Afford Anything - PSA Thursday: Teaching Technology to the Elderly

Episode Date: November 5, 2020

Many of us have experienced disconnection from our loved ones this year, especially with older family members. It can be difficult to stay in touch when parents and grandparents aren't technologically savvy. They might not know how to text, how to use their cell phone to place a call, or how to initiate a video call. We hope that can change after you listen to this episode. To help us learn how we can stay connected with the senior citizens in our lives, we brought on Bria Sullivan. For the past six years, Bria has had a side hustle teaching seniors how to use technology. Today, she shares her best tips on how we can do the same with the elders we love. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/psathursday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to PSA Thursday, a weekly-ish segment of the Afford Anything podcast in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the midst of 2020. For those of you who are new to afford anything and who are new to the PSA Thursday segment, a little quick background. PSA Thursday is totally different from our normal episodes. These are short, actionable episodes that focus specifically on how to handle some aspect of life that relates to the year 20th. These are much shorter than our normal episodes. Our interviews don't have key takeaways. We don't answer audience questions. We intentionally keep these ad-free.

And we keep these hyper-focused on actionable tips. Today, we are going to talk about how you can stay connected with the senior citizens that you love, your grandparents, your grand uncles and aunts, any person in your life who is elderly or who is a senior. How can you stay in touch with them in the context of 2020? With me today is Brea Sullivan, who I will let her introduce herself, but she has spent her career working with seniors. So hello, Briya. Hi, Paula. I'm so happy to be here.

Brea, you work for a senior care facility. Can you tell me a little bit about the organization that you work for, what services do they offer and what do you do? What is your experience working with seniors in that capacity? Yeah, so I work for a company that owns about 300 senior living communities, anywhere from independent living to skilled nursing to memory care and dementia. A lot of them are together in one community or just separate. So my role is to provide the training materials for the staff and also for the residents themselves on how to use technology or how to use anywhere from making a phone call or setting up a Zoom call or a Skype call to various levels of things that the staff needs to know and also some of the residents as well. So we kind of shifted during COVID-19 to speak directly to residents more on how they can interact with their family members through tech. So that was different because we

were mostly working with the staff that works with them. And then on the side, I work with elders in my life. So that includes a maternal and paternal grandmother and also their friends. One of my grandmother's, my paternal grandmother's neighbor is also 94. Well, they're both about to be 94. But I work with both of them, and they have different needs. So my paternal grandmother has hearing problems. So she has 60% hearing loss. Really has a hard time hearing my voice specifically, which apparently is high-pitched, which I didn't think it was. But she can't really talk on the phone anymore. She can't have phone calls. So you can't just call her and pick up the phone and say, hey, how's it going? Can't do that. The

woman upstairs has a hard time seeing and she loves to read. So those are examples of people who have different needs, but they still have the desire to communicate, but they have, think of a language barrier, right? You're not going to use certain terms or certain expressions with somebody that you know you're talking to someone who's speaking English as a second or third language. So it's kind of similar to that. So on the side, I work with a lot of elders that need help with technology. It can range anywhere from I need to know how to set up my Google Chromebook to I need to know how to video chat or use FaceTime or I need to learn how to send a text message or to take a photo, you know? So it's stuff that seems basic to millennials like us,

but it's not basic. It's very complicated and it can take some weeks of effort to really get them to where they feel confident. But when they do and they're able to do it, it is the most magical moment when they're able to just send that text message all on their own. And so you've been running this side business for about six years, the side hustle of teaching seniors in your community how to use technology. Yeah, exactly. It's part of my day job and part of my just side hustle. So it's just a passion that I have. Before we get into the topic of how to teach seniors, and specifically the actionable takeaway for the people who are listening is going to be in terms of applying this to their own life.

You know, if someone who's listening to this has a grandparent who they want to be in closer contact with, but they can't visit them in person because it's 2020. So the first question that comes to mind is figuring out what the ideal form of contact is. Because as you alluded to, some people have hearing problems and so phone calls are not ideal. Others have vision problems, and so reading, like text messages, not ideal. So how do you, to start with, how do you determine what is the best method for communicating with a senior that you love? The number one thing that you have to do first and foremost is to listen.

If you know this person, you have noticed that they wear hearing aids and that they ask you to come again, say that again, repeat, what? So you know that they have hearing problems. There might be somebody that you know they are blind. They're legally blind, like the woman that lives upstairs from my grandmother. You need to really listen to what their needs are and also start asking them like, hey, it's going on nine months. You know, how are things going for you?

Do you feel lonely? Like, just straight up and say it because all of us are dealing with that. All of us are dealing with the loss of life force, you know, some of our habits and routines and pleasures that we used to have, we don't have them anymore. We can't do them anymore. And the same is true for elders, probably more so than some of us. So listen to them, find out what their needs are, assume they're lonely. They probably are. And then after that, then it's kind of, like I said, talking to somebody who is speaking English as a second language. So you're not going to use certain phrases. You're not going to use things like even the word upload and download. You know,

can be kind of confusing. They're intimidating. Intimitating. The difference between Wi-Fi and data I noticed on a phone, a smartphone, if an elder person is using a smartphone, that's a very complicated concept. I've tried a few times to explain the difference between Wi-Fi and data, you know, to varying degrees of success. But, you know, it's also like speaking their language and trying to phrase anything that you're

teaching them within the context of their need. If they've said to you, I really wish that I could talk to me. my grandchildren, then ask them, do you know how to make a phone call on this phone that you have? You know, they might have a wall phone, but that somebody might have given them an iPhone or somebody might have given them a track phone that's an Android operating system. So whatever it is that they want to be able to do, that's where you start. Don't explain to them how smartphones are made and like the difference between Apple and Android. Like, just say, okay, what you're going to do is turn on your phone, go to your contacts, know how to search for the person you want to

a call. In fact, I'll put it on speed dial for you, and then you press send. And to end, you hit the red button to end the call. It's stuff like that. Like, don't go above and beyond their head. Just meet them where they are. So what I'm hearing is listen to them to find out what the best method of communication is and then reduce all instruction to purely that method and don't use big tech. Complicated jargon. Yeah. And understand that even things that we find based is still complicated jargon to somebody else. Exactly. Like download.

Like download, upload, and data even is complicated. What words would I use to substitute that? So, like, for example, contacts, it's the Rolodex. Mm-hmm. Right? Right, the Rolodex of your phone. The Rolodex of your phone. Let's say to place a phone call, you know, to send a text message.

They understand that type of stuff. But, yeah, just try to dumb down the language a bit and don't use such techy terms. What would you say as a replacement for upload or download? Receive and send. If they're even working with things like the cloud, you can use words like that. But some people, you know, maybe if you're talking with your parents, if you're a millennial and you're speaking with your parents, they might be a little bit further along than your grandparents. They would be putting photos from their iPhone into the cloud, but they don't understand how it gets to the cloud. and you say essentially you're sending your photos to a storage unit in the sky,

which is really just a giant machine in a warehouse somewhere. I mean, that's pretty straightforward. And when you need to receive files, that's what you need to go to Google Drive and receive the file. Click the button that says download to receive your file. So it's transferring the file from one device to another, one location to another. Have you seen more demand from seniors or more requests from seniors to learn how to use different types of technologies like Zoom or Skype in the year 2020? And if so, what do they seem to be interested in? Are they interested in learning how to FaceTime?

Are they interested in learning Zoom or is it more text messaging and emojis? Yeah, it's definitely Zoom or FaceTime or Skype, so video conferencing in general. And the thing they're most interested in, I have found, I have a client, it's a Catholic Abbey. They are a group of 70 plus seniors that used to have in-person lectures that wanted to take those lectures to a webinar format. And what's very useful to them is to take the content. They still want to see the person giving the lecture, but they also really want to be able to see materials, like a PowerPoint, for example. it's very important to teach them how to share a screen, for example, how your microphone is turned on and off, and also how the video is turned on and off.

And utmost importance when it comes to using video technology or video conferencing is video conferencing etiquette because it's very different. Because when we have conversations, we tend to interject and talk over each other just as a way of speaking passionately about a subject. When you teach somebody, you have to make them understand that if you're in a group of people, like five, people, 10 people on a video Zoom call. You all should be on mute until you need to speak. Otherwise, you're going to pick up all kinds of sounds in the backgrounds. People are going to get up and move. It can be super distracting. Way more than in real life. Teaching them the difference between being silent until spoken to, whereas the other way is to say, you know, affirmations like, mm-hmm, okay, right. But if you're saying that in the middle of somebody speaking on a video

conference, it can often like cut the sound. So it's basic stuff like that, you know, where you don't really think about it, but it makes an enormous difference when everybody knows to nod their head or put a thumbs up visually while the camera's on and even how to turn off the camera when you need to step away from the computer. Because if we see you stand up and walk away, it can be very distracting for a room of 10 where you're meeting with your whole family and people are moving around. It changes the focus of the conversation. So, Teaching them basics like video and microphone and just basic interactions on video conferencing is huge right now because it's the way that people are gathering their families together. I've noticed a lot of people have regular Wednesday Zoom calls with the family and the extended family. Some people share their screen to keep teaching them how to do things. I've seen younger folks share a screen and say this is how you upload and download, for example, but I've also just seen people get on there with just mics and cams on. And that's it. The one main focus, how to get on the Zoom, how to turn your mic and camera on and off. And that's really the most important thing.

For people who can't be there to teach seniors in person, are there any methods that you found to be more effective than others? Like, for example, would it be video conferencing with them to teach them how to video conference? Or would it be sending them screenshots with like, you know, certain things, highlight. or circled? Or does it just depend on the individual? And if so, how do you determine what the needs of a given individual are? So number one is to listen, like I said, to find out what their needs are, but also to sense where their literacy, their tech literacy is. Right. So if they're brand new at touching a computer or a smartphone, you're likely not going to get them on video conferencing unless you have an aid there. If you have, you know, you're working with your grandmother or something

and she has an in-house aid that comes every Tuesday or something to give baths and stuff like that, that might be a conversation that you would have with that aid and say, hey, would you possibly FaceTime with me so I can see her and talk to her? Because she's not going to have the capacity to do that on her own. So you can't teach video conferencing through video conferencing to somebody who has never touched a computer. Also find out what their comfort level is with technology. And if that doesn't work, there's still the old-fashioned phone. They still make phone calls. And you can still send letters.

If this is a person that is just not going to have the capacity to use technology, go the old-fashioned route and send postcards. Make a phone call and just say, hey, what's, what are you having for dinner? Oh, you're having mac and cheese tonight. Great. I'm having a ramen again, you know, and just have a little conversation to let the person know that you're thinking of them. Just a quick phone call makes all the difference. It changes the whole day for them. So don't force technology on them because it's going to have the opposite effect if you are at a distance and you can't spend the time and there's no one there that can essentially act as a surrogate for you. If you don't have any of that, then send letters, send a postcard, make a phone call to just let them know that you're thinking of them.

If you do have the ability to actually go to someone's house and spend time with them in a safe way, Teach in threes. If you're teaching a skill set, try to teach them once and then ask them if they remember the second time. Rate a few minutes, change the subject, move on to something, and then ask again if they remember what we just did. Because with seniors, they're going to have recall differences depending upon, you know, what's happening with them cognitively. Especially with prolonged loneliness, I'm finding that some are having a hard time remembering things when they didn't before, just because. of the lack of social interaction. So that's of concern for sure. But I would say teach in threes. And before you leave, try to say, hey, did you remember how to make a phone call? Why don't you call me? Call me one more time or like get home, call them and say, wow, you picked up the phone. Just how was that?

You remembered how to do it. Why don't you call me back? Try to jog their memory the day after two. Don't wait too long. So repetition, start with threes and make sure they're able to recall the information on their own. without you doing it for them. Don't do it for them. They're not going to learn if you do it. If you do it for them. That's a really good tip doing things in threes. Like teach them how to do it, have them repeat it back to you immediately,

wait for a period of time, then have them repeat it back to you again. Exactly. Are there any other best practices that you found for teaching, regardless of platform, regardless of whether you're teaching FaceTime versus Zoom versus how to text? Documentation. If you have the ability to go, and sit with someone, an elderly person, bring a notebook, and bring your hand sanitizer, you know, wear your mask. Make sure that you write down what you talked about. Because like I said,

the recall is going to be difficult, especially because of the loneliness, maybe they were already having some cognitive decline, but also in general learning technology or learning a new skill, sometimes you can be overwhelmed by learning a new skill and you get like the brain fog, right? So, and that can happen to anybody. It doesn't really matter. You're either. age. So I think it's helpful to just assume that they're going to forget. So try to repeat yourself enough times and review and document everything. If you have a notebook, just write how to text message and write down the steps. Because you may not think that scrolling down is a step, but it is. Every tiny little motion that you do on a phone to make a phone call or to send a text message

or to attach a photo in a text message to send to your grandchild, that's like 13 steps. But we don't think about that because we do it every day. But when you really break it down like that and then you document it, it's much easier for you to remember how you taught it, A, and then B, for them to be able to read the instructions and do it again, you know, in a week when they haven't done it, so they've forgotten it. So document.

I mean, just pen and paper. Right. Don't get fancy. I mean, if you know how to use, like, editing tools, I mean, go all out. But all you really need is pen and paper. Right, right. Well, and it sounds what I'm hearing is in addition to documenting, breaking things down into the most minor constituent steps. I mean, you know, as you said, attach a photo is not one step. Attach a photo is like 13 micro steps inside of that to open the camera app, click on all photos, scroll, find the photo, click on the photo. Not only that, but iconography, right? So we know that the little head with a person and it means contacts, aka Rollodex. But that's not exactly clear to somebody who doesn't have tech literacy, you know,

or has just gotten a smartphone for the very first time in their life touched a computer. Something like the share icon, you know how the share icon has like a circle, lines that go to two other circles? That makes no damn sense. It makes no damn sense to somebody who did not grow up learning. icons. Right. But the way the technology has been made is, you know, something as simple as the start, the play, the record, the rewind, and the forward buttons on your app is still the same as a VCR. It was built off of a VCR in a cassette, right? So they already know those kinds of commands. So something like YouTube, right, it has a play button in the middle of it.

They should know that symbol. So when you're documenting stuff, it is really helpful to have like a visual glossary. I'm not an artist, but I still can draw out the share icon or different icons like that. Like the phone icon means to make phone calls. You know, one of the ones that my grandma struggles with is the icon for the keyboard because it disappears. When you're on a phone call, you know when you call and they say press one for English, two for Spanish? Right. When you're on a smartphone, that goes away, but it always sits on the screen. But what does it look like? it looks like 10 dots, three across, so nine dots, and then a tenth dot at the bottom. That makes no damn sense. What it is is the phone keypad from the old wall phones.

So you had one, two, three, four, five, six, 79, zero. So that's what it is. But that's something that needs to be spelled out because it disappears. A lot of these apps and the phones are designed to get out of your way for us. The senior doesn't see it as going away. The senior sees it. as they messed it up. They did something wrong. They don't see the icon. So they will experience anxiety and panic from just the way the apps and phones are designed to get out of your way and make things super simple. So if you don't teach the iconography, they will get confused.

With documenting, I would also make sure that you draw the iconography or find a glossary online to print and leave it with them. Because when you go away, they will feel. forget unless you keep prompting them. Unless you do it frequently. So if you're going to start teaching someone how to do this, understand that you are committing time. Right. And if you are not willing to commit time and listen, then maybe you're not the right one for the job. Maybe you should be talking to your spouse who's a bit more patient, you know, or check yourself and say, do I want to spend this time teaching something that to me is so mind-numbingly simple? But don't look at it like that.

say, okay, we're going to do this until you get it. And if a person, your grandma or grandpa or grand aunt or grand uncle, if they live out of state, I mean, would you recommend writing this out and putting it in snail mail? Definitely. You know, like an iconography glossary. Definitely. And call them on the old-fashioned telephone and say, did you receive my message in the mail on paper? Do you have any questions?

And then go through it with them. What they need is time. What they need is time and also repetition. That's what gets them. Because remember, they're not dumb. They're not foolish people. They just come from a different time and they have little need for something like this. It's like when my grandmother, I taught her how to use a smartphone and then she taught me how to knit.

And so every time she gets frustrated with me not knowing how to purl and screwing it up over and over and feeling really stupid, she'd be like, it's not that you're stupid. It's just you need to practice. And I'm like, see? That's right, Grandma. It's not that you're stupid. You just need to practice the phone. Just understand that it is going to be a time commitment. There's no easy way around that. One other thing that you mentioned is the emotional aspect of this is recognizing that what a lot of our grandparents or grand uncles or grand aunts are feeling around technology is anxiety.

Absolutely. Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Because it is your contact with the outside world. you know, so if you're sitting in independent living, you know, you live on your own, you've chosen that. Even if you're in a community, the way that you are now interacting with your family is through Zoom or it's through a phone call or even in some people it's a letter, but we'll stick with the tag folks. If something goes wrong with your computer or your tablet or an icon moves, it's like losing your ability to communicate, to engage and to be together with your family members. It's like not having cell phone service when you're in rural Vermont. It's kind of scary, you know, and it makes you feel kind of anxious. It's like that, except you're now cutting them off from their loved ones when they're already kind of cut off from their loved ones in 2020. So they're seeing them less.

So it is their lifeline to the world. So treat it with utmost respect and delicacy, but try to get it so that they understand how these systems connect. Because part of the anxiety comes from not understanding how this works. and that menus disappear and that you scroll up or scroll down or that when you make a phone call, the keyboard icon, it minimizes itself so you can focus on the phone call rather than having the numbers go up that you hit with their cheek. I mean, it's a simple design element, but it's not clear to somebody who hasn't spent the last 10 years using a smartphone. The anxiety is really high with the tiniest movements or changes. So don't change the operating systems. don't change the brands and understand that unless they really know how to control a task on their

phone, they're going to be afraid that they're going to break it. They think they're going to break it, that they're going to mess something up and not know how to fix it, and then they have to wait a week for you to come by because you're working. You're busy, you know? So there's a big fear of failure or fear of making mistakes. And that it's not going to be able to be repaired quickly because they don't understand how the dots all connect. So they can't actually control it on their own.

And they're used to controlling, especially folks in independent living, they're used to controlling their surroundings, their food, their grocery, their transportation. If they have all their faculties, they're in control of their life. And now they're using this thing that helps them, this tiny pocket computer, you know, communicate with their family. And if one thing goes wrong or gets moved, it's fear-inducing because it's like, and now I can't call for help. Because a lot of people don't have landlines anymore. You know, there's something they can do, but it's the fear of being cut off. And anybody can relate to that. Having no Wi-Fi, having no cell phone service, while you're navigating across the country

and you're in a state you don't know and your GPS doesn't work because you're out of data. Like, it sucks, you know, for anybody. So it's not really about your age. It's, when technology doesn't cooperate, we all know very well that it is the most enraging, frustrating thing. Right. So it's still going to be like that for a senior, but it's going to be bigger. Right. And scarier because they are not going to be as committed to troubleshooting as we would.

Or as confident about knowing how to troubleshoot. That's key. They're not going to feel confident. You know, I haven't met many seniors that really do feel super confident. I mean, after time, after many years, you know, I've met some, but there's always a degree of, I'm not sure how this works, which is natural. You know, think about trying to learn a language right now. Like, it's going to take you a few years to learn that language, and you're still going to be

Unconfident even after six years of being fluent in Spanish. You're still going to be like, what's the word for that thing? You know, so you're never going to feel 100% confident, really, until you've done it a lot. So I would just be gentle with their emotions and really watch your tone. Because when you show any tone of, like, frustration in your voice,

it shuts them down. So be very careful about the tone that you use when you're teaching them because it really will make them understand that they're burdening you. Especially when you're dealing. with people in independent living or people who are just still living in their homes or whatever, people who have full control over their life, they're going to feel the most anxiety and guilt about the time that you're committing to putting into helping them with the technology. So just watch your tone and try not to be like, like I said last time or as I said before,

you know, just really watch your tone as you would with a child. You try to watch your tone around children. You know, it's kind of the same thing, except that you need to understand that they are your elder, and so you need to treat them with respect. And you know a thing that you're trying to teach them, but don't forget that they've been on this planet for 70 years longer than you, and they have a lot of wisdom.

They just are learning a new skill. It's not a defect within their personality. It's just exposure. So as long as you speak in a way that makes them understand that you're supportive and that you're going to help them until they get it, they will learn it much faster because of your tone. One of the things I recommend with the senior that you're working with is setting up a tech Bible.

So it can just be as simple as a composition notebook. And in it, any conversation that you have with them about something related to their phone or their tablet or their computer, whichever device you're working with, any conversation you have about that, detail it, step by step, and slow down when you're going to be. going through it because you might be zooming through, but every touch, every scroll, every tap is a directional. It has to be mapped out like that. If it's a double tap, you have to say tap twice with your finger because that's what it means. To zoom, you use three fingers. Right, because double tap itself is jargon. Yes. It's jargon if you're not familiar with technology. What is a double tap? And when you say

zoom in, well, how? Right. How do you zoom in? Well, you need three fingers. or at least two fingers, and you start small with your fingers and you expand. Your fingers separate from themselves and come back together. So you take a pinch. So you pinch your fingers and then you open your fingers and bring them back. That's a zoom and a zoom out. Right. It has to be said like that because it doesn't make sense to just say zoom in.

And what does scroll mean? Because on some phones you scroll up to go down and vice versa. So you have to explain. Take your finger and pull it down towards the bottom of the phone. or the tablet. So break them down, it's like, you know, that Reddit thread that's like, teach me like them five. It's kind of like that where you break it down to every tiny little step.

So have that in the tech Bible. One of the other things I would recommend is not switching brands because the operating system of those brands are different. So if you taught your senior how to use a Mac, don't buy them a PC when their Mac breaks because then they have to start completely over with a different. way of using the device. Right. Which is kind of easy for us to go in between, but not.

I mean, think about when you have to use someone's phone and it's an Android, you're like, ugh. Right. You know, if you hand me your phone, you're like, take a picture of me and it's an iPhone. I'm like, ugh, because I don't use iPhone. Right. So don't switch brands. The other one. Operating systems and changing up phones.

Yeah. You and I were talking outside of this recording about, heck, I feel confused if I switch from an iPhone to an Android. You two opposite way. I'm like, Papa, teach me how to you? to use an iPhone. How does this work? Here's an example, a real-life story. My grandmother needs a new fancy hearing aid that will sync with an app.

She is able to control the volume with an app rather than touching the button behind her ear, which she can't feel because her fingers are numb. Okay? So the person at the store is saying, her phone's too old. It doesn't have the right operating system to support this app from Belltone. get a new phone. Why don't you buy an iPhone? I'm like, sir, with all due respect, it has taken me six years of sitting with her most Sundays explaining how an Android works. And different Android, you went from one phone, broke it, another one, we're going to be on our third phone. I'm like, sir, I am not going to start over with a whole new operating system because what you don't realize is the iconography and the placement of those apps and those buttons, those programs, Make all the difference.

If you get a new phone and the contacts is on the right, it used to be on the left, you don't think that's a big deal because you just follow the icons. That's how we were educated to use smartphones. That's not how it works for a senior. They're going to get confused because now this thing that used to be here is not there anymore. And it will throw them off and they will feel terror, like anxiety, like real panic in them because they don't know how it works. They don't know that they can customize it.

It just disappeared and now they feel cut off from the world. Hmm. With something as simple as the placement or the changes in the way an icon looks. Mm. Thank you, Brea. Do you have any final tips that people can put into action if they want to stay in contact with the seniors in their life? Mm-hmm. Budget some time.

Try to visit at a distance. Find out what their comfort level is with your presence. And bring all of the sanitary things that you need to sit with them maybe outside. But then spend time going through whatever one task that they want to be able to do, which is send a text message, for example. Focus on one thing until they master it. And if you can't see them in person, if you're in different states, call them on the phone and walk them through it. And if you can find visuals online, if you can make your own visuals, if you're crafty like that or, you know, visual and mail it to them. Right.

Print it out. Or email if they're even, you know, using email. send it to them so that you can walk them through via phone how to achieve or how to log on to a video conferencing, Zoom, for example. You know, here's how you get onto Zoom. I'm going to mail you documentation on how to do it because Zoom has a ton of documentation as of 2020 on how to do every tiny thing. Right.

So definitely lean on Zoom if you're using that platform. Right. Yeah. Because they have the documentation. And you can always put that in the snail mail. Yep. And all of those tools, all of those apps, they have amazing. knowledge-based documentation, and that's the kind of stuff that you need to send to them.

Read it first, go through it yourself, and say these are the tips that are going to help my parents, my grandparents, get to Zoom if they're already at a degree of literacy where they can handle that, you know? If they're not, then make a phone call. Just call them. Call them every week. Say, I'm going to call you every Sunday. So they come to expect that. If you can call more, that's better. If you can call at dinner every night and just say, hey, what do you have? And it can be a five-minute phone call, but it changes their moods. It changes their day and lets them know that they're not on their own and they're not forgotten. So that is really helpful too, even if it's every other day. I know we're all busy, but just going, doing laundry, you can call, you know, walking to the mailbox

you can call. I mean, there's so much time in your day, even though we're overwhelmed, there really is so much time in your day to take a five-minute phone call to tell somebody that's older that you're thinking about them and that you're there if they need any help, you know, and it will make you feel better, it will make them feel better, and it will reduce your stress. I promise. Excellent. Well, thank you so much, Brea. You're welcome. And that is our show for today. You're listening to PSA Thursday on the Afford Anything podcast. My name is Paula Pan. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it with a friend or a family member. That's the single best way to spread the education and the message that we are providing.

If you are interested in learning about rental property investing, and I know many of you are, I know from the comments and the messages and the questions that we get, if you want to learn how to buy rental properties and build a stream of passive income, we have a course. It's an amazing, very robust course. It took us three years to build. We're constantly iterating it. We're constantly improving it.

We have a big community. It is an incredibly robust, impressive course. that will teach you everything that you need to know as a beginner rental property investor. And we only make this course available twice a year. The last time that it was available was back in May. And now, for the second and final time this year and final time for many, many months to follow, we are going to be available for enrollment one week only. So we open our doors on Monday, November 30.

We close our doors one week later. and that's the one week that you have to enroll. After that, we close our doors so that we can focus entirely on our students. It is a 10 to 11 week long course. Normally, it's 10 weeks, but there's a holiday break. So I think this year it might be 11 weeks. We go through all the material as a cohort. We've got TAs, who are alumni, who are there to answer your questions and help provide guidance. We have strategic mastermind groups. We have forums. We have office hours. We have a new thing we're rolling out called introvert hours. You can learn all. all about it, get all the information by going to afford anything.com slash VIP list. This is a

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