"How are we going to pay for all of this?" It's a caregiver's biggest fear, and few have an answer. Too many families face a loved one's health crisis unprepared for the financial chaos that follows — unable to access accounts, overwhelmed by insurance and medical decisions, and unsure where to even start.

Today, we're joined by Beth Pinsker, financial columnist, CFP, and author of My Mother's Money. She shares how to make financial caregiving feel more manageable, which legal documents to have in place, and when to start having hard conversations. Tune in to learn how to go from panic to prepared!

Topics discussed:

Introduction (00:00 )

Becoming a nationally recognized financial columnist (02:07 )

Discovering the financial side of caregiving (06:16 )

Do you need a CFP as a journalist? (07:38 )

What it means to be a financial caregiver (11:24 )

Lessons and resources in Beth's book, My Mother's Money (13:32 )

Beth's tips for pitching journalists and media (16:09 )

How financial journalism has evolved (19:32 )

Beth's story, "What should be in your 'death' file" (20:31 )

Practical advice for aspiring journalists (22:45 )

What brought you JOY today? (24:34 )

Resources:

• Sending your child to college will always be emotional but are you financially ready? Take the College Readiness Quiz for Parents: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/college-readiness-quiz/
• Doing your taxes might not be enJOYable but being more organized can make the process less painful. Get Your Gathering Your Tax Documents Checklist:
  https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mitlin_ChecklistForGatheringYourTaxDocuments_Form_062424_v2.pdf
• Will you be able to enJOY the Retirement you envision? Take the Retirement Ready Quiz:
  https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/retirement-planning-quiz/

Connect with Larry Sprung:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencesprung/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larry_sprung/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceDSprung/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/Lawrence_Sprung

Connect with Beth Pinsker:

• Website: https://bethpinsker.com/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bethpinsker.bsky.social
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpinsker

About Our Guest:

Beth Pinsker is a financial-planning columnist at MarketWatch. She has been a certified financial planner (CFP®) since 2018. Previously, she worked at Reuters, Fidelity and Walletpop.com. Prior to covering personal finance, she was a film critic and entertainment business reporter, writing for Entertainment Weekly, The Dallas Morning News and many other publications. Her book, "My Mother's Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving," is out in November 2025 from Crown Currency. You can follow her on BlueSky (@bethpinsker.bsky.social) or LinkedIn (@bpinsker).

Disclosure:

Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site.

This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com