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When you are young and working, retirement savings may be put on the back burner out of necessity in order to pay off more immediate bills and debt. If so, you are not alone. A shocking 36% of Americans have yet to begin saving for retirement. In fact, 41% say they don’t even have $500 socked away for emergencies. But without retirement savings or a retirement plan you will not be able to maintain your standard of living when you retire. Although retirement may seem far away and it may seem very difficult to save, saving money now has major benefits.

Black Friday marks the start of the largest shopping season of the year. Last year Americans spent $9.9 billion online shopping over the two-day span of Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, a 19.7% increase over the previous year. According to a consumer survey, people plan to spend an average of $502 on Black Friday this year.

Every store you go into in October is filled with Halloween themed décor, food, and candy for sale. Putting your mortgage, rent, and other monthly payments before Halloween festivities is not always an easy task. Especially when you see everyone all over social media buying pumpkins and attending expensive Halloween attractions.  

Studies show that Americans are expected to spend $9 billion on Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations alone. This is a very large amount since American household debt has reached over $13 trillion this year. The average consumer is found to spend $169.81 each on Halloween festivities, which can be out of reach while paying off debt.

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you didn’t have health insurance or were under-insured, you may be faced with some medical debt. Two-thirds of Americans state that they are “very worried” (38 percent) or “somewhat worried” (29 percent) about being able to afford unexpected medical bills for themselves or their family. A surprise medical bill can be an extremely stressful occurrence, especially if you’re already facing debt.

You may have heard that medical debt disappears after seven years. Like all myths, the “seven-year-rule” does have a grain of truth to it—but medical bill debt forgiveness is not as easy as it sounds. In most situations it’s better to pay off the debt before it hits the seven-year mark in order to avoid harassment and the potential for a lawsuit.

New Era Debt Relief explains what can happen when medical debt is ignored: