👋 Hi,
☕ Preparedness is power. When you plan ahead, life’s surprises become manageable, not overwhelming. Each week, I share stories and strategies to help you prepare before life happens—aligning money, mindset, and meaning.
💡 This week:
- Lived experience as the best teacher in money conversations
- Closing the racial wealth gap through purpose-driven planning
- Empowering the next generation through financial literacy
🧠 Thought of the Week
Financial fluency isn’t about knowing about all areas of money. It’s about learning those areas that are part of your current journey. Thinking about your goals first, will help you know what to prepare for.
1️⃣ Before Life Happens → Lived Experience Is the Best Teacher
Why it matters: Forget perfection—what we need are real conversations about money, rooted in lived experience.
Your Move: Start honest conversations about money at home, at school, at work, and in your community.
The Win: Financial wellbeing protects those most at risk—from fraud, debt, and poor decisions.
💭 Tony’s Take: real stories and open conversations are essential to improving how we teach and talk about money.
🎙️ Natasha Bonsu and Tony Steuer on The Get Ready Money Podcast. Check it out (here).
2️⃣ Get Ready For → Closing the Wealth Gap with Confidence
Why it matters: Understanding the connection between history and resilience can help close the racial wealth gap.
Your Move: Find your financial purpose and create healthy money habits.
The Win: Build wealth with confidence and purpose.
💭 Tony’s Take: We can be successful when we understand our money story and how it impacts our lives.
🎙️ Shehara Wooten and Diana Yanez on the Highly Sensitive Money Podcast. Listen (here).
3️⃣ Money for Good → Empowering the Next Generation Through Financial Literacy
Why it matters: The next generation’s financial confidence starts with early, honest conversations.
Your Move: Talk about money at the kitchen table. Make money conversations a routine, not a one-off.
Financial institutions have a role to play—unbiased, accessible education is a must.
The Win: Inclusive financial fluency education can bridge gaps in communities with limited access to financial resources.
💭 Tony’s Take: The most important financial education starts around the kitchen table, not in a classroom.
🎙️ Tony Steuer and Mohsen Siddiqui on The Get Ready Money Podcast. Check it out (here).
4️⃣ Integrity in Action → Building a Career on Ethics and Education
That’s the journey I unpack on the FINRA Exam Tips by Achievable Podcast, where I share what I’ve learned from over 35 years in the insurance industry—from starting out as an agent to becoming a fee based advisor, an author and advocate for financial literacy.
Why it matters: Integrity in financial services means putting education and ethics before sales.
Your Move: Understand products and concepts, build real relationships with clients and lead with integrity, not pressure.
The Win: Build your career on service, rather than just on sales. Help your clients make informed, confident decisions.
💭 Tony’s Take: Great agents don’t sell policies—they help people solve problems and prepare for life’s what ifs.
🎙️ Check out my conversation with Tyler York of Achievable on (Apple Podcasts)
5️⃣ Preparedness Check → Planning for Elder Care
Why it matters: Planning for elder care can be overwhelming, but understanding your options is key to protecting your loved ones and your finances.
Your Move: Review your long term care planning including legal strategies for asset protection long with the main ways to pay for long term care including private pay, insurance, Medicaid, and VA benefits.
The Win: Have an elder care plan in place which will help the whole family.
💭 Tony’s Take: The best time to plan for care is today, before care is needed.
🎙️ Aaron Miller and Misty Lynch on the Demystifying Money Podcast. Listen to it (here).
6️⃣ Before Life Happens → Build Wealth and Love Stronger
Why it matters: Money issues can strain even strong relationships.
Your Move: Create shared goals and talk openly about money.
The Win: Pick up Prudence Zhu’s new book: "A Couple’s Guide to Money: Grow Closer, Dream Bigger, Thrive Together” (Amazon)
💭 Tony’s Take: Having a healthy relationship with money strengthens your marriage. Love and money can work together when you plan together.
🎙️ Prudence Zhu and Marie Burns on the Mind Money Motion Podcast. Listen on (Apple Podcasts).
7️⃣ Money for Good → From Trauma to Healing
Why it matters: Become trauma informed, there are multiple sources of financial trauma, rom generational cycles and workplace dynamics to systemic barriers and societal expectations.
Your Move: Adopt a trauma-informed lens for ourselves and our clients. .
The Win: Empathy and language are essential to client interactions.
💭 Tony’s Take: Shift from a shame based approach to a healing centered one.
🎙️ Rahkim Sabree, Rachael DeLeon and Dr. Brandy Baxter on the AFCPE Real Money, Real Experts Podcast, . Listen on (Apple Podcasts).
8️⃣ Preparedness Check → Why Ignoring Disability Insurance Can Wreck Your Wealth Plan
Why it matters: Disability insurance protects your income. Most people are underinsured.
Your Move: If you think your work plan is enough, or that you’re too young to care, this episode will snap you out of it..
The Win: Making sure that you are protecting as much of your income as possible, in the event of a full or partial disability.
💭 Tony’s Take: Disability Insurance is the most overlooked form of insurance and is a critical part of a sound financial plan.
🎙️ Maxwell Schmitz and Stoy Hall on the NoBS Wealth Podcast. Watch on (YouTube)
9️⃣ ⚡ Quick Hits
📄 How Behavioral Finance Shapes Your Financial Decisions by Derek Hagen for Meaningful Money. Read (here).
🎙️ How to Make Better Decisions Using Math with Ted Dintersmith and Joe Saul-Sehy on The Stacking Benjamins Podcast. Listen (here).
📄 The Chance of Success Fallacy by David Champion for Can I Retire Yet. Read (here).
🎙️ How Peter Lynch Became The Greatest Fund Manager Of All Time. Peter Lynch and Josh Brown on The Compound Podcast. Watch on (YouTube)
📄 4 Ways Your Clients’ Biases Are Costing Them Money. Tax-efficient investing requires a behavioral helping hand. By Sheryl Rowling for Morningstar. Read (here)
🔟 Action Item → Review Your Employee Benefits (Week 41)
Why it matters: Open enrollment is your opportunity to add or remove dependents, make changes to your group insurance, plan contributions to flexible spending accounts and cash out some of your time off or sick leave hours, if eligible.
Your Move: Whether you are an employee or an owner, it’s easy to overlook some of your benefits. It’s important to review them to optimize their value.
Review the following benefits and make the changes to meet your goals:
✅ Disability insurance: At open enrollment, you can increase the percentage of income covered. You can also decide if you’d like to have your disability benefits paid on a post-tax basis, which means your benefits would be paid after taxes.
✅ Health insurance: Compare premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and total out-of-pocket limits. Be aware of changes in provider networks and pharmacy benefits managers.
✅ Life insurance: Premiums for individual life insurance policies will usually be much lower for those in good health than group life insurance. Premiums are not fixed and will fluctuate.
✅ Dental insurance: Check if there is a waiting period before coverage starts and what the plan pays for, such as lab and material costs for crowns or bridges.
✅ FSA and DCSA: Plan out your contributions carefully. At open enrollment time, estimate what you will spend over the next calendar year. FSAs may allow you to carry over $500. Dependent Care Spending Accounts do not allow you to roll over any amount.
The Win: Get the full value of your benefits. Confirm elections and update dependents.
💭 Tony’s Take: Financial fluency includes taking full advantage of all of your employee benefits.
🛠️ Resources
📝 Access your resources for this week's action item (#41) from your dashboard (located in Monthly Focus Area 9: Financial Independence):
- In the Get Ready Blueprint, week 41 PDF, you’ll review tips for disability insurance, health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance and flexible spending accounts (FSA and DCSA).
- Group (employee) benefits and deductions worksheet where you can enter details for your group (employee) benefits and more.
Access Your Get Ready Resources here
🧠 Final Thought
The most prepared people aren’t just organized—they’re intentional.
✅ Stay ready.
💬 Start a conversation.
💡 Share what sparked something—with a friend, client, or in the comments.
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Tony
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Coming Next Week: Stop Tying Self-Worth to Net Worth: Making Money Feel More Human
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P.S.
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🎙️ Subscribe to The Get Ready Money Podcast → [Apple] | [YouTube]
