The Money Whisperer

  Legacies When we hear the word – legacy - we immediately think Money, Wealth, Windfall. Many people have a last will and testament. They have bequeathed their earthly goods in writing, after long deliberations with partners and lawyers.   Today I want to talk about a spiritual legacy, the “other” legacy. From: Showing Up For The Golden Years In past generations, whole civilizations not only allowed, but expected the older members to exchange manual labor for mentoring and being the wise ones. Their task was to pass on history, knowledge, and wisdom  of the tribe  to the younger members. No survival was imaginable for the clan without  that mentorship and the perfection of hindsight. It would have left them vulnerable and likely to make the same mistakes over and over again.   The old tribes had it easy. Somehow, their children and grandchildren were taught to revere their elders and listen to their advice. Today, people of all ages are kept...

  My very first gold nugget   It was summer. I was outside, in front of our house, with the early morning sun in my face. I wore a summer dress and my hair had a pin in it to keep it orderly. I was on the sidewalk entertaining myself by keeping my feet within the contours of the 1’ x 1’ concrete tiles. I promised myself then and there that I would always do that, no matter how old I would become. I wondered if I, as a grown-up, would be able to see the outlines of the tiles from so high up. I was three and a bit.  I still want to fit my shoes within the lines of floor tiles.  I am in my seventies.  Adrian Monk makes it look stranger than I feel.      Locked up within this memory is another feeling. I’m not even sure if it happened the same morning, but my memories glued them together.   Between keeping track of feet and tiles I realized I was content. It was good to be me and on the sidewalk, in the sun. It was a simple feeling, witho...

Years ago I was invited as the guest speaker at the Everett Newcomers luncheon. I was to share some thoughts about my book: Showing Up For The Golden Years . The majority of the almost 60 ladies present were retired. Many of them were in their 70’s and 80’s, so developing second careers or supplemental income in retirement were outdated topics and most of them had found their purpose in life. Instead I decided to talk about the gold in Golden Years.   Older people have lived more years  dealing with challenges, joys and pains, disappointments and victories. Life has demanded that they make choices and take risks and live with the consequences.    They have been rewarded  and punished for their decisions, maybe many times over. That gives them the insight of hindsight. These insights are the gold nuggets of a lifetime. They are meant to be passed on to the younger.   Whisper of the day:                 ...

We are led to believe by the media, merchants, and the world of electronics, that we constantly have to be on a ‘high’ and happy, happy. If we’re not, something is horribly wrong with us. The reality is that a ‘high’ is only possible when it is offset by a low. Peaks are peaks because they are surrounded by valleys. Don’t we recognize the valleys? Why can’t we see the beauty of low key? We’re being swept up by the frenzy. We get bored with the old so very quickly. We want the newest of the newest, the latest version, experience the scariest of adventures, do something that nobody else has done before. We demand all the thrills and our poor money has to get it for us. My whisper for today is: Take your money to a nice quiet valley and give both of you a rest.

 Who you are is your legacy.   . That is what you will leave behind.

 Find the gratitude in your day!!

 I aim to direct my life instead of responding to others

  I used to make that open-ended promise to myself all the time: One day when the kids are grown……….. Some day when I have the time……….. Once I am retired……………….    As a single mom of two kids I lived on a tight schedule. Time was precious, so putting off some great plan to a point far into the future was not unusual.  B y the time my kids had left the nest, I had postponed so many good ideas I had forgotten what they were. I don’t feel guilty, but a little sad that I can’t even remember now what I dreamed about then. I can’t help but wonder: could they have changed my life? Should I have made some time to give them some thought? Don’t make the same mistake I made.  Please write them down as they occur to you.  Record what triggered the insight and why you thought it was a great idea. It may reveal a part of you, your ingenuity,  your creativity,  that may guide you later on… one day. Here is my whisper for today: Keep a little...