Category: FAFSA

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The Your Empty Nest Coach Podcast, Episode 130

FULL TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00

Christine: Hi, I’m Coach Christine. This is my podcast, it’s the Your Empty Nest Coach Podcast and we’re on episode #130.  If you are new here, know that I tend to use terms I’ve introduced in prior episodes. Should you feel a bit lost - use my show notes for best places to begin!

In this episode, I talk about Things that Won’t be on My Tombstone, of course the wins you are celebrating, this thing called Podfest Global Summit and more.

I appreciate that you pressed play on this episode, today. Here we go.

[happy music under voiceover]

This podcast is my gift to you: a parent adjusting to the idea of an empty nest - or possibly a student who's wondering how your parents are feeling about you heading out on your own. These podcast episodes will have a base of life coaching infused with reminders to cheer yourself on and maybe with a dash of my alter ego, Sally (the hotline video operator), popping in from time to time. I’m here to remind you that you should be your own biggest fan!

[end happy music]

00:01:00

My amazing friend. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. You’ve chosen to listen to my voice, and what a privilege that is for me. I don’t take your time lightly, so thank you. Let’s do some basic housekeeping first - you’ll find a list of episode topics and time markers on where they appear in my show notes, should you want to hop around - or return to a segment later! I would love for you, as you listen, to think of two people you could share this podcast episode with and then share it! And, of course, don’t forget that you are invited - yes you - to submit to any section of this episode by leaving me a message (text or audio) - on my google voice number: That’s 1-920-LIFEWIN or (920-543-3946). You’ll find it in my shownotes, too, if you are looking for it later.

All of my offerings, podcast show notes, transcriptions of the episodes, and more can be found on my website: Your Empty Nest Coach dot com. This episode is sponsored by me - and all things Your Empty Nest Coach, so to keep this podcast going strong be sure to subscribe to this podcast in your favorite podcast player, to share it with others, and visit my website, sign-up for my email list, and check out all of my offerings.Thanks!

[creepy music]? 

I know you’re thinking, “Christine, why are you talking about tombstones?” 

I know, I know, no one likes to think about death but remembering that lives are finite can be a tool to use to put the many frustrations of daily life into perspective quickly, and then work through your thought-deliveries and training up your protector - and all that other fun stuff I talk about. 

00:02:49:

But this week, I found myself saying off the cuff to someone, “Well, the number of instagram followers I have will not be on my tombstone.” and then I started listing things that won’t be on my tombstone… I mean pretty much nothing will be on my tombstone, should I have one. What do we get birthdate  - dash - and end date.  Ouch. A dash. Not how many instagram followers, not how many speaking engagements, not how many children you have, not your college major, not how much money you make, or clients you have, or what you did for a living. And in the end I don’t think I’m going to look back on my life and say, "You know it is a darn shame that in 2021 I didn’t already have 100,000 downloads. I mean, that, that would have made this life worth living." 

Yeah, I don’t know why I talk like that in the future.

Let’s be real.

So, if the idea of thinking about this doesn’t freak you out, when you get frustrated this week, remember, this stuff isn’t going to be on your tombstone. And at the end of your life, more than likely, you’ll be thinking about relationships. Those that you wish you did more with, those that you wish you might have let go of sooner. Those that you are proud of and that you are glad you cultivated. I don’t know, what do you think you’ll be thinking about? If you find this resource helpful to you, it is a good resource to have in the top of your life’s toolbox. And for the record, I remembered that I had read or heard somewhere about making the dash mean something...I did a quick google search, and found the Dash poem - it says more on this than I just did, so I’ll link to the website in my show notes, if you want to check it out. 

00:04:36

[computer game level up music (short)] 

My Wish for You Today

My amazing friend, my wish for you, today, is that you, yes you, discover a new amazing aspect of you that you have been hiding for some time. I’m giving you permission to be curious about that part of you. The world needs you - not carbon copies of other humans. We need you to be authentically, unabashedly you, so I hope that if you don’t already know who you are, that you get a glimpse of your future this week. As always, I encourage you to manage your thought-deliveries in a way that serves you, and future you well. 

00:05:18

[computer game level up music (short)] 

New Things. New Things. New Things!

New things!

Well, this one is not really new but I have a few open registration spots remaining for March, beginning March 15th. In the Your Empty Nest Coach part of my life, my private coaching clients are top tier - they’re my favorites. We have weekly private zoom calls, I send you resources, and you have a line of communication with me between sessions. It’s so much fun, and I’d love to work with you! I have more going on but I’ll share that in an upcoming segment.

00:05:52

[computer game level up music (short)] 

Ask Coach Christine

I was recently asked this question on TikTok and responded with a video: 

Can you comment on the FAFSA removing the consideration of multiple college students in the family? My youngest daughter may need to delay a year.

And my response? I didn’t actually know about this but thankfully my day job is in an enrollment office at a college and I asked my amazing colleague, Ashling in our Student Financial Services office about this. She confirmed that, “Yes, this is true.” 

In the new version of the FAFSA which will be easier to complete and streamlined, it will only ask you how many people are in your household - it won’t ask you how many are in college.

It is basically a newly calculated EFC that will now be called an SAI.

The SAI will go lower than zero to -$1500, where the EFC goes as low as 0. 

This is scheduled to be in effect the 2023 - 2024 school year which means that October 1st 2022 when the FAFSA opens, this new calculation will be in place. 

Now as someone who likes data, I would love to see a side by side calculation to see the actual difference because it might not be as significant as it sounds with the new calculation. Any takers on doing this comparison? 

If you have a question you want me to focus on in an upcoming episode, use that google voice number 1-920-LIFEWIN. Leave a voicemail message or text your question to me. I consider all submissions.

00:07:28

[computer game level up music (short)] 

My Lessons Learned

What have I learned recently? 

Give, give, give, give and expect nothing in return. I’ve been giving a lot recently and on purpose. Someone watching me might say I give too much of my time to things that don’t have a specific purpose that ties back to my business. I have no expectations of anything when I give and it makes things super fun and interesting when the universe responds in ways that I not only might have been hopeful for but also that exceed any expectation I might possibly have. Try giving a little more this week than you might have in some area of your life - have no expectations and see what happens - it might just be, it feels darn good to help another human.

00:08:19

[quirky music under segment]

Christine? Christine? Christine where are you?

Deirdre Dolan Nesline and I are continuing our Friday morning Clubhouse declutter tips sessions. Deirdre provides great tips for your weekend ahead. 

Rachel Lankester was kind enough to invite me into a Clubhouse room to talk about Empty Nesting this week, as well. 

If you are on Clubhouse, be sure to follow me, Deirdre and Rachel there - great energy all around, if I do say so myself. 

This week ahead, I’m attending Podfest Global Summit any free moment I have. It is virtual which means, I can squeeze in a few sessions over my lunch break and in the evening. I was lucky enough to speak on a panel this past Monday - it was all about Higher Education in podcasting - or vice versa. A special shout out goes to the amazing Lesa Beals of the podcast Not Your College Life for including me on the panel. You’re the best!

With my speaking gig over, I’m quite active on the Whova app as I’m free because I’m all about making connections, and have had great fun running meetups about Whova overwhelm - for those who don’t know, Whova is the app that the conference is being held through. My former programmer/analyst days are coming out and I love helping others get comfortable with tech. 

If you are listening to this a few days after the release, I have free base passes for you to attend. This is an amazing conference with value in so many areas - not just podcasting, so don’t be shy, check it out and use the code EmptyNestSuccess all one word to earn yourself a free spot at the summit. Then be sure to connect with me on the app!

As always, you may check out my Media & Press page on my website YourEmptyNestCoach.com for a list of all of my guest appearances. 

00:10:18

[computer game level up music (short)]  

Celebrating You and Your Wins[sound] 

I tried something new with this, this week - I post Wednesday Wins videos regularly on TikTok. This week I also posted on Instagram and I mentioned in both that if you put the microphone emoji in your shared win in the comment, that it’s your way of giving me permission to share your win on my podcast. And some of you were willing. As always, the small wins count as much as the big ones!

I’ve had a lot of wins this past week. The one that has been good for me personally is with all of the happenings going on in my life, I’ve done a good job at managing my thought-deliveries, my protector, watching the overwhelm, and I’ve still made time to be still periodically. That’s no small feat. 

And now I have some fun approved wins from listeners and followers to share with you: 

Sloppyspacefish shared, “My boss approved my idea to add a JOAD program to our camp.”

JaeHermann.co shared, “I aint killed nobody, yet. Mercury Retrogade has been kicking my arse, but I’m on the upswing, so that’s a win, too!!”

Talkshitwithp  on Instagram shared,”being a 1st time case study speaker at podfest.” Now listener, I had the privilege of chatting with Paula - and I’m so excited for her to share her session - “How podcasting saved my mental health.” And I plan to stay up past my bedtime to watch it.

AmazingAnonymousMama shared, “My daughter’s thinking of changing her majors and I remembered your TikTok and didn’t freak out.” Thank you AmazingAnonymousMama for spending time with me on my TikTok live - and sharing that. It means the absolute world to me.

Thank you all for sharing your wins. And listener, I want you to take a moment and think of a moment that happened today: small - or big. You got it? Please give yourself a pat on the back, and those of you who shared with us here, thank you for letting me share your wins with my audience. 

Now, my amazing listener, don’t forget to share your win with us - you may send it to me in my DMs on social media, use my google voice number, yes, that’s in my show notes. Or pop in the comments of my wednesday win videos on TikTok or Instagram and add that microphone emoji. 

00:12:45

[computer game level up music (short)] 

What’s in your life’s toolbox?

As a reminder, these are things that bring you joy, or allow you to reset yourself in life in one way or another. Some are escapes that allow you the grace to have time until you’re able to process deeper or to allow your mind a bit of time to recalculate to what’s next; other things are tools and resources that allow you to do the deeper work - like this podcast, my workshops, or doing coaching work with me. As always, I’d love for you to share what you use in your life’s toolbox for either moment in life - use that Google voice number to share, or DM me!

Today, I’m going to share something I use to help me focus - which I need more often than you would probably guess. I’m using one now, or I was, as I was planning this episode -  and that is focus audio is what I’ll call it: for me that looks like brown noise I listen to on YouTube or the deep focus playlist on Spotify - which I was introduced to by the wonderful Alesia Galati. Thank you for sharing that on Instagram ages ago, Alesia. It has helped me get through more than a few work days and projects! 

My listener, have you listened to that playlist? Definitely check it out.

00:13:58

[computer game level up music (short)] 

Let’s find the funny!

[giggles from others] 

I have to do this one. I know. But I have to. It’s the lawyer with the cat filter. I caught this one early on and did a reaction video on TikTok, shared it on Instagram and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this video and still laugh. I truly hope the man behind the cat filter knows how much joy he has brought the world. I’ll put a link to my reaction in the show notes!

00:13:59

[computer game level up music (short)] 

What I Wish My  Parents Knew

Your young adult or adult children might want a bit more independence in the kitchen. If you do all of the cooking and meals are scheduled, they might want to feed themselves, use the oven between meals, and cook late at night. It might be worth a discussion to see how they can gain a bit more independence in the kitchen while respecting your needs.

This is based on, what else? Yep, comments left on my TikTok videos, of course. 

00:14:55

[happy music (short)] 

Two Questions for You

Question 1:  Was the tombstone talk too much? 

and Question 2:  Is this the week you call in and share something with my podcast audience? 

As always, I provide content to make you think, my empty nest friend.

My HOPE is that I’m able to provide you with thoughts that positively impact your life.

If you enjoy this podcast please don’t forget to share it with others, it’s the best way to allow it to reach a wider audience. And of course, follow or subscribe in your favorite podcast app!

I plan to be back with episode 131 in two weeks. In the meantime, you have 129 other episodes, from me, to catch up on, or to relisten to. And with that, don’t you dare forget, that you are amazing!

See ya!

0015:53

[bloopers]

[music]

[end]