People of all ages struggle with money management. Math and finances are often topics that aren’t fun to discuss, so they are sometimes pushed to the wayside. Imagine being a senior who has Alzheimer’s disease and trying to remember the pin on your debit card or which bank you have an account with – it’s a scary thought!
Find Senior Living Near Me
Don’t leave your older loved ones on their own when it comes to handling their finances. Here are some tips to make money management easier for everyone involved:
Switch to Online Managing
Seniors don’t often have their bills or bank accounts set up for online access. Sadly, they may miss out on some ways to make their lives easier. Help your older loved one set up automatic bill pay through his or her bank so it’s no longer a struggle to remember to pay on time. Always write down usernames and passwords for any accounts and keep that information in a safe but memorable place at the senior’s assisted living community or their home. Also, keep a copy handy at your house and reference it if necessary. This way y you can check your loved one’s bank account to make sure any money that passes through goes where it should.
Establish Power of Attorney
If your senior loved one has Alzheimer’s or is otherwise incapable of managing his or her finances alone, have someone in your family that is good at making financial decisions deemed the power of attorney. This individual will then be able to access important financial information and act as an account holder to make better choices about how to handle the senior’s finances.
Get Outside Help
Not everyone has family or someone with money-savvy skills to manage his or her accounts. You may simply feel more comfortable knowing that a professional handles these important matters.
“You can hire someone to handle senior finances.”
You can always contact an elder law attorney, geriatric care manager, or financial planner to assist you when dealing with a senior’s finances. These individuals can provide well-informed guidance that considers your loved one’s best interest.
Cancel Unnecessary Fees
Most people have a few things they could stand to cancel regarding subscriptions. Does your senior loved one read those four magazine he or she gets in the mail every month? What about watching Netflix and Hulu? Cancelling these might not seem like a huge money-saver, but it adds up. Plus, unwanted publications will no longer clutter their senior living community apartment.
Unnecessary prescriptions may cost your older loved one a lot of money.
Cut down on Medications
Edgewood’s medication reduction program focuses on cutting back on unnecessary prescriptions as a way to prevent falls and promote better senior health. Another significant factor of this program is that looking into your senior loved one’s medications may help you save him or her a lot of money. The individual may take a name brand that you could swap for a much less costly generic version, for example. Talk with the senior and his or her doctor to learn how to make medication a less expensive part of their life.
Talk About What is Important
Discussing money with a parent or older friend may not sound fun, but it is a necessary part of caring for a senior. Before making any changes to his or her finances, learn what the senior finds most important. Your friend may want a full kitchen in their senior living apartment because they like to cook. Or maybe he or she would love to sell his or her house to someone he or she knows. Please do your best to ensure these things happen before rearranging their finances.
Consolidate Documents
Seniors with dementia or memory loss will likely misplace important information. It is your job to gather all of these documents so you can help him or her manage finances. You should have all bank account details, credit card particulars, mortgage statements, health care information, hospital dues, bills,s and other money-related documents organized at home. You may even consider changing addresses so this information comes directly to you and that your loved one doesn’t lose it. You’ll be better able to keep track of everything and have peace of mind knowing these critical numbers and accounts are not falling into the wrong hands or ending up lost.
