4 Financial Prep Tips for Elderly Home Care Support Services

If you require in-home or even long-term care, the costs can start to be astronomical. You have to be financially prepared in order to afford these additional care support expenses. Here are some of the tips that you should use in order to prepare for elderly home care support services.

Look into Long-Term Care Insurance

There are insurance plans that will offer a long-term care assistance package. It may cost of a little extra each month, but if you do end up requiring additional assistance, your insurance would help to cover the costs. 

Some plans will offer to pay a portion of the costs that may be associated with living in an assisted living facility. You may even be able to stay in your own home for longer if in-home health aid costs were covered.

Consider Disability Options

In some instances, disability may be the only recourse that you have when it comes to paying for the costs of care. Some companies, like Simply Helping, know that most insurance plans offer an optional disability portion on them. 



You could use this to help cover some of the elder care support agencies that would be willing to assist you. This would allow you to stay in your own for a longer period of time. Typically, in-home care aids will come to your house and do the tasks in which you need assistance.

Make Modifications to Reduce Assistance Needs

Another option is to make your home as accessible as possible. This could include things like adding grab bars in the bathroom to provide you with additional support. 

You also might want to consider having a step-in shower so that you don’t have to worry about stepping up and into the tub. Wider doorways and adding ramps for easier access into and out of your home is another thing that you might want to take into account.

Reduce Household Expenditures

Cut back on your budget so that you can put more money away just in case you need additional funds as you age. If you’re already at that point, there may be places in which you can cut back on your monthly expenses. 

There are programs that will assist you with reducing your energy bills by working with you to make your home more energy efficient. Another place to cut back is with volunteer organizations that will bring meals to your door.

There are lots of options that you can consider if you need help paying for in-home care assistance. Use these tips to get you started on the process of financially preparing for the costs of needing elderly home care support services.

Retirement Plan: 3 Extra Comforts to Consider Saving For

Budgeting for retirement is challenging for many people. After all, to properly prepare your finances for your non-working years, you need to determine each expense that you may need to pay for. 

You also need to assign a reasonable estimated cost to each expense. While some expenses are obvious, such as housing expenses and food, there are a few additional expenses that you may not currently have in your projected budget. 

While these additional items are not essential, they can improve your quality of life in retirement.

Frequent Travel

Many retirees plan to travel in early retirement, but they may plan to remain closer to home as they advance in age. Some travel plans may be relatively affordable, such as spending a few weeks with an adult child in his or her home. 

Other plans may be much more expensive, such as spending a few weeks vacationing in Europe. Ensure that you budget appropriately for your travel plans so that you are not stuck at home unnecessarily.

In-Home Healthcare Services

You may equate in-home healthcare services to hospice and other significant services, but traveling doctors and nurses can also visit your home for routine exams, sick visits and more. 

Your need for medical care likely will increase substantially as you get older, and this is at a time when your mobility may be declining. Budgeting for the extra expense of in-home care for even seemingly minor needs can be a true convenience later in life.

New Vehicles

Many retirees continue driving their own vehicle for decades after they leave the workforce. They enjoy the independence associated with having a personal method of transportation. 

However, many people fail to budget for the replacement of their vehicle from time to time. You may drive the same vehicle for many long years in retirement, but you eventually will want or need to replace it with a newer model. 

Rather than plan to take out an auto loan and increase your monthly expenses, consider saving money so that you can make a few new car purchases in retirement using cash.

One of the most important steps to take to ensure that you have enough money in retirement to enjoy the lifestyle that you desire is to budget intelligently for that lifestyle. 

Consider adding these and other extra comforts to your budget that can improve your quality of life. When you budget appropriately for them, you can adjust your savings and investment goals accordingly and ensure that you have money available to spend on these items.

Think Ahead: Start Saving for the Holidays Now

As soon as the weather starts to get a little cooler, our minds automatically begin to drift to the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course, Christmas are right around the corner. In fact, they’ll be here before we even know it. Despite the months between now and the end of December, it’s never too early to start planning for the holidays. Why?

We all know that the holidays can get really expensive, really fast. And when you want to be that grandparent--you know, the one that spoils the grandkids silly every chance you get--well, it’s important to deliver on Christmas. One of the best ways to counteract the strain of Christmas costs, is to plan ahead.

Plan out your holiday gifts

It’s really easy to get caught up in the magic of the holiday season, and end up going waaaay over your holiday gift budget. Black friday and all of the holiday sales draw you in, enticing you with promises of sales and savings. 

This doesn’t mean that sales aren’t bad. In fact, it’s the opposite. However, you can’t let yourself get caught up in all of the sales. 

The best way to counteract that, is to plan out your holiday gifts ahead of time, before you even go shopping. 

This doesn’t have to mean planning out each individual gift, although it can if that’s what works best for you. 

Instead, you can plan out categories. You know you’ll get your daughter a doll, 2 items of clothing, a new game, and a book. Then, when you get to the store, only get those things you already decided you’d get.

Quality over quantity

One of the biggest frustrations as a parent is to see your child discard and ignore their Christmas gifts just a few short days after receiving them. The excitement of the holiday makes them excited for their gifts, but it often doesn’t take too long for these new toys to be forgotten. 




It’s frustrating to see the dozens of toys you got them, and spent money on, collecting dust and going unused. One of the best ways to fix this problem, is to be more mindful of the gifts you get your children and to get them less gifts. Instead of 5 small toys, get them 1 item they’ve really been wanting. 

Especially if this is something they are passionate about, and they can use for years to come. 

It may be more expensive, but it’s something that will last a lot longer, bring them joy years to come, and ensure that your money isn’t being wasted. 

Go ahead and buy your child that drum set, the recording equipment, or the expensive art set.

Buy now, gift later

One of the reasons that the holiday season can be so financially crippling, is because all of the extra expenses that go with the holiday all happen at the exact same time. Some of this is simply unavoidable. But if there’s an area where you can redistribute the financial burden, you should. 

One of the best, and safest, ways to do this, is by buying presents early. Before prices inflate for the holidays, head out and grab a few of the gifts you know you’re planning on giving. You can save them away in a high shelf in your closet and wait for the snow and holiday season to arrive before gifting. 

If you have children, a pretty good idea is to plan to buy one or two gifts every time you have to make the trip to the store. This will equate to an extra $20-$50 per trip, rather than having to spend hundreds of dollars on one trip, on the same paycheck. 

By spreading out your gift buying for a few months before the holidays even start, you’ll be saving lots of money, beating the holiday shopping crowds, and keep yourself from getting too stressed out in the new year.

Selling Your Home? 5 Ways to Get the Most Money out of Your House

If you are selling your home, you know how important it is to get the most money out of it. The chances are you want to get, at least, what you’ve put into the home. Ideally, you can sell your home for more than what you bought it for and get some equity out of it. There are a few things you can do to get the most money out of your house.

Create Curb Appeal

First impressions when it comes to selling your home to a potential buyer is very important. A first impression is everything and this is especially true for when you’re trying to sell your home. 

You’ll need to make sure people get the right impression when they first pull up to your home. If they see a home that looks friendly, is clean and well put together, they might be more willing to purchase it.

Finish Any Upgrades

If you’re in the middle of upgrading your home, make sure you finish it. When people put homes for sale, they sometimes don’t finish projects or renovations and that might make it harder to sell the house. 

If you finish making upgrades to your home before you even list it, it will be easier for you to sell it. A finished home will sell faster than one that’s unfinished.

Remove Anything Personal

Even though you love the pictures of your kids lining the wall and your tchotchkes, that doesn’t mean potential buyers will love them. If you remove personal things from your home, a buyer might be better able to see their own life in the space. 



Minimalist is key when you’re trying to sell your home. You want the potential buyers to be able to picture themselves in your home and visualize that it is there house. That is hard to do when they can see all of your personal items throughout the house.

Set the Right Price

Even though you might think your home is worth more because of the things you did to it, that doesn’t mean potential buyers will. Setting your home at the right price for your area and for the type of home it is will help you sell it easier. 

You will need to make sure you and your realtor do market research to figure out the perfect price. You may even want to consider getting your home appraised so that way you know what a competitive price will be on your home on the current market. 

If the price is too high, you will likely have a hard time selling your home, but you don’t want to sell for a price too low as you may not get the money you deserve out of it. Bottom line, you want to make sure you have a competitive price put on your home.

Be Prepared for Buyers

A buyer could stop by to look at the house at any time. Even if you have open houses and times for buyers to come see, they might want to check the house out on their own time. Make sure your house is always ready for a showing and try to keep it as clean as possible.

Whether you want to get out quick or you have some time to sell, getting the most out of your house is important. By following the steps, you will get more out of your home than not. After all, it is about getting the most amount of money out of your home as possible.

Financial Planning: How to Get a Home Insurance Price Quote

Shopping around for home insurance coverage can be enough to make you feel confused and tired to the max. If you want to make the process as simple as possible, however, you should begin by comparing quotes. Getting your hands on home insurance price quotes is a lot easier than you may believe at first.

Work with a Qualified Home Insurance Broker

If the process of searching for a home insurance plan on your own seems like more trouble than it is actually worth, you can do yourself a favor and seek the assistance of a qualified broker. 

Experienced home insurance brokers can help you find price quotes that can assist you with the decision-making process. They can save you effort, stress, and time as well. Look into brokers who are known for diligence.

Turn to the Internet

You can rapidly and easily request a home insurance quote on the Internet. If you want to ask for a quote, you can do so by filling out hassle-free forms online. You can usually initiate the request process by providing your zip code. 




If you’re interested in home insurance price quote information that’s a bit more in-depth, you can try to locate a nearby agent via the Internet as well.

Call Home Insurance Providers Directly

Some people prefer not to have to deal with the Internet. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to talk to a living and breathing human being, you can call insurance providers directly to ask about quotes. 

Once you get a representative on the line, you should be good to go. Answering several questions can in many cases get you a quote that you can completely trust.

Ask Around

The thought alone of trying to find home insurance plans can make many people feel uneasy and exhausted. If you want to secure quotes that are reasonable and that make sense, you should ask fellow homeowners if they have any good suggestions on hand for you. 

This may help you kick things off. It may help you steer clear of providers that may not be the best as well. Patience is always a desirable quality. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a renovation company, or for home insurance coverage. 

You need to conduct searches that are detailed, thoughtful, and as comprehensive as possible. If you do so, you should have ample success. Accessing dependable home insurance price quotes is easier than ever.

Best Careers for People Over 50

There was a time when the average person could simply work until retirement age, collect retirement and call it quits. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for a lot of people in today’s economy, which means people who are at or near retirement age are finding creative ways to jump back in the workforce.

If you’re going to work from the time you’re 50 until you’re 65, you may as well choose a good career. At an older age, this means something that isn’t too taxing physically but that provides a good salary and numerous job opportunities. Here are some of the best careers to choose from if you’re over 50.

Writer

When you were a kid, you probably thought of writers and authors as the same thing for the most part. After all, the only other writers in these times wrote for newspapers, magazines and other similar media. 

However, the rise of the internet and the prominence of small-to-medium sized business websites means you can find a career in writing no matter what kind of content interests you.




While writing can be a competitive field to break into, it can be very rewarding once you’ve found a niche that works for you. 

Your best bet is to find a topic that’s both interesting and familiar to you and focus on writing about that; people are always looking for an expert on any topic.

Tech Engineer

As has been the case for quite some time now, just about any career you can find that relates to technology is a good one. We rely on technology for nearly everything we do, and tech engineers are the experts tasked with making sure our technology works the way it should and lasts for a reasonable amount of time.

A tech engineer might work in either production or manufacturing engineering, maintenance, field engineering, technology design, technical supervision, quality control and testing. These jobs are all in relatively high demand, too, which is evident from looking at a tech engineering salary directory.

Finance

Everybody needs to keep their finances in order, from individuals to small and even large businesses. There are numerous careers you can find in finance to make ends meet at an older age, including being an accountant for local businesses in your area or providing personal financial advice to individuals. 

Whatever you choose to do, a career in accounting or finance can be both rewarding and easy to break into as an older worker.

Marketing

A career in marketing or advertising can also be very lucrative for older individuals. This type of work requires you to use your brain and be creative more than anything, so as long as your mind is still sharp you can be a marketing pro at any age. 

This is also a great career because marketing and advertising are a part of every business plan, so you could find yourself working for a small business or a Fortune 500 company with tons of employees. Either way, there will be plenty of benefits.