Take Back Retirement

Jackie Cummings Koski has overcome poverty, divorce, and the struggles of single motherhood. Yet, she was able to retire from her corporate job of 20 years in 2019 at the early age of 49! That whole time, she ' s made less than six figures.   Jackie sits down with Stephanie and Kevin to discuss how she overcame those adversities and the wake-up call that totally changed her view of her finances.  ...

In financial planning, the big question that we ' re trying to answer is how to put a client ' s resources to work in a way that gives them the best chance to meet their goals—their financial wants and needs—for the rest of their lives.   To accomplish this, there are a lot of factors we have to guess at: How much will life cost them? How about inflation? What will happen to investment markets? Wh...

Today, we sit down with Mim Senft, author, keynote speaker, and facilitator for national conferences. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Motivity Care, a company that takes the complexity out of caregiving management by providing personalized "chief of staff" support.   Mim has over 25 years of corporate experience in project management, benefits design, and health and wellbeing progra...

Today, we talk all about annuities. Yet another powerful tool in your toolbox for taking control of your retirement, you can think of an annuity as a way to " buy" your own pension.   But it ' s just that: a tool. Like any other financial vehicle, there are pros, cons, and tradeoffs to think about.   An annuity is a contract issued mostly from insurance companies that provides a guaranteed income...

Why is money so darn challenging?   Today ' s guest, money mindset coach Kat Sanford, sits down with us to do a deep dive on that very question!   Kat ' s personal story saw her chasing the modern world ' s definition of " success"—and experiencing burnout as a result. She realized that changing her path requires addressing her money blocks. She did just that, and has since dedicated her career to...

Believe it or not, the IRS wants you to save for retirement. To that end, they ' re always trying to come up with new tax breaks—not to mention very specific conditions you need to meet in order to enjoy those tax breaks!   This brings us to the topic of today ' s conversation: the introduction of Secure Act 2.0, a new law ushering in changes to rules and parameters related to retirement accounts....

Recession.   We've seen the headlines, in all their dramatic glory.   Today ' s episode isn ' t about defining " recession" and all its complexities (a topic on which no one ever seems to agree!). Instead, it ' s about the reality that recessions are simply a part of the economic cycle and, more importantly, that it ' s something everyone has to deal with when it does come.   We have no control ov...

Today, we sit down with Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, social worker, financial therapist, speaker, and author of The Financial Anxiety Solution . Lindsay reflects on how her own lived experience led her to choose financial therapy as a career path.   Listen in as Lindsay shares how she aims to close "the gap in how we talk about money," highlighting the importance of having regular conversations with thos...

Today, we sit down with Jon Hilsenrath, a senior writer for The Wall Street Journal, where he has written about economics and finance since 1997. We're going to learn a little economic history but also a very human story of a woman's career in a male-dominated field, and of a couple unconventionally sharing family responsibilities long before that was common. Jon has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist...

In this quick bonus episode, Stephanie and Kevin wrap up their multi-episode series on why women need to know about divorce, being that divorce is a very common topic that they see with their clients.   Divorce is a big financial issue that most people don't plan for, making it all the more difficult and scary to navigate. That's why Stephanie and Kevin created this lineup of professionals to touc...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Monica Scudieri, who successfully navigated her way through a financially difficult divorce into retirement. Fifteen years ago, Monica divorced, acquiring hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, with two children to care for in a difficult job market. She quickly had to learn to manage her money, and to stretch her paychecks after a long period of not thi...

Our series on navigating divorce continues in this episode as we sit down with estate planning attorney Rebecca Sallen.     Having gone through her own divorce, Rebecca brings important insights into why hiring an estate planner is absolutely worth the investment if you ' re going through a divorce.     Plus she covers commonly-overlooked considerations amid divorce, including the importance of ha...

In this episode, we welcome Pennsylvania-based divorce mediator Ellen Morfei. With years of professional experience in conflict resolution, Ellen has worked with many couples in getting to a good divorce. Ellen provides mediation, workshops, conflict coaching, facilitation, and consulting to businesses, individuals, families, and organizations.   She not only addresses a couple's specific issue, b...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Sheila Brennan, a divorce coach, who after being thrust into divorce herself 15 years ago, chose to use her experience to help others who struggled with the process. A divorce coach, she explains, is a relatively new concept, which is most easily described as a wedding planner for divorces. She helps her clients piece together their ideal divorce plan, and...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Tracy Coenen, a renowned forensic accountant whose work involved fraud investigations on both a corporate level and in divorces. Kevin asks if Tracy's work is as exciting as it seems in the movies. Her work, as she says, is to find the money and is exciting in a different way.   To kick off the Take Back Retirement divorce series of episodes, Stephanie inqu...

Today Stephanie and Kevin introduce a special multi-episode series on why women need to know about divorce, being that divorce is a very common topic that they see with their clients.   Divorce is a big financial issue that most people don't plan for , making it all the more difficult and scary to navigate.   That's why Stephanie and Kevin have created this lineup of professionals to touch on diff...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Amy Andersson, the founder of Price Turner CFOs who, before starting her own business, was let go by a Fortune 100 company and was unexpectedly forced to rechart her path. She introduces her story, talking about her initial mindset towards work, which was rooted in the idea that corporate America would care for her. She shares how she transitioned into find...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Judith Kurnick, a second act coach, a speaker, and a writer who guides lawyers, executives, and business owners in escaping the corporate life and designing their next chapter. Judith shares how her personal experiences informed her work. She shares her work philosophy, which emphasizes that her job is to partner with clients and help alter their perspectiv...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin explore the pros and cons of target date funds. They open in returning to an idea that's fundamental to their podcast and their practice: When it comes to retirement, one size does not fit all. And though, in an ideal world, everyone would have the time, energy, and interest to properly diversify their investments, in reality, most people don't. Target date funds are nam...

How exactly do you measure the value of financial planning? It ' s a tough concept to grasp for many, because it just seems so… intangible. Most people think that it ' s all about investment management. That ' s certainly a big slice out of financial planning, but it ain ' t the whole pie!   As Kevin reminds us, great financial planners help their clients get crystal clear on their life path by he...

Today's special guest is Ed Coambs, a firefighter turned certified financial planner turned licensed marriage and family therapist! He is the founder of www.healthyloveandmoney.com .   He has become an internationally-recognized thought leader around "financial therapy," specifically financial couples therapy: He works with couples who might be in financial despair or frustration, and he moves tow...

Today, Stephanie and Kevin dissect stock market downturns . They first warn their audience not to get thrown by points, and to instead evaluate percentages as points are subject to change and can exaggerate the reality of a change. Stephanie emphasizes the importance of timeframes when looking at returns, addressing the human fixation on annual returns that are not necessarily the most accurate re...

Today ' s guest is Diane Blumenthal, who has been incredibly generous in sharing her own retirement story.   She took the leap into becoming a self-employed consultant after a long and very illustrious career in pharma and biotechnology.   Diane has helped build and transition companies from the startup and research and development phase into a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with appro...

In episode 33, Stephanie and Kevin gave us a broad overview of the estate and gift tax system. Now that we ' ve reached the tail-end of tax season, our hosts sit down to do a timely deep dive on what women need to know about income tax —a subject that, unfortunately, isn ' t as simple as all of us would love to believe it is.   While state taxes are obviously important to consider when planning ou...

" I ' d like to work with a financial advisor, but I just don ' t have enough money."   Sound familiar? It ' s a common objection when it comes to that all-important decision to get help in managing your money. But to this, Stephanie and Kevin have only this to say:   " But you have questions. Therefore, you need answers ."   Remember, there are no one-size-fits-all strategies when it comes to mon...