Lisa dove into what could only be described as a financial treasure hunt, unraveling the layers of her parents’ history to secure their future. With Noah and Aliya by her side, they delved into decades of collective memories, uncovering hidden assets and mementos from a life richly lived.

The night before Lisa, her mom and dad were planning on going through their shared office for cleanup and financial review, she set some ground rules.

“1. No fights, 2. No complaints, 3. Timeout for cool downs is allowed, you just must ask first, no storming out. 4. We are a team going treasure hunting through your history.” After laying down the rules, she asked “Do I have your commitment?” They both nodded, knowing full well they needed to find every penny they had to take care of their expenses moving forward.

Next morning, Lisa got the best coffee and donuts in town, and then they started.

Entering her office, she saw paperwork everywhere on the two desks. Then there were 11 boxes fully stuffed with paperwork. It seemed overwhelming, but she was a woman on a mission, so she said to her troops “One paper at a time… We are going to review, and what is of no use we are going to shred.”

With a deep sigh, she said to herself “One paper at a time”.

“Look at this, Dad,” Lisa said, her voice tinged with excitement as she unearthed an old bond certificate. “Do you remember getting this?”

Noah peered over, a look of surprise etching his face. “Ah, that thing? I bought it ages ago. I looked for it over the years. Great, you found it!”

Lisa’s eyes sparkled with disbelief. “That’s now worth $50,000!” she declared, a sense of wonder in her voice.

With an early big win, they all felt energized.

Lisa’s dad liked investing in a variety of things and over the years had invested in bonds and annuities that he had completely forgotten about. As she looked further in that box, she discovered a couple more bonds. Not as valuable as the first one, but every penny counts.

The next few boxes were filled with paperwork both her parents had saved from the various jobs that they had over the years. The treasure in those boxes at first seemed mostly a sense of pride from a job well done. Both had saved their performance reviews. These reviews were all filled with praises for them. Lisa read some of them with pride and started saving them in an empty box, thinking one day she would help them with their memoirs. 

Then she discovered a piece of paper that led them to yet another jackpot at the end of the rainbow. “Mom, did you have a pension plan when you worked at Monsanto?” Lisa asked, knowing full well the answer would be “I don’t know honey!” and that was the exact response she got.

Lisa called the phone number on the paperwork. Her mom and Lisa were on the phone with a very helpful young man for 45 minutes. When they hung up. They collectively did a happy dance. Turned out her mom was enrolled in a pension plan that she was now eligible to draw money from. It was enough to cover all her “I need money for fun” monthly expenses.

Elated from the news and Happy Dance, the three of them sat down for lunch and went over all the companies that they had each worked for. They discussed how many years they had stayed at each of the companies. 

When they got back to the office, Lisa went through the boxes painstakingly to see if there were any more pension plans or retirement savings plans that they had not previously identified. Turned out there were a couple of other 401K retirement savings plans that had been unaccounted for. These plans also added a significant amount to their nest eggs.

As Lisa was opening the last box that was supporting her mom’s table that looked a little wobbly, she discovered an envelope that was propping up one of the legs that had lost its protective leg cap.

When she opened that envelope, she saw a bank statement for an account that contained $41,000 as of a year ago. The account only had her mom’s name. Her mom had just gone to the restroom. So, Lisa decided to follow her there and ask about this account in private. 

“Mom, what is this?” Lisa asked. 

“Oh yeah! Don’t tell your dad about this, but for years I had been putting some money in this account, so one day I could take the whole family on around the world trip.” Responded her mom with eyes filled with dreams and tears. “I guess there is too much going on in our lives now to ever take the trip.” she added with sadness.

Lisa was curious if her dad had a hidden bank account. She told mom to stay out of the office for fifteen minutes. She asked her dad, “Do you have a bank account that mom does not know about”. He responded sheepishly, “Yeah, there is one with about $17,000. I won big on one of my trips to Vegas with my friends. I know your mom doesn’t approve of my gambling, so I have kept that account to use for gambling adventures with my friends. You can’t tell her about that account.” He commanded.

With all boxes removed and at least the top of the desks cleared and dinner time approaching. Lisa announced “Let’s call it quits for the night. It has been a highly productive day, don’t you think?” She looked at both her parents, grinning ear to ear, and looking for validation.

With the boxes all gone, there was a door that exposed itself. Lisa thought she should open that, to estimate the number of hours it would take to go through that closet tomorrow. As she approached the door, her mom said in a loud panicked voice as if a dead body was in the closet. “I can take care of the closet once you leave, it’s all for donation, there is no paperwork in that closet.”

Her mom’s reaction was so out of character that curiosity made her go open the door before her mom could stop her. She opened the door to a closet that was meticulously organized and labeled with colorful tags.

Unlike her husband who had investments in stocks and bonds. She had collected artificial jewelry, fur coats and teacups. The meticulous tagging was to help Lisa, after her mom’s death. She had a hundred different names on those tags. Lisa’s mom was very fond of giving gifts to others. This would be her last gift to all those friends and family members that she cherished.

As she relayed the night’s events to her husband, her laughter was unstoppable. Her parents’ antics were undeniably hilarious, but her chuckles were powered by a cocktail of bone-deep tiredness mixed with an unexpected financial windfall. It was less about the comic situation and more an eruption of pent-up emotions. Imagine her laughter as the sound of money doing a stand-up routine while running on no sleep—it was that kind of funny.

When Lisa needed money to pay for her mom’s care at the end of her life, Lisa brought the most expensive furs to her mom. “Mom, the fur coats,” Lisa gently ventured, aware of the memories she wanted to leave behind. “They could help with your care expenses.”

Her mom’s fixated gaze on those fur coats lingered for a long time as she reviewed mentally the stories of how and when she bought them. Each label triggered the memories of the wonderful times with her friends and family whom she wanted to leave those too. Lisa gave her mom some time to digest her recommendation. 

Finally, she said in a soft voice, “If it helps with my care, then sell them. I’d rather have you worry less.”

Lisa found exploring her parents’ home like an archaeological dig, uncovering not just unexpected financial treasures but a rich tapestry of their lives. From dormant bank accounts echoing forgotten dreams, like Aliya’s wish to see the world, to tales of career achievements buried in paperwork, the journey was priceless. Adhering to excavation rules, they didn’t just unearth financial gains but also a wealth of cherished memories, painting a vivid picture of a family woven together by love, respect, and the joy of rediscovering their shared history.