On the heels of the last economic rebound came this year’s untimely pandemic outbreak. The remnants of its impact will surely take years to measure, but its universal effect was felt immediately. A call to public health and safety prompted a substantial and abrupt earning shift across the employment board, and as Covid-19 has maintained its stronghold, the financial wellbeing of millions has been under serious threat.

Ever find yourself in distress over things you cannot control? It’s not only an agonizing process, but a rather futile and unproductive one to boot. Innumerable studies have cautioned against fretting, due to its taxing repercussions—physical, emotional, and psychological. Yet despite warnings, we’ve all engaged in the ‘fight with worry’ round beat down.

Lennon once shared via song an invaluable truth to his young son: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” J.L. learned early-on the meat and potatoes of life—they’re hidden within the sacred in-betweens. Despite our most fervent plan-building efforts, we simply cannot predict nor ultimately control the undetermined.

Happiness is often seen as a momentary emotion or fleeting experience. With a quick look-up on the web, Merriam-Webster Dictionary will tell you that “happiness” is a state of well-being and contentment: JOY. Although no one in a rightful state of mind would bother to pick a fight with a reliable old go-to such as Webster, we’re certainly familiar with the age-old binary debate: happiness OR joy? Popular opinion says, choose one because you’ll never have both.

My grandma Katie was a strong-willed woman. She spent most her twenties living abroad, in pursuit of travel and career. She purchased her first home by 31, married her one-beloved around 33 and brought into the world her only child at the age of 35. In the 1940s, her milestone path to ‘becoming’ likely appeared rather unconventional.

Although she may have been considered somewhat progressive for her time, my grandmother’s personal values closely aligned those of her generation. Much like her WWII era counterparts, Grandma Katie’s identity was deeply rooted in the home she’d sacrificed so much to acquire

The HECM Program is gradually earning itself a renewed consumer confidence—and by no accident.

HUD’s 2015 Financial Assessment implementation set in place borrower protections never seen in the program’s history. But even with the promising traction, far too many seniors are still pacing around the HECM with a guarded against the program stance.