Get Ready: Before Life Happens Podcast

Tony Steuer

Tony Steuer is a Financial Readiness Advocate, award-winning author, and host of Get Ready: Before Life Happens. Drawing on nearly 40 years of experience in insurance, financial education, and consumer advocacy, he helps people create their in-case-of-emergency plan, ask better questions, recognize red flags, and prepare before life happens.On this channel, you’ll find conversations with experts, authors, advocates, educators, and other trusted voices, along with practical ideas about financial readiness, life transitions, insurance, consumer protection, scams, and better money decisions.Create your own in-case-of-emergency plan when you Start your free Financial Readiness Plan at tonysteuer.com.  Support Get Ready: Help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free and support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. Become a Get Ready Insider for $5/month at tonysteuer.com/support.

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    How to Create Your Forever Paycheck

    Send us Fan Mail Retirement confidence grows when your savings become reliable income. Jean Chatzky joined me on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast to talk about her new book, The Forever Paycheck. Jean explains why retirement planning needs to move beyond accumulation and focus on turning savings into income that can last for life. This conversation is about decumulation, annuities, spending confidence, women and retirement, values, and creating more freedom in the years ahead. Key Takeaways Retirement planning should help turn savings into reliable income.Running out of money is one of the biggest retirement fears.Switching to spending after a lifetime of savings can feel uncomfortable.Retirement income often comes from a maze of accounts.A forever paycheck can help simplify decumulation.Annuities can provide guarantees through risk pooling.Retirement decisions should reflect personal values and shared conversations.Women need to be engaged in retirement planning today. Tony’s Take After years of saving, spending can feel like the hardest part. A forever paycheck helps reframe the question: How can my money support the life I want for as long as I live? 👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Connect with Jean Chatzky: Website: https://jeanchatzky.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanchatzky/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanchatzky/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeanChatzky/ Connect with Her Money: Website: www.hermoney.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermoneymedia/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hermoneymedia Books:   The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less, and Never Run Out of Money (Amazon)How to Money: Your Ultimate Visual Guide to the Basics of Finance (Amazon)Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and, Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve (Amazon)Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security (Amazon)Talking Money: Everything You Need to Know About Your Finances and Your Future (Amazon)Pay It Down!: Debt-Free on $10 a Day (Amazon)AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip (Amazon)Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved – A Lifesaving Guide to Managing Life-Altering Financial Events (Amazon)Not Your Parents' Money Book: Making, Saving, and Spending Your Money (Amazon)Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever (Amazon)The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times (Amazon)The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness: Feel Richer with What You've Got (Amazon) Podcast: Her Money Podcast: https://hermoney.com/t/podcasts/ Resources mentioned: Invest for Better website (here). Check out my conversation with Invest For Better Founder: Janine Firpo on the Get Ready Before Life Happens podcast: Invest In Alignment With Your Values (here) Bio:  Jean Chatzky is the founder and CEO of HerMoney and the host of “HerMoney With Jean Chatzky.” Jean is a columnist for AARP, a coach on the PBS TV show Opportunity Knocks and a research fellow with the LIMRA Retirement Income Institute. Previously, she spent 25 years as the Financial Editor on NBC's Today Show and was a contributor to Oprah. Jean is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and a fierce advocate for financial literacy. Her latest book is The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less and Never Run Out Of Money.  Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  2. 2d ago ·  Video

    How to Have Better Money Conversations

    Send us Fan Mail Better money conversations start with curiosity, structure, and a willingness to learn together. Sheila Schroeder, author of “It’s Time to Talk: A Woman’s Guide to Navigating Money Conversations” joined me on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast to share practical ways to start money conversations and create a safe place to ask questions,  and understand each other’s money stories with partners, parents, siblings, advisors, and family members.  Key Takeaways:  Money conversations work better when people understand their own money story.Couples make stronger plans when both partners are part of the conversation.Regular money dates create structure, clarity, and connection.Advisors can help by making space for both partners to ask questions.Family money conversations work best with listening, calm, and boundaries.Talking about money helps loved ones step in when life changes.Today is a good day to ask the money question on your mind. Tony’s Take: When families avoid talking about money, they often end up making decisions from assumptions. When they talk with structure, curiosity, and openness, they can make better choices together. Connect with Sheila Schroeder: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaschroeder/Instagram:  @SheilaSchroederMoneyTalkss Books: It's Time to Talk: A Woman's Guide to Navigating Money Conversations (Amazon)  Bio:  Sheila Schroeder is the author of It’s Time to Talk: A Woman’s Guide to Navigating Money Conversations (Wiley, 2025), a practical, step-by-step guide that helps women build confidence in financial management and navigate the money conversations that shape careers, relationships, and long-term security. Drawing on decades of experience in finance, she pairs clear guidance and suggested scripts with real-life stories to help women move past stigma and speak about money with clarity and confidence.  Alongside her writing, Sheila is a Business Development Consultant and Head of Business Development for the West Coast at Wealthspire Advisors, where she connects clients with the firm’s expertise to build thoughtful, values-aligned financial strategies. She brings more than 25 years of financial services experience and regularly leads financial literacy workshops and speaks on financial empowerment.  👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  3. 4d ago ·  Video

    How to Help Your Parents As They Age

    Send us Fan Mail Helping parents as they age starts with better conversations, clearer plans, and realistic expectations. Elliott Appel, founder of Kindness Financial Planning and author of How to Help Your Parents As They Age joined me on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast to share practical ways families can talk about aging, understand wishes, organize documents, plan for care, and set healthy boundaries.  Key Takeaways Aging plans work best when conversations start early.Parents’ wishes, values, and goals deserve clear discussion.Caregiving works better with realistic expectations and shared roles.Healthy boundaries help families support each other with clarity.Care costs should be researched before care is needed.Legal documents and elder care planning create better options.Regular communication helps families prepare and adjust as needs change. Tony’s Take: Caregiving is a journey, it’s a series of decisions. The families who are best prepared usually have the conversations early. They understand wishes, organize documents, talk about care options, and know what each person can realistically do.  Connect with Elliott Appel, CFP®, CLU®, RLP®: Website: https://kindnessfp.com/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elliottappelFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kindnessfp Books:  How to Help Your Parents As They AgeMoney Lessons for Change: What They Should Have Taught You in School (Amazon) Podcasts and media:  Elliott Appel: YouTube (here)Me and Money Podcast with Elliott Appel and Matt Fizell: (Apple Podcasts) Resources Mentioned: Carescout Cost of Care Calculator and Survey (here)  The Aging Plan Every Family Needs with Anna Lee Kruger on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast (here)  How To Create An Aging Plan That Works with Carol Chiang on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast (here) Bios:  Elliott Appel, CFP®, CLU®, RLP® is a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner and the founder of Kindness Financial Planning, LLC, which focuses on helping widows, caregivers, and retirees gain control of their financial life. Outside of the office, Elliott enjoys playing tennis, hiking, biking, and photography.  👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  4. Sep 25 ·  Video

    How to Build a Better Relationship With Money

    Send us Fan Mail Your relationship with money shapes how you think, feel, give, and make decisions. Ellen Rogin, CPA, CFP®, Author, Speaker and consultant joined me on Get Ready Before Life Happens to talk about building a healthier, more intentional relationship with money. Ellen shares how money beliefs are formed, why early money memories matter, and how generosity, visualization, and self-awareness can create more confidence and possibility. Key Takeaways Your relationship with money influences every financial decision.Early money memories can shape beliefs that guide your choices.A belief can be examined, questioned, and updated.Confidence grows when people understand their money story.Generosity can support happiness, purpose, and prosperity.Visualization helps people connect money with meaningful goals.Advisors can create calm by listening beyond the numbers. Tony’s Take: Money is personal before it is technical. The numbers matter, but they rarely tell the whole story. Our beliefs, memories, fears, hopes, and habits shape how we make decisions. Connect with Ellen Rogin, CPA, CFP LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenrogin/Website: https://www.ellenrogin.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EllenRogin Books:   Messages from Money: How to Stress Less, Prosper More, and Reshape Your Relationship with Money by Ellen Rogin (Amazon) Picture Your Prosperity: Smart Money Moves to Turn Your Vision into Reality by Ellen Rogin and Lisa Kueng (Amazon) Bio:  Ellen Rogin, CPA, CFP®, is a money expert, intuitive, and New York Times best-selling author of Picture Your Prosperity and the Amazon best-seller Messages from Money: How to Stress Less, Prosper More, and Reshape Your Relationship with Money. A former financial advisor, Ellen combines deep financial and business expertise with a strong intuitive ability that helps people see their financial lives, opportunities, and next stage of success with a deeper level of clarity. Ellen works with successful individuals and organizations who sense there is more available to them and want to see money, opportunities, and what’s next from a deeper perspective, revealing new possibilities and a more aligned path forward. Ellen is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and TEDx presenter whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Money, Time.com, and Forbes.com. 👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  5. Sep 24 ·  Video

    Retirement Is More Than Money

    Send us Fan Mail Retirement is a life transition, not just a financial event.  In this episode, Tony Steuer talks with Andrea Maizes, author of Your Next Edit, about planning for life after work with intention. Andrea shares why retirement often involves identity, purpose, connection, time, family expectations, and experimentation. Her message is clear: do not wait until you retire to figure out what comes next. Key Takeaways Retirement is a life transition that unfolds over time.Life planning deserves as much attention as financial planning.Work can provide identity, purpose, structure, and connection.A strong next chapter starts with something meaningful to move toward.Testing new interests before retirement builds confidence.Clear conversations with family create better expectations.Your next edit can grow through small steps, patience, and curiosity. Tony’s Take: Retirement is about more than having enough money. Money gives you options, but it does not automatically create purpose, connection, or joy. Your next chapter is not something you have to solve all at once. You can test, learn, adjust, and build your next edit before life happens. Connect with Andrea Maizes, ACC, CPRC: Website: https://www.andreamaizes.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreamaizes/Substack: The Next Edit: https://thenextedit.substack.com Book: "Your Next Edit": 30 Thought-Provoking Exercises to Build the Retirement of Your Dreams (Amazon)  Bio:  Andrea Maizes is an executive transition coach and former Chief Human Resources Officer with more than 30 years of experience leading global organizations. Today she helps high-achieving professionals navigate one of life’s most underestimated transitions — life after the title. She is the author of Your Next Edit and creator of The Next Edit newsletter, where she writes about identity, reinvention, and designing the next chapter after high achievement. Andrea works with founders, CEOs, and senior leaders navigating retirement, reinvention, and major life transitions. 👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  6. Sep 22 ·  Video

    How Small Savings Habits Build Financial Resilience

    Send us Fan Mail Savings is an important step on the road to financial resilience. Andrew Gall, Head of Savings and Economics at the Building Societies Association and a leader of UK Savings Week joined Tony on the Get Ready Before Life Happens Podcast to talk about why saving is about more than pounds and pence. It is about habits, confidence, security, choices, and giving your future self more options. Key Takeaways Small savings habits can help build financial resilience over time.Saving is personal, and the best approach is one you can stick with.Consistent saving matters, even when the amount feels small.Savings can provide security, peace of mind, and more choices.Getting started is more important than saving perfectly.Checking whether your savings are earning interest can help your money work harder.It is okay to use savings when you reach your goal or need the money. Tony’s Take: Saving is one of the simplest ways to prepare before life happens. The goal is to find a way to save that fits your life, build the habit, and give your future self more choices. Connect with Andrew Gall: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-gall-uk/ Connect with UK Savings Week:  UK Savings Week Website: https://uksavingsweek.co.uk Resources mentioned: Bristol University research: https://www.bsa.org.uk/getmedia/924bff5b-c408-4b26-99f2-ec34a73d3d72/BSA-Saving-Attitudes-Behaviours-Policy-Report-2026.pdf Bio:  Andrew Gall has worked for the Building Societies Association for twenty years. This is the trade body for all of the UK's building societies, customer-owned savings and mortgage providers which have their origins 250 years ago when people came together to start to save. They also represent some of the larger UK credit unions.  Five years ago Andrew led the launch of UK Savings Week, a campaign to get people engaged in saving. This aims to help people to start to save, and to make the most of the money the have. The campaign has grown so that hundreds of organisations - savings providers, businesses, charities, educators, government and others have come together in a cross-sector campaign. Backed by rigorous research and working with partners, UK Savings Week is now delivering results in helping people to build their savings and financial wellbeing. In collaboration with The Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (the MAIAs) which celebrate the increasingly important work being done to help people understand money better. Learn more: https://www.maiawards.org.   👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  7. Sep 18 ·  Video

    Life Settlements and What to Do When a Policy No Longer Fits

    Send us Fan Mail What if there were more options for your life insurance than you realized? Lisa Rehburg, life settlement broker joins Tony on Get Ready Before Life Happens to talk about what people should know when a life insurance policy no longer fits. Lisa explains how life settlements work, why reviewing your options matters, and how to make more informed decisions before letting a policy lapse or surrendering it. Key Takeaways Ask whether the policy is still doing its job.A life settlement may offer another option before surrendering or lapsing a policy.Life settlements aren’t just for when the insured is severely ill.A life settlement broker can help create competition among buyers.Licensing, experience, and specialized knowledge matter when working with life settlements (or anything for that matter). Regulation, transparency, and privacy protections are important parts of the process.Review all options before making a long-term policy decision. Tony’s Take: Life insurance is risk protection first. If a policy protected your family, business, or estate for years, the premiums were not wasted. But life changes, and the better question becomes: is this policy still doing the job I need it to do? A life settlement is not always the answer, but knowing it exists can help people make better decisions before life happens. Connect with Lisa Rehburg: Website: https://www.rehburglifesettlements.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisarehburg/ Bio:  Lisa Rehburg is President of Rehburg Life Insurance Settlements, a life insurance settlements broker.  Ms. Rehburg is passionate about assisting financial, insurance, legal and non-profit professionals to help their clients benefit from their unwanted or unneeded life insurance policies.  Lisa has been in the health and life insurance industries for over 35 years.  She has presented to hundreds of organizations, including various Financial Planning Associations, Fiduciary Associations, Estate Planning Councils, Planned Giving Roundtables, NAPFA, NAIFA and Health Underwriters Associations, to raise the visibility of life insurance settlements as an option for clients, when appropriate.   She has held executive roles at carriers, general agencies and TPAs.   She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Development.  She can be reached at (714) 349-7981, lisa@rehburglifesettlements.com, lrehburg@aol.com,  or www.rehburglifesettlements.com.  👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

  8. Sep 17 ·  Video

    How Financial Infrastructure Turns Income Into Empowerment

    Send us Fan Mail Income creates options when it is supported by strong financial systems. Kahlilah Dowe, CFP®, founder of TrueWealth Solutions, joined me on Get Ready: Before Life Happens to talk about how education, structure, goals, and values can build confidence and economic empowerment. Key Takeaways Financial education builds confidence and expands opportunity.Strong systems help income support long-term goals.Knowing your numbers creates financial peace.Liquidity, goals and systems create stability.A financial do-over can begin with one courageous step.Your money should support what brings you peace and purpose. Economic empowerment grows when money is used to create impact. Tony’s Take: Strong financial infrastructure helps turn income into confidence, choices, and impact. Connect with Kahlilah Dowe, CFP®: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kahlilahdowe/True Wealth Solutions Website: https://truewealthsolutionstws.comYouTube True Wealth Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueWealthSolutionstwsResources mentioned:  The Financial Do-Over Series by Kahlilah Dowe, CFP  Part 1: More Money, Same Problems.  (LinkedIn) Part 2: We Outside! / The Do-Over(LinkedIn) Part 3: Seriously, What Will It Take? The Infrastructure (LinkedIn) Part 4: Learning Enough. (LinkedIn)How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie (Amazon)  Bio:  Kahlilah Dowe is a Certified Financial Planner™ with more than 15 years of experience helping families build financial freedom through personal financial planning and coaching. She began her career at Vanguard, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, where she developed financial strategies for high net worth families. Today, she is the founder of TrueWealth Solutions, a financial planning and coaching firm based in the Philadelphia area, where she helps clients strengthen the financial infrastructure that supports their lives. Kahlilah’s passion for financial planning is deeply personal. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, in a family where resources were limited, she became focused early on creating financial security for herself and her family. That experience shaped her belief that financial success is not simply about making great money, but about using money in ways that create stability, freedom, and long term economic empowerment. She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband, their three children, and two grandchildren, and loves loud, joyful Friday nights spent with five generations of family. 👉 Start Your Financial Readiness Plan: A free, practical plan that helps you create your in-case-of-emergency Financial First Aid Kit, organize what matters, and prepare before life happens. Start Your Free Financial Readiness Plan  https://www.tonysteuer.com 👉 Support Get Ready. Become a Get Ready Insider and help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free, support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. You’ll receive access to the Get Ready Library. Support Get Ready here. www.tonysteuer.com/support Support the show The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Tony Steuer is a Financial Readiness Advocate, award-winning author, and host of Get Ready: Before Life Happens. Drawing on nearly 40 years of experience in insurance, financial education, and consumer advocacy, he helps people create their in-case-of-emergency plan, ask better questions, recognize red flags, and prepare before life happens.On this channel, you’ll find conversations with experts, authors, advocates, educators, and other trusted voices, along with practical ideas about financial readiness, life transitions, insurance, consumer protection, scams, and better money decisions.Create your own in-case-of-emergency plan when you Start your free Financial Readiness Plan at tonysteuer.com.  Support Get Ready: Help keep the Financial Readiness Plan free and support the podcast, trusted resources, and consumer-first financial education. Become a Get Ready Insider for $5/month at tonysteuer.com/support.

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