10 Things I Think (About Money, Life & What’s Next)
💡 This week:
raising money-smart kids, thriving in retirement, and the paradox of life insurance.
👋 Thanks for being part of The Get Ready Movement—helping you face life’s “what ifs” with confidence.
Each week, I spotlight trends, tools, and voices shaping the future of financial fluency.
Together, we’re changing how we think (and talk) about money—so you’re ready for what comes next.
10 Things I Think (About Money, Life & What’s Next)
1️⃣ How to Raise Money-Smart Kids
Why it matters: Allowance isn’t about dollars—it’s about building real world money skills.
Key Insights
🔹 Keep it simple—money lessons don’t need to be complicated.
🔹 An allowance is a learning tool—it's a hands-on system for experience.
🔹 Teaching trade-offs helps kids become better decision-makers.
🔹 Open, honest conversations break the taboo around money.
💭 Tony’s Take: Treat allowance like a lab for life skills, not just a cash payout.
🎙 John Lanza and Tony Steuer on The Get Ready Money Podcast. Check it out (here).
2️⃣ How One Retiree Experimented His Way to a Fulfilling Retirement
Why it matters: The real retirement challenge isn’t math—it’s losing structure and identity.
Key Insights
🔹 The emotional transition most retirees go through and how to prepare for it
🔹 The #1 mindset that helped Fritz create a thriving life after work
🔹 How to shift from a saving to spending mindset.
🔹 Help your clients move from simply retired to truly thriving
💭 Tony’s Take: Retire to something, not just from something.
🎙 Fritz Gilbert and Brendan Frazier on The Human Side of Money Podcast. Listen on (Apple Podcasts)
3️⃣ The Money Habits That Actually Lead to a JOYful Life
Why it matters: Align spending with values to boost well-being minimize overspending.
Key Insights
🔹 Why you should have a financial “whyControl what you control
🔹 Why you should have a financial “why”
🔹 How to bridge the gap between wealth and happiness
💭 Tony’s Take: Start with your “why” rather than specific products. Once you have your “why”, you’ll know which products will help you meet it.
🎙 Dr. Daniel Crosby and Larry Sprung on the Mitlin Money Mindset Podcast. Listen on (Apple Podcasts).
4️⃣ How to Talk About Money Without Ruining Your Relationship
Why it matters: Understanding why money fights happen allows you to know how work through them.
Key Insights
- Why arguments happen
- How to listen better
- What to do when things get tough
💭 Tony’s Take: Having better money conversations helps you work together as a team.
🎙 Hanna Morrell and Naseema McElroy on the Financially Intentional Podcast. Watch on (YouTube).
5️⃣ Meet Tony Steuer: Changing How We Talk About Money
🚨What if the very tool meant to protect families—life insurance—was seen as the villain instead of the hero?
Why it matters: Life insurance is one of the most complex financial tools—and that complexity is often overlooked. The result? Confusion, mistrust, and missed opportunities.
The What If: Ignore this, and families remain unprotected while the industry struggles to attract trust and talent.
Your Move: Shift the focus to financial fluency—helping people truly understand what they are buying so that they can reach their goals, not just buy a product.
The Win: Clients who feel confident, professionals who feel credible, and an industry with restored trust.
💭 Tony’s Take: To rebuild credibility, we must change how we think about life insurance.
🎙 Irma DeJong and Tony Steuer on the Paul the Insurer Podcast. Check it out (here).
6️⃣ Who Wins? The Estate Planning Game You Didn’t Know You Were Playing
Why it matters: Beneficiary designations typically override wills and accounts with beneficiaries avoid probate.
Key Insight: State laws may protect spousal rights regardless of beneficiary designations.
💭 Tony’s Take: Review beneficiaries yearly or when you have a major life event to ensure everything is up to date.
🎙 By Julie Rains for SIPs (Save-Invest-Protect) - read it (here)
7️⃣ Overcoming Money Shame
Why it matters: Shame, guilt, and perfectionism can silently sabotage financial choices.
Key Insight: Embrace self-compassion and empathy as the keys to break free from money shame.
💭 Tony’s Take: Understanding how our emotions impact our money is important to personal and financial success.
🎙 Christine Luken on The Money Is Emotional Podcast. Check it out (here).
8️⃣ The Math of Motherhood
Why it matters: Motherhood has unseen financial, physical, and emotional costs.
Key Insights
- The often overlooked costs of unpaid labor and the personal toll on women’s bodies.
- Financial transparency strengthens relationships
- The crucial conversations women must have to navigate these life-changing moments.
💭 Tony’s Take: Understanding and talking about these unseen costs builds a healthier life and improves relationships.
🎙 Cindy DiTiberio, Maggie Nielsen and Barbara Provost on the Women & Money: The Sh*t We Don’t Talk About Podcast. Watch on (YouTube)
9️⃣ Are We Missing the Real Danger from AI?
Why it matters: What happens when no one can afford to buy what robots produce?
Key Insights
- Demand shortfalls can limit or destroy supply.
- In this scenario, younger generations can’t afford to save enough to support the economy’s prior level of output.
💭 Tony’s Take: AI could lead to lower demand which could completely change our economy.
📖 By Larry Kotlikoff for Economics Matters. Read (here).
🔟 Loose Ends
📋 Newlywed Financial Checklist: Start Your Marriage the Right Way by Bobby Clark. Read on (LinkedIn).
📖 Building Emotional Intelligence as a Financial Advisor. Why EQ Matters More Than Ever. By Derek Hagen for Money Quotient. Read (here).
📖 Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest? Higher safe yields upend the old rules related to a mortgage paydown. By Christine Benz for Morningstar (read it here)
🔧 Is College Worth It? The ROI for over 40,000 college degrees. Try it (here).
📓 Insights From the Giving USA Numbers and Peering Beyond. Summary of charitable giving in the United States presented by PG Calc. Check it out (here).
✅ Weekly Action Prompt: Review Your Life Insurance
Why it matters: Many people have the wrong amount, the wrong type, or policies that quietly develop problems. If someone is financially dependent on you, you need coverage. If not, you don’t.
Here’s what works:
- Determine how much life insurance you actually need
- Match the policy type to your timeline (term = temporary, permanent = to age 95-120)
- If you own permanent insurance, request an in-force illustration every 2–3 years to see if it’s performing as expected
Bottom line: The right coverage ensures those who depend on you are protected—no more and no less.
🛠️ Take Action with Member Resources
Log in to your dashboard (Monthly Focus Area 8: Your Legacy, week 34) for tools to guide this week’s action:
📘 Get Ready Blueprint Worksheet → Review your current coverage + calculate your life insurance ratio
📄 Life Insurance Worksheet (Coverage Tracker) → Organize policy details in one place
🤖 Ask Tony AI → Personalized guidance from my full content library—books, podcasts, and articles
Access Your Get Ready Resources here
🧠 Final Thought
Every “what if” is really a chance: to prepare, to protect, to live with fewer regrets
✅ Stay ready.
💬 Start a conversation.
💡 Share what sparked something—with a friend or client.
Together, we’re reshaping financial fluency—one “what if” at a time.
– Tony
P.S. A few ways to go deeper:
➡️ Support The Get Ready Movement (here) → Help keep these resources free and accessible.
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