Helping Seniors Choose Best Living Options

Meet Sandra & Gary McElvaney with Real Living, Lifestyles Realty
at 512-751-6352 or visit www.KeysToAustin.com
Family caregivers and adult children worry about their aging parent or relative living at home alone. Even if both parents are alive and living together, we worry if they are okay. Are they safe? Have they eaten today? Or bathed? Is the house in good condition? Do they need my help? Are they able to continue living in their home?

It may be easier for a family member, living in the same city, to check on mom or dad, but what about those of us who live at a distance?

Knowing what options are best for our aging relative can be challenging. Sandra, a Senior Real Estate Specialist, and Gary McElvaney, Realtors at Real Living, Lifestyles Realty, give good tips they learned while caring for an aging relative.

Sandra and Gary McElvaney speaks to us about what to look for when visiting our relatives, when worried whether they are able to properly care for themselves. You will also hear some options family member or family caregivers have when looking for a place for mom or dad outside their home.

If you are thinking of selling the family home, Sandra and Gary will walk you through "things to look for" or "how to prepare" the home for best showing. They want the family to walk away happy and feeling they got what they deserve.

Thank you for visiting. Carol at WorkingCaregiver.com

Texas Family Caregivers Discounts for Senior Services in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio

Texas employees, working family caregivers, and Texas Seniors!! Get your discounts for elder care services, senior services, and family caregiver help! We've added some quality products and resources that you need when caring for an aging relative in Texas and self help for the caregiver.... Check it out by signing up for our discounts today! I know you will love them. I do!

Do you need a Geriatric Care Manager offering a 30 minute phone consultation at no charge to you? How about a discount on a cruise? That would be nice, a long get-a-way! How about a massage for $39 from Massage Envy? Oh, yeah... I can feel my back purr. Reverse Loan Guide offers $100 off the reverse mortgage loan appraisal, when closing on a reverse mortgage loan with Bob Heckler. And Sandra & Gary McElvaney, Senior Realtor Specialists, offers a 12 month basic Home Warranty package when you buy or sell a home that closes with them.

More discounts on senior services Caregiver Discounts

Introducing the CARE Memory Band! Enjoy a discount on the USB band that's worn on the wrist ~ it can save your life! It organizes and saves you personal medical history. You literally have your health history at hand and the EMS staff or caregiver can access the information needed to expedite care!It's a USB flash drive built into the wristband. See it in the Senior and Caregiver Discounts.

Exciting news for all Texas Seniors and the family who cares for you!

Thank you for visiting. Carol @ Workingcaregiver.com

Who Pays for Long Term Care? Remedy for Austin Caregiver Burnout and Texas Financial Help with Elder Care

Introducing Patti Wilikins with Genworth Financial at (512) 970-3428. She can help with Long Term Care Insurance and answer concerns on caring for yourself when getting older.

Who Pays for Long Term Care? In the past 12 months, how many conversations have you had about LTC?

Caring for aging relatives can quickly climb the ladder of stress, depression, and isolation. Family caregivers find themselves consumed with the elder's life! I've watched my own siblings shred apart when worrying about our dad. A hard topic to bring to family meetings is; "When does dad go to the nursing home?" We struggled with that question for a year.

I watched my two older sisters labor with that senior event - well, actually, they battled more with guilt the whole time dad went downhill and finally made the grueling decision to move him to the nursing home. I hated it. I hated the fact we could no longer care for him, we were thankless adult children and could not continue to do for him what he did for us. We then had the horrifying experience watching him resist moving to the "old folks" home.

Although dad passed eight months ago, guilt is still alive in my heart, mind, and soul. How can I come to terms with it? I don't know.

There is a better choice for you though. And there are many options for happier aging relatives. Yes, living out their lives living with you is not one that I'm referring to. Thank goodness. That can be a tough one especially if you work full-time and care for children of your own. Although, it can be a good, temporary option in the meantime.

I remember my dad, while discussing his move to the nursing home, he cried and said to us, "I wish I had done this differently." Yes, me too.

How could he/we have done it differently? Years before a Long Term Care Insurance Representative visited my parents and presented a long term care plan with LTC insurance. I was there. I sat on the living room floor and listened. After his presentation, I begged my parents to PLEASE think seriously about this option. My mom simply replied, "No, I'm going to the nursing home when I can no longer care for myself." Guess what??!! That never happened to her. But it did to my dad. Looking back he GREATLY anguished over losing the option of living his life out at home.

What I profess to seniors and family caregivers is consider your options. Look at all your choices. You may not have to choose just one but know you have options! So, how do you know "what" to do for yourself or your aging relatives? First, plan ahead. Think about how you want to live out your life... and start planning.

Long Term Care Insurance? What's that? If you parent's are like mine, they are unclear what it is, what it does, and how it can be a life saver for them and you, the caregiver.

Patti Wilkins, a career representative for Genworth Financial, speaks about the misconceptions of Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration, and all the topics that get us confused about who's going to take care of me when I get old?

Click here to download…

Yes, there are misconceptions on what it can and will do for the senior and family. It can be confusing and LTC Insurance has changed since there are so many of us living longer. It works well for a lot of seniors. When doing your homework consider the facts; what LTC does and does not do for you.

Call Patti Wilikins today at (512) 970-3428. Ask her to help you understand all your long term care options. She's patient and thorough when helping put forth a plan for the future. Long Term Care Insurance can take the stress out of caregiving and tears out of aging.

Call now! You do have options but only if you plan ahead.

Thank you for visiting. Carol @ WorkingCaregiver.com

Active Retirement Communities for Austin Seniors and Austin Empty-Nesters

Introducing Ron Jordan with Keller Williams Realty, helping seniors locate a home in an active lifestyle community!
Is the senior or elder in your family seeking to leave their "family" neighborhood looking to transition to an active senior lifestyle and community in North Austin, Georgetown, or Round Rock? If so, call Ron Jordan, the Senior Real Estate Specialist for the North Greater Austin area. See his contact information below.

Ron Jordan is a senior himself! He retired from 3M and decided to help seniors find active communities that match their lifestyle. Many seniors find themselves moving to Austin to be closer to adult children or simply wanting to transition from existing family neighborhoods to an active senior lifestyle. In either case, Ron Jordan can help seniors find an active retirement community.

Typically, Ron says, when looking for a senior community, the criteria list is:

1. A community that's designed for empty nesters.
2. Quieter neighborhoods.
3. Available activities such as golfing, arts & crafts, card games, and other outside activities.
4. Planned group day trips.
5. Cooking classes.
6. Other senior activities and classes.

Most buyers learn that when reaching the age of 65, their property taxes are frozen and can no longer increase due to tax appraisals. And of course, like most taxpayers, seniors continue to qualify for the homestead tax exemption.

Ron Jordan enjoys serving the retired market because he understands the retiree's lifestyle and housing requirements. Please call Ron Jordan, Keller Williams Realty, at 512-439-3630 or visit Ron's website at www.RonJordanHomes.com.

Thank you for visiting. Carol @ WorkingCaregiver.com

Reverse Mortgage for Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio Texas - Is it right for you?

Robert (Bob) Heckler with Cornerstone Mortgage gave us some clear definitions of Reverse Mortgages; what it is, why you would choose one, and what's the best scenario for getting one, and when it is not!

Just the other day when researching the topic of reverse mortgages I ran across an interview of a 65 year old widow, her home is paid but wanted extra money to do special things. While I agree it's nice to have extra money for emergencies or the rising cost of health care, the lady interviewed talked about taking a cruise, visiting a friend in another state, taking another 3 week vacation, and getting manicures!

Well, as I expected my conservative nature to be bothered by this spending spree, I asked the Texas Elder Care Reverse Mortgage expert, Robert (Bob) Heckler, his opinion. Of course he too found it extravagant... and said that it's not a good idea to use our nest egg on frivolous expenditures.

Bob has great advice for those of you "thinking" about creating avenues of retirement income if over the age of 62. You have other options. Look at all of them. I'm so impressed with Bob's knowledge, advice, and patience with me (when asking dumb questions), but he took all my questions to heart knowing they are valid.

That's what I like about Bob; he's down to earth and grounded. I really trust his advice. He works with a lot of younger and not so young seniors all over Texas. And watching him talk with them is amazing. His intention is very clear in helping them out and finding the best solution.

Listen to our conversation - I know you'll learn a lot even if you're not in the market for a reverse mortgage.

I'm sure you'll find Bob's information valuable. Please forward this blog newsletter to anyone thinking about a reverse mortgage!

Other things Bob says to consider when evaluating reverse mortgages:

Ten Things To Know About Reverse Mortgages

If you'd like to talk with Bob Heckler, Cornerstone Mortgage, he can be reached at 1-888-268-7481 or visit his information website at ReverseLoanGuide.com.

Texas Women Caregiver and Financial Liberty in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio

Introducing John Berlet with Boomers Advisory Group, Financial Services. Did you know that women place a higher value on time than they do on money? Or that women's increasingly complex lives are creating a core need for multifunctional products? It is estimated that 58% of 54 million working family caregivers are women.

Women are staying single for longer, and earning enough to indulge themselves during the "Freedom Years", creating a new and valuable target market. Greater levels of tertiary education are creating a better-educated, richer and more demanding female consumer base.

Time is often the most valuable resource women have - more valuable on occasion than money. But let's talk about women and money! In most cases we put other's needs before our own; our children, spouces, and aging relatives!

Let's address caring for our parents - that's the one that kicked me a bit financially and many other women too. First, we worry something awful about our parents when they're older and living alone. We want to spend more time with them to help 'em out.

For me, that was a huge challenge. So much so, I took a part time job to help out mom and her congested heart treatment agenda. That was very time consuming; traveling to doctor offices, medical clinics, and making sure she was following the rigid regimen.

Most women do what I did:
Take on the resonsibility of caring for our parents
Leaving our job
Losing out on our retirement savings, etc.

John Berlet gives some very good advice to us on Texas women and all women across the U.S to insure our financial stability:

Make sure you have adequate income for your personal needs, which means - put on paper a list of monthly expenses. With this list, you now can easily determine how much of your savings are required for income

Remaining investments can be allocated to growth in your estate

Confide in someone you trust and show your total situation - statements and bank accounts and insurance policies. Seeing the whole picture is a good place to start when asking for advice

For more information or to personally ask John Berlet a question about your personal situation go to the WorkingCaregiver Directory and search for Financial Services. Or simply call John Berlet with Boomer's Advisory Group at 512-345-6400 or visit his website at BoomersAG.com.

Thank you for visiting.

Texas Women Caregivers & Financial Stability

Texas women who have sizeable and not so sizeable estates are at times confused about the action to take in preserving financial security especially when giving care to our elders. We have a huge tendency to put others first, before our own needs. While this is good for our heart, it can hurt our bank account.

More and more women today are independent and want to remain that way. That's why it's important to safeguard our earnings and savings while we are entrenched in caregiving.

Some pointers that can provide women in Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio some direction:

1. Take action so that what you have earned and saved stays!

2. Failure to take care of what we have is very costly to our retirement.

3. Doing nothing should be avoided at all costs.

4. The markets, taxes, and changing legislation could erode the value of an estate while you procrastinate.

5. Financial matters don't need to be confusing.

6. Only do business with financial professionals who help you understand financial options - not complicate or uses jargon, if you cannot follow what is advised, get another professional who can

Texas women needs to insure is that:

You have adequate income for your personal needs, which means - put on paper a list of monthly expenses. With this list, you now can easily determine how much of your savings are required for income

Remaining investments can be allocated to growth in your estate

Confide in someone you trust and show your total situation - statements and bank accounts and insurance policies. Seeing the whole picture is a good place to start when asking for advice

The last piece of advice was important to me. I cannot tell you how many financial advisors I've lived through who do not follow up. I found one recently who is offering me more solid and quality options for my future. In addition to that, he really understands the boomer mkt and where we are all headed. Visit our Texas Elder Care Directory and search for our Fianancial Services and Money Matters, John Berlet, CEO of Boomers Advisory Group for more information.