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Outliving Your Assets

Brenda Cassato
Reverse Mortgage Specialist
bcassato@financialfreedom.com

Cash is King in any economy! The more money you can access, the longer you will have independence.
Don’t let anybody take your money or possessions. Most elder abuse isn’t from strangers. It’s from someone close to you. You won’t know it’s happened until after the fact.
Allow your offspring to stand on their own to experience life’s lessons--just like you did! You’ve worked for everything you’ve acquired. Let them enjoy the satisfaction of independently achieving their goals. This is one of the best lessons you can teach them.
Live within your means. Your expenses should be less than your income. Write down your budget. List all of your monthly expenses (rent/mortgage, utilities, medical, auto, insurance, credit card, food, entertainment, gifts, etc.) Trim expenses wherever possible.
When someone needs a loan, let them get it from a bank, finance company or loan shark. If they can’t qualify for a loan from a professional source, why should you lend to them? Many relationships are ruined after lending money to a friend or family member.
Credit is a crippler. Treat credit cards like a safety net.

Use credit cards only for emergencies.
Use zero interest offers whenever possible.
Pay balances monthly to avoid finance charges.
Pay on time per terms of contracts.
Target cards with the highest interest rates to pay off first.
Never buy something to accumulate points or miles.
Only take advice from folks who offer solutions (without personal gain) to your problems. Too many people will offer opinions from their point of view-- which may be entirely different from or unrelated to your circumstances. Opinions are not solutions. They are like belly buttons and everybody has one.
Pay the least amount possible for disposable items like paper goods, cleaning supplies etc. Pool your resources with friends to buy in bulk whenever possible.
Cut food costs by shopping at Aldi or food banks. Buy “loss leader” items from stores that deeply discount certain items to get you in the door.
Employ a Ben Franklin’s T-square to arrive at big decisions. Make a big “T” on a piece of paper. List all the pros on one side. List all the cons on the other side. Ponder both lists for a while. The solution will appear before your eyes.

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Brenda Cassato is a wife, mother, care giver and reverse mortgage specialist. She spent the first 25 years of her career helping folks buy homes in the bay area with government and conventional mortgages. Since 2004, she’s been helping folks keep their homes-- while accessing the equity they’ve built up over the years-- to supplement their retirement resources. If you want the facts about reverse mortgages, call Brenda at 813 909 9059.