Managing Aging Parents’ Finances: What to Know
Making financial decisions takes time, attention and energy at any age. In the case of elderly adults, it may become increasingly difficult to manage finances, particularly if their health is declining or they’re experiencing a cognitive issue. If you’re providing support to aging parents – or plan to in the future – here are some tips on how to handle the situation and prepare for what’s to come.
Don’t wait to start talking about money. While it may be uncomfortable to ask your parents to discuss their finances with you, it’s essential that you are familiar with their intentions for future care and what plans they have in place. The first time you broach the subject, emphasize that you are looking for only a high-level overview so that you can have more peace-of-mind that your parents will be well cared for. This initial conversation can help set the groundwork for future discussions.
Create a contact list. If your parents experience a sudden change in their health that affects their ability to manage their own affairs, it’s important to
have a game plan for what happens next. If you anticipate stepping in to pay bills, make insurance claims and handle other financial tasks, start by asking your parents for a list of contact information for the professionals they work with and where their accounts are held. Keep in mind that you may need to be an authorized user or power of attorney to be allowed access to certain accounts. Consult a lawyer to talk through what permissions may be necessary for you to step in if the need arises.
Build a support network. Talk with siblings or other trusted family members about what a possible care plan could look like for your parents. While this conversation can be tough to initiate, know that it’s often easier to bring everyone together while your parents are still healthy and in good mental capacity. Discuss who can realistically provide support – and in what way and at what cost. Proactively deciding who can drive your parents to doctor appointments, manage financial affairs, care for their home, and handle other tasks can help avoid a strain on your time and energy down the road.
Anticipate future lifestyle changes and challenges. Even if they aren’t yet needed, explore the options and costs of various assisted living and memory care services. Check your parents’ insurance policies to see if and how services might be covered. You may also want to explore whether their home or yours could be modified to provide additional space or comforts, such as wheelchair access. Knowing what choices exist and how your parents feel about each one can help you make future decisions with more confidence.
Know your rights at
The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) allows covered employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition.1 Consult your Human Resources department to learn what your company’s policies are for employees who are caring for a parent and how to initiate a claim if you need to. Many employers have access to resources and support groups to help you manage your responsibilities at home and at work.
Maintain momentum on your own financial goals. It’s understandable to want to provide your parents with as much support as you can. It’s prudent to look at your finances to see how much support you could provide, if that is needed, without jeopardizing your own retirement and future health care needs.
It’s hard to imagine – let alone talk about – what caring for an ill or aging parent may look like. For additional support in having family conversations, evaluating financial options and creating a plan for your parents, contact your financial advisor and lawyer. These experts work day-in and day-out with families in similar situations and can help you take the steps necessary to feel more confident about your own plan.
1 – U.S. Department of Labor: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/laws-and-regulations/ laws/fmla
Duane J Lusson, CFP, ChFC, CLU, MSFS, is a Private Wealth Advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. in Ottumwa, Iowa. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 33 years. To contact him, call 641-684-4200 or stop by his office at 527 W. Second in Ottumwa, Iowa.
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The Whole Chicken
“Oh my gosh! Derek, quick come look at this!”
The young lady spoke with an urgency that she got Derek’s attention, and mine, too. We were at the meat cooler at Super One Foods, in Two Harbors. Fresh chicken hind-quarters were on sale for $1.09 per pound and I patiently waited my turn as the young lady ahead of me was occupying the space in front of the poultry section.
Derek was looking at hotdogs in the cooler across the aisle. He quickly rushed over to see what was the matter. “Look at this,” she said pointing to something in the cooler. She picked up a bird to show the young man. “They sell WHOLE chickens!”
Derek responded, “Wow, I’ve never seen that before. I had no idea you could get a whole chicken.” My response was a bit different because I could tell they were both serious.
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I thought. I waited a moment giving this new-
found discovery time to settle, and then cleared my throat to avoid startling the young couple.
“Excuse me,” I said reaching alongside the young man. I grabbed three packages of hindquarters and placed them in my cart. I don’t think they were even aware of my presence, being preoccupied by the fryer. I glanced at their cart. They had three packages of each, chicken thighs and legs.
“What would you even do with this thing,” she asked, as they giggled and ogled the whole bird.
I wanted to ask, ‘Where do you two think chicken legs come from?’
But such a comment, although humorous, would be condescending. The couple seemed to be in their very early twenties, possibly late teens, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe this was their first-time grocery shopping on their own. To poke fun at their naivete would be mean. I pushed my cart around them to continue shopping.
As I passed by, the young lady returned the whole chicken to the cooler and absentmindedly backed away, crashing into me, and bumping me to the side.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, grabbing my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Of course,” I laughed, “I’m fine.” I pointed to their cart, “That’s a lot
of chicken.”
Derek explained. “We just got our first place together so we invited some friends to come over for a cookout.”
“Thighs and legs,” I noted. “Good choice.”
The young lady agreed. “The chicken breasts are really expensive.”
“Yes, they are,” I said, “and breasts are a lot harder to cook on a grill without overcooking, and making them dry.”
Based on his age I assumed Derek may be a novice on the grill. He proceeded to ask some questions about grilling meats. After offering some tips, including a meat thermometer, I asked, “Would you two like to save some money.” They were both very receptive to the idea.
I drew a package from my cart to show them. “Chicken hindquarters are on sale for $1.09 per pound,” I said. Together, they looked at me blankly as if there had to be more to my point, so I continued, “Legs and thighs are $2.39 per pound.”
The girl looked at the hindquarters through the clear plastic wrap. “Those pieces are way too big. That’s why we got legs and thighs.” I smiled because she didn’t get it. (Neither did he.)
I recalled a classmate admitting to the teacher
that he was too stupid to understand the subject at hand. The teacher corrected him, “If you don’t understand, it’s not because you’re stupid, it’s just that I haven’t explained it yet in a way that you will understand.” The teacher continued to work patiently with the student. Similarly, I patiently explained to the young couple, “If you cut the hindquarter in half, you’ll have one leg and one thigh.”
They were curious to
know more, “How do you cut it?”
I pressed the plasticwrapped chicken. “Do you feel the divot? That’s the joint between the leg and thigh.” Each felt the hindquarters and nodded. I used my finger to show where to cut from the back to the front of the leg. “When you feel your knife come to the bone, stop. Then bend the thigh and leg backwards. The joint will separate, and you can easily cut through.” They questioned if it was hard to do. “Not at all,” I assured. “After you cut one or two, you’ll fly through the rest. They seemed to understand but weren’t sure how this would save them money.
“If you buy six packages of hindquarters and cut them, you’ll have about the same number of pieces and you would save $1.20 per pound.”
I quickly added the total weight of their packages. “You’ll save over thirty bucks.” Finally understanding, they smiled about the savings and thanked me for my help. They replaced the thighs and legs with
(Just the Other Day cont’d from pg 3)
six packages of hindquarters.
The young lady looked in their cart. “Derek, why didn’t you get the hotdogs,” she said.
“Because you called me over here to look at your chicken,” he defended. We all shared a good laugh about that. I walked away feeling good about teaching them a life lesson to save money – at least until I got to the register.
The young couple was in the self-check-out lane next to me. I noticed they returned the hindquarters and bought the precut pieces. Grocery prices are so high these days…. I just shook my head. “I did what I could; I’m not going to their house to cut the chicken for them; Derek would probably want me to grill their chicken, too.”
Several months later, I was at the same Super One. Chicken hindquarters were on sale again. I bought a few packages for the freezer. I glanced at the whole chickens and smiled as I recalled the day when I’d met Derek and the young lady in this same spot. “Hey, that’s a good price on whole chickens,” I noticed.
The whole birds were fresh, not frozen. I selected one and put it in my cart, deciding to
roast a chicken for supper that night. The next chicken also caught my eye. Well, at least the price tag did; $7.77.
I laughed, imagining I was in Las Vegas.
I pulled the arm on the slot machine. Instead of triple sevens, the spinning wheels stopped on three chickens! Suddenly bells rang, sirens sounded, roosters crowed, and chickens cackled. The machine started spitting out eggs, spilling over the coin tray, onto the floor. A crowd gathered, they were all cheering for me. People gave congratulatory slaps on my back, saying, ‘That’s awesome, kid!’ ‘Way to go, man.’ One lady even proposed marriage!
“The drinks are on me,” I shouted in glorious joy. Fortunately, the dream quickly faded before the bar tab arrived, and I was back at Super One.
“I can not pass up a $7.77 chicken.” Into the basket, it went.
Once home, I put the lucky chicken in the freezer, and the other went into the oven for dinner. It was delicious! Now, jump several months forward.
Have you ever had one of those days when you just can’t decide what sounds good for supper? I was having one last Monday. I stared blankly in front of the open refrigerator. Nothing jumped out at me but cold air, so I closed the door. I went
through the pantry; nada. I checked the upper cabinets. “Pasta and Jell-O with chocolate chips, served in a taco shell? Interesting, but I don’t think so. Mac and Cheese? Blah.” I moved to the next cabinet.
“Hmm, Cheerios wouldn’t be so bad.” Nope. In desperation, I opened the freezer and pulled out a pound of hamburger. “Maybe I should dig deeper.” There it was, my lucky chicken, buried under various bags of frozen mixed vegetables, a rack of ribs, and an unmarked, unidentified Food Saver package. “Come to Papa.” I raised the frozen bird, put it on a platter, and set it in the fridge. Unfortunately, it would take a couple of days to thaw, so I still needed to figure out supper, and that was fine with me.
About an hour later, a thought distracted me while folding laundry. “What was in that Food Saver package?” I returned to the freezer. Having no idea what it was, let alone when it was put in there, the mystery entrée went into the trash can.
Melissa came home from work, asking if I had something in mind for dinner. “Cereal,” I said. “We have Cheerios and oatmeal. Take your pick.”
Wednesday around noon, I retrieved Ole
Lucky from the fridge, smiling again at the $7.77 price tag. “Your streak of luck ends today, Mr. Chicken,” I laughed. Truthfully, his luck ran out the day he took a truck ride to the Gold’n Plump plant –but I digress.
I rinsed and patted dry the bird, then rubbed it with olive oil. I seasoned it liberally, inside, and out; salt, fresh-ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, and a touch of garlic powder. I drizzled the juice from half of a lemon over the top and then put a quartered onion and the lemon rind inside the bird. Finally, I placed it in my cast iron chicken pot and slow-roasted the bird at 225° for four hours. The kitchen smelled wonderful.
Roasted lemon rosemary chicken, cheesy twice-baked potatoes, and steamed, fresh spinach for dinner. Mm. We each had a hindquarter and a slice of white meat. The chicken breast was so juicy and tender, that it cut effortlessly using the edge of a fork. What an amazing meal, healthy, and easy to make.
After dinner, I put the leftover chicken on a platter. I vacuumedsealed the remaining breast meat in a Food Saver bag to make another meal for two. I marked and dated the package, and placed it in the freezer. (No more mystery entrees for me.)
Next, I added water to the broth, diced the onions from the chicken, chopped some celery, sliced a couple of carrots, and tossed it all in the pot. I added barley and let the pot simmer, while I picked the rest of the chicken from the bones. I stirred in the chicken and had a pot full of delicious chicken barley soup. I filled two, quart-size bags and put them in the freezer.
Imagine that. The main entrée for four meals, all came from one bird! I truly did hit the jackpot with this $7.77 chicken. Next time I go to Super One, I’ll watch for the young couple, Derek, and his girlfriend. This time, I’m going to suggest they buy the whole chicken.