Make Technology Work for You: Tech-Savvy Tips for Retirees

Summary: There are many ways that technology can help you make your life in retirement easier. From helping you budget to finding you the best healthcare to keeping you safe at home, learn how technology can help you find convenient ways to live your golden years. Estimated Read Time: 7 mins

Table of Contents:

1. Use Banking Apps to Monitor Your Spending
2. Use Digital Tools to Check Your Medicare Benefits
3. Comparison Shop for Medicare Coverage Online
4. Use Telehealth Services for More Accessible Care
5. Set Reminders and Stay Connected With Smart Speakers
6. Use Smart Sensors to Detect Safety Threats
7. Keep Track of Your Possessions With GPS Tags

Whether you love it or hate it, technology is part of our daily lives. Over the last decade, seniors have begun using technology more and more, but some still find it overwhelming to keep up with.

However, there are countless ways that technology can be a help to you instead of a headache. Technology can help you save money, remember things, give you better access to healthcare, and keep you safe while you’re at home. In this post, we’ll share some tech-savvy tips on how you can make the most of the digital age.

Use Banking Apps to Monitor Your Spending

Once you enter retirement, budgeting can be even more of a concern than usual. Many retirees are on a fixed income from Social Security retirement benefits or a pension and really need to be mindful of their monthly expenses.

Banking apps are a great way to help you keep track of your finances. They’re especially valuable tools if you’re looking to downsize during retirement. Banking apps can help you keep track of just how much money you spend on essentials such as housing and food versus non-essential spending on entertainment and impulse purchases so you can see where you need to cut back.

There are a ton of banking apps out there, but very few are free to use. Some of the best free banking apps to help you stick to your budget are:

• Mint
• PocketGuard
• Goodbudget

All of these banking apps are easy to use and very secure. They connect to your bank accounts, credit cards, and any other financial accounts you may have. These apps will alert you if you go over budget, have an upcoming bill due, or if there’s suspicious activity on any of your accounts. Using a banking app to keep track of your spending will give you one less thing to worry about.

Use Digital Tools to Check Your Medicare Benefits

Another important thing to keep track of is your Medicare insurance. Or, more specifically, exactly what Medicare covers and what you’re responsible for paying out-of-pocket.

Medicare has a lot of rules and conditions that can be difficult to understand and remember. There are a lot of costly mistakes that you can easily make when it comes to Medicare coverage.

For example, you could accidentally get services from an out-of-network provider. Seeing an out-of-network physician can cost you double or more than what Medicare insurance covers for the same services within your healthcare network.

An excellent way you can avoid making such costly mistakes is by using the Medicare What’s Covered app. This app allows you to check which benefits, providers, and costs are covered by Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B).

Comparison Shop for Medicare Coverage Online

If you want extra health coverage beyond Original Medicare, there are various Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans and Medicare Advantage plans to choose from. These plans are offered by multiple private insurance companies, and each plan has different levels of coverage. Furthermore, different carriers may have different monthly premium rates for the same plan. It’s vital that you shop around to compare Medicare plans so that you’re getting the coverage you need at the best possible rate.

Doing your due diligence on your healthcare costs can save you a lot of money and ensure you’re getting the benefits you need. For example, it’s crucial to compare Medicare Supplement plans because each lettered Medigap plan has different benefits. You want to know the difference between Medicare Supplement Plan G and Medicare Supplement Plan N to see which one offers the coverage you’re looking for.

Doing your due diligence on your healthcare costs will also save you a lot of money in the long run. For instance, you may be able to save on prescription drug costs under the right Medicare plan.

Sorting through all these Medicare coverage options can be overwhelming, but there are online resources to help you. It’s important to do your research into things such as the best Medicare Supplement insurance companies, and the best Medicare Supplement plans to see which one is right for you.

Use Telehealth Services for More Accessible Care

Another helpful aspect of technology for seniors is the rise of telehealth services. You can make an appointment with a healthcare provider online, and they will meet with you over secure video through Zoom or the provider’s own virtual system.

Telehealth services are a convenient way for you to see a healthcare provider faster than you would in an office. It also ensures that you don’t get exposed to more illness. Furthermore, telehealth allows you to get the care you need if you have a homebound disability or don’t have a car or other means of reliable transportation.

The best part of telehealth is that it’s no extra cost. In fact, telehealth visits typically have a lower co-pay than in-office visits.

Set Reminders and Stay Connected With Smart Speakers

Smart speakers, also called digital assistants or home assistants, can be valuable tools for retirees. They are voice-activated speakers connected to your home Wi-Fi that can help you stay connected and give you updated reminders and information.

Some of the best smart speakers are Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. You may already be using a version of these on your phone in your day-to-day life.

Smart speakers can help you with important reminders to take your medication or when it’s time for a Medicare Open Enrollment period. They can also keep you updated on your appointments for the week, give you the latest news, tell you the weather, and play music or audiobooks in whatever room you’re in if you have an e-reader app like Kindle or a streaming service like Spotify.

A smart speaker may even save your life in case of an emergency as you can make outbound calls to 911 even if you’re not near your phone as well as receive voice automated first aid instructions.

Use Smart Sensors to Detect Safety Threats

Seniors are typically more vulnerable to burglary and other home safety threats because they can be seen as easy targets for criminals simply due to their age. This is especially true for older adults who live alone.

Smart Sensor technology can help to keep you safe by monitoring your home and alerting you of any suspicious activity. Smart sensors are available at a range of price points. Some of the most popular ones include Nest, Abode, and Aloe Care Health.

You could also install a video doorbell for added security. These doorbells include a camera so you can see who is outside your home through an app. The app will send you alerts that you can check at home to see who’s at your door or while you’re away so that you can call the police in the case of home invaders or package thieves. Some popular video doorbell brands are Ring, Nest, and Arlo.

Keep Track of Your Possessions With GPS Tags

Technology can also be valuable if you’re always losing important things like your phone or keys. It can be easy to misplace things but difficult to find them. GPS tags would be a great solution to your problem.

These tags use GPS tracking data to locate anything the tag is attached to. There are all kinds of GPS trackers at various price points, and each one uses an app to locate your tagged object, pet, or even person. If you have a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s, you can use a GPS tag to locate that person if they wander from home and get lost.

Some of the best GPS tags include Apple AirTag, Jiobit Smart Tag, and Chipolo One. Each of these tags is about the size of a quarter, and you can find anything they’re attached to using your laptop or desktop computer if the thing you’re trying to find is your phone.

Overall, there are a lot of ways you can use technology to make your life easier. Convenience really is just a click away.

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