Piloting Your Life Crew Chat: Money

In episode 109 (PYL109) of Piloting Your Life (the podcast), I shared the second #CrewChat topic around Money.

What’s a Crew Chat? Get some details here in a blog post or here on the Piloting Your Life website.

In my interview with Stephanie Sammons, CFP, Stephanie shared four steps we can take in midlife toward taking control of our financial health and wealth. The pre-step is to just be aware of the need to do something about your financial health and wealth. The other thing to keep in mind is that this is a process and doesn’t need to be done all at once. It can be overwhelming.

1. Create a master inventory. Take inventory of your what you own, what you owe, employee benefits, insurance policies, trusts, wills, etc. Put it all in one place. You can do this in a Death Binder like I do or use something like Everplans. (Note: I am going to test drive this sometime in the near future and I’ll report back). I also do a quarterly summary of our assets and liabilities to get a sense of where we stand financially and to see the changes over time. (Note: I used to be an accountant)
2. Define your life vision. Think about what you want in and from your life in the next 5, 10, and maybe 20 years. If you have a life partner, you may want to sit down with them to make sure you are working from and toward the same place.
3. Shore up your health and wellness. Take stock of how you are doing and what you need to be doing to make sure you are as healthy as possible. If we are going to be living longer, we may as well do it as healthy and with as much quality as possible. Make a list of the appointments you need to make and start making them. Check them off to show progress.
4. Identify and start to close the gaps. Remember this a process. I’ve identified some gaps and have created some #FlightPlans to address them. I am nowhere near done but I’ve started.

How does this tie into a #CrewChat? I think there’s a lot of emotional stuff that can come up when we are talking about money, our futures, and our health. There’s scary stuff and we all have murky crystal balls. Sharing some of these concerns, emotions, plans, and progress with friends can make this a lot more manageable and a lot less scary. And you may get ideas from your friends, too.

Here are some ideas of what to talk about during a #CrewChat:

— What do you use to keep track of what you have, what you owe, and where all your stuff is? Do you like it? Does it work for you?

— What is your idea of retirement? When do you expect to or hope to retire?

— What resources are you using to help you plan for your future?

— What are some of your concerns, worries about planning for the future? Or around money?

— How can we help each other achieve our goals?

Have other ideas? Share with me in the Comments below or send me an email pilotingyourlife@gmail.com and I’ll add to this post.

I put together a #FlightPlan for me to get a handle on our situation over the next 3–6 months. I will most like create new #FlightPlans for each gap area and begin to work towards filling the gaps.

When you get together for a #CrewChat, take a picture of you with your girlfriends and share on Instagram. Tag @pilotingyourlife. Use the hashtags #CrewChat #FlightCrew #MidlifeOpportunities #TakingtheControls.

If you put together a #FlightPlan, please share on Instagram, too. Tag @pilotingyourlife. Use the hashtags #CrewChat #FlightCrew #MidlifeOpportunities #TakingtheControls.

Now go take charge of your financial future!

Terri

P.S. Looking for more Crew Chat ideas? Check out Pinterest. I am adding at least one per month. TM