When we talk about debt in the United States, and how total household debt is at its highest level of all time ($13.2 trillion), it’s easy to think, “Those darn kids and their fancy houses and useless degrees!” In reality, a lot of older folks are financially struggling as well.
We’ve constantly written about millennials and their apparent lack of financial understandings that has lead us to this point, but it’s certainly not just the younger generations. Even the oldest generation has a part to play in our current economic epidemic.
Baby boomers 55 years or older have an average of $73,211 worth of debt per household, according to a report from U.S. News.
In reality, this debt isn’t from a lack of financial literacy, but the fact that they were ill-prepared for how the rest of their life turned out. Baby boomers are living longer and are much healthier than their parents and grandparents, thanks to advances in medicine and technology.
As we’ve previously reported, women are particularly at risk, because they are living longer than their husbands and haven’t been the ones to get active about investment or saving money. That role has always belonged to the men, but it’s something that needs to change.
Americans Aren’t Saving Money
According to Bankrate, 2/3 of Americans have no money saved. They wouldn’t be able to scrape together $1,000 if they had an emergency. It’s tough out there for average Americans, who can be bankrupted by a single event, like a car accident that forces them to miss time from work.
For the older generation, the risks are much higher. They’re much more vulnerable during events, like natural disasters, a death (usually their spouse), or a crippling illness. And when these issues crop up, in a much more frequent fashion, they don’t have the time out-earn these problems.
Also: http://financialhelpers.com/you-wont-believe-how-much-debt-has-changed-since-the-great-recession/
This is a major issue that can be passed down to their children when they die. There have been numerous cases where a debtor will come knocking to collect debt owed after a parent passes, especially if they left their house and there’s money still owed.
For seniors in this situation, the solution is the same for every American. Because they are extremely vulnerable financially, they must be prepared for everything that might happen. They need to better budget their income by figuring out how much debt is owed.
Getting Help
Making a single phone call to Financial Helpers can help. We are experts at helping people just like you climb out of their debt and find financial freedom. You can call us at the number below:
Without help to consolidate or refinance your loan, you’re going to have to figure out a way to do it on your own. 1/3 of all Americans don’t even have a budget plan, and it’s hurting them later on. When an emergency happens, they’re worse off financially than they were before. This sinks many good families into bankruptcy.
Seniors have a few other areas of help they may not realize. They are the generation that is least likely to be computer literate. Various apps and programs are designed to make it easier to financially budget
One of those apps is called Tiller, which doesn’t require extreme computer skills to learn. It’s simple to use and can help you get on track with creating and maintaining a budget. There are apps like GoodRx that can save you 90%.
No matter the stage of life you’re in, it’s always a good time to learn financially good habits. You’re not exempt from needing to save, even if you’ve been around awhile and never had any problems before. Times have changed, and so has the way we need to save.
