Help! I’ll Never Be Able to Retire! What A Personal Financial Coach Can Do for You

In the pursuit of financial prosperity and livelihood, a common strategy emerges among us – securing employment; exerting maximum effort in our work., -all with the aspiration to judiciously leverage earned income for long-term stability.

No one cherishes this strategy, yet we all must employ it regardless. Unless you’re a trust fund kid or have miraculously stumbled upon life-altering wealth, working to sustain your existence remains an inescapable life path.

Instead, many of us endeavor to reserve a portion of our regular salaries. This strategic financial planning allows for both immediate affordability and future-oriented investments. By adopting such an approach–when retirement from work eventually arrives–one can secure lifelong comfort; indeed, life post-work becomes truly comfortable.

Still, plans do not always unfold as expected. A staggering number of individuals continue to wrestle with the unyielding grip of debt into their twilight years. It is indeed a dilemma many confront – and it’s one that you undoubtedly wish to avoid in your aging process.

This blog targets individuals already advanced in age, grappling with overwhelming debt. Let us explore the factors that may impede your potential for a robust fiscal standing, and we’ll also delve into how engaging a personal financial coach could ameliorate this condition.

Let us first examine the root causes that may lead individuals in their fifties or sixties, and with decades of work experience, to accumulate overwhelming debts before we delve into potential solutions for this problem. What are these factors?

They’re Just Not Saving a Lot

Of course, when you distill this issue to its bare minimum, the major problem happens to be pretty simple – many older people either aren’t saving enough or didn’t save enough when they were younger.

It’s pretty straightforward – and it’s an issue that pretty much happens to everyone. In many cases, the way people save for their golden years hasn’t been enough to see them through, especially when you consider the general economic conditions.

Think about it – back in the day, it was enough for you to retire if you had early six figures in your account. Today, that’s not quite possible. So, for a person who’s been saving a certain amount of money since they’ve been employed, they could easily find out that the amount of money they have saved up just isn’t enough to see them through retirement even in today’s climate.

Even with social security and its benefits, many seniors find their savings run short. As you can imagine, this has often led them to increase credit card use to cover basic living expenses.

The problem with this is that there’s not really a way to know if you’re saving enough. I mean, you could have a baseline for your savings and find out in ten years or so that the economy has become much worse and you’re back to square one. Still, the important thing here is to make sure that your savings match the economic realities. And for many people in old age today, this just isn’t so.

Health & Medical Bills

Now, for those who have indeed saved enough, there is always the risk of medical emergencies creeping up.

This is pretty common – as you age, your body becomes frailer, and you become more susceptible to health challenges. So, you can imagine just how bad this is. According to a report from the Associated Press back in 2023, medical debt has become a leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Citing data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the news source reported that medical bills alone account for about $88 billion in collection debt nationwide.

Regardless of the type of health insurance they have, seniors are often forced to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses due to unexpected health crises. You can imagine how frustrating it must be to have built a solid financial base for yourself through savings, only to start spending much of it in your old age because your health decided to fail you.

Every senior has different needs when aging in place. Some simply need occasional assistance with household chores, while others may be managing serious illnesses and require more extensive in-home care. Whatever it is, these accommodations require funds. And, for older people who perhaps haven’t saved enough, this is a major depletion of financial resources.

A Failure to Adjust Expenses

So, I already pointed out that things start to change when you start to grow older. Your health takes a bit of a decline, you need to switch lifestyles, and you need to make several modifications just to maintain yourself and your edge.

The thing with a lot of these adjustments is that they cost money. And even though they might have a decent amount of savings, many seniors find that they need to begin making these modifications and don’t necessarily have plans for them.

You see, all of these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why many seniors find themselves unable to afford the life they want when they get old. And the effects can be devastating.

Picture this – you’re in your sixties, and you find yourself without anything substantial when it comes to savings or investments. Your net worth is nothing to write home about, and you’re left with little to show for all your hard years of work.

Because of terrible finances, a lot of people in their old age have been unable to retire. They have to continue with the dreaded work cycle, pleasing other people just to make ends meet and earn money. And like that, this cycle continues time and again. Even worse, many people end up working themselves to their graves just because they can literally not afford to retire.

Why You Need a Personal Financial Coach

So you can kind of understand what it would mean to be in such a situation.

So, what can you do about it?

First and foremost, it remains important to acknowledge that finding oneself in a dire financial situation during one’s sixties – or at any age for that matter – does not constitute the end of the world. Undoubtedly, circumstances may fall short of your expectations. Still, this reality does not imply that you stand alone, nor does it signify an irreparable state. So, chin up. It’s time to get to work.

“What is that work?” you ask. Well, the subsequent action necessitates engaging with a personal financial coach.

A personal financial coach is a proficient professional who can help in aligning your fiscal strategies and assist you in organizing and optimizing your finances. Their methodology involves strategizing with your current resources towards achieving the necessary financial objectives. Thus, their approach is not only measured and effective but also firmly grounded in reality.

By engaging a personal financial coach, you will be able to decipher your finances more accurately and strategize the necessary steps for actualizing your goals. Subsequently, with diligent execution, it’s merely a matter of time before transformation occurs, morphing you into the individual you aspire towards.

A personal financial coach provides advice or tips on building a savings culture and cutting costs to transition to a lean budget. They also demonstrate implementation strategies that you can follow. This approach makes it possible for you to save your finances, and it goes a long way in helping you out.

So, what’s holding you back? Are you eager to transform your finances in preparation for retirement? Contact a personal financial coach without delay.

Source:

AP report: https://apnews.com/article/medical-debt-legislation-2a4f2fab7e2c58a68ac4541b8309c7aa#:~:text=For%20patients%2C%20medical%20debt%20has,the%20Consumer%20Financial%20Protection%20Bureau.