We all try tp plan ahead, especially when it comes to money. We don't want to be unprepared when it comes to additional expenses in our senior years. We look forward to retirement, we've saved money over the years to enjoy 'senior living' and we feel comfortable with our bank account. But then, all of a sudden we are faced with unpredictable high expenses. Are we prepared for that?
For example, one of us deals with sudden physical problems like a stroke which causes paralysis, brain dysfunction and the victim must be hospitalized. If the damage to the body is permanent, then the family must look to a facility that offers total nursing care or assisted living. That is when the costs suddenly escalate and can continue for months or years. Unless we make definitive decisions regarding end of life care, our medical system could even keep us alive in a vegetative state for years. Are we prepared?
If you look at construction and growth of new buildings you will observe a noticeable increase in senior care facilities. That must mean there exists a need for more senior care facilities. We are an aging population. The number of senior citizens increases every year. Whereas senior citizens in years past lived out their lives with their families, senior citizens now live in facilities. Have you toured facilities? Have you questioned prices of living in facilities? Have you compared living arrangements including privacy, living space, meals?
In this west Michigan area we are blessed that there are a number of senior living facilities that vary as to space for individual occupancy, cost and meal availability. In Bergen County, New Jersey, where I lived most of my life, there are only a few senior living facilities with very high costs. Here in MI, a senior citizen can live in a roomy two room 'assisted living' apartment with bath plus three meals a day for $6,000 or $7,000 a month. Or you can choose a small half room accommodation separated only by a curtain from a roommate, with shared bath and limited closet space for $2,000 to $3,000 a month. Nursing home facilities cost about $12,000 a month. And there are various options including very affordable rooms in non-profit facilities and the number of meals per day in other facilities. As we grow older, we crave and protect our privacy. We can find living in the same room with an unknown adult who insists on turning the TV on 'loud' very upsetting. But can we afford the more expensive accommodation? Or do we expect our families to pitch in paying the expenses. After all, didn't we pay their costs of education and living? Or do we ignore that question thinking, "That won't happen to me."
Well, it did happen to me. Here I am a healthy senior citizen with good vital signs and excellent bloodwork, but unable to use my right arm and hand and weak in walking. I can't live independently. I require living in an assisted living facility which costs money. Fortunately, my husband always planned ahead financially, never let debt creep in, so that I am well taken care of now as a new widow. How grateful I am for his wise 'looking ahead' attitude. He made important decisions regarding insurance and investments which guarantee my care throughout the remainder of my senior years. Instead of spending money on trip after trip touring the world, we always made careful decisions, making certain there was always money left for the unpredictable "What ifs?" in our senior years.
When I see today the number of people today who hold several credit cards and push their spending beyond common sense, I wonder. Are they prepared for senior living? In some ways it seems a lot of people are in denial about old age expenses figuring, "Oh, I'll manage", never investigating the price of facilities because, "I'm still young".
By being prepared for our senior living expenses we are extending love to our families. We have always shown independence in our living and strive to continue that independence, so let's not assume our children should pay the bills. By planing ahead we are a good example and model to our families how to live considerate, truly loving lives. So look around, visit different facilities, talk with management, talk specific expenses, talk to families who have relatives in senior living facilities and carefully plan ahead for your future and your last days on earth.
