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.

3 Financial Habits That Set You Up for Success

It is incredible to consider how many people either do not have a savings account or do not use one. It seems that most people rely solely on their checking accounts. There are many reasons why this is a bad idea. Savings accounts are designed to help you better manage your finances. 

They also end up paying much more interest, on average, than checking accounts do. When you have money that you do not need to spend right away, it is typically better to sock it away in your savings than it is to put it in your checking account where you might be tempted to spend it. Here are three reasons why you should always deposit money into your savings account.

Emergencies Are Always A Possibility

While things might be going great today, there is always the possibility of an emergency on the horizon. When you need money in a hurry, it is much better to use the cash in a savings account than it is to borrow the money. 

When you have a savings account that contains money for a rainy day, you will never have to worry about how you are going to account for an emergency ever again. This is a great, liberating feeling to have.

If you can, open a Health Savings Account. Having a pre-tax HSA will allow you to have a savings account that can only be used for medical visits and supplies. This will keep temptation out of dipping into the savings account for other uses. It will also help ease any feeling of financial guilt that comes with human nature when you go to the doctor. 



This way, you know the co-pay is not coming from your checking account, and you can worry about getting your family medical care without worrying about the financial aspect. Many employers will do an HSA match amount that can become a very valuable benefit.

Save for A Long Term Goal

If you want to do something in the future, it helps to begin saving for it today. Perhaps you want to take a cruise for your 25th wedding anniversary. Begin saving now and earmark it for that trip. Then, you will have the money when the times come to take a trip of a lifetime.

Financial success comes in many forms. Investing your savings in a way that you can multiply your money. There are success stories of ordinary families that learned how to get rich in the military, for example. Saving $500 a paycheck when you get a new job or raise can lead to $12,000 in yearly savings. This is a way you can get out of debt instead of increasing your spending habits. That home deposit, the new business idea doesn’t seem so out of the ordinary anymore.

Get Ready for A House Deposit

You might not be ready with the money today to buy a house, but you hope to at some point. Real estate is a great investment. However, you will need a deposit to put down on a new home to qualify for a great rate on your mortgage. The more money you can save towards this deposit, the lower your monthly payments will be in the end. You will also reduce the amount you pay towards interest over the term of the loan.

If you can buy it, then buy a home. Getting in the habit of looking ahead is something you can do even if you are stuck renting at the moment. Talk to a real estate agent, a loan officer before you are ready. Get in the habit of knowing where you want to go and what work you need to do to get there. Nothing will magically appear on your lap. Plan for success.

These are just three of the many functions of a savings account. This allows you to have a focused means of saving money that you will need at some point in the future. It helps to minimize the temptation of spending money today that you really need for the future. The way to best accomplish this is to make regular deposits into your savings account so that money will be there when you need it.

5 Features Your Personal Checking Account Should Have

Your personal checking account is a necessity for paying your bills in this digital world. With so many options out there to choose from, it can be hard to decide which bank to get an account from. Here are five features that can help you to determine which personal checking account is best for you.

Mobile Deposit

No longer do you need to waste time out of your Friday to go to the bank. You can easily deposit your check with mobile deposit offered by many of the popular banks. This simply allows you to take pictures of your signed paycheck and submit it. Most banks will credit your account within seconds of your submission.

Online Bill Pay

No one likes to waste their money or their time putting stamps on envelopes. With online bill pay, you don’t have to. You can easily pay your usual monthly bills via your online checking account. This is a widely available feature at most banks that you should be on the lookout for.


When it comes time to open your own personal checking account, you don’t just want to go to any ole bank. You should be checking the various features of the checking accounts offered by numerous banks to ensure they can meet your needs. The above five features are the bare minimum essentials any checking account should offer you.

Free ATMs

While you may not think about it at first, when you set up personal checking accounts you want to be able to use your debit card to get cash. Sometimes we need cash for places that won’t accept cards and other times it’s just easier to keep track of our cash than using a debit card. Either way, you should have access to a wide network of charge-free ATMs where you can withdraw the cash you need whenever you need it.

Online Banking

Most of us don’t really get regular billing statements for anything that we purchase. Rather, we get online statements. Your personal checking account should be the same way. You should be able to assess your recent transactions, move money in your accounts, and deposit your checks via their online platform.

No Minimum Balance or Deposit Requirements

There’s been a popular trend lately created by the bigger banks that require you to deposit a specific amount of money each month into your account or to maintain a minimum balance in that account. 

This is done to help ensure that your account stays active so the bank doesn’t have to pay maintenance costs on keeping your account open when it’s not active. Not every bank is like this. You should opt for creating an account at a bank that has none of these requirements.

When it comes time to open your own checking account, there are some things you need to look out for. The above are five of the features that you should ensure your personal checking account has available with it. This way, you can get the most out of your banking experience.