Age old problem of debt
It’s not just the young who seem to lack a sense of financial responsibility (see previous post).
The UK’s OAPs owe £57 billion – yes, £57 billion – on mortgages and credit cards.
Research from Scottish Widows reveals that around one in five retired homeowners are still paying a mortgage.
They have an average debt of £38,000, with one in eight owing more than £50,000.
And almost one in three have had an outstanding balance on their credit cards for the past three months. Here, the average debt is £5,900.
Lord knows how some of them are managing the repayments.
With a full basic state pension of just £87.30 a week for a single person and £139.60 for a couple, it hardly bears thinking about.
I know it’s easier said than done, but if you want to avoid this kind of misery in retirement, there are just two steps you need to take:
1) Pay off your debts as fast as you can. Then…
2) Start saving as much as you can for retirement.
It’s that simple.
