What is Estate Planning

 Welcome to today's episode. I am excited to share with you today my money story, my money journey, how I was able to retire at the age of 50, and why I became a money coach. Retirement. It was something that was always on my mind. Why? One guess for myself is my dad was able to retire early due to an option they gave and I was a junior in high school so I, I kind of blend to believe like that was why. Anyways, I want to start with my aha moment. This was, so what is an aha moment? An aha moment is when you have that realization that a change needs to occur for you to go down a path, so it doesn't have to be with money. It can be with life, but aha moments are important. Going back to my aha moment was about the age of 35 when I had gone from One law enforcement agency to another law enforcement agency. Same pension system, same requirements. And I said to myself, Self, you can, you've done 17 years at that agency, 17 more at this new one. Piece of cake, and it was in that moment that I was reflecting that I realized I had 13 years before that option of retirement presented itself. So it was an option, if I wanted to take that option at that age or any age thereafter, I needed to be prepared. And why was this? Because with a pension. They only pay you 60 percent of your salary, so immediately a 40 percent cut in pay. This is where a lot of people who do have pensions, who work for the government, get hung up on the fact of that. I took the bull by the horns and I got really super focused, headed down my path. Before I want to share any more from there, I want to go back to the first of my journey. I was living at home, just I had graduated from high school. It was September. Graduation was in May. I had just lost my job, so I was unemployed. Thank goodness, still living with my parents, I didn't even own a car at the time. And I'm looking through the newspaper. For a jobs, that's where we found our jobs. We made phone calls as well. Very archaic. But yes, welcome to the Gen Xers growing up. As I'm reading through the ads, I see one for a dispatch Academy. It was a three week, I believe it was a three week course. I think it was 250 and it interested me so much. I had no inkling to go to college at that time. I was done with school. Anyways, I went to this academy. I never was a dispatcher. Those women and men are amazing. I don't know if I could have done it. I went through all of their training. I was so grateful for all the knowledge I had, but it was during this Academy, the record supervisor came down and said they were hiring, you know. That was part of the Academy. We got to learn about records. She expresses that they're hiring, and guess who's in need of a job, you know? I did clerical. Those were my internships I did through high school. So why not? It was part time, which was perfect. I was still living at home. I didn't need to have full time yet, I wasn't supporting a family. I got hired. Luckily, they had a day shift. It was the weekends, which was fine. I just did not want to do swings or graves. Luckily, I didn't have to. I was working this part time job filed my taxes the next year. So this is 1990, I filed my taxes. I think I was getting money back, I don't recall, but it was in that same moment. That I was like, I'm going to school. I am ready to go to college. I got the bug, I got the itch, and I was ready. At that time, it was a state college, and they were on terms. they were 10 weeks. I believe I started mid March. And I'm working in my part time job. I fit my classes around my schedule. It was perfect, I had passed up opportunities for full time in records because I did not want to work swings or graves. But now in April, I believe it was April, shortly after I had started school, this opportunity to work a day shift as a clerical person there came open. It wasn't in records, it was actually the detective secretary. I apply, I get hired, I still have two weeks of school. So I'll tell you what, I had some amazing professors. One said we're going to call it good. One said finish these two things. And then one I had to actually still go to school for. Amazing, amazing personnel I worked with. We got it done. And so I took the summer off, started this full time job. And that was how I got into the government sector, which has pensions, I believe it still does. They're not as great as when I started. Granted it wasn't as great as when my dad was there, but this is just, you know, what economics does, it just changes and it moves and it goes with the flow. Anyways that was what I had done. I did end up going back to school and I did a major in accounting. I worked full time, put myself through school working for the city, I took a hiatus for four years, I call it a hiatus because that was my four years from law enforcement, and worked, went and worked accounts payable to get some experience, oh, yeah, the pace working in law enforcement is completely different. The environment is completely different and I was just not used to it. After four years, they had another position open up at the police department. And so I went down there, I did that, went back to school again. Remember I said I was not going to go to school. I had no inkling to go to college and now I'm signing up for my master's. My reason for going for my masters was because I was wanting to teach at the state college. This would allow me to continue in the pension system. so I had invested my years. And I wanted to keep going. So any job, anything that I wanted to move to, it was important for me that they be in that same pension system. So I started my master's. It was just, you know, it was just, it was an MBA to piggyback off my accounting degree and hopefully go teach accounting and business at the state college. I was excited right before I finished. And mind you, my course, was 14 months. They changed to a university. To teach at a university in a full time capacity, you had to have a doctorate. Needless to say, I was a little bit devastated, looked at my husband, I'm like, what are we going to do? And I found out the cost of a doctorate right after a master's prize. It just was not worth it to me. I said, I feel like I'm taken away from our daughter, you know, and potential her being able to go to college. And he says, okay. So we paused it, which was fine. I went on the search. for a job in the pension system that would require my degree. At this point in my life, that was important to me. no more looking in newspapers, jumping on the internet, looking around at all the different government agencies, I find the best job ever. Number one, it requires my degree. And number two, it's still with law enforcement. This is when I'm changed and I went to the sheriff's office and I was their finance manager. This was when my aha moment happened, I'm like, I can do this. We can do this. I didn't, I didn't really have a huge desire to retire early. What I wanted more than anything was to assure myself That if I needed to, my parents were getting older and were maybe needing some help and I would have retired to take care of them, so, I just wanted to have that option available as early as I could. We got really focused. We I really got focused on my savings plan. How much I was saving, how much I was putting in my retirement how I was strategically, you know, paying down debt, taking on new debt, all of the things. Mind you, I had just finished my master's degree. I did take out student loans for that. It was important for me to focus on both of those, just an example that yes, you can pay down debt and save for retirement. I kept going hitting the age of about 40. And we had earlier helped my sister in law get a home, and the reason we co signed was for many different reasons. She had an ex she didn't have another spouse, she had one child, protection, all of the things, so we did that. Well, she ends up having a heart attack and passes away. Immediately we lost her, but we also have a mortgage payment, and it was literally due, I think it was literally due that month because she hadn't had time to pay it before the grace period. We immediately have that, we scraped together I really got hyper focused on our finances. I get rid of like anything that we didn't absolutely need. So we were going through refinance, which would take some time, so that we could lower the payment. We also were working to fix it up and get it so that we could rent it. So we were working with a property manager there as well. And so that process took about five months, you know, for all of that to happen and to get renters in there, to finally have more income coming in. But it was during this time that I turned to cash envelopes. They have a very precious place in my heart as part of my financial journey and I'm going to share that with you in another episode. So I got really hyper focused. I used cash envelopes and they got us through, and it got us going. We were told, advised to hold onto that rental for about three years. So we did and made, you know, made the adjustments for that time period. Luckily we had renters. We weren't without very often, amazing property manager, and if your property manager does not charge very much, I would totally do it just for the sake of sanity. So we are working through that. Our daughter is still young, we have all of the things with her. The activities. Life is happening as I'm also focusing on the fact that I want to create this option for us. My husband also worked in the government sector and so he had the option as well. He was five years behind me. So, we knew he would probably be later was ultimately what the vision was looking like as we're working through this and trying to do all of those things. And he ended up having a massive heart attack. Yes, it is hereditary. Luckily, he survived his event. And his job, the environment was not really best for his health. Instead of really focusing on me getting out of there, and I wasn't there yet, we worked towards to get him out the five years early. There was another option at 25 years, you could buy your last five and leave with a full pension. We were able to do that. He retired three years before myself. which was awesome because he was able to provide extra support as my parents were getting older. And again, like I said earlier, I would have retired to take care of them, but I had, you know, amazing help from all of my siblings to take care of them. My dad had passed the one year. My mom passed the following year. And for some reason, you know, I, I don't know why, maybe I need to reflect longer on possibly why, but it was that fall after she had passed that I turned to my husband. Now, mind you, he had been retired for, this was his second year the year that my mom passed. I said, I think I'm retiring next year. And he's like, okay. So, as we always think about retirement, I mean, this was how my journey was, was like, Oh, I only have, you know, 10 more years or five more years or two more years. Honestly, when you are ready to retire, it becomes a very difficult to choose number one, the year, number two, the month and number three, the day, there is no formula out there. Everybody's got their ideas about it. , so the fall, I said. I think next year's the year. And he's like, okay, when are you thinking? I'm like, in a year. So it was October. I'm like, October will be good. He's like, okay. I think on that. And I'm like, why am I waiting until the end of the year? So my anniversary date was actually in May. I was like, okay, I could go as early. So my anniversary date was May 6th. To retire, you have to retire on the 1st or the 16th and you can't work those days. Those are the days you actually are officially retired. So I was like, okay, why would I want to wait that long? He's like, I don't know. It's up to you, you know? And so I was like, okay, well I could go as early as the 16th of May, but that didn't, I'm like, that's weird. I didn't want to retire in the middle of the month. So then I'm like, well, I'll just go on my mom's birthday, which oddly enough is also her death date. I'm like, I'll just go August 1st. He's like, okay, it's up to you. I've moved it up two months and that date stuck for a little bit longer, now, I hadn't mentioned this to any of my admin yet because I knew that that would bring all sorts of other problems on. But I knew I was going to tell them early enough that they could prepare. As I'm letting this date simmer, feeling really good, like yes, I can honor my, you know, honor my mom. It'll be great. And I'm like, I don't want to leave at the end of summer. I want to enjoy summer. I actually end up going at the end of May. My official retirement date was June 1 of 2022. As I am, you know, approaching 2022, I think it was the December 2021 and, you know, January of 2022, I'm like, okay, so I've set my retirement date. I feel really good about it. I had to wait for a certain timeframe, you know, but I'm like, what am I going to do? So I'll be 50. I'm still very able. My health is still really good. We don't have little ones at home, so that's not going to take up my time, but I'm like, what am I going to do? Okay, I'm an avid reader. I love to read. I love to help people, you know, try to get that. I don't force it, but I would love to. So I'm like, maybe I could go work at the schools. Maybe I could go be a school aide. Maybe I could you know, help the kids read there. Maybe I could go work at the library. Oh, they didn't hire you the last time you applied. Okay, so maybe that wasn't an option, maybe I could work at a bookstore. I wouldn't make any money. I would end up buying the books, so, somehow through all of this process of deciding what would take up some of my day, so my husband had retired. He says you're going to want to fill up a few hours of the day. I came across the AFCPE, which is a certification for financial coaches and counselors. That just hit me right in the heart. I didn't have to think anymore. I didn't have to wonder any further. I was like, I want to take my passion I'm having right now that I get to retire in six months and help other people. Find their passion, like whatever that is, you may not want to retire early and that's not what I'm here for, you may want to buy, you know, a lot of rental properties or you may want to be able to go on big vacations for months at a time. Whatever your passion is, that's what I thought. I can help others fill this same passion for their dreams. And so I began to study for the exams. I'm back in a school setting, I loved it. I loved learning. Take the exam in April worked with a business coach to get things up and going. Decided launch day would be June one. So we're about. Nine months into my journey as a money coach, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of the clients I have worked with. I have helped, you know. individuals. I've helped couples. I've helped male individuals, female individuals that, are single, anywhere from just organizing their finances, helping them get on track to somebody who is new to money as they have just realized that they're divorcing after 44 years and they have not managed money since they were like, you know, the beginning of that to another one who is a upside down, swimming in debt, and just being able to bring all of the hope, all of the help, is just so warming to me, so helpful. I enjoy, I want other people to enjoy it as much as I do. What I do is I help individuals I don't build a spreadsheet that I make you use. I don't build a budget for you. I help you use your strengths, use your knowledge, use your values, and your goals to to create a budget that you want and get you on track. I help you understand like how quickly you can achieve your goal. I can help you understand if there's any changes you make with your current spending that may be quicker or you know whatever it may be. I help you get the visualization to be able to understand your budget. money journey, your story, so that one day you have an amazing story like I do to share with your posterity and, you know, help your kids. Financial literacy is so important. I plan to focus on that in this podcast as well. But I just wanted to share with you you know, all of that. And before I end my episode, I want to just talk about being an entrepreneur. So for 32 years, I worked for somebody else. I had no qualms with that, I had great bosses, great leaders that I could, I had a lot of flexibility. I could, within a sense, choose my own schedule. I could, you know, take my time, all of that. As I've been on my entrepreneurship journey, it's, it's tough. You know, kudos to all of you who've been self employed entrepreneurs for a lot longer, who actually, you know, life depends on the money you make. You guys are amazing. You are my role models. The growth and the development and the reward I have seen to date in nine months is amazing and I would not trade this journey for anything else. Even some days I'm ready to throw in the towel but I have made some great connections with some wonderful other entrepreneurs. We collaborate, we support one another, and we help them help us all on our journey of entrepreneurship. But it's been a wonderful journey. I have loved sharing my story with you today. I hope it helps you kind of fit the pieces together in your life and how you can create your own money journey. As we go on to the next few episodes, I'm going to start breaking down some of the, you know, topics. Specific and hopefully helping you determine your next step.