A lot of what I do at Personal Money Manager™ is literally showing up (putting eyes on it). I spend my days with my older adult clients and find that working with them side-by-side in their homes makes me a more effective financial organizer / daily money manager. I can see and act on clues that my clients and sometimes others in their lives could miss.
Two stories:
With Margie in Bergen County, New Jersey, we’d meet at her large dining room table. There we could spread out, work side by side and easily reach her file cabinet and the phone for calls to her accountant, to clarify billing issues, and more. At each session, she placed on the table the project or paper pile that she wanted us to tackle that day.
A few weeks in, she opened the guest room door. Papers covered the floor, windowsill, and couch. She asked me to sort and organize them. Her plan was for me to wrangle the papers while she was busy at a tiny desk in the corner.
Of course, I was curious to know what she was doing. I took a break and walked over to see. Meanwhile, Margie was opening mail and paying bills amid the clutter. My eyes were drawn to a paper off to the side with words that always grab my attention: CANCELLATION NOTICE. I took a closer look. It was from her car insurance company warning her that she would soon be cancelled for non-payment of premium.
“That’s not important,” she said. “If it were really a cancellation notice, it would be printed on bright paper or at least come in a colored envelope.” My years in the insurance industry, then as a financial organizer / daily money manager told me otherwise . . . but why debate it? “I have an idea,” I suggested. “Let’s call your insurance broker and find out what’s what.”
I’m sure you know how this story ends—with a check to the insurance company for her premium payment. Her insurance coverage rescued!
And then there was Risa. On my first visit to her house in Rockland County, New York, her attorney gave me a pile of bills to pay. Risa was bedridden and her attorney was handling her affairs.
One bill was from the cable company for “triple play” service—landline, cable, internet. But wait! What internet? I was pretty sure that this elderly client did not have internet service. I called the company where I found a customer service rep who read me the account history, searched the house for a router (none found), then called the county Consumer Protection Bureau, followed by a complaint to the Attorney General’s office. The upshot? Risa was issued a check for close to $2,000 for billed-but-not-provided internet service over several years.
Other items I’m glad I noticed: Pills on the floor, food left out on the counter, uncashed checks, missed garbage pick-ups, a scurrying mouse (!). Some, like the checks, require me to take action. In other situations, I am happy to make a call to the right place for resolution. The pills and uneaten and unrefrigerated food are items for a care manager or family caregiver. Their attorney or accountant might rely on me to find a life insurance policy or tax-related receipts.
So much can be done on the phone and online, and I do make the most of technology in my practice as financial organizer / daily money manager, of course. But clients often benefit from my in-home visits where I am “putting my eyes on” them and their situations in a friendly and compassionate way. Their other trusted advisors, who have important roles but may not make house calls, benefit, too.
Copyright 2025 by Karen R. Caccavo, all rights reserved