Unedited Transcript:

Mark Struthers (00:00.62)
Welcome to the Healthy and Wealthy Retirement. My name is Mark Struthers and thank you for joining us. This is, we’re brand new. The podcast and the YouTube channel is brand new and we have yet to have a real guest on. Those of you who maybe followed the Minnesota Nice Investor Goes to College years and years ago, we were guest focused. Other than an assistant and then my son, my 17 year old helped us out with prioritizing retirement.

We haven’t had a real guest. We haven’t had someone that bring a lot of knowledge and given I can, you know, it takes a village. only know so much. We need to have more people out there who can help us. The reason I started this podcast and YouTube channel was I’ve been in industry for over 20 years. First half was CFA side. If you will, it was institutional. It was operational, but then retail and watching clients go up into and into retirement.

friends and family, watching my parents. It was clear that there was a lot more to it to have a healthy, a wealthier and a happy retirement than just the financial. So that’s what I was trying to touch on. So when I first stumbled upon this guest on LinkedIn, it was Serendipitish, Serendipity. And she can probably correct me. My, my English major wife certainly can. but today we have with us, Alera Rosenberg. She is the founder and the,

Alara (01:21.553)
You

Mark Struthers (01:29.314)
retirement counselor or coach, she can clarify what she likes to call herself with a line RX. Welcome, Alara.

Alara (01:36.411)
Yay, awesome. Thank you so much, Mark. I’m really happy to be here today.

Mark Struthers (01:40.536)
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. As most of you know, unlike other podcasts, we try to keep these fairly short, but we’re going to try to get as much out of Valera as we can. It’s not the quantity. It’s the quality. The brightest candle burns twice as fast And I’d like to, when I used to start off, I used to want to get something personal. So it’s October 11th here in Minnesota. It’s a beautiful fall day, maybe a little warm, but I have to ask, do you like fall? And what is your favorite part of fall activities?

sport, event, do you mind sharing that with us?

Alara (02:13.937)
Sure, yeah. Fall has become throughout my life my favorite season for sure. In Colorado the colors are changing on the trees and we actually have an influx in tourism because people are coming just to drive over the mountains and look at the colors changing. yeah, the aspens glow bright golden yellow and you can just like watch the magic carpet across the mountains and so…

Mark Struthers (02:30.517)
really? Okay.

Alara (02:42.477)
Out in Colorado, I grew up on the East coast in Pennsylvania, but which also has its own beauty with the color changing leaves. But yeah, the pastime is like driving across the mountains and seeing all the colors.

Mark Struthers (02:45.549)
OK.

Mark Struthers (02:49.698)
Yeah, that sounds different.

Mark Struthers (02:55.406)
It’s just beautiful. perfect. We have this here, obviously, with a lot of woods, a lot of lakes, and the North Shore, I think, is big. But yeah, we have a little bit of that. Probably a different shade of color. I think you’re more majestic, I’m guessing.

Alara (03:10.916)
Yeah, yeah, very beautiful. And then just perfect weather really starts to get crisp and chilly, but also with a lot of sunshine. So great.

Mark Struthers (03:20.91)
Yeah, mean, one of my favorite things is running. My oldest is a runner. I tried to structure my habits around my sons, but one of them’s a runner. And these cool mornings where it’s like 45 or 50 to have maybe not your colors, but some good colors and the sunshine. Yeah. It’s a beautiful.

Alara (03:35.023)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Mark Struthers (03:37.974)
Well, thank you for joining us. And before we, as we get started here, why don’t you tell us why you started a non-financial retirement counseling coaching firm? can tell us kind of how you like to describe yourself. What made you get into this? Because it is pretty unusual. I think it’s needed. As you can tell, I started what I was doing before I even met you, but what you’re doing is fantastic. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about what you do and why you do it.

Alara (03:52.357)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (04:04.485)
Yeah, awesome. So I generally say I’m a holistic non-financial retirement coach and that’s how I identify. And how did I get here? It was a lot of puzzle pieces coming together. My background is in education. I started out in math education, teaching in public schools in the States. And then I went back to school for adventure education where I focused on adventure based counseling, as well as

a few different areas within that field. And I was doing wilderness therapy guiding before and after that. And then my most recent job was in a project-based learning alternative high school. We were traveling around the world and learning in a very different model. And one of my main jobs there, I was also running the math program, but I was mentoring passion projects for students.

And so this was one of the puzzle pieces, one of the main ones that came together into the retirement coaching, because I’m coaching high schoolers how to figure out what they’re really interested in, what they’re passionate about, and how to really explore that in a meaningful way. How to develop the skills and techniques that they need, how to reach out to experts and take classes, find resources, and put together something that they actually create.

And until this job, I realized, well, I never learned this in traditional education. I’m learning this through teaching in this way. And so that was part of the piece eventually where I’m led to this retiring population where I’m realizing most people haven’t learned this, especially through more traditional years of education. Things are changing now, but it’s something that actually takes practice and being able to figure out.

how to explore your passions in a real way.

Mark Struthers (06:03.256)
Yeah, yeah, some people I think say it, but it’s kind of like expecting a child to just come out and balance a checkbook if they’ve never been exposed to it. The idea that you’re supposed to just come out and do it. Interesting field. So you were very empirical with the math, very quant-like, but yet you went to the more of the, again, holistic, the more of the, I guess the other side of that, the more of the qualitative. Is that correct with the outdoor things?

Alara (06:30.545)
Yeah, yeah, there was definitely a shift. I realized I love teaching math and I realized I really liked the teaching aspect of it. don’t know if that makes sense. And yeah, the math lesson, which is strange because I love teaching math content. then throughout my years, it was more of this, okay, the adventure aspects and outdoor education and then creative.

Mark Struthers (06:39.886)
Okay. The math lesson.

Alara (06:58.519)
aspects. also started doing therapeutic yoga, was certified in that, and teaching yoga and learning more of that like holistic side, teaching students about mindfulness and meditation and tying everything together that led me more into this spirituality as an aspect and creativity and adventure. And those are actually three of the main components of the program that I run now, adventure, creativity and spirituality.

Mark Struthers (07:28.344)
Fantastic. just saw some pieces done where they talk about the folks not being in nature, especially kids, how that has a pretty dramatic impact and part of that social media and not working outside. But yeah, the stats that they were showing were pretty, pretty dramatic. And I will say as someone who kind of gave up camping when my, when I got too, too busy with work, I’ve always thought my boys don’t spend enough time. it seems like what you’re doing is, is fantastic.

Alara (07:36.027)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (07:40.87)
Yes.

Alara (07:53.211)
Thank

Alara (07:58.819)
Yeah, yeah, that whole technology aspect, I guess, is another thing that as adults we’re all learning along the way as well. So in education, we’re teaching children how to manage social media and AI and things like that. But as adults, we’re learning them as well. And specifically looking at the retiring population and aging adults, it’s all there at the same time, but without as many resources or support for how to navigate

that changes the tendency toward addiction with the things and how to actually use them in the best way. So that’s all a piece that ties into what I’m working on.

Mark Struthers (08:41.358)
It probably goes to the holistic piece of that. I for me, I like math, know, CFA, but I guess that’s part of reason why this intrigues me is that if you’re taking a holistic approach and you truly are trying to accomplish something, it can’t be just the financial.

Alara (08:46.884)
Okay.

Alara (08:58.48)
Yeah.

Mark Struthers (08:59.766)
I recently have done the, I do meant to ask you, was there one aha moment that sounds like this was really over years of gradual transition or was there kind of an aha moment where you said, this is what I need to be doing.

Alara (09:15.817)
yeah, so there was actually in this last job that I was talking about where we were traveling around the world, that job really isn’t intended for most people for decades because it’s quite exhausting. You don’t have no, no like grounded stability and rooting. And so I was looking for that knowing that it was time for something else and actually, okay, I’m finishing this job. I know I’m going to take some time off just to travel for myself in between and figure out what is next.

And that was actually a time where I felt a little piece of what it might be like to retire because I wasn’t looking for a job right away. I was taking time off and really had freedom to do whatever I wanted. And I felt a lot of these things that I now help clients with. It felt like, okay, I have all this time, which felt so good for me about three weeks.

And then I was like, my gosh, like I have no routine. I have no structure. I don’t know what day of the week it is. I have nothing like meaningful to work on. All of my friends and social connections were my coworkers and my students. And now I’m not part of that community. So I feel like I have no one and there’s just nothing, there’s nothing to work on and there’s no reason to.

Like I almost, felt like I have all this time to work on this writing project that I’m doing and this art project that I’m doing. And I found I wasn’t doing any of it. I was doing more when I was working actually. So like, felt like, whoa, what would this feel like? I also felt the identity piece where I’m like, like, am I not a teacher anymore? If I’m not a teacher, what am I? Like, what do I say when people say, what are you doing? And yeah, that was the aha moment where it was,

Mark Struthers (10:47.662)
Okay.

Alara (11:08.657)
what would it be like if I had been doing this for the last 30 plus years and all of a sudden I had this change because it was such a shorter time for me at such a different age and that’s when I started really digging into what it must be like for people who were fully identified for so long and don’t have this social network set up and don’t have a sense of purpose because if I’m feeling these things now, it must be…

Mark Struthers (11:38.478)
At your age. Yeah. Yeah. To the habits that you missed or that sense of purpose. Yeah, you’re right. I mean, just think about if you had gone another 20 years, 30 years, and then, yeah, I remember when I left, when my second child was born, I left to kind of do stuff from home, start my own business. And I said, I’m going to do some of these dream things like see a matinee. Working at coffee shop and play golf in the middle of the day. Well, about three weeks. So I saw, I am legend.

Alara (11:38.657)
really hard at that time. Yeah.

Alara (11:49.425)
Yeah.

Mark Struthers (12:08.076)
and said, well, that was fun, this, what do I do now? No, so yeah, probably not quite the same, yeah, I get where you’re coming from.

Alara (12:12.945)
It’s like…

Alara (12:18.413)
Yeah, that’s a common mistake that people think like, I’m just gonna do these things. It’s gonna be so great to have all of this free time. And that’s where we have the honeymoon phase where it’s great for everyone from anywhere from two weeks to two years. But then at some point people realize I still have hopefully decades left to live and going to the matinee and like hanging out playing golf.

You can’t do that all day, every day.

Mark Struthers (12:49.868)
No, no, think it only goes for so long. for baby boomers like my folks, I think it was a tad different just because their time horizon was a lot shorter. You were kind of talking between mid sixties to around 80. My folks barely made it to 80. But now we’re talking 30 years. Unless they talk to someone like you.

Alara (13:11.782)
Hmm.

Mark Struthers (13:16.238)
You know, you’re, get so far in and then, you know, that’s a lot, that’s a lot of years of being on haps.

Alara (13:21.221)
Yes, yes for sure. Our longevity is a gift and it also completely changes the nature and structure of retirement. Because it’s now, it’s not just the little end that you’ll be lucky if you live long enough to get to. It’s like, now it’s well within our lifespan with many, years ahead.

Mark Struthers (13:44.558)
Yeah, well put. It’s not just little piece where you squeeze in some grandkids and a few other years, but yeah, you’re right. When you’re going from 10 to 15 to 25 to 35.

Alara (13:55.611)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (13:58.446)
Now I know you have some, lot of training. I went through the certified retirement counselor program, which is mostly financial, but in there, one reason I chose that designation as I was trying to expand, trying to help our clients more was that they did touch on the emotional, the social, the emotional and the physical. And they had like a little Venn diagram and they showed where that connected with the financial. And that was the retirement happiness. I’m paraphrasing.

Alara (14:05.402)
Okay.

Mark Struthers (14:28.27)
How does, you cover much the same thing or would you phrase it differently? What, what, would you categorize the non-financial pieces that you, you address in your, your program and counseling?

Alara (14:28.315)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (14:39.217)
Mm-hmm. So, yeah, just to differentiate, I did the, main retirement coaching training, like officially was through Bob Laura’s program, which is the Certified Professional Retirement Coaching Program. And so that was like a formal designation. And then from there, I’ve been learning so much from other non-financial retirement coaches, realizing there’s more and more up and coming field and reading books and

like developing my own idea of what’s going on in the field through interviews and my own experience in coaching. So from that, I’ve developed my program, which I called the Purpose and Legacy Framework. And so within this framework, I have four main pillars. The first one is what I just call First Things First, and that’s really just looking across the non-financial aspects of retirement. These are asking the questions that a lot of people really don’t

We don’t ask until intentionally provided some structure for really looking at all the categories of life, especially those that are gonna change throughout retirement besides the financial aspects. And so in that we’re looking at letting go of your career, recognizing all the benefits that it served for you and ways that you might replace those. You’re figuring out

what you’re gonna do next based on looking at your values and often resetting them at this time, because things are changing now. And so you’re reprioritizing and then setting clear goals based on that. And yeah, that’s kind of that first part of setting the foundation, depending on where the person’s at, realizing all the difficult emotions are actually quite normal through this phase and…

Yeah, just support through that transition. And so after that piece, and that piece is kind of the one that I feel everyone should go through at minimum, really taking a look with intention at these different areas. And then my program continues on the second pillar is Rediscovering Purpose.

Alara (17:06.173)
And that’s where we get really curious and hopefully have some fun, playful, connect with your inner child, explore, try new things, get involved with new social groups and find out what resonates. Like this is an exploratory phase, sometimes digging in and finding those forgotten dreams that now is a great time. Retirement is a great time to bring those back to the surface.

Mark Struthers (17:35.182)
Is it correct to say the first part maybe is a little painful and awkward, but this might be a funner part? The second pillar is over there.

Alara (17:40.269)
Yeah, yeah, that’s that is accurate. That first part. Yeah, it can be really uncomfortable and it’s something that. I think it’s important to recognize that. It’s OK to need support through it. I often find people are embarrassed that they’re experiencing difficult emotions through.

this retirement transition because society says it’s supposed to be amazing. Waterflies and rainbows have been on earth. It’s what everybody has worked their whole lives to get to. And you get to it and you’re like, like, yeah. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (18:23.448)
where it’s not unicorns and rainbows. like with me and the matinee, it’s like, well, this wasn’t great.

Alara (18:32.505)
Yeah, but that was my whole plan.

Mark Struthers (18:35.15)
I’ve been dreaming about this. Interesting.

Alara (18:37.751)
Yeah, yeah, so that really is, that’s a great way to put it, that we want to let those feelings be there and accept and process them in a healthy way and allow whatever’s coming up to be there and address it and have support around it.

Mark Struthers (18:56.942)
I’m not sure if this is correct, but I think our willingness to seek help overall with kind of mental health, is this a little bit of the same where people still feel like I should just be happy that I’m retired, that I shouldn’t have any issues, even though, like you said, your identity, your social circles, and you see it with folks who are laid off, where all of a their social group is dissolved. It sounds like maybe people are starting to open up a little bit as far as, or it’s understandable that they

Alara (19:16.709)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (19:27.394)
They feel out of sorts given they, people think that they should be happy and, and not complain about anything.

Alara (19:35.759)
Yeah, totally. Especially when the finances are in place and it’s like, what do you have to complain about? Like, what could be hard about your life right now? And yeah, sometimes it is harder because you don’t have that purpose that comes with going to work and the collaboration of a common goal that comes with being part of your work team, whatever it is. yeah, just that structure and meaning and…

Yeah, there’s a lot of things, a lot of benefits to work.

Mark Struthers (20:10.592)
Yeah, I think my folks were probably good example there financial piece because they I think wealthy is a Relative term, you know, you can have millions, but you spend so much or so many obligations You’re not wealthy because you’re always on edge, but you can have A $50,000 pension so security and have a very happy life. My folks were the latter. They did not have a high standard of living But financially they were always content, but I think even in their short

Alara (20:17.937)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (20:40.226)
shorter baby boomer retirements. They lack some of what you’re referring to as far as the social connections and some.

Alara (20:50.883)
Yeah, loneliness is one of the biggest things, biggest issues, biggest predictor of health complications, actually. And it’s one of the things that people say it is the thing when you’re interviewing people at the end of their life, what was most important, it’s the connections and it’s the people in your life. And it’s not the 401k. And it’s something as a society,

Mark Struthers (21:12.27)
It’s not the 401k.

Alara (21:18.913)
We struggle. We struggle with the connections for aging adults. A lot of adults statistically feel lonely in their older years and feel isolated. And just our intergenerational connections and things, it’s more and more isolated.

Mark Struthers (21:37.038)
In case of a lot of folks, both clients and friends, I think COVID kind of accelerated a lot of that. And for my folks, especially, that’s where I think without COVID, think they would have lasted longer.

Alara (21:50.245)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (21:52.502)
When you’re talking about retirees, what in your program, actually, we didn’t let you finish. What were your other three pillars? I apologize for the detour.

Alara (22:00.533)
yeah. So we got to the second pillar, which is basically this rediscovering purpose and it’s focusing on the client’s outer world. We’re looking at healthy habits that are matched and aligned with their interests to keep our brain sharp and our body is healthy for years to come. And then some sort of structure and routine, finding that balance. Cause you also want the freedom and relaxation that comes with.

retirement, but that’s setting up your outer world. The third pillar is looking more at the inner world. So it’s examining the limiting beliefs, especially attitudes about aging and what you think that you’re capable of, what you automatically go to. I’m too old to start this. I’m too old to learn this new thing. It’s too late to start and figuring out, well, let’s turn those limitations into

opportunities and figure out what you can do because it’s not too late. It’s the beginning of a new era here. And also this is where we’ll start to examine some elements of spirituality and mindfulness, starting to connect to ourselves beyond our bodies, which is very important, especially as we age and as capabilities will change to be able to tap into that.

to something beyond which will look different for every person. And then the fourth pillar is to bring the inner and outer together. Start to think about after I’m gone, how will I like to be remembered? And we create what I call the Inside Out Legacy Project. And this is some tangible way to represent the meaning and value of your life.

Mark Struthers (23:42.305)
Okay.

Alara (23:53.189)
to pull together your experiences, your wisdom, your lessons that you’ve learned. And it’s a really intentional way at this retirement transition to reflect on your life so far, everywhere you’ve been, how far you’ve come. And then at that same point, you’re pulling it all together and then starting to look forward because you still do have so much time to live. And the idea is to come out of the program feeling like you know.

what you wanna do to spend your life in a meaningful way. And ideally to think about all of this while you’re still healthy and able and mobile in these younger years of retirement where you really can do so much and there’s so many options and possibilities and to really have the confidence and clarity to be where you wanna be.

Mark Struthers (24:26.166)
Interesting.

Mark Struthers (24:49.64)
Much like with financial planning, especially holistic, the sooner you address it, the more options you have. No plan is perfect, but I’m guessing it’s the same thing that if you start to address these other things, you have a better chance of success. Is that correct?

Alara (24:55.898)
Yes.

Alara (25:06.521)
Yeah, exactly, exactly. The reason for starting this off and planting the seeds early and having the conversations early is because we don’t want to waste those beginning years trying to figure everything out. I have worked with some clients that are 10 years into retirement and like the only thing that they’ll say is like, my gosh, I wish I had done this 10 years ago because reality does set in.

And it’s one of my main mantras to say it’s never too late. And all of my mantras are paradoxical because it’s never too late and it’s never too late to get started. And then of course we know at some point it is too late. The only certainty of our life is that it will end at some point. And so it’s paradoxical in that way of, yeah.

Mark Struthers (25:59.864)
Do you find with the fourth pillar, the fact that they are looking at it from there, I’m already gone. you know, and most of the we think in terms of, we say a legacy, we think in terms of money or an object, a property. but it sounds like there’s that exercise of them looking back and thinking, and I assume you’re looking back at what, where, maybe how you’ve grown or your relationships.

Alara (26:14.253)
Thank you.

Alara (26:27.195)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (26:27.726)
Does that affect it? Because I’ve never really thought about doing that. But does that help them clarify things and get motivation? does that happen in a few weeks? mean, there’s a case where they come back to you and say, you know, I need to talk some more. What does that look like?

Alara (26:46.014)
Yeah, it really depends on the individual and where they’re at to go through it. For some of the typical legacy projects and these non-financial legacy projects are writing a memoir or compiling different experiences, but for other people it’s planning an international trip that you’ve always wanted to do and throughout that time this intentional reflection of again that where you’ve been.

how far you’ve come, taking some time to pull all that together, to really look at your life and reflect and realize all of the meaning and value that you have put into this life so far. And that is, it’s a great time to reflect upon that, because it’s this transitional period. You’re pulling things together, but then through that, it brings a lot of clarity looking forward.

Because now it’s like, okay, where do we want to go from here? What was really important then? What’s really important now? And how can I spend these next years and the rest of my life in the most meaningful way? Yeah.

Mark Struthers (27:55.342)
I think you use the word intention with probably with more intention.

Alara (27:58.755)
Yeah, yeah, more intention and that idea of being able to live the rest of life without regrets.

Mark Struthers (28:06.798)
I won’t put. So it’s almost like if you’ve, if you’d have never looked at a map or a nav system, no one use maps today, but how do you know, how do know where you are and how do you know where you want to go unless you do some intention? And even with the financial piece, a lot of folks don’t do it, but even more so with, with the non-financial side, because it’s almost like we’re not supposed to go there.

Alara (28:21.06)
Okay.

Alara (28:30.861)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, totally. Totally. I think recognizing the impact that you’ve had on other people, their impact on you, who’s been important to you, these defining moments of your life, all of these things start to come up through this reflection in some way. Again, for other people, it is digging into some passion that they’ve always wanted to pursue, something they’ve always wanted to learn, and so…

It can look really different in how this comes together, but throughout it, it’s that reflective process, the intentional reflection through it and what that means and what fears are there, how you can break through those. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (29:01.738)
each person.

Mark Struthers (29:16.8)
anxieties they might have. Does pickleball ever come up as a passion in the past? I just started, I just started, I, you know, I love it, but yeah, I find the, the passion around it’s pretty intense at times.

Alara (29:22.403)
Yes. It’s so popular. It’s so popular. And I’ve never played.

Yeah.

Alara (29:39.703)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean it can be the number one, the number one thing for people who are getting involved in the social aspect and the planning and the committees and it’s a really great way to bring people together, honestly.

Mark Struthers (29:54.266)
Well, it is. mean, you look at some of the typical retirement activities. Tennis is great, but it’s generally, your kids are kind of spread out and you’re generally playing singles. It’s not as social for whatever reason. I’ve noticed that too. In golf, you know, kind of the same deal.

Alara (30:06.469)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Alara (30:11.035)
Pickleball seems very accessible to a wide range of people and so everybody can play, it’s fun for everyone and it just brings people together.

Mark Struthers (30:21.602)
Yeah, yeah, what’s not to love about that for all those pickleball haters out there?

Alara (30:24.207)
Yeah.

Mark Struthers (30:27.906)
Well, I have a list of questions here. So, and some of these we might have covered, what obstacles do your pre-retirees or retirees have in planning the non-financial side? Kind like what are the biggest obstacles and what, I’ll relate this to another question. What are the three biggest mistakes you see retirees make?

Alara (30:39.109)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (30:47.813)
Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest obstacle is really just having that assumption that everything is gonna fall into place. Again, society teaches us that because retirement is the dream and you assume everything’s gonna fall into place and then years go by and you’re kind of stuck.

and you have unhealthy habits or you haven’t implemented the things to keep your brain and body healthy and then there’s no real meaning and all gradually you’re just like, am I doing? So I think that’s the biggest obstacle, I guess, in not having a way to intentionally reflect on that.

Mark Struthers (31:35.886)
So in this you might have answered, so it sounds like lack of intention that assuming that things are going to be perfect because it is nirvana. So that’s is there any other mistakes besides that that you see them make or it’s just kind of because they don’t start with that intentional planning, just assuming that to me it’s not just assuming. I think people feel guilty that or like they’ve done something wrong. The fact that it’s not perfect.

Alara (31:41.285)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Alara (32:01.649)
Yeah, yeah, so some mistakes I can think of for sure. One of the reasons I was reaching out to you in the beginning is this perceived lack of finances, using that as an excuse to not go after the dreams, to like take that travel or that vacation that you’ve always wanted to take or invest in yourself to learn something new, take this class, set aside time.

I think there’s a lot of fear and discomfort around a lot of these things, especially things you’ve never done. And money comes up as the first thing that I can’t do it. And so that’s a big one.

Mark Struthers (32:46.722)
Yeah, and something like you said, sometimes money is the excuse. know, they might have, and we all do, fear and anxiety about being out of your comfort zone, you know, because it’s been such a big change, but money is the fall guy, if you will. It’s the, you know, interesting. It makes a lot of sense.

Alara (32:50.245)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (32:56.881)
Goodbye.

Alara (33:03.639)
Exactly. And then a couple of other mistakes I see for sure is just that attitude or belief that it’s too late. And so that’s a big one that we address. Like it’s not too late to start something completely new to be a beginner in a totally new way. Because again, some of the clients I’ve worked with later, they don’t realize that until years, even a decade into retirement. It’s like, what if you started this?

10 years ago, you also believed it was too late now, and it’s actually still not too late. So knowing that, yeah, you’re not too old and you can do this and you can start something totally new and make so much progress. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (33:51.128)
Yeah, I think the anxiety or that head trash is a term I use probably takes hold. And part of that society saying that, you know, once you’re past a certain age, you, you we don’t know what you’re supposed to do, but you shouldn’t be doing it.

Alara (34:05.135)
Mm-hmm. Yes, yeah. Society’s attitudes about aging, like we absorb them and then, yeah, it sticks with us. It becomes our programming and our eternal voice and it limits what we’re capable of.

Mark Struthers (34:23.928)
When you do go through this, and you’ve probably already answered this, is what’s the biggest change? And it’s probably, it’s probably, I guess I’ve had to answer for you is they have more intention, but what’s the big, people go through your program, they go in, they come out. What’s the biggest change that you see? What’s the, know, if you had a aha moment, maybe it’s not the right word, but what’s the paradigm shift, if I can use that.

Alara (34:48.975)
Yeah, I think that’s a great way to phrase it. The paradigm shift, really shifting into a new identity. At the beginning of the retirement transition, generally you’re completely identified with former roles that really don’t exist anymore. So it’s the career for a lot of people, it’s also being a parent and raising your children took some decades and they’re usually about the same time.

like through that transition where you’re no longer a caregiver in the same way to your children and you don’t have this career. So now, who are you? What are you? What are you doing with your life? And so it really is that identity shift and through that, we have those belief changes of like really who you are and how you’re looking at the rest of your life.

changes in your ability to embrace new things and have confidence trying something new or in trying out your own passions and projects. And yeah, really seeing retirement as this new beginning instead of an end and yeah, and developing your life around that new identity. So your habits are changing and

Mark Struthers (36:09.806)
I have to have an occurred.

Alara (36:14.915)
you’re developing your schedule and routine and the things that you do around that person that you want to be.

Mark Struthers (36:21.71)
Interesting. Yeah. I work with a lot of high earning professionals. I have a family member who is very accomplished and I’m not sure if she would admit it, but I think for her not to be able to tell someone she is this, this and this, you know, or be able to say I’m a mom or a dad or whatever it is. that that’s, that’s a big loss of identity. it’s understandable, but it’s, it’s see where it it causes a lot of harm.

Alara (36:42.971)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (36:51.321)
Mm-hmm. That is something in the first pillar that we’ll practice depending on where people are at, but how do you answer the question now of what do you do? Because that’s one of the first things we ask people when we meet them. It’s an easy connection and you don’t just want to say, I’m retired or identify with something that you no longer are because it causes this abrasion within yourself. So how do you answer that?

Mark Struthers (37:20.526)
Good point, which is understandable. Yeah Yep, I’m a retiree for 30 years When you when you go through this with your tell some more about the groups for those that might be interested How big are your groups are there one-on-one sessions? Sounds like it’s somewhere in person. It sounds like they get out in nature. Some are virtual What does that look like for those that might be interested in working with you?

Alara (37:22.832)
Yeah.

Alara (37:27.813)
Yeah.

Alara (37:34.747)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (37:43.441)
Thanks.

Yeah, so the coaching programs that I offer are either three months or five months right now. And through that time period, it’s quite intensive where we will be in contact with individual sessions and periodic check-ins as needed to be able to fully support this transformation. And so during that time, it’s centered around these one-on-one coaching calls and then also an open invitation to join.

Mindfulness classes, I love to teach like chair yoga as well as breathing exercises, mindfulness reflection things, and group Q &A sessions and other workshops or things that I want to share are throughout the program, either every week or every other week. And those groups will never go above 10 per group.

I’ve never had actually this new program. We don’t have more than that at once, but if it were, then I would split us into different groups. And right now within my community, I teach yoga classes and chair yoga specifically to our seniors and then have events to bring people together. And that’s a work in progress with that goal of being able to have retreats for people who are out of town.

and pulling people together from the virtual coaching sessions into a retreat to be able to interact with one another in person. That’s the up and coming goal. We’ll stay tuned.

Mark Struthers (39:19.906)
And it’s I know it’s a source of kind of passionate debate, especially against with some professionals, but obviously there’s advantages to being virtual, but may I assume that probably what you do works virtually, but ideally most effective in person. Is that safe to say?

Alara (39:23.653)
Thank you.

Alara (39:35.729)
I mean really what I envision as the best and most effective is to take these, start virtually because we can connect with people from different areas from all over and then be able to actually change the location is part of an effective strategy to change the identity. Like it brings it…

together in a meaningful way when you shift location, put yourself in a new place, perhaps with the leaf changing colors in autumn of Colorado, you will see this while intentionally deciding this person that you’re gonna be in this next phase of life can be really powerful for shifting that sense of self.

Mark Struthers (40:10.638)
Yeah, that might do it.

Mark Struthers (40:27.03)
I think it might be a lot like someone goes on vacation. They usually behave a lot differently than when they’re we’re at home. And as someone that used to spend a lot more time in nature, I will say I, found, I found it very centering. find just the touch of the ground or the breeze on you or whatever it is. It’s something that you can’t really replicate other places.

Alara (40:33.435)
Yeah.

Alara (40:39.963)
Hmm.

Alara (40:45.285)
Yeah.

Alara (40:49.283)
Yeah, exactly, exactly. We change the environment, can help the internal shift. And when you’re doing that in a supportive setting with other people going through the same process, it be very effective.

Mark Struthers (41:04.536)
Thank you very much. lastly, for advisors that might be watching this or listening to it, how would they, what would you recommend if they say, you know what, I’d like to integrate this? Is this something that should be done separate from the financial piece? Should it be done before, during, after, should it be a second party, maybe in-house or a third party out, outside, maybe like you, what’s your feeling or recommendation on

Alara (41:09.616)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (41:31.025)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (41:34.706)
how we can start to integrate this a little bit more. I’ll speak for a lot of advisors who often will have trouble getting folks to come in even quarterly. You know, we certainly exchange emails, but where we might say, you know what, I would love to be able to get people involved even virtually, but I can’t get them to fill out their will. How, how could I get them to engage in something that honestly takes a little more? It seems like it takes a little more time to, to unpeel that onion. If that’s

Alara (42:03.811)
Yeah, totally. I think it’s really important for financial advisors to be at least versed and exposed to all the non-financial aspects because the more that they know, the more education they have, then they’re able to see these things in their clients and at minimum point them in the right direction. I think it’s a great opportunity for financial advisors to be able to

at least plant these seeds or kind of drop in these questions about, well, your money doesn’t mean much unless you know what to do with it in a meaningful way. Like what’s gonna really bring value and purpose to your life and start to get the conversation flowing, I think is really important. In terms of doing something like my program, I know my clients need to be fully open.

aligned with what I do and it needs to feel right for them and it’s not for everyone. It really does take a lot of work and a lot of willingness to open up and look deep within themselves and to try new things and they need to be ready for that and feel aligned with the program. Within the financial setting, what is great to get the conversation going.

and then be able to provide different resources or different programs, I think would be ideal. And yeah, I guess it would depend when I’m thinking about, well, if you had someone in-house who is available to have the conversations, then that sounds great, or some different programs so that the clients can find the one that really feels like it resonates with them.

Mark Struthers (43:55.726)
Interesting. Yeah, the more I kind of think this through, it’s kind of like when being a CFP, we cover many different professions. Some of us are, I’m a CFP as well, so I’m a little more of an expert in investing, but there’s others who are maybe stronger in estate planning. They might be lawyers or I certainly know about insurance and property casualty, but I might need to go to an outside source. I kind of maybe envision this is certainly something where just like I’m an expert in certain

Alara (44:03.685)
Mm-hmm.

Alara (44:13.756)
Bye

Mark Struthers (44:25.695)
investing in other things, but I might need to outsource this or have someone else, someone like you, or someone where I might refer to this off because we can’t, we can’t be an expert in everything. We can’t be a lawyer. We can’t be a CPA. can’t, you know, we can’t be an expert in tax code. it’s out and I’m correct me wrong, but this is almost like one of those different professions where you can certainly integrate it, but it’s something you might need to refer out to a professional or someone.

Alara (44:36.837)
Okay.

Alara (44:53.882)
Yeah, the more that I study in this field, the more that I talk to people. It’s like really through this transition, you need a team and everybody is different. But in terms of looking at insurance options and health care options and long-term care and how to downsize properly in your estate planning. And I mean, it’s a whole, it’s a whole team of support and no one’s going to specialize in all of these things.

So it’s really like looking at how, what are my needs and how can I develop my network around that to get the support I need.

Mark Struthers (45:30.326)
And I think the right person, just like not everyone needs a lawyer to do a trust, it might need a simple will or beneficiary designations. The right, just like the right person might not, not everyone’s going to be open. I, we talked off camera, I used to do employee financial wellbeing and our program, we had things set up to where we were trying to engage people into doing vision boards with retirement and other goals and trying to move past just a technical expertise.

Alara (45:34.787)
Mm-hmm.

Mark Struthers (45:59.198)
And for some folks it was a home run for others. It was crickets. We were, honestly, I don’t think we could, some of them, just were never going to get to engage.

Alara (46:07.771)
Totally. The most important thing is to start to ask the questions, get people thinking, provide the resources, and then, especially with something like my program, you really have to be willing to dive in and it has to feel right. But it’s also something that not everybody knows exists. Retirement coaching in the non-financial side is just relatively new. And so it’s being able to say,

and normalize, normalize the health and normalize that it’s not the butterflies and rainbows that we…

Mark Struthers (46:43.886)
Well put. And I think just like we have questionnaires where we often use the word submarine pings where we’ll throw things out to see if they’re open to whatever it is, estate planning, budgeting, and that we kind of go through. It sounds like something where we might need to, if I speak from my firm, where we might need to sprinkle in some questions to send submarine pings out. If we hear nothing, if we don’t get anything back, but if we get something back, then we say, Hey, you know,

Alara (46:55.151)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (47:12.578)
we need to bring in a professional like a Laird or someone.

Alara (47:16.367)
Yeah. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (47:18.902)
All right. Well, we we ran long, but it was worth it. Lastly, just leave us with any end thoughts and also just how they can contact you if they want to work with you. Email, phone number, whatever the case may be, website. And we’ll certainly put that into the YouTube descriptions and all the other places this goes.

Alara (47:39.717)
Yeah, yeah, awesome. Well, it was really great to be here, really great to talk to you. And yeah, I think I’m just happy to have the conversation and get people started in that conversation with whoever’s listening, if it’s new and prospective retirees or financial planners to be able to normalize this conversation, let people know that there are lots of resources and programs and that there’s lots of support out there. So I’m really appreciative of that.

chance to share that today and talk with you. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (48:10.431)
great. Did you? Well, and your website is AlignRx?

Alara (48:14.321)
Yeah, my website is alignrxcoaching.com. Yeah, we’ll put that in the description. Instagram is at alignrxcoaching and on LinkedIn, Alara Rosenberg.

Mark Struthers (48:18.946)
Okay.

Mark Struthers (48:26.454)
Okay, and we’ll put the rest in there. Thank you, Alara. Wonderful having you. Have a good fall. Enjoy the colors while they last.

Alara (48:28.645)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Mark Struthers (48:35.694)
And we’re out and we’ll stop recording.

Alara (48:39.092)