The Most Expensive Part of Aging is Being Caught Without a Plan
When most people think about growing older, their biggest concern is who will take care of them. Should I move closer to my children? How much does home care cost? What happens if I need full-time assistance in a nursing home? These are important questions to ask, although the conversation should start long before support is needed:
How will I manage the non-financial costs of aging?
Some of the biggest challenges of aging are unrelated to a bill for care and they show up when a family is forced to make a decision, quickly, without a plan. Mom falls and her daughter must take an unplanned leave from work. Dad’s driving is questionable, but the family hasn’t considered how he’ll get to appointments, buy groceries, or see his friends. The house, beautifully maintained for thirty years, is suddenly harder to manage. The adult children and their spouses contribute to tasks, bills, and outsourcing jobs, and soon nobody is quite sure of who's responsible for what, and how much it all costs.
None of these moments feel life-altering in isolation, but together they can change a family’s finances and relationships. It’s easy to price out home care, assisted living, and skilled nursing care. It’s harder to budget for the smaller tasks (grocery delivery, rides, home maintenance) that consistently increase with age. And even if the money is there, is someone always available to help manage the scheduling and bills?
Jordan River Living Protects Against the Hidden Costs of Aging
It’s normal to push off aging-related decisions. If you’re healthy and active, it might be uncomfortable to consider a future that looks different from the life you’re enjoying today. Planning for the future doesn’t mean something bad will happen, it just means you have choices if something does.
There’s a big difference between, “If we ever need help, we know exactly how we’d like to live and what support will cost us” and “Your spouse is being discharged tomorrow. What are you going to do?”
We’ve developed a guide to help older adults in the Metro Detroit area consider the hidden costs of waiting to plan for the future. Financial costs matter, but so does lost time, stress on family relationships, and the confusion and lack of choice that comes with rushed decisions. We can’t predict exactly what your future will look like, but we can help you set yourself up to maintain your independence for as long as possible.
Download the Hidden Cost Index here. If you have questions about Jordan River Living membership, we’d love to hear from you.