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Many Older Adults Plan to Age in Place, But Only 34% Are Confident They Can Afford It (2023 Study)

Key Findings

  • Close to 36% of aging adults would be willing to move for a more affordable cost of living, while 34% say nothing would entice them to leave their current homes.
  • Regarding ambitions to age in place, most adults are concerned about performing day-to-day activities (37%), loneliness (35%) and being able to afford at-home care (27%).
  • Aging in place is easier in some areas than others: Corpus Christi, TX, Spokane, WA, and Amarillo, TX are the top three best cities to age in place.
  • Across the two most popular retirement states, Florida and Arizona, only two cities rank in the top 30 to age in place: Fort Lauderdale, FL (No. 11) and Cape Coral, FL (No. 20).

Staying Independent Is a Top Priority For 48% of Aging Adults

Although research has shown that older adults who live in retirement communities are happier (and often healthier) than those who don’t, the majority still wish to age in place. Why is that?

Source: Many Older Adults Plan to Age in Place, But Only 34% Are Confident They Can Afford It (2023 Study)

Reverse Mortgage Specialist™ James Spray | CO LMO 100008715 | NMLS 257365 |

Notice: The information on this blog is opinion and information. While I have made every effort to link accurate and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. This information is not legal advice and is for guidance only. You may use this information in whole and not in part providing you give full attribution to James Spray.

Wells Fargo Ends Personal Lines of Credit: What It Means for Consumers

“How your credit score could be affected

The effect of a Wells Fargo line of credit depends on your unique credit profile, said Tommy Lee, principal scientist for the FICO data and credit scoring company, in an emailed statement.

Several factors affect your credit score, and your available credit compared to credit used has a big influence. If you have multiple open credit cards with high limits and low balances, then the impact should be low. But if your other accounts have low limits and high balances, it could hurt.

“When a line of credit is closed, some of your available credit is off the table,” Lee said. ”The lower your ratio of balances to your total credit limits, the better with respect to your FICO score.”

Closing an account also reduces your average age of accounts and your number of accounts, both of which have a smaller influence on your score…” See complete article from Waco Tribune-Herald

OUCH! This triple whammy will hurt many, many folks FICO Scores.

Does Settling Credit Card Debt Affect Your Credit Score?

The following article from US News and World Reports is factual although overly dramatic in the damage to your credit caused by bankruptcy. The words of caution on debt settlement, on the other hand, are a little mild. Debt settlement almost always fails.

“…Even worse for the credit card company, you might file for bankruptcy, making it highly unlikely that the company will recoup any of the money you owe,” Latham says.

However, the option of debt settlement isn’t available to just anyone. There needs to be evidence that you realistically can’t afford to pay your debt. “Typically, they will only do this if you default on your credit card debt, meaning you have missed your payments six months in a row,” says Katie Ross, executive vice president of American Consumer Credit Counseling.

Settling a debt might sound like a Get Out of Jail Free card, but there are consequences if you go this route. Namely, your credit will take a major hit.

How Debt Settlement Affects Your Credit…”

If you are considering debt settlement vs bankruptcy you’ll wish to read this article.

Financially Speaking™ James Spray, CNE, FICO Pro | CO LMO 100008715 | NMLS 257365 | June 19, 2021

Notice: The information on this blog is opinion and information. While I have made every effort to link accurate and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. This information is not legal advice and is for guidance only. You may use this information in whole and not in part providing you give full attribution to James Spray.

8 things you should know about credit

Diana Billstrom wanted to rebuild her credit score, but she wasn’t sure where to start.

Though she knew the basics, Billstrom wanted to learn more.

“I think we all need financial education, no matter our age or neighborhood,” she said.

When she heard that Walnut Way Conservation Corp. was offering a webinar in February on credit scores called “Keeping Score: Everything You Never Knew About Credit,” she signed up.

Jackie Carter, the director of economic empowerment at YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, led the workshop, which was made possible through a grant from the Zilber Family Foundation.

Source: 8 things you should know about credit | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Misconceptions thwart successful retirements | Pacific Coast Business Times

Just The Facts

“…Home equity is the largest asset of American families. Both retirees and their financial advisers may not understand that a reverse mortgage is a retirement strategy. The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is the Federal Housing Administration’s reverse mortgage program that allows qualified retirees to stay in their own home by withdrawing some of the home equity. My study found that it improved 10 percent of the couples’ households and 9 percent of singles’ households in California. In California, 64 percent of couples’ households and 53 percent of singles’ households are eligible for HECM.”

Source: Misconceptions thwart successful retirements | Pacific Coast Business Times

 

 

Financially Speaking™ James Spray, RMLO | CO LMO 100008715 | NMLS 257365 | February 18, 2020

Notice: The information on this blog is opinion and information. While I have made every effort to link accurate and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your situation. This information is not legal advice and is for guidance only. You may reproduce this information in whole and not in part, providing you give full attribution to James Spray.

How Credit Actions Impact FICO Scores – FICO

How much does missing a payment impact a FICO® Score? What about reducing credit card balances? New FICO research simulated how different credit events may impact FICO® Score 9 for five different credit profiles, as seen in Figure 1 below. These representative profiles were selected because they had credit characteristics (payment history, utilization, etc.) that were generally typical of the five scores shown below.

Source: How Credit Actions Impact FICO Scores – FICO

Image Credit

Financially Speaking™ James Spray RMLO, CNE, FICO Pro | CO LMO 100008715 | NMLS 257365 | July 9, 2019

Notice: The information on this blog is opinion and information. While I have made every effort to link accurate and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your situation. This information is not legal advice and is for guidance only. You may reproduce this information in whole and not in part, providing you give full attribution to James Spray

Capital One, Discover tighten credit for some consumers

haveyouheard-292x300Capital One’s CEO remarked that these actions are business intuition. Is this a sign of the genesis of an economic downturn? Perhaps the financial canary is already in the proverbial coal mine, so to speak.

While a lender’s action might be understandable from a business standpoint, it’s a big problem for affected cardholders. Not only do they have access to less credit, but that reduced access — especially if an account is closed — reduces the consumer’s credit score.

If you have a Discover or Capital One card you haven’t used in a year or more, it would be wise to immediately make a small purchase and pay off the balance. That way you could argue the account is not inactive.

Source: Capital One, Discover tighten credit for some consumers

Financially Speaking™ James Spray RMLO, CNE, FICO Pro | CO LMO 100008715 | NMLS 257365 | November 5, 2018

Notice: The information on this blog is opinion and information. While I have made every effort to link accurate and complete information, I cannot guarantee it is correct. Please seek legal assistance to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your situation. This information is not legal advice and is for guidance only. You may reproduce this information in whole and not in part, providing you give full attribution to James Spray.