spotify. I have some basics about reverse, the misconceptions, how to purchase a home with reverse, but I also have referral partners. One of them is joining me today, Miss Betty Pecca. Then I also have had, you know, in-home healthcare, you know, other types of referral partners from roofers to moving companies to organizers to hospice of the valley to mobile doctors. So definitely check it out. I just want to be a resource to my community. But today I'm really excited, you know, because, you know, I bring you trusted professionals, practical guidance, and conversations with local trusted individuals. And Betty Pecca is here with us today. She's with AM Futures. And I'm just excited to have her to educate us on um, you know, finances and retirement. She's a financial educator and retirement uh strategist who works with people as they approach and move through retirement. So we're gonna um talk about that. But go ahead and give us your background, Betty, so that way you can learn.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

I started out in the world, uh, the legal world, worked my way through uh compliance for New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ company, and decided that that was really stressful. Really? But uh that I really like working with people, especially women that are going through transition, meaning if they're going through divorce or recently widowed, because those seem to have a target that no one really cares. They just want to push them through the system. And and I want to make sure that they're educated, they understand what's going on, and we can help them move forward.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Yes, and I work with a lot of widows, and um, some of them just don't know how to handle their finances, but we'll get into that um as we go along here. Um, you know, we got that silver tsunami coming up, you know, and um, but let's just, you know, I I just you're working when we just talked about widows, but also silver divorces. I just had somebody that did a reverse mortgage. She got a divorce at 81, silver divorce. Yeah. And um, it was her second marriage, but she had to get the reverse mortgage to pay off her soon-to-be ex-husband, but she used the reverse mortgage to do that. So I was able to help her out. But it's just sad that we're having to do that. And then we've got our widows. Um, I have several people. Unfortunately, we're all getting older, and I've had some people call me and they're dealing with um, you know, uh their their spouse passing away. And so, um, so that's why we're here with Betty today. So I'm just gonna start off with by saying thank you for having, you know, coming out and helping us here. And um, you work with people approaching retirement. Um and I know you often, you know, you're often asked the question what really makes people stop and think, can you share with us, you know, what is important to do right now as they approach retirement? We'll start there.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

I can, but I'm gonna add one thing to your your gray divorce. Okay remember that a 50-50 split is not necessarily the most advantageous.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Just because it's 50-50 on paper doesn't mean two years down the road that it's even split. You really need to look at the different types of accounts that they have. So we're talking accounts, not houses, so got it. Okay. Right. Okay, but the house part is part of that.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Good point. Okay, good. Good point. No, no, no. I'm glad you brought that up because people don't think about that.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

No, they don't. I always thought 50-50, that's the way to go, and it's not.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

So you gotta really look at that on paper. Okay, good. So so and then that goes with hand in hand with one of the questions I always ask everybody is do you have a retirement plan or do you just have tools?

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

And they're like, oh, well, I have a 401k, I have maybe a pension, um, uh an IRA. Those are all tools, they're not a plan. So we need to look at what that plan is, just like with the divorce, you have to see where it's gonna be for you 20, 30 years down the line.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Okay, okay. So why do you think so many people assume having those accounts means they're ready?

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Because when we go into our careers, everybody tells you to accumulate. And so we do a good job accumulating, but nobody tells us um what we're supposed to do with that. How are we supposed to use those funds when it gets to time for for our retirement? So it's kind of like we're showing up, you know, I have this 401k, but then what happens if you need something else? What happens, you know, it's okay, so you're gonna build a house, you show up with hammers and nails. Oh, yay. But the problem is you need the blueprint so you can actually build the house.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

And create the foundation. Exactly. Okay. Exactly. So you help everybody create the foundation. Yes. So um, what are the biggest things people forget to think about?

SPEAKER_02 6:03

The the biggest things that they forget to think about is I I call it sequencing.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

So when you have your accounts together, you by what I mean by sequencing is you're not going to necessarily pull money just from one account. You have to see how that affects your taxes.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

And how it affects longevity and go from there. So that's that's the biggest thing is to pay attention to is looking at that sequencing and the type of account that it is. Is it a qualified account? Is it a non-qualified account? Meaning they're both taxed differently.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Okay. So do you want to go into that and explain a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_02 6:47

So um an a qualified account, which is your 401k, your traditional IRA, with those accounts, you're they're all tax deferred, right? And everybody thinks that's great.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah, I was always wondering. I'm like, I'd rather pay the less taxes now, right? Because the taxes are just gonna go up later.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

We well, you got that crystal ball that shows me that? So I don't know. But I But haven't they been going up? Oh, absolutely. Okay. Just say it. And right now we're in uh the one of the lowest tax brackets we've ever been in. So that's good. So that's good. Right. So you want to pay your taxes now. Right. Because when you get to retirement, taxes may be higher. Right. And we also think, oh, well, I'm in retirement. Ma I'm not gonna get taxed on so much. Well, you don't have as many deductions either. Good point. So people don't think about that. Right. They don't think about that. So when you pull out that money out of your account, of your deferred account, your qualified account, you're you have to pay the taxes on it.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Okay. And then you also have required minimum distributions. You have to do that. Uh and but with a non-qualified, when you pull money out of their account and So what's a non-qualified account? So a non-qualified account is kind of like let's say we put a lump sum into an investment account. Okay. We tagged it as um not tax qualified, so it's non-qualified. So is it qualified?

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Is it an IRA or 401k, a Roth? Are those the Roth? A Roth? A Roth is quite a lot of things. A Roth is your best.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Well, a Roth is actually a Roth is actually an extra type of animal that you put you pay your taxes now and you don't pay any taxes later. That's the best thing you can have. But there's also qualifications for being able to have a Roth, how much you can put into a Roth.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Whereas there, then there's with other types of non-qualified accounts where you put the money in now, you pay the taxes only on the growth. Whereas a qualified, you pay the taxes on as on everything. Okay. Because you didn't pay any taxes up front. Right. So you're non-qualified, you usually start it with money out of your savings account or your checking account, um, so that the taxes are already paid on that money, right? Right. Yeah. So then you're good. You only have to pay the taxes on the growth.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

So as people are starting out and moving, you know, when they're starting out and they're doing all the things they're supposed to be doing and getting the 401ks and all that started, should they be doing a combination, doing the 401k and then something that is after taxes and growing for them, right? So a combination.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

Absolutely. You want to have a combination, and that helps with your legacy planning too. And then there's actually you can use different types of uh permanent life insurance that will be 100% tax free. See, this is why you need to call Betty, because she knows what she's talking about. Okay. Well, and yeah, um, all of a sudden I forgot his name. The one of the co-founder of Nike, multi, multi-millions, you know, and he took money out of his um permanent life insurance policy. Okay. I'm talking like 54,000 50, you know, millions. Six dishes, six digits. Okay. Plus, okay. You know, a couple, you know. So he took money out of that. Yeah, and never paid any taxes on it. Oh, okay. But then he left a legacy for his loved ones, which was multi-million's tax-free money. So you just need to know how to it's education.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

See, yeah, and I'm in finances and I don't want to know all this stuff. That's why I talked to Betty. Okay. So tell me about the gardening analogy.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

I like the gardening analogy because people understand flowers and plants and things like that. So so your your financial tools, that whatever type of tool you want to use, the 401k, the IRAs, not qualified or qualified. Right.

unknown 10:39

Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Um, those are your seeds. Okay. Right? Okay. But you just because you have seeds, you know, if you are you gonna take them out of the package or not, you we don't know what those seeds are gonna lead for the harvest.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Or how big they'll grow.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Exactly. Exactly. So there's no guarantee. And so then you you have to look at um the gardening as to how you're going to, and that's where I was kind of talking about the sequencing.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

So you you don't plant every type of, you know, you have perennials, you have annuals, so you have to look at when you want to plant them, how long is it going to take it to grow so that it meets your needs when you're in retirement, because you're not in retirement for five years. Right. You're you right. Most people are in retirement for 20 or 30 years, right? And so you need to take that into consideration. And that's um how you also can call this called laddering, where you can take that and you can take your accounts, pull the money out from this account so that you have that monthly income coming in. And then all that one gets uh slightly depleted, so you click in another one, and then it it just keeps you going for the entire time you're in retirement.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Okay. So do you feel this is off topic, but do you feel more people are working longer because they have to, because they don't have the funds to retire? Because like I have people in their 70s still working. Right. And and that that's unfortunate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Um, our world has turned into, you know, um, at least in the United States, where you're working until you're 75, 78.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

And the I mean, there's pros and cons because it keeps your mind active. It keeps you, you know, young. Right, but you could go volunteer somewhere. That's true. I I agree. That's what I'm saying. So there's pros and cons about it. Right. We don't want to have to have people be the greeter at Walmart if they don't have to.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Exactly, right. Exactly. And so, and even when you're looking at social security, social security, you know, they're don't touch it till you're 70s, what they're saying. So that you have, and it actually makes a great big difference on what that monthly check's going to be.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

So that's that distribution you're talking about. Right. So when is distribution now? What is it, the age now?

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Um, I didn't look at that. Um, I know that. So it's different for everybody. Okay. It's not always the same. It depends on discounts and stuff like that. Well, so oh, I thought you were talking about social security.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

No, no, no, no, no. Um for like distributions of a 401k or IRA, do you have to take certain distributions at certain times? No, you can take them at 70 or something.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

So you have your required minimum distribution. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Okay, so I didn't know how to ask it. Okay, so your required minimum distribution, which I think is not right. That's just my personal opinion. Okay. Um, because it forces you to take out that dollar amount. And um, again, that depends on it, could be 65, um, it could be older.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

But for that required minimum distribution, if you don't take it out, the government will penalize you and add tax on it. So then you have to take out that amount. Why do they do that? I don't understand. I'm learning here too today, guys. It's because, and it went from it was 50%, now it's down to 25%.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

So that's good.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Well, yeah, but you know, 50% of you know, 50% uh it still can be a whole lot.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Okay, good point. Okay. Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

So you have to pay your and then if you're um married, if you and your spouse make more than forty-four thousand dollars worth uh, you know, cat or income during the year, right, and half of your social security is added into that amount, okay, then your social security benefits, up to 85% of your social security benefits, can't be taxed.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

So that could be why sometimes I have people on social security that have to do income tax returns and some that don't have to.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

Right. Because so they're because they're getting their social security distribution, but they're also getting money from another source. Wow. And so your IRA and your 401k is another one of those sources. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

So that's another reason you want to look at non-qualified or using life insurance, because that does not add to that.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Um Yeah, life insurance is a good one. It's the best, I feel like one of what just a secret, like a best guess secret. Right. Wouldn't you say? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Um, so tell us more about healthcare as the soil. Let's tell let's let's let's let's talk about the garden and so you know if you're not healthy, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:19

You end up with doctor's bills, right? Right. So even though if you have health insurance, you still have to pay for prescriptions, you still have all those out of pocket things in it. So if your accounts are not flexible, okay, then how are you gonna get money out to pay for those bills? Besides a reverse mortgage. Just kidding.

unknown 15:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

So I just had to put that in there. But that's the whole point is you need things that are because somebody might not have a house to do that. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Right, but I mean, no, but that's a liquid account. Yes. So you need to make sure that you have liquidity somewhere. Right. And I'm not saying put all your money into a savings account because you're not getting any money, but you're not not making any your money, your money's not working for you when it's just in a savings account. Yes. So yeah, that's exactly what that all boils down to is making your money work for you, but make sure you have liquidity because you guess what? Yeah, those bills will show up. Yes. So you need to know where it's gonna be coming from. Yes. So that's all the whole thing about having the right tools along with the plans.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Right. No, it all makes sense. Well, and I have a lady, and I'm gonna introduce her to you. She unfortunately had a really bad car accident, and um, she's gonna be getting a settlement, and she doesn't have anybody to help her with how to handle that because I was talking to her about a reverse mortgage, and I said to her, I said, Listen, I don't want you to be house rich and cash poor, so I don't want you to dump that into your house. I'd rather you talk with Betty and learn where you can put this money, and she'll help you make it grow for you for your your your latter years in life. So, but that being said, that's my little client story that I have for referral for you. But tell us some stories that you have that you can share with us today.

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Yeah, I've had clients that they most people do their best at savings because that's what they were taught to do, and they they really they do it and they feel like they're prepared. And then um I I got actually I got a tack text uh yesterday, and um someone walks into my office, and I'm just like sitting there and they're like, What's wrong? I'm like, so-and-so has cancer. She just got we don't we're not quite sure where it is, and she just sent me a text. Um, she's um I you know what I think so. She's 74.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, that's young.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Yeah, these days that's young.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

And she's like, Do I have a cancer poly? Do I have and it was interesting because I'm like, okay, I know this woman, she's a very intelligent woman, and all of a sudden she forgot all about her plan. She couldn't remember what she had. And so we want to make sure sure. Well, anyway, so she she has uh she's gonna be fine, her her. But if you're not, that's when you start making uh decisions that aren't thoughtful because you're making these decisions based on emotion. So then you're pulling from the wrong account at the wrong time. And so that's why you really need to have that plan because then you can look at it and go, Oh, I'm okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

So if this happens, this is what I do. If this happens, this is what I do. Right. So that way my consequences are gonna be positive and not negative.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Right. Right. And I'm I'm a strange bird, and I know it comes from my legal background that I draw pictures. Okay. Constantly, you know, this is what we have this plan for, or this account, and these are the reasons we have it.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

And so that you spell it out. Right. And so they always have that with them. They just have to open up the little packet that better.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Like if this if this tragedy or something happens, use this account for this. If this happens, use this account. Oh, that's clever.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Or if you want to go on a vacation. Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

This is where I can pull it from and it's all good. Well, and you know, just to let people know, I help financial strategists and advisors help keep money under management with people getting the reverse mortgage because you know, they're taking the money out of their house to do the incidentals like getting a new roof, take the grandkids on memorable vacations, age in place. Maybe the house has to pay for somebody going into memory care. So if somebody has to pay for memory care, let's use the money in the house. You're living in your piggy bank that you've been paying into. Let's keep the money under management with people like Betty, and then use the house to pay for these other incidentals. So this is how why Betty and I work together so well.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Well, right, and that's where people forget that their biggest plant, right, is their house. Yes. You know, so look at it. It that's when you need to decide early on, are you gonna stay in your house? Are you gonna downsize, or are you gonna move to a assisted living?

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Yeah, or independent living.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Independent. Right. You but that's where you need to make your plan so you know what you're gonna do. So if you end up in the hospital, and this is from personal experience, and you're at the hospital and they said, No, you can't go home. Yeah, that's that happens a lot. It does. And so then you're all of a sudden you're moved from the hospital to an assisted living of some sort, and your your family is scrambling.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Yes, they're on fire. Yep. Trying to figure out how to or the people say, No, I'm going home, and they've been making the cycle through acute care. They go home, rehab, they fall again. Because I had a client that was referred to me. She should not have gone home. And she went home and then she fell. Fire department had to come and dig her out of her lazy boy. She was stuck, arm turning blue, all the stuff. The neighbor came to check over on check on her, thank goodness. And, you know, they had to sell the house. And she had to go into assisted living. So that's a tragedy there. But okay, so we're painting the picture here. What happens when someone doesn't think about these things ahead of time? Stress. Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Lots and lots of stress. Right. And the whole thing is make just it's just simple. Have the plan, know where your income is coming from. Because when you stop that job, your income stops, your paycheck stops. Right. But we want to make sure that you still have a paycheck coming in monthly and you need to know where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

And we want to have the lifestyle that we're used to living.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Exactly. Exactly. And you need to pl plan, like I said earlier, you need to plan because you have to pay, I'm sorry, you're still going to pay taxes. The government wants your money. Yeah. One way or another. They're always going to get they're going to get their money. Yes, yes. And you know, that's why I always say too to talk to somebody about like you about what are you gonna do with your house. Right. Exactly. Exactly. The whole idea about the downsizing or um keeping it or moving it or whatever you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Yeah. And you know, I'm really honest with people when it comes to that because I have a lady right now. She has a reverse mortgage with me, and she's just trying to decide if she should stay in that home or if she should downsize. And I was talking to her literally yesterday, and I said, I'd love to do your loan again, but I feel like you're in the best situation is to stay in your home. And she goes, Okay, I love my home. I don't want to go anywhere. And so she's having an appointment coming up. Um, and so she's gonna stay in her home. But I was just like, you know, we want to do what's best for our seniors, and that's what we're here today, is just education.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Right, yeah. And that's so funny because uh we were talking about life insurance as uh a way to have this tax-free money, also. So a lot of people will will use their savings that is built into their permanent life insurance and their reverse mortgage, and then they can have a wonderful, wonderful retirement.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Yes. I mean, they if they just remember that uh they've been paying into their house, it's like a piggy bank, it's a savings account. We like to call it a wealth building tool. Your house is a wealth building tool because so I had a lady purchase a home with a reverse mortgage, and by she wanted a 30-year fix. And so I gave her the numbers on a 30-year fix, and then I said, Okay, let me show you the reverse purchase. And she's like, I don't want that. And I'm like, let me educate you. The next day, she calls me back, she's like, I want that. And I'm bringing this up because she got the reverse purchase, she didn't have to make a mortgage payment. And I said, What changed? She's like, Well, if I don't have to make that mortgage payment, the $2,000 a month I would have been giving to that 30-year fixed mortgage payment, I'm giving it to my financial strategist to invest for me. And so um, I'm like, good for you. So that's what she's doing. So you can use your house as a wealth building tool.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Absolutely. And I remember the name of the co-founder of Nike that was Phil Knight. Okay. Yes, Google him. Okay. It's amazing what he did. And this is the insurance policy. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

So I'm so we've talked about housing. How does that fit into the garden?

SPEAKER_02 24:26

The analogy of the garden. Well, that was the biggest asset.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

That's what we were talking about. Yes. And so for someone listening today, where's a good place for that to start?

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Well, I wrote down four questions that I want them to ask.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

And the first one is do I know how long my retirement might realistically last? Okay, yes. And so that's that's a good one because like I said, most people don't think it's gonna last 30 years, but we have longevity on our side. So you need to plan for that. The second one is do I know where my income will come from and in what order? That's what I was talking about, either the the laddering or the different types of accounts that you'll be using.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Um, have I thought about taxes, inflation, and health care together, together? Those are your three biggest risks. And most of those, well, sorry, all three of those are out of your control. Well, the healthcare, keep yourself healthy, and that will help. Right. But you don't have the, you don't know what's going to happen with the price of insurance, the price of medical, or any of that. So those are out of your control. So you just I know the price is going up. That's what I know. That's my crystal ball telling me that. Yeah, that's what's going on. Yes. And the last question is do I understand which resources I'd use first if life changes?

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Yeah. So it's a good plan to have in place for sure. And, you know, we didn't even talk about it today, but I'm gonna I'm gonna take a little side note here. Sure. Um, you know, you and I deal with people in their later years, but POAs are important, everybody. Oh, please. POAs in Arizona, there's three of them. You have to have financial, power of attorney, medical, and mental. Um, the other big thing is make sure you're updating your trust. And I know you have a story on that, so just hold on for that. But I want you to share that story about updating your trust and funding the trust. There are, there are fortunately, there are some companies out there, you'll get a trust, but then they don't fund it for you. And then people will get to the end and they're like, well, the trust never got funded with the home or the assets, or you know, there's so many crazy stories out there. But let's hear it.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

And you don't and you don't want to go into probate. Correct. So you and most of us have nice cars. We like cars. Um go down to DMB, have them put on your car, transferable upon death. Oh, that is well, that it's gonna that it will go into your trust.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

Um, that is super important. On your bank accounts, have uh, you know, a payable upon death. Yes, POD. Right. Okay, yeah, if I did that with my dad. Those are just so, so important. And we just forget about it. Yes, yes. And um, I like being a connector, as you know. Yes. If somebody needs help finding the right attorney for estate planning or divorce, let me know.

SPEAKER_00 27:23

And also, just really quick on the trust. So we took a trip to Europe and my mom's like, well, we're all on the trip. We need to update the the the trust. And I'm like, what do you mean update the trust? And she's like, Well, if we're all there and something happens to all of us, I need someone else to to and I'm like, That's a really good thought. And I was just like, Okay, so I didn't even know about updating until my mom's like, we gotta update this. So I'm always learning too. And this was years ago, but and your people update every two to three years and have it reviewed because life changed. There are people that have trusts that are 20 years old and have never been looked, and people have changed spouses, people have passed, people, right? So it's that's so important.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

So there's another thing that okay, so this is this is my divorce uh person coming out. Uh um, I'm and I'm not even divorced, I just tell people who are divorced. So on life insurance policy, if you want to make sure that they're gonna be able to pay child support andor spousal support, you can go on and you can have an irrevocable beneficiary made.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

Okay, so that that money can be used to pay for the support for either the child support or the spousal support. After you're gone. After they're gone. Okay. Okay, okay. Number one key have that life insurance policy done and ready to issue before the policy, I mean I'm sorry, before the divorce is finalized. Because what if they go to do it after the divorce is finalized and they don't qualify?

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Wow. Yeah. That's good information. So did you hear that? Good, good, good. Um, okay, I'm looking at my notes to see if I have any other thing. Is there anything that you'd like to add? One last thing that you'd like to add for our listeners? My biggest thing is just become educated. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

It's everything is changing. Um, I just ordered a new book on the new 2026 Social Security rules because everything just continually changes. Um so you have to make sure. And what you think is in place this year isn't necessarily going to be in place next year.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Right, right, oh, right. Just like, yeah, just like all the healthcare care stuff changes every year. Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

All right, so uh so how do you want people to reach you if they um I'm at AM Futures and my direct phone number is 602-524-9230. And my email is Betty at AM FuturesL C dot com. And reach out to me. I'm more than happy to do a quick chat to see, you know, where you're at and see if I can help out.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Excellent. All right. Well, Betty, thanks for joining us today. My expertise has been incredible, and it's always great to work with you. So if today's conversation resonated with you, don't wait and call now and you know, get your questions answered with Betty. Plan ahead, create options, get peace of mind and better outcomes for everybody involved. You know, because you know, we want to plan. We we won't we don't want to have our hair on fire. We want to plan ahead, right? So, and so when it comes to the financial side of aging in place, whether um, you know, I can help you with the reverse mortgage or connect you with um people in my sphere of referral sources, um, go to reverse mortgageandbeyond.com to reach out to me. Go to uh my phone number is 480-817-4324. And um, you know, we just want to be here and be a resource to you. So thanks for joining us. Make sure you subscribe. I'm learning how to say that. Subscribe so that way when more of these um episodes come out, you'll learn more about us. All right, thanks everyone. Again, this is Cheryl Scheidel, NMLS number 886425 with Barrett Financial, an Equal Housing Lender. Please remember that loan programs, rates, and eligibility guidelines are subject to change and may vary based on individual circumstances. Nothing discussed in this episode constitutes a loan offer or credit decision. Any examples or scenarios shared are strictly for illustrative purposes. All loans are subject to credit approval and underwriting conditions.