Guest Blog: Financial Management For Seniors: Prepping for a New Stage of Life
Approaching the discussion of financial management with the seniors in your life can be a sensitive topic. If you’re hoping to help an elderly family member or friend get a better handle on their monetary commitments, there are several important items to consider. Whether you’re helping a senior straighten out their finances as they transition into assisted living, or you’re simply noticing the elders in your life need to do some fiscal housekeeping, you should always have a plan of action in place.
Organize
With age, staying on top of payments can be made even more difficult if the senior(s) in your family tend to be more disorganized. From putting a filing system in place to creating an excel spreadsheet, organization is key when it comes to helping seniors manage their finances. If you’re planning on assisting the elders in your life with their finances, start small by offering to help your loved one give their financial system some structure. Dedicate a time to go through financial documents and bills together, and once you’ve tackled the paperwork, discuss budgeting as well. If an assisted-living arrangement is being considered for the future, it’s important to be financially prepared for this kind of transition.
Discuss Timing
Timing is perhaps the most sensitive aspect of financial planning with seniors. Explain to your loved ones why they should be prepared for the unexpected, and take the time to discuss their future living situation along with what lies ahead for their expenses. While most seniors have savings set aside for significant transitions, it’s never a bad idea to reevaluate these funds. It might be beneficial to set up a more long term money management plan, and to start assessing areas in which the seniors in your life can save more. Look closely at monthly expenses, and track how much they might need to save over the next few years in order to transition into assisted living, or even to hire a long-term care professional. Now could be a good time to consider helping them refinance their mortgage if they are hoping to put some extra money away in order to prep for unexpected new stages of life.
Automate Payments
Though it’s no secret that most seniors are not the most technically savvy, moving towards automated payments might actually be a better option long term. If you’re finding that an elderly family member or friend appears to have multiple overdue or missed payments, or that they’re overpaying for fear of missing a payment, suggest helping them set up auto-pay. Having their bills paid electronically is one less thing for the them to worry about, and one less thing on their list to have to remember each month. Setting up automatic payments will no doubt help your loved one feel even more prepared for any transitions that might lie ahead.
Guest Blog: How Seniors Can Reduce Financial Stress
Anxiety and worrying about financial problems is a common issue that seniors often face. Obviously, finding a reliable stream of income after retirement is not easy.
Well, one way to reduce mental stress is to visit retirement locations. Another method to alleviate financial problems is to invest in gold bullions at a young age by getting them from Gold Bullion Australia.
Let’s discuss some other techniques to cope with financial stress and live with a mind free from any worries.
Think Positive
Positivity is the key to bringing a healthy change in your life. If you are surrounded with negativity, either in the shape of people or in the form of thoughts, you cannot work on anything without stressing out.
Although it can be difficult to ignore or put your financial problems aside, you can adopt an optimistic approach every time you think about your economic condition.
Define a Budget
Emphasizing on a budget might look like adding more worries to your list, but it is an effective way to get a control on your financial stress. Defining a fixed amount will help you to decide how and when to spend cash.
A budget maintains a balance between savings and spending. When the amount you spend significantly limits the amount you save, you can cut down your budget.
Initially, it will be difficult to make a budget plan because it is not easy to determine how much to save and how much to spend. Once you get a grip of your financial plan, you can easily allocate your budget.
Start by saving on a small scale, and then each month cut down your spending. When you find a right balance, define a budget plan and follow that every month.
An Emergency Fund Can Come in Handy
The money that you set aside for emergency situations and unexpected accidents or incidents is an emergency fund. Allocate a fixed amount to put in the emergency fund box and don’t open that box to take out money until you really have a financial emergency.
This is an effective method to cope with financial stress since you know that you have some spare cash for an unexpected moment.
Although it is not easy to set money aside for an emergency fund, you should really adopt this technique to get out of any trouble in future without asking for monetary help for others or taking bank loans.
Getting Financial Help from Others
In case you are not able to handle your financial problems in spite of having an emergency fund, you might need help from others.
A bank loan or borrowing some money from your friends and family can work in this situation. Keep in mind that a bank loan has to be paid back with interest, while you might not need to pay extra money to your loved ones. So, choose wisely to avoid any financial stress in future.