I've Been Meaning To Do That

In this episode of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That, hear insights on how you can care for yourself and your loved ones as you age. Host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Adam Felts, a researcher at the MIT AgeLab, about ways to deal with the financial and emotional challenges of caregiving.

As your teens make the transition to the adult world, give them a sound foundation of financial literacy. In this episode of “I’ve Been Meaning To Do That,” Truist Wealth’s Emily Haenselman and Karen Kahn chat with Oscarlyn Elder about how to talk to your teens regarding spending, saving, and making a college choice—and legal steps you should take as they reach 18.

Revitalize your New Year’s resolutions with renewed focus. In this episode of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That, host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Dr. Wendy Wood about the science of habits. The author of “Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick” shares how habits form, why bad ones are so hard to break, and tips on developing good financial behaviors. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Why habits are important (1:58)

• The difference between resolutions and individual decisions (4:17)

• How habits form (7:21)

• Reframing to establish good financial behaviors (14:05)

• How long it takes to form and break habits (19:43)

• The importance of adding friction (24:33)

• Myths about habits (31:45)

• What Wendy has been meaning to do (37:27))

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (39:12)

To learn more about habits, read Wendy’s book:

Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at:

http://truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/how-to-form-good-habits

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

Living your purpose can take many routes. In this episode of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That, host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Truist Wealth’s Colleen Silver and Bill Lyons about how people are making a difference through their investment choices, charitable activities, and businesses. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introducing Colleen and Bill (1:50)

• How to explore your values (3:50)

• Techniques for sustainable investing (7:10)

• Connecting purpose to philanthropy (12:40)

• Families and community impact (15:30)

• Engaging younger generations (21:50)

• Starting the conversation about sustainable investing (23:30)

• The four elements of effective impact (28:00)

• Trends in sustainable investing (31:50)

• How families are making an impact in their communities (36:30)

• Action steps for expressing your purpose (39:20)

• What Colleen and Bill have been meaning to do (42:10)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (43:30)

Want to dig deeper on how to make an impact? These documents can help:

• A glossary of terms about sustainable investing and community impact

• Our four-step process for making and sustaining an impact on your community

• A template for taking notes

You can find all these documents at:

Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/how-purpose-can-drive-your-impact

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

If you want to learn more about how stocks, bonds, and other investments work together to help you achieve your long-term financial goals, listen to this episode of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That. Host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Truist Wealth’s Trey Smith and Niles Greene about the basics of building a portfolio. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introducing Trey and Niles (1:20)

• Saving vs. investing (3:10)

• Volatility and the long-term trend of stock prices (6:50)

• How to assess and manage investment risks (13:20)

• Striking a balance between risk and reward (18:55)

• Why investment liquidity matters (23:50)

• Risks with bonds (25:40)

• Managing risk with dollar-cost averaging and diversification (28:50)

• Adding alternative investments to a portfolio (33:00)

• What Niles and Trey have been meaning to do (39:00)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (41:40)

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at

Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/the-role-of-investments-in-your-financial-plan

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

Take action on what you’ve been meaning to do with the help of this Truist Wealth podcast. In this Best of 2023 episode, host Oscarlyn Elder talks to thought leaders at Truist and elsewhere about the journey of exploring your purpose, living out your values and aspirations in your financial plan and wealth objectives, and planning for unexpected events. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Actions you can take to understand your purpose (1:40)

• How to keep it simple when exploring your purpose (5:00)

• Why it’s important to prioritize wealth objectives (6:35)

• The impact of regret avoidance and status quo bias (9:20)

• Preparing for the first days of retirement (13:20)

• When to revisit your financial plan (15:50)

• Talking to your teens about paying for college (19:40)

• When “life happens,” why you should trust an advisor (24:50)

• A common problem of business owners in preparing for unexpected events (26:30)

• The benefits of a donor-advised fund (31:30)

• Reviewing insurance coverage when home prices rise (33:50)

• Solving the “middle problem” of our financial goals (36:30)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (38:20)

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/best-of-2023

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

If you’ve had trouble staying within your budget—or even developing one—this episode of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That can help. Host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Perry Wright of Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight about creating budgets that are more effective, tips for staying on track with your spending, and how budgets can reflect your values. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introducing Perry Wright (0:50)

• The role of budgets (6:30)

• Budgets provide visibility to spending (9:25)

• How budgets are often too optimistic (18:15)

• Create buckets for spending—but not too many (25:30)

• How budgets can reflect our values (28:15)

• Tips for taking action on budgets (32:30)

• Summing up the big lessons (43:30)

• What Perry has been meaning to do (48:40)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (50:00)

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/budgets-are-for-everyone

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

Dr. Ayelet Fishbach has the practice of setting and achieving goals down to a science. In this episode of “I’ve Been Meaning To Do That,” host Oscarlyn Elder and Ayelet, a professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, talk about how to develop, prioritize, and stay on track with your goals. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introduction of Ayelet Fishbach (0:40)

• Developing meaningful goals (3:20)

• Intrinsic motivation and targets for goals (6:20)

• Keep the middles short (12:30)

• Organizing and aligning goals (17:50)

• The need to pursue multiple goals at one time (26:40)

• Tactics for battling temptations (28:40)

• Connect to your future self (37:20)

• Tips for developing patience (38:10)

• The role of social support in motivation (41:10)

• Change the environment, not yourself (51:40)

• What Ayelet has been meaning to do (54:10)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (58:20)

To learn more, read Ayelet’s book:

Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/setting-goals-what-are-you-still-meaning-to-do

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

Every financial plan has risks. Some are easy to spot, while others—such as mistitled assets—take more work to uncover. But it’s important to identify all your plan’s risks because they’re all related: A risk in your estate plan, for example, might affect your investments. In this episode of our podcast “I’ve Been Meaning To Do That,” the latest in our “Life Happens” series, host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Truist Wealth’s Christin Kennedy and Bart Pyle about how to identify and manage the risks in your financial plan. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introduction of Christin and Bart (1:31)

• Defining risk (3:10)

• Risk as a five-point star (6:38)

• Will-based vs. trust-based plans (11:49)

• Advanced wealth-planning tools (15:42)

• Asset protection basics (23:25)

• Legal protections for property (27:50)

• What Christin and Bart have been meaning to do (33:35)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (35:28)

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/life-happens-make-sure-you-are-protected.

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].

Get the most out of your assets with the help of thoughtful year-end planning. Host Oscarlyn Elder talks to Mike Frost, an advice and planning strategist for Truist Wealth, about common year-end decisions for charitable giving, investment planning, and wealth transfer. Tim Houlihan, Truist’s chief behavioral scientist, also joins Oscarlyn to discuss how to get going and follow through on year-end financial planning. They discuss (time stamps are approximate):

• Introduction of Mike Frost (1:54)

• Year-end planning considerations for charitable giving (4:45)

• Benefits of donor-advised funds (8:11)

• Tax-loss harvesting: how it helps, what to watch out for (10:12)

• Planning of annual exclusion gifts (12:50)

• Preparing for the estate tax law sunset at the end of 2025 (16:26)

• Introduction of Tim Houlihan (24:49)

• Why time blocking on your calendar works (26:35)

• Developing tiny habits (32:12)

• Take advantage of the snowball effect (37:40)

• Why you should make decisions in a “cool state” (39:17)

• What Tim and Mike have been meaning to do (44:28)

• Final thoughts from Oscarlyn (46:29)

Also mentioned in this episode:

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, B.J. Fogg

The podcast team has created a template for taking notes on each episode. You can find it at Truist.com/resources/wealth/financial-planning/start-your-year-end-planning.

Have a question for Oscarlyn or her guests? Email [email protected].