Welcome to the Roots + Wings Legal Podcast, hosted by Aiston Law LLC and Portland, Oregon Attorney Candice Aiston. In our 5th episode, we talk with Financial Counselor Dawn Torres-Gale. I surveyed the people in my Facebook group, Portland Smart Planning Parents, about the money and legal issues that keep them up at night. The top two answers were: 1) not enough money to cover a life event such as a layoff or illness; 2) not enough money or unsure if enough money in retirement savings. I asked Dawn if she could provide some guidance in these areas, and we recorded this podcast episode.

A bit about Dawn: Dawn Torres-Gale is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and the Single Owner-Member of Our Money Goals, LLC. Our Money Goals’ mission is to help individuals and couples build their household assets through the identification of specific financial goals and the creation of detailed action plans in support of those goals.

Here is the episode. You can listen right here or download it to listen in another format.

TAKEAWAYS:

-Our culture emphasizes shame when it comes to money. We all know of the cultural beliefs that exist telling us that we should suffer and give up all semblances of joy in order to be good people who are successful financially. We have to learn to forgive ourselves for money decisions in the past, and let go of shame going forward.

-Fear of not having joy holds us back from tracking our spending. Because of this cultural belief about shame and suffering when it comes to money, we fear facing our finances, worrying that we’ll have to give up things that make life worth living. But this fear isn’t necessarily the truth. Facing your finances is personal and the goals you make will be personal.

-People who are not happy with their money plan will not stick with it. If you make a financial plan that makes you give up everything that makes life worth living, you won’t stick with it. So, the shame, fear, and belief we need to suffer are totally self-defeating.

…plus much more about the specifics of tracking spending, emergency savings, retirement savings, and money management.

To learn more from Dawn, or to contact her for financial counseling, visit her website.

If you want to get started on your estate plan, read about our estate planning services and schedule an appointment.

To your family's health + happiness,

Candice N. Aiston

P.S. Want to get started slowly but surely, naming guardians for your kids? Check out our Guardian Plan kit.

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Candice N. Aiston is an Legal Planning Attorney for Estates + Businesses in the Portland, Oregon area. She helps people to prepare for a lifetime of security, prosperity, and guidance. If you would like to receive her free reports, please visit http://aistonlaw.com/ to sign up. Follow her Facebook page for daily planning tips: https://www.facebook.com/aistonlaw/.