đź‘‹ Hi,
Life is full of what ifs. The good news? You can get ready for them. Here’s this week’s guide.
đź’ˇ This week:
- Why authenticity is your superpower
- Healing financial scar tissue
- When insurance eats your budget
🧠Thought of the Week
When we show up with clarity and integrity, we make better choices, have better conversations and strengthen our relationships.
10 What Ifs to Be Ready For
1. 🎠What if authenticity was your superpower?
Why it matters: People crave real connection, not perfect scripts. This includes your clients.
The What If: You gave yourself permission and grace to be yourself.
Your Move: Share your own money story (without shame). It can open the door for better conversations.
The Win: Authenticity and storytelling can transform relationships. Authenticity resonates. Clients see your humanity—and trust your guidance more.
💠Tony’s Take: Showing up as yourself can be your greatest asset.
🎙 Come As You Are: Authenticity, Storytelling, and the New Financial Conversation with Hillary Gale and Tony Steuer on The Get Ready Money Podcast. Check it out (here)
2. 🏥 Get Ready for Health Care in Retirement
Why it matters: Medical costs can derail retirement.
The What If: You retire early without factoring in future health needs.
Your Move: Review and consider integrating Vanguard’s six-step framework: Establish your health care priorities, decide on health insurance coverage, estimate your potential costs, incorporate health care costs into your retirement plan, take measures to deal with possible income gaps, and enact the plan.
The Win: Confidence that your retirement funds won’t be consumed by health surprises.
💠Tony’s Take: Retirement isn’t just about money—it’s about planning how you’ll deal with aging and how you’ll live.
đź“– Six steps to creating a health-aware retirement plan by Stephen Weber, Julia Fuentes, Ashley Greene and James Passman for Vanguard. Read it (here).
3. ❤️‍🩹 Your Money Has Feelings: Healing “Financial Scar Tissue”
Why it matters: Naming your money story is the first step to changing it.
The What If: Giving yourself Permission to spend: overcoming scarcity when you have more than enough
Your Move: Progress is built on small, repeatable actions, not perfection..
The Win: Less stress, more alignment between values and spending.
💠Tony’s Take: Healing money wounds leads to financial freedom.
🎙 Shannon Ryan and Melissa Joy on the Women’s Money Wisdom Podcast. Listen on (Apple Podcasts)
4. 🌀 Preparedness Check: Will Your Retirement Plan Fail?
Why it matters: When your money no longer supports your actual life - your values, time, and energy - everything starts to fray.
The What If: The silent tax of decision fatigue - and how it shows up in everyday finances.
Your Move: Use the 90-second reset: Two tiny tweaks that boost clarity & control (fun card + automating the boring)
The Win: Align your season, values, and spending.
Tony’s Take: Recenter your plan using Clarity, Confidence, Cadence and Control.
🎙 Watch: Where Most Retirement Plans Secretly FAIL (And You Won’t See It Coming) with Dr. Preston Cherry for the Life Money Balance Podcast. Watch on (YouTube).
5. đź©ş Before Life Happens: What if health care unlocked early retirement?
🔹 Unlock early retirement with health care planning.
🔹 How financial advisors can help their clients navigate health care insurance planning.
🔹 Why health care and health insurance are interconnected
Tony’s Take: Health care should always be part of the financial planning conversation.
🎙️Drew Shockley and Tony Steuer on The Get Ready Money Podcast. Check it out (here).
6. đź’ž Money for Good: Couples Growing Together
Why it matters: Money is one of the biggest challenges in relationships.
The What If: Build a stronger relationship with your partner and have better money conversations.
Your Move: Get on the same page when it comes to your money & help your clients get on the same page.
Tony’s Take: This is a must-read for couples looking to deepen their connection through better money conversations. Money isn’t just about math — it’s about values, emotions, and how we show up for each other through every phase of life.
đź“š A Couple's Guide to Money: Grow Closer, Dream Bigger, Thrive Together by Prudence Zhu.
Price special this week $0.99 - ebook editions (Amazon)
7. đź’¸ Is Insurance Crushing Your Budget?
Why it matters: Americans now spend on average about 8% of their after-tax income on insurance premiums for health, auto, home, life and other personal insurance. This is a 31% increase from 2013 when U.S. consumers spent 6.1% of their average after-tax income.*
The What If: Instead of starting with whether or not you need a specific policy, consider what your risks and goals are, then find the policy that fits your life.
Your Move: Review your policies:
👉 Cancel riders or policies you don’t need
👉 Adjust coverage where it no longer matches your goals
👉 Focus on value, not just the lowest premium
The Win: Having the right coverage to meet your needs at an optimal premium.
💠Tony’s Take: My quote: “The lowest-premium policy often provides the least amount of benefit. It’s not just about price. It’s about what you get for that price.”
Bottom Line: Start with your goals and then find the right insurance policy with the optimal coverage for you.
📖 Read: Insurance should protect your finances. People say it’s crushing their budgets instead by Venessa Wong for Marketwatch. Read (here).
- MarketWatch source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Data.
đź“š From the Tony Steuer Bookshelf
Insurance Made Easy → Helps you review all of your insurance policies so you can decide which policies you needs by reviewing all of the “terms”, the factors that impact your premium and maximizing the value of your insurance.
👉 Pick it up (Amazon)
8. 🌱 Widow Support Beyond Crisis Response
Why it matters: Widowhood is a lifelong identity shift, not a moment.
The What If: Move beyond policies and payouts.
Your Move: Explore the Modern Widow’s Club MWC’s signature Hope–Heal–Grow–Lead™ journey and Seven Pillars of Healthy Widowhood.
The Win: Helping widows access the tools, care, and confidence to embrace a new chapter with financial security, emotional well-being, and community belonging.
💠Tony’s Take: Support widows in a way that honors not just the loss, but the life that follows.
đź“… Webinar: Beyond Sympathy: Why Widow Support Must Evolve from Crisis Response to Comprehensive Care with Carolyn Moor, Modern Widows Club presented by New York Life. Learn more and register (here).
9. ⚡ Quick Hits
🎙 Money is Emotional: Values Based Spending, Social Pressure, and Financial Confidence. Jack Howard and Shari Rash on the Everyone’s Talkin’ Money Podcast. Listed on (Apple Podcasts).
đź“– 7 Ways to Score Money-Smarts with the 2026 FIFA World Cup! For parents and educators by Karen Holland. Read on (LinkedIn)
🛠️ Scholarship Search Excel Organizer/Template (Free) from College Financial Prep. Download it (here).
📖 Why rate cuts won’t fix your mortgage by Callie Cox for OptimistiCallie. Read (here).
🎤 How much financial literacy matters? A simulation of potential influences on inequality levels by Giovanni Gallo and Alessia Sconti. Read the study (here).
10. 🔎 Week 39 action item: Quarter 3 Reflection
Why it matters: It’s important to take time to reflect on positive progress and challenges overcome, and to celebrate your wins.
The What If: We’re often so busy planning ahead that we forget how far we’ve come.
Your Move: Review the 8 Get Ready Habits:
âś… Goals defined
âś… Educate yourself
âś… Think about how you think
âś… Relevancy to you
âś… Evaluate your options
âś… Assemble the pieces
âś… Detailed focus
âś… Yearly review
The Win: Take a deep breath and think of all that you’ve accomplished over the last quarter.
💠Tony’s Take: Be gentle on yourself. If you didn’t meet all of your goals, that’s okay. It’s all about the changes that you make going forward. Do the best that you can’t.
🛠️ Member Resources
Access your resources for this week's action item (#39) from your Get Ready Library dashboard (located in Monthly Focus Area 9: Financial Independence):
- In the Get Ready Blueprint week 39 worksheet reflect on your progress with the Get Ready habits, go deeper on each habit and write in your progress.
- Ask Tony AI: Try this prompt: How do I calculate my financial independence number and ratio.
Access Your Get Ready Resources here
đź“… Timely Reminder:
- October 1: If you want to establish a SIMPLE IRA this year for your small business, the account must be opened by October 1.
- October 1: FAFSA Open Date: First chance to apply for federal student aid for the following year. It’s best to complete the FAFSA as early as possible because states and colleges use it to award their own grants, scholarships, and loans, and that aid is limited
🧠Final Thought
Preparedness with integrity means owning your story, planning your moves, and helping others do the same. That’s how money becomes a force for good.
âś… Stay ready.
đź’¬ Start a conversation.
💡 Share what sparked something—with a friend or client.
Cheers,
– Tony
Coming Next Week: How technology and AI can help us close the financial literacy gap.
đź“š Explore The Tony Steuer Bookshelf - a digital collection of my books (here)
