Valerie Towe and her husband, who was flooded with medical costs outside the pocket, and her husband, Paul, witnessed their debts in the swelling last year.
In the face of a continuous stream of bills for chronic pulmonary obstruction of Paul, 77 years old, rheumatoid arthritis, and neuropathy, Valerie began to take advantage of credit cards to keep up with.
“I could not meet their needs,” Valerie, 65, told Yahoo Finance.
She said that the cost of the weekly grocery added to pressure – almost doubled last year. To the highest, with the high duties of her care, Valerie turned into a part -time job.
“When you are a career, you cannot do a full -time job,” she said.
Worse, as anyone knows who exceeds credit cards from month to month, is the enlarged debt that accumulates when you can only pay the minimum balance on credit cards that exceed the interest rates by 20 %.
She said that all of this was able to do Valerie, and the result is the debts of a credit card, which is close to $ 30,000.
Almost half of the 50 adults and over those with credit card debts use credit cards to pay the basic living expenses, according to a new Aarp report. About 3 out of 10 of the elderly people with credit card debts more than last year.
More realistic: Nearly half of them owe $ 5,000 or more, and 28 % carry a balance of $ 10,000 or more.
This has serious repercussions for retirement savings.
“Many older Americans who suffer from credit card debts who hope to retire soon will have to make the difficult decisions about payment of debts or retirement.” “For those who have already retired and lived on a fixed income, it can be a challenge both credit card and make their expenses.”
Read more: The best ways to pay credit card debts
It is right in it. When people say what they most regret after retirement, Biggie retires with a lot of debt.
In 2024, I mentioned approximately 7 out of 10 retirees with a suspended credit debt debt, for each of the EBRI Intelligence Research Institute. This rises from 4 in 10 four years.
Although the increasing cost of grocery, housing and vehicles is the secondary products for sticky inflation, one of the largest guilty of credit card debts is medical costs outside the pocket such as prescribed medications, which you wrestle with. Fenkat said that dental care and vision also add.
If they can return the watch back, nearly a quarter of the retirees say they will make the credit card and other debts a priority before they leave the workforce, according to the new Fidelity Investments report.
The appearance of credit card debts for the elderly does not fade anytime soon. Almost 1 out of every 5 is expected to take more than five years to pay, according to the Aarp report.
The decision to pay debts or savings for retirement is a reality for many older Americans because they are near retirement. More than half of those currently work says that their debts overlap with their ability to save, and a recent report issued by the Tranmbrika Center for Retirement Studies has found.
It is also worrying, that the debt prompted them to take advantage of the current retirement savings. One in every 3 workers obtained a loan, early withdrawal, or withdrawal from hardship from 401 (k), a similar plan, or the Irish Republican army, for each transferica.
Among those who got a loan or withdrawn from the 401 (K) plan or the like, the most martyred causes are medical bills and payment of credit card debts.
More evidence: Last year, hardship withdrawals increased over the course of 2023, with 4.8 % of the participants benefited from their pension savings, up from 3.6 %, according to the Vanguard Group, which runs 401 (K) of the type that represents approximately 5 million people.
When you withdraw from the traditional 401 (K) account, you get a slap with an income tax, usually 10 % penalty if you are less than 59 1⁄2.
Read more: What is the retirement age for social security, 401 (K), and withdrawing the Irish Republican army?
Here’s an easy first step: contact your credit card source and ask for a lower interest rate, indicating-if correct-date of payments on time.
If your provider is not joking, shop for a 0 % balance transfer card. You can convert high -cost credit card debts to a new card with a 0 % promotional rate for up to 21 months. However, there is a 3 -5 % -5 % transfer fee of the total amount it moves, but this long -free period of interest will give you some space to start paying the balance.
Automation of your monthly payments and pay more than the minimum is a ticket to get rid of your debts.
There are some strategies that must be taken to reduce your total debt. Avalanche method includes payment of debts at the highest interest rate first. Other people choose a snowball method, which focuses on smaller debts first. I am at Avalanche School, but all that works best for you.
The alternatives also include combining all your credit card debts with a personal loan. It is possible to get a interest rate of about 7 % over a period of seven years if you have strong credit, and this is unfortunately not the case often if you have accumulated a lot of debts.
Do you have a question about retirement? Personal financial affairs? Anything related to a profession? Click here to drop Kerry Hannon Note.
If you have multiple balances across several cards and will not cover the total balance of transfer or personal loan, I recommend that I address the highest annual interest rate first, while continuing to pay the payments on the rest to reduce interest fees steadily.
A non -profit credit advisor may also be able to negotiate with your credit card exporters to give you a price break, but you will pay a service fee. The Ministry of Justice website provides a list of approved credit advice agencies.
Read more: Best credit cards to transfer the balance 2025
Other resources include an Aarp credit card and the National Credit Corporation.
Saying easier than doing it, and I know. Valery also told me: “I am stuck. I don’t know what I will do … yet I am a kind of forgetting with her.”
Kerry Hannon is a great column writer in Yahoo Financial. She is a strategic expert in a profession and retirement and authored 14 books, including “including” “”In controlling 50+: How to succeed in the new work world? And “is ever become more rich.” Follow it Blues.
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