Rainy Sunday morning in the Washington, DC area. Great time to clear some of the piles on my desk. I came upon a Washington Post article I clipped a while ago. Michelle Singletary is a personal finance writer. I often think her writing is directed at folks younger than me, that I have missed all the smart opportunities to get my financial house in order. Not this time, this article is about caregiving for older family.It covers the importance of preparing your own finances, your attitude AND your home for what may be coming. It is ‘right on the money’.
Michelle does a great job raising lots of issues in a short space.
“The storm is coming, and it’s likely to bring emotional and financial turmoil.
I thought I knew a lot about caring for the elderly — and I do — but I still was unprepared for how quickly the workload and concerns would take a toll on my family life. As I trek up and down stairs to the basement guest room checking on my father-in-law and taking him meals, I’m annoyed that when we built our home several years ago, we didn’t include a bedroom on the first floor. We talked about it but believed we had years before it would be an issue.
We didn’t have as long as we thought.”
The need to prepare far in advance because it comes on so fast, the combination of financial and emotional toll, one of the few articles from the financial sphere that raises design issues. Michelle covers a lot of ground in this short article. Read the whole article from May 16, 2010. Here is more from Michelle on caregiving, featuring writers Elinor Ginzler from AARP and Paula Spann.
Louis Tenenbaum, one of the nation's leading authorities on aging in place, is the founder of HomesRenewed, a coalition of business, consumers and nonprofits, driving policy and investment to increase the number of age-friendly homes.