“Powdered Butt Syndrome” is a term describing older adult parents whose adult children give them good advice, but the parents reject it due to thinking, ‘I powdered your butt when you were a baby, so what makes you think you can tell me something I don’t already know?’ Despite the term being comical, it can result in older adults rejecting sound financial advice and ultimately lead to negative financial outcomes.
Clyde and Agnes* were money management clients who had made mistakes with their money. They had three children, and their oldest son had some good advice. As parents, they did not want to hear it, which led to an uncomfortable family dynamic.
The older son knew about The Senior Source, and fortunately, Clyde and Agnes were open to financial management help through the organization. Sometimes expert advice from an independent third party is instrumental in people getting the help they need.
One of The Senior Source’s longtime Money Management Volunteers, Curtis Gilmore recalls, “Even though I was telling them a lot of the same things that their son was saying, they were open to hearing me out. We made progress and enacted several changes in their finances.”
Curtis reminisced that it was relatively simple in the early days of serving them. At that time they were both still capable. However, after a while, both began to have cognitive issues and exhibit signs of dementia. With the help of staff members, Curtis ultimately assisted them with their advanced directives and setting up a trust.
Additionally, they shared with Curtis that one of their children could not manage money, and they knew that if he received his share of the inheritance all at once, it could destroy his life. With the trust in place, he would get an ongoing stipend. It was a comfort for Clyde and Agnes to know that they had done all they could to pass along their inheritance in such a way that would benefit all three of their children. Curtis is proud to have helped them overcome the “Powdered Butt Syndrome.”
Curtis Gilmore is one of many Money Management Volunteers who has spent more than a decade helping older adults and their adult children improve their financial situation. Gilmore had a long career in finance – ranging from working at one of the ‘Big Eight’ accounting firms to being a Chief Financial Officer of a medium-sized company here in Dallas.
Natalie Krusz, Senior Financial Case Manager with the Elder Financial Safety Center (EFSC), matches skilled volunteers like Curtis with older adults who have identified that they need help improving their finances. These trained volunteers work under close supervision of EFSC staff to help seniors manage their finances. Depending on what is needed, they help with creating budgets and developing plans to get out of debt, estate planning documents like a will, teaching how to avoid frauds and scams and so much more.
To learn more about becoming a Money Management Volunteer or client, reach out to EFSC@theseniorsource.org or call 214-823-5700.
*Names changed for confidentiality
This program is funded, in part, by Santander Consumer USA.
