‘Death Cleaning' Your Finances Is a Concept That Makes Sense as You Age

The phrase "death cleaning" may sound jarring to unaccustomed ears, but the concept makes sense. It's about getting rid of excess rather than leaving a mess for your heirs to sort out."Death cleaning" is the literal translation of the Swedish word dostadning, which means an uncluttering process that begins as people age. It's popularized in the new book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson.Magnusson focuses on jettisoning stuff, but most older people's finances could use a good death cleaning as well. Simplifying and organizing our financial lives can make things easier for us while we're alive and for our survivors when we're not.This task becomes more urgent when we're in our 50s. Our financial decision-making abilities generally peak around age 53, researchers have found, while rates of cognitive decline and dementia start to climb at age 60. As we age, we tend to become more vulnerable to fraud, scams, unethical advisers and bad judgment, says financial literacy expert Lewis Mandell, author of What to Do When I Get Stupid. Cleaning up our finances can help protect us.  Continue reading...