If you think you have enough . . . THINK AGAIN!

I thought perhaps some could learn from my experience with having my Father in a nursing home.
Dad was a fragile diabetic with a rod in his leg he broke, a heart valve replacement, and other assorted issues. By the time I got him out of California and into Oregon, he was pretty much wheelchair bound. My town has very few resources for people with diabetes, and being unable to transfer himself from the chair to bed, etc., nursing home care was his only option.

Because he and my mother had been good stewards of what they had received financially, he was on self pay. No one to pay for 100% of his nursing home. Medicare and his insurance did manage to pay for his medicines. He even had to pay for his wheelchair rental.

His daily rate at the nursing home was $238.00 per day, plus $150.00 per month wheelchair rental.

First priority: Stay healthy! Keep moving! Exercise your body and mind!

Second priority: Find the best Long-Term Care Insurance you can as early as you can.

Third priority: Save until it hurts, because if you need long term care, you will never have enough.

If you did not do the math above, $238 x 31 days = $7,378 + $150 = $7,528.

And as an aside, seriously think about having a revocable trust done by an attorney knowledgeable on trusts. My parents had one set up and it made my life so simple at a difficult time. The cost is high because, if done right, you don't have to involve the attorney again unless there needs to be a major change.

Hope this helps others.

Thanks for giving us the benefit of your experience. Its hard to care for aging parents, but a blessing as well. I'll definitely look into revocable trust. Texas used to be a Stare that did not require attorneys to probate a Will and the costs were pretty low. That changed in 2014, and attorneys now must perform filings. A very simple probate now runs about $2500 to $4K.

Best wishes to you!

Thank You!
I just heard a woman verbalize the feeling in my heart that has caused me issues since my Mom died. She said something to the effect that she had said all the things she wanted to say to her mother before the dementia had set in. When my Mom lost her ability to communicate, I did not try to talk about the unsaid things I wanted to say because I felt that I would not know if she had understood what was coming from my heart.
My Dad had dementia, and I prayed for a time when I could tell Dad that I would be okay when it was time for him to go. God granted me my prayer and I really felt that my Dad understood what I was saying from my heart.
I thank God that they "drug" me to church, almost every time the church doors were open. I don't know if you have ever seen the comparisons between the "drug" problem when the 60 - 70 somethings were growing up and today's real "drug addiction" culture. But I think it is well said.