organization – Retirementally Challenged

Creating a Digital Estate Plan – Social Media

This is the fourth post in my series, Organizing My Life, my ongoing project to create a roadmap for when I am no longer in the driver’s seat.

There it was. Mixed in with various Facebook posts about exotic vacations, family celebrations, and funny memes, was a notice of a friend’s passing. She had moved away several years ago and, although we weren’t especially close, we had stayed in sporadic touch via social media. I had no idea that she was even sick.

This was the third time in several years that I have learned of a friend’s death via Facebook. In each case, the woman’s husband had shared the sad news on his wife’s account. As tough as it must have been to write that post, I was grateful to have been notified.

As part of my ongoing Organizing My Life project, I have set up a password manager and made lists of various accounts and important contact information. What I hadn’t thought about were my social media accounts and what should be done with them when I’m no longer, shall we say, socially active. While my neglected Instagram and little used BlueSky and Pinterest accounts could probably be left to wither in the ether, what about my Facebook account and this blog? I imagine that they could be left open and untended, but have you ever received a Facebook birthday reminder from a friend who you know has died? It’s kind of creepy.

So, how would I like these accounts managed after I’m gone? Would I like one final message posted on Facebook before my account is deleted? My husband knows many of my friends but certainly not all of them and a Facebook post could help ease his burden to let people know. If I would like him – or whoever is managing my estate – to post a notice, is that something I’d like to write myself beforehand? How long do I want the message to be visible before shutting down my account?

How about this blog? Some bloggers just suddenly vanish, leaving their followers to wonder what happened. Others have found solace in the blogging community and have continued to write despite their illness. A final message posted by a loved one is one we never want to see, but again, I am grateful to be notified. Like Facebook, the wording of the message and how long to keep the account active needs to be considered.

Obviously, there is no right or wrong answer, but it’s something to think about and discuss with my husband. He doesn’t have a blog and isn’t on Facebook so, if I want him to post a notification, I’d have to clue him in on the process. Alternatively, I could designate a friend who is more familiar with these platforms to be the one to post a notice.

How about you? Have you thought about how you’d like your various social media accounts to be handled when you can no longer manage them? (In addition to the three I mentioned, other platforms might include Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.) Documenting clear instructions for each one ensures that they are managed as you wish.

Previous posts in the series:

Organizing My Life

Organizing Passwords and Other Secret Codes

What would you Grab if you had to Go?

What would you Grab if you had to Go?

My husband and I were relaxing on our deck a few days ago when we noticed several planes circling to the east of us. All three were mostly white with red markings and lettering. When one of the planes flew close enough to our house, we could clearly read the words CAL FIRE on the underbelly. That’s when we noticed the brown smoke in the distance.

The fire, I soon learned from checking social media, had started in a canyon a couple of miles from our home. A small brush fire when it was first reported, quickly grew to an estimated five acres. We live a reasonably safe distance away but those whose homes were close to the canyon’s rims, received evacuation notices.

The great news is that the fire was brought under control within a couple of hours. No homes were damaged and everyone who evacuated was able to return home safely. With the memory of January’s devastating Southern California wildfires fresh in our minds, I imagine everyone living within a few miles of the canyon fire heaved a huge sigh of relief. We know how a small brush fire can spread quickly, consuming tens of thousands of acres, destroying thousands of homes, and threatening lives.

After the smoke cleared and the planes were gone, my husband and I talked about what we would take if we had to evacuate our home. Whether we had the luxury of time or just minutes, what would we grab first? I mentioned family photos, a few items of personal or monetary value, my laptop, and important paperwork. A change of clothes would probably be helpful too. As I looked around our house, I didn’t see many items that I either couldn’t do without or that couldn’t be easily replaced. The possibility of losing everything really focuses you on what is important.

Old family photos are often at the top of people’s *grab first* list.

This conversation has encouraged me to give a lot more thought to the question: What would I take? What’s important? What is irreplaceable? What would we need to sustain us if we couldn’t return to our home – assuming we still had one – for a while? What would we need to help us recover any losses?

Where we live, wildfires and earthquakes are the biggest threat. For others, it might be floods, tornados, or hurricanes. I am not aware of any location that is completely safe from a natural disaster. Although we don’t dwell on threats, being prepared for what ifs can help give us peace of mind.

Creating a Grab and Go evacuation plan wasn’t on my original Organize My Life to-do list but in the wake of recent events, I have added it and moved it to the top.

I don’t have a final list yet, but here is my initial outline:

List of items that will be needed if away from home for any length of time, or that are valuable and/or irreplaceable. Don’t forget medications.
List of personal records that may be needed (insurance, financial, medical, etc.).
List of passwords, PINs, and codes that may be needed.
Make a separate list of items to take if there is more time to pack before evacuation.

On both lists, indicate where the items are located. If anything needs to be gathered quickly, ensure those items and records are easily accessible (if your precious photos or family heirlooms are buried in a storage closet, you may not have time or the ability to grab them before you have to leave).

This is a list that I hope to never need, but I will feel better when it’s completed. Better to consider what to take now rather than when feeling worried and stressed.

Do you have a Grab and Go list for your home? Can you think of anything I should add to my list?

Organizing Passwords and Other Secret Codes

This is the second post of my ongoing Organizing My Life project

Do you have any idea how many passwords you have? I didn’t, and when I counted them, I was shocked. Some of them are rarely used, but many are important gateways into my medical portal, insurance policies, and financial information, as well as into services, retail websites, and other business accounts I access regularly.

I had what I thought was a fairly clever system for recalling each password. For each of my 100+ passwords, I wrote a memory prompt in my password book that meant something to me but would be indecipherable to anyone else. Unfortunately, that “anyone else” included my husband. If something were to happen to me, he wouldn’t know what accounts are out there, how to access them, and what to do with them.

After some research, I decided that the best solution was to sign up for a password manager (PM) service. There are several good ones available, ranging in price from free to a few dollars a month. After narrowing my top choices down to three, I selected the one that had the combination of services and support that was right for us. Our “family Plan” allows my husband and me to set up our individual accounts and also share access to any accounts – such as joint banking accounts – we both use.

There was a bit of a learning curve to set the PM service up, but after watching a few YouTube tutorials (Ask Leo has some great how-to tech videos), I found the process to be fairly simple. Once complete, all you need to do is remember one long “master password” and the service does the rest. This was especially handy on our recent road trip when I had to access a few of our accounts. My one master password was all I needed.

Of course, passwords are just part of the puzzle. For instance, you also might have PIN codes for ATMs, home security systems, garage and front door locks, combinations for safes and lockers, safe words or phrases for alarm companies, authenticator apps, and answers to secret questions. And, don’t forget your phone’s unlock code, your computer’s access code, and your Wi-Fi password. If something happens to you, the person managing your affairs will need many of these codes to move forward.

A robust PM provides an encrypted vault to store not only passwords and secret codes but also digital copies of your driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, social security card, marriage license, etc. If these documents were destroyed in a fire or natural disaster, by storing copies in your PM you’d be able to access them online. Even if you opt not to store these items in a PM, you might want to share them with a trusted family member or friend.

After I get all my passwords and other information into my PM, my next project is to organize my contact information. Spoiler alert: Like organizing my passwords and codes, listing my important contacts won’t be as simple as typing a column of names and phone numbers.

If you’d like to follow my ongoing project to organize my important information, please start with the link below. I will post updates now and then as I complete each task.

Organizing My Life

Organizing My Life

If you are like many of us who have reached a certain age, your focus is on acquiring less and purging more. Paring down, organizing, and decluttering has become the mantra of many retirees who are interested in de-stuffifying their homes. As you are off-loading what you don’t want, have you also considered organizing what is left so that someone can easily manage your affairs if/when you can’t?

My husband and I have had several wake-up calls recently that have prompted us to take action. Over the past year, several friends and family members have experienced major illnesses and other physical or mental declines. One recent death in particular, where the surviving partner was left with a mess of papers and little documentation, made us realize the importance of organizing our information now for when we are no longer around.

Before so much of our lives were online, gathering the necessary documents and financial data was a fairly simple task. Now, not only are many of these documents digitized somewhere in some cloud, but there are multiple passwords, PINs, secret codes, social media accounts, online subscriptions, etc. that need to be considered. Think about the family member or friend taking over for you; without a roadmap, they probably wouldn’t know where to start.

There are various tools available to help organize your information. I’ll cover a few of them in a future post.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and online research to help create that roadmap. Since we established our Trust years ago (note to self: it’s time to get it updated), my main focus will be on organizing information not contained in that document. A project like this can be time-consuming and feel overwhelming so I’ve broken it down into doable chunks to be tackled over several months. Since others may have a similar project, I will share my progress from time-to-time as I work through my list:

Organize passwords and codes
Create an estate blueprint
Document Home Operating Systems
Make a list of important contacts
Update Trust and write Letter of Last Instructions
Document any debt, credit, and insurance
Create my Personal Medical Journal
Create a Digital Estate Plan
Document personal possessions to distribute
Write an Ethical Will
Plan for what happens next

I get that most people feel uncomfortable thinking about their mortality. I’m healthy and active now so I’d rather not think about it either. But, after seeing a loved one struggle with legal and logistical issues while dealing with her profound grief, I don’t want to put anyone through that experience. I expect, like decluttering my home, I will feel much better when I’m done. I also imagine that the person managing my estate will appreciate that I organized my life and left them a roadmap.

A Backward Glance at 2014, Part 2

In my previous post, I looked at some of the goals I made for myself in my first year of retirement and tried to honestly assess what I did well and what I didn’t. Here are three more of my goals and my evaluation of my progress with them so far.

Get Organized and Off-Load Stuff – C

My husband and I are making some strides in this area. We’ve donated, recycled, tossed, and sold quite a bit of stuff. We also are careful not to bring too much into the house. But, there’s still a lot left to go through and get rid of. I knew this would take time, so I’m fairly pleased with our progress.

One of many bags of work clothes that we don't need anymore — One of many bags of work clothes that we don’t need anymore

Because we have some items to get rid of that have value (at least to someone), I have been selling them on eBay. Although it’s been kind of fun, I’m not happy with how the boxes and shipping materials have taken over our guest room. What used to be the one room that was always neat and clean now looks like a poorly organized warehouse. That mess will need to be resolved somehow in the near future or my foray into e-commerce will have to end.

Keep Busy and Stay Productive – B

I am very easily entertained. Since I’ve been retired, I’ve learned that trait can be a good thing or a bad thing. I can spend a good part of the day on the computer, or reading a good book, or wandering around an interesting part of town. I can Pin with the best of them, get lost exploring the rooms on Houzz, and read and comment on my favorite blogs… all day long. A book can captivate me from morning to evening, and there is always a new one waiting for me when I finish. And then, of course, I love taking walks… just about anywhere… the further the better. And if we stop for lunch, even more better. So, keeping busy? No problem.

Staying productive? I guess it depends on your definition of “productive.” I’ve always worked best with deadlines and in retirement, a lot of those deadlines go away. I know I can do better at accomplishing tasks that I don’t want to do, but need to be done, and ensuring those things get done in a reasonable amount of time. I intend to start that as soon as I finish my book.

Stay Connected – B-

This is a bit of a challenge since many of my friends are still working. More than a few lunch dates have been cancelled due to unexpected conflicts at work. Since that was my world not too longs ago, I always understand and am happy to reschedule.

My husband and I have discussed our need to be more proactive about connecting with people we care about – and expanding our circle of friends. It’s too easy to just rely on each other for our entertainment. Although we always happily say “yes” when we are invited to someone else’s gathering, we need to be better about planning get-togethers and extending our own invitations.

In Part 3, I’ll assess my efforts and outcomes in three other areas, including the biggie: focusing on maintaining a positive, enjoyable, and loving relationship with my husband – despite being with each other almost 24-hours a day.