Being a senior and ageing with Pride in the LGBTQ community can be a real challenge. Even within our own community it’s not uncommon to hear the derogatory “old queen” term freely tossed around without consideration for our seniors. Media rarely shows older LGBTQ members. A note to younger members of the community, that old queen you disparaged probably marched so you can now be open and honest about who you are at work, school, in the military, and to just live your best life. That old queen is definitely why the younger generation has PrEP and access to LGBTQ-friendly healthcare. And the really big one, why you have the right to marry the person of your choosing and be afforded equal protection under the law. Let’s dive into some of the issues that older LGBTQ Americans face.

This week marks the middle of Pride month. The LGBTQ community faces many financial hurdles just as we still face social and civil rights hurdles. Some hurdles, like acceptance, may take a lifetime to overcome. Others, such as improving financial well-being can begin immediately. Take the euphoria of Pride and help yourself on your own parade to financial fitness. Use the tips in my free Pride Guide – Take Pride in Your Finances.

June is Pride month for many in the LGBTQ community. San Francisco, Paris, and New York are just a few of the major cities that celebrate Pride in June. As in 2020, thanks to Miz Corona, there will not be a big parade and gathering in many cities to celebrate this year. Talk about cancel culture! This is year two for many large events to be cancelled.

June is here! For many in the LGBTQ community, June is a special month. For us, it’s our month to express pride in ourselves and our community, to honor those who came before us, and those who fought for our rights. It’s also time to reflect on those no longer with us, and the battles we still need to fight. Unfortunately, Pride can also be a time when we overspend and even harshly compare ourselves to others to see how we measure up. All of this euphoria, celebrating, overspending, and comparing ourselves to others can have a negative effect on our confidence and our finances. Let’s look at ways to move forward in financial health – and hopefully, emotional health as well.

Many seniors who have been financially successful in life question whether they should gift money to their children, or other potential heirs, early versus leaving an inheritance. Honestly, there is no easy answer to this question. Each family has unique needs and is in very different circumstances. Even among intended recipients there could be many reasons to gift early, or to not gift at all.

As covered in an earlier blog post, May is Elder Law Month. But for my clients, we focus on estate planning in May. And, yes, whether young or old, we all need some degree of estate planning. How much planning varies by age, income, wealth, and family status. You may think that a young person just starting out would not need estate planning; or that an older person with only a home and a small income wouldn’t either, but that’s not necessarily true.

Last week I introduced you to a professional group known as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the fact that May is National Elder Law Month. If you missed that post, you can read Elder Law Month is Here! to get up to speed. For this post, I’ll focus on an aspect of elder care that we should all keep our eye on. That is, elder financial abuse. Elder financial abuse is real and here in California, it’s against the law. Depending upon the severity and the crime, you can be prosecuted for either a felony or a misdemeanor.

As many of my longtime readers are aware, April is National Financial Literacy Month. Just, as April showers bring May flowers, May also brings us National Elder Law Month. A professional group known as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) has dedicated May as National Elder Law Month. What is that you ask? It’s a lot! Think of all the laws and care planning centered around ageing Americans.

Ok, Boomer, as we wrap-up National Financial Literacy Month, I didn’t forget about you. Many Boomers are hitting their retirement years and have questions about transitioning from working and earning an income, to creating your own income stream from retirement and savings accounts. Plus, when to tap the big one, Social Security, is not an easy decision. National Financial Literacy Month is a great time for you to kick-start your learning, or dive deeper into a personal finance topic you are already interested in.

If you’ve been following my blog posts, you know that April is National Financial Literacy Month. April is a perfect time to get started establishing and maintaining healthy financial habits. If you are afraid of anything financial, or don’t like numbers, and are not sure where to start, here are some easy ideas.

Here are a few FREE resources for National Financial Literacy Month 2021 that you can use to learn more about personal financial planning. These links are provided solely for educational purposes and I recommend no source over another. Nor do I receive any compensation from these resources. If the link is broken, please search by name in your browser. If that doesn’t work, contact me and let’s talk.

Did you know that we are nearly a week into National Financial Literacy Month? Yes, it’s a thing. Unfortunately, given the amount of debt, compulsive shopping, and lack of retirement preparedness in the United States, for me it brings to mind the old saying, a fool and his money are soon parted. That’s not to say I think people are fools. I do think with better financial literacy, maybe we can put an end to that old saying and people can take control of their finances and make wise spending and saving decisions.

Are you suffering from cabin fever? Are those daily walks around the block or your local park just not cutting it anymore? I don’t know about you, but I feel that there is tremendous pent-up demand out there for travel – lots of travel! One thing is certain, our economy is showing signs of recovery, and signs that people are looking for more than just a day trip in the car or going to visit grandma. I am one of those folks. Recently, I booked a cruise to Greece and Croatia for my husband’s 65th. birthday even though we don’t sail until 2022. More on that later. Read on for tips on managing your post-pandemic adventures.

This week’s blog post is more of an alert. I’ve been telling clients that the filing deadline for tax year 2020 is April 15 and until recently, it was. There’s also been a change in filing for those who may have received unemployment benefits in 2020. The IRS has also instituted a new National Virtual Settlement Days program. Read on for more information on each of these topics, and keep in mind that the IRS may add further changes.

How much to save for retirement has traditionally been a core question in financial planning. It’s still a key question and it’s probably the main component of retirement planning that folks seem to focus on. What people are really asking is whether the resources they have will match their needs, goals, and longevity. Asking how much you need is overly simplistic, but it is how people frame the idea. Having a target in mind is great, but you probably shouldn’t focus on a singular number.

I’m going to piggyback on my blog posts from February 23 and March 2. The first, was posted during America Saves Week, the second, touched on using your tax refund. How are these two connected? America Saves Week covered various savings needs and tips from families on how to reach those savings goals. You can watch videos covering each topic on my Facebook page, search #ASW2021. My March 2 post dealt with getting a tax refund and how to use it. The two are linked because saving is important. If you are struggling to save, your tax refund is a mini windfall and the perfect opportunity to jumpstart your savings.

Many folks are about to come into a mini-windfall of cash. For these same folks who often complain about not being able to save money, fund an IRA, add to investments, or pay down debt, this is a golden opportunity. That mini-windfall is a potential tax refund in addition to pandemic stimulus that many have received. Instead of envisioning all of the lovely, disposable, things you could buy with your refund (or stimulus), consider buying some financial peace of mind. Here are three things to do with this windfall that would be financially beneficial.

America Saves Week 2021 is February 22 - 26. America Saves motivates and encourages people to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth with a different theme or tool each day. This is a week you can access free resources and focus on your saving, spending, debt, and wealth building. With the pandemic, now is a great time to turbocharge your savings. Did you know that the national savings rate has actually increased during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many attribute this to people not going out for meals, shopping, and other activities, and with pocketing some of their stimulus money. Many though, are still struggling so resources such as America Saves Week and my pandemic financial survival guide are very useful tools.

How was your Valentine’s Day weekend? Did you find a love match? Have you decided to move forward with your relationship? If so, congratulations! Merging households and lives is one thing, but merging finances can be a bit trickier. If you have decided to marry, tie the knot, jump the broom, read on to learn about some of the pros and cons of saying, “I do.”

Let’s face it, for many of us the pandemic rapidly changed our lives. Most kids are now home schooled, and even that changes as the virus changes. In many states there is no firm timeline about when and how students will return to in-person public schooling. Many of us went from having no time due to commuting and overtime work, to being thrown together with our spouses and partners on a full-time basis. At first, stay at home orders ranged from a few weeks to indefinitely. Uncertainty led to confusion and people thought they would be back in the office by summer, then fall, then certainly by 2021. Here we are, February 2021 and we are still mostly working from home, and still home schooling. The timeline keeps moving. In the past, as advisers we recommended scheduling a date night to discuss finances. Being together 24/7 changes that paradigm.