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For those of you with senior clients, how do you help them budget if they are not open to using technology (Mint, YNAB, etc.)? I realize I could give them the info from the previous month, however, that’s not very proactive. Is there a way for them to see what they have available in a certain category without using an app or calling me all the time! HA! I know a cash envelope system would work, but I wanted to hear other’s ideas. Thanks!
Hi Heather,
That’s an interesting question. Most of my senior clients have online banking and their bills don’t fluctuate that month so there is no need for a budget unless it might be for something specific, for instance vacation or holidays that are outside of the usual expenses. We also review the bank statement each month and go over expenses, especially those out of the ordinary to figure out why the discrepancy. Oftentimes, there is a visit from family so they like to “treat” everyone to a meal or two. The simplest way I know for someone who does not want to use an app or technology to track their money is to utilize a debit card like True Link https://www.truelinkfinancial.com/card/ for everyday expenses. Expenditures can be specific and customized so that the client isn’t able to use it for something he or she shouldn’t be purchasing (gambling, etc). I would not be responding to frequent calls from a client who chooses not to use technology but calls you instead. Maybe she prefers the actual contact and connection with you, so you may have to set boundaries in order for her not to continue to take advantage. The other option is she could contact the bank for balances, but this doesn’t give her the information about specific expense categories. Good luck!
Barbara Boustead
It is very hard without technology. I assume that means they won’t even let you log into the bank to get real time info. I have clients who don’t use technology, but have no problem if I use it to help them. I log into the bank and download their info into Quicken. I then use Quicken reports to populate a budget spreadsheet in Excel. The goal is to stay under a certain “burn rate” in that year, for instance. So we set up a budget at the beginning of the year that won’t exceed that total amount and assign amounts to each line item. If we find that the client is going over in a few categories, then I can recommend they pull back spending or we can go to another category where spending is below and move some of that cash availability. It’s never an exact science, but the whole game is staying below a fixed income or making the investments last a lifetime.
Good luck!
I have needed to handle it “old school” for a fixed income client with excessive medical bills.
We determined a set budget in excel for every category. We assigned a set amount for caregiving and discretionary spending. Each time we meet, we reviewed bills to pay, bank balance, overspending, what’s due, etc. It is time-consuming and not ideal but it got us through a very rough patch. We handled the medical bills by calling each one and letting them know there was NO extra income to pay bills but we pay as soon as we were able. Luckily they had some variable income that finally kicked in. Unfortunately, it’s all going toward medical bills. We continue to meet weekly and that helps this client stay on track.
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