Finding an Assisted Living Community That’s Right for You

If you’ve found that, as you’ve aged, you now need assistance with your daily tasks, then an assisted living facility can be a great option for you. It will provide you with the care you need to live a fulfilling life. However, it can also be a serious financial decision. Here are some helpful tips to ensure that you find a community that’s right for you.

Make a List of Needs

Many seniors start out by looking at the various assisted living communities and end up getting overwhelmed. Instead, start by making a list of needs. Include everything from the type of medical care that you need to the recreational activities you need in your life. 

When you have a list of what you’re looking for in an assisted living facility, you can better determine what facility is going to fit your needs quickly. This helps you stay on budget and ensure that you don’t spring for something that’s fancy but overly expensive.

Set a Budget

Your assisted living care should be easily affordable for you. You should take a look at what your budget is and will be in the future. Set yourself a budget for what you can comfortably afford to pay for your cost of living, keeping in mind your retirement fund and savings. 




By setting your budget ahead of time, you can limit yourself to looking at facilities in your price range. If you look at facilities first, you may find yourself signing a lease for a place that you end up having trouble affording.

Take a Tour

Now, you should have a very good idea of the qualities you’re looking for in a property and what price range you can afford. Next, it’s time to get your list together of potential properties to visit. You want to take the time to tour each facility to get a feel for how it will work for you. 

Don’t be shy about visiting a place multiple times before you decide whether or not you want to live there. This will help you maintain your budget and help you feel secure about this financial decision.

Speak with the Current Residents

One of the best ways to get a feel for how a community will work out for you is to talk with the existing residents. See how happy they are with the assisted living facility and get some information about the daily activities that are offered for residents. 

You may be surprised that you can learn more from a 10-minute conversation with a resident than you’ll get from reading all the fliers about the community.

When it becomes time to move into an assisted living facility it’s likely that you’ll have a lot of questions running through your mind. Understand how to slow down and take it to step by step; this can drastically help with your overall financial decision on where to stay. 

Be sure to start by utilizing the four tips above to find an assisted living community that’s right for you.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan

How to Diversify and Strengthen Your Business Investments

Individuals interested in optimizing the health of their investment portfolio may need to get creative to find instruments they may not have considered before. Think about some of these ways to strengthen your business investments and optimize your financial opportunities for the coming years.

Spread Your Options

Investing in equities can be easy and safe, but it is important to always plan ahead and diversify your investments as much as possible. Invest through as many mediums as you comfortably can in order to ease potential losses. Think about virtual mutual funds through a handful of companies and then invest further in exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts.

Work with Bond Funds

Adding a series of bond funds to your investment portfolio can be one of the best ways to establish a fixed-income fund option. Many securities can allow you to track indexes for better long-term diversification, particularly if you have not worked with this instrument before. Most of these funds also come with lower fees, which means more money left over for your needs.

Invest Regularly

Another excellent way to keep up with your investments is so to invest as regularly as possible. Set a yearly, or even monthly amount of money that you are willing to spend on your investments and use it to diversify your portfolio. This can be one of the best ways to strengthen your options and plan ahead for the future of your finances.

Invest Outside of Traditional Instruments

In addition to standard investments like funds and stocks, it can be a good idea to explore other investment opportunities around you. Penny stocks and real estate investments can allow you to manage your finances in unique ways. Look into landlord software to help you keep up with your apartment finances as well if you have purchased such property to rent.

Always Watch Trends

More active investments will also mean taking the time to read the news and make informed decisions about the future of your investments. Think about what you can do to stay ahead of the curve, and always plan for potential issues. It is as vital to cut your potential losses at the right opportunity as it is to diversify for the long-term.

Pay attention to your existing investments and think about how you can diversify in the same industry or instrument. Taking the time to observe trends that you are familiar with will allow you to make more solid decisions in the future of your investments.

4 Low Maintenance and Low Cost Activities Hotels Can Provide for Their Guests

Is your hotel's business lagging, or maybe you're looking to expand and tap into new markets? Nothing brings in guests like unique and useful amenities, but offering enjoyable activities can cost a pretty penny. 

However, you don't have to spend a fortune to attract customers. Here are four low-maintenance and low-cost activities you can provide for your guests.

Bark in the Park

Many people consider their pets members of the family, and your hotel can score more business by welcoming their fur babies. Take pet-friendly a step further by offering a dog park so your four-legged guests can blow off steam at the end of the day. 

If you have some outdoor space to spare, a dog park is a very affordable amenity to provide. Just fence off the area and include fido-friendly accessories like a waste bag dispenser and durable toys.

Serve Up Some Fun

A tennis court beats the gym any day and is fun for families and business travelers alike. You might think adding a court to your property will break the bank, but tennis court construction can be very affordable with a little planning. 



They don’t require the same maintenance as lawns or gardens, and tennis balls and rackets are easily replaced when damaged. A simple court and net is all you need to provide your guests with a great place to exercise, and the occasional hosing down is all the court needs to stay clean.

Light the Night

Want to attract more families to your hotel? An outdoor fire pit is a very easy and affordable attraction that draws in not only families but also schools and scout groups. Installing a fire pit is a simple project that your maintenance staff can handle. 

Just be sure to check with your local fire department to make sure your pit is up to code and that you have any necessary permits before lighting it up.

Easy Food Options

The food truck trend shows no signs of stopping, and there's no easier or more affordable way to entice guests to your hotel than inviting vendors to set up on your property. Choose trucks that are clean, well-designed and offer unique and tasty dishes. 

You can either bring in extra revenue by charging the food truck vendors an operating fee or include meals for free with a room and pay the vendors to serve your guests.

When considering activities to provide for your guests, it's important to consider not only the upfront cost but also the return on your investment. A more expensive activity may pay for itself over time, while a cheaper but less attractive one could end up costing more in the long run.

4 Financial Investments That Pay Off When You Hit Retirement

A staggering number of young professionals haven’t started saving for retirement. This is startling, especially considering that many economists anticipate public entitlements like social security to run out over the next few decades. It’s important that working professionals start thinking about their retirement sooner rather than later.

To help you get started, here are four financial investments that pay off when you hit retirement. Remember, by living frugally now, you can live a lot more comfortable down the road.

Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

An individual retirement account, also known as an IRA, is a retirement fund that you invest in independently. It’s not managed or controlled by your employer. There are limits to how much you can add to your IRA each year, but if you invest the maximum amount on an annual basis, you can see huge benefits at retirement.

401K

A 401K is a retirement fund that you invest in through your employer. While it doesn’t have the same potential of a high payout that an IRA does, most 401Ks have the added bonus of employer-matching, which means that your company will match whatever you put into your 401K. Ideally, you should have both a 401K and an IRA to maximize your earnings when you retire.

Real Estate

No investment is more valuable than real estate. Whether you invest in adult community homes for sale, single-family homes or apartment complexes, real estate almost always appreciates in value and has the potential to create a very generous payout for the investor. 

Real estate generates income by serving as a rental property for the owner or by generating a great profit when the owner decides to finally sell or move in.

High-Yield Savings Account

If you don’t have the resources to put into the aforementioned retirement investment options, then at least consider creating a high-yield savings account. These savings accounts offer investors a higher interest percentage than their lower-yield counterparts. 

While an IRA or 401K is usually a better option, a high-yield savings account can still generate a good amount of money, provided that the investor leaves the account alone and doesn’t dip into it whenever they need extra money.

It’s important to plan for your retirement. The sooner you start saving, the better off you’ll be in your golden years. All of these options can help to ensure a safe and comfortable future.