Whether your\u00a0elderly loved one spent their\u00a0entire life taking care of finances themselves or largely relied on a spouse to do so,\u00a0aging increases certain risks with financial management that they\u2019re not prepared for.![\"7](\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/10\/7-tips-to-help-senior-loved-ones-with-financial-management-350x184.jpg\")
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Read our top seven tips on how to help senior loved ones with financial management during this time.<\/p>\n
Top 7 Tips to Help Seniors With Financial Management<\/h2>\n
These are problems with serious consequences, so it\u2019s important for families to get involved and help make sure your loved ones stay in a good place financially as they age.<\/p>\n
Here are a few proactive steps you can take to make that happen:<\/p>\n
1. Check in regularly.<\/h3>\n
Hopefully, you already check in on your senior loved one frequently to find out how they are, and when you do, you should also discuss any financial situations you should be aware of. You want to find out sooner rather than later if they\u2019ve blown their budget on an expensive purchase, so you can start doing damage control fast.<\/p>\n
These things are less likely to happen if you\u2019re having regular conversations about money with your loved one and checking on the status of their financial accounts periodically.<\/p>\n
2. Create a budget together.<\/h3>\n
If you\u2019re worried your senior loved one\u2019s spending habits could outpace the money they\u2019ll need in the coming years, then work with them to\u00a0create a monthly budget<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to stick with. For many people, setting clear goals around how much to spend each month on different things can make a big difference in keeping their spending under control.<\/p>\n If your loved one is amenable to using technology to help, consider employing a tool like\u00a0Mint<\/strong><\/a>, which makes creating and tracking a budget easy and is also helpful for things like bill payment alerts and keeping an eye on your credit score to catch identity theft early.<\/p>\n One of the difficult parts of budgeting is figuring out the areas where you can cut spending. That could mean making a decision like downsizing to a smaller space that costs less and needs less maintenance or giving up indulgences like a clothes shopping habit or regular meals at a nice restaurant.<\/p>\n Help your loved one identify which expenses are non-necessities and which of those they can live without while still maintaining their quality of life. These choices won\u2019t be easy, but if your loved one is living beyond their means, they\u2019re necessary. If they need to move to assisted living or face expensive health care bills later on, you\u2019ll both be glad you took steps to start saving more now.<\/p>\n If the last step was challenging, this one could potentially make things a little easier. Look for ways to increase that budget by making more money. Your loved one may be able to more easily afford to stay in their home by\u00a0getting roommates<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or taking out a\u00a0reverse mortgage<\/strong><\/a>, for instance. They could try\u00a0selling things online<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>or they could even\u00a0go back to work<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(possibly on contract or working part-time, if the idea of going back full time is too much).<\/p>\n Just because a senior has retired doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t keep making money. Consider ways they can bump that monthly budget up while keeping their savings intact.<\/p>\n Your loved one may not want to face the idea, but there\u2019s a decent chance that at some point they won\u2019t be able to independently manage their finances. It will protect them and their assets if when that day comes they\u2019ve taken the advance step of providing\u00a0financial power of attorney<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to someone they trust.<\/p>\n Have that conversation now, while they\u2019re lucid and able to take the steps to make it happen, and don\u2019t procrastinate getting it done.<\/p>\n Ideally, you want to take this step before your loved one reaches the point where they have a hard time managing their bills. Have them go over all the monthly bills they receive and where payments are sent. You want to collect this information into one (secure) place for them so it\u2019s easier to keep up with, and so that you have it if or when you need to start taking over the task for them down the line.<\/p>\n You can set up automatic bill payments and use tools that provide bill reminders<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to make remembering to pay a little easier on your loved one. If you have the main account information for their different bills, you can keep an eye out for any missed payments so you know when to step in.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there are a lot of different scams focused on seniors and many of them can seem pretty persuasive to someone who doesn\u2019t know to be on the lookout for them. The first thing you should do to help your loved one with their financial management is\u00a0to educate them on how to recognize common senior scams<\/strong><\/a> so they know what to look out for. Explain the basics of online security and how to avoid identity theft<\/strong><\/a> by recognizing phishing emails and not throwing out papers with sensitive information on them. Your loved one won\u2019t have much money left to manage if a scammer is able to get to it, which is why it is important to start with prevention.<\/p>\n We spend most of our lives\u00a0avoiding talking about finances, which society deems as\u00a0rude or unsightly to bring up. That can make it hard to\u00a0discuss money with your senior loved one, but it\u2019s important to do so nonetheless.<\/p>\n For them to stay financially safe and live as comfortably as possible in their remaining years, they\u2019ll probably need some help managing finances. Take the time to help them now and you\u2019ll all be better off in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 7 Tips to Help Senior Loved Ones With Financial Management Last Updated: March 11, 2019 Whether your\u00a0elderly loved one spent their\u00a0entire life taking care of finances themselves or largely relied on a spouse to do so,\u00a0aging increases certain risks with financial management that they\u2019re not prepared for. Read our top seven tips on how to help senior loved ones with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2199,"featured_media":14062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,162],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-families-caregivers","8":"category-retirement-planning"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3. Look for areas to cut expenses.<\/h3>\n
4. Look for areas to increase income.<\/h3>\n
5. Secure\u00a0a financial power of attorney.<\/h3>\n
6. Sit down together to create a list of all regular bills.<\/h3>\n
7. Start by going over common scams and best practices for financial security.<\/h3>\n