Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! This week, I’m talking about Smart Women Retire Rich. I’m sure I just totally ripped off a book title there...But here’s the reality. Women tend to outlive their husbands and they are already inheriting money at staggering rates. Women who are single later in life, through choice, divorce, or widowhood have a lot of important choices to make about money. 

So this week, I’m focusing on some core principles for women when it comes to managing money. Hopefully by the end of this week, my female listeners will have more confidence about managing finances and investments, and better appreciate the likelihood that you will be in charge of important financial decisions, especially later in life.

And to my beloved male listeners, you all have women in your life who probably need to hear this message, so stick around with me this week and bring your favorite lady in your life along by encouraging her to listen as well. 

Tomorrow, we’re going to dive in and I’m going to tell you some important feminine qualities that actually make women better at investing than men. 

That’s it for today, thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast, women and money, women investing

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time! 

The theme for this week was: Estate planning essentials. 

Hopefully after listening to the tips this week, you understand that estate planning is vital to ensuring your family is protected after you’re gone, and that your assets are distributed how and when you want. 

One other important point about estate planning. Don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish. Find a competent estate planning attorney in your area who will take the time to understand your situation and your needs and draft the necessary documents to ensure that your favorite niece and your favorite dachshund , Morty, are both properly taken care of after you pass from this life. It can be overwhelming to figure out all the necessary documents you need for your specific situation, so I encourage you to seek professional help from a competent and caring estate attorney. 

Because I took the time to discuss why you should seek professional help with your estate plan, I don’t have time to get into the specific episode recap.

But...If you missed any of these episodes or if you want to revisit any of them, you can find them on iTunes or Google Play by searching for the “One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley”. 

Tomorrow we’re starting a brand new theme: Smart Women Finish Rich. I’m sure I just totally ripped off a book title there...But here’s the reality. Women tend to outlive their husbands and they are already inheriting money at staggering rates. Women who are single later in life, through choice, divorce, or widowhood have to make a lot of important choices, so for my female listeners, I’m going to focus on what you can do to make smart money decisions. 

And to my beloved male listeners, you all have women in your life who probably need to hear this message, so stick around with me next week and bring your favorite lady in your life along next week by encouraging her to listen. 

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening.  My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the “One Minute Retirement Tip”.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. If you think a will is all you need or that you need to be ultra-wealthy with a complex estate to have all the proper documents in place, think again. Estate planning deals with so much more than divvying up your assets when you die, and it’s an essential way to help ensure that you and your loved ones are taken care of when (not if), but when you die or become incapacitated. 

Today, I’m talking about the one thing that almost no one has in place, but its also something you shouldn’t ignore. 

The digital estate plan. Have you heard of this? It absolutely blew my mind when I first heard about it a few years ago. It’s so obvious, yet complicated. Think about this: What happens to all of your email accounts, your online banking accounts, social media accounts, that Etsy shop you’re running as a side gig. What happens to all of those digital assets of yours. Perhaps the more important question that the digital estate plan addresses is what SHOULD happen to those assets. 

According to an article I read from Everplans while researching this topic, which I’ll link to in the show notes, “Sharing your logins and passwords is essential to the continuity and responsible management of your digital estate.” 

In addition, you’ll also want to consider “computers, external hard drives or flash drives, tablets, smartphones, digital music players, e-readers, digital cameras, etc.,  [and] you'll want to record where those items are located, as well as any passwords that are required to access those devices.”

Link to article >> https://www.everplans.com/articles/digital-cheat-sheet-how-to-create-a-digital-estate-plan

I believe a digital estate plan is already an essential part of the estate planning process, and that it will only become more important as our world becomes increasingly digitized. So do your research, and start thinking about what you want done with all those digital assets that you’re accumulating more and more of, and if necessary, start taking steps to ensure your wishes with everything from your gmail account to the thousands of photos you have stored in the cloud are accessible to the right people or your executor. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme. 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. If you think a will is all you need or that you need to be ultra-wealthy with a complex estate to have all the proper documents in place, think again. Estate planning deals with so much more than divvying up your assets when you die, and it’s an essential way to help ensure that you and your loved ones are taken care of when (not if), but when you die or become incapacitated. 

Today, I’m actually going to talk about something I haven’t actually done myself. While it makes me feel quite hypocritical having not done something that I’m suggesting you do, I think it’s important enough for you to have in place, so I’m going to point the finger at myself first, and hopefully I’ll get around to actually doing this sooner rather than later. 

What I am talking about is the estate inventory checklist. I think this is a genius idea. It’s a detailed list of all of your assets, important documents, and where to find them, all in one place. What I think works best is some type of binder system where the estate inventory serves as a table of contents, and inside are all of the supporting documents for investment accounts, insurance policies, copies of your will and other estate documents, property holdings, safe deposit box information, etc. 

I mean the list can get pretty long depending on your assets and what you own. But think how much easier it will be for your loved ones and your executor to sort through your estate when everything is right there and nicely organized. 

I once had a client cash in an insurance policy death benefit years after her father died. She had no idea that her father had this insurance policy and the insurance companies usually aren’t in the habit of combing the obituaries to find policy owners who have died so they can contact the beneficiaries. This wouldn’t have happened if he had a detailed list of his assets and all the things relevant to his estate organized. 

I don’t have time to go into the details of everything to include in an estate inventory checklist in today’s tip, but google is your friend here. You can find several good lists online to get you thinking about what you want to include in your personal estate inventory checklist. You might also check with your estate attorney or your financial advisor to see if they have one for you or can help you with this process. Many hands on advisors, like myself, are more than happy to help their clients take inventory.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. If you think a will is all you need or that you need to be ultra-wealthy with a complex estate to have all the proper documents in place, think again. Estate planning deals with so much more than divvying up your assets when you die, and it’s an essential way to help ensure that you and your loved ones are taken care of when (not if), but when you die or become incapacitated. 

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am not an estate planning attorney, nor do I play one on this podcast, and today, I’m moving comfortably back into my wheelhouse to talk about beneficiary designations on your investment accounts. One thing that most people don’t realize about beneficiary designations is that beneficiary forms can override your will. Yes, that’s right...Whoever you put on that beneficiary form for your IRA, 401k, insurance policies, or any other investment account that allows you to name a beneficiary...that’s who is going to receive the assets in that account after you die. 

Let me repeat that. The beneficiary designation on that life insurance policy or IRA account of yours, will trump your will. This could be a costly mistake if you’ve named an ex-spouse or someone other than your actual intended beneficiary. So review your beneficiaries and make sure they’re up to date. 

The key takeaway here is that you need to make sure that ALL of your estate plan documents are coordinated. And like I already talked about earlier this week, if you’re like most people, you probably haven’t reviewed your estate plan since your sister’s wedding in 1989. So take some time to review all of your estate plan documents, including all beneficiary designations together with your estate planning attorney.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. If you think a will is all you need or that you need to be ultra-wealthy with a complex estate to have all the proper documents in place, think again. 

Hopefully if you listened yesterday where I talked about the importance of a durable power of attorney and advance healthcare directives - both of which have nothing to do with how much money you have - you realize that you don’t need to have a lot of money or a complex estate to concern yourself with estate planning. 

Today, I want to focus on probably the biggest issue that I see with clients. I can almost guess what the answer will be before I ask the question, but I’m going to ask it anyways. When was the last time you updated your estate plan? 

Think about it? When was the last time you updated your estate plan or your will? I cringe a little inside when I approach the end of this question, because I know what the answer is going to be. Somewhere along the spectrum of “I don’t have a will”, to “not since our kids were little”, to “I can’t remember”. Unfortunately, for most, an estate plan is a one-and-done kind of a thing, but it should never be. It’s always a good idea to review your estate plan every few years, and especially for major trigger events. Here are just a few trigger events that should prompt you to review and potentially update your estate plan: 

• Marriage 
• Divorce
• Children
• Remarriage and stepchildren
• Move to another state - different states have different laws, so it’s important to review your estate if you move and talk to a local estate attorney who understands the laws in your state 
• Major Financial changes - large inheritance or sizable growth in wealth that should prompt you to look at trusts and tax strategies involved with estate planning
• And the biggie - Death. You’ll need to update beneficiaries and usually additional estate planning documents as well should a close family member die. 

Tomorrow, I’m going to dive deeper into the beneficiary issue.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. 

If you think a will is all you need, think again. In practice, I find that many people either don’t have a will, or they haven’t updated in 30 years, which was also 4 marriages and 8 stepchildren ago. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating here a little bit, but you get the point. So this week, I’m helping you kick it into gear and take the essential steps necessary to just get the basics done with your estate plan. That usually starts with a will, so today, I’m focusing on a few other vital estate plan documents you’ll want to have completed and updated. 

#1 - Durable Power of Attorney - this helps ensure that someone is in place to act on your behalf, if you are no longer able to. I see examples of this all the time with older clients who develop dementia or Altzheimer’s, so it’s critical that you get this in place, especially as you get older. Otherwise things can get messy when it comes to decisions about your affairs and finances. 

#2 - Advance Healthcare Directives - also known as a living will - what you will use to provide details about what actions should be taken for your health if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself because of illness or incapacity. When my husband and I had these drawn up a number of years ago, we discovered that we are polar opposites in this regard. He is like “keep me alive at all costs! I want to be a burden, even if there is no hope!” And I’m like, “oh it’s a paper cut...pull the plug!” It’s possible you’ve even dealt with the pain and guilt of having to guess at what someone’s wishes were when they didn’t have in place, and if not, you probably know someone who had to make difficult decisions for someone who was incapacitated, possibly taking their loved one off life support without the direction of the healthcare directive. It’s very sad. Please don’t put your loved ones in a situation where they will have to play a guessing game with life and death situations. 

That’s all I have time for today. I’m going to devote an entire day this week to beneficiary designations, and of course, if you have young kids or a special needs child, you will want to have a few other documents in place as well. 

That’s it for today. One last point here, I am not an estate planning attorney and I don’t play one on this podcast. This is not intended to be legal advice, but rather just some useful information to get you moving in the right direction toward putting these things in place. 

Before you go, please take a minute to leave a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip in Amazon or iTunes. If you find these tips valuable, or if you have feedback for me or topic suggestions, it’s a great way to share the love and share your ideas with me! And thanks to you if you who have already left a review. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. 

If you think a will is all you need, think again. And if you think you don’t need to worry about an estate plan, because you don’t have enough money, think again. This week is dedicated to helping you take the vital steps to provide for your loved ones financially and help ensure that your wishes for everything from what happens if you become incapacitated to where your beloved pet dachshund, Morty, goes to live after you die...are honored. 

So this week, I’m going to share with you other estate planning docs you’ll want to consider besides a will, the important trigger events that you need to know for when to update your estate plan, how to make sure your beneficiaries are consistent with your wishes, the amazing estate inventory list and why you need one, and the one thing that almost no one has in place that shouldn’t be ignored. 

It’s a week jam-packed with information that’s too important to miss, so I hope you’ll join me each and every day this week! 

Tomorrow, we’re going to dive in with the list of crucial estate planning documents that you’ll want to consider, besides a will. 

That’s it for today, thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, estate planning documents checklist, estate planning, estate planning definition, estate planning trusts, estate planning checklist, estate planning attorney, estate planning documents, beneficiary designation, primary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, beneficiary designation form, beneficiaries, will, last will, digital estate plan, power of attorney, living will, medical directives, advance healthcare directives

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time! 

The theme for this week was: 5 timeless lessons Warren Buffett can teach us about investing. The stock and bond markets have been on a wild ride this past month, so I think this was a good week to take a deep breath and look at what the Oracle of Omaha has to teach us about core investment principles, especially when everyone else is running around like Chicken Little! 

Hopefully after listening to the tips this week, you have a better idea of what factors should drive your decisions - whether that’s with picking funds in your 401k or buying individual stocks, or even investing in your cousin’s business. 

To recap, here’s what we covered this week:

• Invest in What You Know
• Don’t Overpay
• Greedy When Others Are Fearful. Fearful When Others Are Greedy
• The Trend Isn’t Always Your Friend
• And...The Most Valuable Lesson You Can Learn From Warren Buffett, in my infrequently humble opinion. 

If you missed any of these episodes or if you want to revisit any of them, you can find them on iTunes or Google Play by searching for the “One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley”. 

Tomorrow we’re starting a brand new theme: Estate planning essentials. We’ll talk about how and when you should update your will, what you need to know about beneficiaries on your investment accounts, how an estate inventory is a simple and amazing tool for your spouse and heirs, and the one thing that almost no one has in place, that shouldn’t be ignored. So whether you last review your estate plan yesterday or 20 years ago, come on back, because it should be an informative week. 

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening.  

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the “One Minute Retirement Tip”.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, warren buffett, warren buffett net worth, investing principles, warren buffett quotes, berkshire hathaway, value investing, value investing warren buffett

This week, I’m talking about 5 lessons that Warren Buffett can teach us about being successful investors. 

Warren Buffett is arguably the greatest and most successful investor of all time. He is still an active investor today, and luckily for us, he has immortalized his investment acumen through shareholder letters, countless TV interviews, and several books written about him and his investing principles. 

Today, I’m cheating a little bit and giving you perhaps the best lesson that Buffet has to offer for you, but it’s not actually about investing in the stock market. 

It’s about investing in yourself. Lesson #5 from Warren Buffett, is this statement. He says: “Now, you can improve your value by 50 percent just by learning communication skills-public speaking.”

Interesting. It’s the investment he made in himself in his early 20s to become a better public speaker that he credits much of his success. 

Fortunately, for all of us, there are inexpensive ways to become better at speaking and more comfortable. 

You could do a daily podcast like me, but since that’s not in the cards for well...all of you I’m sure...YouTube, countless, books, and organizations like Toastmasters to help you. 

I was in Toastmasters for about 10 years and I credit much of my confidence on stage speaking (which I do often), in a meeting with a client, speaking off the cuff or remaining calm when being put on the spot to the training I received from Toastmasters. 

So I would encourage you to work to improve your public speaking skills, and if you have kids or anyone you mentor at work who is early in their career, tell them that you know the one thing that will increase their value by 50%, and then encourage them to take the steps to banish their fears and improve their skills. 

I suspect that with our continued absorption with technology and smartphones, strong communication skills will only become more valuable over time. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme. 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, warren buffett, warren buffett net worth, investing principles, warren buffett quotes, berkshire hathaway, value investing, value investing warren buffett