Most women become widows at just 60 years old—right when they're finalizing retirement plans and making critical Social Security decisions.

And here's what nobody tells you: after the death of your spouse, your brain literally doesn't work the same way while you're grieving, yet people around you are pushing you to make life-altering financial decisions.

In this episode, Cameron gives you a timeline of what needs to happen soon, what can wait six months, and what absolutely should not be decided on within your first year. Because the decisions you make in the next 6 to 18 months will determine your financial security for the next 20-30 years—and many widows are making at least two or three major mistakes that cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.

Whether you've recently lost your spouse, you're preparing for the inevitable, or you want to help someone who's going through this right now—this episode could be the difference between financial clarity and decades of financial struggle.

More specifically, Cameron discusses:

• How your decision-making changes after the loss of a spouse
• The importance of creating a written timeline of to-do's to help gain financial clarity in widowhood
• What actions to take shortly after entering widowhood
• What actions can wait 6 months or more after entering widowhood
• Considerations and financial implications when it comes time to make big financial decisions
• When to consider making changes to your investment strategy and financial plan

Resources:

• Get Show Notes Here
• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• Cameron's book for Divorcées and Widows: Finding Financial Clarity & Confidence When Starting Over
• See if you're a good fit for our Free Tax-Optimized Retirement Playbook™

Key moments:

(00:00) Widowhood: A Financial Guide
(03:26) Grief and Financial Decisions
(06:18) Immediate Financial Organization
(07:22) Urgent Financial Actions
(09:39) Accessing Emergency Funds
(10:41) One-Month Financial Priorities
(12:09) Contacting Institutions & Asset Identification
(14:37) Six-Month Review and Updates
(16:17) Longer-Term Decisions: Housing
(19:21) Housing: Financial and Tax Implications
(21:02) Investment Strategy Overhauls
(22:45) Key Takeaways for Widows

Our firm is currently hard at work conducting our second semi-annual strategy meetings with clients, serving real people just like you, and doing important planning for their retirement for income, taxes, investing, estate planning, and making important decisions such as Medicare enrollment and Social Security claiming.

Therefore, we're bringing you another encore episode today in honor of Medicare Open Enrollment, which kicks off every year on October 15th and runs through December 7th.

During this time you can make certain changes to various types of additional Medicare coverage such as a Medicare Advantage plan or Prescription Drug plan (Part D).

Then, Cameron breaks down the different components of Medicare and additional coverage options in layman's terms.

More specifically, Cameron discusses:

• Medicare Open Enrollment
• What is Medicare, and what are the main components
• What does Medicare pay for?
• What types of additional coverage are available? What are the costs?
• The difference between Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C) and Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap), and some of the pros and cons of each.
• What factors should you consider when making coverage decisions?Resources:

• Get Show Notes Here
• Retired-ish Newsletter Sign-Up
• See if you're a good fit for our Free Tax-Optimized Retirement Playbook™

Key moments:

(00:00) Medicare Open Enrollment 2025
(05:16) Medicare Basics and Misconceptions
(07:45) Original Medicare (Parts A, B, and D)
(09:13) Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C)
(14:30) Costs of Medicare Advantage Plans
(17:03) Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap)
(22:31) Costs and Benefits of Medigap Plans
(28:27) MA vs. Medigap: Key Comparisons

This is an encore episode of one of our favorites!

Retirement income planning is vital to the sustainability of your lifestyle in retirement, so don't neglect it!

Plain and simple, your retirement income plan will make or break you in retirement. In this episode, we discuss the importance of creating an actual plan that focuses solely on how you will get your income in retirement, and the greatest risks your income will face.

An appropriately structured income plan is crucial so that you can avoid entering retirement being uncertain about how much you can spend each month, vulnerable to the big retirement risks, and unstructured with your nest egg – meaning that you really have no idea how to arrange your affairs, what accounts to have, what investments to select, and what accounts they should go in.

Your retirement income will drive your lifestyle, not necessarily the amount of money you have. The more confidence you have in your retirement income plan, the more likely you will live a happy and fulfilling lifestyle that allows you to focus on the more important things in life.

More specifically, I discuss:

• How to Determine of You Are a Constrained Investor
• The Dangers of "The 4% Rule"
• Retirement Timing Risk (Sequence of Returns Risk) Explained
• Inflation and Longevity Risk
• Advantages of Segmenting or Bucketing Your Nest Egg
• Our Free Tax-Optimized Retirement Playbook™

Resources:

Get Episode Resources Here
Free Tax-Optimized Retirement Playbook™
Retired·ish Newsletter Sign-Up