Financial Planning Day…register and put this on your calendar!

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Financial Planning Days

Denver Financial Planning Day – It’s FREE

(If you don’t live near Denver, CO click on http://financialplanningdays.org/find-an-event to find a Financial Planning Day near you.)images

Denver Date/Time:  October 22, 2016, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location:
Mile Hi Church
9077 W Alameda Ave
Lakewood, CO
Get directions »

The Financial Planning Association of Colorado invites you to attend Denver Financial Planning Day where you’ll be able to meet one-on-one with dozens of highly qualified Certified Financial Planner™ professionals to discuss your personal finance questions, concerns and interests.  It’s not just for retirees so register yourself, your family members and friends at: http://financialplanningdays.org/event/denver-financial-planning-day.

Don’t miss this opportunity for a free, private consultation with an expert on a variety of personal finance issues, including debt management, retirement planning, investment strategies, income taxes, insurance, and estate planning, among many others!

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Caregiver support…can I find the real me again?

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A new purpose: life after caregivingMagazine September/October 2016

by Joene Nelson Werner, Healthy Living Made Simple

September/October 2016

“With one last breath, my life changed.  I had been a 24/7 caregiver to my husband of over 48 years, and in a moment, I became a person without a cause.  While my days had been consumed, leaving no time for myself, suddenly there was no responsibility or accountability to anyone or anything.  A gradual beginning, an abrupt end. What does one do with the freedom that comes from losing one’s purpose?

The Aftermath

He passed November 17 from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease; the last three weeks moved like a train wreck.  It happened so quickly I was left trying to wrap my mind around it.  The holidays were a blur.  I felt so alone and misunderstood.  After several months, my mind still spiraled–no longer a caregiver, no longer a wife.

A year earlier, I tearfully shared with my Alzheimer’s caregiver support group: I’d lost me. Would I ever find the real me again?  I wasn’t sure who I was, where I was or if I’d reclaim my past life.  The years of caregiving with Alzheimer’s were like an out-of-body experience and upon my husband’s death, I was jolted back to reality. Caregiving consumes your identity.  Unconditionally putting another first, I had become programmed.  Being able to put myself first was strange.  It was difficult to accept that I had my ‘me time’ back.”

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Birthday gifts for grandchildren…529 Plans

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It’s September.  In my family, that means birthdays and gifts made to 529 Plans. September 2nd was Jackson’s birthday. Today, September 26th, is my daughter’s birthday and tomorrow, September 27th, is Dylan’s birthday.  Jackson and Dylan are my two grandsons.  jackson

When my granddaughter Jovie had her first birthday party I was overwhelmed by the amount of wonderful gifts she received from family and friends.  Her birthday is in January which follows another big gift giving day, Christmas.  So I decided to begin giving gifts of money as a long-term gift to my three grandchildren by setting up 529 college funds.

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From the Center of Retirement Research…Senior housing

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Image result for elderly loneliness images Senior Housing a Remedy for Loneliness?

by Kimberly Blanton, Squared Away Blog

August 25, 2016

“After his wife of 36 years died from cancer, Dick St. Lawrence experienced something new: loneliness.

‘Worst feeling in the world,’ St. Lawrence, 81, said about Linda St. Lawrence’s death in the winter of 2014.

Like many widows and widowers before him, he had to build a new life for himself, despite having the comfort of a large family of four living children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His first small step was accepting an invitation to play poker at Shillman House, an independent housing community for seniors. The man who called to invite St. Lawrence knew a woman who used to play Mahjongg with Linda.

Next thing he knew, he’d sold their family home in Framingham, Mass., around the corner from Shillman House, and settled into one of its 150 apartments. Now he plays two poker games a week, works out at his old gym, and socializes with Shillman’s residents every evening in the dining room. At night, his Cairn terrier, Rusty, keeps him company during Red Sox games on television.

‘I want to visit as long as I can,’ Dick St. Lawrence jokes about his plan to spend his final days there.

The vast majority of baby boomers in an AARP survey said they want to age in their homes ‘as long as possible.’  But when the rubber meets the road – in old age – the elderly often learn that isolation is bad for their psyche and their health.

There are downsides even to living in a community for independent seniors, with the constant reminders of the vulnerabilities that come with aging. When a Shillman resident suddenly becomes ill and is driven away in an ambulance, dread quickly spreads among the residents that he or she might not be coming back.

Still, they say, the positives far outweigh the negatives. All in their 80s, the seniors interviewed have visibly slowed down but are still enjoying vigorous social lives.”

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Considering long-term care insurance?

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Long-Term Care Combo Policies

by Terry Savage

August 9, 2016

“Needing long-term care is an unpleasant thought as you approach retirement age.  But ducking this issue could be the most expensive mistake you make about your retirement.

Aside from the obvious reluctance to think you might need help with basic activities of living, you might figure you’ve saved enough to cover the costs of care.  Think again.

According to the latest Cost of Care survey by Genworth, which sells long-term care insurance, it now costs an average of about $3,800 per month for in-house care for a year, a similar amount in assisted living and about $7,700 per month for a private room in a nursing home.

Need for care typically lasts only about two to three years, but extended care for Alzheimer’s could wipe out (your) savings….

According to Home Instead Senior Care, one of the largest franchisers of care-giving services, only about 20 percent of its clients pay for care through long-term care insurance policies.  The rest are digging into their own pockets.”

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To compare long-term care costs by state go to:  https://www.genworth.com/about-us/industry-expertise/cost-of-care.html

Terry Savage is a nationally known expert on personal finance, the markets, and the economy. Terry is a regular blogger at the Huffington Post. She is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including CNN, CBS, and she has appeared many times on Oprah.

 

Inspirational and innovative idea

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“Take a look inside the Dutch retirement home where students live for free when they spend 30 hours a month socializing with the older residents.”

(via SBS Dateline)

 

Embracing life after 50

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Becoming an Elder:  The Next Step in a Life of Meaningimages (47)

By Lorie A. Parch

July 26, 2016

“It often seems that our culture neither values the aging or the aged.

Simply put, things aren’t like they were in our grandparents’ era when older folks received a fair amount of respect.. So these days, the idea of becoming an ‘elder’ may not sound like something you’d ever want to do. If so, you’d be missing out on an essential life experience, says Michael Gurian, a counselor and author of the about-to-be-reissued The Wonder of Aging: A New Approach to Embracing Life After Fifty.”

…Gurian thinks that becoming an elder in your circle, or even in a wider community, is extremely important—and not just because it helps others. ‘We want to become elders because a life of meaning now depends on it,’ he says emphatically.”

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Note:  Gurian’s book was re-released in paperback June 7, 2016.