The Perfect 10: Practical Ways To Help Your #Elderly Parents Manage Their Finances

After a lifetime of receiving support from your parents, their retirement is the perfect chance to give something back. While there are many different ways to help them during their winter years, assisting them with finances is arguably the best.

Giving them money outright is far from being the only solution. Here are 10 simple yet efficient ways to help them maintain greater financial health for a happier retirement.

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1. Calculate tax impacts on pensions and other financial revenue. After all, it will be nearly impossible for your parents to make smarter choices if they don’t fully understand their current situation. Help them work out exactly what money they have to play with, and life will suddenly feel a lot easier for them.
2. Help them gain the financial support that they’re entitled too. Once retired, your parents can gain discounts and support with various elements. These can range from public transport to medical costs, as well as everything in between. Thousands of senior citizens are missing out on those potential rewards through a sheer lack of knowledge. If you can’t find the necessary details online, try hitting your local citizen’s advice center.
3. Encourage them to make savings on food shopping by utilizing couponing. This one trick could cut their food bills in half. Given that this is one of their greatest ongoing expenses, the benefits of achieving this goal cannot be emphasized enough. As long as it doesn’t impact the quality of their diet, it can be one of the best tricks in the book.

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4. Provide assistance in the house selling market. Many senior citizens would be far better off downsizing from the old family home to a smaller property. Not only will the ongoing costs be reduced, but it will free up valuable money for them in the process too. There’s a good chance that they’ve avoided this issue simply through fear of taking on such an upheaval. Help them through the process, and they could be in a far better place in no time.
5. Sell some of their unwanted goods either online or at a garage sale. The revenue raised may not be quite as substantial as changing property. Nonetheless, amassing a couple of thousand dollars for items that are currently collecting dust can only help them. Even if those items are sentimental, it’s far better for them to take a cruise or holiday to create memories. Alternatively, those funds could simply pay the bills.
6. Actively show them how to save money through online shopping. Whether it’s teaching them the benefits of loyalty schemes or using comparison sites isn’t overly important. Every dollar they save is another step towards more manageable spending. Given that their income is limited during this period of their lives, the impact that this brings should not be overlooked for a second.
7. Help them establish a safety net. Life insurance for seniors over 80 could make a world of difference to their emotional frame of mind. Knowing that their partner, children, and loved ones will be financially sound following death is very comforting. In truth, that may be a greater reward than any saving. Nonetheless, it’s imperative that you help them find a deal that won’t leave them short in the immediate future.

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8. Warn them about the various financial scams on the market. Whether it’s door-to-door fraudsters or phone scams doesn't matter. Avoiding the financial fallout of falling victim to those problems won’t increase their wealth. But it will stop them from falling into a very nasty hole. As well as helping their financial health, it should aid their emotional well being also.
9. Stop them from overspending. Senior citizens often want to show their love and affection through financial gestures. However, teaching them how to complete birthdays on a budget, for example, will work wonders. It doesn’t need to stop them giving great presents, and it will allow them to focus their financial attentions on greater priorities.
10. Encourage them to tear up all store cards and high-interest items that could bring huge problems. Those excessive APRs are potentially dangerous for everyone. With a lower income, though, clearing those debts will become extremely difficult. Enable your parents to avoid them altogether, and the chances of loosening their financial grip will fade.

Those 10 tips alone won’t guarantee financial prosperity. Still, they will give your parents the best chance of keeping their situations in a positive place during their retirement years. Frankly, there’s never been a better time or way to repay their love.