Facts of Foreclosure

It’s a tough economy and sometimes its toughness settles right on your doorstep. Durward “Santa” Blanks, a real estate broker and caregiver to his 80-year-old mother, joined us on Your Caregiving Journey to tell us how to survive a foreclosure. You can listen to our show at the end of this post.  If you (or your care recipient) find yourself behind in payments, make phone calls now for help....

Live Who You Are So You Die As You Were

Image by dsb nola via Flickr Yesterday, on Your Caregiving Journey, we spoke with Wilma Naschin, who shared tips on how to rebound from a lay-off. (This is the first of a three-part series on recovering from job loss; up next week: Starting Your Job Search. You can listen to the show via the player at the bottom of the post.) During our discussion, I remembered the story of a friend’s father, James. James...

Long-Term Care Costs Rise Across the Board from 2008 to 2009

Metlife Mature Market Institute® Survey Shows Notable Increases for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Communities, Adult Day Services & Home Care Price rollbacks throughout the U.S. economy during the past year did not apply to long-term care service providers, according to the 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs.  Private room nursing home rates...

Study Says Economy Taking Toll on Family Caregivers

A new study finds that during the past 12 months, almost 20 percent of caregivers report a decline in the quality of care their care recipients receive as a direct result of the recession, and 14 percent say the amount of care they have been able to provide for others during this time period has decreased.  The survey is published by Evercare by UnitedHealthcare and the National Alliance for Caregiving. The survey...

A Bail-Out for You?

My friends at Caring.com and the National Alliance for Caregiving issued a press release today calling on President Obama and the 111th Congress to target up to 1% of the upcoming economic stimulus package toward supporting family caregivers. They recommend the following five priority initiatives (I’ve added my notes in parenthesis): 1. Provide Adequate Funding for the National Family Caregiver Support...

Recovery Bill Includes Dollars for Seniors

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka the stimulus bill) included the following funding for senior services and programs: $100 million for formula grants to states for Older Americans Act senior nutrition services including home-delivered meals ($32 million), congregate  meals ($65 million) and $3 million for Title VI Native American meals programs; $120 million for the OAA Title V Community...

Coping During a Tough Economy

It’s stressful out there!! And, even worse, it’s already stressful inside for you. To help you cope, we spoke with Ellen Rogin, CPA and Certified Financial Planner, Strategic Financial Designs Inc., Northfield, Ill.,  on a special edition of Your Caregiving Journey. During our discussion, Ellen offered the following tips: 1. Concentrate on what’s going on in your house. Are you overwhelmed by...