Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When one reads about how much it costs to end up in a nursing home($50-$60k/year unless it's a really
bad one that looks like something out of a horror movie)...it must be obvious that there is no way most of us will be able to save enough to cover those kind of costs.
How much can one possibly save?.. .Is it really realistic that we would have saved $500K or even $300K to be able to stay in a nursing home for 5-10 years? and unfortunately you don't die.... Especially if you have no family to help you at that point in your life ... And then when the money runs out they will jump on any leftover assets you may still own and dry those up...what happens next??? Why even try??
Long term insurance seems very expensive,and probably not enough for a long term stay
Early death,whether natural or on purpose seems more and more like the best retirement plan.
Because it's okay to start with day 1. None of us can project the future; we can only do what seems best on the very day of any decision.
From your later posts, you're already doing this by exercising and eating well. You've received suggestions about reaching out to help with the elderly. Perhaps if not that, something else. Maybe look at THAT as a way of prepaying your care, contributing in kind.
While no doubt there will be future changes to Medicaid, some sort of safety net will be in place for the elderly ill who - for whatever reason - do not have the funds. No matter how uncomfortable, maybe look at how the program currently works in your state (or a target state) to figure out the best entry point.
Entering as a private-pay patient is desirable but you don't have to save the entire cost - for many future expenses (the rent, utilities, transportation, food etc. that you now are paying) will be minimal. All you need is the difference between future income - current expenditures and the private pay cost for a set amount of time. Then if never needed for facility-based care, every dollar saved will at some point give you a sort of *choice.*
Later on, you mention debts. Maybe at your (our !!!) ages it would be best to address debts in whatever way does not impact your ability to put aside for future care what hopefully does not seem like an overwhelming amount.
But regardless ... make a plan, implement it, then let the results go. Those you simply cannot control. Turn your attention to the best possible present moment. And if a moment is screwed up ... just start again.
All these decisions, the unknown ... a real pain in the butt, yes?
When one reads about how much it costs to end up in a nursing home($50-$60k/year unless it's a really
bad one that looks like something out of a horror movie)...it must be obvious that there is no way most of us will be able to save enough to cover those kind of costs.
How much can one possibly save?.. .Is it really realistic that we would have saved $500K or even $300K to be able to stay in a nursing home for 5-10 years? and unfortunately you don't die.... Especially if you have no family to help you at that point in your life ... And then when the money runs out they will jump on any leftover assets you may still own and dry those up...what happens next??? Why even try??
Long term insurance seems very expensive,and probably not enough for a long term stay
Early death,whether natural or on purpose seems more and more like the best retirement plan.
If at age 22 you take a job making $40,000 a year and you work for 45 years, contributing 10% of your pay to a 401k, and your employer kicks in another 3%... and your salary increases 3% a year... you should be at about $2.5 million when you retire.
But, you can also just take the line of what most Americans seem to be doing and that is live outside your means and hope that people who were fiscally responsible their entire lives are forced by the government to bail you out via taxes and wealth redistribution.
Because it's okay to start with day 1. None of us can project the future; we can only do what seems best on the very day of any decision.
Also, while trying doesn't guarantee success, not trying DOES guarantee failure. I'd never advise a young person to avoid saving for retirement simply because there's no way to 100% guarantee that they will manage to save enough to make them financially bulletproof whatever may happen in the future. Not saving guarantees them a meager retirement.
Playing the game doesn't mean you will win the prize - but if you don't play the game, you simply can't win. So it's better to try rather than to just resign yourself to failure before you've even made an attempt to succeed.
True, but if you don't win the lottery, you're left with a small paper ticket of no value. If you don't win the retirement savings game, you still ended up with money saved (just not as much as you ultimately needed). And most people AREN'T wiped out by a financial catastrophe, so your odds of winning the Savings Game (should you choose to play it) are much, much better than your odds of winning the lottery.
Would never pass! You really think the government is just going to allow older retired people to just die? People would either vote out the lawmakers or move out of the country!
Realistically, how long is it going to last? If you save $100,000.00 a nursing home will eat that up in a year. Yet, that amount of money could change your son or daughter's life.
Well then you better hope your son or daughter will actually take you in and take care of you when the time comes! It's not for taxpayers to flip the bill if you have the money!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
