Managing finances becomes more challenging with age, and caregivers to senior citizens can, and should, provide crucial support to their loved ones in this area. Caregivers and relatives should be in the practice of regularly checking in with their senior citizen regarding the status of their finances. They should also assist with the creation of a reasonable budget, in addition to cutting out unnecessary expenses wherever possible and finding opportunities to boost income. It will also be important to look into the question of power of attorney, should the senior citizen ever become unable to make decisions independently. Make a list of regularly received bills and review the list with your senior citizen. Finally, take time to educate them about common scams targeting the elderly and ways to safeguard one’s finances.

Key Takeaways:

• Help your senior citizen create a reasonable budget in addition to cutting out unnecessary expenses and finding income opportunities
• Though it is an unpleasant topic to broach, the question of power of attorney is important to discuss with a senior citizen while they still can make decisions independently
• Educate your senior citizen on common scams that target the elderly for exploitation and discuss ways to safeguard finances

“Whether your senior loved one spent their entire life taking care of finances themselves or largely relied on a spouse to do so, aging increases certain challenges and risks with financial management that they’re not prepared for.”