Mini Episode 1: It's Too Late & I'm Behind

0:00Dalene:Welcome back to the Wealthy After 40. So I'm doing something different. Over the next five days, I am going to be sharing a little mini series. Five short episodes, right around the five to seven minute mark, each one tackling a statement or a belief that I hear often. Some of them are going to be, it's too late, I'm behind, I don't know where to start, or I don't make enough to save. Here's the thing to notice as we go. None of these are actually about money. They're stories, and most of them aren't even true. The reason I'm hosting this little mini-series is on August 28th, I'm running a free live training that will help you create a roadmap to retire in five years.

0:53Dalene:So head over to elevatefinances.us backslash webinar to learn more and get yourself registered. So today's mini episode, we are going to cover the big one. It's too late and I'm behind. Right, I hear this and see this a lot. It's a very most common statement. It is the number one thing keeping you stuck. And if you are the person saying, it's too late, I'm behind, you've probably resolved yourself to just accepting what will be. That is when you've become stuck. Right? So as you think about, I'm behind, behind compared to what? it's just really this feeling of or thinking through or observing right nothing concrete that you're behind but there is no universal finish line with retirement I know people think there's an age there's an age for social security there's an age for medicare that is not a retirement age, right?

2:13Dalene:So ultimately, there is no universal finish line. So instead of thinking that you're behind, your thought is most likely telling you, you don't have a plan, you don't have a map, you don't have a guide. And I'm going to tell you yet. right? The feeling to an actual productive piece of paper. When I started my journey, I didn't know where I was. I didn't even know what to do. I didn't really even know where I wanted to go. The only thing that was making me want to try was that I wanted to have that option in 13 years. Now this has been over 19 years ago. And so as I started my journey, and I am a numbers person, I get that, but that was the best thing for me.

3:16Dalene:It was to dig into my numbers. I wasn't budgeting before, right? I wasn't doing anything technical with them. So I dug into my numbers. I began to understand them. Then I began to shape them. And all of that work slowly guided me into retirement. Now, as I say the word slowly, you might be like, see, I'm behind. Right? But that behind is just a feeling. that behind is just a thought. There is no concreteness. There's no measurement. There's nothing that you can do to act upon that feeling, but turning it into a number. Right? Defining your gap of where you are, you probably don't even know that, to where you need to go or want to go.

4:14Dalene:And then the gap in between. That gap is a number. And numbers can be closed. We can take action. We can see progress. We can determine if we're making the product happen. But until you have something concrete, like a number in this situation, there's nothing you can do. You'll be stuck in that feeling. You'll be stuck in your situation. And so we need to turn that feeling into a number, specifically the gap. What is that gap? So if you're ready to ditch that feeling and create a plan, remember that's what replaces it, I want you to head over to the five-day event, elevatefinances.us backslash webinar.

5:09Dalene:This event is going to help you build a roadmap to retirement, get you on track to retire in five years, right? No more sitting with that feeling. No more sitting with that, I'm too late. No more sitting with a, there's nothing I can do. The first step is to determine your gap, give yourself a number, and then start going from there. Join me tomorrow as we tackle another thought, another statement, another feeling, so that you can begin to understand better why you're stuck and feeling the way you are. Thank you for spending this time with me. If you're not already following the show, be sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.

5:59And I'd love to stay connected with you between episodes. So come join me inside my Facebook community, Retirement Ready Hub for GenXers. It's where we're having real conversations about money, sharing wins, working through challenges, and building a clear path toward retirement. And remember, retirement isn't just a dream, it's a plan, and you get to make it possible.

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