Is your elderly loved one struggling to pay all of their bills? When someone goes into retirement, they often find it is more difficult to keep up with their bills. There are many elderly people who paid their bills on time their entire adult life. However, once they quit working, they have a tough time continuing to pay those same bills. If this is the case for your elderly loved one, it might be a good idea for them to reduce their expenses. There are some practical tips that can help them to do this.

Going Over Their Medicare Coverage

How much is your elderly loved one paying for their Medicare coverage? If this is a bill that seems to be very high, you may want to look over it with your elderly loved one. There may be another Medicare plan or company that your loved one can get that lowers their monthly bill in this regard. You can help your elderly loved one to shop for Medicare plans that will better fit their budget. All you need to do is to check out the Medicare website and look up plans from there.

Fewer Shopping Trips

Does your elderly loved one tend to spend a lot of money every time they go into the store? Maybe they go into the grocery store to buy the essentials, but they end up buying a bunch of snacks they don’t need, as well. If this is the case, you or the elder care provider that takes your elderly loved one shopping should schedule a once-a-week shopping trip. The fewer times that your elderly loved one goes into the store, the less money they are likely to spend.

Lowered Interest Rates

Does your elderly loved one have credit cards or loans? If so, it might be time to help your loved one look into their interest rates. They may be able to talk to the credit card or loan company representatives to renegotiate their interest rates. If that doesn’t work, your elderly loved one may be able to transfer their credit card balance or loan to another company that offers a lower interest rate.

Make Annual Payments

Does your elderly loved one seem to pay a lot for homeowner’s insurance? If so, you may want to look at their budget to see if they can afford to make an annual payment. If that is possible, it could save them money. Most of the time, these payments are cheaper if the company gets a lump sum from the policyholder.

Conclusion

If your elderly loved one is struggling to pay their bills, these are some of the ways that they can reduce their expenses. You can sit down with your elderly loved one to look at their budget. If needed, you can help your elderly loved one to make the calls to their bill companies to see what can be done about their payments.

Sources
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/get-money-smart-25-tips-improve-your-financial-well-being/
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000870.htm