3 Ways to Achieve Better Finances This New Year
The New Year brings hope for many things, including better finances. In order to achieve better fiscal success, you need to be diligent about your financial forecasting, spending and strategizing.
Here are three of the top ways to achieve better finances.
3 Ways to Achieve Better Finances and Stretch Your Retirement Income in 2019
Many seniors and their families struggle financially as there is often no additional income for retirees and often more expenses going out related to healthcare, lifestyle and senior living.
It’s important to make sure you develop a financial strategy catered toward your parent or senior loved one’s unique financial situation to extend money as far as possible and eliminate burdening you with financial woes.
Retirement planning is more complex in the 21st century so you need to be proactive to increase retirement income using creative measures. Americans used to have pensions and retirement plans through their work, but today seniors are having to be proactive to prepare for retirement themselves — or enlist the help of a professional financial advisor.
Here are three tips to achieve better finances in 2019:
1. Enlist the help of a financial professional.
Savvy financial planning will help you and your family avoid future financial problems. Choosing a financial advisor that you can trust is one of the most important things you will do to help with your financial stability. Connect with a pre-screened and qualified financial advisor to get you and your aging loved ones’ finances on track to give you all financial peace of mind.
2. Take advantage of long-term care insurance.
Long-term care insurance can help both you and your parents. The average cost for a couple age 60 is $3,381 per year, according to the Department of Health, which is not much when you think of how expensive care can be as you age. The sooner you buy long-term care insurance, the less expensive it should be – so time is of the essence. Put the premium payments on auto-pay to avoid losing the coverage; especially since memory problems can be common with age.
3. Take inventory of spending.
If you are feeling like you or your senior loved one is draining finances too fast, it’s important to get organized and take inventory of how much is being spent each month and year. Take note of spending to identify where you might be able to save so that your loved one doesn’t outlive his or her assets. The practice of tracking expenses through an app or writing them down allows you to see whether your spending is actually aligned with your stated goals and priorities. Keep in mind that it’s easier to make changes and realign your spending with monthly goal projections when you can identify exactly where your money is being spent. If you are spending too much on senior living expenses, for example, you can explore options to minimize costs by doing a room share, taking advantage of community specials or even moving to a less expensive location.
Do you have any other suggestions on how seniors can achieve better finances this year? We’d like to hear your tips in the comments below.
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