The primary focus of this podcast episode centers on the importance of preparing a “when I die” file, which serves as an essential resource for the loved ones left behind. I discuss the profound implications of unforeseen events, as I reflect on the recent passing of acquaintances and the necessity of ensuring that my family members are well-informed regarding my wishes and possessions. I emphasize the significance of organizing information about my belongings, financial accounts, and digital assets to alleviate the burden on my family during a difficult time. Additionally, I contemplate the future of my podcast and other ventures, considering how they should be managed in my absence. Ultimately, I urge listeners to take proactive measures in creating their own plans, thereby fostering clarity and support for those who may be tasked with navigating their affairs after their departure.

The podcast delves into the crucial topic of preparing for one's eventual passing and the importance of establishing a comprehensive 'when I die' file. The speaker reflects on recent personal experiences with loss, prompting a deep contemplation on mortality and the necessity of ensuring that loved ones are adequately informed and equipped to handle one's affairs following death. He emphasizes the need for clarity regarding personal possessions, financial accounts, and digital assets, advocating for a proactive approach to estate management. This approach not only alleviates the burden on surviving family members but also ensures that one's last wishes are respected and executed as intended.

Throughout the episode, the speaker shares practical advice on the creation of this file, suggesting the inclusion of detailed instructions about where important documents are stored, how to access various accounts, and what to do with personal belongings. He acknowledges the emotional weight of such discussions but insists on their necessity, particularly in a world where unexpected events can occur at any moment. The importance of communication with family members about these plans is underscored, as it fosters understanding and preparedness among those who may be left behind. By the conclusion, the speaker encourages listeners to take immediate action in organizing their affairs, emphasizing the peace of mind that comes from being prepared.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we emphasize the importance of creating a comprehensive 'when I die' file to ensure that our loved ones are informed about our wishes and possessions after our passing.
• We discuss the necessity of preparing for the unforeseen, as demonstrated by the untimely death of a colleague, which highlights the need for proactive planning in our lives.
• Listeners are encouraged to examine their current systems for sharing necessary information with family and friends to prevent chaos during difficult times following a loss.
• The podcast highlights how vital it is to communicate with partners regarding financial responsibilities and access to accounts to ensure smooth transitions in case of emergencies.
• We delve into the significance of leaving explicit instructions about how we would like our belongings to be distributed after our deaths, thus easing the burden on our loved ones.
• Finally, we advocate for taking immediate action towards organizing our affairs, emphasizing that such preparations can alleviate stress during periods of grief for those we leave behind.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• 11 Labs IO
• elevenlabs IO
• Gray Hair Productions
• Boomer Podcasters

Links referenced in this episode:

• elevenlabs.io
• grayhairproductions.com
• fiveminuteswithgrayhairdave.com
• boomerpodcasters.com

Welcome to five Minutes with Grey Hair Dave.

He has grey hair.

He has a grey beard.

He wears glasses like the guy in the artwork.

Oh, and the guy in the artwork is better looking.

Now here is Grey Hair Dave.

Well, well, well, folks.

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

Welcome back to yes, indeed.

As they just told you from 11 Labs IO, this is five minutes with gray Hair Dave.

Yes, I am gray Haired Dave.

Yes, I does have gray hair.

I has a gray beard and I does wear the glasses.

Yeah, that guy is better looking than me.

So anyways, if you like what 11 Labs does, go check them out.

There'll be a link in the show notes to elevenlabs IO and you can try it yourself.

And if you like it and you sign up for it, I have an affiliate, so I may get a little bit of.

A little bit of risk.

Reciprocity.

Reciprocity.

No, that's not the right word.

I may get some money out of it to help defray the costs of this.

So sorry for all the mouse noises.

I'm playing with a mouse because I don't know why.

So how you been, folks?

How have you been?

I tell you, it's been a fun couple weeks here.

Sorry I didn't.

I didn't post last week, but it's been kind of crazy around here.

I was, you know, therapy, and then there's been things.

That's all you need to know.

Nothing bad.

That's all that matters.

Nothing bad.

Well, what's new then?

So let's, let's.

Let's talk about things here.

I have decided that due to recent events in the world with people who were related to me and, or people that I knew of or knew who have passed away in, in recent months that I needed to create when I die file.

Now, I know that that's a little bit morbid to think about that, but if you think about this realistically, the guy who was a podcaster, Todd, he was seven years younger than me when he died.

Now he had a heart attack or a blood clot that created a heart attack, one of those two things, and passed away suddenly, there's nothing says that that can't happen to me.

Nothing at all.

And with me living in Florida and all my family living up north, except for one niece, they're not going to know what to do, where to go, where to find things.

Do you have something like that set up?

I mean, I don't.

I don't have any.

Any children.

I don't have any great wealth to leave anybody.

I may have a little debt that's the wrong way to look at it.

But hold on one second here.

I need to take a drink.

But anyways, I'm not leaving anybody my debt.

But, you know, there's things.

And it's just.

Let me give you this for an example.

This podcast.

Yeah, it's not much.

I mean, and there's quite a few people who listen to it, you know, all over the world.

And for those of you all over the world who do listen to this, I appreciate you every day.

I really, really do.

And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, putting up with me.

But, you know, like my best friend, she's the one who lives down here, and she's gonna probably be the one to be notified first if something bad does happen because she's here or she's gonna know where.

She knows where I live already, so.

And she knows the basic layout of where I live.

But, you know, my brothers or my nieces or nephews, if they have to come down and do something with my belongings, they should know what I want done, who I want to go to, who I don't have a lot to leave, but I do have some things that I do want to go some places, some things I've already made arrangements for, some I have not.

I also need to go through and take stock of what I have, which.

What, what, what do I have and who do I want it to go to?

This podcast again, I was talking about that a bit ago.

Do I want it to continue?

Do I want somebody to take it over?

I would like to have a file and it'll be there, there, you know, a pre recording saying, folks, I'm sorry, but I've obviously passed away.

This will probably be the last show.

It will definitely be the last show from me.

If somebody chooses to carry it on, that's fantastic.

If they do not, that's understandable, too.

And there's also boomers, Podcasters.

The podcast that I have to teach.

Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Z, Gen Y, Millennials, anybody who wants to know how to podcast, I teach them how to podcast.

What happens to that one?

And if I have people who are paying me to learn what happens there?

I have also got Gray Hair Productions.

Now, Gray Hair Productions is an llc.

But what happens to my customers, my clients, when I go?

What if I've got work in the process?

How do you find it?

How do you know?

How do you get into my email accounts?

These are types of things that you need to let those around, you know, well, it's all going to be for me.

I'm making a video of everything.

Here's where this is.

This is where that is in my.

On my computer.

Here's the password to get into my computer.

Because I will make a separate section for that person so that they can get in and get into my things that I would allow them to get into.

Doesn't mean they're entitled to everything, but they can get in and get everything that they need.

I'm also signed up for a password manager, so if.

If they need to inform on Facebook, they can get into my Facebook account, my Instagram account, my TikTok account, you know, my ex account, all those things, and cancel them or sunset them or say, hey, this guy died.

Get rid of it now.

All those things.

And.

And what happens to the company?

Well, you know, right now, I'm the only one involved with this company.

So somebody has to be able to get into it and inform the state of Florida that I am no longer in business because of a death, those types of things.

And it's.

It's very, very important to me that this be done.

And it'd be done in a way that I can take to you if you were my best friend in Florida.

So here's a flash drive in case of my death.

Here's where everything is with explicit instructions.

Here's a video on how to get into my computer.

Here's a video on how to find where everything is in my room, in my bedroom.

Here's.

Here's a video on how to get into my hosting site for my website, for my podcast, for my website.

I've got three websites out there.

You know, how to shut down all my email addresses, how to do these things.

And then what about my clothing and all my knickknacks and all the things that I currently love and enjoy where I live that, you know, they need to go to somebody or they need to be thrown away, whatever you want to do with them.

And also.

And finally, what happens to me, that's the big one.

I have specific desires for when I go.

And I would like my wishes to be acknowledged, if possible.

I don't see why it wouldn't be.

But anyways, and I don't want to be a burden to people.

So there'll also be a.

Not a dnr, but whatever they call those things where you.

You got to.

You leave notice with your doctors about your thoughts.

Anyways, those are the types of things that are going to be in this now, me taking seven or eight minutes to talk about all this is just to say this, if I'm doing it, are you.

If you're married, does your wife or your.

Your husband or your partner know where all these things are?

Can they get into the checking account?

That's something, too.

I have three checking accounts.

How are they going to get into them to pay for things that need to be paid for without having to have them as an additional signer?

These are the types of things that are.

It's going to take a little time for me to get together, especially to bank things.

So I hope you're making a list of what I've been saying or flag this one for future reference.

Because if you think about it, can your significant other find these things or have access to these things?

What if you're the one who pays the bills every month and they all come into you electronically?

No paper anymore?

Does that person have access to your email?

Do they know how to pay the bills?

Do they know which bills are automatically paid?

Which bills you pay per.

You prefer to pay yourself at a specific time?

These things need to be known, especially if you're.

If you're aging or if you're not, even if you're not.

Folks, we live in a world today where you never know and God only knows tomorrow is not a given.

It's a blessing if you get it.

So pay attention to what I've been saying.

Please do the same for yourselves.

It doesn't need to be.

It doesn't need to be in a video form, but maybe it does.

And it can also be a way for you to tell people what you think of them, how much you love them, how much you care for them, how much you.

You're glad that they were a part of your life for as long as they were or as long as you were.

Think about these things.

These are important things and things to be doing right now.

Okay, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to take that long for it.

I mean, God, that was.

That was almost 11 minutes worth of talking about that.

So I've gone a little over on that, and I apologize.

I really do.

But I think this is a very important topic and it needs to be addressed.

Having a will is one thing, but it doesn't do everything.

I can't tell you how many people I know who.

The husband takes care of all the bills and he passes away and the wife's over there going, I don't know what to do.

I don't know how to pay the bills.

My husband did that.

Or my wife or my partner.

You need to know.

You need to know.

There's got to be a way I'm doing this.

And then my best friend is going to get a flash drive with all this information on it.

My roommate is going to get one for her specifically designed for her.

My brothers are going to get one.

So if something happens after, if I pass, after they've passed, it gets transferred over to my nieces or nephew, somebody who can be in charge of these things.

So think about this folks.

If you need help with it, feel free to let me know @gray hair productions.com you can go to the Contact Me page and I'll help you.

I haven't got the template all the way figured out yet, but I'm almost there.

It's going to be almost be in a video PDF form, which is going to be great.

Or as the President of the United States.

It'll be a beautiful thing.

It'd be as lovely.

Yes.

So anyways, I'm sorry I had to throw that in there.

Yeah.

Or you can also leave me a message on five minutes with gray hair dave dot com.

That's the number five minutes with gray hair dave.com.

you can go to the contact me page or you can just leave me a voicemail and let me know and I'll help you with this.

Or I will send you a template of what I've done or what I'm doing.

Okay?

If you know somebody, folks who is interested in podcasting but doesn't know how to get started or what to do or what genre they should be on or those types of things, do me a favor, tell them about about Boomer podcasters.

Sorry for the flub there, but tell them about Boomer podcasters.

Boomer podcasters is all about that.

I have started recording for that recording videos and audio.

Of course, audio goes with video, but I've started recording some videos on how to.

Now there's lots of people out there who can tell you how to, but can they tell you in a way like I do?

I don't know.

We'll find out, won't we?

There'll be some YouTubes coming out in a couple of weeks.

I want to fine tune them a little bit.

I don't want to make them extremely perfect because I'm not a perfect person.

But that's coming very, very soon.

Very, very soon.

And also folks, if you know somebody who doesn't know what a podcast is, doesn't know where to find one, doesn't know how to play one, subscribe or follow one, do me a favor and show them for me, would you please use me as the example?

Here's how you find five minutes of Gray Hair Dave.

I listen to this guy.

He's a little goofy, but once in a while he has some great ideas.

Show them.

Okay?

I'd really appreciate it.

So would every other podcaster out there.

Also, folks, when you're out and about today, you see somebody you don't know or somebody you do know, smile at them, wave, say hi, you're going to make their day.

Which will make you feel better, too.

So on behalf of me here, still alive, still kicking, Gray Hair Dave over in Gray Hair Central, I wish you all a great week.

One more thing.

Go Chiefs.

Talk to you soon.

Bye.

Bye.