A brutally honest, unexpectedly hilarious podcast about one family juggling kids, aging parents, and the beautiful chaos of barely holding it all together.
The Free Resources That Can Save You Thousands: When a Parent Needs Care (Most People Have No Idea These Exist)
One phone call about Medicaid saved a family tens of thousands of dollars. Money they were paying out of pocket for a retirement home their mother actually qualified to have covered.
In this episode of Middle Age Management, Barbara and Bryan get brutally honest about what happens when adult children come in hot, make emotional financial decisions, and end up drowning. And what to do instead.
You'll learn why talking to your parents about money before a crisis hits is the single most important thing you can do right now. What a placement agent actually is (it's free, it's a game-changer, and almost nobody knows it exists). How to find out if your parent qualifies for Medicaid even if they're already in a facility. And why protecting your own 401(k) doesn't mean you don't love your parent.
If you're in the sandwich generation and you're quietly terrified about what your parent's care is going to cost you, this episode is the conversation you didn't know you needed to have.
📲 Follow Middle Age Management so you never miss an episode of your new favorite midlife companions.
thesandwichedgen.com (grab the ebook, blog, support)
Instagram: @BarbaraStratte
If You Have Aging Parents & Are In The Sandwich Generation, I Got What You Need Here:
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/ebook
Make sure you follow for daily entertainment here @BarbaraStratte on Instagram
Find Our Go To Favorite Things for Fun, Home, Family & Aging Parents
https://www.amazon.com/shop/thrivingfamilypodcastbycalmparent
If You Enjoy Reading Here's The Blog
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/blog
13 Jul 2026
College Isn't the Only Answer: How to Raise an Entrepreneurial Kid Who Wins in the Age of AI
Is entrepreneurship the right path for your kid in a world reshaped by AI?
In this episode of Middle Age Management, Barbara and Bryan get real about what it actually looks like to raise a kid who wants to start their own thing, from window cleaning businesses and baseball card TikTok shops to leveraging AI to launch faster and cheaper than ever before.
They break down the 5 essential skills every young person needs no matter which path they choose: communication and emotional intelligence, problem solving, financial literacy, resilience, and continuous learning.
If you're a midlife parent wondering how to set your kid up for success without forcing them into a one-size-fits-all future, this episode is your roadmap.
📲 Follow Middle Age Management so you never miss an episode of your new favorite midlife companions.
thesandwichedgen.com (grab the ebook, blog, support)
Instagram: @BarbaraStratte
If You Have Aging Parents & Are In The Sandwich Generation, I Got What You Need Here:
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/ebook
Make sure you follow for daily entertainment here @BarbaraStratte on Instagram
Find Our Go To Favorite Things for Fun, Home, Family & Aging Parents
https://www.amazon.com/shop/thrivingfamilypodcastbycalmparent
If You Enjoy Reading Here's The Blog
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/blog
6 Jul 2026
Trade School vs College: Why Plumbers and Electricians Are Winning In The AI Economy
We've got to change the ideology that if you don't go to college right after high school, you have failed.
That is bullshit.
We have a 12, 14 and 16 year old. And we are watching the trades go from "less than" to genuinely rockstar status right in front of us.
Plumbers naming their price. Electricians retiring at 50 with boats. HVAC companies that could hire 500 people tomorrow if they could find them. And human physical skills are some of the last things AI will ever be able to replace.
So we are asking the question more parents need to ask. Is trade school the smartest move nobody is talking about?
In this episode:
Why trades used to be frowned upon and why that stigma is finally dying
The financial reality, including apprenticeships that pay you while you learn
Why physical human skills are some of the safest jobs in an AI economy
How trade school can be a smart gap year, not a final decision
Real stories of guys who started in trucks and now run companies
Why the "college or you failed" mindset needs to end
What we are actually telling our own kids about this path
We are not career counselors. We are two parents trying to give our kids real options in a world that looks nothing like the one we grew up in.
Share this with a parent who needs to hear that trades are not a backup plan. They might be the smartest plan.
Subscribe to Middle Age Management for honest weekly conversations about raising kids in a changing world.
Follow us:
Instagram @TheSandwichedGen_
Website TheSandwichedGen.com
If this helped, like, subscribe and share it with a parent who needs to hear it. 🎉
#MiddleAgeManagement #TradesNotFailure #CollegeVsTrades
📲 Follow Middle Age Management so you never miss an episode of your new favorite midlife companions.
thesandwichedgen.com (grab the ebook, blog, support)
Instagram: @BarbaraStratte
If You Have Aging Parents & Are In The Sandwich Generation, I Got What You Need Here:
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/ebook
Make sure you follow for daily entertainment here @BarbaraStratte on Instagram
Find Our Go To Favorite Things for Fun, Home, Family & Aging Parents
https://www.amazon.com/shop/thrivingfamilypodcastbycalmparent
If You Enjoy Reading Here's The Blog
https://www.thesandwichedgen.com/blog
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
102 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
71
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
81
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