Among the three major concerns of elderly people, money matters are only second to health issues. As they get older and are unable to join the workforce, their income becomes static, whereas their expenses keep rising in proportion to the inflation rate. Thus, it becomes imperative that they are taught or guided towards some form of financial management.
Once you get into the senior citizens category, you need to take stock of your money and your savings instruments and plan for a future where you are not likely to keep adding to your present fortunes, and where you need to conserve and use wisely.
Firstly, make a list of all your insurance policies, even take cognizance of your medical insurance. Your car and your home needs to be insured, you may have endowment policies which are meant to be your nest-egg in your old age. Calculate your savings, and any other sources of income that you may have.
Now take stock of your debts – your home mortgage, any loans which need to be cleared, credit card dues etc. All these will be a strain on your resources. Do not have a rosy-eyed view of how the future shall be, these debts need to be cleared as soon as possible, so that you do not add to the stress in your life.
Work out some kind of a financial plan for yourself. Extraneous circumstances are always going to be there, you need to have a nest-egg for that. But at least, plan for how you are going to marshal your resources for the optimum benefit.
There are many aspects which can affect a senior citizen’s financial management. There has been a sea-change in the financial sector over the years. Now you need to memorise PIN numbers and deal with plastic money most of the time. ATM’s and netbanking are the keywords for today. They do make life much simpler, but for the elderly they may become another daunting aspect of their lives.
Loss of a partner may leave the other person, specially if she is a woman, bereft of support systems and also of the person who managed all the finances. In a situation like this she needs to look for the many volunteer societies which help the seniors with their lives.