Friendly Follow-Ups

February 25th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

When individuals are in their twenties or thirties, they often vow to earn enough money to retire as early as possible. At that early age, they have the misguided notion that as soon as they hit their sixties life will be all sunshine and roses. The reality, as many seniors know, is completely different. More and more people worldwide are having to work into their seventies because of financial shortfalls in their expected earnings. Some seniors are choosing to continue to work well into their seventies because they find it therapeutic or it provides them will a social life and something to do. Either way, there are certain things that seniors should know about working through their retirement.

All seniors should undergo regular health checks to determine whether or not it is in their best interests to work. As we get older, we become more susceptible to ailments and maladies because the body degrades over time. Unfortunately, this means we all become less mobile as we get older. Ironically though, working into old age often keeps individuals more mobile than they would be if they were sitting at home during their retirement. Remaining inactive for a period of time often causes joints to stiffen, thus making it more difficult to move. However, working for just an hour a day will encourage the natural movement of the joints and exercise the muscles around them, thus making the body suppler in general.

If you do decide to continue working past your retirement age, for whatever reason, you should be aware that seniors have been discriminated against in the past. Some employers dislike employing mature people because of a misguided notion that seniors cannot do a job better than a younger person. However, research by the Congress of California has revealed that seniors are actually less likely to phone in sick or quit and are on the whole more reliable. However, it has actually been a diverse mix of human rights and an aging population has forced the government’s hand. Discrimination against seniors has been outlawed in most states and labor laws have been altered to reflect this. It is now illegal for any employer to refuse to hire a senior on the basis of their age and they have to give a meaningful reason as to why they have refused a senior applicant a job.

Seniors actively looking for a part- or full-time job should try agencies that are designed to cater for their specific employment needs. Local councils, employment centers and age concern groups often provide a service that is geared towards meeting the needs of seniors looking for employment. Employers actually contact these groups with vacancies that they would prefer to be filled by more mature people, thus removing the slight possibility of being discriminated against.

We all like to think that, as we get older, we will be able to enjoy life more as well as making the most of our free time during our retirement. The sad fact is that life just isn’t that simple or fair. Employment often means more to the old than it does to the young. Whether you, as a senior, remain working to earn a living or as a social exercise, always remember to put your mental and physical health first. Make sure that you get regular check ups at the doctors’ surgery and use available resources to get a job suitable for both you and your situation. Retirement is about enjoyment, even if you do choose to work, so make the most of these opportunities and take care of yourself at the same time.

February 11th, 2008 by Kristyne McDaniel

We live in a consumer society where the mentality is that if we cannot afford something then we should use the credit that we have been offered by various loans companies to buy now and pay later. This is all well and good if you can afford to pay later, but a high number of people cannot afford that luxury and get further and further into debt as a result. Being in debt can be a humiliating and frustrating experience because, once you are in it, it proves to be near on impossible to get out of it. Credit companies thrive on this because it is how they make their profits. However, seniors suffer more than most as a result of it because most seniors do not have the means to pay back debts as readily as younger people do. They cannot go out and earn more money in order to pay back loans and credit cards. It is just not that simple for them. However, there are solutions to this pressing problem.

Debt is not an individual problem; it is an issue for a high percentage of society. Whilst this is not a comforting thought and doesn’t help an individual senior’s plight, it has resulted in the introduction of various services that will offer solutions to the problem of debt in general. If you cannot pay loans back, then counselling and debt services can be called upon to offer you free advice and act as a liaison between you and the debt companies. This should only be a last resort because it can affect your credit rating. However, if you are having problems with debt then you are unlikely to want to get into that situation in a hurry again! However, this is where the “just in case” theory comes in. You never know what will happen to you in the future and thus it is best to leave your options open if at all possible.

There are many things that an individual senior can try to work his or her way out of debt, but not literally. However, before even attempting to come up with solutions to any financial problems you may have, you must first make a detailed plan of your financial situation. You must work out your exact incomings and outgoings, using your personal records from the last six months. Calculate your average expenditure in relation to your income, and then you are fully equipped to design payment plans for yourself as well as trying to come up with plausible and realistic ways to cut the amount you are spending. After all, that is where the debt came from and that is also where cuts should be made to accommodate that.

Another option is to contact the credit companies themselves and ask for your account to be frozen. Most companies will then be quite happy to work with you to put a payment scheme in place, where you pay a set amount every month until your debt is cleared. You will then have the option of closing the credit account or reinstating it. Companies are usually happy enough to do this because it means that they will make a profit. If they have to sell your debt on to a specialist company because you are failing to make payments every month, they will not even recoup the money that you own them, let alone the interest. This should be attempted before going to a negotiation service because it will not affect your credit.

Sorting out your debts is all about making the right decisions for you. Your main priority is to make sure that your debts are reduced and then kept in check. You need to make the first move in order for this to happen, but you will feel the weight lift off your shoulder as soon as you do!