Calm is a readiness skill

Hi, welcome to this week’s edition of The Get Ready Newsletter. 

Opening Thought: Calm is a readiness skill

In wilderness first response, one of the first lessons is simple: slow down before you rush in. When a scene feels chaotic, adrenaline tells us to move quickly.

The optimal response is to pause. Assess the scene. Gather information. Look for clues. Then make a plan.

That pause matters because the first explanation is not always the right one. The loudest problem may not be the most important one. The person who needs help may need calm before they need instructions.

The same is true in our financial lives. When a decision feels urgent, pressure can take over. We react before we understand. We click before we verify. We spend before we think. We choose before we know the full picture.

Scammers know this. They use urgency, fear, and confusion to push people into quick action. A call about a grandchild in jail. A threat from the IRS. A message that says your account will be closed unless you act now.

Calm creates space. Space to ask better questions. Space to gather facts. Space to notice whether fear, pressure, or emotion is driving the decision.

Question to Ask

What would I see differently if I remained calm rather than rushing in?

From the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast

How Cognitive Biases Shape Your Money Decisions

The way we think shapes the way we spend, invest, and respond to risk. Colin Hodge joined me to explore explore how psychology impacts financial decisions, why cognitive biases shape more of our lives than we realize, and how slowing down can help us make clearer and more intentional choices.

• Cognitive biases shape everyday decisions.
• Urgency can push us toward reactive choices while reducing critical thinking.
• Slowing down creates space for clearer thinking.
• Adding friction can reduce impulse decisions.
• Self-awareness helps us understand money patterns.
• AI can support learning when used intentionally.

Tony’s Take: The more aware we become of our biases, emotions, and decision-making patterns, the more clearly we can think before acting. That awareness helps turn reactions into intentional choices.

🎙️Watch or listen to the Get Ready Before Life Happens podcast (here)

Action Step

Choose one financial decision this week and add a pause before acting. Wait overnight. Ask one better question. Gather one more piece of information. Then decide.

👉 Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan. A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. 

Also on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast: 

Why Journaling May Be Your Most Valuable Skill

Your story is one of your greatest assets. Jed Collins joined me to explore the power of journaling, why reflection helps shape personal growth, and how authenticity becomes even more valuable in the age of AI.

Jed shares lessons from football, failure, entrepreneurship, and financial education, along with why capturing your story can help you better understand yourself, your goals, and the value you bring to the world.

Tony’s Take: Reflection helps us better understand who we are, what we value, and how we grow through both successes and setbacks. In a world where information is everywhere, authenticity, perspective, and lived experience become even more meaningful. Taking time to capture your journey helps turn experiences into insight and insight into growth.

🎙️Watch or listen to the Get Ready Before Life Happens podcast (here)

Why Estate Planning Matters Sooner Than You Think

Estate planning is about protecting the people who may need to step in.

Will Spencer joined me to explore why estate planning is important for everyone, how families can protect assets from disappearing over time, and why early money conversations create more clarity and confidence across generations. Will shares practical ways to simplify planning, update beneficiaries, and help families prepare before life happens.

Tony’s Take: Protecting your family starts long before a crisis happens. Simple conversations, updated information, and shared awareness can make a meaningful difference for the people you care about. 

🎙️Watch or listen to the Get Ready Before Life Happens podcast (here)

ScamFighter Tip of the Week

Slow the decision down.

Scams often depend on urgency. Wire it now. Click before it expires. Act before you think.

That pressure is the signal to pause. Before you send money, share information, click a link, or move a conversation off-platform, ask: Who benefits if I act before I think?

Adding friction is protection rather than inefficiency.

On My Radar

Romance Fraud Awareness Week U.K. Romance abuse starts with trust, not money. Scams often unfold across many touchpoints: dating platforms, social media, family and friends, banks, law enforcement, and support systems. Take a step back, see all of the pieces, connect the dots, and recognize common red flags.

Think you’d spot the criminal? Think again. Romance abuse doesn’t start with money, it starts with trust. Take the 60-second check to see how manipulation really works, and why it happens to smart, kind people every day. Learn more (here). 

Heart and Numbers. Marie Burns shared a helpful reflection on using both emotion and logic in money decisions. That fits this week’s theme because slowing down gives our emotional brain and logical brain time to work together. “Sleep on it” is simple, practical, and underrated. Marie Burns for Sixty and Me (read). 

In the article, Marie references this episode of the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast: Do People Make Better Money Decisions with Emotion or Logic? (With Bill Comfort and Maxwell Schmitz). Both have value, and the best decision is made considering both.

AI and Human Judgment. The time to ask better questions is before the crisis, not after the system is already moving too fast to understand. The more powerful AI becomes, the more important human judgment becomes.

• Bill Gates recently wrote about the turbulence of the AI era and the choices ahead. Bill Gates for Gates Notes (here). 
• Dwarkesh Patel’s piece on AI agent civilizations takes that conversation even further. Dwarkesh Patel on the Dwarkesh Podcast (read) 

Five Worth Your Time

Take Advantage of Your Go-Go Years. Most people worry about running out of money. Fewer worry about running out of time. Fewer still think about running out of health. These are all resources, and we're running out of all three simultaneously, just at different rates. Derek Hagen for Meaningful Money (read).

Financial Clarity Starts Here. Divorce is emotional, but it’s also one of the biggest financial transitions you’ll ever face. A look at the financial moves that matter most before, during, and after divorce. Phil Weiss and Wendy Sloane on The Rewrite Podcast (Apple Podcasts).

The IRA Claim Stuck in a Privacy Loop. Getting unstuck required high-level resolution. Essential beneficiary information and claiming processes are transparent at some brokerage firms, but not all. Julie Rains for Save.Invest.Protect.Preserve. (read).

Helping Women Make Better Retirement Decisions After Life Changes. How decisions around Social Security, beneficiary designations, retirement accounts, taxes, and financial guidance are often connected in ways people don't realize. Why every financial advisor approaches retirement differently, why asking the right questions matters, and how finding guidance that fits your situation can influence retirement for years to come. Eric Blake for The Simply Retirement Podcast (watch or listen). 

Dolly Parton: What a life well used can teach us about longevity. We sometimes talk as though legacy is something we leave behind. I think Dolly Parton demonstrated something rather different. Legacy is something you build while you're still here. Don't simply ask how long you've got left. Ask what all those years have equipped you to do next. Wendy Garcarz for Refirement Times on (LinkedIn)

Book of the Week

The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less, and Never Run Out of Money by Jean Chatzky (Amazon). With the power of a Forever Paycheck comes a simple, revelatory truth: you can spend more, and do more, than you think you can. The data shows that people entering retirement often can’t bring themselves to spend. But when their money comes as a steady monthly paycheck, they feel much more confident in using it to live life to the fullest. Many find they can spend double with no risk of running out.

Study:

“A Widow’s Walk to Financial Confidence” research paper explores the complex financial and emotional realities women face after the loss of a spouse. While widowhood brings profound grief, it often also marks a sudden shift into full financial responsibility, particularly for women who may have previously deferred money management to their partners. Finding calm in this chaotic time will strengthen decisions. From LIMRA (here)

Closing Thought: 

Taking a moment to make sure you’re calm is different than doing nothing. It means giving yourself enough space to see clearly.

Because when life happens, the way you think about money matters.

Tony

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