DebtFree posts

It's nearing the end of the month and you've either received your credit card statement from Christmas or the dreaded mail is about to arrive. Have you taken a deep breath and braved opening the envelope, or are you resigned to letting it collect dust for now and deal with it later?

If you have the courage to open your credit card statement up, you'll notice something new - a measure the government forced companies to report a few months ago. And, if you carry a balance on your card, it might be a scary number to look at. There's a little box either on the side or back of your statement that now has to tell you how long it will take for you to pay off your credit card balance if you only make the minimum payment. This month's mini money make-over features Jeffrey, who's looking at a whopping 134 years and 7 months to pay off his credit card. Yes, you read that right. He's currently 37 years old, and if he doesn't learn a simple trick to financial freedom, his debt will outlive him by decades.

Retirement is meant to be fun, right? A time when you get to chill out and do all the fun stuff you've worked for. Unfortunately, this dream is far from the reality for many Canadians who are retiring with debt.

A new Royal Bank of Canada survey shows that four in 10 Canadians over the age of 50 and with assets worth at least $100,000 retired with some form of debt, while 22% retired while still paying the mortgage on their home. Now, being in debt is risky, but it's not necessarily the end of the world - not if you have assets like a home or other investments that you are willing to sell as you get older. But, needless to say, the safer place to be is definitely debt-free with a comfy little nest egg. It's getting there that is the challenge.

In order to get there, many Boomers are delaying retirement. For sure, some Boomers love their jobs and don't want to retire. But there is also a large number who can't afford to retire just yet, particularly those whose investment portfolios took a beating during the financial crisis. In fact, much of the growth in the jobs market in the coming years is expected to be filled, not by young school leavers, but Boomers who don't retire.

So what can you do to make your retirement as comfortable as possible?