BY: Beverly Bernstein Joie, MS, CMC
President Elder Connections
The Financial Squeeze
Making the decision to move my mother to a new retirement community involved my heart and a dutiful daughter trying to do “the right thing.” But, this decision also involved my pocketbook. Sure, the place was a far cry from where she came, but it was also double the cost of her previous community. As an only child with nowhere to turn, “what was I to do?”
Being a Part of the Sandwich Generation
Every day thousands of baby boomers are facing this difficult dilemma. There are no easy answers and everyone must explore what their decision will mean to themselves, their parents and their families.
4 Essential Tips for Dealing with The Financial Caregiver Tug of War
1. Be honest with yourself. Never put yourself at risk for your own retirement. Ask yourself who will care for you if you are unprepared for your own future?
2. Being truthful with yourself, your parents, and family avoids resentment and anger which results in giving what you do not have to give.
3. Objectivity is very difficult when you are alone in your own mind. Use the resources of a geriatric care manager to sort through the resources and entitlements which are available but beyond the knowledge of most people.
4. Think before you act. Decisions made from the heart often need the brain to catch up with them. It is much more difficult to change things than to start out on the right foot.
Affordable Solution for Peace of Mind
Let the professionals of Elder Connections help you manage the financial squeeze with solutions for peace of mind.