As the adult child of an aging parent, some days you may sit in your home and wonder how you’ll be able to make the time and resources available to care for your aging parents. There are many aspects that are challenging and require enormous responsibility, adding to the stress that many adult children with aging parents feel. Either way, when the time has come, there are a few suggestions you’ll want to keep in mind before, during, and after you begin caring for an aging parent. Before you continue reading, remember to always keep your love for your parents in your mind so you can roll out the most suitable plan to help them stay on top of their finances and security.
Prepare for Financial Emergencies in Advance
The sad thing about emergencies is they can strike you or your home at any time and any place. If you don’t have a plan or little savings aside, you can quickly find yourself in financial hardship. Chances are, you want to avoid that added stress, so you’ll do good by putting aside a set amount from your income sources and putting it towards emergencies. Even having low amounts of savings can be helpful for the worst of situations, like car accidents, falls, or reoccurring symptoms from preexisting conditions.
Still, part of winning an insurance claim is knowing how medical insurance works. In 2018, roughly 42% of 110,400 employed underwriters worked with direct insurance carriers. Knowing interesting details about how your insurance company works is also a way to stay on top of emergencies. For your aging parents, these fine details may become overwhelming due to existing health problems, so learn everything about medical insurance and be sure you have enough money to pay your premiums. Few situations are more unfortunate than having no money to pay for a medical emergency and no insurance due to a misunderstanding.
If something really tragic has happened, and you need to file a class-action lawsuit, you should also be prepared with working knowledge of that sector. Most class-action suits will be dealt with by FedArb Arbitrators in a similar fashion as to FRCP 23 rules. It’s important to have a working understanding of law should the time come where you will need to help your parents with it.
Prepare a Monthly Budget to Stay on Top of Expenses
At home, your monthly budget will create a sense of freedom and independence among your aging parents. That, in part, comes from them having to do the same things with diminishing cognitive abilities and significant medical concerns. You’ll need to implement a budget on behalf of your aging parents so they can see where their money is going, how much they’re bringing in, and where they can make improvements. Chances are, your parents want to have a budget in place anyway, and likely had one during the time they were still capable of managing their finances. In case they are not, don’t take any more control than you have to, and instead, be a listening ear as you record information and organize a budget. You won’t have to worry about filing a lawsuit if your parents were taken advantage of by a scammer.
Work Another Job or Work-from-Home
You might be tricked into believing now that your parents are aging, you need to be by their side every moment of the day. In reality, most parents will become quickly irritated and discouraged, as they’re very likely able to do a lot on their own without your assistance. However, when it comes to gathering money for a retirement home at a later date or paying for emergency repairs now, it pays to have another job in place, or at least your current job, while your parents are living with you. You might even benefit from taking up freelancing tasks or learning virtual assistant work so you can work from home while you’re parents live at your house. Most long-term disability policies will pay benefits until age 65 or Social Security Normal Retirement Age. That means your parents will have freedom and financial security up to a certain point, but your income can make a great difference. While your parents are living at home, be sure to think about the future and whether or not taking on another job might provide additional security. If so, it just might be the choice that could make life much more comfortable for your parents.
Taking care of your aging parents in-house is a huge responsibility. There will be many decisions you have to make, but as long as you have a budget in place and some emergency savings, there is a great chance you and your parents can enjoy your time together, while they also enjoy financial independence. Remember, part of taking care of your aging parents is remembering that they need to be independent, so that just might mean you need to take on extra work. But as long as you remember that you love your parents, you’ll always have a healthy financial plan developed for their benefit.
