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Taylor Schulte

Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter

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Aug 20 • 5 min read

50 books, one small favor

Most of what I talk and write about comes down to math.

Roth conversions. Withdrawal sequencing. Social Security timing. Tax brackets and IRMAA thresholds.

That work matters because getting it wrong can be expensive.

But the questions that keep people up at night often begin after the math is solved.

And that’s the idea behind a project I’ve been working on for the past few years.

It’s a new book called ​Even More Than Money​, the second volume in the More Than Money series, and it’s officially out in the world.

In today’s email:

  • What the book is and the role I played in bringing it to life
  • The introduction I co-wrote, shared here as a preview
  • How to get a FREE copy (I have a box of 50 sitting in my office)

As always, I’ll wrap up with a few of the best retirement and investing articles I read in the past week.

***

Before we dive in, did you catch this week's podcast? 👇

🎙️ The 4 Retirement Income Styles (And How to Find Yours)

Two retirees can have the same age, nest egg, and spending needs, yet feel completely different about the exact same retirement income plan. In this episode, I break down 4 distinct retirement income styles and the key tradeoffs between certainty, flexibility, and risk so you can build a strategy you’ll actually feel comfortable sticking with.

Listen now on: ​Apple​ | ​Spotify​ | ​YouTube​ | Browser​

The Question a Spreadsheet Can’t Answer

Even More Than Money is a collection of 20 real-life stories, told by the advisors who lived through them alongside their clients.

The stories are organized around five things money is ultimately for: Living, Changing, Dreaming, Giving, and Enduring.

Now, it's important to emphasize that I didn’t write one of the stories.

My name appears on the cover alongside Justin Castelli and Shanna Due, but the book truly belongs to everyone who contributed, especially the 20 advisors who shared these experiences.

One of them is Tyler Aubrey, my business partner and lead planner at Define Financial (and the person I’d hand the hardest retirement tax question I could invent 🤓).

And one of my favorite parts of the book: 100% of net proceeds go to ​3rd Decade​, a nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to young adults.

I Have 50 Copies to Give Away

Before I share a preview of the book, I want to make you an offer.

I have a box of 50 copies sitting in my office, and I’d much rather send them to the people who read these emails than hand them out at random.

Here’s all I ask in return:

If the Stay Wealthy Retirement Show has been helpful to you, leave a written review on Apple Podcasts.

Your reviews help new listeners discover the show and, hopefully, make better decisions with their retirement dollars as a result.

Leave a review and I’ll mail you a copy:

  1. From your iPhone or iPad, tap here to open the show in Apple Podcasts.
  2. Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews and tap Write a Review.
  3. Choose a star rating, write a few words, and tap Send.
  4. Snap a screenshot of your review and email it to book@youstaywealthy.com with your mailing address.

If reviews aren’t your thing, no worries at all.

You can still support the book and our mission by picking up a copy on ​Amazon.

The Introduction (A Preview)

Rather than tell you the book is worth your time, I’d rather let you decide for yourself.

Below is a preview of the introduction Justin Castelli and I wrote together.

And because we co-wrote it, I’m referred to in the third person.

It feels a little strange inside an email, but I promise it makes more sense in the book. 😊

INTRODUCTION

What Is Money Really For?

It’s a question that deserves more than a textbook answer.

One of Taylor’s clients discovered this the hard way. She had $5 million in the bank. She couldn’t sleep at night. “What if I run out?” she asked, staring at her seven-figure portfolio statement.

Her anxiety wasn’t unusual. Of the hundreds of high-net-worth families Taylor serves, nearly all of them have more money than they could ever spend. These are people with $2 million, $5 million, even $10 million saved. Yet 90% still wake up anxious about running out of money.

Welcome to Even More Than Money: Five Ways to Design Your Financial Life. This is Justin Castelli and Taylor Schulte, inviting you to explore 20 real-life stories gathered from financial advisors’ most profound client experiences.

Why do so many successful people feel this disconnect? As Taylor often observes, the type of person it takes to save that kind of wealth isn’t usually the type who can easily spend it.

They’ve built their identity around accumulation, around being careful, around always having enough. Even when they have more than enough, that anxiety doesn’t just disappear.

The clients who find real happiness in retirement aren’t necessarily the wealthiest ones. They’re the ones who’ve figured out something deeper.

They wake up with purpose. They contribute to their communities. They mentor young professionals, volunteer at their alma mater, or continue doing work they love because they want to, not because they have to. They’ve discovered that fulfillment comes not from the size of their portfolio, but from having responsibilities that matter and relationships that endure.

As Justin puts it, money doesn’t buy happiness—it buys the time to find it.

Where Traditional Financial Thinking Lets Us Down

Most people approach money backwards. They obsess over the mechanics—the budgets, the investment strategies, the tax optimization techniques—without ever asking what it’s all for. They master the “how” while ignoring the “why.”

This isn’t surprising. The financial industry has trained everyone this way. Open any personal finance book and you’ll find chapters on compound interest, asset allocation, and withdrawal rates.

Important topics, certainly. But when was the last time someone asked what brings you joy? What legacy you want to leave? What dreams you’ve deferred because you’re too busy being practical?

As Taylor likes to remind his clients, real financial planning is more art than science. The most profound conversations in a financial advisor’s office rarely start with the rate of return.

They start with questions like: “I can retire, but should I?” Or, “We have enough, but enough for what?”

These aren’t financial questions at their core. They’re human questions. And they require a different framework entirely.

A Different Framework: Money As A Tool For Living

Through hundreds of client stories, a pattern emerged. Money serves five fundamental purposes when it’s aligned with what matters most: Living, Changing, Dreaming, Giving, and Enduring.

These aren’t financial categories; they’re human ones.

Money is for… LIVING—Understanding when to spend generously and when to save wisely, creating a life of both security and joy.

Money is for… CHANGING—Using money as a tool for successful transitions and avoiding the emotional traps that can turn money into an obstacle during life’s inevitable changes.

Money is for… DREAMING—After basic needs are met, money becomes a tool for pursuing your deepest aspirations and most meaningful goals.

Money is for… GIVING—Discovering the profound happiness that comes from generosity, while avoiding the pitfalls of giving with strings attached.

Money is for… ENDURING—Building financial security that lasts and creating legacies that reflect your deepest values.

When money becomes a tool for living these five purposes rather than an end in itself, the anxiety that plagues so many successful people begins to fade.

The question shifts from “Do I have enough?” to “Am I using what I have in ways that matter?”

***

That’s roughly the first few pages. The 20 stories that follow are what the book is really about.

Grab a copy on Amazon.

Or, leave a podcast review using the steps above and I'll mail you one.

📚 What I've Been Reading

Thank you for reading!

Please reply to this email with comments, questions, and/or feedback.

Stay wealthy,

Taylor Schulte, CFP®

Retirement Is More Than Just a Math Problem.

Learn how our 4-step process can help you successfully navigate this decades-long transition—without overpaying the IRS!

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