Today we're talking about something most of us actively avoid thinking about, until we absolutely cannot avoid it anymore.

Maria Fraietta was 50, a high school teacher, a single mom, and a real estate agent. That is already so much to juggle. But when her father passed, she also became the person responsible for untangling an entire life, with no roadmap and no one to call. So she did what many grown-ass women do in a moment of chaos: she got resourceful. She built a box. Then a friend wanted one. Then the hair lady wanted one. Now it's a multi-million dollar company called the NokBox.

Here's the thing about this episode—it's not really about death. It's about the relief of knowing where everything is—the will, the passwords, the spare key, and the one Christmas ornament box that actually matters, so that you and the people who love you aren't left standing in a hotel room with a shoebox and a lot of questions.

Find your NokBox at grownasswoman.guide/nokbox.

By the time you're in your early 50s, the odds of a new cancer diagnosis are 1 in 35. One in four people in their 50s and early 60s will have a physical or medical condition that limits their ability to work. And most of them have no idea how exposed they actually are.

In part two of our insurance series, Wallis Wilkinson Tsai, founder of AboveBoard Financial, is back to talk about disability insurance — what it actually does, where your workplace plan is probably falling short, and how to make sure your bank account doesn't take a 40% hit when life hits the fan.

We talk about the tax trap hiding in most employer benefit plans, why your benefit period matters more than you think, what happens to your coverage when you leave a job, and the business-owner mistake that trips up even the most financially savvy women.

This is the episode your HR department never gave you.

Get the Insurance Cheat Sheet!

Wallis Wilkinson Tsai is the founder of AboveBoard Financial, specializing in life, disability, and long-term care insurance for individuals, families, and business owners. She spent over 10 years on Wall Street, including at Goldman Sachs, before starting her own firm. She also happens to have a deeply personal reason for caring about this stuff — which she shares in this episode.

Topics Covered

The Stats That Should Get Your Attention From the US Cancer Statistics Working Group:

• Ages 25–29: 1 in 331 chance of a new cancer diagnosis
• Ages 40–44: 1 in 86
• Ages 50–54: 1 in 35

And it's not just cancer. 1 in 4 people in their 50s and early 60s will have a physical or medical condition that limits their ability to work. Disability insurance exists for exactly this scenario.

What Disability Insurance Actually Does If you're too sick or injured to do your job and your income suffers as a result, disability insurance steps in and pays you a monthly benefit. The goal: smooth out your take-home pay whether you're healthy or not.

Some policies also cover partial disability — meaning if you can only work part-time due to illness, you can still collect partial benefits.

The Workplace Plan Gap (This One's Important) Most employer disability plans cover 60–66.7% of your income on paper. But here's what most people miss: your employer is almost certainly paying the premiums themselves to claim the tax deduction. That means you owe taxes on any benefits you receive. Do the math:

• 60% of income covered
• Minus taxes you still owe on that benefit
• = You could net as little as 40% of your take-home pay

For most people, a 40% drop in take-home pay for any extended period of time is a serious problem.

Individual Policies: The Better Play When you own an individual disability policy and pay the premiums with your own after-tax money, the benefits are tax-free. If you're getting $5,000/month in benefits, that $5,000 is yours, no taxes owed.

Bonus: individual policies aren't tied to your job. They travel with you. They also often give you the right to increase your coverage later without re-qualifying medically — which means locking in coverage sooner gives you more freedom in your career down the road.

How to Think About Benefit Period Disability policies come in different lengths: 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or through age 65, 67, or 70. The longer the benefit period, the more expensive the premium. The practical reality: the average disability leave is just under 3 years.

Wallis's take: if the full-career plan isn't in budget, start with at least two years. It gives you runway — time to understand your diagnosis, make decisions about what comes next, and avoid the worst-case scenario of dealing with a health crisis and a financial crisis at the same time.

One important caveat: you cannot extend your benefit period once you're on claim. The plan you pick is the one you're locked into.

Timing: When to Get Coverage

• Get it while you're actively employed—carriers want to see your most recent pay stub
• Thinking about quitting? Get coverage first, announce later
• Already have an offer letter? You can generally apply for coverage now, before you start
• Switching to your own business in a related field? Some (not all) carriers will still cover you

The Business Owner Trap If you're a business owner who minimizes taxable income (and a lot of us do, legally), know this: disability carriers underwrite you based on your reported net income, not gross. If your tax advisor has gotten your taxable income down to nearly nothing, your disability benefit would be based on nearly nothing. Talk to someone before you apply.

Free Workplace Plan Review: AboveBoard Financial will review your existing workplace disability plan for free, no strings attached. They'll tell you exactly what you have, where the gaps are, and what to expect if you ever need to use it.

Do you think your elderly parent could be talked into a financial scam?

I asked this recently in the Grown Ass community. 43% said they already worry about it. For 28%, it's already happened in their family. And the stories that came in were from people who described themselves as sharp, aware, and not the type—and it happened anyway.

Because that is exactly who these scammers target. Not only the people who are vulnerable, but also the people who believe they aren't.

Today's guest (we'll call her Stephanie) watched her mother, a woman who had been happily married for nearly 70 years, become the target of a calculated scheme that could have absolutely taken everything. What started as a chance meeting in a supermarket aisle turned into eight months of isolation, love bombing, and financial manipulation — and the one thing that stood between her mother and losing it all was a decision her family had made years earlier.

We're talking about what the red flags actually look like, why smart people fall for this every day, what elder abuse really means legally, and why a trust isn't just for multimillionaires; it's a financial speed bump that could save your family.

This episode is not legal advice. It is one family's story. And it is absolutely worth hearing.

If you've ever dreaded Mother's Day, felt blindsided by grief, or wondered why missing your mother never quite goes away, this conversation is for you.

Whether you lost your mother years ago or just recently, your relationship was loving or messy (or somewhere in between), this time of year has a way of bringing everything back up.

Join Jackie MacDougall and Hope Edelman—NYT #1 bestselling author of Motherless Daughters and The AfterGrief—for the conversation nobody prepares you for: grief, going on without Mom, and how to stop dreading the second Sunday in May.

Links referenced in this episode:

• grownasswoman.guide/adminnight
• grownasswoman.guide/nokbox
• grownasswoman.guide/trustandwill
• grownasswoman.guide/motherlessdaughters

You've got the list. You know what needs to get done. And somehow another week goes by.

This isn't a laziness problem. According to licensed therapist Melody Murray, it's a nervous system problem—and there's a very specific reason so many women feel stuck, scattered, and perpetually behind right now.

Melody Murray is an LMFT, child mental health specialist, former reality TV producer, and author of Mourning the Living. She's been on The Today Show, The Doctors, and featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and more. She has also nearly died twice in four weeks, which, as you'll hear, changed everything about how she thinks about self-dismissal.

In this episode:

• Why chaos feels oddly familiar (and what that actually means)
• How your coping mechanisms are still running on a five-year-old's operating system
• The social media check nobody talks about
• Why protecting your peace is now an act of rebellion
• Practical ways to regulate your nervous system today, not eventually

Plus: the closet you don't actually care about, the pervy uncle who started it all, and why self-care has nothing to do with a manicure.

Free workshop: Handle Your Sh*t — live April 18th. Grab your spot: grownasswoman.guide/handle

It's a tale as old as time. Four male investment managers try to tell a woman that a product she's interested in doesn't exist. How does she know they're wrong? She literally traded them when she worked at Goldman Sachs. That's just one moment that inspired Wallis Tsai to start her own company, AboveBoard Financial, built on the idea that you deserve straight answers about your insurance.

We get into red flags to watch for when choosing an agent, the real difference between term and permanent life insurance, why your workplace coverage probably isn't the deal you think it is, and what to do if you're in your 40s or 50s and haven't tackled this yet.

Don't want to take notes? We did it for you. Grab the cheat sheet that covers all three episodes.

"Health is the unbecoming. So much of the work around health is unbecoming the beliefs that were never yours." — Courtney Townley

What if getting healthy wasn't about doing more but about finally putting some things down?

In this episode, Courtney Townley, health and self-leadership coach, author of The Consistency Code, and host of the Grace & Grit podcast, drops some midlife truth bombs we absolutely need to hear. We cut through the noise of wellness culture, talk about what consistency actually means at this stage of our lives (hint: it's not doing the same thing over and over until you die). And we dive into why outsourcing to the "experts" might be the thing holding you back.

If you're looking for an episode to guilt or shame you around diet and exercise, you've come to the wrong place.

In This Episode

1. Why the first thing women need from their health is relief, not results
2. How to stop outsourcing your life choices
3. What changes when you finally do it for yourself
4. Pre-deciding: why planning doesn't require charts, graphs, or a color-coded notebook
5. Grace vs. excuses: two questions that help you tell the difference

Free Resource:

The Grown-Ass Woman's Health Cheat Sheet: screenings, labs, vaccines, hormones, HRT, and supplements all in one printable checklist. Download it at grownasswoman.guide/myhealth and bring it to your next appointment.

About Courtney Townley:

Courtney Townley is a health and self-leadership coach, speaker, and host of the top-rated Grace & Grit podcast and the author of The Consistency Code. She helps midlife women cut through the noise of wellness culture and lead themselves with less overwhelm and more confidence. With over 30 years in the wellness industry, Courtney blends neuroscience, behavior change, and straight talk to show women that deep health isn’t about following someone else’s plan... it’s about learning to trust and lead yourself. A sought-after speaker and educator, she is known for her grounded, no-nonsense approach to sustainable change. When she’s not coaching or podcasting, you’ll find her salsa dancing, traveling, or soaking up time with her family and her Great Dane, Sully.

Resources & Links

1. The Consistency Code by Courtney Townley
2. Grace & Grit Podcast
3. Courtney on Instagram
4. The Grown-Ass Woman's Health Cheat Sheet
5. The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide on Instagram

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for Grown-Ass Study Hall!

Grown-Ass Study Hall is a virtual co-working session for women who are done putting things off. You bring your task. We show up together. No camera required, no pressure to speak. Just an hour of actually getting it done. Founding members lock in $27/month for life (regular price will be $37) plus access to a private Voxer channel with direct access to keep the convo going outside of the sessions. Sessions kick off the last week of March! https://grownasswoman.guide/studyhall

73% of women polled said they were either winging it or had no idea how their home worked.

Have you ever stood in a flooding garage, phone in hand, searching Facebook for a plumber on a holiday weekend? Or packed up your home during a fire evacuation and realized you had no idea what mattered or where anything was?

That was me. Twice.

In this episode, I’m sharing the two moments that cracked me wide open — and why I believe every woman, whether she owns, rents, or is currently on a very nice pullout couch, needs to actually know how her home works.

In This Episode:

1. The Friday my house rained inside (and what a firefighter taught me)
2. What happened when my neighborhood went under evacuation warning during the LA fires
3. The poll I ran in my Facebook community, and the 73% statistic that changed everything
4. Five things every woman should know about her home right now
5. Why The House Manual exists and who it’s really for

Links & Resources

→ The House Manual (30% off early bird)

→ Home Maintenance 101

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for Grown-Ass Study Hall!

Grown-Ass Study Hall is a virtual co-working session for women who are done putting things off. You bring your task. We show up together. No camera required, no pressure to speak. Just an hour of actually getting it done. Founding members lock in $27/month for life (regular price will be $37) plus access to a private Voxer channel with direct access to keep the convo going outside of the sessions. Sessions kick off the last week of March! https://grownasswoman.guide/studyhall

What if the scariest change you could make turned out to be the most freeing?

After nearly 30 years of dyeing her hair, Katie Emery made the decision at 50 to go gray cold turkey, and discovered it was about so much more than hair color. In this episode, the creator of Katie Goes Platinum shares her raw and honest journey, from the depression that sparked her decision to the surprising joy she found on the other side.

We talk:

1. Why going gray became a catalyst for bigger life changes
2. The emotional rollercoaster of transition (and why it's worth it)
3. Savage comebacks for the haters ("Wow" is just the beginning)
4. Products that actually work vs. total BS
5. Different methods to go gray (cold turkey isn't your only option)
6. Why 85-95% of women who go gray never go back
7. The powerful mindset shift: "You're no longer chasing who you used to be, but enjoying who you are now"

Whether you're gray-curious, mid-transition, or just here for the life wisdom, this one's for you.

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Blog: KatieGoesPlatinum.com

YouTube: Katie Goes Platinum

Instagram: @katiegoesplatinum

Products Mentioned:

• Silvering Tonal Control Concentrated Toning Mix

• Silvering Root Cover Powder (white & salt and pepper)

• Silvina London Shampoo & Conditioner

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for Grown-Ass Study Hall!

Grown-Ass Study Hall is a virtual co-working session for women who are done putting things off. You bring your task. We show up together. No camera required, no pressure to speak. Just an hour of actually getting it done. Founding members lock in $27/month for life (regular price will be $37) plus access to a private Voxer channel with direct access to keep the convo going outside of the sessions. Sessions kick off the last week of March! https://grownasswoman.guide/studyhall

Get 40% OFF Megan's Ultimate UGC course! 🔗

What if I told you that brands are actively looking to pay Gen X and Boomer women to create content—and you don't need a single follower to get started?

Yeah, I know. It sounds too good to be true. But it's not.

In this episode, you'll meet Megan Collier, who's been teaching women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond how to create user-generated content (UGC) and get paid for it.

FYI we're not talking about becoming an influencer or posting to your own social media where your judgmental sister can see it. We're talking about creating content for brands to use in their marketing—content that can pay anywhere from a few hundred bucks per video to $10,000+ per month for those who go all in.

Megan breaks down exactly what UGC is, how it's different from influencing, why brands specifically want to work with our age group (finally!), and how you can get started even if you've never been on camera before. She shares real stories from her students—including her own mom—who are making real money doing this.

Come as you are. Show the heck up. And let's talk about making some money in 2026.

Connect with Megan:

Instagram

TikTok

LIMITED TIME: Get 40% off the Ultimate UGC course!

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for Grown-Ass Study Hall!

Grown-Ass Study Hall is a virtual co-working session for women who are done putting things off. You bring your task. We show up together. No camera required, no pressure to speak. Just an hour of actually getting it done. Founding members lock in $27/month for life (regular price will be $37) plus access to a private Voxer channel with direct access to keep the convo going outside of the sessions. Sessions kick off the last week of March! https://grownasswoman.guide/studyhall

Want your time and attention back? The Brick helps reduce screen time and block distracting apps in away that actually works. Get 10% off here! 

Is it ADHD or anxiety? If you've ever asked yourself this question, you're not alone. In this final episode of our 3-part ADHD series, host Jackie MacDougall sits down with ADHD coach Kristen Carder to unpack what ADHD actually looks like when it overlaps with anxiety, shame, overstimulation, and the constant pressure to keep it all together.

This conversation goes deep into:

✨ How to tell the difference between ADHD and anxiety (and why so many women are misdiagnosed)

✨ The "too much and not enough" paradox that defines untreated ADHD

✨ Why shame keeps us stuck—and how to break free from it

✨ Phone addiction, social media, and self-medicating behaviors

✨ Practical coping strategies that actually work (hello, productive procrastination!)

✨ How to work WITH your ADHD brain instead of against it

✨ Setting boundaries around your capacity and energy

✨ Why there's no "perfect system" that will fix everything

Key Takeaway: Whether you have ADHD or not, you are not broken. You don't need fixing—you need understanding, compassion, and support to work with your unique brain.

This episode is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment.

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for Grown-Ass Study Hall!

Grown-Ass Study Hall is a virtual co-working session for women who are done putting things off. You bring your task. We show up together. No camera required, no pressure to speak. Just an hour of actually getting it done. Founding members lock in $27/month for life (regular price will be $37) plus access to a private Voxer channel with direct access to keep the convo going outside of the sessions. Sessions kick off the last week of March! https://grownasswoman.guide/studyhall