Hi,
Thanks for being part of the Get Ready Movement navigating life’s what’s if’s by changing the way we think (and talk) about money.
This week’s theme is money works best when it evolves with us. From teaching kids the basics, to navigating relationships, divorce, college planning, aging, and new technology, the common thread is clarity through conversation. When we use everyday language and stay engaged with where we are in life, money becomes a source of confidence and connection.
1️⃣ Money Made Easy with Rishi Vamdatt
Want your kids to grow up financially confident? Learn from a teenager who’s showing families how to make money a part of every day life. Families can learn about money together, and kids should be involved at any age. Keep it simple by using clear, everyday language. An allowance is a powerful way to teach money responsibility.
💭 Tony’s Take: Helping kids learn about money early builds confidence, healthy habits and a positive money mindset.
🎙️ Rishi Vamdatt and Tony Steuer on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast (watch or listen)
2️⃣ Taking Control During Divorce: How Coaching Can Help You Make More Confident Decisions
A look at how women can take control of the divorce process. This conversation explores choosing the right process for your situation, understanding your finances, and why preparation and strategy make all the difference in creating a smoother transition and stronger future. Planning early and understanding your financial picture can prevent years of regret.
💭 Tony’s Take: Most women will manage money on their own at some point as a result of solo aging, widowhood or divorce which makes it important for them to become financially confident today.
🎙️ Karen Covy and Eric Blake for The Simply Retirement Podcast (watch or listen)
3️⃣How to Stop Fighting About Money With Your Honey
Don’t let financial disagreements wreck your relationship. Money quarrels are common and can even be beneficial, depending on the outcome. It’s important to be able to defuse them to protect and strengthen your relationship. These steps can help: Be transparent, Identify your financial fears, Align your priorities, Be prepared to pivot, Listen - really listen and Get help (when needed).
💭 Tony’s Take: Getting on the same page as your significant other on money builds trust far beyond your money.
📖 By Cameron Huddleston for AARP (read)
📚 Recommended resource: A Couple’s Guide to Money: Grow Closer, Dream Bigger, Thrive Together by Prudence Zhu (Amazon)
4️⃣ College Planning Made Simple for Divorced & Widowed Parents
College planning can can reduce conflict and costs. Have a college budget in place before committing to a school. Recognize that each that each college has its own financial (aid) formula andsome are more generous than others. Include kids in the process as they’ll live with the long-term impact. The best plans balance numbers, communication and impact.
💭 Tony’s Take: College costs don’t have to drain your future, especially if you know the strategies most families overlook.
🎙️Vicki Vollweiler and Tony Steuer on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast (watch or listen)
As life unfolds, money decisions extend beyond education into relationships, health, and long-term readiness.
5️⃣ Advice and AI
Advice 2030: Transform How You Connect. The next five years will see the most dramatic shift in how financial advice is created, communicated, and distributed—ever. Technology is changing how advice is delivered, however trust remains the foundation. AI will clear the underbrush—automating the friction, not the relationships. The winning firms won't have the biggest tech budgets. They'll be the ones who use technology to deliver confidence faster, clearer, and more transparently.
📖 Your 2025-2030 execution checklist from Asset Map (here)
Despite AI's allure, client relationships remain the crux of advisors' work.
📖 Rob Burgess for Financial Planning includes results of their recent AI Readiness Survey (read).
💭 Tony’s Take: Technology works best when it amplifies clarity and human connection.
6️⃣ Financial Planning’s Blind Spot: Dr. Chris Heye on Cognitive Decline & Wealth Protection
The greatest threat to an adult’s financial security isn’t taxes, inflation, or the stock market. It’s health, especially cognitive decline. Drawing from clinical research at Mass General, personal experience with family dementia, and collaborations with leading psychiatrists, Dr. Heye explains why poor financial decision-making often appears years before a dementia diagnosis—sometimes as early as the late 40s. Traditional financial planning often ignores these risks.
💭 Tony’s Take: Longer lives make cognitive planning as a core part of our financial readiness plan.
🎙️ Dr. Chris Heye and David Suson (YouTube)
7️⃣ Communicating with Clients about Dementia Risk
Thoughtful conversations help families protect dignity, independence and trust as health needs evolve. This guidance provides a course of action for professionals which includes conversation starters, practical considerations, and reminders that respect and empathy matter at every stage.
💭 Tony’s Take: Families benefit from early, respectful conversations. Advisors need empathy and strong communication to guide them.
📖 By Pam Ostrowski, CSA for the Society of Certified Senior Advisors CSA Journal (read)
Preparation does not eliminate uncertainty, however it will help you get ready for whatever comes next.
8️⃣ Malaysia woman loses S$473, engages 'law firm' to recover money, loses another S$378,000
Scammers scamming scam victims. Malaysians who have already fallen victim to scams are now being cheated a second time after turning to fake “anti-scam” law firms that promise unusually high recovery rates, only to be exploited by them further, according to Malaysian media.
💭 Tony’s Take: Learning about how scams work is a solid first line of defense for everyone around the world.
📖 By Nurshahiylia Sidin for Mothership (read).
9️⃣ Quick Hits
🎙️ Timeless Financial Advice for a New Generation with David Chilton and Jessica Moorhouse on the More Money Podcast (here).
📖 How and why to help your clients prepare for their passing. Greg Barnsdale for Advisor.ca (read here)
📖 Rethinking Risk Management and the Myth Of "Missing the Best Days" Ryan Gorman, CFA, CMT, BFA, Shawn R Keel, CFA, CMT, Vincent Randazzo, CMT for Meb Faber Research (here)
📓 Year Beginning Tax Planning Tips By Chris Mamula for Can I Retire Yet? (Read).
📓 Tax Deadlines and Key Information to Know for 2026 by Christine Benz for Morningstar (read).
📓 Five Fraud Stats from 2025 from Fraud.org (here)
🔟 Week #3 Action Item: Plan for Life Stages
🧐 Is your money strategy keeping up with your current life stage?
🌎 The big picture: Financial needs evolve as life changes. Your life stage will impact your financial journey.
💡 Here’s what works: Review your life stage and what focus areas need attention. Here are the four main life stages:
🔹 Starting Out: build a solid foundation and establish healthy habits
🔹 Accumulation: maximize savings and investments, implement risk protection
🔹 Financial Independence: maintain wealth, flexibility and resilience
🔹 Golden Years: preserving income, health, and defining your legacy
💭 Tony’s Take: As you enter a new life stage, you should review all areas of financial life to make adjustments so you can stay on track to meet your goals.
🛠️ Member Resources:
Access your resources for this week's action item (#3) from your Get Ready Library dashboard (located in Monthly Focus Area 1: Habits and Planning):
- The Get Ready Blueprint week 3 worksheet where you’ll review your current life stage in further detail and what focus areas need attention.
Source: The Get Ready Blueprint: A 52 Week Guide to Changing the Way You Think About Money - an easy-to-use road map that illuminates how everything in your financial life fits together and shows you how to take the steps toward financial preparedness. (Amazon) (Bookshop)
📅 Timely Reminders:
- January 31st: Tax forms includingW-2’s (for employees), 1099-NEC’s (for self-employed - formerly reported on Form 1099-Misc) and Form 1098-T (loan interest) should start to arrive in the mail.
Late January:
- Federal tax filing starts.
- Social Security cost-of-living adjustments go into effect.
- Medicare updates take effect
- Retirement contribution limits may increase.
🙏 Featured:
A special thank you to Money Matters and Jibran Siddiqui. I was honored to present on The 8 Habits of Financially Prepared People at the Money Matters Expo. Money Matters is Pakistan’s first expo of Wealth Management for the masses - all set to redefine Pakistan's financial landscape.
🧠 Final Thought
Financial readiness grows through reflection and a willingness to adjust as life evolves. When money decisions align with your current stage, values, and relationships, confidence follows.
✅ Stay ready.
💬 Start a conversation.
💡 Share what sparked something — with a friend, client, or in the comments.
— Tony
Coming Next Week: What If It Is Possible? Rethinking Money and Abundance with Michelle Petrowski on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast
P.S. 🎙️ Check out The Get Ready Money Podcast → [Apple] | [YouTube]
