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8 ways to protect Seniors from Financial Fraud

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By Mikayla St. Clair

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

There are tons of financial scams aimed at taking advantage of senior citizens. One of the key reasons the elderly are targeted for scams is that many of them grew up when deals were made and based on a person’s word and character. A handshake, many years ago, was enough to trust someone. Many elderly and senior citizens grew up in an era when people were more trustworthy, and scams like financial fraud were not as prevalent as today. There are other reasons why the elderly are targets for financial fraud, and understanding how thieves go about stealing from senior citizens will go a long way in prevention. Here are eight ways to protect seniors from financial fraud.

1.) Shred sensitive documents

A good shredder can go a long way in preventing financial fraud, but it only works if you use it. Many people fail to shred sensitive documents and simply throw them in the trash. Thieves aren’t above going through your trash in hopes of gaining your social security number and other information they can use to open fraudulent accounts or gain access to accounts already open. Shredding the personal documents of seniors helps to prevent others from gaining access to their sensitive information and creating fraudulent accounts in the senior’s name.

2.) Check Credit reports regularly

It’s essential to check the credit reports of older adults under your care. Credit reports should be reviewed twice a year or annually at a minimum. Look for any errors, suspicious charges, or accounts that you don’t recognize. Correct these errors immediately and close any unauthorized accounts. Using a professional credit monitoring service to monitor a senior loved one’s credit is also an excellent way to protect the elderly from financial fraud.

3.) Be cautious of new relationships, friends, and family

Seniors can be more trusting than younger people, especially if they are lonely. Many thieves and fraudsters use loneliness as an entry-point into senior’s life to gain access to financial information or trick them into giving them money. It’s also important to be cautious of friends and family members who may have an addiction or severe financial problems. Sadly, many cases of financial fraud against the elderly are committed by a family member or friend.

4.) Use a Power of Attorney if necessary

In some instances, it may be necessary to take full control of a senior’s finances through a financial power of attorney. A financial power of attorney may be necessary when a person has a mental condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. Seniors with these disabilities are often targets because of their health.

A financial power of attorney can give you full control of a person’s finances. If the senior is a family member, discuss the matter with others in the family to determine the best choice for managing the person’s financing.

5.) Watch for changes in Spending

Keep an eye on the spending habits of any older adult in your care. Continue Reading…

Retired Money: How to play the 5G Revolution

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5G wireless will facilitate A.I., blockchain, Internet of Things, Smart Cities and other technologies.

My latest MoneySense Retired Money column looks at an investing theme that’s very popular in various newsletter services, and just now hitting the market: 5G, or Fifth Generation wireless Internet. Click on the highlighted headline to retrieve the full column: Investing in 5G.

One thing the Covid bear market has revealed is the popularity of technology in general, mostly epitomized by stocks trading on the Nasdaq exchange. True, the market has mostly recovered, but few think the tech wave is going away any time soon: certainly not the tens of thousands of young investors who flock to the Robinhood trading site.

5G is a key technology, not just for its own sake but because of several allied technologies it enables.

Recall that currently we are in 4G, which succeeded 1G, 2G and 3G. 1G was the technology that enabled the first cell phones; 2G brought text messaging, 3G was Internet access for cell phones and 4G higher speeds (albeit in overloaded networks.)

5G describes the technological  innovations and infrastructure that will support the next era of connective technology. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking 5G is just 20% more powerful than 4G. In fact, it’s orders of magnitude more bandwidth, meaning blazing Internet speeds and almost no latency (waiting) times.

5G igniting explosion in AI, IOT, Blockchain and other technologies

The need for a quantum leap in Internet speed may have become apparent during the Covid lockdown, when the whole world discovered the benefits of work-from-home technologies like Zoom or  Cisco’s Webex. Continue Reading…

More time is a goal worth chasing

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By Mark Seed, MyOwnAdvisor

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

“Happy Weekend!” this blog or friends or others will exclaim!

On that note, most of us (myself included) are always so happy to see the weekend arrive, or a given weekday dawn, depending upon your schedule or shift of course to enjoy some well-deserved time off from work.

Yet as I inch closer to fulfilling my semi-retirement dreams (our latest financial independence update you can find right here) I often wonder if every day is going to feel like a Saturday in the years to come.

I mean, part of me hopes so, when I think of time. Finding a much broader, balanced approach to work and fun …

Here are some of the perspectives I’ve been thinking recently when it comes to work, play, time, and to the point of this blog, what does money have to do with it.

If you really enjoy your job, does it feel like work?

While there never seems to be enough time for anything these days outside of work (blame your lost downtime on your social media time for starters!), I’ve often wondered about folks who really, really love their job – does it feel like work to them anymore?

Here are some signs of that:

  • New tasks or assignments don’t annoy you or bother you, in fact, you might get your energy from them.
  • You enjoy seeing the results of your craft frequently.
  • You enjoy working with those around you or people you deliver products and services for.
  • You are continually inspired by work.

I’m sure there are more …

There are definitely elements of the above that apply to my current role with my employer but as I get closer to realizing my financial independence, I must say I’m very much looking forward to the day whereby my most of my time (therefore not money whatsoever) is the ultimate management goal.

While time is money can be true in many corporate circumstances, the inverse is true after you realize financial independence – money has purchased some discretionary, finite time for you to use as you please. Financial independence makes work either far more fun or just simply optional.

Money does buy happiness to a point

Despite rising incomes, standards of living increasing around the world over time, people are also feeling increasingly pressed for time, anxious and stressed about well-being. With this rising income, happiness only increases to a point – surveys from various studies have shown that money only buys so much happiness.

Depending on the study you want to draw from, psychologists have found that modest life satisfaction comes from earning anywhere between $60,000 to $75,000 USD per year. Some families with children of course may need (and want) more, let alone individuals as well.

Time Spent and Money Spent

Now, certainly, if you make more money than this income per year could you be happier? I suppose that is quite possible and very likely for many of us. But my point is based on many studies, considerable orders of money beyond this income-level will not buy the equivalent amount of increased happiness. The relationships you have and the stable family environment you might enjoy, probably do. Your health is your ultimate form of wealth. That well-being will give you tremendous happiness too. In fact, with your health, it has been written and studied that volunteering, just as one example of giving, has been shown to minimize stress, reduce incidence of depression, and reduce long-term cognitive impairment – helping us live longer and more notably, a happier life.

So, while making good money is all well and good; while having a high net worth can absolutely signal to you and others “you’ve made it” happiness unlike money has a tipping point. Money is only part of what might make you truly happy.

A good reminder that any art of comparison to others can be the thief of joy.

Time is the ultimate currency

When it comes to investing, we’ve all heard that it’s time in the market that becomes your best friend (not trying to time the market itself).

That’s because the earlier you start investing, the more time your money has to work for you. Continue Reading…

Online investment ideas during the Pandemic

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By Veronica Baxter

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Do you have an extra $500 or $1,000 and want to learn something about investing? This article will explore some interesting online investment vehicles that can teach you something about investing, make you some money, and perhaps even further your social ideals.

But before you invest …

Pay off your Credit Cards

Is that $500 or $1,000 really “extra” money you can afford to play around with? If you have any credit card balances, it’s not. Use that money to pay your credit cards off before you start investing. Why? Because no investment in that amount will bring a return greater than what you’ll save by not paying credit card interest on that revolving balance.

For example, let’s say you have $1,000 in credit card debt at 18% interest. If you pay the minimum of $60 on that debt each month, it will take you 20 months to pay off, and you will have paid $158 in interest.

No investment exists that can make you anything near the $158 you spent borrowing that $1,000 from your credit card lender for 20 months. Pay that credit card balance off with your “extra” money and save up another $500 or $1,000 to play with.

Contribute to your Employer’s 401(k)

If you are not yet contributing to your employer’s 401(k)[in the U.S., Canadian equivalent is a group RRSP or Defined Contribution pension plan], start doing so, especially if your employer offers a matching contribution. Why? First, because if you are not contributing at least the amount your employer matches, you are leaving free money on the table. Second, when you contribute to your employer’s 401(k), you do so with pre-tax dollars, and thereby reduce your taxable income. This lowers your income tax bracket and you pay less income tax overall.

Contributing to your employer’s 402(k) is a win-win for you, so do that before investing “extra” money.

Exploring virtual Investment vehicles

Investment Apps

There are myriad reputable investment apps for your smartphone that vary in the amount of control you have over your investments and trades, and the amount of advice and data available, and the type of accounts you can have. Here are a few, just as examples:

Most control and lowest Fees: Robinhood

Robinhood can be described as a sort of bare-bones app, and while there is no account minimum and there are no commissions on trades, there are also no additional accounts available such as retirement accounts, and there is no data on investments.

This type of app is for the person who wants to save on fees and is not afraid to research investments on their own.

Most Investment data: E*Trade

If you want to do your research and trade in the same app, this is one to consider. You can learn about a company’s earnings, dividends, company news, and metrics like debt-to-equity ratio. You do pay for this feature –  US$6.95 a trade. But beginners and experienced investors alike can appreciate the wide range of investment options available and the ability to invest in a way that is aligned with their risk tolerance.

Most Banking features: Stash

For only US$3 per month, this app offers management of your banking, investment, and retirement accounts in one place. Fractional shares of ETFs and stocks are available, but a limited selection. If you can pay $9 per month, the app offers an upgrade allowing access to investment research, two more accounts, and expanded reward features.

Stock Market Robo Advisors

Do you want professional help with investing but don’t want to pay for a financial advisor? Try a Robo Advisor. These offer varying degrees of assistance, control, automation, investment data, availability of investment types, and fees. Continue Reading…

6 Tax mistakes every family needs to avoid

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Photo Credit: Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash

By Sia Hasan

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

No one looks forward to filing their taxes each year. The process is time-consuming and stressful no matter how many times you’ve done it in the past. Unfortunately, even the most experienced workers make mistakes when filing their returns and those mistakes can really add up.

The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a formal audit by the IRS [or, in Canada, the CRA] and the more mistakes you make, the more likely that audit is. Believe it or not, it’s possible to avoid the most common mistakes year after year. You just need to know what they are in the first place.

Ignoring late or missing W2s

Your employer is required to send out a W2 at the end of the year [the equivalent of a T-4 in Canada.] This is your wage statement that shows your rate of pay, the amount you earned and the amount of money withheld for taxes from your paychecks. While it’s possible to file without the W2, it’s incredibly difficult and often leads to errors when reporting your income. Instead of ignoring a late, missing or lost W2, get another one reissued. Speak with your company’s HR department and get them to print a new one for you. If they can’t, they’ll be able to request a new copy from the business’s accounting department.

Not paying attention to Deadlines

It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re juggling the responsibilities of busy work and social schedules on top of filing a tax return. Unfortunately, filing late can end up earning you a hefty fine and penalty from the IRS [and the CRA]. If you’re having trouble keeping track of tax deadlines, start filling out your return as early as you can. You should be able to complete the return as soon as you receive your wage statements from your employer and any additional income statements for investments or gambling earnings. You can also set reminders on your phone to help you stay on schedule.

Forgetting to double-check your Return

There’s a lot of data entry involved with tax returns. Each number and piece of information you enter needs to be correct. If there are errors, you could end up dealing with a delay or hard inquiries from the IRS. Continue Reading…