When the last national census was taken in 2010, 48 percent of the population was classified as poor or low-income (earning less than 200 percent of the poverty level). Anyone who's ever tried to live on a limited income knows how difficult it can be to make ends meet when cost increases for essentials like health care, housing, food and energy outpace their earnings. This can be especially challenging for seniors living on a fixed income.

The good news is there are literally thousands of federal, state and private assistance programs designed to help seniors and others cover their basic needs. Your challenge might be finding ones for which you're eligible. Here are a few suggestions:

The nonprofit National Council on Aging offers BenefitsCheckUp, a free, confidential Web-based service that helps seniors and their caregivers find financial assistance for health care, housing, food, utilities, in-home services and much more. After answering several questions, you're issued a personalized report describing programs and services for which you may be eligible, including links to their websites and applications.

Several government-sponsored programs help people with limited income and resources pay for medical coverage, including Medicaid and Medicare. For a good round-up of these programs, go to www.medicare.gov and click on "Get Financial Help."

Most pharmaceutical companies offer patient assistance programs (PAPs) that provide uninsured and low-income people access to prescription drugs they couldn't otherwise afford. Ask your doctor, pharmacist or health clinic for details. Other good resources include: Medicare's alphabetical list of drugs available through PAPs (www.medicare.gov/pap/index.asp); Partnership for Prescription Assistance (www.pparx.org); RxAssist (www.rxassist.org); and NeedyMeds (www.needymeds.com). In addition, as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare Part D participants who reach the so-called doughnut hole coverage gap now receive a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and a 14 percent discount on generics. (These discounts will gradually increase until 2020 when the doughnut hole will disappear altogether.).

The IRS tax code includes several benefits that target seniors (and often, other lower-income taxpayers), including:

• A higher standard deduction amount for most people who don't itemize deductions if they and/or their spouse are over 65 or blind.
• An additional tax credit for limited-income people who are over 65 or disabled and file a 1040 or 1040A tax form. (For full details and eligibility, see IRS Publication 524 at www.irs.gov.).
• Free tax return preparation assistance and counseling from IRS-trained volunteers is available to people over age 60, as well as low-to-moderate income folks and military families.
• IRS Publication 554 provides comprehensive help for seniors to prepare their tax returns.

It's tough sticking to your budget any time of year, but the holiday season presents special challenges with so many unexpected expenses and temptations. If you sometimes fall prey to holiday overspending, you might want to look for year-round small spending cuts in other areas of your life that, when added together, can result in big savings.

Personal finances:

• If you have low- deductible homeowners, renters or auto insurance, ask how much your premiums would drop by raising the deductible to $500 or $1,000 - it could be 15 to 30 percent or more.
• Cancel underutilized phone and cable services, magazine subscriptions, gym memberships and other "extras" you're not using.
• Before shopping at chain stores, check with online gift card resellers like Plastic Jungle and CardWoo where you can buy gift cards at a discount. Combine the gift card with a coupon or discount code to save even more.
• Kick bad habits. Smoking one six dollar pack of cigarettes a day costs about $2,200 a year, not to mention additional medical and lost-work costs.

• By lowering your thermostat 10°-15° for eight hours you can reduce your home heating bill by 10 percent or more. For a $400 monthly bill, that's $40 in savings.
• Insulate your water heater and outgoing pipes to reduce heat loss and save four to nine percent in water-heating costs. Also, try lowering the temperature to 120° for additional savings.
• Traditional incandescent light bulbs will begin phasing out (starting with 100 watt bulbs) in favor of more efficient models that use 25 to 80 percent less energy. By upgrading 15 bulbs, you could save about $50 a year on utilities.

• Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas and can lower gas mileage by 33 percent on the highway. By driving sensibly, you could save about $1.20 for each $3.65 gallon of gas.
• Fuel economy drops rapidly at higher speeds. For each five mph you exceed 60 mph, it's like paying an additional $0.29 per gallon of gas.
• Avoid keeping unnecessary heavy items in your car - each extra 100 pounds reduces your mpg by up to two percent.
• Use websites like GasBuddy.com (which has free Smartphone apps) and GasPriceWatch.com, where motorists share up-to-the-minute tips on where to find low-priced fuel.

When interest rates are low, plenty of homeowners rush to refinance before evaluating the true consequences of their actions. A mortgage refinance can benefit some homeowners, particularly if they intend to stay in their home for the long term or if they can significantly reduce their interest rate. Sometimes, though, a mortgage refinance can be the wrong move.

Article courtesy of bankrate.com
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