For many families, talking about money is not easy. This is especially true for family discussions surrounding how to support aging relatives and the associated costs. Many seniors desire to stay at home because they feel safe, are comfortable and do not want to move. This means that family members must step up to the plate and take on huge caregiver responsibilities. Although caregiving can be rewarding and offer lots of time to spend together, it is also incredibly taxing on those doing the caregiving because it can cause undue stress and can create conflict within the family. Also, there is also no guarantee that a caregiver will be available 24/7 and there are many problems that can happen when a senior is left alone.
Luckily, the cost of senior care may be less than you think, and there is more than one option for seniors looking for support at this phase of their lives. Senior care options offer various levels of support and also come with added benefits: better health, a potentially longer life, reduced caregiver burdens, and more opportunities to be surrounded by people for care and companionship. There are a few important points you need to know as you think about the true cost of assisted living in Basking Ridge.
Senior Care At Home
The most important factor to at home senior care is finding at least one caregiver. Caregivers can be spouses, partners, adult children, other relatives, friends, or even neighbors. Adding the role of caregiver to day-to-day responsibilities can sometimes lead to frustration and exhaustion. This is because you have other responsibilities, roles and people who need your time and attention. In addition, you are probably not trained to do the extensive range of tasks needed to fully support your loved one’s needs. It is important to remember that caregivers are more susceptible to depression and anxiety and therefore other options are often needed to help lighten the load of the caregiver.
Respite Care: One way to relieve some of the responsibility is by finding a respite senior care provider in your area. They will help provide care and balance for your time as a caregiver. Sometimes state or federal assistance might be available to help cover the costs.
Adult Day Care: Adult day services offer programs set up specifically tailored to provide care and companionship to seniors during the day. This break for the caregiver provides relief during the day to allow the caregiver time for other responsibilities.
Family Caregiving Teams: If the demands of being a caregiver is just too much for one person in your family, one option is to create a family of caregivers to cover different aspects of care for your loved one. It is a great way to prevent caregiver strain and burnout.
What are the next steps?
If you are worried about your loved one being alone or you feel the role of a caregiver is just not possible at this time, a senior living community might be a best option and more affordable when compared to the costs of highly qualified in-home care aides. Before making any decisions, it is important to research the cost of assisted senior living, find out what is included, and plan for how to pay for it.
Cost of Assisted Living
It might surprise you to learn that the cost of assisted living is less than the cost of in-home care, and many seniors who have already made the move, report they wish they had done it sooner. As you start to think about how to budget, planning ahead will help you tremendously when it comes to paying for assisted living. The payment method you choose will depend on your individual family’s circumstances and options available to you, but there is more than one option when it comes to paying for senior living.
Here is a list of some of the ways to pay for assisted living:
Income, Savings or Family: This is the simplest way to pay for senior living. Including family in the financial planning will help you understand if this option is feasible in the long term.
Equity from Your Home: If you sell or rent your home, you will have cash on hand to help fund this next chapter. This is a great option if you are ready to make the move and no longer need your home.
Veteran’s Benefits: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has assistance programs that help pay for older veterans and spouses of veterans.
Investments, Pensions, Social Security or Veteran’s Benefits: Your pension, 401K, IRA or other investments are smart ways to pay for senior living. Similarly, social security benefits may be used as well. Look into how much you will earn each month from these types of income to help you plan well in advance.
Planning for the costs of assisted living in Basking Ridge, NJ is certainly going to take time and emotional energy from the entire family but can be done when everyone works together. Making decisions together and knowing when to turn to professionals for support, resources and guidance will help ensure your loved one is getting the right care.
Making the Best Choice
While some stress is to be expected as a caregiver, the overwhelming day-to-day tasks often put a tremendous strain on the relationship between the caregiver and their loved one. Instead of quality time together, exhaustion, family conflict and hurt feelings take over. The right assisted living community can help bring back the family peace and create opportunities for love and gratitude to grow again. Making the choice to explore assisted living has other added benefits as well because there is an end to the costs and challenges of regular home maintenance which may make senior living more affordable than you think.
Our SeniorLiving Cost Calculator can help you better understand what you will need and help you plan financially for the cost of Assisted Living in Basking Ridge, NJ. Try it now!
