May is Older Americans Month. We speak with Jon Paradise from Town & Country Federal Credit Union with some tips to help older adults manage their finances.

Accountability

This is the first management tip any senior should maintain. As a senior citizen, you are no longer into active work and the flow of income may not be as much as it used to be in those days when you were actively working; so you really need to get a journal where you record every single expenses you make daily for a month to know what takes up a bulk of your income.

After which you go through the journal and cut down every unnecessary expenses you have been making in the past. At the beginning of every month, make a budget of the major expenses you need to make for the month, and try to discipline yourself to stick to your budget. You must avoid impulse shopping at all cost, and a good way to avoid this is to avoid moving around with bulk cash or your credit card.

Use Discount Days for Seniors

Some stores have days they offer discount for seniors; so you should take advantage of the discount days and shop for items you will need till the next discount day. As long as you have a micro wave and a refrigerator, you won’t have to bother about your food items spoiling.

Try to Service Your Loan

If you didn’t pay off your loan, it’s time to continue servicing your loans; even if it means cutting your cost of living to make it happen. Plan the percent of your income that will go into servicing your loan every month and stick to it.

Utilize Your Health Insurance If You are Covered

First and foremost, while you are still active; make plans for a health insurance because you will need it most after you retire, when you are now a senior citizen. As you get older, some sicknesses caused by old age like arthritis may start creeping up (you can avoid some unnecessary disease by maintaining a healthy eating habit and working out at least three times a week), and paying for health care services can be very expensive if you don’t have a health insurance; utilize your health insurance if you have one.

Pay Your Bills Well Ahead of Time

Avoid waiting for the last minute or when it becomes too late before your pay your bills, because most times you incur late payment charges for doing so. If possible signup with your bank for them to automatically credit your bank account and transfer the money to pay your bills to avoid late payment charges.

Cut Out Phone Contracts

Our telephone bills is one of the things that drain money from our income. Every day, we get to talk to our loved ones, kids, friends, colleagues and all our acquaintances; and phone companies make matters worse by giving people access to post paid contracts where you can use your phone to incur bills to pay later. If it is really possible, older adults should cut off phone contracts and make use of the pay as you use option. It will help to keep their phone bills under control and spend less.

Allow Prices to Come Down a Bit

When new products are introduced into the market, the prices tend to be on the very high side especially if it is a popular product like an electronics or gadgets. But after sometime, when the rush has died down, the price is likely to come down to normal. So no matter how much you desire to have the said product, if you can wait a little you can get that same product at a cheaper price. Also, some stores allow you to get a fairly used item and swipe it with a new item with a little amount to balance the cost of the new product; you can do this and get new items for very cheap price.

Make Use of Online Payment

If your bank pays your bills automatically, then this point is not for you. Have you noticed the amount you spend on stamp cards you use for making your payment? All the five to ten dollars you spend for every stamp card you use, multiplied by up to ten bills you have to pay every month, you will save a lot of money if you learn to pay your bills online. You can access the internet on your phone or even the free internet in the library to make payment for your bills online.

Learn to Say No

Many people will still come to you for financial help, thinking that you still make as much money as you do when you were actively working; you can save yourself a lot of stress by saying no to the many money requests you get from friends and buddies. Only give out an amount you can afford to lose, so you won’t have any issues with anybody when trying to recover your money.

Get more information at www.tcfcu.com