53: She Did It! Real Divorce Stories with Monica Scudieri

Take Back Retirement

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Monica Scudieri, who successfully navigated her way through a financially difficult divorce into retirement. Fifteen years ago, Monica divorced, acquiring hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, with two children to care for in a difficult job market. She quickly had to learn to manage her money, and to stretch her paychecks after a long period of not thinking about finances.

Monica soon came to understand that, to her, security meant not relying on a singular paycheck. Without consistent job security, she found adopting additional income provided her with the solace of knowing she could pay bills and provide for her family, even if her salary suddenly disappeared.

She cites the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) as a turning point in her approach to money management. She talks about overcoming the shame and guilt of struggling to provide, which is especially prevalent among women. Retirement is not on the top of the minds of younger people in the workforce, and it’s important to consider what your needs are and will be. Identifying what you want and need is essential to engaging with your motivation. Monica shares the moment in which she felt faith in her journey, which marked a turning point in her financial wellness.

Monica again emphasizes the value of secondary incomes, especially ones that are fulfilling to you. She herself has pursued real estate as a means of additional income, explaining that it’s something that is intellectually engaging for her, and fits within her lifestyle. She uses the pie as an analogy for building out streams of income: Everyone needs a primary source, or crust, that looks fairly similar across the board, but everyone’s filling is different, and dependent on their tastes, or interests.

Stephanie and Monica note the importance of identifying your financial priorities before breaking down what you need financially. Monica shares the initial inspiration for her book, Grab Your Slice of Financial Independence. In addition to her book, she offers individual consultations as a financial coach to help clients plan their financial futures, and shares anecdotes of moments where her work felt most meaningful.

Key Topics:

• Financially working through divorce (02:21)
• Persevering through financial difficulty (09:01)
• The FIRE movement (11:22)
• Building knowledge around retirement (13:59)
• Finding motivation (19:10)
• Identifying your turning point (22:03)
• Secondary incomes (26:09)
• Identifying financial priorities (33:10)
• The ideation of Grab Your Slice (34:09)
• Monica’s work as a financial coach (36:52)

Resources:

• Grab Your Slice of Financial Independence

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You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

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