Ep.02 – Preparing for Unknowns with Crissi Cole (Penny Finance) and Brandi Bailey (Plan Well Guide)

EP02 Planning Episode

Hannah Tepoorten: [00:00:00] Welcome to "When I'm 64," a podcast exploring the joys, challenges, and profound questions of growing older. Brought to you by Tuktu Care. I'm your host, Hannah Tepoorten, and in this space, we will delve into the uncertainties and hopes that accompany aging.

Today's episode focuses on planning, not only our own financial and medical futures, but also the well-being of our families, be it a spouse or an aging parent We have the privilege of hearing from two guests who bring unique perspectives to the table. Brandi Bailey, an End of Life Doula actively involved the Plan Well Guide, a series of guides with everything you need to plan for serious illness or injury all in one place. And Crissi Cole, the visionary founder of Penny Finance A tech based financial mentor built by and for women.

But before we dive in, let's revisit Peggy Gilmer, who graciously shared her experiences with us in our inaugural episode on social isolation. If you haven't had the chance to listen to that episode yet. I [00:01:00] highly recommend it. We also hear from her Rustam Sengupta, the founder of Tuktu Care who brought great insight on the epidemic of social isolation amongst older adults and a friend Peggy recounts her transition into a more rural area.

Toward the end of the conversation, I had the opportunity to ask Peggy about the misconception she had regarding aging.

Peggy Gilmer: I wasn't going to age. It wasn't going to happen to me. Really. I was in denial until probably this year. And I just ignored it. It's not going to happen to me. And I kept pushing and pushing and pushing. It's not happening. Not happening. Not happening. And then, so much came down all at once.

I went, "Oh, it's happening." You better get a grip. And so I admire people that plan for it and prepare for it in a way that I did not before because I thought they were just predicting it. My strategy was denial.

Hannah Tepoorten: What were some of those things that you should have planned for?

Peggy Gilmer: Housing, how, how [00:02:00] should I do my housing as I decline? I mean, I have a two story house now with lots of stairs. And a house to take care of, rather than thinking condominium or whatever. It was just like, no, no, no. I want this house and I did that.

I used to poo poo people that bought long term health care and long term illness insurance. "You're just predicting it's going to happen." Again, denial was my strategy. And I so admire what they've done and how they've gone about it. And I'm working at 77 while they're going to Italy. So, there was a lot of planning. I did not do.

I think I was age averse. I had issues seeing old people and there was that kind of shudder about and I always wanted to help them, but I was so averse. I never wanted to be them. I never wanted to have to take somebody's arm to walk. I never wanted to have to get [00:03:00] somebody to have to help me.

And it was a false kind of autonomy. I mean, it was not a healthy stance. I think if you boil it down, you can go all the way back as I never wanted to need anybody. I wanted to be self sufficient. And not from a necessarily healthy place. But this having to accept help, softened me. It allowed me to join humanity in a way that I didn't necessarily want to, but now really like being a part of the human race, the human beings and their world.

Thanks.

Hannah Tepoorten: Aging is an inevitable aspect of life that many of us shy away from addressing. We tend to avoid contemplating the possibility of having to give up certain activities, ceasing work or navigating the challenges of physical limitations. Personally, I hold a reasonably optimistic outlook and will hopefully plan well enough to be strolling through Italy at the age of 70.

However, as Peggy mentioned, it's crucial to [00:04:00] reflect on what proactive steps I'm taking to ensure that that vision becomes a reality. With that, let's shift our focus to Crissi Cole, the remarkable founder of Penny Finance, who will provide insights on navigating the financial aspects of aging and securing a stable future for ourselves and our loved ones.

Crissi Cole: I'm Crissi Cole. I'm the founder and CEO of Penny Finance. We are a financial planning tool for women. That's 100% online. And in the spirit of caregiving, which is this conversation, I also am a caregiver to so many people. I am the older sister in my family. I have two parents that I take care of. I have a one year old baby girl, Charlie. I have a brother who has gone through some health issues. I mean, the list just keeps going on. I think it's safe to say that as women, we take care of a lot of people, including our businesses. So I'm so excited to be here talking to you about care.

Hannah Tepoorten: Great. Thank [00:05:00] you. And I'd just like to know, how did your personal experiences with any financial challenges or caregiving shape your mission with Penny?

Crissi Cole: Yeah, I'd say, there are two events that come to mind around finances and it's funny because people think, "Oh, you've started a financial company. You were a financial advisor. You must have plenty of money and know exactly what to do." And that is not true at all. In my twenties, I was living paycheck to paycheck, had tons of student debt, was putting rent on my credit card. And, there were these moments where I'd either need to take care of a family member or a loved one. And paying for a plane ticket or even a train ticket to go see somebody, let alone pay for the care set me back in terms of my personal goals. And then, the real genesis of starting Penny was just in general, it's just so unfair. Women retire with a 3rd the wealth of men. That means women are expected to live off 15,000 a year into their 80s, [00:06:00] which is just ridiculous. And then add on living paychecks to paycheck your whole life. It's just too hard. And I wanted to make it easier.

Fast forward to today. I had a baby a year ago. I'm running a startup. I don't get paid maternity leave. A baby is really expensive. That was another pivotal moment for me where it's like, "Oh my gosh, Penny and financial resources in the U.S. and across the globe, quite frankly, aren't just needed in your 20s when you're single and just starting out.

It's needed when you become a parent. It's needed when you start taking care of a parent. It's needed when you reach retirement. It's just something that's so important and a lot of people are ignored because if you don't have wealth, you can't get financial resources.

Hannah Tepoorten: And when does the normal person really begin their retirement savings?

Crissi Cole: Today. Yesterday. You need to begin yesterday. I mean, my dream is for every 22 year old who starts their [00:07:00] career to start their retirement plan because time is on your side. The longer time horizon you have, the less you need to save over time because of the compounding effects of investing. The reality, though, is that might not be a luxury for most people, right?

If you're living paycheck to paycheck, it's like, "How can I set aside money for retirement?" Or you're just so tempted to spend the money, or you just don't have the extra dollars at the end of the day. But my advice to everyone, whether you are taking care of somebody or not, is start your either in the US 401k or IRA today, even if it's 100 dollars.

That is going to grow over time. and I think it's a really good question, Hannah, because especially women and especially caregivers forget to prioritize themselves. But at the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself first. And the one thing that you want to set yourself up for is at least once you get to [00:08:00] retirement age, the last thing you want to be worrying about is, "Am I going to have enough money to live?"

You want to be able to enjoy your life at that point. So please, please, please do yourself a favor and prioritize retirement savings. It's really important.

Hannah Tepoorten: I'm starting to care for my parents in some ways as well, what are some questions people can, ask their family members, their parents or their siblings, just to start to get an idea of where they're at?

Crissi Cole: There's so many things and that's a really good question. The first thing I would say is don't wait until an emergency to figure out, does my parent have life insurance? Do they have a health directive? Do they have Medicare? Do they have Social Security? Are they eligible for Medicaid?

There's so many little things that would help in the moment of a crisis. So, I would say the question that needs to be asked to a parent or a loved one or somebody in your life who you want to help with is: " Just tell me what you've set up?" And then you can educate yourself on what that means. [00:09:00] Understand if there's a Term Life Insurance Policy, if there's an Annuity somewhere, if there's a Retirement Account somewhere, and then you can start backing into filling the gaps.

I'd say, I'm guessing Hannah, your follow up question is going to be like, okay, then it's like, how do I fund care? that's usually one of the biggest challenges because it is so expensive to pay for care. I have a lot of thoughts on this, but my one, I've one really big tip: Medical Bills, at least in the United States, do not impact your Credit Score.

So I always tell people, "Look, life is about trade offs and if it's a perfect world, you don't have to take on medical debt to take care of yourself or a loved one, but sometimes that just happens" The good news about medical bills is you can negotiate them, you can get on a really simple payment plan. It will not impact your Credit Score like a credit an unpaid Credit Card might. So, do not [00:10:00] take a loan against your 401k or do not pull out of your Emergency Savings to pay for an emergency bill or a surgery Just have it happen.

Like, don't worry about it. Assume the medical debt and figure out how to pay it off later because there's more flexibility there. And then negotiate hard. Many, many, many of our Penny women, these 21% have medical bills, whether it's for themselves or someone that they care for. And most of them are able to get them reduced by half by negotiating.

So, that's my biggest recommendation. Just because I hate seeing people, impact their personal finances for someone they love. It's obviously amazing that you'll do anything for someone you love, but, just think about it before doing it. And I know that's hard in an emergency situation.

Hannah Tepoorten: And let's say we face these financial setbacks, whether it's for ourselves, or for another person. How can I continue to work towards my goals while dealing with those setbacks?

Crissi Cole: Yeah, I think that, in my mind, the way I think about it [00:11:00] is I want people thinking about two things always. "How do I increase my cash flow today?" And "How do I grow for my retirement tomorrow?" It's very easy to think, "Oh my god, I'm underwater on all of this. I have my own student loans. I now have these medical bills. I need to put my parents in an assisted living facility and we didn't get Medicaid. Now I have to pay all this money." There is always a creative way around it. And it's two levers, more cash today, and then growing your wealth tomorrow. And it is possible to do those things.

So I want people thinking about their retirement accounts all the time for themselves and their parents. If you have a 401k at work, take advantage of it. If not, open an IRA. Learn about the difference between a regular and a Roth IRA. A Roth could potentially leave you with 25 to 50 percent more wealth at the end of the day because of the tax benefit. There's all these little things that once you learn about them, It gives you some tools to work with more than what you think you [00:12:00] have. And that eventually gives you the peace of mind.

Another little thing to think about is Social Security comes your way: for 97% of people in the United States, and I know 2's in Canada, but in the United States, 97% of people get Social Security, you've been paying into that your entire life, working your entire life, you can start collecting from that. 62 to 66 is usually the sweet spot, but asking your parents going back to "what do you ask your parent?" "Do you have this? Have you started collecting it? If not, let's start collecting it." There's a lot of different ways where you can come up with the dollars that you need and still plan a little bit for the future as long as you're focusing on: Give Me Cash Today, Fund Retirement Tomorrow, and then let's just chip away at the debt right now.

Hannah Tepoorten: How do you envision your own aging and retirement? What does that set up look like for you, for yourself?

Crissi Cole: That's a really good question because I'm 34 years old and I think about retirement on a daily basis Because I think [00:13:00] that a 401k and IRA is arguably the best way to grow wealth. I'm obsessed with it, it's one of the most boring things on the planet, but I think it's so important.

Every month I calculate where I'm at. And what I back into, what is the future number look like and what life is that going to afford me to figure out how much I need to put in today.

Sometimes that's like the really basic thing of: some people are just like, "Oh, just put 10% in." Well, it doesn't actually give you the big picture of what you're going to have at the end of the day. For me and why I built Penny and how we built Penny is, you need to be able to picture the future. And so I, on a monthly basis, look to see, "Okay, how much do I need to save on a monthly basis to get to where I want to be?"

In terms of aging, honestly, I don't think about it. I think I'm too focused on taking care of everyone around me, making sure my mom, who just turned 66, we just started taking Social Security for her. My Dad is 75. We're negotiating a ridiculous [00:14:00] medical bill from hospital treatment. That's like an absurd amount of money for no reason.

It's hard to think about yourself. But now that you're asking me, I think the things that as a Mom and somebody who has a mortgage, so, the trick with insurance for people is like, "Do you have dependents and do you have a mortgage? You need insurance." I think about purchasing Life Insurance in the next year.

I don't actually have Life Insurance. My husband does. And being healthy, trying to be as healthy as possible, so that my daughter doesn't have to take care of me.

Hannah Tepoorten: For those of us like Crissi who are primarily focused on the well being of our aging parents or our kids rather than our own, it becomes crucial to delve into the legal considerations and initiate vital conversations within our families. Considering this perspective, I had the privilege of speaking with Brandi Bailey, an esteemed end of life Doula and Marketing Director of the Plan Well Guide, an invaluable resource for individuals [00:15:00] concerned about their later years or facing serious illnesses.

Brandi Bailey: I am Brandi Bailey. I am the VP of Marketing for Plan Well Guide, and I'm also an End Of Life Doula. That's how I happen to, have the two worlds of my career joined beautifully in this role of Plan Well Guide. I've worked in marketing for 25 years. This is my 25th year actually. So there's a celebratory dinner involved in this at some point.

So I've worked in marketing and ad agencies for many years and I took a break back in 2017. I gave myself a timeout for a year. I've got young kids and I wanted to kind of have a little bit of time to reset because, you know, agency work can be pretty intense.

So over the course of that year, one morning I was Googling away on the phone and reading news articles and kind of following breadcrumbs and came across an article about end of life doulas. And it really struck a chord in me because 10 years prior to that I'd lost my mom to cancer and we had had, a year between diagnosis and her passing.

I [00:16:00] thought, oh my goodness, what a tremendous help this would be to have somebody walk alongside a family, when they're going through such a challenging time. So in my year off, I took all of my End of Life Doula training and, became a volunteer at my local hospice here. And, really just explored that new path, which, just has such a soft spot in my heart.

So at the end of my year off, I thought, you know, what do I want to move forward with? And I thought I'd go forward with part time doula-ing and part time marketing, to do both. And, in the course of my work with the End of Life Doula Association of Canada, I was introduced to Dr. Darren Highland, which is the founder of, and I went out to Lethbridge and met with him and had a really great chat over the course of a weekend.

And at the end of that conversation, we ended up deciding, let's work together moving forward. Their marketing person was moving on and I was able to step into that role and help support Darren and our growing team with rolling out all of our Plan Well Guides. So, it's just been the [00:17:00] perfect marriage of marketing and doulaying this role with Plan Well guides. So it's worked out really well.

Hannah Tepoorten: Awesome. And as an end of life doula, how do you support individuals and their families in navigating serious illness and end of life planning?

Brandi Bailey: Oh, gosh. Well, I guess to start, End of Life Doulas can work with, people and families at any stage of where they're at, so that could be anywhere from diagnosis through to death and aftercare, like grief care for the families. So we really meet them at where they're at. that very day. We don't go into appointments necessarily with agendas.

We literally come in with a lot of tools and resources and plans in our pocket. And our biggest role is to listen and understand what a person is needing in that very moment and help support them with what they need. So, that can be through conversations, normalizing death, normalizing illness. Allowing a safe space for people to talk to somebody outside their family [00:18:00] that really understands the journey they're in, because it's oftentimes difficult for surrounding friends and family to really get it without trying to fix it, and then also what that can look like is, organizing Supportive Care. So if a person chooses to die at home or in hospice or in hospital, but particularly in home, we can help facilitate, working with, empowering the families to work with their medical teams to get the proper setup and support to allow them to die at home. And then also to provide the emotional support for the families to help them journey their loved ones home.

Hannah Tepoorten: And what do you think some of the concerns or thoughts that people are having when they decide to reach out to an End of Life Doula, what are those biggest things going through their mind that led them to that?

Brandi Bailey: Oh, sure. It can be really, really be a variety. I've worked with people who have family members that are planners and organizers and want to make sure that they do what they need to do to support their [00:19:00] loved one in this journey. And so they're contacting us from a position of organization and planning and preparedness.

Which is excellent. That's actually my corner of the world, if you will, because I really think that there's so much that a doula can do to kind of help a family with all of those kind of planning aspects. Also, they might be contacting us, quite honestly, in a time of tumultuousness and emotional distress. And not sure how to support or care for their loved one who's dying, they might be overwhelmed. That's often times, when a doula is called in. So those are some of the parameters. Also doulas work with people, I guess what Darren would refer to as upstream, so prior to illness or prior to diagnosis. Originally, as a doula, I was doing Advanced Care Planning, so that's individual per province.

We're based here in British Columbia, so an Advanced Care Plan would look like a Representation Agreement, for example, here in B.C. But the challenge with doing that is that it really only gives [00:20:00] you the paperwork to empower somebody to make decisions for you. It doesn't work you through the process of actually thinking through, what types of decisions might need to be made for me in a variety of scenarios, and what decisions would I make for myself, and how do I communicate what my wishes are to my loved ones.

A lot of us think that, "I've had the conversation, I've told my family and friends, I don't want to be a vegetable," and that's kind of the extent of where the conversation goes, but managing and living through a serious or critical illness is, unfortunately far more complex than that, and there's many different types of decisions that loved ones might be called to make, and so that's why the Plan Well Guide planning tools really speak to me because they go through an in depth process of reflection, capturing your thoughts and knowledge, and writing turnkey documents that you can hand on to your representatives to say "This is exactly what's acceptable to me and not acceptable to me. Here's what's most important to [00:21:00] me in my own voice." And the reason why that's extra important is because it makes it so much easier on the loved ones when they're called in, in an intense situation to make decisions for their loved ones. It really gives them a roadmap on the types of decisions you yourself would choose.

Hannah Tepoorten: And for the families who are involved in this, and when you're communicating with them, what is their perception?

Brandi Bailey: Really, what it comes down to and what's most important is getting everybody on the same page to acknowledge and validate where they're at, but to also understand that this person who is experiencing the illness, this is all about them. We really need to make sure that we listen keenly and understand what they want to help support them through what they're experiencing and also a doula is there to support the loved ones and friends and family. It's a whole it's a whole journey. When somebody in your family or in your circle is not well And is potentially facing you know a critical illness or a terminal illness We're all in the journey of it together.[00:22:00]

It's a, it's a very personal experience for everybody. So there's support for everybody, but also, you know, with the ultimate goal of giving the best possible support and care to the person who is not well.

Hannah Tepoorten: Just going through, all the different tools for the Plan Well Guide. I noticed it seems like there's a distinct difference between Serious Illness Planning versus, End of Life Planning. And if you could elaborate a bit on that.

Brandi Bailey: Absolutely. I can definitely say this as an End of Life Doula, I'm being versed in this is, people are really uncomfortable talking about death. There's a funny saying about talking about sex won't make you pregnant and talking about death won't make you die. But unfortunately in our culture, a lot of us are really uncomfortable talking about death.

That's why also I particularly like the approach of Advanced Serious Illness Planning, which is talking about serious illness versus Advanced Care Planning, which is offered and centred in end of life, right? I think all of us there's very few of us who've gotten to be above age 25 or 30 that haven't [00:23:00] been alongside a loved one or a friend or family or known somebody in their circle, a co-worker even, that's been through a serious illness. So that is sometimes, perhaps, a little bit more relatable to people. We can think about that, we can think about the potential of getting, a certain illness, but it's very difficult for many of us to think about the possibility of death or end of life. So Advanced Serious Illness Planning in that context is a lot more accessible for people, I thin. It's easier to think about that and then our planning tools and guides kind of span the spectrum of life wherever you're at today, it's important as adults to plan ahead for advanced serious illness, no matter what age we are really any, any adult can do this.

Particularly this type of message resonates with people who are hanging out, probably around my age, I'd say around like 45 or so, when we're in that sandwich generation. We have parents aging up a little bit and might need some caregiving. We've got young ones at home as well.

As well for our parents generation, those who are, anywhere [00:24:00] between, 55 and 75. They start to think about what did end of life and what did serious illness look like for their loved ones, their parents in particular. And, a lot of people want to do it differently themselves.

It was really cloaked before, people didn't talk about it. And I think people now really want to do this differently and have these conversations.

Hannah Tepoorten: And how can family caregivers, actively participate in serious illness planning with their spouse or their aging parents, whoever that might be, to ensure that, everything's effectively communicated and honored.

Brandi Bailey: It's a great question. So Advanced Serious Illness Planning, really does involve the caregiver and the support people as well, because they're the people, quite honestly, who are going to be significantly impacted if their loved one goes into the hospital and needs decisions made for them.

So it's really in a caregiver's best interest and best preparation to encourage their loved one to do Advanced Serious Illness Planning. What we encourage is for people to do this [00:25:00] alongside each other because it opens up these deep and meaningful conversations that bring people and families closer and help you have these conversations and talk through the topics that come up in the Advanced Serious Illness Planning Guides. The very first one that we recommend for everybody to do, and it's free and available to everybody. There's no barriers to this is, going on to PlanWelGuide.Com and finding our Guide to Exploring. That's the very first thing to do. And that's something that you can sit with as a caregiver, you can sit with your loved one, and do it together, help them complete it, allowing them, of course, to make their own decisions along the way, but being a supportive person alongside. And that way, as a caregiver, if you're ever called upon to make decisions, then you're properly equipped to do so. And then the next two, guides that are as part of our Advanced Serious Illness Planning Guides, involve the legal and financial dimensions of decision making in serious illness.

So first is, you complete them in a series. So you do the Free Guide to Exploring first that captures all of your [00:26:00] wishes and, directives. And then the Guide to Equipping helps you, appoint and equip, hence the name, a legal Decision Maker to make decisions for you if you're called upon to have decisions made for you in a case of incapacity at a hospital. So here in British Columbia, for example, and in every Province, there's a list of who the medical team will go to, to make decisions for you in the event that you can't make decisions yourself. This is a temporary situation.

So as soon as you have capacity back, you're able to make decisions again for yourself, but in the event that you can't make decisions. A representative is called in on your behalf and legally there's a certain order that they go to, it goes to a spouse first, whether you're married or not, whether you're same sex or not it goes always to the spouse.

And then next to that is children, but the question is then, what if you have three children? Do they need to agree on the [00:27:00] decisions? When have your three children ever agreed on anything?

Naming a representative to make decisions for you is a really wise decision, because it ensures that the right person, the person that you trust most to make the decisions for you will make those decisions for you.

And we always, as doulas, we always encourage people to choose a person that is not a soft speaker. That you want a person who's going to come in and ask the questions that need to be asked in order to make an informed decision. Somebody who's going to be, a true advocate for you and somebody that you think that, will be strong enough to make these decisions for you and to honour your choices.

So some people choose to not have that be their spouse, which again is the first person the Medical Team will go to and what about a best friend? Where does that come into play? Right? You may choose your closest and dearest friend to make those decisions for you. And I'll tell you on that list, that list of appointed people they go to, friends are at like the very bottom.

So by having and naming a [00:28:00] Legal Representative, you can have more control over who is making those decisions for you. And then lastly, we have our Guide to Entrusting. And what this does is it prepares a letter in your own words that will help brief a lawyer to make a Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions for you.

So that's naming a person to manage your finances in case you're incapacitated. One of the important parts of the Guide to Entrusting is the fact that includes language that protects against misuse of funds. That's a real issue when people are making financial decisions for you. I'm sure there's no malintent, from anybody to manage your funds in an inappropriate way, but it does unfortunately happen.

So that language is really important to include in a Power of Attorney Agreement, and that's not something that's standard to a POA, that's something that needs to be added. And that's an important piece of that guide.

Hannah Tepoorten: And what are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have when they prior to starting all this planning, [00:29:00] whether that be a personal financial or legal one?

Brandi Bailey: Oh, for sure. The biggest misconception actually is that they've already done what they need to do to equip their families to make decisions for them. We all think that we've had these conversations already, but they're, quite honestly, they're not enough to really support a person in decision making for you in such a stressful time.

We also sometimes rely on the fact that we think, "Oh, you know what, my loved ones will know what to do." We always use the example of, you wouldn't let your loved one plan your wedding for you, would you?" No. And same thing with making these decisions. Everybody has their own choices that they would make for themselves.

And in the case of incapacity, we're not able to advocate for ourselves. So we really need to make sure to support our loved ones to do the very best job for us. So I think that's really the biggest misconception is that we've already had the conversation. We're good. [00:30:00] We've already made these plans.

One of the goals that we have with Plan Well Guide too is to be, to use the phrase The One Stop Shop for Planning because oftentimes it's hard to know, what different planning documents do I need for aging well, we're talking about, Serious Illnesses, of course, which are a possibility in life and Death, which is a certain possibility in life.

Not one that we always want to think about though. But When planning ahead, it's really hard to know, if I have a Will, is that enough? Have I planned ahead for my funeral and made those arrangements, is that enough? But let's talk even before that, and talk about what does life look like in our later years.

If we experience frailty, or dementia, or ill health: How are we going to navigate through that and how are our loved ones going to be able to support us best through that? And that's what we've designed all of our guides for.

One of the things I should bring up too is we have a guide that's specific for caregivers, and for patients, and it's called the Guide to Empowering. It is similar [00:31:00] information, but from the lens of either a caregiver or a person who's experiencing an illness. And it is a guide designed to help improve your communication when you're working with medical teams. And this particular guide was written by Dr. Darren Hyland, who founded our organization. Darren, has been a physician for many years, specifically in the ICU, and in his time in the ICU, he witnessed over and over again barriers to communication between patients and families and the medical team. And in particular, too, barriers in communication between the patients and the families in terms of the patients telling the families what's acceptable to them.

This particular guide, the Guide to Empowering, is written under the goal of identifying the barriers or challenges you're having as a caregiver or as a patient and working through communication tools to address those barriers. And then again, too, giving you a downloadable printout guide to help you with those communication strategies to [00:32:00] ensure the best possible care for yourself or for the person you're caring for.

Hannah Tepoorten: Yeah, As we explored the intricacies of aging and uncertainty that can accompany it, one thing became abundantly clear: it is never too early to start planning, whether it is the practical considerations of financial security or the emotional aspects of health care and support systems. Our guests reminded us that thoughtful preparation is the key to navigating the later chapters of our lives.

When I'm 64, I hope to be winding down my work, hopefully still healthy in mind and body, but prepared if that is not the case. Strolling through Italy serves as a guidepost, reminding us of the possibilities that await us, while simultaneously urging us to embark on the necessary preparations to turn those dreams into reality.

Thanks again to Peggy, Crissi, and Bailey for their time. You can check out Penny Finance, Penny-Finance.com and @startwithapenny on Instagram. You can find all the Plan Well Guide tools [00:33:00] at PlanWellGuide.com, and a big thanks again to our sponsor TukTu Care.

With their support, we are able to bring you this podcast, and connect with amazing experts on aging and the Care Industry. Subscribe to "When I'm 64" to hear more stories of aging and family caregiving, including discussions on alternative housing for seniors, caregiver burnout, and more.