I'VE BEEN PONDERING

Have you thought about the day you may no longer be fit to look after your own finances? A friend pointed me to this recent New York Times article about that conundrum. (This is a "gift" link which should give you full access to the article, even without a subscription.) I was delighted to find it features a financial planner whom Janice and I happen to know, Elliott Appel. He went through his own journey when his father started showing signs of impairment.

The article also quotes an economics professor saying, "There's a huge concern about timing when it comes to the transfer of control of money." A survey of 2500 people (average age 74) revealed that many were worried they would wait too long, and wouldn't be able to recognize the ideal time. That's the catch-22, isn't it? You don't want to give up control too soon, or too late. Especially since the latest AgeWave study says "the definition of old has been pushed back by 20 years!"​

What to do about it? Here's what we recommend:

1. Talk with your loved ones. Are your Powers of Attorney (PoA) up to date? Do your people know where to find the documents in the event of an emergency?
2. One step before the PoA is the Trusted Contact, to whom a financial institution can reach out if something seems amiss, like suspected cognitive decline or financial exploitation (see Timely Topics!). We highly recommend you set them up at all your financial institutions.
3. If you're a client of ours, you will have heard that term, Trusted Contact. (Please reach out if you want to check that it's set up correctly.) If your investment accounts are elsewhere, find out how they handle it, and update your contacts.
4. Make sure your designated PoA knows where you bank and invest! Otherwise there could be a mad scramble at a very bad time.

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TIMELY TOPICS

One of the things that my grand jury duty service has reinforced is that scams and scammers are plentiful! And if I've seen (and indicted!) quite a few in my nearly 18 months as a grand juror, think of all the ones who haven't been caught.

I am not permitted to share what I see in grand jury, however Friends Life Care at Home (a Quaker-based aging in place membership program in the Philadelphia area) recently published a great article detailing common scams and some smart tips to help you and your loved ones avoid being manipulated out of your money.

Among them, "Never give out your personal information to anyone who contacts you unsolicited by phone, email, text, or social media. This includes your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, Medicare number, bank account information, credit card numbers, passwords, and PINs." Also, don't trust Caller ID, and talk with someone you trust before making financial decisions!

RECENT/UPCOMING SIGHTINGS

• After my friend Dionne asked me what the heck an annuity was, I created a couple short YouTube videos to try to explain clearly. Let me know if I succeeded!
• On Episode 71 of my podcast, Take Back Retirement, we interview my new friend G-Rex about her journey to and through retirement. Let's just say it didn't go as smoothly as you might expect, and she generously shares her story with us.
• I love the Stacking Benjamins show. Host Joe Saul-Sehy has been at it for years and brings a great combination of actionable info and humor to all things money. Recently he invited me back as a guest. You can watch here.

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Let's Connect!

I love art museums. In Miami at the Perez Art Museum there was a really fun exhibit by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Each small group just got two minutes in the mirrored room filled with color-changing polka-dotted... whatevers!

Are you an art museum fan? What's your favorite? I'll put it on my list.

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