Eden Prairie, MN

April is Autism Awareness Month. For families raising a child with special needs, financial planning takes on a different meaning. It’s not just about saving and investing, it’s about creating stability, dignity, and long-term support for someone who may depend on others throughout their lifetime.

Many people spend decades saving for retirement, but surprisingly few stop to ask an important question: How will I know when I’m ready? Retirement isn’t defined by a birthday. It’s defined by preparation, priorities, and confidence that the next chapter will be both financially secure and personally meaningful.

From time to time, we get a listener question on our Sunday morning show on WCCO that opens the door to a much larger financial planning conversation. This is one of those questions: “I’m 62. I don’t need Social Security to live on. Should I take the benefit now and invest it for better returns?”

Parents spend a lot of time thinking about how to prepare their children for adulthood. We talk about education, character, and work ethic, but money often gets pushed to the side. That’s a mistake. How children observe and experience money early on can shape their financial behavior well into adulthood.