What Matters Most: The Get Your Sh*t Together Guide to Wills, Money, Insurance, and Life's "What-ifs"

by Chanel Reynolds

Overview

Part-memoir, part-guidebook, this is a practical look at getting your affairs in order before the unthinkable (or inevitable) occurs.
On July 17, 2009, Chanel Reynolds's husband, José, was struck by a van, then died one week later. Just hours after the accident, Chanel realized that she was completely unprepared for what came next: What was the password to his phone? Were their wills legally binding? How much insurance did they have? Could she afford the house? And what the hell was probate anyway? Simply put, she didn't have her shit together.
The truth is, most of us don't.
Drawn rom firsthand experience, expert advice, and the unparalleled resources of her celebrated website, Get Your Shit Together, this honest, no-nonsense guide provides step-by-step practical advice to help you with:

• Checklists: What to do before, during, and after a crisis
• Legal documents: Create your will, living will, and power of attorney
• Covering your ass: Get enough of the right life insurance
• Get your money sorted: Emergency funds, savings, and budgets
• Make a "what-if" list: Have a watertight emergency plan
• Digital details: Track your online accounts and passwords

Praise for What Matters Most
Named One of the Top 10 Self-Help Books by The Seattle Times
"Chanel's wisdom is a gift. . . . What Matters Most offers you the chance to find, and consider, those critical answers." —Rebecca Soffer, coauthor of Modern Loss: Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome.
"A rallying cry for us all to get our sh*t together before it's too late." —Caitlin Doughty, New York Times–bestselling author of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
"Not only sound counseling but a straightforward plan for when the unthinkable occurs." —Library Journal (Best Wellness Book)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062689450
Publisher:	Harper
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	343
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Chanel Reynolds is the founder of the internationally praised website GetYourShitTogether.org, inspiring and motivating millions of people worldwide with the jumpstart they need to prepare for life's curveballs. She was the founding Managing Director of WorldChanging and has used her unique expertise leading projects for clients such as Nike, Samsung, Microsoft, and Starbucks. Reynolds uses her uncanny ability to talk about the hard things at speaking events and conferences all over the world. She lives in Seattle and spends her free time cooking, hiking, doing yoga with her family, and often staying up too late-just because she can.

 

Table of Contents

A Note to the Reader xi

Introduction 1

Part I Before

Life Goes Sideways 15

Guide: When Life Goes Sideways 31

Waiting for the Dice to Roll 37

Guide: When the Shit Hits the Fan 59

Family Meeting 67

The Last Day 81

Reentry Protocols 85

Guide: Quality of Life, Death, and Dying 91

Tell the Truth; Not Too Much 99

Found and Lost 105

Part II After

Aftershocks 109

Meridians 115

The Celebration-of-Life Memorial-Funeral-Ceremony-Service 125

Guide: After Death 133

Strangers in a Strange Land 141

Border Crossing 151

Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts 153

Guide: The Tangled Web We Leave 161

1 Essentials 165

2 Insurance 177

3 Money 196

4 Legal 208

Practice Makes Progress 225

The New Normal(ish) 233

Drink, Fuck, Run 243

Missed Connections 251

Part III Always

The Overview Effect 255

What Would Cher Do? 261

Guide: What Makes a Difference 267

Message in a Bottle 275

Where's the Bear? 281

Guide: What Matters Most 287

A Small Series of Losses 297

Departure 301

Jump 303

Afterword: Finding Shore 305

The Guidebook 309

Acknowledgments 315

Notes 317

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

Reynolds’ story, told from the trenches of life, is powerful and wise. Her message—sort out your finances and get your end-of-life wishes in order before it’s too late—offers readers a generous opportunity to learn from her experiences and be more fully prepared.

Shelf Awareness

If anything will make you finally write a will, get life insurance, make a folder with all your passwords, or write letters to your loved ones, this remarkable book is it.

CrossCut (Seattle)

Grief is a monster better confronted without a legal, financial and logistical mess left behind; Chanel’s wisdom is a gift to all future dead people wanting to lift some of the burden of loss off their surviving loved ones. What Matters Most offers you the chance to consider, and find, those critical answers.

Rebecca Soffer

Chanel Reynolds took her own unthinkable tragedy and turned it into a rallying cry for us all to get our sh*t together before it’s too late. In What Matters Most, she is your funny, irreverent friend, who’s here to show you tough love. The time for death denial and keeping your head in the sand is over.

Caitlin Doughty

How strange to have been so conscious about money in life but lax about where it all goes when I die. I’ve bought my green burial plot, picked who will bury me, but had I written my will? Well yes, many times, but never completed any of them. That stopped the day I read Chanel’s book. How free I feel to have these tasks done.

Vicki Robin

There’s little point in worrying about a future death, but simple acts of planning can relieve your worries, protect and prepare you for what lies ahead, and give you a calmer and more peaceful today. These preparations are not only pragmatic acts, but sacred gifts to our future selves and to those we love who will survive us. What Matters Most is a reassuring, step-by-step guide to a better future in the midst of grief and loss.

Katy Butler