EP59: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances with Cameron Huddleston

In this episode, we discuss:

Why divorced women should talk to their parents about their parents’ finances How to start the conversation and what to gather

🌟 Master Your Next Move in Divorce: Watch our FREE Masterclass and learn how to empower your divorce journey with confidence, clarity, and control.

🎥 FREE MASTERCLASS: Get Instant Access

TRANSCRIPT:

Rhonda:               All right. I am so excited to be able to interview today, Cameron Huddleston. She is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances. She is an award-winning personal finance journalist, and life and money columnist for GoBankingRates. So, thank you so much for joining us today.

Cameron H.:        Thank you so much for having me on your show.

Rhonda:               So, this is a topic that anybody who's had any conversation with me or seen some of the things that we've been doing here at the Women's Financial Wellness Center, I have been a champion for having the conversation with our parents about money. Some might think, "Okay, Rhonda. Well, I thought this was a podcast about women going through divorce." Yes, it is. You're in the right place. But I also feel like as women are going through these challenges, we know that most of our clients are 45 to 65, and that also means that their parents are aging.

Rhonda:               So, it's not uncommon for them to be dealing with a divorce, and yet trying to help mom and dad navigate through their personal aspect related to finances. So, I am so excited to be able to dive into this topic. Let's start with, first, the why. So, we're going to talk about the why, the how, and the what. So why should divorced women talk to their parents about the parents' finances?

Cameron H.:        Obviously, everyone should be having these conversations, but I really do think women, in particular, and that includes divorced women, absolutely must have these conversations because women are much more likely than men to become caregivers for their parents. I mean, more than half of caregivers are women. And so, this can impact your finances big time.

Rhonda:               Yes, absolutely.

Cameron H.:        Big time because most people do not have any sort of long-term care plan. They don't have long-term care insurance. And if they don't have that, then they often don't have any other way to pay for long-term care. So that means their children are their long-term care plan. And as a woman, you are most likely going to be that caregiver, that long-term care plan for your parents. You want to know this before you're in a situation where you have to step in and start providing care because, like I said, this will impact your finances.

Cameron H.:        Being a caregiver is a full-time job. I know this because my mother has Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed 10 years ago when I was 35 and she was 65. I had young kids at the time. I still had a child in diapers at the time. I always thought my mother was going to be there for me to help me with my kids. But the roles were flipped entirely. I had to step in and start helping her with her finances, and then help provide care for her. She lived with us for a little while. And then it got to the point where it was too hard for me to juggle caring for my mom and for my kids. Even with the help, even with a hired helper, it was still too much.

Cameron H.:        Fortunately, we had some conversations and I knew ... Obviously, we had conversations because I had to get her in to meet with an attorney to get her legal documents updated so I could legally step in and start managing her finances for her. And this is so, so important. This is one of the key reasons why you must have these conversations because you have to be mentally competent to sign a will, or living trust, a power of attorney, and advanced healthcare directive. And so, if you wait until mom and dad are already having health issues, it can be too late.

Cameron H.:        And just for people who don't know, people are pretty aware of what a will does. But a power of attorney lets you name someone to make financial decisions for you if you no longer can, and the advance healthcare directive lets you name someone to make healthcare decisions for you, and also spells out that end of life care you want like whether you want to be on life support. And so, I did this with my mother in the very, very early stages of her dementia when she was still competent enough. If I had not done this, I would not have been able to step in and start managing her finances for her without going through very expensive and lengthy court proceedings to be named her conservator. So, we had done these things.

Cameron H.:        But like I said, as I stepped in and started caring for her, it was difficult. Finances aside, emotionally it was difficult, and it was too much of a tug of war on me. And I really wish I had had conversations with my mother before she started having issues. Because once we were already there, we weren't talking about hypotheticals. We were in the thick of it. And of course, she was having memory issues. So those conversations weren't easy. If we had had them earlier and I had said, "Mom, let's figure out what sort of long-term care you would want if you ever need it," just would've been so much easier if we had had those conversations in advance.

Rhonda:               Right. Absolutely. Well, and I'm also thinking one of the things that I did and having that conversation with my parents was I set up my birthday as a deadline. Like, "Hey, I need to have this conversation before ..." We'll just take a date, my 39th birthday. And you're like, "Oh, I really don't want to have this conversation." And I know you talk about this in the book like, "Well, what if the fear? What if they think I'm trying to skew the results, or influence their decision making, or whatever?"

Rhonda:               I had a good friend who at the time was into the death care industry. So, she owned a cemetery. She's like, "Rhonda, you know this is important." I'm like, "I know. And I know that I encourage other people to have these conversations, so I know that I have to do it." And so, I set my birthday, which is April 6th, as the deadline. Well, only as good friends do, she called me on April 5th and said, "Have you had the conversation?" And I said, "No, but I have 24 hours yet."

Rhonda:               I did end up calling my parents and having that conversation. And it's one of those where you're like, "Women are often the ones we've got an initiate," right? And I know you talk about this in your book and we'll get into a little bit like, okay, well how do you even start the conversation? And I was like, "Well, I'm going to start by saying here are my wishes. By the way, what are yours?" And it opened the doors, and then you're like, "Okay, well we can check that off the list for now. We'll revisit it later." But at least we were able to start having those conversations.

Rhonda:               One of the other things that you said that I think is important is it can impact us as women, our financial situation if our parents haven't planned. And not only when they're alive, but also in planning their end of life expenses as well. Because I always say, you can only pass the hat around so many times at the funeral. Somebody's got to write a check, right? And so, that somebody would be the next of kin, aka … us.

Cameron H.:        Right. Right.

Rhonda:               And they don't wait. I mean, the funeral homes do not do payment plans. So, it is at the time of service that somebody needs to pay. So, there are lots of phases to that that could really impact your finances as well.

Cameron H.:        Certainly, because you will have to be involved in your parents' finances one way or the other. Maybe your parents will never need you to care for them. Maybe they will never need you to help them out financially as they age. But like you said, I mean, we all die. If your parents have not planned for that, and maybe they don't have money to pay for their funeral, maybe they don't have a will, it will impact you. I mean, it will impact you even if they have plan because you're going to have to get in there and sort everything out if you've been named the executor of their will, or maybe you and your siblings have to do it together.

Cameron H.:        But if they don't have a will, it can lead to fighting if they don't have any finances, nothing set. If they don't have any money set aside to pay for their funeral, then yes, they're going to be passing the hat around you and your siblings, or if it's just you, someone's going to have to pay for it.

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's ... It's hard to have those conversations or start the conversations. But you don't want to be in that spot where you wish should've, could've, would've had, something as simple as making sure that you're on the same page. And I think too, the power of attorney role, like, "Oh, this is a really honored spot to be." It is, but it comes with a boatload of work. Right?

Cameron H.:        A ton. It's not an easy job.

Rhonda:               No, it isn't. And unfortunately, like you said, these types of situations don't always bring out the best in people, right? Because they're stressed, and they're tired, and overwhelmed. And if they don't feel like they're bringing the knowledge to the table, everybody kind of has their best interest in mind, right? I mean, that's just human nature, at least initially. And so, it can really make those situations very challenging.

Cameron H.:        I think, though, you brought up something. Women who are going through a divorce, or who have recently gone through one, are honestly in a very good position to bring up this conversation with their parents because they can talk about some of the experiences they have. Like, "Mom and dad, obviously you know I just went through a divorce, and I realized I needed to update my will. I needed to change the beneficiaries on my life insurance and my retirement account. And when I was doing this, it made me think about you. I just wanted to make sure ..." And maybe your parents have gone through a divorce themselves, or maybe they did these things years ago, and they haven't updated their will, or they never got around to it.

Cameron H.:        "Mom and dad, I just went through this process myself. I just kind of wanted to check in to see where you guys stand with this? Have you drawn up a will? Have you updated it recently to reflect any changes in your life? Have you updated your beneficiaries on your insurance policies, on your retirement accounts? I know I did this, and I'm so glad I got around to doing it. Unfortunately, it was a bad situation that forced me to do it, but I just thought I check in to see whether you've done this."

Cameron H.:        You can use your own life event to start these conversations with your parents. Talk about yourself and your own experiences. That can really open the door to conversations with your parents. It's not going to be like you're coming out of the blue and bringing it up. You have a reason to start the conversations.

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. I think that is so spot on, right? Because they are in the middle of it. Once the divorce is final, whatever estate planning that woman and her husband had in place is then null and void. So, they do have to go through that reestablishing the estate plan, identifying what their wishes are. And so, I think it is a great, natural time to have those conversations. I love that you brought that up.

Cameron H.:        And I was going to say too that I ... One of the reasons I knew I had to get my mother in to update her documents is because she had gone through a divorce. She and my father divorced several years before she had Alzheimer's diagnosis. And I had a feeling she probably hadn't updated her own documents. And so, I wanted to make sure she had done that before again. Certainly, life events are a good way to start these conversations.

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Let's talk a little bit about ... I know in your work, and I had the privilege to preview it. And so, thank you for that opportunity. I can't wait to get a hard copy. One of the things that you talk about in there, which I just chuckled because my kids are at this age where I can totally relate, and that is starting that conversation with our parents is kind of like having that preteen or teen birds and the bees conversation. Like you know you need to have the conversation, and somebody's got to go first.

Cameron H.:        You know, I'm so glad you brought that up because this conversation is often equated with the birds and the bee talk. GoBankingRates just released a survey. They asked adults across America whether they've had detailed conversations with their parents about their finances. 73% have not. 73% have not. GoBankingRates also asked, "What conversation would you rather have? Are you more comfortable having with your parents than talking to them about money?" And what blew me away is that, and this is a small percentage, but it's still there.

Cameron H.:        9% of people said they would rather talk to their parents about their parents' romantic life than talk to them about their finances. And I was like, "Who are these people? How can talking about money, about your parents' finances, be scary talking to your parents about their sex lives?" That is a conversation I never would want to have. It's way too awkward. But there are people out there who think that's less scary than talk to their parents about money.

Cameron H.:        I get it. It can seem scary. It can seem awkward, but you do have to keep in mind that as awkward as the conversation might seem, these are your parents. They love you, and they might seem and feel a little bit uncomfortable when you bring it up, but they're probably not going to be so mad at you that they're never going to talk to you again. If you point out to them the reason why you're having this conversation because you're looking out for their best interest, which is ... That's why we as parents had these conversations with our kids about the birds and the bees. It's your job as a parent, and you can ... You can even use that, "Mom and dad, do you remember when you had that conversation with me, that awkward conversation when I was a kid about the birds and the bees? Why did you have that conversation?"

Cameron H.:        And of course, they're going to say something like, "Well, it's my job as a parent. You have to have those uncomfortable conversations sometimes." And then you say, "Yeah, you're right. And I know this might seem a little bit uncomfortable now. But as your child, I feel like it's my job to also look out for you. And so, I want to have this conversation with you now because I want to make sure that as you get older, I'm going to be able to provide that care that you provided for me. And to do that, we need to have this conversation, and I don't want you to think of it as uncomfortable. No matter how uncomfortable you think it is talking about money, if we don't have the conversation, the consequences could be a lot worse. I might not legally be able to step in and help you. We might not have a plan for what sort of care you want. Having these conversations now really will give us all peace of mind and make things easier as you get older."

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. And make sure that, like you said, that you can execute what their wishes are. You know what I mean? It ultimately is about that. I know that in your book you talk about, essentially, 10 ways to start that conversation, and you give some really great examples. Would you be open to sharing? I know you've given a couple examples already, but one or two that maybe stand out that you'd like to share with our listeners?

Cameron H.:        I think a great way to start this conversation is to use a story. And so, of course, if you are a Gen Xer, like I am, and you're part of the sandwich generation, you are guaranteed to have a story. You know someone you work with, a friend who is already dealing with this – who has a parent who has passed away without a will, a parent that they've had to leave a job to care for. You set as a story. "Mom and dad, I have a friend who she just had to take time off work to help out her mother who had a stroke. I'd love to talk to you about what we can do to plan in case a situation like this arises." Or, "Mom and dad, I have a friend whose parents passed away without a will. The father was in a second marriage, their step-kids. I know we all get along well, but, mom and dad, let's talk about this so that there aren't any surprises, and so we can make sure that we follow through with your wishes."

Cameron H.:        Again, turning it back to, what are your wishes? So, even if you don't have a story, you can make one up. I know that sounds like you're lying, but really what you're doing is opening the door to a very important conversation. Or you just say, "Hey, I was listening to this podcast. This woman was talking about how she had to care for her mother who had Alzheimer's." An article. I was reading an article. There are so many ways to use a story to start the conversation.

Cameron H.:        If you don't feel like that's the best way to approach it, and sometimes you must try a couple of different ways. Like I said, the life event can work, or perhaps you had your own experience meeting with a financial planner, an attorney, an accountant, and you use your experience. "Hey, mom and dad, I just went through the process of doing X, Y, and Z. It was so helpful for me. What have you done to prepare for things going forward for your retirements, for any long-term care?" Or, "Mom and dad, I met with a financial planner. Maybe this is something you want to do too. Maybe you want to meet with my financial planner. I found it to be really useful." Or, "I met with an attorney, and it was so great to make sure I got all these documents updated."

Cameron H.:        So, kind of in fact suggesting that they meet with that third party because oftentimes, parents are uncomfortable talking about with their kids. But when someone else professional says, "You should be doing this. You should be having these conversations. You should be making a plan." Your parents could be more willing to listen.

Rhonda:               Yeah. And I think sometimes we forget the amount of influence that we may have on our parents. I mean, I know that my parents today have an estate plan because I said, "Okay, listen, we've got to get this stuff in order." You know what I mean? Like, "Let's meet with somebody. I've got this great person. He's in your area. And I had known this estate planning attorney through some of the networking that I had done." And they got it done. You know what I mean? Sometimes they just need a little ... Maybe they don't know who to talk to, or where to start.

Rhonda:               I mean, I grew up in a small town. I think back to my childhood; nobody was meeting with financial advisors at that point. Everybody just kind of like, "I don't know what they did." They had the one attorney in the town that did everything. He did divorces. He did estate planning. I mean, whatever you needed. Again, just helping them connect with the right people, trusted people, that can help them I think is important.

Cameron H.:        And you're so right too. Sometimes all they need is a little nudge because they might have been planning on having this conversation with you, believe it or not, but they just haven't gotten around to it. And you bring it up and they say, "Oh, you know what? You're right. I've been meaning to talk to you about this." And all it took was you to ask, that's it.

Rhonda:               Yeah. I think there is probably an element of relief, because most of them are probably thinking about it, right? They've either had somebody recently pass away, or they've been dealing with their aging parents at some point or whatever. It is in the back of their mind, and they're just waiting for somebody to initiate that conversation. I feel like that's the great thing about for us as women. I feel like there is a lot of responsibility and opportunity for us to be the ones to initiate those conversations. So, I love that. Let's also talk about ... So, we've talked about why. Why should they have the conversation? How do they start the conversation? And then, what information should they gather?

Cameron H.:        This really on your parent's comfort level. If your parents seem to be reluctant to talk, you need to at least find out whether they have those estate planning documents I mentioned: the will, the power of attorney, the advanced healthcare directive. Because, like I said, it's so important to have these in place while you are still competent because if there is something that has left you mentally incompetent, you can't sign those documents anymore.

Cameron H.:        So, at the least find out whether they had these documents, and then you also want to find out how they pay their bills. And this is so important because if something were to happen to them, you want to find out, "Mom and dad, are you writing a check to pay your bills, or is it set up to be paid automatically? And I'm asking you this, mom and dad, because if something happens to you, if you end up in the hospital, if there's an accident, I need to make sure that your mortgage gets paid, or your rent gets paid, or the doctor's bills are paid, and I need to know whether you've named me power of attorney or someone power of attorney so that someone can sign checks for you if they have to."

Cameron H.:        This is what you had to find out at the least. If they are willing to share this information, then dig a little bit deeper. And the thing is, as you're asking for this information, you don't want to do it all at once. You don't want to sit down and say, "Okay, mom and dad, we're going to spend the whole day talking about your finances. So, get ready. Brew a pot of coffee, get ready to drink it all because we got to blind it all in one day." You don't want to do that. You do it in steps.

Cameron H.:        The first step might be talking about the wills, and the power of attorney. Where are these documents located? Okay. You don't have one. Let's help you find an attorney who can help you draft these documents. Or let's go online to a website such as nolo.com, download the forms that you can fill out. Start with that, and then if they are willing to tell you more information, try to get some more details what sort of insurance policies do they have? Do they have life insurance? Do they have a long-term care insurance policy? If they have a home, they probably have homeowner’s insurance policy. Where are those policies? How are they paid? What sort of debt do you have? Are you willing to share with me?

Cameron H.:        You don't have to tell me how much you owe. I just want an idea. Do you still have a mortgage on your house? Are you carrying credit card debt? Are you still paying off my student loans, or perhaps your own student loans? Do you have other sources of income beyond what your job is paying you, or what your business provides? Do you have social security income that you're getting now? Do you have a pension that's supporting you?

Cameron H.:        Those are the sort of things you want to find out, and then get into the real nitty gritty. What sort of accounts? Account passwords and usernames, account numbers, and they don't have to tell you this. But if you can get them to write it down for you, put it some place safe and tell you where you can find it so that if something does happen, you have access to that, and you can actually step in and help. Because this is something that I did not do with my mother in advance, and because I didn't even know what accounts she had, there was $50,000 sitting in an investment account that we almost lost because I didn't know it existed.

Cameron H.:        We had moved from the time when she was living with us, and then I put her into assisted living, and then we moved. Statements were going to that old address. And then they were about to turn it over to the state as unclaimed property. Unfortunately, the former owners, the new owners of our house, said, "Hey, we've got some mail for you." And so, I realized that there was this account that had slipped under my radar, and I was able to access it as her power of attorney, cash it out, and use it to pay for almost a year's worth of care for her. But I didn't even know it existed because I had not had those conversations soon enough with my mother about it and made that list of accounts.

Cameron H.:        So, the more information you can get, the better. Realizing that your parents might be reluctant to share it, though, like I said, ask them to write it down for you, put it someplace safe and tell you how to access it.

Rhonda:               Yeah, I love that. Well, and I also love the little conversations too. Like I was at my parents’ house a couple of weeks ago, and I said, "Okay, so if something happened to you, how would we pay for things?" Meaning, how are the accounts set up, or whatever? And they did go and add some additional beneficiaries of me and my brother on some of the accounts so that if something did happen, we would have access to those funds.

Rhonda:               There's a lot of different ways that people can do that. But making sure that you have those little bits of conversation. She had a couple of to-do things. I had asked her to go back to the estate planning attorney and ask a couple of questions, and she did that. Again, it was probably a two-minute conversation. She left and she goes, "Okay, now what is it that I have to do?" And so, she had a notebook, and she wrote them down, and she did them. And I thought, "You know what? That's great."

Rhonda:               So, I think sometimes we underestimate the influence that we do have on our parents, and the opportunity to just help them. And, sometimes allowing those conversations to happen organically, like you said, once you open that door to say, "Hey, I was working on some of my stuff. Gosh, do you guys have your stuff? Where's your stuff?" Or, "Do you have a will?" Or, "Have you completed some of those power of attorney documents or healthcare documents or whatever?" They will talk.

Rhonda:               And so, it can be just this really like beautiful organic conversation that somewhat brief. You get a little info, or you give a little info, and then you can learn from that. I love that. You know, I was thinking too, in preparation for our time together, I always believe that the formula to help women become more confident is gaining the knowledge of what to do and how to do it, but then doing it, right? Like, "Okay, if we've got the knowledge without the experience theory, if we've got the experience without the knowledge, well, we're probably making a trial and error. But if we've got the knowledge, couple little tips and then we do it. It's going to help build our confidence along the way.

Rhonda:               And I really feel like that is how your book is structured. I love how it's got the specific chapters where people could read it from cover to cover. But it's very well-organized in a way that if people had specific questions like, "How do I start that conversation? Is it too late?" All those kinds of things. They can go to that chapter and just read the chapter, right? So, the women don't have to feel overwhelmed by, "Okay, I got to read this whole book before I have the conversation." You can read snippets of it, right?

Cameron H.:        Exactly. Exactly. And one of the things I tried to do, because most of us, we were not taught about personal finance. We didn't learn it in school. Our parents didn't teach it to us. And so, so few of us we're so far from being experts, but that shouldn't stop you from having this conversation. You shouldn't say, "Well, I can't talk to my parents about their finances because I'm not on top of my own finances." Don't let that stop you. The way I wrote the book is I try to explain all these concepts in very simple terms. I have a whole chapter on estate planning documents, and I explain what they are because I don't expect people to know what a power of attorney is, or an advanced healthcare directive is.

Cameron H.:        I explain the whole ins and outs of long-term care, like the various types of long-term care, how much it costs. Because again, why would you know that? Unless you've gone through it yourself, which I figured it out really kind of through trial and error even though I had been a financial journalist for years, so much of what I had to do when I was helping my mother out, I had to figure out on my own, and I made mistakes along the way. And so, I want people to learn from my mistakes, which is why I wrote the book.

Cameron H.:        And so, I really did try to explain all these financial concepts in layman's terms. I don't want anyone to feel like they must go into these conversations confused. You don't have to be an expert to have them. You just, like you said, need to get started, and then look it up. I mean, if I don't provide the answers for you in my book, if you never buy my book, just get on the internet and Google it, and it will help. There's so much information out there.

Rhonda:               Yeah. And you do a really good job of obviously taking lots of information, and like you said, condensing it into layman's terms. For those of us who like stats, there's a little bit of stats in there, and then each chapter ends with an exercise. Because I said, "Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is really great information, but hey, we got to put it to use."

Cameron H.:        Something else I also included were a lot of stories from people who did this, who had these conversations, and people who struggle to have these conversations talking about how they finally got through to their parents. Because it's not always easy, and sometimes your parents are going to resist, and resist, and resist. And that's why trying to start sooner rather than later because they can take a long time to get through to them.

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for the book because it is ... I'm so excited for it to get out into the world, and for women to be able to just have some important conversations and be able to report back of all the successes that they're having. And you think about just the impact, not only on them, but ... I mean, this is legacy stuff. This is beyond just us in having these conversations. And so, I love that. As we wrap up our time together, I always like to end the podcast with two things. One is your favorite quote, and a success story. So why don't we start with the success story?

Cameron H.:        Would you like it to be a success story related to my book and the topic we've been discussing?

Rhonda:               Sure. Yes.

Cameron H.:        Okay. So, one of the women I interviewed for the book, she is a millennial. Her mother was a single mom because her father had passed away when she was younger, and her mother struggled terribly with their finances. It got to the point where our home had been in foreclosure for ... I mean, we're talking a very long time. Her daughter knew that her mother was struggling, and she was struggling to get through to her mother. And there are a couple of ways that she had success. One is by sharing her own experiences with her mom. "Hey, mom, I've been doing these things to save money. This is what's worked for me." Basically, just giving her tips based on your own experience.

Cameron H.:        So that helped getting a third party involved. She had an aunt, her mother's sister, who did very well financially. And so, basically, the aunt recommended taking this financial course that she had taken, and she got her mom to agree to do it. They did it together. They went through it together. They got tips. That led to her mother opening up to her and sharing some of the mistakes she had made. Now, her mother is still reluctant to be very open about her finances, but she has made progress, and she is making progress.

Cameron H.:        The important thing to really take away from this, though, is that this woman, this young woman, realizes that, yes, her mother has made mistakes and she will need some help as she gets older. But she still must be her priority. Her financial wellbeing still must take priority over her mother. So, she is trying to set aside some money, but she's not offering now to step in and help her mom out financially. And this is so important for women to remember. If you are divorced and now you oversee supporting your children, supporting yourself, you still are your priority. As much as your parents might need your help, you must focus on yourself first especially if you have kids who are relying on you. Keep that in mind.

Cameron H.:        And so, it's difficult as these conversations might seem to be, they can happen. It can take time. But like I said, in the end, you are your priority. Take care of yourself. Gosh, the quote. That's a tougher one. You know, this is not a quote that I've heard anyone say. It's just something that's become kind of my own personal mantra recently. It's “little by little”. And I've been trying to tell myself this because so often you hear like, "Go big or go home."

Cameron H.:        Yes, sometimes that works. But really I feel like at this stage of my life as someone who's part of the sandwich generation, dealing with my mother, dealing with teenagers, you just have to take things little by little, and you have to enjoy those successful moments, and those good moments when they come. And you realize when you're hit with those bad moments that they too will pass. Really.

Cameron H.:        And so, I must tell myself that every single day. "Okay, I'm going to make a little progress today. I certainly didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done, but there's still tomorrow, and I'm going to make a little more progress tomorrow." And so that's the way these conversations are too. You just kind of must do them little by little sometimes.

Rhonda:               Yeah, absolutely. I love it. It's a good reminder, right?

Cameron H.:        Yes.

Rhonda:               And encouragement to keep going.

Cameron H.:        Yes, keep going. Keep going.

Rhonda:               Keep going. Well, I want to thank you so much for spending time with us today. Share with our audience where they can find your book.

Cameron H.:        So, the book, again, is Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances. It comes out June 25th, but you can preorder it on amazon.com. You can also go to my website, which is cameronhuddleston.com, and there are some links there on the site to order the book.

Rhonda:               Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. This has been delightful. I know that the women that are listening walked away with some practical things that they can do, and I want to thank you for spending time with us today.

Cameron H.:        Thank you for having me.

 

 

RESOURCES:

Mom and Date, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances book

Cameron Huddleston

Author | Awared-Winning Personal Finance Journalist and Life & Money Columnist for

GOBankingRates

Cameron Huddleston

[email protected]

(414) 427-4141

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

Visit the Women’s Financial Wellness Center for a full directory listing of experts. Be sure to reach out if you would like to connect personally with the Women’s Financial Wellness Center. You can visit our website or grab a complimentary 30-minute consult.

 

Leaving a positive podcast review is hugely important: they help the podcast get discovered by new people. Please spend 5 minutes of your time to leave a review on your preferred listening platform, we’d love to hear from you!