What if the secret to a long, healthy life is not expensive programs, supplements or equipment, but actually the free actions you take every day? In this episode, functional medicine-trained health strategist Dr. Laura DeCesaris joins the podcast to explore the importance of prioritizing health span over lifespan.

Stephanie, Kevin, and Laura explore essential health habits that contribute to longevity, such as getting outside daily, having a supportive community, managing stress, and eating a variety of foods, as well as the challenges people face in prioritizing these habits and the deceptive nature of fad diets and quick-fix solutions. Shifting our mindset towards long-term health and wellness habits is crucial, and better education around basic health and nutrition is necessary.

Most importantly, they also discuss the intersection of health and finance, emphasizing the value of investing in preventative measures and education about one's health. Tune in for actionable and realistic advice on improving your health and longevity, and how it parallels with financial planning for a fulfilling retirement.

Key Topics:

• Redefining Longevity and Health in Retirement (2:30)
• Mindset Shifts for Healthy Habits (9:38)
• Healthy Aging & Health Advice Red Flags (14:51)
• The Intersection of Health and Finance (31:02)
• Longevity Through Healthy Habits and Education (35:50)
• Stephanie and Kevin’s Wrap-up (40:21)

Resources:

• @dr.lauradecesaris on Instagram and all the social media platforms (*except Twitter)
• Dr. Laura Decesaris’ website
• Take Back Retirement Episode 62: What Women Need to Know About Longevity
• Monty Python Galaxy Song

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Given the recent headlines and failure of two banks, Stephanie and Kevin felt is was time for a high-level overview on the government insurance programs that serve as backstops by protecting you from the potential failure of financial services companies.

Listen in as they break down the most important acronyms within the alphabet soup of federal government agencies.

They discuss the FDIC insurance program, how the SIPC protects investors should a firm go belly-up, why pensioners (and pensioners-to-be) need to familiarize themselves with the PBGC, and how to go about the best state insurance program for your goals!

Key Topics:

• What is the FDIC? (4:16)
• Limits on FDIC coverage (8:21)
• Defining “ownership category” (10:48)
• “What can I do to have more protection on my money?” (14:43)
• What is the SIPC? (16:32)
• Defining “custodian” (19:15)
• What the SIPC protect you from (and what it does not) (21:20)
• Defining “separate capacity” (24:28)
• What is the PBGC? (25:52)
• State insurance programs (27:00)
• Our closing thoughts (27:53)

Resources:

• Take Back Retirement Episode 29: How Much Cash Should I Have and Where Should I Be Putting It?
• Here’s a comprehensive description of FDIC deposit insurance coverage for the most common account ownership categories: www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/insured-deposits
• SIPC website for more details: https://www.sipc.org/ - see the “For Investors” section

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Jackie Cummings Koski has overcome poverty, divorce, and the struggles of single motherhood. Yet, she was able to retire from her corporate job of 20 years in 2019 at the early age of 49! That whole time, she’s made less than six figures.

Jackie sits down with Stephanie and Kevin to discuss how she overcame those adversities and the wake-up call that totally changed her view of her finances.

Four years later, after leaving corporate America, 53-year-old Jackie is following her big dream of creating a financially-literate society!

Listen in as she shares an inspiring journey that began in rural South Carolina, where she lived below the poverty line in a single-parent household alongside her six siblings. Committed to “not grow up poor,” Jackie decided to study all she can about investing and the stock market and joined the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) community later on.

Years after beginning to implement what she’s learned, Jackie was able to put together a powerful cash flow strategy for retirement despite never earning beyond six figures in her sales career.

Coupling her realization that “you don’t have to be wealthy to teach about money” with her dream to make a real impact on the world, Jackie has dedicated her post-retirement life to educating others on financial literacy. That began with her daughter, to whom Jackie dedicated her 2014 book Money Letters 2 My Daughter.

Key Topics:

• Jackie’s long journey to successfully retiring from her corporate job at 49 (2:25)
• Getting over the fear of investing following her divorce (7:12)
• Creating a plan to have enough saved for retirement (13:15)
• Writing the book Money Letters 2 My Daughter (14:49)
• Jackie’s thoughts on the financial planning industry (19:16)
• How Jackie’s definition of retirement changed over time (24:46)
• What drew Jackie to the FIRE community (28:20)
• Creating an “anti-budget” (33:29)
• The importance of doing a net worth statement (37:27)
• Advice to those looking to build up their retirement account in today’s economy (41:42)
• Stephanie and Kevin’s closing thoughts (47:01)

Follow Jackie Koski on Instagram at www.instagram.com/finomenal_woman.

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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In financial planning, the big question that we’re trying to answer is how to put a client’s resources to work in a way that gives them the best chance to meet their goals—their financial wants and needs—for the rest of their lives.

To accomplish this, there are a lot of factors we have to guess at: How much will life cost them? How about inflation? What will happen to investment markets? What will the client want for themselves 20-30 years from now? One of the biggest unknowns, which impacts every other factor, is this: How many years does my client have left to live?

Of course, we’ll never know that number. What we can try to determine are the risks that our clients may face the longer they live, and by extension, create an action plan to build them the longest runway of wealth possible, protecting them for the years ahead.

Listen in as Stephanie and Kevin lay out the most important of these action steps, including maintaining your physical and mental health and relationships, creating additional sources of income, determining the best time to claim your Social Security, and covering your long-term care expenses.

Key Topics:

• “What are the risks that our clients face?” (2:57)
• The four Ls of retirement (6:17)
• Action steps to have enough in retirement (10:52)
• Looking after your health + Addressing the loneliness issue (15:54)
• Getting creative with your income sources (22:56)
• When to claim Social Security (25:18)
• Diversifying your assets by the risks they’re designed to address (28:11)
• Long-term care expenses (31:01)
• “What can I do today that my future self will thank me for?” (32:10)

Resources:

• The Harvard Study of Adult Development
• Financial Regret at Older Ages and Longevity Awareness
• Living to 100 life expectancy calculator
• Take Back Retirement Episode 61: Pre-Plan for a Caregiving Needs with Special Guest Mim Senft
• Take Back Retirement Episode 15: What Women Need to Know About Social Security
• Take Back Retirement Episode 60: What Women Need to Know About Annuities
• Take Back Retirement Episode 17: What Women Need to Know About Long-term Care
• Take Back Retirement Episode 14: What Women Need to Know About Caregiving and Elder Law with Cathy Sikorski

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

Today, we sit down with Mim Senft, author, keynote speaker, and facilitator for national conferences. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Motivity Care, a company that takes the complexity out of caregiving management by providing personalized “chief of staff” support.

Mim has over 25 years of corporate experience in project management, benefits design, and health and wellbeing program strategy and implementation. She holds certifications in group benefits, worksite wellness and property casualty insurance.

Listen in as Mim shares her journey in the elder care space⁠ or, as she calls it, the “silver economy.” She dives deep into the critical, yet commonly-overlooked steps needed to prepare for an individual’s caregiving needs⁠—and how Motivity Care streamlines the entire process.

Mim discusses the huge amounts of time and money lost by family members who unexpectedly have to take on the role of caregiver—and it’s always unexpected! She speaks on the value of a reciprocal “care partner” relationship and how anyone can begin laying the foundation for their own caregiving needs right now!

Key Topics:

• Mim’s background in and passion for the elder care space (2:45)
• The impact a caregiver can have on an individual (4:39)
• “Plan when you can, not when you have to” (10:15)
• The Motivity Care story (13:09)
• How to speak with family members who are reluctant to have these conversations (15:56)
• Why having your own concierge manager can literally be life-saving (18:14)
• A Motivity success story (22:42)
• The importance of having a “care partner” (33:30)
• How to start pre-planning today (38:47)
• Stephanie and Kevin’s thoughts on today’s conversation (43:30)

Resources:

• Learn more about Motivity Care at www.motivitycare.com
• Motivity Care on LinkedIn
• Take Back Retirement Episode 14: What Women Need to Know About Caregiving and Elder Law with Cathy Sikorski

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Today, we talk all about annuities. Yet another powerful tool in your toolbox for taking control of your retirement, you can think of an annuity as a way to “buy” your own pension.

But it’s just that: a tool. Like any other financial vehicle, there are pros, cons, and tradeoffs to think about.

An annuity is a contract issued mostly from insurance companies that provides a guaranteed income stream. Mainly, annuities are used for retirement.

Some people look at annuities as the best thing since sliced bread. For others, annuities are a total time and money-sink to even consider. But for most folks, we’d wager the reality is somewhere in between.

Listen in as Stephanie and Kevin lay out the must-knows of the complicated topic of annuities, and suggest some questions to ask oneself when it comes to making use of a specific annuity for your retirement plan.

Key Topics:

• “What the heck is an annuity?” (3:30)
• Why you need to wait until you’re 59½ before taking money out of an annuity (4:38)
• How annuities are taxed (5:42)
• Taking advantage of the lifetime income option (8:32)
• Other income options to consider (11:46)
• The cons of annuities and how best to work around them (15:24)
• The Four Ls of our needs in retirement (16:40)
• Deciphering important annuity jargon (17:48)
• Fitting an annuity into your retirement plan (20:17)
• Questions to ask yourself (23:00)

Resources:

• Take Back Retirement Episode 12: What Women Need to Know About IRA’s, with Sarah Brenner
• Take Back Retirement Episode 20: Women + Roth IRA’s – What Should You Be Aware Of?
• Take Back Retirement Episode 3: Turning Your Retirement Savings to Retirement Income
• Take Back Retirement Episode 15: What Women Need to Know About Social Security

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Why is money so darn challenging?

Today’s guest, money mindset coach Kat Sanford, sits down with us to do a deep dive on that very question!

Kat’s personal story saw her chasing the modern world’s definition of “success”—and experiencing burnout as a result. She realized that changing her path requires addressing her money blocks. She did just that, and has since dedicated her career to helping other women entrepreneurs do the same!

“How you do money,” Kat says, “is how you do everything.”

Listen in as she explains why a lack of awareness around your money mindset and what’s influencing it creates negative spending habits. She then breaks down the eight unique money personalities and how awareness of your archetype can help you make better money choices!

Key Topics:

• “What the hell is ‘money mindset’ and why should we care?” (2:01)
• “There’s hope: You can always shift your money mindset!” (5:55)
• The 8 Sacred Money Archetypes (9:08)
• You now know your money personality. Now what? (19:32)
• Working with a financial planner without getting overwhelmed by shame (23:23)
• Kat's top three archetypes (27:10)
• Unapologetically building abundance (36:51)

Resources:

• Get in touch with Kat Sanford at www.katsanford.com

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Believe it or not, the IRS wants you to save for retirement. To that end, they’re always trying to come up with new tax breaks—not to mention very specific conditions you need to meet in order to enjoy those tax breaks!

This brings us to the topic of today’s conversation: the introduction of Secure Act 2.0, a new law ushering in changes to rules and parameters related to retirement accounts.

Listen in as Stephanie and Kevin discuss the highlights of this Secure Act 2.0, offering insights on how you can continue saving for your dream retirement in light of this new law!

Key Topics:

• How the government incentivizes you to put money away for your future (1:58)
• About Secure Act 2.0 (3:21)
• An increase in access to Roth accounts (4:20)
• Required minimum distributions around retirement plans (6:52)
• Inherited/beneficiary IRAs (11:15)
• Secure Act 2.0 and RMD penalties (14:51)
• Catch-up contributions (20:16)
• 529 plans (college savings plans) and Roth IRAs (26:50)
• Questions to ask yourself to make better savings/investment-related decisions (31:45)

Resources:

• Take Back Retirement ep. 27: Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s): What Women Need to Know
• The 10 Most Important Things Secure 2.0 Will Do for Your Retirement, in Plain English (article)
• Ed Slott: Pay Attention! Secure 2.0 Dates Are ‘All Over the Place’ (Article)

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Recession.

We’ve seen the headlines, in all their dramatic glory.

Today’s episode isn’t about defining “recession” and all its complexities (a topic on which no one ever seems to agree!). Instead, it’s about the reality that recessions are simply a part of the economic cycle and, more importantly, that it’s something everyone has to deal with when it does come.

We have no control over the economy, and that’s okay. What we can—and must—control is our economy. Stephanie and Kevin share how we can do just that, from dealing with scary stock market fluctuations, to having a Plan B in case you lose your job (or your spouse loses theirs), to creating more financial flexibility and tapping into your assets, and more!

Key Topics:

• “What the heck is a ‘recession’?” (1:50)
• The importance of having a long-term view of the stock market (5:34)
• Losing your job during a recession (10:21)
• Increasing your flexibility (12:49)
• Your Plan B (17:19)
• Health insurance (19:12)
• Tapping into your assets (20:53)
• Loans from retirement plans (27:04)
• Health savings accounts (28:59)
• Life insurance and social security benefits (30:04)
• Our closing thoughts (31:46)

Resources:

• Take Back Retirement Episode 20: Women + Roth IRA’s – What Should You Be Aware Of?
• Take Back Retirement Episode 21: Simplifying Medicare: What’s Important For You To Know with Susan Sloan
• Take Back Retirement Episode 29: How Much Cash Should I Have and Where Should I Be Putting It?
• Take Back Retirement Episode 42: What Women Need to Know When the Stock Market Goes Down
• Take Back Retirement Episode 55: Lessons from the Career of Janet Yellen with Jon Hilsenrath, Author

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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Today, we sit down with Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, social worker, financial therapist, speaker, and author of The Financial Anxiety Solution. Lindsay reflects on how her own lived experience led her to choose financial therapy as a career path.

Listen in as Lindsay shares how she aims to close “the gap in how we talk about money,” highlighting the importance of having regular conversations with those you trust “about how money makes you feel.”

We also discuss the need for more people to be open about sharing their money stories in order to collectively send the message that no one is alone on their financial anxiety journey. Lindsay speaks on where affirmations fall short and why it’s much more productive to create neutral-to-positive associations with money.

Finally, Lindsay talks about the often-overlooked value of getting in touch with your body in order to create a stronger relationship with money, and she gives some super practical tips on how to ask for a raise.

Key Topics:

• What led Lindsay to choose financial therapy as a career path (3:21)
• Why we need to talk about money (7:58)
• Giving people the tools to address their own needs (10:31)
• Seeing your “financial anxiety journey” to the end (12:39)
• Nipping bad money beliefs in the bud (15:05)
• Why building a healthy relationship with money involves getting in touch with your body (18:48)
• Inviting the client on a journey before trying to solve their problem (24:03)
• “Procrastination is the other side of the coin from perfectionism.” (30:46)
• Our final takeaways (35:43)

Resources:

Where to find Lindsay Bryan-Podvin:

• Podcast
• Website
• Instagram
• Book

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [email protected]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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