The Fourth of July is a great time for getting together with family. There’s cookouts, fireworks, and all the good home-cooked food you wish you could make at your own house. Families often sit around with a glass of sweet tea (or maybe something stronger), and chat about the weather, the local baseball team, or maybe the just neighbor’s daughter. But instead of idle chitchat this year, use the time to talk about some of the more important things in life…like planning for the future.
It isn’t easy to talk to your parents about the possibility of long-term care in the future. It may not come natural to chat with your spouse about the need for life insurance. And it may not be fun to look into mortgage insurance. However, all three of these issues need to be discussed now…before a crisis hits. I propose you use the time spent “porch sitting” at the Fourth of July barbecues, to get the conversation started about these important subjects. According to the 2011 Genworth “Financial Reality Check” survey, 73% of Americans would not know what to do if they received a call today saying a family member needed long term care. Don’t let that be you.
For some tips on how and why to get the conversation started, check out “Let’s Talk” magazine:
Look for articles from me in the coming month on the three key financial issues facing families right now:
- Long term care giving
- Buying (and keeping) a house
- Planning for the unexpected
Thanks for posting this. Long term care is something we haven’t talked about at all in our family. But now that I have the spark, I will add it to my mental to-do list for our next family gathering.
We’ve talked about the mortgage and such, but long term care for my folks we haven’t. We’re not having a gathering this 4th, so it’ll be on my list of ‘to-do’ for the next.
Thanks for your comments, guys! It really is an important subject.
Thank you Maria for helping people to at least get the conversations started. When my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, I never imagined the amount of stress and anxiety that I would experience. My mom was under 60, so I didn’t even think that I would need to consider long term care for her until she was much older. Thankfully, I was able to manage her car until she passed away because she remained self-sufficient until the very end. This may not be the case for many people. I will definitely be looking out for your future posts to share with others. Thanks again.
It’s really sad that your mom met with Stage 4 breast cancer, it’s really scary i would pray to god for your mom.
Yes this is something that my husband and I need to discuss not only with each other but as well as our parents. Life can be cut short at any moment so it is best to start planning no matter how scared you are which I really am.
It’s so tough to talk about thinks like getting older and not being able to take care of ourselves in the future.
But holidays like the 4th when we’re all gathered are convenient times to start those discussions.
Yo have no idea how on time this post was. I just said to my husband how I was talking to a few other friends that had wills, life insurance etc and how now especially now that we have a child we really must start discussing things and setting things up.