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Your Vulnerability to Scams Increases When You’re Desperate

09/30/2024

In times of crisis or desperation, we often become more susceptible to scams and fraudulent schemes. This increased vulnerability can have severe consequences, leading to financial losses and emotional distress. Understanding why desperation makes us more vulnerable and how to protect ourselves is crucial in today’s world of sophisticated scams. Desperation creates a sense of…

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Retiring Overseas

09/23/2024

Retiring overseas has become an increasingly popular option for those seeking adventure, affordability, and a fresh start. This can often result in much lower cost of living as well as access to affordable healthcare options. However, it’s crucial to approach this decision with a clear understanding of both the potential benefits and the very real…

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The Devil You Know: When Elder Abuse Hits Close to Home

09/16/2024

We’ve all heard the horror stories of elderly individuals falling prey to elaborate phone scams or internet fraud. These tales serve as cautionary examples, prompting us to educate our older relatives about the dangers lurking in the digital world. However, this hyper-focus on stranger danger can inadvertently blind us to a more immediate threat: financial…

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Behavior & Budgeting: Mastering Your Finances for a Secure Future

09/06/2024

In today’s complex financial landscape, understanding the relationship between our behavior and our budgeting practices is more crucial than ever. At My Retirement Network, we’re committed to providing you with the knowledge and tools you need to navigate your financial journey successfully. While we will be offering a webinar on “Behavior & Budgeting” for workplaces…

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A wallet with chained lock symbolizes financial security and elder fraud prevention in retirement planning.

Securing Your STUFF When you Travel

09/03/2024

When we travel, we are often at increased risks on two fronts. First, we may be taking some valuables with us – jewelry, extra cash, laptops, etc. – and leaving them in unfamiliar places, all putting us at some type of heightened risk. Second, we increase our risk of identity theft due to the increased…

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A sunny beach with a lounge chair, umbrella, and a drink, symbolizing retirement travel and senior lifestyle relaxation.

Embracing Solo Adventures: Traveling Alone in Retirement

09/03/2024

Gone are the days when retirement meant rocking chairs and early bird specials. Today’s retirees are strapping on backpacks and jet-setting solo around the globe. It’s a trend that’s reshaping the golden years for many. The idea of traveling alone at an advanced age might seem daunting to some. Yet, many retirees find it’s the…

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Cartoon cat in a wheelchair with glasses, representing senior lifestyle and aging population.

We Need All the Help we Can Get: a plan for an aging population

08/27/2024

The term “silver tsunami” has gained traction as a metaphor for our rapidly aging population. However, unlike actual tsunamis that offer little warning, demographic shifts provide ample notice. The question is: Will we use this foresight to prepare, or will inaction leave us vulnerable to the challenges ahead? The Latest… The Department of Health and…

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"Illustration of a teacher and children with hello in different languages on a board, promoting multicultural education."

The Benefits of Learning a New Language in Later Life

08/27/2024

Just as our bodies require care and exercise, so do our brains — especially as we age. One way to stimulate those mental muscles is to learn a new language. Admittedly, the research is mixed – there are studies that indicate learning a new language can the onset of dementia, while others say that may…

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Fraud alert badge symbolizing elder fraud prevention and financial security.

Having a Badge Does Not Make You Official

08/19/2024

Phone scammers are starting to get hip to the fact that WE’RE getting hip. A larger majority of people are asking the right questions and doing the right thing when receiving phone calls from unknown actors claiming to be from a Federal agency. SO – these bad actors have taken it a step further by…

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Cartoon character contrasting Monday blues with Friday happiness, symbolizing work-life balance and retirement planning.

Staggered Retirement

08/19/2024

Last week in our discussion of J.P.Morgan’s 2019 study Three Retirement Surprises we examined why the conventional wisdom of the 4% rule may not always apply. In a follow up study this year, they examined what happens to spending in households where couples do not retire at the same time. Their data concluded that partially…

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Lesson 17: Asset Mix Made Simple

04/27/2026

What stocks and bonds do, why mix matters, and how risk shows up over time Over the past month, the focus has been on investing and growth, how money compounds, how to open accounts, and how to get started. Once money is invested, the next step is understanding how it works. You are not expected…

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Lesson 14: How Money Grows

04/06/2026

Turning stability into momentum Up to this point, the work has been about understanding how money moves through your life. You’ve been tracking cash flow, spotting inefficiencies, and learning that with some attention, it’s possible to pull money away from places it quietly leaks out and redirect it toward something more intentional. That process often…

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Lesson 11: Beneficiaries & Account Access

03/16/2026

Making sure the right people can act when you can’t This part of your financial life rarely gets attention because it doesn’t surface regularly. There is no monthly statement reminding you to check beneficiaries. No alert asking whether account access still makes sense. No prompt to confirm who could step in if you were unavailable.…

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Lesson 8: Your Credit Snapshot

02/23/2026

How everyday behavior quietly shapes access, pricing, and flexibility Credit scores are often treated like something mysterious or fragile, as if one wrong move sends everything spinning. In reality, your credit score is a summary. It reflects a handful of behaviors over time and reacts slowly, not emotionally. Businesses understand this instinctively. They borrow, repay,…

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Lesson 5: Month-One Closeout

02/02/2026

Seeing how your system actually works January was about easing into a new year where you gained visibility, started to recognize pressure points, became familiar with bill creep, and began to understand the role timing plays. This week is your first quick review – not to perfect anything, but to see how the process felt…

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Lesson 2: Identify Your Pressure Points

01/12/2026

Seeing where things snap under pressure Last week we talked about getting everything out of your head and onto one page — income, expenses, the whole picture. Think of it like a vision board, a seating chart, or a house plan. The point isn’t the tool itself. It’s that you can see everything at once.…

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The Year That Taught Us How Money Really Works

12/29/2025

SO how’s your year going!?!?! 2025 is about to come to a close – and while we never meant to rhyme, it certainly kept us on our tippy toes. BUT-  it also proved to be quite useful, albeit exhausting at the same time. But mindset is crucial here because why go though all of the…

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Last-Minute Money Checklist: 10 Smart Moves to Make Before December 31

12/22/2025

Every December, the same headlines circulate: “Boost your 401(k), harvest tax losses, make your charitable contributions.” Helpful, for sure, but if you’re trying to drum up some extra cash before the year resets, here’s where to look. Let’s dive into your year-end “cash sweep” – the lesser-known places where real dollars are hiding. 1. Wellness…

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Financial Erosion

12/15/2025

Financial trouble doesn’t always show up as a disaster. Sometimes you think you’re stable, your routines feel normal, and nothing seems wrong,  yet the numbers quietly move against you. That’s erosion. It’s subtle, it compounds, and it happens even when you’re trying to do the right things. This is what it looks like in real…

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Feeling Stable Isn’t a Strategy

12/08/2025

There’s a specific moment in financial recovery that doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s the point where things finally feel manageable again. You’re paying bills on time. The panic has dialed down. Maybe your emergency fund has a little life in it again. You’re not “thriving,” but you’re no longer bracing for impact every day.…

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Lesson 18: Staying Invested

05/02/2026

Volatility, fees, and the reasons people second-guess the plan At some point after you start investing, a shift happens. You’ve cleared the hurdle of opening the account and setting up contributions. Then you wait for the money you just parted with to grow. It can feel unsettling at first. One day you log in and…

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Lesson 15: Workplace Plan Basics

04/13/2026

Understanding how employer plans fit into your bigger picture Workplace retirement plans are often introduced early and then left largely unexplored. You enroll during onboarding, pick something that sounds reasonable, and then life moves on. Contributions happen in the background, statements pile up unread, and years can pass before you stop to ask what role…

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Lesson 12: Tax Prep Check-In

03/23/2026

Making sure taxes don’t quietly undo the rest of your plan Filing season brings clarity. You see the final numbers, the refund or balance due, and how the year played out. This week is about using that information while it’s still useful. Withholding decisions are often set once and left untouched, even as income changes,…

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Lesson 9: Month-Two Closeout

03/02/2026

When the numbers stop feeling foreign By the second month, something shifts. You’re no longer staring at a blank sheet, and the process starts to feel familiar instead of intimidating. Month one often feels like a heavy lift. You’re setting everything up, uncovering things you hadn’t looked at closely, and maybe finding a few places…

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Lesson 6: Set a Real Emergency Fund Target

02/09/2026

Turning clarity into a real safety net Last week, you pulled together the numbers that run your life. Real monthly costs, plus the non-monthly expenses that sneak in throughout the year. That work gives you something most people never have: a clear baseline. This week, we use it. The goal is simple. Turn that baseline…

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Lesson 3: The Bill Creep Audit

01/19/2026

Seeing the small increases you stopped noticing Autopay is one of the most useful tools in modern finance. It keeps bills from slipping through the cracks, protects your credit, and saves time. We use it too. But convenience has a tradeoff. When money moves automatically, it also becomes easier for costs to drift without being…

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A Little Cushion Goes a Long Way

12/15/2025

If you’ve ever been through a layoff or even a close call, you know the feeling: once you get back on your feet, you never want to be that exposed again. Parallel income isn’t about becoming an entrepreneur or squeezing more work into an already full life. It’s about insulation – a way to stay…

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Revenge Saving: When Discipline Turns Into Overcorrection

12/08/2025

There’s a lot of talk about overspending, impulse buying, lifestyle creep, and holiday pressure. Almost none of the conversation covers the opposite problem: what happens when people swing too far into restriction after a hard financial year. It’s common. People stabilize after job loss, illness, divorce, a layoff scare, or a period of high debt,…

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Don’t Let Your Financial Recovery Make You Vulnerable: When Help Searches Become Targets

12/01/2025

Most people know not to click unknown links or download attachments from strangers. What’s harder to see is how scammers find you in the first place. They don’t need to hack your computer or break into your accounts. They watch your online behavior — the searches you run, the forms you fill out, the ads…

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The Mental Weight of Holding the Line

11/17/2025

In every family, someone ends up being the person who keeps an eye on the budget. Sometimes it’s one parent, sometimes it’s both, and sometimes the role shifts depending on the season. But whoever is holding the line knows how heavy it feels. It’s not just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about emotion, timing,…

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