Growing Older: 4 Unplanned Costs That Aren’t Budgeted For

It’s something that most of us don’t like to think about, but like it or not we are all going to grow old. The problem, at least in the context of today’s article, is that some of us deal with this better than others.

No, we’re not talking about the ways in which you can cut back on wrinkles, or any other areas that you can look a little more youthful in your advancing years. Instead, today’s topic is all about finance, and the costs that crop up out of nowhere as you venture into your latter years.

To highlight the point in-detail, we will now take a look at four of these costs.

Surprise #1 – The costs of caring for yourself

Let’s start with one of the more morbid issues. Another fact of life is that we will all require a funeral. Someone has to pay for this, and the trend nowadays is to pay for it in advance and save your family a lot of money in the process.

Of course, that’s not all. There has been a lot in the news about elderly care and considering the fact that this can stretch into the tens of thousands on an annual basis, it’s a huge financial issue to consider.

Surprise #2 – The kids’ house

Sure, you don’t have to “sign up” for this next surprise, but more and more parents are turning into the bank of mom and dad. Getting on the housing ladder is proving trickier than ever before, and this means that many parents at least help their children fund that first deposit.

Again, it’s not something you are required to do, but it’s worth being aware of the change in culture in regards to this topic.

Surprise #3 – All other “misc” kid’s costs

As we all know, children can get expensive – but there are a lot of hidden costs that parents forget to think about. We’ve spoken about the topic of buying a home, but we could also venture into the costs of helping out with the grandchildren, or even college fees. Due to the generation that we live in, all of these costs tend to be covered by the modern-day parent and needs to be taken into account as you edge towards retirement-age.

Surprise #4 – The costs of entertaining yourself

In truth, this final surprise can cover all sorts of areas, but the point we are trying to make is that as you grow older you suddenly have more time on your hand.

For a long time, some suggested that retired people didn’t spend as much money as their major expenses had already been covered. What a lot of this research failed to mention is that as they have stopped working, there is now more time to spend on other areas of life. This might range from taking up a new hobby, to visiting family. The list could go on, but the point remains.