Retirees Don't Plan On Paying Off Credit Card Bills

Retirement is supposed to be a time when people kick up their feet, relax, and enjoy life, but for many retirees, the list of bills is growing longer than their bucket list.

According to a recent poll, 39 percent of retired Americans have credit card debts that they do not expect to pay off at all in their lifetimes. The most frequently made charges for retirees were medicine, gasoline, and travel expenses. They figure that if their debt cannot be inherited by their children, then it won’t hurt to rack up debts and never pay them.

While technically debts cannot be inherited by relatives, there are a few loopholes. First, if a person gives away their house, money, or other possessions shortly before their death, those possessions can be recalled by creditors and sold to pay off debts of the deceased. Secondly, if the deceased had a joint bank account or joint credit card, then the person sharing their joint account is liable for the debt left over. Thirdly, a relative can be held responsible for taking care of the debt if they paid bills for the deceased. For example, sometimes a relative will write checks out of their own account when the retiree is physically or mentally unable to manage their bills. This practice can actually put the relative at risk of getting hit with debts of the deceased.

One way a person can help an elderly relative without the worry of being held liable for debts is to write the checks to the person directly, deposit the money into their account, and then write checks out of that account. Other ways of protecting themselves include staying away from joint bank or credit card accounts so that creditors cannot collect from other people on the account.

To learn more about smart saving, budgeting, and maintaining good credit, go to http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com/, and sign up for a free credit evaluation at http://www.mycreditspecialist.com/.

Turning Frugality Into a Lifestyle

Many financial experts are saying that we are at the beginning of the end of the "Great Recession" as it has been dubbed in the news, and as the economy improves, there is already speculation about whether American spending habits will change at all in the long run. In the past year, we have gotten smarter with our money. We are more frugal. We keep a close eye on our credit card balances and pay them off right away. When we don't feel the pressure to watch our finances this closely, however, will frugality become last year's trend?

I'm going to share some of my goals for the New Year, and hopefully they can help you keep your credit card debt down in 2011.

1. No more recreational shopping: I will shop when I need to. When I shop just to shop, I end up feeling more discontent with what I don't have than content with what I do have. Besides, I don't view eliminating my recreational shopping as a sacrifice as much as a trade-off. I am the type of person who ultimately appreciates experiences more than possessions, so I would rather have a nice night out with dinner and a theater show than spend an afternoon buying more shoes.

2. No procrastination with payments: I will keep up with my credit card payments and pay off my holiday debt before my honeymoon in February. As a freelancer, I also owe the government more in taxes, but I will keep up with payments via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) website instead of putting off payments until the end of the year.

3. Give myself a savings goal: Gregory Karp on Philly.com recommends giving yourself a savings goal so that you are working towards a tangible goal. As I said before, I am going on my honeymoon in February, and it is the perfect first savings goal for the year.

4. Set savings amount for each month: Through online banking, I can set up an automatic transfer of a certain amount of money each month from my checking account to my savings account. This way, I end up saving at least some money each month without me having to do anything.

Comment below and tell us your financial goals for 2011, and if you want to read more about money management during the holidays, go to http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com/2010/11/24/money-management-my-holiday-challenge/ and read about holiday money management. Also, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com/2010/11/24/store-credit-cards-avoid-the-impulsive-trap/ to read why store credit cards can sometimes do more harm than good.

To learn about responsible credit card use and improving your credit score, go to http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com/, and sign up for a free credit evaluation at http://www.mycreditspecialist.com/.