Getting Started

Can't Afford the Full Guide Yet? Start With the First-Fire Kit

Every few weeks someone tells me the full guide isn't the right fit for them right now. Money's tight, or they don't need the whole binder yet — just the pieces that are actually on fire this week. I built the full system because that's what I needed, eventually. But I didn't need all of it on day one, and neither does anyone reading this.

Why start smaller instead of the full guide?

Because $27 for the entire system is the wrong ask when the first fire is already in front of you. The public path is simple: the free 7 Documents Checklist, the $9 First-Fire Kit for the three urgent tools, and the $27 Full Guide when you're ready for the full binder.

Nothing in the First-Fire Kit is a stripped-down preview. It's the same depth on those three topics as in the full guide — bundled for the moment you need them most.

What's in the First-Fire Kit?

• Memory Care Facility Evaluation Checklist — I toured three facilities before choosing one, and found out about the real extra costs — cleaning fees, supplies I'd still be buying myself — only by asking, then by the bill. This is the list of questions I wish I'd had walking in, plus a scorecard to compare places side by side.
• Long-Term Care Cost Projection Worksheet — In-home care ran $30 to $35 an hour. Memory care that started around $10,500 a month is pushing $11,000 now. The number I had in my head going in was wrong, and nobody hands you a real range up front. This gets you the actual number, and the multi-year range, before you're locked into a decision instead of after.
• Elder Law Attorney Question Bank — I walked into my first elder-law consultation hoping I'd think of the right questions in the room. I didn't, and found out the hard way what I should have asked about Medicaid, guardianship, and fees before I was already sitting across the desk. This is the list I wish I'd brought.

The full guide also includes deeper estate-closing and legacy pieces (death-certificate / estate sequence, life-story memory work, and more) inside the $27 system — not sold as separate products on this site.

Should I start with the First-Fire Kit or the full guide?

If the first fire is already showing up — touring facilities, staring at a monthly bill that doesn't match the budget, or a consultation already on the calendar — start with the First-Fire Kit. Grab the free checklist too if you haven't yet. None of that requires deciding on the whole system first.

If you already know you need the full sequence — POA fights, property, Medicaid timing, compensation tracking, and the rest — the full guide is the one-time $27 playbook: the 8-section binder and all 9 bonus tools in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to buy the full $27 guide to get any of this?

No. The free 7 Documents Checklist and the $9 First-Fire Kit cover the urgent first-fire tools without the full binder. The $27 guide is the complete system when you're ready.

What's in the First-Fire Kit?

Three tools: the Memory Care Facility Evaluation Checklist, the Long-Term Care Cost Projection Worksheet, and the Elder Law Attorney Question Bank — the same depth as in the full guide, bundled for when the first fire shows up.

Can I get the full guide later if I start with the First-Fire Kit?

Yes. Starting with the First-Fire Kit doesn't change what the full guide covers later — it's a lower-commitment entry point until you're ready for the whole system.

Related reading: if the piece you need right now is getting a bank or an institution to actually honor your paperwork, start with when the bank won't accept your power of attorney. If it's your parent's resistance to help at all, start with when a parent with dementia won't let you help with money.

This isn't legal, financial, or medical advice — it's a plain-language account of what these tools are and who they're for, based on what I actually went through. For anything specific to your family's situation, talk to a licensed attorney, financial advisor, or physician.