Way back when (July 2022 to be exact), I wrote a blog / newsletter “Beyond the Will”. I called it “Part 1”, knowing that there was a lot more to say than I could include there. I planned to write a “Part II” including even more estate planning tasks that Personal Money Manager™ does with older adult clients. For …
Our Memories are Not in Our Things — They are Inside of Us
It’s not an easy lesson. And I learned it the hard way…. One spring evening in London, I went to hear Robert Bly recite his poetry. He had won the National Book Award for Poetry in the US a few years earlier in 1967, yet the audience was small. Afterwards, we all went to the local pub for a pint. …
Dad’s Clutter Game: How to Get Rid of Stuff
I remember Dad’s Clutter Game that he invented for my siblings and me when we were young. It was a good rainy-day activity that kept us busy and out of each other’s hair. And it seemed to satisfy his life-long crusade against clutter. How would we get rid of stuff? Dad would set each of us up with paper grocery …
Possessions: Why Decluttering is So Challenging
A few years ago, I was asked to speak about decluttering and organizing. As my audience took their seats, I offered a basket of letter openers bearing my company name, and invited them to help themselves. Then I began my talk. I mentioned the trap of freebies, suggesting that “a freebie isn’t really free.” Once we take them home, they …