You’ve made it and retired but are only now realizing the full extent of the inflation of your grocery bill from year to year. Maybe your car needed some unexpected work and that has made a hit on your bank account. What do you do?
Don’t panic, says Manraj Waraich, a financial educator with the Credit Counseling Society. There are always options to help you get a better handle on your retirement income. The first step is to talk about your situation no matter how uncomfortable money matters might be to you.
“My main role is to go out in the community and really try to break the taboo around talking about money. A lot of people feel more comfortable talking about different, you know, even more private topics as compared to actually speaking about money,” she began. “My job is to build awareness so that people can better manage their finances and really be in control.”
When it comes to finances, nobody really talks about it, many people will ignore it even when their situation goes from black to red, she continued. The reality is the more these financial challenges are ignored, the more trouble compounds.
“They build up and they build up, and then they cause us to lose sleep, and then it starts impacting our body,” she said, referencing scientific studies that show how people with high debt stress face a greater incidence of depression, anxiety, migraine, heart attacks and even back pain.
“About 52 per cent of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque. You're not alone. It's okay to say that you need help and a bit more guidance because it's not as if we’re ever taught these skills. We’re not born with money management skills. We're not learning them in school. A lot of the time our families aren’t speaking about money management with us.”
Waraich is coming to the St. Albert Public Library on Sept. 24 for an hour-long program called Living Well on Retirement Income. If you want to live the good life in your golden years, then she will give you a lot of great ideas on managing your money by reducing expenses and even increasing income without having to rely on your credit card to make ends meet. To give you a head start, the program is free to attend.
The program is really about opening up the discussion with people to really assuage that hesitation about the topic of personal finances. It’s not a lecture, she promised.
At the same time, she has a list of the top three tips to help people: tracking expenses (down to the day and time that purchases are made), taking a look at where they can be cut back, and increasing income. Even though you’re retired, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still do some work and make money though with some careful forethought.
“It's something extra that they can put towards paying off debts or even put into savings or an emergency fund. A lot of the times, it's just something on the side that doesn't have to require too much time. I’ve seen seniors that have decided to rent out a room in their home. With that, we do need to be cautious and take the necessary precautions. We want to make sure they do their research, take the necessary precautions, and see if it’s the right fit for them.”
Of course, if you can’t make it to the presentation then you can always contact the Credit for more one-on-one assistance or to attend other workshops as well. It has two Edmonton locations and they can be reached at 780-701-0083 or by visiting its website at www.nomoredebts.org.
