5 Tips for Widows

Retirement advisors have seen many widows come through their doors to get educated about their finances. Often these women are dealing with their finances for the first time after going through the tragedy of losing their husband. At a recent event I noted some key advice which should be shared with widows dealing with their finances for the first time.
5 Tips for Widows
1. Organize Your Financial Documents
After losing a husband, money is probably not the first thing that pops into your mind, but it is an important consideration, especially since you will have to pay for a funeral and other expenses. Getting organized is something you can do even when you and your husband are healthy. Start by organizing your tax returns and making sure they are in a location where you will be able to easily find them. You should also collect any documentation related to benefits, 401(k)s, and life insurance. If your husband had benefits through his employer, make sure you know how to contact the person who handled those at his company. If your husband had a lawyer or accountant, make sure you know how to contact them as well. They can give you more information about benefits and investments you may not have known about. Having this information on hand and accessible will make it easier for you to deal with the financial difficulties of losing your husband.
2. Make a Strategy
You don't have to wait until the funeral to start thinking about how you will handle your finances. Although it may not be a pleasant topic, it's a good idea to start discussing your financial plans with your husband before he passes away. This is an important part of getting organized, and can help you obtain a lot of the information you will need to complete tip #1. As a couple, you can decide what direction you will go with your finances in the event of an untimely death. If your husband usually handles the family finances, he may already have a plan, and it will be good for you to discuss it with him to ensure you understand the steps that will need to be taken.
3. Talk to the Social Security Administration
If you don't, you may be missing out on your survivor benefits. You will also want to straighten out your Social Security benefit if both you and your husband were collecting. Your benefit will end up being a bit less than it was before, but the money will go further when it's only being spent on one person. Once you have this information, you can find out if your benefits will cover your expenses. If they don't, you will need to talk to a financial planner or other advisor who can help you restructure you money and make sure you can pay the bills.
4. Talk to a financial planner or other advisor
It's a good idea to talk to a financial planner or some other type of advisor, especially if you're not financially savvy. Just make sure the person you talk to is someone you can trust. While many planners and advisors charge a fee just to speak with them, you can find advisors who will be happy to help you get more information about how to handle your finances free of charge even if you are not a client. They can help you make the decisions that will provide you with a comfortable retirement, even after the passing of your husband.
5. Take Things Slow
When a loved one dies, the emotional trauma can sometimes cloud your judgment, making it more difficult to make financial decisions that could affect you for decades to come. It can be a good idea to give yourself some time to deal with your grief before making big financial decisions. While you can't put these decisions off forever, it's a good idea not to let your emotions dictate your actions.

Financial Stress Tips

Financial stress can be one of the most difficult things to deal with in our lives, putting pressure on all aspects of our lives. While there is no easy answer to getting out from under a pile of debt or finding higher paying work, follow these financial stress tips to help relieve some of the burden and help coping with financial stress.
Often a primary factor that got us into the money mess we find ourselves is that we did not have a plan to begin with. You can greatly improve your chances for success, and help relieve financial stress, by making a financial plan and sticking to it.
Here are 5 tips to help you deal with financial stress:
1. Find free ways to reduce stress. Don't compound your financial troubles by spending money you don't have, don't go shopping, don't join a gym, don't by a new T.V., instead, be creative and find no cost ways of relieving stress. My favorite is simply taking a walk in nature.
2. Taking personal responsibility for your financial situation is very important. Stop playing the blame game, look in the mirror and accept that you had a hand in getting yourself into the current situation. Once you acknowledge this it will set you free to find creative solutions to the problem.
3. Generally now is not the time to take big risks. When we are under pressure our decision making suffers, financial stress can often cause us so much anguish that our judgment becomes cloudy and we are prone to making rash decisions that are not in our best interest.
4. If you can open up to a family member or friend it is best to do so, and certainly if someone else is personally involved it is best in the long run not to hide things. Be certain that your confidant is actually able to help, there is nothing worse than taking financial advice from someone that is poor at managing money themselves.
5. Have a garage sale. No, I am not kidding. A garage sale does two things to help relieve financial stress: first, we can earn some extra money by selling things we don't need or don't need, and second, it helps eliminate clutter in our lives. Studies show that clutter leads to high levels of stress for many of us, so if we combine clutter with our financial stress the result can't be good. Have a garage sale and while you are at it, toss away anything else that is adding clutter to your life.

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How To Save Money

There are so many ways to reduce your energy costs. Get new windows, seal your old windows, seal your doors, get a new high-efficiency furnace, use central air conditioning instead of the window units which use way more energy, ceiling fans are great for keeping rooms cool, use your dishwasher and washing machine during off-peak hours, buy those new fluorescent twisty light bulbs (and turn off lights in rooms you're not using... unless you have teenagers, who have no clue), and plant trees to keep the sunlight from your house. All of these will sharply reduce your energy use.
MAINTAINING YOUR CAR
The most important thing you can do for your car is to change the oil every 5000km (3000miles). As you drive, your oil becomes thinner, resulting in less lubrication for your engine's parts. By doing this on a regular basis, you will add years to your cars life (and oil changes are cheap). Follow the owner's manual for regular maintenance, and follow their recommendations. Check your tire pressure every 2 weeks, because if they are low your gas mileage will be reduced. Wash the salt off your car to help keep the body and paint in good shape.
Buy winter tires when the temperature get's below 7 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit), this will improve gas mileage, and reduce accidents because you will have more control. You will also get double the life out of your tires. Don't take off from a standstill fast, nice and easy does it. This will also improve gas mileage. Anticipate what's ahead so you don't have to slam on the brakes, reducing their life. Don't let your car idle in parking lots for longer then a few minutes. Bad for gas usage, bad for the environment. Finally, use the grade of gas recommended for your car. If your car requires premium gas and you use regular to save money, your engine has to compensate and will wear out faster, costing you more in the long run.
ANOTHER WORD ON CREDIT CARDS
Credit cards are one of the worst things to ever happen to us, financially speaking. We were watching that TV show "Debt Do Us Part" where this couple used like 20 credit cards every month to pay off the other credit cards. They are $80,000 in debt, and the host of the show pointed out that at the rate they were going they would amass $500,000 in debt within 5 years. Credit cards are a lot of fun to use, not so much to pay back. I don't know how many people I speak with who only make the minimum payment, ensuring they will never, ever pay off the debt. Scary. They're great for the banks, they hope all of us act this way. It's gotten so bad, they sent our son a credit card while he was in university, with no way to pay it back. Guess who had to pay? They're legal loan sharks. So, only use your credit card for emergencies, or if you collect points, be sure to never carry a balance, that way you will never get behind, and you won't have to pay any interest. All credit cards have a 21-30 day grace period before the interest kicks in, except on cash advances, which start charging interest from day 1. Also, you can set up a pre-authorized payment plan with your bank to be sure you're never late with your payment. Late fees add up quickly, and they damage your credit rating. If you have a $1500 balance on your card, paying one day late will cost you $23.75 at 19%. this will compound over the year, and add up fast.

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