Dave Says: How Do I Motivate My Parents to Prepare for Retirement?

By Dave Ramsey

CBN.com – These days it pays to be smart about money. That's why it's important to take this wise counsel from financial expert Dave Ramsey.

Preparing for Retirement While in Debt

Dear Dave,

My parents are close to retirement and very heavily leveraged. Do you have any advice on how I can help motivate them to succeed financially?

Jack

Dear Jack,

I appreciate your concern for your mom and dad, but I'm not sure you can motivate anyone to do something. Sometimes people don't have motivation because they've lost hope. In turn, it's that sense of hopelessness that keeps them from moving forward. I think in these situations the best you can do is to show them hope. And one of the best ways to do that is to share your own story. You can also examine the numbers with them to show that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't always an oncoming train.

I do this a lot with callers on my radio show. After we look at the pieces of the puzzle together, I might show them how they can pay off $50,000 of debt in a year's time. Most of these people aren't bankrupt; they're just plain scared. So there's a lot of power in that little word "hope."

Sit down with your parents and let them know how much you love them and want them to enjoy their retirement. See if you can find out how much income they have versus the amount of debt they've piled up, then begin to formulate a step-by-step plan. Show them how they can begin to get traction and free up their money by living on a budget and getting out of debt. You can even offer to be their counselor or accountability partner.

You want them to be safe and secure in their retirement, and they deserve some dignity after working hard all their lives. So, in my mind, hope is the best thing you can offer. Motivation is a different story. That has to come from within. You can't really motivate the unmotivated.

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.