Author Topic: plans for late life costs?  (Read 3044 times)

Mr. Paws

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plans for late life costs?
« on: October 07, 2016, 10:25:57 AM »
This may be more for US members

My two sets of grandparents ended up somewhat on opposite ends of financial well being late in their lives.  My mom's parents ended up broke because my uncle stole a good portion of their money.  Therefore, they ended up in nursing homes.  My dad's parents had a few million dollars so they were able to live in a elderly neighborhood that sits next to a nursing home.  They had nurses with them on rotating 24/7 shifts when they got too old to take care of themselves.  However, this was insanely expensive. I don't remember what i was told for sure, but I want to say it was like 12k/month just for the nurses.

Seeing both extremes makes me really made me appreciate how much nicer my dad's parents lived.  Not that there is any guarantee of anything in the future, but I really don't want to end up in a nursing home especially the crappier ones.  What do you guys think about late life and planning? 

MrsPete

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Re: plans for late life costs?
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2016, 05:58:06 PM »
My husband so kindly pointed out to me that I'm "too old to die young" now.  Seriously though, we're thinking about this topic a good deal lately.  We're building a house in which we plan to spend our retirement years, and we're trying to arrange things so that our lives will be more comfortable as we age:

- I'm younger (and in better health) than my husband, so the likely reality is that he's got it made.  He has me to take care of him in his elderly years.  He can count on being able to stay at home, have me to drive him around, etc. 
- We are building a house with two master bedrooms -- one upstairs, one downstairs.  We plan to use the downstairs master ourselves, but the upstairs will help two ways:  1) if a parent needs to move in with us, we can move to the upstairs master ... 2) if I need one of my adult children /grandchildren or a paid caregiver to move in with me later, that person will have a "real adult bedroom" in a separate part of the house, and I won't need to give up my long-time bedroom.
- We are arranging the house to be EASY to live in ... for example, the laundry and master closet are adjacent ... and we're planning a large, curbless shower ... and no steps in from the garage. 
- We've picked an area that's inexpensive to live -- low taxes, etc.  But we also made sure it is convenient to services and to medical and the hospital. 
- My nurse-daughter worked home health during college, and that can be a great way to get a bit of care ... while still staying in your own home.  A home health worker can drive you to the grocery store, can "prep" your meals; for example, chop all your veggies and store them in ziplock bags, can do light cleaning for you. 
- I won't hesitate to hire people to drive me, to clean my house, whatever. 



WyomingGuy

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Re: plans for late life costs?
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2016, 07:23:25 AM »
Consider long-term care insurance.

Mr. Paws

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Re: plans for late life costs?
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2016, 08:54:14 AM »
My husband so kindly pointed out to me that I'm "too old to die young" now.  Seriously though, we're thinking about this topic a good deal lately.  We're building a house in which we plan to spend our retirement years, and we're trying to arrange things so that our lives will be more comfortable as we age:

- I'm younger (and in better health) than my husband, so the likely reality is that he's got it made.  He has me to take care of him in his elderly years.  He can count on being able to stay at home, have me to drive him around, etc. 
- We are building a house with two master bedrooms -- one upstairs, one downstairs.  We plan to use the downstairs master ourselves, but the upstairs will help two ways:  1) if a parent needs to move in with us, we can move to the upstairs master ... 2) if I need one of my adult children /grandchildren or a paid caregiver to move in with me later, that person will have a "real adult bedroom" in a separate part of the house, and I won't need to give up my long-time bedroom.
- We are arranging the house to be EASY to live in ... for example, the laundry and master closet are adjacent ... and we're planning a large, curbless shower ... and no steps in from the garage. 
- We've picked an area that's inexpensive to live -- low taxes, etc.  But we also made sure it is convenient to services and to medical and the hospital. 
- My nurse-daughter worked home health during college, and that can be a great way to get a bit of care ... while still staying in your own home.  A home health worker can drive you to the grocery store, can "prep" your meals; for example, chop all your veggies and store them in ziplock bags, can do light cleaning for you. 
- I won't hesitate to hire people to drive me, to clean my house, whatever.

Thats good info.  Sounds like you are really thinking through this. 

NestEggChick (formerly PFgal)

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Re: plans for late life costs?
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2016, 09:05:15 AM »
Wow Mrs. Pete, that's a fantastic plan!

Like you, Mr. Paws, I also watched how my grandparents lived later in their lives, and that affected my decision to plan for the future. I'm not going to use long term care insurance, just significant savings (as much as possible) to ensure a good life when I reach that stage. There are no guarantees, of course, but we can try our best.

MrsPete

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Re: plans for late life costs?
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2016, 10:20:15 AM »
Thats good info.  Sounds like you are really thinking through this.
Caring for an elderly relative will make you think about it. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!