Ways to Protect Your Money after Retirement
After you retire, you will soon learn that stretching dollars takes on a new meaning. You may not need to eat extremely frugal meals, but you do need to keep an eye on your retirement accounts and ensure no one is taking advantage of you. Having a trusted personal home health care professional with you helps. They can chat with you about that weird phone call you or your senior loved one received begging for money. They can keep an eye on things and alert family if something seems awry. They are a handy line of defense for any elderly adult choosing to remain at home instead of heading to a retirement community.
Steps to Take to Make Sure Your Money Stays Safe
Besides watching the stock market, you can take many practical steps to keep your money safe, including:
- Have Some Help Watching Your Budget: Many hands make the workload light, so do many eyes. Relying on only one person to handle the cheque book could lead to financial abuse. It is a good idea to have a couple of people checking in on how the budget is going. Also, you may want to set up safeguards at the financial institution if something suspicious happens.
- Draw up a Power of Attorney: It is wise to have someone appointed as your senior’s power of attorney. This person will handle financial transactions if Mom or Dad become unable to manage them. Doing so now, before it is needed, makes the transition smoother when it is required.
- Find Ways to Simplify Financial Processes: Make paying bills simpler by adjusting due dates to one and having bills automatically deducted. A power of attorney should also be aware of when payments need to be made.
- Learn about and Stay on Top of Scams: Senior citizens seem to be a thief’s preferred target. There are numerous scams out to defraud the elderly of their money. One common one is a caller pretending to be a loved one who is frantically pleading for money. Knowing what scams are out there helps keep your cash where it needs to be – in your bank account.
- Talk with a Financial Planner about Utilizing Your Assets: You may be able to provide an income annually by purchasing an annuity. Another option is utilizing a reverse mortgage to consolidate debt, pay for a large need, or provide a monthly income.
Enlist the Help of a Friendly Face from Home Instead
Make enjoying retirement a breeze by protecting your money and enlisting in the services of a professional caregiver from Home Instead Etobicoke / North York. Our team is trained to aid you or your loved one in those areas that help you enjoy retired living. Look to us to cook nutritious meals, companionship, light housekeeping, and other customized home care services. Our team is always ready with a helping hand and a friendly smile. Contact us today to learn more about our tailored services.
Call us at (416) 239-2200 to schedule a no-obligation, in-home consultation. Learn more about the compassionate, quality senior care we deliver, every day, to families in All Etobicoke including: Kingsway, Mimico, Long Branch, Islington, Richview, The Community of Humber Heights, Rexdale, Markland Woods North York West including: Willowdale, Rexdale, Downsview, Humberwood, Weston, York University Heights, Humber Summit and areas in between.