Stephanie McCullough: Retirement Is More Than Money

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Speaker B: Welcome to on the Brink with Andy Simon. What a pleasure. You've come today to listen to our great guests who are going to help you see, feel and think in new ways. Our job is to get you off the brink and I developed this podcast now eight years ago because I really love bringing smart folks to you to help you think differently about something that you may be absolutely certain about, but maybe not correctly. Today. I have Stephanie McCullough here today. She is a wonderful woman in the financial planning, uh, industry and she actually has won awards for this. I was on her podcast and I'm going to tell you about her in a second because I'd like her to read the disclaimer that for compliance reasons, we would like to provide for you. Stephanie, thanks for joining me, but please read your disclaimer before we get going. I don't want anything to be out of compliance here, please.

Speaker C: Thank you, Andy. I need to let the listeners know that I offer investment advice through Private Advisor Group, which is a federally registered investment advisor. The opinions voiced in this podcast by me are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations to any individual listener. To determine which strategies or investments might be suitable for you, please consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision.

Speaker B: Now, having said that, Stephanie, I will give you a brief bio and then she's going to tell you about her own journey. But the interesting part is that she and I are both concerned with this thing called retirement. M Before, during, after, M unretiring. It's a new way of looking at a huge population. There are 75 million boomers and they're all going to be in retirement. Now, how do we both plan a, uh, life, as well as the financial underpinnings for that life? So Who's Stephanie? Stephanie McCulloch is the founder of Sophia Financial and co host of the award winning Take Back Retirement podcast. Take Back Retirement, What a great title. One of Investitopia's top 10 financial advisors in 2023, Stephanie and her team provide nonjudgmental, totally holistic financial planning with a goal to empower women to make wise financial decisions and. And reduce their money stress. She frequently speaks to women's groups on topics such as the human side of money, planning for unretirement, the financial wellness for Gen X women. And she's earned a master's in international economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and went to Duke undergraduate for her bachelor's. Now, you're going to ask me why, with that background, is Stephanie here to talk to us today about getting you off the brink? Because it's time for you to look at the stages in your life, and particularly this next stage. If you're like so many of our listeners that we call retirement, but people want to know, what else can I call it? And what do I do? Financially? Yes, but with my life, because once I'm financially okay, can I spend it? Don't. What do I do with it? So, Stephanie, thank you for joining me today. I'm so delighted.

Speaker C: Thank you, Andy. I'm excited to dive in.

Speaker B: Tell the listener or the viewer about your own journey. How did you get to be financial planner advisor, and how'd you take this particular tact? Because I love it.

Speaker C: Well, it was certainly kind of an unexpected turn for me. I grew up with a father who was a financial advisor, which means I grew up not wanting to be a financial advisor at all. And I went and did the education that you mentioned, and I went out in the world. And then there came a point when I thought, the job I'm in right now isn't quite, uh, what I want to do. Maybe m. I might explore what my father is doing, because out in the real world, I kind of saw the usefulness of it. And then I'll tell you, I joined the family business and promptly thought, oh, what have I done? I'm not like my father. I'm not a sales guy. I, you know, don't have a fancy mba. Therefore, I am not cut out to do this work. So it was kind of a journey to find my own way of doing it and how having money conversations could be actually very fulfilling.

Speaker B: How interesting. You gotta go a little bit deeper because the, uh, stuff your father was doing wasn't what you wanted to do. And here you are doing something on the borders of it. But perhaps even more important, because it isn't about selling somebody. It's about guiding them and supporting them. So, you know, dig a little deeper for us, please.

Speaker C: Yeah, for sure. And, you know, I mean, my father was very good at what he did, and his clients were all very happy. But where I found more Interest, I would say, is in really having a deep one on one conversation with someone, understanding what makes them tick, where are their stress points, what are they trying to build in their life and in the world? And then how could we use money as a tool to support that as opposed to the money being at the forefront?

Speaker B: Well, I love this because as my listeners know, and Stephanie's will as well, I wrote the book Rethink Retirement after my husband sold his business and announced he wasn't retiring, he was joining my business. And I said, I'm not retiring either. So what is this thing called retirement that we are, uh, running backwards from? Don't want to enter into. It's not like some people, you know, where I made it. Yes, I'm retired. Work is gone. I can do what I want to. So I went to start research. I'm an anthropologist. I lived in two senior living places. And then I started interviewing people. And what was so interesting was that the questions they were asking weren't about just the finances. They were talking about how do I have fun? You know, who am I? What's my identity? How do I organize my day? What did you discover? And how did you begin to build your own repertoire of stories to share? Because I have a hunch there are lots of learnings that we can share here. What do people need to know as they're approaching retirement? Not just money.

Speaker C: Right. I mean, I always put retirement in quotes when I say it too, because I feel like the way we think of it culturally is a bit of an outdated concept. Right, yes, yes. Most of my clients are boomers. I'm an older Gen Xer, so I'm right there along with you all. And it feels like know now that our lifespans are expected to be longer and our health spans are longer than, you know, when, for example, Social Security came out and life expectancy was actually lower than the, the, you know, full retirement age for the benefit. We have this whole new part of life that didn't really exist before. And I mean, I'm telling you, all the women I talk to and work with really don't want to, quote, unquote, retire. They don't want to pull back from life and become unengaged. They want to be vital and connected and doing something fulfilling. It just might not look exactly like what they've been doing up till now. So, you know, it might be a change and a shift or for some people it might be stepping away from paid work, but they still want to be doing something to give back. So I really Feel like that's why we named the show Take Back Retirement. Let's reclaim the word. Let's make it our own. Each of us individually. Because as you said in your research. Right. Everybody's story is unique.

Speaker B: Yes, but you're.

Speaker D: No.

Speaker B: Um, so the stories that you're learning about are helpful for others because you don't. You know, every person I interviewed was one of. And common, too. They didn't know who they were. Their identity was lost. Their identity was on their business card. Who am I? The second thing is, what's my day like? How do I structure a day when I don't have anyone telling me what to do? Oh, my gosh, you know, I get my coffee and I look at the calendar and there's nothing on it. Every day is a Saturday. Uh, I can play mahjong and pickleball, but what am I doing? The third part is, what's my purpose? And I had a purpose. Um, and I may no longer want to do paid work. That's fine. But how do I now reclaim my purpose and find meaning that I matter and last, choose my community? Where are my friends? Too many of the women who I interviewed, professional women in particular, who left their jobs or their workplace or even were fired, realized that friends were not the people on the train that they went to the office with. And friends weren't in the office, and they didn't have any friends. And so m. How do you guide them? Because this is a big, big deal. You don't want to waste the last 30 years of your life, and that's how you live for sure.

Speaker C: And I think that is, you know, one of the things to think about, because I have plenty of clients kind of in the, you know, end of their 50s, maybe turning towards early 60s, who have been prematurely retired against their will.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: And they want to do something, but, yeah, it shakes up their network. It certainly shakes up their identity. And, you know, I think a lot of them, um, need to go through a period of readjustment and. And realizing that it's normal to maybe even have a grieving process or an adjustment process. You don't have to know all the answers on day one of what it's going to look like. Right. I think the other message that I take away from that is we all need to kind of be prepared, paired. And thinking today about building your connections, your community, thinking about your broader purpose beyond just work and what that might look like, you know, should, uh, the world get topsy turvy, and we need to kind of pull that plan B out of our back pocket sooner rather than later.

Speaker B: Let me take pieces of what you're talking about. One of the areas I think is completely misunderstood. Misunderstood and not being addressed is inside a company, an organization. They are not addressing the needs of those who either they're letting go or are going to be retiring. And they have no strategic plan for the passing of the information or the handoff of the clients. Some are really doing it well. JPMorgan Chase has a whole plan to keep people, you know, passing and working on projects together and sharing, you know, JP Morgan just thinking about it and uh, it becomes important to them for continuity. But for most places, nothing's going on. And so that person who all of a sudden either loses the job or is looking at the next stage hasn't been part of a culture where this is good. Have you seen any, have any of your clients begun to talk about how they were prepared in their office? Or was it just an HR deal where they signed the documents and off they went?

Speaker C: I don't, I, I'm with you. I haven't seen terribly much. Right. And it feels like a huge missed opportunity because there's so much institutional knowledge and there is so much these quote unquote older workers could give back, even in terms of mentoring their younger colleagues on some of the skills, the softer skills perhaps. Quote unquote. Right. Or even just some of the how to navigate the day to day that they've learned kind of by osmosis. It's such a huge store of valuable knowledge. And yes, maybe the older workers would like to have a more flexible schedule, work a couple days a week, work shorter hours, maybe take a month off here and there. But it still feels to me like they could be incredibly valuable to these

Speaker B: corporations and people, companies that have people who have clients run the risk of whoever leaves, creates their own independent little firm, whether it's an accounting firm or a financial planning firm, and takes those wonderful clients that you have with them. And I've seen that and it's not a bad way to rethink that. Retirement is, oh, I can start my own entrepreneurial business and I have all this network, maybe a non compete or a non solicit, but that's not so far off from what can be done for people there. So that was my first thought. My second one is that, you know, you, without any preparation, you're referring to it. I don't know what to do when I leave. So the first thing I do is I celebrate. And then what happens? Are there some Illustrative stories where people have really, you know, figured out after the honeymoon year is over what they're going to do next. Good things that have come out of it, or I have some not so good things. But how about your good things?

Speaker C: Yeah, it's, it's interesting. You know, a couple of my clients have gone back to, you know, whether it was skills or degrees from many years before that maybe they, you know, hadn't had at the forefront of their mind for a long time. And often it, it's kind of by happenstance. Right. A neighbor asks for assistance in a certain area. Wait, don't you have a degree in medical social work? I'm struggling with this. And so they're helping and then they realize like, oh, I could do more of this. I'm really enjoying it. I'm making a huge difference. This is valuable to the people. Maybe I could do a bit more. Whether it's charging money for it or not. Right. Depending on the situation. But sometimes it is just kind of by accident that people stumble upon things.

Speaker B: Yes. I heard a story not too long ago of somebody who was asked to do a lecture at a university and then turned on taking an adjunct position and then was asked if you'd like a full time position. For 17 years after he retired, he

Speaker C: worked at the university.

Speaker B: And I thought, oh, I was a professor in my first decade now maybe it took the time to think about my last decade or two. And he loved it. And they were so kind. They said, but there's no tenure. He says, I don't need tenure.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: I just need an. On that of interesting people. But you know, if you listen carefully, there are ideas that are going to come. So this becomes very important. And women, I find the women who I've interviewed are different than the guys.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And they are different than the, and the women who are teachers are different than the ones who were professionals, who were executives. And so I said, each one has their own story, but they do and they are navigating it without any coaching or help or otherwise. That's what you do for them, don't you?

Speaker C: A bit, yeah. I mean I, I like to think I ask some of these questions and you know, there's more and more, I would say, support out there and awareness in my field of financial planning about these other quote unquote, non financial aspects of what makes a good life in the older years, you know, companionship and community and purpose and this kind of thing.

Speaker B: Well, but, and that word, companionship, loneliness has become an epidemic and um, Loneliness is not just among those who have retired, but it's among lots. Somebody shared with me that his mother, as they walked out of church, he said to her, you know, someone has invited us to go for lunch. And she said, no, no, no, no. And, uh, finally he said to her, go. And then she came back afterwards and said, that was such fun. And he said, every Sunday after church, you're going to go someplace to have lunch with people, because if not, you're living alone. It's not good for you. And it took a little, little push to get her out.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So it's really, uh, it's really interesting. Another little story is a woman who lost her job as an executive at a wonderful association. And she's the one who said to me, I have nothing on the calendar for the rest of my life. What do I do? I said, so what are you going to do? She said, I have all these nonprofits I've been involved with, you know, on the, on the periphery. I haven't really been. And I've got five of them that matter to me. So I'm going to try and dig into them now and try and find a way to be valuable. So it gave her freedom to decide how she's going to spend her next calendar. And it's pretty.

Speaker C: That's nice.

Speaker B: Isn't that nice?

Speaker C: I like that idea of the freedom, too. Yeah.

Speaker B: What kinds of things have you found? I'm anxious to keep picking your brain.

Speaker C: You know, uh, uh, as I'm thinking about it, as you're talking about this, it's not so dissimilar from advice I would give to a young professional just starting out their career, you know, keeping your network alive, talking with anyone who's willing to talk with you. Going for coffee, going for lunch, because it's fascinating. You never know where a super idea is going to come from or someone who reflects back to you. Oh, you know what you're really good at? X, Y and Z, which maybe is something that we don't have self knowledge of because it just comes so easy and naturally to us. But having someone reflect back to us, oh, your skill set is really, you know, connecting with people or hearing their stories. I feel like you've got to get out there and talk to lots of folks. You never know what will come of it.

Speaker B: Well, and I think your plan is a plan to really understand. You got to take charge and do it. So as part of my book, I created Rethink Retirement Workbook, and I was going to put a plug in as I listened to us because it are 10 chapters of things that you can do to actually figure out what is a good day in your life. You know, today, not what it was, because that's not coming back and not what you don't know. But today, what would make it a good day? What would give you purpose? One woman who I worked with had 18 things on her to do list. And I said to her, okay, of all of those, what are three that give you the most meaning and matter the most? And she was able to. I said, why don't we just focus on those as opposed to thinking? You have to fill it up with everything you ever thought about and not have to do everything you've ever wanted to do just because you're not working. It's an interesting time for new coaching and new guiding. Mhm.

Speaker C: Well, and the nice thing is she could try those three things and if one of them's not right, she can pivot and change because there's no boss telling you you can't.

Speaker B: But you do have to be intentional and do it.

Speaker C: I agree.

Speaker B: And that's always interesting because there, uh, was one woman I heard about who six months into her retirement was miserable. And, uh, one gentleman who had sold his business, who I interviewed was miserable. He sold his business, and two years later he wanted to go buy one because he didn't know what to do with himself. Mm. And so these are not easy decisions to make when you're not familiar with them.

Speaker C: It's true.

Speaker A: It's true.

Speaker C: And that's why I appreciate that there are folks like you who are out there, you know, putting out these types of informations and suggestions in the workbooks. And, you know, I really, I think it might be hard when we get to this point in life to become a beginner again and admit it's a startup.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker C: Right. This is a new thing, and I've got to start from the beginning and learn about it. And that might be kind of a blow to the ego if you're in your whatever age group and you've been an expert for a very long time. But at the same time, that's what keeps us young and vital is, is learning new things.

Speaker B: But Stephanie, I want to emphasize the point you just made. You're a beginner. I feel like I've dropped people into a foreign country where they don't know the language.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: They don't know what to eat and they have no routine and they need a tour guide to guide them through this next stage. We actually met some People in the airport when we were going to Copenhagen this past summer, and they go on a cruise every month. I can't do that. That's in front of my thing. And then I've met people who play mahjong and canasta and pickleball and have lunch, if not every day, lots of days. And they haven't. And then I met a woman who moved into the villages and down in Florida, the biggest retirement community in the world. And they're very happy because it's like a summer camp every day, Saturday. And I share that because you have folks who are not happy and folks who are really happy, and they're all doing different things. So really important, that fourth part, find your community. Who's going to be the place where you want to belong? And that could be any kind.

Speaker C: And what I would say to connect it a little bit back to the money, is that it is okay to invest in some of these experiments if you want to go. You know, I had someone who thought they might want to move to Arizona. Like, well, why don't you rent an Airbnb for a month and see how it is?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: Just live there for a little bit, pretend as if and see what it feels like. And it's okay to spend a little money. This is a big deal. This is the rest of your life. And I think I, uh, to your point, at the very beginning, you asked us about, you know, can you spend your money? And if you would have told me at the beginning of this career shift for me, that convincing people to spend their money, that they've worked so hard to save for retirement, when they're in, quote, unquote, retirement, it's a challenge. And it really did surprise me.

Speaker B: Well, tell us some more. How did you get them to feel comfortable? Because I've met people who are wealthy and terrified that they're going to run out of money.

Speaker C: Yes, yes. And some, for some people, it's showing them the numbers. Like, at your current rate of spending, even if things go disastrously wrong, it would be really difficult for you to run out of money. But the numbers don't convince a lot of people. So sometimes it's, uh, a. It's these what one of the guys in my industry calls righteous tricks. So, for example, maybe there's one retirement account, and it's so painful for them to see that value go, to go down. So what we do is we split it into two retirement accounts. This is the spending one and this is the growing one. Oh, I can spend the spending one and Then the growing one is still doing it. And then, of course, we're refilling the spending one from the growing one periodically. But some of these just mental tricks or finding a way to give yourself a paycheck. You know, I mean, I gave one client, you know, basically a job like, you must spend $8,000 a year on trips. Because she wanted to travel, but she wasn't letting herself travel. And then. I'll check in with her. How's it going? What have you got on the books? Have you scheduled something for this year yet? I love it. I haven't. I haven't. You know, I found the magic bullet. I would say for everyone, it's a little different.

Speaker B: Well, to continue on that thread for the listeners, there's, uh. This is a very complicated time. Uh, one of the folks in the book sold their business, and then she got breast cancer. And two years later, she's in. And, uh, she's really recovered, and she's in remission, which is great. But her husband, she used to be the breadwinner. Her husband used to take care of the farm, and he would take care of all of the books. She said, he still thinks I'm a breadwinner. And it makes it interesting for our conversations about which money we can spend and which we can't and what it really means, because the numbers don't mean what they used to.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: And I thought it was a very astute, uh, observation that the money. That behaviors have changed, but the money is different.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: This is a hard thing to absorb, isn't it?

Speaker C: It is. It's a very hard thing, especially for folks who've had a successful career and did what they were told to do, sock money away for retirement. And they were so happy to see that account balance go up and up and up. And now all of a sudden, we flip a switch and we say, okay,

Speaker B: time to spend it.

Speaker C: Let's go. Take it. Go down. No, no, no, no, no, no. Uh, right. That's their feeling of security and their, you know, oh, if something goes wrong, I've got that pot of money. I can't spend it. Even though they. They did it, they got there. They've reached the point of life where it was for.

Speaker B: This is such an interesting podcast because I have. I've talked to many folks who are really concerned about the retiring population, both on a societal basis and on an individual basis. But this is complicated because you have spent your career putting money away for something and not really planning the something.

Speaker C: Exactly.

Speaker B: And that becomes a dilemma for humans. The lack of certainty or of understanding, of practice, it makes it difficult to see how am I going to do this? And it's very difficult. Uh, I want to add one little element into this conversation, and I'd love your perspective on it. I was at a conference recently about aging in our communities, and there are hundreds of communities across the country that are part of the aarp, uh, aging in place kind of things, and are trying to build communities that are age friendly. And the stories were really profound because many folks moved out of cities into the suburbs so they could raise their children in good schools.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: But now they are retiring. And in the retiring process, they now don't have an easy way to get around to park their car, to do shopping, and they don't really have an easy place. They don't want to go to the senior center. They're not seniors.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: But neither are they employed anymore, maybe. And they aren't quite trying to use the library the way they used to. And the schools are seeing diminishing kids, but the taxes haven't gone down to help the folks who used to pay for them who aren't making a living anymore. It's complicated. And, uh, you see individuals. I am seeing individuals, cultures and society going through an enormous challenge because if they don't spend those monies that they save, that economy in that community is horrible.

Speaker C: It's true.

Speaker B: True.

Speaker C: It's true. And I mean, to your point, I would move to the center of our local city in a heartbeat, but my husband doesn't want to do that. He prefers the suburbs. And we still have aging parents in the area, so it hasn't come to a head yet. But, you know, as you point out, in a couple, it can be even more complicated.

Speaker B: Well, that's a whole other book that I'm sure I'm going to write, because when one retires and the other doesn't, or they have two different ideas about what retirement means, it is a very complicated life, and we're living about 30 years more than that 65 age break. And so you made it to 65, but you're going to be 95. How are you going to enjoy the next 30 years? And I hope happily in a house someplace that makes you m. Wake up in the morning with lots of wonderful things to do. So it's. And the dilemma. Have you ever read the book called the Paradox of Choice? Byron Schwartz wrote it and. And he's a Swarthmore professor. It was fascinating because that's what we're facing, a paradox of choice. Do I make this one or that one? Do I spend that dollar or this one? And therefore, we become immobilized. We're not going to spend any of it. True. So, um, watching my time, and I'm thrilled that we're talking. Cause I think this is so important for our audiences. A couple of things you don't want them to forget. They tend to remember the end even better than the beginning. So, Stephanie, what kind of wisdom should we leave them with?

Speaker C: Well, years ago, at a conference, I got to hear Laura Carstensen from the Stanford center on longevity speak. And she said, this has stuck with me ever since. She said, you know, medical science has given us this extra 20 to 30 years to live. Isn't it interesting that we chose to put it on the end?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: We chose to make old age longer. Shouldn't everything kind of shift? Instead, you're working years and, you know, I was like, so it's a cultural construct that we're, you know, people still have this 65, retire at 65, but living 30 years longer. So I think that's maybe just a little thing to stick in there and stir the pot a little bit about how you think of things.

Speaker B: Yes, but you see, culture. I'm a, uh, cultural anthropologist. It is difficult to change what you believe to be true.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: And truth. There is no truth. Um, the only truth is there's no truth. That's what you believe that you think is the reality that is expected. And the advertising world has done a great job to make you think that the retirement. You just Google, you know, retirement videos and all come up with financial planning ones and which buckets you should put your money in, but not.

Speaker C: Right, that's. Yeah, that's not so helpful. My other tip would be, I mean, we've mentioned this a couple times, but if you're feeling stressed about this, if you're feeling, you know, uncertain and really, you know, in a tizzy, talk to people. Find one person that you feel comfortable talking to and getting vulnerable with, someone who's not going to judge you, who's not going to. And you will be surprised at how many people are feeling the same way and can maybe, you know, at least commiserate, perhaps give each other some little, you know, accountability tasks. All right, I'll reach out to one person. You reach out to one person, and we'll check back next week. Even just having that, uh, safe space to talk is so valuable at any age.

Speaker B: Well, but I do think. At any age. But I also think that loneliness can be overcome if we just knock on the door next door and say, you know, I was thinking, you want to go? When I lived in the senior living communities, there was one woman who was, you know, pre retirement age. She moved there to being close to her daughter. And she was fascinating because she knocked on every door every day to see that everybody was okay and taken, um, down to do exercise or to listen to the penis to claim in. And I said to her, you really are central here. There's nobody else like you. She said, the executive director doesn't know what I'm doing. I'm just getting everyone out of their homes. And they all want to be private, so they don't want to see, see, make it look like they're not, but they're lonely. So get out of the home. Let's come down. Come on. She came, um, one day, I was there. She took him off to Starbucks. You have a Starbucks? She was great. I said, every place needs a, um, cheerleader.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. So living in a community doesn't necessarily solve it. You still have to take that step and go talk to someone.

Speaker B: That's a whole other podcast because you got to pick your communities carefully and you got to realize that nobody's going to do this for you. It's in your hands now.

Speaker C: Right? Yeah. This is true.

Speaker B: And so, and I want you to all, ah, remember that happiness comes from that mirror moment. Look in the mirror and. And say, I am having a happy time. Every day is a gift. And when someone says, how are you? Say, I'm happy. You'd be amazed how contagious it is because if you're not, I bet you that's contagious also. And nobody's going to be near you but in charge, you know, be intentional. I'm going to be. I'm going to figure out, so love your. Any. Any last, last thoughts or shall we?

Speaker C: Well, I. And your mirror moment, right. Mel Robbins talks about giving yourself a high five in the mirror. And do it gently so you don't knock the mirror off the wall. But, you know, like, hey, I'm here for me. I got this.

Speaker B: You got it. And I once met a woman who taught others how to network, but she was a single woman, single professional woman in Boston. And I said, so what do you do? She says, I get out into the park and I talk to people, talk to people, talk to people. I'm lonely. I said, you teach people how to network? She said, yeah, but I have to do it myself, not just teach them. And I said, that is just go out um, to the park, go with their people, talk to people. It doesn't even matter if you're friends or you're not. You'll just have good times talking to people. These are interesting opportunities for us to help as we grow older. Enjoy the moment.

Speaker C: Right? Absolutely.

Speaker B: Regardless. Cool. Stephanie, how could they reach you if they'd like your wisdom?

Speaker C: Excellent. So my podcast is called Take Back Retirement. It's on all the podcast places on YouTube, and my website is Sophia financial dot com. That's Sophia with an F, not a Ph.

Speaker B: Good. Uh, is there some message on how you named it? Sophia.

Speaker C: Sophia. I am told I had a really bad working title, Andy. When I was starting the company, it was the Women's Financial Resource Group, which sounded very stodgy and male. So I emailed a couple of friends and I said, I need a better name. And two separate people who don't even know each other suggested Sophia, my friend GD because she's half Greek and she said it means wisdom in Greek.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: And my friend Catherine, because she is a professor of medieval history, and she said it was the ancient incarnation of feminine wisdom.

Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker C: There you go.

Speaker B: And, well, you taught me something, because I didn't know. Was that your mother or your grandmother? And I love that story. I did my research in Greece, so I totally understand how it's near and near perfect.

Speaker C: Fabulous.

Speaker B: We've had Stephanie McCullough here today to talk about more than just a financial plan. And, uh, and remember, these 30 years you add on, you're going to have to make them meaningful with purpose. And don't lose your identity. Create a new one and make sure it's the one you want, because only you are going to know what it is, and you can change it at any time. So, um, be happy and enjoy the moment. My book Rethink Retirement, and the workbook are all on Amazon in all formats. I'd love you to buy a copy, share a copy, review it, and tell me what you think about it, because I'm beginning to think about my next one. And it may be about m. How Couples Can Go Through Retirement happily. All my books are on Amazon and they are, uh, there to help you. My job is to help you rethink everything. Get off the brink. It's time for you to take charge of you, be intentional, and enjoy the journey. You're now off on your own, and you can do just what you want. And it doesn't much matter to anybody but you. So have fun. I thank you for coming today, Stephanie. I'm going to say goodbye. Wish everybody a happy day and come often. Send us your ideas. It's great to meet you and to know you.

Speaker C: Bye.

Speaker B: Uh, bye now.

Speaker D: Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. Uh, so there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment

Speaker C: of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12 month plan. Required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.