What Happens When You or Your Loved Ones Can No Longer Afford Senior Living?

It is 2021 almost, as major pandemics, natural forces drive our economy, so do they drive our old age in every way. Today seniors can look forward to leading longer, healthier lives, have healthy economics to support their retirement years in peace and harmony. 

What if that was not true for everyone? What if one or both could no longer afford elderly care at a senior living? This scenario plays out regularly all across the world and it affects everyone’s mental health, stress levels, joys of living, and so much more. 

If that happens, what must one do or have done to counteract such possibilities? These questions loom loud and clear with every such situation. Help is not always available and families and the elderly are stranded with no solutions.

This blog explores both the before and the aftermath of this situation, affecting either one. 

We begin with: 

1. Have we made a trust? Or do we need one?
2. Have we planned our finances well.. with clauses for geriatric care & retirement
3. What does our DNR status say? (DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate)
4. Have we considered or completed a POLST? ( Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments) 
5. Who is our support at home? Community? Family? 
6. What would be the best case scenarios as we each grow older and how do we face it? 
7. How is our health status? A self-interview and check can help immensely!
8. What brings us together and what keeps us away? We need this to understand can we care for each other if our resources run dry.
9. Do we have a list of community resources?
10. What do we understand and know about our health insurance? What it covers and does not?
11. Are we prepared to work this out ourselves or we need help? 
12.  If there is such a situation, do we have a designated DPOA for health, finances, and communications? 
13. Do we have the capability to cope? What is our mental health like? 
14. Once someone is unable to be assisted or cared for externally, what options can our budget accommodate in order to provide the best possible care?
15. Can we hire a part-time or hourly caregiver? Or be able to afford respite care in case of any emergency? 
16. As finances are exhausted, what qualifies for state aid or who pays for what? 
17. If it is a case of cognitive decline, are there other alternatives?
18. If things are going good, then can one or both move to lesser priced senior living? Who makes that decision and when do we make those? 
19. What if one of the two people passes? And what is the burden on the other person? 
20. How do we prevent caregiver crises? 

The list is endless and the thought processes and logic behind each are endless! What matters here is can someone live with mihygge until one’s end of life and through the dying journey. Now this question might be very inconvenient for many, but a deeper look can help people gain more insights into their own vision, value, and purpose in life. Health is multifaceted, and more often than not, it is not physical and mental, it is a list of all other health problems.

This question can open a lot of unknown factors etc. The key is to work on this when one is in mid-age, healthy, and secure. More than not with the nuclear family becoming more prominent, often these overlooked scenarios create conflicts between family members, and instead of enjoying life’s simple pleasures, one is taken away from cozy living. 

Hope this blog inspired you to think in ways you never thought of before. If you have any additional ideas, we would love to hear from you! As we share the concept of mihygge and the questions that come with them.

HYGGE AIM, Inc dba mihygge

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