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10 Life Events That Should Trigger a Financial Checkup | Future of Finance Podcast
21 Plays1 month ago
Most people know to see a doctor when something changes with their health—but what about your financial health?
In this episode of The Future of Finance, host Marissa Wood shares the 10 most important life events that should signal it’s time to meet with a financial advisor. Whether you’ve changed jobs, gotten married, received an inheritance, or are nearing retirement, your financial strategy needs to evolve with your life.
This episode is packed with practical advice for every life stage, from growing families to recent retirees. If you’ve experienced any major life change lately—this one’s for you.
📞 Schedule your check-in at https://union-financial.com
🎯 Free Zoom, phone, or in-person consultations available.
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: What health and finance have in common
01:00 – Why major life events = time for a financial checkup
UFS_Rec 4_10 Life Events For Fi…
01:25 – 1. Job Change: Rollover old 401(k)s, set up new plans
03:00 – 2. Marriage: New tax brackets, budgets, and combining finances
04:10 – 3. Moving: Update your address and invest home equity
05:45 – 4. New Child: College savings, custodial accounts, life insurance
07:12 – 5. Paying Off Debt: What to do with that freed-up cash
08:14 – 6. Inheritance or Lawsuit Settlement: How to avoid blowing a windfall
10:31 – 7. Divorce: Protecting your new financial reality
11:35 – 8. Loss of a Spouse: Estate transfers, income loss, and mistakes to avoid
14:06 – 9. Turning 59½: Access retirement accounts with no penalties
15:57 – 10. Retirement: Planning your income, Social Security, and legacy
17:12 – Key Takeaway: Life doesn't stand still—your financial plan shouldn't either
17:51 – How to book a free meeting with Union Financial Services
✅ Bonus Resources:
💼 Roll over a 401(k)
🧒 Open a 529 or custodial account
🛡️ Set up life insurance
💵 Inheritance investment strategies
🔁 In-service rollovers after 59½
📈 Maximize Social Security decisions
👍 Like, share, and subscribe for practical financial strategies built for real life.
🔔 New episodes drop every other Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Financial Checkups for Life Events
00:00:08
Speaker
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Future of Finance podcast. I'm your host, Marissa Wood, with Union Financial Services. And in today's episode, we're going to dive in to the 10 life events that should trigger a financial checkup.
00:00:21
Speaker
And if you're like most people, when something health-wise goes on, whether you are starting to experience shortness of breath or maybe you want to lose some weight or you did lose some weight or maybe you or thinking about starting a family or someone in your family did get diagnosed with something and you want to see if you carry that gene, any of those health events usually trigger you wanting to set up a checkup with your doctor, right?
When to Consult a Financial Advisor
00:00:51
Speaker
Well, it works the same when it comes to your finances. Certain life events trigger a need to sit down with your financial advisor or ultimately hire that financial advisor for the first time.
00:01:04
Speaker
and so we're going to go through some of those life events and what they are, and maybe you're experiencing some of them right now at this very moment or You can stash these ideas away and have them in the back of your head so that you know when something like this happens to yourself or a friend or family member, it's the time to get in touch with your financial advisor.
Job Changes and Self-Employment Adjustments
00:01:25
Speaker
And so the first life event is when you experience a job change. Whether you started a new job or you left a previous employer and now you're moving to a different employer, or maybe you wanted to start your own business and leave that corporate world.
00:01:43
Speaker
All of these job changes create the need to meet with your financial advisor because few reasons. Well, your income might change. Now we need to adjust for that.
00:01:55
Speaker
And you also are probably going to have a company 401k or retirement plan that you'll need help rolling over into an individual retirement account, an IRA. And we can help you do that. We can consolidate old 401ks,
00:02:11
Speaker
Or maybe if you're starting your own business, we can set you up with something that you manage yourself with our assistance. A SEP IRA, a simple IRA, individual 401k, these are all available to self-employed individuals.
00:02:27
Speaker
And just because you're self-employed now doesn't mean you can stop saving for retirement. We just have to adjust that strategy. So any job change, if you hear someone saying that they're starting a new position or leaving their current position or maybe exploring their options, tell them to reach out to a financial advisor or maybe share our contact info.
00:02:49
Speaker
That goes for existing clients as well. We want to be in the
Managing Finances After Marriage
00:02:52
Speaker
loop. Now, another life event is marriage. Anytime you're about to get married or you just got married, your financial world changes drastically.
00:03:04
Speaker
In the tax world, it's a good thing because now you're married filing jointly. And so it will give you a break on taxes. Your income will be combined. The tax brackets tend to benefit those that are married.
00:03:17
Speaker
But it also means we have to start creating a budget for your household income. Do we know if we're living on both salaries or mean maybe we living on one salary and banking the other?
00:03:28
Speaker
Are both parties investing? Are both parties set up with retirement contributions? Is everyone on the same page? Now, it doesn't mean that both people have to be savers or both people can be spenders.
00:03:43
Speaker
Usually, it tends to lean more towards one way or the other on each party. We often see one person is more of a saver and one is more of a spender, but we just want to make sure everyone's on the same page.
00:03:56
Speaker
And so whether you're about to get married or just did, it's time to sit down and look at what your financial future looks like so that you can really set up that marriage for
Financial Implications of Moving
00:04:06
Speaker
success. Now, another life event is moving.
00:04:10
Speaker
Whether you're moving to a new state across the country or you're just moving down the street, what happened? Your address changed. And so anytime your address changes, you have to get in touch with your financial advisor, your banks,
00:04:25
Speaker
really all of your credit card companies, almost everyone in your life. I know because I just moved a few months ago and man, the list of places to contact to update my address felt really long, but it's a necessary evil.
00:04:40
Speaker
We don't want our mail, especially financial documents, going to a home where we no longer live. And so anytime you do move, It's a great idea to make sure that all of your investments and bank accounts have that updated address.
00:04:55
Speaker
It's very simple. That can be a simple phone call to your advisor, if I'm your advisor, and we can update it with the forms or either on the phone, depending on the company. And the other reason that it's important to do a financial checkup when you move, maybe you have a nice lump sum of money.
00:05:14
Speaker
Maybe you're downsizing or you're going from owning to renting and you have that lump sum that you can invest. And what do we want to do anytime we have a lump sum?
00:05:24
Speaker
We want to make it grow. We don't want to park it in the checking account where you're going to earn little to no interest. If we have a couple hundred thousand dollars and we can earn 5, 10, even more percent interest on that, then you're really going to be making money while you sleep.
00:05:41
Speaker
That's where we all want to be in life. So thinking about moving or recently changed addresses, let's do that
Planning Finances for a New Child
00:05:48
Speaker
checkup. The fourth life event is if there is a new child in the picture.
00:05:53
Speaker
This could be a first time child or it can be you just adopted a child or you had your second, third, fourth baby. Well, your finances are going to change.
00:06:05
Speaker
Your expenses are going to change. Your disposable income is going to change because your expenses are probably higher. But you also might want to discuss opening up an account for that child.
00:06:16
Speaker
Start saving for college for them. Or maybe you just want to start some kind of custodial account that they'll have access to once they're 18. Or maybe you want to set them up for retirement.
00:06:28
Speaker
Sounds crazy, but a very small amount when they're a baby can become life-changing, potentially millions by the time that baby is retired.
00:06:40
Speaker
So those are the conversations we can have with you once you're expanding your family. We also definitely want to talk about life insurance once a baby comes into the picture. I like to get life insurance in place before that child, but Anytime is better than never. So whether you have a newborn, five-year-old, 10-year-old, or you're just thinking about maybe starting a family, let's get that life insurance policy for both parties so that, God forbid anything happens, that child's going to be taken
Opportunities After Paying Off Debt
00:07:12
Speaker
care of.
00:07:12
Speaker
Now, life event number five is if you paid off debt. That's awesome. Congratulations if that is you, whether you paid off a mortgage, you paid off a student loan, maybe you paid off a car loan.
00:07:25
Speaker
had a client contact me recently and say, i finally paid off that car loan and now I have an extra $400 a month that I can spend or I can invest or maybe ah mixture of both.
00:07:40
Speaker
You know, anytime you have extra disposable income, whether it be $100, $200, $300, $400, it's a good time to start that investment account. Maybe we take that $400 that you were putting towards paying off your car and we open a Roth IRA or we open a brokerage account.
00:07:59
Speaker
or some kind of tax-free life insurance plan, something that's going to earn interest for you. And in the future, you're going to be so happy that you invested consistently and didn't just spend that extra money. If it's found money, let's invest
Wise Management of Windfalls
00:08:14
Speaker
it.
00:08:14
Speaker
Number six is if you've received an inheritance, or got a lawsuit settlement. Now, that's what we like to call a windfall in the world of investing.
00:08:27
Speaker
And could be good, could be bad, because... You know, of course, it's great you have this lump sum of money, but it might indicate that you've either lost a loved one if you received that inheritance or a lawsuit, probably something bad happened for you to be receiving any kind of settlement. So I don't ever want to wish that upon anyone.
00:08:47
Speaker
But when it does happen, let's make it life changing. You know, we've all heard of people winning the lottery you being rewarded a huge law settlement, and then couple years later, that money's gone, even if it was millions.
00:09:04
Speaker
and they have nothing to show for it. That's terrible. it It's extremely common. We work with a ton of personal injury attorneys and you know they work really hard to get their clients that settlement.
00:09:16
Speaker
And they say to us, please enforce the value of saving and investing to this client. I worked really hard to get them X amount of money. I'd like to see it sustain them for their life, especially if they're disabled and can't work again.
00:09:32
Speaker
Or I'd at least like to see them earn extra income on that money. If that million dollars can turn into two million by the time they retire, that's pretty amazing. That is life-changing.
00:09:44
Speaker
And that can then allow that money to stay in their family for multiple generations. This also goes for an inheritance. They say that most of the time, inheritances don't make it to that third generation because that first generation that inherited it ends up spending all of it.
00:10:03
Speaker
And that's really probably not what the person wanted who left that legacy to you. We gotta make that money work for you and that all comes with planning properly and with a professional.
00:10:15
Speaker
And so if you think you're going to be receiving a settlement or an inheritance, or you did, or you're an attorney that deals with that, let's have a conversation about how we can get that money to truly be life-changing in the most positive way possible
Navigating Finances Post-Divorce
00:10:31
Speaker
for you.
00:10:31
Speaker
Now, number seven is not an exciting life change. something I think we all hope to never experience, but that is divorce. Just as it's important to meet with an advisor when you're getting married, it's probably even more important when you're getting a divorce.
00:10:49
Speaker
because your financial world is being flipped upside down. Every asset that you own is probably being split up, especially those retirement assets that must be split up depending on court orders.
00:11:01
Speaker
You might be selling a property, you might be buying a new property, starting to rent, there could be alimony child support. Divorce is extremely financial.
00:11:12
Speaker
And so to face it without a financial advisor, is a terrible idea and it could be costing you tons of money in your future. And so if you're in the process of a divorce or you think it's coming or maybe you just finished getting divorced or you know someone that has, let's sit down with an advisor and let's talk about your new financial reality and how to make sense of it.
00:11:36
Speaker
Number eight is very similar to the topic of divorce. It's even more tragic, I would say, and that's the loss of a spouse. Anytime there is a loss of a spouse, that's also a huge financial event.
00:11:49
Speaker
Now, hopefully that spouse had some life insurance in place to help bridge that gap of what's going to be your new reality. Your income's going to change as a household.
00:12:00
Speaker
Your assets could change. Expenses usually don't change a whole lot. And I think that's a misconception. People will say, well, if something happens to my spouse, I know
Financial Steps After Losing a Spouse
00:12:11
Speaker
I'll lose his income, but our expenses will go down a lot.
00:12:15
Speaker
That's really not true. Your mortgage payment's not going to change, your rent's not going to change, your utilities might go down a hair, and your food prices might go down a little bit because you're spending on one less person, but the rest of your expenses are not going to decrease drastically.
00:12:32
Speaker
And so that loss of a spouse really does create that need to sit down with an advisor and review what your budget looks like, what you're saving, what you're investing, maybe what they had invested.
00:12:47
Speaker
If they had retirement accounts or IRAs, that then needs to be placed into your name. Their 401k or IRA, becomes now your 401k or IRA.
00:13:00
Speaker
But it doesn't happen automatically. A professional has to help you convert that into your name. And then what it also has to happen once it becomes in your name, we gotta update those beneficiaries.
00:13:12
Speaker
Because I've actually seen this happen where one spouse passes away and he has his wife listed as beneficiary. His wife now takes ownership of the account, but she never updates her beneficiaries.
00:13:27
Speaker
And so if something happens to her, it's not going to seamlessly pass to her kids or her heirs. It's then going to go through probate and a whole big disaster because she didn't properly take ownership of that account and relist beneficiaries.
00:13:42
Speaker
It's a super common mistake. And i think when everyone's in that process of grieving, it's kind of the last thing on your mind. You don't want to be bothered with these small financial details.
00:13:54
Speaker
But that's why it's an important step to have a professional doing it for you. We'll take that work off your plate so that you can truly grieve but have everything in the background taken care of.
00:14:04
Speaker
So that's a big one, divorce and loss of spouse.
Opportunities at 59.5: Retirement Planning
00:14:07
Speaker
Now, number nine is little bit more exciting and uplifting, and that is the life event of turning 59 half years old.
00:14:16
Speaker
And it's such a funny age in the financial industry, 59 and a half. you know Why not just call it 59 or why why not just call it 60? But for whatever reason, the government has deemed 59 and a half as the golden age of retirement in the world of retirement plans, 401ks, 403bs, IRAs.
00:14:36
Speaker
That is the age when you can officially start taking withdrawals or distributions from those retirement accounts without penalty. Now, prior to that, if you wanted to take a withdrawal from your IRA at 45 or 50 years old, you'd be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty from the government.
00:14:56
Speaker
That's no fun. Why would you want to lose 10% of your account for nothing? Well, once you're 59 and a half, that penalty is no longer applicable. You can have access to all of your funds without penalty to start taking distributions from, or if you're at an active employer still, you're still working,
00:15:18
Speaker
you also have the ability at that point to do what's considered an in-service rollover. And that is when you're still at your employer, but you wanna roll those four ah one k funds into an IRA where you'll have more control, more choices, more options, potentially lower fees.
00:15:37
Speaker
You have really a world of solutions at your fingertips once you turn 59 and a half. And so if that's you soon or you're approaching that birthday or maybe you just turned 59 and a half, let's have a conversation and talk about all the options you now
Comprehensive Retirement Planning
00:15:52
Speaker
have.
00:15:52
Speaker
And finally, the last life event that triggers a financial checkup is probably our most obvious one, and that is you retired or you're about to retire. That is such an exciting day in our world because we've likely been planning for it and investing for most of our life, 20, 30, 40, sometimes even 50 years of planning for that retirement date.
00:16:16
Speaker
And then it's finally here. And what do most people do? They're scared to spend their money because, oh my gosh, now I don't have that paycheck coming in anymore. i have this lump sum of money and it's supposed to last me forever.
00:16:30
Speaker
And when do I take Social Security? Should I take early? Should i take late? All of a sudden, all of these questions start swirling around our brain and we think, should I even have retired or should I get a part-time job now?
00:16:41
Speaker
Well, let's talk about it. Hopefully you can truly retire and we can set you up with income that you can never outlive so that you can spend your money and enjoy it.
00:16:52
Speaker
We didn't work our whole life just to get to retirement and then feel terrified. No, that's what advisors are for. We want to help you enjoy that money that you worked so hard to save. And so if you're about to retire or you are retired, let's have that financial checkup.
00:17:10
Speaker
I think it'll help you really live that healthy
Updating Financial Plans During Life Changes
00:17:13
Speaker
retirement. So if there's one takeaway from this, I would say it's that life doesn't stand still and neither should your financial plan.
00:17:22
Speaker
always going to be changing and evolving, and you have to keep your financial advisor in the loop of all those changes so that we can adjust your plan accordingly. And so if you found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend or colleague who's facing a big life transition, or maybe you
Conclusion and Disclaimers
00:17:39
Speaker
are as well. And if you have any questions that you'd like answered on an individual basis, feel free to go to our website, union-financial.com and click schedule a meeting where you can choose a Zoom call, phone call, or in-person meeting, always complimentary, and we can answer your specific questions. Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share, whether you're on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.
00:18:02
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Future of Finance podcast. I'm your host, Marissa Wood with Union Financial Services, and we look forward to helping you live a better financial future.
00:18:14
Speaker
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor. BCM and union financial services are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
00:18:29
Speaker
The opinions expressed by Marissa Wood and guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of this radio station. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable, although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Investments involved risk and otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. Any strategies mentioned may not be suitable for everyone. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for you. Before acting on any information mentioned, please consult with a qualified tax or investment advisor to determine if it's suitable for your specific situation. This program is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to subject covered. Indexed or fixed index annuities are not designed for short-term investments and may be subject to caps, restrictions, fees, and surrender charge as described in the annuity contract.
00:19:25
Speaker
Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the insurer. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV 2A, item 4, for additional information. Any comments regarding safe and secure products and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products.
00:19:44
Speaker
Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company and are not offered by Brookstone.