How and Why to Prepare for the Unexpected in Life

In this episode, Maggie is chatting with Robin Young, the President of Northstar Financial Planning. They talk about Robin’s work helping women navigate life’s transitions, particularly sudden and unexpected life changes like a partner or family member dying, getting a divorce, or losing your earned income. They also talk about how you can prepare for and protect yourself just in case you find yourself experiencing one of these life events. It’s not always a happy topic, but it’s an important one to discuss.

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Robin is resolute in her belief that individuals and their families deserve a deeper approach to wealth management. Particularly during periods of transition (retirement, loss of a spouse, inheritance, divorce, sale of a business) when life and money decisions are complicated. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Certified Financial Transitionist®, and a Registered Life Planner, Robin has the expertise on both the technical and personal sides of money to help clients successfully navigate life changes, make confident decisions and achieve a higher sense of personal and financial well-being.

Robin has almost 30 years of experience helping clients manage their wealth. Before joining Northstar as a partner in 2004, Robin’s professional career included 15 years at several prestigious financial firms and real estate management companies in Boston, including Boston Properties, LLC and The Colony Group. There, she advised C-level executives at several Fortune 500 corporations, including Unum Provident, EMC and IBM.

In 2008, Robin assumed the helm at Northstar Financial Planning and her work in helping women in transition gained attention. Robin believes that women deserve a better experience in working with a financial advisor and she and her team have focused considerable energy in delivering this experience. You can also find Robin as a fiduciary financial advisor on Wealthramp, a female-founded referral service that takes the stress out of finding the right advisor.

Read more here: https://www.northstarfp.com/who-we-are/meet-the-team.html

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To learn more about Maggie and her coaching and speaking services, visit www.maggiegermano.com.

The theme music is called Escaping Light by Aaron Sprinkle. The podcast artwork design is by Maggie’s dear husband, Dan Rader.

TRANSCRIPTION

Maggie Germano 0:05
Hi, and thanks for listening to the money circle podcast. I’m your host, Maggie Germano, and I’m a feminist and a financial writer, speaker, educator and coach for women. I’m passionate about making personal finance less scary and more approachable so that women can improve their relationship with money and take control of their finances. Every other week, I will interview an amazing, inspiring woman to talk about the issues that impact our money, our health, our independence, and more. We will touch on the societal and structural issues that we need to work together to change and the actions that we each have the power to take in our own lives. If you’d like to learn more about me and the work that I do, visit my website at Maggiegermano.com or follow me on Instagram @MaggieGermano. Thanks again for listening and I hope you enjoy.

Hey there, and thanks for listening. I’m your host Maggie Germano. And this week, I’m chatting with Robin Young, who is the president of Northstar financial planning. In this episode, we talk about Robin’s work helping women navigate life’s transitions, particularly sudden and unexpected life changes like a partner or family member dying, getting a divorce or losing your earned income. We also talk about how you can prepare for and protect yourself just in case you find yourself experiencing one of these life events someday. It’s certainly not a happy topic to be discussing, but it’s very important that you do. So I hope you enjoy this episode.

Welcome, Robin, thanks so much for being here today.

Robin Young 1:44
Hi, Maggie, thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Maggie Germano 1:47
Great. It’s a pleasure to have you. So why don’t we just start off by having you tell us a little bit about who you are and the work you do?

Robin Young 1:54
Sure. So I am the owner of Northstar financial planning, which is a fee only fiduciary wealth management firm located in Southern New Hampshire, we serve clients here locally and nationally. And we have a team of a team of eight women, which I think is pretty interesting in a very male dominated field in my industry. So I’ve been in in financial services as a financial advisor for over 30 years. And really, the first decade of my experience was really gaining a CFP and learning the technical side of the business. I would say the next 10 years were more around life planning and helping clients create freedom and understanding how their values and beliefs impacted their money decisions. And then kind of the last decade has been around transitions and helping women and families in transition, and how to make better decisions there.

Maggie Germano 2:51
That’s great. And I always love to hear how there’s been kind of a shifts in turns, even if you kind of stay in the same industry, how your focus ends up kind of changing. But tell us a little bit how you ended up kind of in where your focus is now. So and that’s a lot of what we’re going to be talking about during today’s episode. But how did you kind of end up in the life transition kind of focus? Because I know that it’s an a very important topic, obviously, I’m having you here to talk about it. But how did you decide to make that kind of a main focus of your work right now.

Robin Young 3:26
Um, it really came out of when. So I had a business partner that I bought out in 2008. And when I did that women, particularly some widowed and divorced women started coming to my office in need of help. And what I found is that particularly the widows that I did not have the personal skills that I needed to feel like I could successfully help them like I could give them the financial answer. But I really, when they didn’t implement or withdrew, I just and even sitting being able to sit in a meeting with a grieving widow is just what to say and how to be with them. To help them really I felt at a loss. So I definitely felt like I just needed more skills around that. And so I went and got training. I had built a relationship with Susan Bradley at Sutton money, which is now the financial transition this institute back in 2005. And just connected with her and went on that path.

Maggie Germano 4:31
That’s great. And I again, I love how you kind of you saw a need that was out there and the women that were coming to you and instead of just you know, kind of being like no, sorry, like, that’s not where my expertise is. You sought out more information and more training around that. I think that’s really, really nice to hear. And it sounds like you’ve kind of found a niche there as well.

Robin Young 4:53
Yeah, I think it kind of shifts the responsibility from being the client trying to figure it out at a time. They’re extremely vulnerable to taking that responsibility on myself and my team to helping them figure it out. You know, because that really is what the joy is for us, right? It’s when people are most aligned with their money decisions and most able to successfully transition to that next stage of life.

Maggie Germano 5:22
Right, exactly. And you mentioned widows a few minutes ago, but what are some of those other life transitions you kind of see your clients going through and that you focus on helping people move through?

Robin Young 5:35
Yeah, so divorce is a big one. So we work with a lot of divorced women who pre divorce, you know, kind of that initial stage of just either if they’re not the one initiating, you know, and if they are initiating both both sides of that, just the financial and personal sides of putting together that package, and then post divorce, how do you how do you figure it out long term, inheritance, like losing a parent, which is, and generally, you know, grief is different, you know, it’s not every aspect of your life typically. And it can come with some other challenges around kind of your mindset, like a windfall mindset, almost right, and how to make good decisions about that longer term, right? I think what we’ve seen here in my business is that people want to, you know, spend or, you know, buy that house or do you know, sort of change their lifestyle, and before they really take time to absorb what the change could mean to them longer term. So that’s another one sale of a business. So we have, you know, clients selling businesses, and, you know, that’s a huge one, because that is a big change in their professional life, and helping them envision what that that looks like, long term and and will help them not only figure out what they need to sell the business for, but also just help that transition happen more more easily for them.

Maggie Germano 7:09
Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. And it sounds like so it’s not just the death and divorce, but also exciting opportunities with business too, and kind of helping navigate make decisions related to that.

Robin Young 7:22
Absolutely, yeah, there are a lot of positive, you know, even a forced retirement, early retirement for someone can be a really positive wonderful thing, if they can kind of recreate that life that they want to live and have the resources to do it. Right. So that is, it’s kind of like I think of it like being 21 and having money. You know, you kind of can envision, but you know, people sometimes make decisions quickly, right? And, and limit their their opportunities. So I think setting, taking a step back, and giving yourself the space and time to really think about all your options. And testing those out along the way. Gives gives clients the space to be happy in the path that they choose.

Maggie Germano 8:07
Yeah, definitely. That makes a lot of sense. And so you know, you’ve started touching on this a little bit, but how have you seen with the clients that you work with? And just with your, you know, professional experience? How have you seen these different life experiences or life events impact women’s finances, whether it’s positive or negative? I know it’s going to vary depending on what that life event is. But what kinds of impacts Have you seen?

Robin Young 8:34
Yeah, so the way that I’ve seen it impact their finances? Well, it I mean, it’s all over the spectrum. Really, it can be, you know, a widow who gets a large life insurance check, for instance, is one that we see all the time. When we’re in the, in a conversation with that client, there’s, there’s a lot of other people in that room, but her husband is with her in that room about what should I do with that money, and you know, how it should be spent. And so it’s really unpacking all of what comes with that check for that client. And helping them understand that it’s normal to have a motion around that check. And it’s part of the process. And, again, just allowing them to kind of move through that a bit and understand so knowledge is power. So just understanding it a little bit more and having someone that you trust, and that is in a judgment free zone to talk about those things, I think is is the other really important thing. You know, if you went to an art, you know, most financial advisors would see the check and they want you to invest it. Right most clients, you know, one of the widows that I had early on, you know, had gone before she came to me and gone to a firm and boss Then they sat around this very cold big marble table, they all came in, in their Armani suits, and talked about asset allocation. That’s not what she needed in that moment. Really, she what she needed in that moment was to know that she could put that check somewhere safe, and give herself some space and time to figure out what it means to her and her family. So that’s one instance of of how it could impact your finances. On the other side of it, a widow who had two incomes, maybe now has one income, right or two, Social Security checks now has one, or maybe had a pension that I had this happen where the spouse had chosen 100%, single life annuity for his pension, instead of having a survivorship option, now, she must have signed it, right, because you’re required to sign off on that kind of thing. But in the moment, when you’re, you know, managing an estate and realize that you no longer have that pension check. That’s a pretty, pretty devastating realization. So those are some of the things that I see, you know, for divorced clients, it’s a lot of, can I keep the house, you know, have kids, you know, so that that’s a financial thing that can be pretty and their lifestyle, you know, for a divorced woman who maybe was the non working spouse, to be able to maintain a lifestyle that she and our family had gotten accustomed to maybe more difficult than it would be for her, her spouse. So those are some of the ways that I say, impacting these these clients.

Maggie Germano 11:47
Yeah, and like you said, it really ranges across the spectrum where, you know, there’s maybe an influx of cash coming in, where they might not know what to do with it, or, like you were saying, they might not be ready emotionally to be dealing with it yet and doing anything with it. But then on the other side of things, there might not be money, there might be a big loss of money, too. And I can see how that would be really, really difficult to get through. And when you’re already struggling, motional Lee, whether it’s from a death or a divorce, I feel like it’s probably really tough to then turn around and have to figure out the financial side as well.

Robin Young 12:24
Yes, and so one of the you know, one of the things with our training is that clients show up with roadblocks, right, and one of the roadblocks is, you know, withdrawing from from that decision making from, you know, kind of that knowledge, like learning more about it, and it’s really how to help clients build their confidence around and knowing that they’re going to be okay, you know, we’ve been in the situation with clients before, you know, we know you’re going to get through it, let’s, you know, take this step by step, right, it’s kind of giving them a path to go down so that they can show up and not feel judged, I feel like there’s possibility and hope for them, which is, you know, it, you need to want to be in that space with the client. And you need to have some skills around it. The other one with a widow too, is, you know, they, you know, they’re for, for widows who are the non working spouse, or who have never dealt with the money piece, which is more true for our older clients. But it’s also true for a lot of young widows. Who, who just, you know, segregation of duty, right? You know, the husbands doing the finances, the mom’s taking care of the kids or, you know, maybe they’re doing the checkbook, but not the investments, and there’s fear about investing and making those decisions losing their financial security. And so is how to get over that hurdle with them to know that not investing is going to create, you know, less financial security. Right? Yeah, I mean, you need the growth, you need some long term money.

Maggie Germano 14:09
Right. And I feel like there’s like, like you said, with the investment piece, there’s so much fear around investing. And, I mean, we just hear it in like the way that it’s talked about with the, you know, cryptocurrency or whatever’s going on in the market, and on the day to day, it can be really scary and it can feel like it’s safer just to kind of hold on to your money and not risk it in that kind of way. And then I think there’s also the combination of like you were saying, if there’s someone who historically has not been the one managing money or making financial decisions in the household, or maybe they just have always thought, Oh, I’m just not good with money, like someone else can handle it, or like he can handle it or my or my partner can handle it. And just, like you said, building up that confidence and recognition that you can do it. You can learn And honestly, you have to, there’s no choice at that point it, I can see how that is incredibly important for your clients.

Robin Young 15:08
And yes, and they actually our clients are very engaged in the process, because everything is grounded by their financial plan, which is really their values, their goals, what’s important to them, and their resources. And so if you, if, you know, it’s less, you don’t need to be an investment guru to make good financial decisions, you can get help for, you know, you can have hire someone like us to do the investments, right, but what you, what you need is a way to ground yourself in the decisions that you’re making. And so if you use a financial plan to understand the risk that you’re able to take, you know, so if you have x dollar, if you have a million dollars or $10 million, you know, what kind of lifestyle do you need from that? And how much risk Do you need to take it? It really, if you can talk to your clients in that way, and really ground them that they don’t need to buy into cryptocurrency, right? It’s they don’t need that to to, you know, reach their goals, then they can let that noise sort of drift away.

Maggie Germano 16:16
Yeah, that’s really important, knowing what is worth spending the focus on and spending the time thinking about or worrying about or, you know, again, focusing on versus just, you know, being distracted or worried about it.

Robin Young 16:32
Yeah, I mean, and that, I mean, it’s a normal, right, because we hear it on the news. And then every, every time I go to the gym, I get asked about it about cryptocurrency, right? And it’s it’s just out there in conversation. So I understand people’s wanting to be understand more about it, but it’s one of those things that is probably it’s, it’s, it’s so complex, right? It’s just, it’s hard to hard to even understand, for me as an investment professional. So those types of things I, you know, aren’t for the average investor.

Maggie Germano 17:09
Yeah, no, agreed. And so it sounds like you take a pretty strong approach, framed around compassion and understanding and not non judgement. Because obviously, the people that you tend to be working with are going through difficult times, or exciting times, whatever it might be, it’s a transition time. And there’s a lot of concern and questioning, or when it comes to money. And I think a lot of people struggle with that. And especially if they’re coming to a professional for support, they’re probably having some questions around money. And I’m a big fan of leading with compassion and not judging or making anyone feel bad. So can you tell me a little bit more about how you approach your clients with compassion and make them understand like, you’re not going to be pressuring them, you’re going to be with them side by side and helping them get to where they want to be?

Robin Young 18:03
Yeah, so I, the first, the first thing that is important to do is really clear your decks, right. So if you have to walk into that room, clear yourself of judgment, next expectation, so meditate, I’m a big meditator. And that allows me to really let all of what’s in my brain fly out, right, and just kind of be an open book for that client so that I can actively listen to them. Another another thing that we do is communicate understand that communication style and preference, so, you know, are they do they want us to get to the point quickly? Or do they need detail on? How do they make decisions? So they make them in the moment? Or do they need to sleep on it? Or do they need to take some time couple weeks, so that we can really gear? what we expect from them. And, you know, in what we deliver in terms of anything, you know, any financial plan or investment in a way that resonates with them, and that they can easily understand. So communication style is the other way. And then I, I just think that, you know, our training around what’s normal, like understanding the stages of transition, you know, there’s a beginning, there’s a middle and there’s an end and, and so when a client walks in the door, I’m trying to understand where they are in that spectrum. And what what character characteristics they may be feeling so is it grief? Is it you know, excitement, like, where are they like, what, what is happening to that client? So a lot of it’s understanding first and when you can understand where clients out, then you can be more able to empathize.

Maggie Germano 19:51
Yeah, and that’s so important. And so it sounds like you’re very individualized when it comes to each client. Like you have to really understand them as a person. And then where they’re coming from, and there’s no one size fits all. Yeah.

Robin Young 20:05
Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, every client of well, it’s very personal here. You know, our whole team has had all of the training and yes, clients, every every single thing that we do for them is different client to client. And yes, it’s more time, but it’s also more enjoyment and fulfillment on both sides of the equation. I think clients know that they’re loved, and they’re part of the family here.

Maggie Germano 20:34
That’s great to hear. And I love to hear that. And so what is some of the advice that you give to your clients when it comes to getting through these these life transitions? And again, obviously, we just talked about how individualized this is all going to be. So I know that it’s going to depend on the person. But when it comes to someone who’s been widowed, or someone who’s gone through a divorce, or any other type of life event, what what typical kind of advice usually give them as, as you’re working with them?

Robin Young 21:06
Well, one of the first things is it’s okay to ask for help. I, you know, it’s if the husband had been doing a lot of it, they may feel a burden, no taking on all of those things themselves, which may not be serving them, right. So getting the help that they need, whether is a financial advisor, or you know, any other person in their life, like figuring out where they’re, where their pain is, was overwhelming them. So that process of just unloading with a client of all of the things that are happening is is the first thing that we do. And then we sort and prioritize, so what what are the things that needs to, that we need decisions on so that they can really focus, because the other thing with transition clients is there really four big things happening with them. There’s the physical things like stress and overwhelm. There’s the emotion of whatever that emotion is for anger, you know, sadness, or excitement, right, there’s a lot of emotion. And we know that the personal side drives decision making. So we’re trying to understand all of that. And then there’s the social, right family expectations, other people kind of showing up in the room, right. And then there’s the financial. So helping a client understand those components gives them get allows them to feel some compassion for themselves, that they don’t have to do the 100 things that are on their list, that it’s normal for a high functioning person, to only be able to do one thing, right, where they’d normally could do five, maybe it’s one. So we have much shorter meetings, and we tackle, you know, smaller bits, so that that well being and confidence thing builds for them. So they can kind of wait a few things off their plate, we take a few things, and they can kind of start to see a path. So that’s kind of the first part of the advice that I think the second thing is a really patient, you know, these transitions take much longer and more complicated than most people realize. So it’s, you know, helping helping clients just settle in that it’s going to be a while. And I know that having gone through some of my own transitions that sometimes you want to make decisions quickly, because you don’t want to be in the fire, right, you just want to be on the other side of, of of your new normal, right. And you don’t want to be in, in that discovery area where you’re in the muck. But, you know, if you give yourself time to kind of evaluate the options and trade offs and, and know that how you feel today may not be how you feel in a year, which is really often the case, you know, your that giving yourself that space will allow you not to make regrettable decisions. So that’s a huge one for for clients is, is kind of helping them understand that you could really impact your financial security by making some of these quicker decisions.

Maggie Germano 24:21
Yeah, that’s such an important point where you know, it can be easy to make rash decisions when you’re in the thick of grief or stress or anxiety or whatever it might be. But being able to kind of slow down think rationally rationally about the future, and what your goals are and what your needs are, you’ll be less likely especially if being guided by someone like you and the other folks in your office, you’re less likely to make those rest rash decisions and you can make sure that the money is going where it needs to go or not going where it doesn’t need to go.

Robin Young 24:59
Yeah, I mean If you if you think about somebody who gets a big check, you know, big is relative to the person getting it right. But whatever that number is for you may seem like a lot in the moment. So you know, giving away to kids or family members or spending, those dollars may seem like it’s an emotional thing that happens. And I’ve even seen widowed clients wanting to give the money away because it it, they lost her husband as a result. So it, it just feels wrong for them. But when you kind of create some space around that, and really think about what the purpose of was for the money and what it’s going to provide for your family around security, right? If you can create space, then yes, they can kind of unpack the emotions and make make better decisions.

Maggie Germano 25:55
Yeah, no, I love that. And I love how you, you’re not even though you’re a financial planner, you’re not just focusing on the financial aspect of these transitions. You’re also It sounds like you’re really looking at them and accepting them as the full person that they are with the full range of emotions and struggles that they’re going through. And recognizing that the physical stress, the emotional stress is going to impact the financial side, and then the financial side will also impact all of those other aspects. And the fact that you’re not really siloing those aspects from each other probably is incredibly helpful for your clients.

Robin Young 26:35
Yes, and personally rewarding, right? Because if you can help a client get to a yoga class and carve out the dollars to do it or, or a vacation, because they they don’t think they can, you know, it’s just it’s just a really rewarding thing to help someone get through those and say, you know, yes to invitations for a widow, and it’s just the personal side is where, you know, where where everything is really the money is just kind of a how to, but it’s the personal side that really is, you know, the story that that we want to know.

Maggie Germano 27:14
Yeah, no, I agree with you there. And so say someone who’s listening is newly married, or they’ve been married for a while, but they’re not anticipating a divorce or a loss of a spouse otherwise. But they want to make sure that if down the line, there is a divorce or the death of their spouse, what are some things you would recommend as ways to kind of prepare for that or make it so that if, if something like that did happen, unfortunately, they would still be either financially prepared or at least have certain things in place that they’d be okay.

Robin Young 27:53
Yeah, so there’s a few things. So the first thing is life insurance. term insurance is so cheap when you’re young, that if you don’t have insurance, and you should just go out and get it today and get more than you think you need. Because one of the things that I’ve learned is that when clients come in, and they don’t have the financial resources, when they’ve lost their spouse or getting divorce, it creates so much more stress. Well, I mean, the life insurance wouldn’t apply for obviously a divorce. But you know, things happen. So having the life insurance, they are for sure. Getting involved. So if if your spouse is the one handling the money, I’m finding ways to get involved in that I have some clients who do annual meetings together, quarterly meetings together. And I don’t know if it’s, we we don’t have any divorcing clients in my client base. Really. I think there’s something about having money conversations together, and talking about your life goals, and what’s important to you and your values, that keeps our clients connected. And together. And it’s such a if you don’t, as I said earlier, you don’t have to be an investment guru to it’s about your life and women love those conversations. So finding if the if your financial advisor, as a couple is not hearing you and not including you and you don’t understand what’s happening, then maybe you want to think about getting a different person. So you know, find the right help and get life insurance. Get involved yourself so that you are not blindsided in the event life does happen. Because the women that walk in my door are the women that you know, sign the form to give so you know, so I get a single pension check that went away. Right there. The women that don’t have life insurance. You know that that’s just their inheritance went into their husband’s account and they’re getting a divorce then. So don’t put in, put inheritance in your own name, those kinds of things I think will protect, but the biggest thing is, is getting engaged. And if you’re not getting the answers, then it’s a little bit of a red flag for me. So and maybe it’s your CPA, maybe you’re, like helped me understand the tax return, you know? Or are I just seeing getting access to your accounts? I just like to see the accounts, or how would I access them? If you weren’t here any longer? Like, where? Where would I go? Like, show me how I would do those things. So just small things make a big difference in terms of protecting yourself and your family, if you have kids? You know, a lot of women say, you know, that’s their number one priority. Yet, I think the financial part can be intimidating.

Maggie Germano 31:00
Yeah, absolutely. And like you said, In the beginning, even if your partner’s The one who takes the lead on the finances, that doesn’t mean you have to completely look away and have no information. I mean, in my marriage, I’m the one who handles all the finances, but I like my husband, at least be aware of what’s going on and where the money is and how to access it. And I think it’s incredibly important, especially for women to just have that knowledge of where is the money, how much is there, whether it’s in case you’re going to get divorced, and you need to know where the assets are, and how much there is that so that you know what you’re entitled to. Or if it is a scenario where your spouse was to die, you know how to access money so that the bills can get paid, you can keep your home, you can keep yourself fed, whatever it’s gonna look like it’s incredibly important to just have that knowledge and access.

Robin Young 31:53
Yeah, yes. And again, if you don’t feel like you have the capacity to do it, find someone you trust, to help you hire a financial planner. It really is a good investment, I would say, for people.

Maggie Germano 32:09
Totally, I totally agree. And so is there anything else we haven’t touched on yet that you want to make sure listeners know, whether it is how to prepare ahead of time just in case something like this happens? Or if they’re currently going through it? Or maybe they’re past that life and that life transition, but still want to be making the right decisions? Anything? We haven’t touched on yet?

Robin Young 32:34
I’m just kind of thinking through my my list? I don’t I don’t really I don’t think so. You know, I think in the financial services world, it can be a little bit overwhelming to find the right help. You know, there are a lot of different types of financial advisors. So I would definitely look at credentials, I, you know, the personal side training on the personal side of money, there’s not many advisors out there that do it. So, you know, finding, you know, but they are out there. So finding, finding someone who has either a certified financial transition test or some other sort of more on the softer side of the financial world, in addition to a certified financial planner, so someone who can help on both sides of a transition equation is really important to helping you get the most out of that experience with someone. So I guess I would end with that a little bit.

Maggie Germano 33:44
That’s great. Now, that’s really important. I think people try to do things on their own, especially when it’s tough, and when you’re kind of in your grief. And it’s always better, I think, to get support from someone else who not only can just be there with you emotionally, but also who knows what they’re doing and can really guide you. So you don’t have to wonder if you’re making the right decisions.

Robin Young 34:12
Oh, and there’s been a ton of studies out recently about how, you know, the sort of the alpha, that working with an advisor can bring someone because everything is so emotional investments is a great example of even even when you’re not in transition, you know, with all the market noise, you know, just having a thinking partner to help you stay grounded and connected to your financial plan. So that you can make good decisions. is is you know, a huge component of what makes our clients successful.

Maggie Germano 34:52
Yeah, absolutely. So if folks are listening to this, and they are really interested in the work that you’re doing And how you approach the work that you do. How can they get in touch with you to learn more?

Robin Young 35:06
Yeah, so my website is NorthStarfp.com. So f is in Frank p as in Peter dot com. And I’m also part of wealthramp, which is an online find a financial advisor. So a fee only fiduciary financial adviser Pam Krueger’s money talk is that money track, excuse me money track. She has her own radio show about that. So it’s a wonderful way to find out local fiduciary fee only financial planner.

Maggie Germano 35:40
Yeah, I love that platform. I found my own financial planner through that as well, recently. Yeah. And I talked, I had Pam on the podcast a few months ago now, I think. And it’s just such a great resource. And I’ll absolutely be linking to that in the show notes too. So folks have easy access to that.

Robin Young 35:59
Yes. That’s, that’s great. Yeah, I am. She does a really wonderful job of connecting people.

Maggie Germano 36:05
Yeah, agreed. And I will link to your website as well. And I really appreciate you taking the time to chat about this today. I think that it’s incredibly important to talk about the difficult things so that you’re able to kind of prepare and also get the help that you need. I mean, obviously, no one ever wants to think that divorced or think that their spouse will pass away or any other, you know, difficult life event, but it’s better to acknowledge that it might happen and have the right things in place and get the right support. So I’m very happy that you’re out there doing this work.

Robin Young 36:40
well, and they will, I think, be very surprised at how much they really enjoy those conversations once they’re in them because, you know, women want like I want to be empowered around money. And when you have that knowledge, it’s power. So don’t give up your power ladies.

Maggie Germano 36:58
Agreed. I think that’s a wonderful way to end the show as well. So thanks again for taking the time to chat and I really enjoyed our conversation.

Robin Young 37:07
You too. Thank you so much, Maggie, this has been great. I really enjoyed it.

Maggie Germano 37:10
Of course.

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