Peggy Nicholson: Preparing for Death Without All The Information You Need

About Fun With Annuities Episode #103

Margaret “Peggy” Nicholson is one of a kind.  A unicorn.  She might be the most unique celebrity guest host of all the guests I’ve had on my Fun With Annuities podcast.  She is a 78 ½-year-old dynamo and a world traveler.  And oh-by-the-way, she has a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.  Peggy has also published a book called “My Surprise Family…” which is a mystery, and a memoir of her fascinating life story.  Spoiler alert, her mother was a pool hall hustler—no way to make this kind of stuff up.

Did I mention that she is the founder of a support group called “Preparing for Death”? She has her members lie in a shallow grave and reflect on their life and pending/eventual death.  As my friend and life insurance expert, Bill Black, says… “one out of one of us will die.”  Peggy just laughed and nodded her head when she heard me repeat that.  The bottom line is that she wants her members (and you) to make sure to live life for the day.  Check off that bucket list.  Peggy subscribes to my motto, “there are no U-Hauls behind hearses.”

Yes, we did talk about her take on retirement and how to approach and conquer it daily.  One of the memorable moments of the podcast was when Peggy talked about the brutal fact that none of us will ever have the answers we need to make the perfect retirement investment decisions.  None of us know where the markets are going.  The same goes for interest rates, politics, and wars.  And the biggest unknown answer for all of us is when we will die; as Peggy said, if she knew that every financial and life decision would be a no-brainer.

Once you start listening to this podcast, there is no way you can’t finish it to the end.  There’s no way I could write down all of the “keeper statements and truisms” that happened during this podcast. Peggy starts advising on living your life while weaving in one of her captivating stories. Enjoy this. I know I did.

"We have this moment, we have memories in the past, we can think about the future, but we can only live right now, in this moment…" –  Peggy Nicholson.

Brief Bio on Co-Host: Peggy Nicholson

Dr. Margaret Nicholson moved to Saint Augustine, Florida, 15 years ago. Previously she lived in Pennsylvania, the Netherlands, and briefly in Germany. She became a wife and mother at 18, began college at 28, and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. For most of her life, Margaret’s passion for the written word was absorbed into academic papers and professional materials. Later, no longer dependent on paid work, she began writing about her travel adventures as a single woman. Interrupted by a surprise result from a DNA test taken at 73, she paused to write about her experiences with genetics and genealogy. Then, she founded a support group called “Preparing for Death,” where she has her members lie in shallow graves to reflect on their lives and impending deaths. Peggy loves talking about the brutal fact that none of us will ever have the answers we need to make the perfect retirement investment decisions.

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Peggy Nicholson discuss:

• Lying in a shallow grave
• How to live like you’re dying
• Letting money complicate your life
• Stop waiting for yourself to be ready

Key Takeaways:

• Envision yourself lying in a shadow grave and reflect. Think about your legacy and the people you’ll leave behind. What are some things that came to your mind?
• Live life today like you’re dying tomorrow. That doesn’t mean doing crazy things with your money, but doing some things that take you out of that comfort zone.
• Money doesn’t solve anything and makes things complicated if you let it. Don’t let money complicate your life.
• Stop waiting for yourself to be ready. You’ve waited all your life. You have this moment; take it.

Fun With Annuities®, Podcast is hosted by America’s Annuity Agent®, Stan Haithcock, The Annuity Man®. Hear brutal annuity facts with no sales pitches from the top independent agent in the country, licensed in all 50 states. Author of 7 books, Stan dives deep on all annuity types and strategies. It’s fun, learning the contractual truths on how annuities actually work and if they’ll fit your personal retirement lifestyle.

Listen in on how you can be livin’ the reality, not the dream®. Listen and subscribe on Libsyn, Stitcher,Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, and Spotify.