Skip links

How To Manage Your Money While Caring for Aging Parents

Preparing for retirement and long-term care can be difficult to get right. No one knows how much care we might need in later years, or how long we will need it. When something changes in our financial plans, or in the worst scenario, when money runs out completely, financial responsibility often falls on a senior’s family, specifically their adult children. According to the Pew Research Center, “Nearly 37% percent of adult children report providing monitory support for their aging parents.” If this happens, it’s important to have a plan.

What Do Your Parents Want?

Discuss how your parents imagine living their later years. Knowing their expectations and needs will guide you while making decisions in difficult situations. Approaching seniors in a compassionate and kind way while talking about finances is important and will help you get the answers you need while planning for the future.

Make a Budget

Before you know how to budget your finances, you have to know where your money is going. Keep a list of all known expenses required for your loved one’s care. Keeping track of what your parent needs will help you design a better monthly budget. If there are other people in the family who are contributing, such as siblings or other extended family members, it’s important to be clear about where the money is going how it is being spent.

Meet with an Advisor

A senior living advisor will help you explore all available options for your senior, from immediate care to planning for long-term assistance. Investing in an advisor to help you forecast future needs while allocating money could help you save money long-term. These advisors will know more about long-term care, specialized needs, and caregiving facilities, and will be able to advise you during critical decision-making situations.

Look for Ways to Lower Your Taxes

Caring for an aging parent is difficult, but there are ways to ease the financial burden. If an adult child is doing most of the caregiving in addition to giving financial support to their parents, they could be eligible for tax cuts by including their parents as dependents. Talk to an accountant to see if you might be eligible, or visit here.

We want the best for our patients and their families at our Carespring skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky. Planning for the future can be difficult, that’s why we encourage families to get the support they need while providing resources along the way.