Is It Possible To Be Debt Free By 50?

The dream of retirement by the age of 50 is not a far-fetched dream to have. Many talented and skilled individuals find the wealth that carries them into retirement when they are in their 50s-60s.

Unfortunately for some people, the weight of their ever-expanding debt that has snowballed throughout their lives comes between having a restful retirement and working for as long as possible to pay off all of their accumulated debt.

This is no way to live, and of course, as you reach the age of 50

According to new data from Experian, the average credit card balance in the U.S. is $5,221, and personal loans are up to $17,064. This is just on average, and when you are approaching the ripe age of 50 it is understandable to start to question how to tackle such large debts.

When we were in our 20s we all imagined enjoying our retirement on a tropical beach sipping cocktails, but with a huge lump of debt, it can seem impossible to imagine. 

It is possible however, but taking the correct steps now to alleviate your debts is essential if you wish to reach a certain level of financial security. Being debt free, even if you are already in your 50s is a goal worth working towards.

Negatives Of Debt In Your 50s

If you are sailing through your life attempting to ignore your responsibilities to pay off debt, you should consider the negatives effects debt will place on your life:

Reduced Disposable Income - The interest that accumulates with paying off debt over time can consume a large portion of your income after paying other bills, leaving less money for experiences and enjoying your life.

Medical Problems - As we get older, we are more susceptible to illnesses and serious health concerns. The effects of stress on our health can be detrimental, and dealing with debt when we are vulnerable can be dangerous.

Potential Lost State Pension - If the volume of your debts without effective management leads to bankruptcy, you are liable for your pension to be at risk.

What Steps To Take

You Must Change Your Mindset

How you perceive debt is one of the most important things if you hope to see change. If you are approaching your 50s or even are at a later age, debt should be seen as something to be resolved in comparison to something to live with. 

Certain debts perhaps might be considered manageable and unavoidable such as a mortgage and medical expenses. If you currently are not considering your debt as a burden to be solved, you need to change your views. 

If you hope to create a fast-track route to living debt free in your 50s, your mindset should align with these values. Commit to the change!

Consider What A Debt-Free Life Means

Before jumping into action, you should take some time to consider what living debt free would mean for you, no matter what age you are. 

We all have goals, places we hope to visit, and people we wish to help when we can settle down and ease into retirement. Perhaps you would simply love to have the extra money to save up and pass the money down to your family. 

Regardless of your reasoning, being done with debt is beneficial for everyone, but you should reinforce these values at all times to avoid creating further debt.

Gather All Your Debt Information

Begin to assess what debt you have. Gathering all of the data is essential if you wish to take control of your debts and stop them from expanding. 

This can be difficult and of course, it might be difficult to come to terms with what debts you have, but have faith and know that it is possible to be debt free. Ignoring your debts will accumulate to even more debt over time, so nip it in the bud now and gather the information. 

Do not leave a stone unturned, and request a credit report to see exactly what is owed. You might find there is credit on there you have been neglecting.

Seek Financial Advice

To begin the process of working your way through debt, you should seek financial advice. No one is expected to know the best way to manage debt as everyone has unique collections of debt. 

Financial advisors exist to find the best route to alleviating stress as much as possible and guide you through the process of paying things off. Potentially, they will personally speak with your existing creditors to reduce the interest rates. 

Many routes can guide you through, but it is your responsibility to seek the help you need. There is no harm in asking for help.

Consider Consolidation

If you have multiple debts that are weighing down on your current expenses, it might be worth seeking debt consolidation. Less debt means more savings towards your retirement, therefore if you manage to qualify for such consolidation from your debts you will potentially be en route to a faster debt reduction. 

All of your debts will merge into one monthly payment, making the repayments easier to manage. Additionally, if you are looking to potentially write off some of the debts, seeking IVA advice would be beneficial to see if you qualify under your circumstances.

Don’t Panic

Ultimately, debt finds its way into most of our lives, but how we manage it is key to escaping its ruling over our lives. Stressing over the debt you already have will not benefit you, but taking the steps to acknowledge that you can ease debt with the correct action is vital. 

Take your time to calmly work through the process of scaling down your debts. Retirement will be much more enjoyable once you are in the position to enjoy all of your savings and responsibly manage your state pension.

Final Thoughts

If you hope to be debt free by the time you reach your retirement, you should implement all of the recommended steps. Understanding that you are not alone and that we all will have to come to terms with our debts might offer you some comfort. 

Those of us who retire with our debts paid off can live more financially free than others, and you can experience this too.

How to Stay Financially Buoyant During a Divorce

Divorce can lead to financial hardship and even bankruptcy if you aren't prepared. If you are going through a divorce or expect a divorce soon, you need to take these steps to protect yourself financially.

Here's how to stay financially buoyant during a divorce, so you don't have to start over with nothing.

Hire a Divorce Attorney

An experienced divorce attorney, like those at John D Wieser Esq, PC, can help make sure you get to keep the assets you've worked so hard for. You may not get to keep every last dime, but your lawyer can help negotiate a fair, better deal in court.

Learn to Be Frugal

You may be tempted to treat yourself and kickstart your life as a single person, but now is not the time to go crazy buying expensive clothes, beauty treatments, vacations, and dinners out. Save your money if you need to purchase a new home or vehicle after the divorce.

Get Financial Advice

An accountant or financial advisor can help you tremendously during this time, especially if your spouse has been the only one handling the household finances. You need to learn the basics of money management so you can succeed on your own.

Downsize

After your divorce, you may not be able to afford the mortgage payment on your large home. You may need to buy a smaller house to accommodate your new income level. 

Selling stuff, you don't need and reducing expenditures is also a great way to save money and simplify your life during this hectic time.

Lean on Friends and Family

If you've been kicked out of your house, you may want to ask a friend or family member for a place to stay instead of booking an expensive hotel. 

This is only temporary until you find a new home or apartment, but it can save you thousands. It can be hard to swallow your pride and move back in with mom and dad, but your wallet will thank you.

Determine Your New Budget

One of the most important things you should do when you get divorced is determining your new budget. Since your household income will be reduced, your expenses will also have to decrease. 

Cut out unnecessary expenditures and create a new monthly budget that includes the costs associated with your divorce.

Going through a divorce can be a long, arduous process. You may not come out completely unscathed, but by following these tips, you can keep your finances in order and end your marriage without going broke.

Financial Advice To Start Following Now

Regarding your finances, there are always plenty of details that should never be left to chance. If you choose to simply deal with your finances as they come rather than plan ahead, you are setting the stage for one problem after another.

If you want to make sure your finances and other related areas are in order and stay that way, here is some important financial advice you should start following right away.

Create a Budget

If you are constantly struggling to pay your bills and have no idea why it is time to not only create a budget but stick to it once it's finished. 

By knowing exactly how much money you are spending on various expenses, you can often find areas where cuts can be made. Before you know it, you may have more money available to pay your bills than you imagined.

Don't Put Off Estate Planning

Rather than try to scramble about later in life and throw together some type of estate plan, start early so that you know exactly what you want to do in the years ahead. 

To begin with, work with an attorney who specializes in wills since this will help you create a will that can stand up to any legal challenges that may arise. You should also take out life insurance, especially if you have a family who is dependent on your income.

Invest for Retirement

No matter your age, it is never too late to invest for your retirement. If you are employed by a company that offers you a 401(k) plan, definitely take advantage of this and invest the maximum amount allowed, since the company will probably match your contributions. 

If you don't have a 401(k) available, set up a Roth IRA so that you can build up a nest egg before you retire.

Pay Down Debt

Last but not least, do all you can to pay down any debt you currently owe, especially credit card debt. As interest rates have risen higher and higher in recent months, it is becoming more expensive to carry credit card debt. 

Once you have your budget in place, take any money you cut from certain areas and try to apply it to pay off your credit cards.

While you know a penny saved is a penny earned, you also know it can be difficult in today's world to make ends meet. However, by getting serious about your finances and seeking out the advice of professionals, your financial situation can begin to improve quicker than you expected.

It's Often Best to Seek Personal Financial Advice Before Making Investments

When you earn your money from work, it never seems like it can go far enough. For the average person, maintaining a livable income is more than just making ends meet. If all the situation is right now is hand to mouth, there is little to no room for gain in the long run. What will it take to make it ahead? One thing is for sure, it is not a matter of more work.

Smarter Work with Money

In our younger years, we are more preoccupied with spending our basic earnings and enjoying ourselves. This is perfectly fine, as there may be no other point in life to do so. As the age sets in and we begin to understand where we fit into the world and how money works, we start to look toward savings and investments with our money so it will last.

Investing is something that always appears as a good idea. In fact, with the proper direction, investments can lead to significant gains. At the same time, we want to be careful what we invest in. Whether you are at the beginning level of investments or experienced and older, it is wise to seek professional advice.





You might think life is all about earning money. Aside from the obvious, it is not. In fact, the old saying to “work smarter not harder” is something we would all do well to follow. There are thousands upon thousands of potentially beneficial investments, but what is right for you right now with the funds you have?

Look to sources such as https://www.hensoncrisp.com/ for additional information regarding how to make your money work smarter for you. Investments are a risk and you can lose, but with the right guidance, you are more likely to succeed and even be among the wealthy. This is especially important when you are using retirement funds for investment in order to create a secure future.

Retirement and Investment

Retirement funds are something you should be building up your entire life. Let us be realistic and understand that economics do not work for present generations the way they did in the past. Most of us looking toward retirement today are actually dealing with debt and dire economic circumstances which we can barely understand.

The retirement funds you have built up so far are going to be the source for investments in years to come. The idea is to invest only what you can afford into the most likely prospects. This is, again, where financial advice comes in handy. In fact, with the proper help, your savings can double or triple in one third of the time or less it took your parents to achieve.

This generation determines the sustainability of the next, much as the one before us did. It is all a matter of making the smartest investments to get ahead in the game. Creating wealth is actually not a game, but if it were, the earnings would be a win and missed advantages would be a loss.

Stocks or Not? 3 Major Methods of Investment and How They Work

If you’ve read much financial advice, you’ve probably heard at some point that the key to prosperity is making your money work for you. One of the most common ways to do this is to invest your money, but this isn’t as simple as it sounds, because there are many methods of investment out there. Here are three of the most common and how they work.

Stocks

The stock market is what usually comes to mind when people think of investing. With this investment method, you’re buying one or more shares of a company. If the company’s value increases and its stock price goes up, then you’ll make money, and vice versa. 

Although the stock market’s overall value tends to go up over time, plenty of companies fail, meaning it’s important not to risk too much on unestablished companies. 

Another way to invest in stocks is to choose an index fund that encompasses a variety of companies. This makes it easier to build a diverse portfolio and reduce your risk of losing all your money from one company tanking.

Real Estate

Real estate investing is another popular investing method, and there are multiple ways to make money from your real estate. The simplest is to purchase real estate and wait for the value to increase. 

You’ll then have a more valuable asset then you originally purchased, and with a mortgage, you can get the leverage to buy real estate worth much more than you have saved up. 

You could also purchase real estate, and then rent that property out. Not only will you own the property, but you’ll be making money from it.

Commodities

Commodities cover a wide range of raw materials. These include gas, oil, agricultural products and precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum. Precious metals are popular because it can be purchased easily online from businesses like Rocky Mountain Coin in different forms. 

Although commodities are often volatile, they offer a way to diversify your portfolio, and there’s the potential for high returns if you purchase a commodity that comes into high demand. 

That volatility can work against you, though, and it’s important not to let any major swings in your commodity’s value scare you and force you into rash decisions.

Investing may be the wisest financial decisions you make. No matter which of the options above you select, make sure the bulk of your portfolio is in lower risk investments that should deliver a steady return on your money.