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A little OT, but this reminds me of a humorous story about my mom. She was a classic example of how you can take precautions to an extreme. As she got older she she started getting freaked out by all the car accidents on the nightly news. After awhile she scared herself so badly that she never went anywhere.
I think we may have the same mother <G> Hasn't gone out after 4:00 for YEARS. Quotes the hurricane predictions (always off) like they're Gospel (she lives in FL). Frets about the highway accidents.
The doom and gloom articles I ignore. I know what we need to survive----not some "expert". Now if only I could get DH to stop worrying.....
[quote=Robyn55;24832491- of course - for those of you who are < 60 - most probably still have living parents. In our mid-60's - my husband and I still have one - my father who is 93. For those of you younger people - dealing with your parents' issues may be more of an immediate problem than dealing with your own problems 10-20 years down the road. Robyn[/QUOTE]
Amen to that. I have always paid attention to such matters, being a person with no one behind me in any way, and working in hospitals (along with a dementia service).
Recently learned about some of the logistics of a suddenly terminally ill senior (87) who was living alone and collecting Soc. Sec., no medications, a distant heart attack. Suddenly finds out that he's lived long enough to have metastatic cancer, major symptoms, increasing weakness and severe constipation. It was quite a trick to get the hospice service to get him into a nursing home for hospice care, as he couldn't live alone. My sister, his POA, has been running all over to get Medicaid set up and to try and prove that his tiny trailer is a liability, not an asset, while dealing with the poignant fact of one's father dying.
I have long planned to have enough money to hire help, and if unable to stay in my house for eyesight/health reasons, go to an Erickson community after selling my house. I have long thought about Plan B, then C, and if needed, D. Do NOT ever want to be caught flat-footed, despite my very cavalier "I'll make things work" attitude until well into my 30s. Prudence is better late than never!
I remember my sister (62, living in a totally car-dependent area with many friends spread around), "We'll all just take care of each other," and I pointed out that they're all in the same age group, and it's one thing to get a ride somewhere or some such when you need it, and another thing to need more help than that when the friends will be likely in the same boat.
I really did think my father would just have that heart attack someday. He took such good care of himself that he lived long enough to get the family curse, cancer. (I note that all of my immediate relatives and then some have had or died of cancer. Even when I was a hippieish idiot, I always carried health insurance, for car accidents or cancer).
Yawn...but then Yahoo!Finance is mostly sensationalized fluff articles/videos to begin with. The titles are almost always provocative followed by mediocre content.
...I think we may have the same mother <G> Hasn't gone out after 4:00 for YEARS. Quotes the hurricane predictions (always off) like they're Gospel (she lives in FL). Frets about the highway accidents.
The doom and gloom articles I ignore. I know what we need to survive----not some "expert". Now if only I could get DH to stop worrying.....
Do you and DH share the responsibility for things like handling finances - home maintenance and repairs - etc. - etc.? If he does a lot of stuff by himself - perhaps that's why he worries? I think that even if one spouse has primary responsibility in a certain area of running a household - the other spouse should be involved - if only a little when it comes to the major planning aspects of things.
FWIW - I know - at least theoretically - what we need to survive. But I don't think I'd enjoy living in "survival mode" very much.
BTW - if your mother is computer literate - there are tons of great websites that deal with hurricanes and tropical storms. This is where I'd start:
The most important concepts she and many other people have to understand about hurricanes/tropical storms is that they're not "lines" - they're areas. And that they have "cones of concern" that get progressively smaller as a storm gets closer to landfall. But even 2-3 hours before landfall (by which time it's too late to do anything) - the center of a storm can easily hit anywhere within a 30-40 mile area of coastline (which can make a huge difference in terms of how it affects people in that area). So I think it pays to follow things - but not to get alarmed until there's some cause for alarm. If I lived anywhere in Florida or along the gulf coast - I'd be following the tropical disturbance that's there now (and I am). Robyn
Yawn...but then Yahoo!Finance is mostly sensationalized fluff articles/videos to begin with. The titles are almost always provocative followed by mediocre content.
Ah, those titles! Indeed, they want to hook you into reading the article. In this case a person would have to be living in a cave not to know these 8 facts already, if not down to the tenth of a percent, than at least in general. Here they are, in brief summary:
1. One in six seniors lives below the official poverty line.
2. The ratio of working people to retirees is dropping.
3. There are more seniors now.
4. The median cost of assisted living facilities is $3,300 per month.
5. People 55 and over account for 20% of bankruptcies.
6. The financial crisis of 2008/2009 means people need to save more now.
7. 35% of Americans are not saving for retirement at all.
8. There is age discrimination in the workplace.
See what I mean? I have some specific comments on numbers 4 and 5. First, the cost of assisted living facilities. I was amazed that the median cost was so reasonable. Most of those plans include two or three meals a day as part of the rent. I probably spend $450 per month to eat, just for one person. Plus these facilities have certain services and amenities not found in the average apartment. A real bargain at $3,300, it seems to me.
Second, we read that people 55 and over account for 20% of bankruptcies. Isn't that about the percent of the population which is over 55? Big deal.
Oh, the sky is falling, the sky is falling....!
How exactly is $3,300 a month "a bargain" to someone with no assets and a $1,000 SS check???
How exactly is $3,300 a month "a bargain" to someone with no assets and a $1,000 SS check???
If that's not falling sky, what do you call it?
You are focussing on a relatively small number of seniors - those with no assets and a $1,000 SS check. I would have to agree, of course, that for them the outlook is bleak indeed.
However, when you consider how much it costs to provide food, housing, van service, once-a-week laundry and housekeeping service, and assistance with activities like bathing, dressing, etc., then $3,300 is a real bargain as an average (or was it median?) cost for assisted living. I was surprised the figure was that low.
Something can be a bargain even if not everyone can afford that thing.
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