Take Control of Your Finances: 7 Budgeting Tips for Seniors

Its widely thought that home ownership is a key to building wealth but is it? And should you consistently make sacrifices to buy your own home?            Lets start with the first question: Is owning a home essential to building wealth? It would probably be more accurate to say that home ownership can be helpful in building wealth. Building home equity essentially, the difference between the size of your homes value and what you still owe is certainly valuable. Plus, the bigger your equity, the less you might have to take out in a new mortgage if you ever want to buy a different home.            Now for the next question: How much should you sacrifice to buy your own home? This isnt an easy question to answer because buying a home isnt just a financial issue its also an emotional one. Many people simply like the feeling of owning a home. If you fall into this category, you might be willing to make many sacrifices to join the ranks of homeowners.            However, if youre relatively young and you are part of a single or even a dual-income household, you may well find that your other priorities are more important than home ownership, at least for the moment. These priorities can include paying off student loans, reducing other debts, paying for child care, meeting health care costs and even saving for retirement. With all these expenses, you might not be able to take on a big mortgage, along with real estate taxes, homeowners insurance and the inevitable but costly repairs that come with owning a home.            In addition to the danger of becoming house poor by paying too high a percentage of your income on your mortgage, you could face another issue by sinking too much money into your home and thats liquidity. A home is much more illiquid than savings or investment accounts, so if you needed money in a hurry, and most of yours was tied up in your home, you might be in a jam. You could tap into your home equity through a loan or a line of credit, but thats basically taking on even more debt, though these loans and credit lines typically offer lower interest rates than other forms of borrowing.             So, heres the bottom line: You dont need to feel that you are missing out on a chance to build wealth by not buying a home immediately especially if you would feel extremely stretched by the mortgage payments, given how expensive homes are today. You wont hurt yourself and, in fact, youll likely help yourself by taking care of your most pressing priorities first.             Of course, this doesnt mean that you can never become a homeowner. If you would still like to own a home someday, you could start saving for a down payment, keeping the money in a liquid, low-risk account. Just as importantly, though, you should plan on how owning a home can fit into your budget and how it will affect your cash flow. If you can manage it, you may indeed find that theres no place like home.Chad Choate III, AAMS 828 3rd Avenue West Bradenton, FL 34205 941-462-2445 chad.chaote@edwardjones.com This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones-Member SIPC

In health care settings, the body gets medical attention, but the mind and soul matter, too. Older adults in medical care face a battery of health questions, but too often the most consequential one goes unasked and unanswered: What does a good day look like for you today?Medicare requires people to receive a spiritual assessment within their first five days of admission into hospice. Many states allow a nurse to conduct the initial spiritual assessment, but I think it helps both the person and the health care provider for the assessment to be done with someone who has theological training. Many have been certified in clinical pastoral education, or CPE. Nurses can get so focused on the technical to-do lists of medical work  the measurements, the tests, the drug regimens that it can be hard to make time for the issues that matter most to the living human, namely, their happiness, peace and contentment.  As a spiritual care provider with 17 years in senior care facilities, and as a chaplain in the Army National Guard and Air Force National Guard, I have counseled hundreds of people in the final days of their lives.  For older adults and their families, one of the most valuable resources is also little-known a Medicare option that provides spiritual counseling for people in hospice. Longing for ConversationToo often older adults in care are being talked at, not listened to. Many times, I've found that people in the last chapter of life want to discuss their path to the end more than their medical professionals and, especially, more than their loved ones.  It often helps to have that discussion with a professional who is trained to hear them, and, if requested, to comfort and advise them.  RecommendedOpinion: Why I Went on Hospice Even Though I'm Not Dying | Personal PerspectivesThe code of ethics for the leading chaplain and spiritual care associations all prohibit proselytizing. A spiritual care provider should be able to work with someone on their own terms, no matter their beliefs. The United States may be turning more secular, but the fact remains that older adults are the most faith-affiliated of any demographic age group.This initial spiritual meeting is likely to be about the basics: Is the person religious? What is their support system? Will a certain faith-based ritual bring meaning or comfort? Do they have a preferred faith leader? Or is a secular discussion a better fit for the person's beliefs? 

One Sunday morning in early August, Irene woke up with a badly swollen knee. She thought about waiting until Monday to call her Lifespark Nurse Practitioner but was afraid that bacteria from an infected tooth had migrated to her artificial knee joint, something her orthopedic surgeon had warned her about. If left untreated, an infected joint could require additional surgeries, which is why she had taken prophylactic antibiotics before and after a recent dental procedure.The last thing Irene, 74, wanted was another surgery, but based on previous emergency room visits, she dreaded the thought of going to the ER. Youre sitting for hours next to people who are sick with the flu or COVID, when youre already not feeling well yourself, she said. The doctors are regular GPs [general practitioners] so theyd probably just run some tests and send me home with antibiotics, which Im already taking. She was also concerned about the $100 co-pay, adding that she lives in low-income housing and has limited financial resources.Instead, Irene called Urgent Response Services, Lifesparks 24-hour nurse triage line.Convenient, efficient, and trustedAs a member of Lifespark COMPLETE (LSC), Irene qualified for Urgent Response Services which provides acute-level care for members in their homes. Within minutes, Leah Castle, RN, BSN, Mobile Urgent Responder, was on her way, getting briefed by the triage nurse on Irenes concerns.Once at Irenes home, Leah logged onto the secure portal to access key client information, including Irenes health history, medications, allergies, support system, financial considerations, contingency plans, and goals of care. Having this level of detail at our fingertips helps us make more accurate, more efficient assessments, she said. It also gives us a more complete picture of the member, so we can offer recommendations that align with their goals and lifestyle.After taking Irenes vitals, she drew some blood, took a photo of the worrisome knee, and talked through her findings with the on-call provider. They were both confident that it wasnt a bacterial infection but would wait for the lab results for confirmation. Leah sent a note to Irenes COMPLETE team to schedule a follow-up for the next week. In the meantime, Irene was to continue the antibiotics, take a Tylenol every six hours, ice her knee, and keep the leg elevated as much as possible.Leah dropped off the blood samples at the hospital lab for processing, and in less than two hours, the on-call physician had the results. Leah called Irene to let her know that the labs were negative for systemic infection and that her inflammatory markers were within normal range.Irene was relieved. This was so much better than going to the ER, she said.Rule-outs and rule-insIn Leahs experience, older adults often go to the ER to make sure theres nothing seriously wrong. In fact, studies show that roughly 32% of hospital ER visits are non-urgent and unnecessary. As a Mobile Urgent Responder, shes able to rule out those non-emergencies, efficiently and effectively, from the persons home.That was the case with Irene: shes had both knees replaced and was very concerned that shed need more surgery, Leah said. We were able to put her at ease and assure her that we would continue to monitor and manage her symptoms from home. If there is something to be concerned about, Leah added, the Mobile Urgent Response team is able rule in the need for emergency care.Building on career experienceHaving the confidence to make quick, accurate assessments and communicate them to Lifesparks medical experts comes from her diverse career background. One of Leahs first nursing jobs was on a cardiac step-down unit, a fast-paced, intense environment where the nurses were constantly working with different physicians and therapists. I learned how to quickly build trusting relationships with the providers and also with families during some of the darkest moments of their lives, she said.Leah said she grew professionally in that environment, gaining skills and knowledge that prepared her for her next job, at a long-term acute care hospital. The individuals she cared for had complex diagnoses and illnesses, such as extensive wounds, traumatic brain injury, chronic kidney disease, and respiratory failure. Patients were here for two to six months or more, many of them on ventilators and feeding tubes, so I got to know their families and learned how to support them, too, she said.In 2017, Leah joined Lifespark Community Home Care as their first on-call nurse. Coming into the Home Care setting with my background was powerful, because I knew what my clients had just walked out of, whether that was the hospital or rehab, and now I could help them stay healthy at home, she said.Seven years later, she was recruited for Lifesparks Mobile Urgent Response team. I feel like each step in my career has prepared me for the next one, and now, as a Mobile Urgent Responder, I can be the eyes and ears of our providers in the home, she said. I can also bring care and compassion and empathy to our members, so they feel confident in the care were providing.Benefits of early interventionThe Mobile Urgent Response team has been most successful when members call the triage line before their symptoms progress to a critical level. The team has been able to treat early symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the home, often with a short-term medication adjustment. However, if a CHF or COPD exacerbation isnt treated, the client would likely need to be hospitalized for IV therapy and increased respiratory support. Recently, Leah collaborated with the on-call provider to diagnose a painful ear infection that had developed quickly. The physician faxed a prescription for antibiotics to the clients pharmacy which they were able to pick up and start taking that same day.Its really fulfilling and rewarding to be able to offer this service to our members and their families who want to be supportive but cant always be there in person, Leah said. Theyre in good hands with Lifespark.To learn how Lifespark helps seniors stay healthy at home, visit Lifespark.com or call 952-345-8770.