All Posts in "Personal Finance/Consumers"

SAVVY SENIOR

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,

As a 68-year-old retiree, I’m interested in finding a fun part-time job that can occupy some of my time and generate a little extra income. Can you write a column on low-stress part-time jobs that are popular among retirees?

Part-Time Retiree

Dear Retiree,

Working part-time in retirement can be a terrific way to occupy your time and earn some extra income. The key, however, is finding the right gig that’s fun and satisfying for you. While there are literally hundreds of different part-time job opportunities out there for retirees, here are a few possibilities to explore.

  • Pet Services: If you love animals, consider pet sitting and/or dog walking. Pet sitters, who attend to a pet’s needs when their owner is away, can earn $15 to $40 per visit. Dog walkers can make $10 to $30 for a 30-minute walk.

To find these jobs, advertise your services in veterinarians’ offices or online at sites like Craigslist.org or Care.com. Or, if you’d rather work for an organization that offers these services, visit Rover.com.

  • Teach or Tutor: Depending on your expertise, you could substitute teach or tutor students privately on any number of subjects. Substitute teachers typically make between $75 and $125/day, while tutors can earn between $15 to $30 per hour. 

To look for substitute teaching positions, contact your local school district to see if they are hiring and what qualifications they require. To advertise tutoring services, use websites like Wyzant.com and Tutor.com.

Or, if you have a bachelor, master or doctoral degree, inquire about adjunct teaching at a nearby college or university.

  • Drive: If you like to drive, you can get paid to drive others around using Uber or Lyft apps, or become a food delivery driver through Instacart or Uber Eats. Drivers make around $15 per hour.
  • Babysit: If you like kids, babysitting can be a fun way to put money in your pocket. Hourly rates vary by location ranging anywhere from $10 to $40 per hour. To find jobs or advertise your services, use sites like as Care.com and Sittercity.com.
  • Tour guide: If you live near any historical sites or locations, national parks or museums (anywhere that attracts tourists), inquire about becoming a tour guide. This pays anywhere from $10 to $40/hour.
  • Write or edit: Many media, corporate and nonprofit websites are looking for freelancers to write, edit or design content for $20 to $60 per hour. To find these jobs try FreelanceWriting.com, FreelanceWritingGigs.com and Freelancer.com.
  • Consult: If you have a lot of valuable expertise in a particular area, offer your services as a consultant through a firm or on your own through freelancer sites like Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, Freelancer.com or Guru.com.
  • Translator or interpreter: If you’refluent in more than one language you can do part-time interpretation over the phone or translate documents or audio files for $20 to $40/hour. Try sites like Translate.com, ProZ.com or Gengo.com to locate translation jobs.
  • Public events: Sporting events, festivals, concerts and shows need ticket takers, security guards, ushers, concession workers and more. The pay is usually $10 to $20/hour. Contact nearby venues to apply.
  • Tax preparer: If you have tax preparation experience or are willing to take a tax prep course you can find seasonal work preparing tax returns at big-box tax firms like H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt for around $17/hour.
  • Bookkeeper: If you have a finance or accounting background you can find freelance bookkeeping gigs at sites like Upwork.com and Fiverr.com, or through firms like BelaySolutions.com.
  • Librarian assistant: If you love books, public libraries hire part-time workers to shelve books, send out overdue notices, help patrons, etc. Contact your local library to see what’s available.

If you don’t find these options appealing, try FlexJobs.com, which lists thousands of flexible work-at-home jobs from more than 5,700 employers. Membership fees start at $10.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

The Senior Scene by — April 10, 2024 in Personal Finance/Consumers

Take it from the Federal Trade Commission: Stay alert for scammers impersonating government personnel. They’re after your money.

According to FTC officials, many such schemes start with a phone call about an alleged problem, such as suspicious activity in an account. The story includes a claim that someone is using your information to commit crimes and that all your money is at risk. The caller tries to convince you that a court will seize the money in your bank account or retirement savings. The phony caller — who claims to be a helpful agent from the FTC, the FBI, the Border Patrol, or another government agency or organization — insists the only way to protect your money is to quickly transfer it to a more secure account. Or to cash out your savings or buy cryptocurrency or gold bars.

The truth is, instead of protecting your money, you’re about to lose it. The scammer controls the new bank or cryptocurrency accounts or sends someone to pick up the gold bars or cash “for safekeeping.”

It’s a scam if the caller says you need to buy gift cards, go to a cryptocurrency ATM, or go to the bank in person while they stay on the phone with you. And if the caller tells you to lie to anyone who asks why you’re transferring or withdrawing so much money, that’s also a clear sign of a scam.

Here is what else the FTC wants you to know and do about this scam:

• The FTC will never tell you to move your money to “protect” it.

• Ignore all unexpected requests for money in an unexpected call or message.

• Verify the story. If you think there’s a real problem with one of your accounts, use a phone number, website, or app you know is real to contact the company. Don’t use contact information in any message you received.

Source: Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources

The Senior Scene by — March 13, 2024 in Personal Finance/Consumers
Fun ways to help grandkids learn about saving money

By Maya Corbic

There’s a seven-letter word weighing heavy on most families right now—savings. And with good reason. According to a Bankrate study, 56% of Americans wouldn’t be able to pay for an emergency expense of $1,000 or more from their savings account. People tend to think of saving as a daunting and headache-inducing process, but it can be fun and rewarding with the right system in place that works for your family.

Below, with a focus on fun challenges to do with grandchildren, are feasible and interactive ways to save and grow your family’s wealth together while also learning valuable financial skills:

Save the Extras: It’s all about the little things when it comes to saving. For instance, put the money you saved when you get a discount at a store directly into your savings account or save the money you would have otherwise spent (i.e. borrowed sports gear for youth sports vs. buying new). And if you are lucky to land a raise at work, move your pay raise into savings as you are already used to living on your old income.

The 365-Day Nickle Challenge: This challenge can result in saving $3,339.75 in one year and it only involves nickels! The challenge goes as so, on Day 1, you transfer 5 cents into your savings account. Day 2, transfer 5 cents plus another 5 cents or nickel to your savings account. Day 3, transfer 10 cents plus another 5 cents or nickel to your savings account. Repeat the process until the last day of the year and you’ll be looking at a nice extra chunk of change.

Weekly Savings Challenge: This challenge is similar to the nickel challenge, but with dollars. Starting on Monday, save $1. Then on Tuesday, save $2. This process continues until you get to Sunday and save $7. You will save $1,456 in one year with this easy method.

100 Envelope Challenge: Start by grabbing 100 envelopes, which you can find at most dollar stores, and write a number from 1-100 on each one. Then, shuffle the envelopes and put them into a bag/container. For the next 100 days, daily draw an envelope from the bag. The number written on the selected envelope will instruct you how much money to put into that envelope. For example, if you draw the number 20, you place $20 into that envelope. By the end of the 100 days, you will save $5,050.

45-Day Challenge: This challenge will have you counting backwards! On Day 1, transfer $45 into your savings account. Day 2, transfer $44 and day 3 transfer $43, repeat the process until you hit 45 days. By the end of the challenge, you can save $1,035 in one year.

52-Week Money Challenge: Begin the challenge by saving $1 in week 1. Week 2, save $2 and so on. In week 52, the last week of the year, save $52. This will result in saving $1,378 by the end of the year!

Maya Corbic is a CPA and the author of “From Piggy Banks to Stocks: The Ultimate Guide for Young Investors.”

The Senior Scene by — February 22, 2024 in Personal Finance/Consumers

SAVVY SENIOR

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,

How are Social Security benefits handled when someone dies? After a long illness, my 68-year-old father has only weeks left to live. I’m helping my mom figure out her financial situation going forward, including what to do about my dad’s Social Security after he passes away.

Only Son

Dear Only,

I’m very sorry about the impending loss of your father. To help you and your mom understand what Social Security provides and what needs to be done when a family member dies, here are some key points.

Your first order of business will be to make sure the Social Security Administration is notified when your father dies, so his monthly benefits will be stopped. In most cases, the funeral home providing his burial or cremation services will do it. You’ll need to provide your dad’s Social Security number to the funeral director so they can make the report. But, if they don’t offer that service or you’re not using a funeral home, you’ll need to do it yourself by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213.

There are a couple of things to be aware of regarding your dad’s benefits. For starters, a person is due no Social Security benefits in the month of their death. With Social Security, each payment received represents the previous month’s benefits. So, if your dad were to pass away in August, the check for that month – which would be paid in September – would need to be returned if received. If the payment is made by direct deposit, you would need to contact the bank or other financial institution and ask them to return any benefits sent after your dad’s death.

Survivor benefits.

When your father passes away, your mother may be eligible for survivor benefits on his record if she’s at least age 60 (50 if disabled). Here’s how that works depending on her situation:

If your mom is currently receiving Social Security benefits based on your father’s work record, her spousal benefit will automatically convert to survivor benefits when the government gets notice of your dad’s death. She can’t receive spousal and survivor benefits at the same time.

Widows are due between 71 percent (at age 60) and 100 percent (at full retirement age) of what the husband was getting before he died.

If, however, your mom is eligible for retirement benefits (but hasn’t applied yet), she can apply for retirement or survivor benefits when her husband passes away and switch to the other (higher) benefit later. Or, if your mom is already receiving her retirement benefits on her own work record, she could switch to survivor benefits if it offers a higher payment. She can’t, however, receive both benefits.

To apply for survivor benefits, your mom will need to call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and schedule an appointment. She can’t do it online.

You should also know that survivor benefits are available to former spouses and dependents who meet SSA qualifications – see SSA.gov/benefits/survivors.

Also note that if your mom collects a survivor benefit while working, and she’s under full retirement age, her benefits may be reduced depending on her earnings. See SSA.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf for details.

Death benefit.

In addition to survivor benefits, Social Security will also pay a one-time payment of $255 to your mom (the surviving spouse) if she was living with your dad at the time of his death. If they were living apart, she may still receive this one-time payment if she’s collecting spousal benefits on his work record. In the absence of a surviving spouse, the lump-sum payment can go to a son or daughter who is eligible for benefits on the deceased’s work record.

Jim Miller is a contributor to NBC’s “Today” and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Send questions to him at Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or at savvysenior.org.

The Senior Scene by — February 7, 2024 in Personal Finance/Consumers