Getting Started

Can't Afford the Full Guide Yet? 5 Smaller Tools That Help Now

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, just the one piece of this that's 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 would I buy a smaller piece instead of the full guide?

Because $197 for the entire system is the wrong ask when you only have one specific problem in front of you. I broke five pieces out as standalone tools, each priced between $7 and $12, built the same way as everything else here — from what I actually went through, not generic advice repackaged.

None of them are a stripped-down preview of the full guide. Each one covers its own topic in full, the same way a chapter can stand on its own even though it's also part of a book.

What are the five standalone tools, and what does each one solve?

• Memory Care Facility Evaluation Checklist ($9) — 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 ($9) — 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 ($7) — 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.
• After Death: The Death Certificate & Closing the Estate ($9) — My mom is still alive, so I haven't lived this part yet. But my elder-law attorney told me something that stuck: the financial power of attorney I've relied on for years ends automatically the moment she dies, no extension, no grace period. I'd rather learn that sequence now than the week I actually need it, so I researched it and wrote it down.
• Life Story & Memory Book ($12) — My mom doesn't know she has kids or grandkids anymore, but she still lights up over photos. I run out of stories sometimes and repeat the same ones. This is a way to get the stories and the photos into one place before they're only in my head.

Should I start with a standalone tool or the full guide?

Start with whichever one matches what's actually happening in your family this week. If you're touring facilities, get the checklist. If you're staring at a monthly bill that doesn't match what you budgeted for, get the cost worksheet. If a consultation is already on the calendar, get the question bank. None of it requires deciding on the whole system first.

If you find yourself reaching for a second one, or a third, that's usually the sign the full guide would save you money instead of costing more — the 8-section binder and all 8 bonus tools cover everything these five pieces do and more, in one place. But that's a decision for later, not a condition for starting now.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to buy the full $197 guide to get any of this?

No. Five pieces of the system are sold separately, starting at $7, for whoever needs one specific thing solved right now instead of the whole binder at once.

Are these standalone tools cheaper versions of the full guide?

They're the same depth on one topic each, not a watered-down preview. The full guide covers the entire sequence; each standalone tool covers one piece of it in full.

Can I upgrade to the full guide later if I start with one of these?

Yes. Nothing about buying a standalone tool first changes what the full guide covers later — it's just a smaller, lower-commitment starting point if the whole system isn't the right fit yet.

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.