Give yourself a midlife money check-up

Are you at the stage of life now known as sandwich caring – when you’re raising children and caring for elderly parents – and also handling financial strains by attempting to keep up with the cost of living? Let's look at ways to ease the pressure.

Midlife – which falls between the ages of 40 and 60 – can be a difficult time for many people. Demands can come from all directions, if you’re raising children, looking out for ageing parents and trying to make sure your finances can keep up. It's a lot – which is not surprising when you consider that midlifers spend £10 billion a year in the UK on financial help for loved ones.

Financial pressures in midlife

If you’re in midlife and raising children while supporting your parents in various ways, you might be feeling less financially secure than you’d like. You could be paying off a mortgage or perhaps you’re renting and saving to buy a home. At this stage – around the age of 45 – financial pressures are at their peak.

These pressures could affect your ability to save. It can also be mentally and physically stressful if you’re trying to balance caring responsibilities with your day-to-day working life and other commitments.

Things have been made even harder by the increase in the cost of living, especially in areas that directly affect essentials such as food, housing, energy and transport. It can feel difficult to manage money and a budget at this time – never mind planning for the future or thinking about pensions or investments.

What can you do to tackle midlife financial worries?

The good news is that you can assess your financial situation and help ease the pressure, if you can carve out the time to check key areas.

Here are some steps and checks that could help with organising and improving your finances in midlife:

• Check to see if you’re eligible (Opens in new window) for any benefits, grants or schemes which could help if you have caring responsibilities – like child benefit, carer’s allowance, pension credit or winter fuel payments
• Review your budget by taking a look at your income and expenses, considering the costs associated with raising children and potentially supporting elderly parents
• Build an emergency fund that can cover unexpected expenses
• Check your insurance policies (including life, housing and health) to ensure they still match your situation and needs
• Keep paying into your pension(s) – perhaps you could increase your workplace contributions? Check them to see if you’re on track to meet your needs in retirement
• Discuss wills, long-term care, powers of attorney and inheritance plans with your parents to understand their wishes and prepare for the future. If paying for your children’s education is a priority, continue saving either through tax-efficient savings accounts or education-specific savings plans
• Work on reducing any debts to ease financial pressure and improve your ability to save and invest
• Review your career. Midlife is often a time of change. Is your job meeting your needs and providing a good work–life balance?
• Don’t forget your physical and mental health. Your state of mind and wellbeing can affect your ability to tackle financial issues. The NHS (Opens in new window) and charities like Mind (Opens in new window) provide helpful guidance
• Speak to a financial adviser. Although there may be a charge for this, they can assess your circumstances and help you explore ways to improve your financial outlook – from investing to pension planning and finding the most appropriate mortgage and insurance products

It’s challenging to balance your needs with those of your children and your parents in midlife. However, by taking stock of where you stand financially, you could stay on track to strengthen your financial future and ensure you’re best equipped to care for loved ones and yourself right now.

To support customers with actioning their budgets, Chase lets you set up multiple current accounts, up to 20 in total. Since you can spend from these directly, they might help you track your spending throughout the month.

18+, UK residents.

Recommended reading

• The sandwich generation is here to stay
• How to care for your elderly parents
• Helpful organisations for your financial health

Disclaimer: The Hub is intended as a knowledge portal to provide information on a range of topics, including financial products. Articles may reference products and services that Chase UK does not currently offer. This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice. As with all investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax rules depend on individual status and may change.