Rebel Rootz Show Episode #70 with Megan Kopka. Megan Kopka, CFP®, RLP®, is the founder and owner of Kopka Financial, LLC, a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm based in Wilmington, North Carolina. She specializes in holistic financial life planning and investment management, particularly for women navigating widowhood and caregiving. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Megan to talk about love, loss, ALS, widowhood, money, grief, and the kind of support women often need but do not always know how to ask for. Megan shares the story of meeting her husband Keith, falling in love quickly, building a family, and then walking through his ALS diagnosis. She opens up about caregiving, watching someone you love slowly lose physical ability, and what it was like when Keith passed away after a four-year journey with the disease. But this conversation is not only about loss. It is about what happens after loss. Megan explains how caregiving can come with resources, structure, and community, while widowhood can feel painfully silent. She talks about the brain fog, the loneliness, the awkward conversations, and the way people often avoid widows because they do not know what to say. She also shares what not to say to someone who is grieving, why “they’re in a better place” is not always comforting, and how simply showing up, listening, or sharing a story about their loved one can mean so much more. As a financial planner and widow advocate, Megan also brings a practical message every woman needs to hear. She explains why conversations about cash flow, net worth, beneficiaries, titling, credit, passwords, trusted contacts, wills, and estate planning matter before life forces you into them. This episode is for the woman who has avoided the hard conversations. The woman who loves her family but knows she needs to be prepared. The woman who has experienced grief, caregiving, or a major life transition and is trying to understand how to move forward with support. Megan’s story is a reminder that widowhood should not be walked alone. Grief needs support. Women need community. And the conversations we avoid today may be the very ones that protect the people we love tomorrow. Timestamps: [00:00] Trailer + Intro [01:21] Meet Megan Kopka [01:59] Megan and Keith’s Love Story [05:13] Keith’s ALS Diagnosis [07:07] What ALS Really Means [09:28] Caregiving vs. Widowhood [11:50] Losing Herself After Loss [13:30] From Wife to Widow [17:21] What Not to Say to Someone Grieving [19:44] Grief and Money [20:52] Cash Flow, Net Worth, and Estate Planning [24:17] International Widows Day [25:34] Women, Credit, and Financial Access [30:01] Why Megan Gave Her TEDx Talk [34:52] Grief and the Brain [39:37] What’s Next for Megan [43:40] Megan’s Life Mission [45:40] Final Resource and Closing Key Takeaways: • “Caregiving is like a community event, but widowhood is solitary.” ~ Megan Kopka • “The silence is deafening.” ~ Megan Kopka • “In Keith’s last breath, I went from wife to widow.” ~ Megan Kopka • “You don’t say, ‘They’re in a better place.’” ~ Megan Kopka • “I want you to understand your cash flow.” ~ Megan Kopka • “Titling and beneficiaries are step one in estate planning. They are before your will.” ~ Megan Kopka • “Grief and finances are happening almost immediately after death.” ~ Megan Kopka • “Do it now because unfortunately we don’t know when the last breath is.” ~ Evonne Varady Keep In Touch with Megan Kopka: Website: https://www.kopkafinancial.com Email: megan@kopkafinancial.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megan.kopka/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MKopkaFinance/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megankopkacfprlp YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KopkaFinancialLLC Connect with Evonne Varady: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evonnevarady/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonne-varady-461243a5/
