Financial Care for Your Aging Parent. Lise Andreana

planning to travel for an extended period, you need to consider who will be taking care of any aging parents while you’re away.

      Don’t forget to purchase emergency travel insurance before you leave. If you are a snowbird, you may want to check the price of extended travel insurance, as the annual rate can provide savings over purchasing your coverage for one trip at a time. If you rent a vehicle when you travel, call your auto and home insurer and ask if it offers collision and liability coverage on the vehicle you plan to rent while on holidays.

      Now that you know the helpful tips to make sure you’re on track, it’s time to really put pen to paper and figure out if you’ll be able to retire at the age you’re hoping. Bear with me as we get into the math; as painful as it is sometimes, there is no better way to see how ready you are than by writing down the actual numbers. I promise I’ll make it as simple and painless as possible! Let’s begin by using Worksheet 2 to figure out whether or not you’ll be able to retire on time. (You can find a blank copy of this worksheet in the download kit.)

      Worksheet 2: Retirement Readiness

      2. Five Retirement Lifestyle Budgets

      Now that you have a good idea of your retirement income sources and the savings you will be able to accumulate before you retire, take a look at the five retirement lifestyles in the following sections to see which one most closely matches your situation. The budgets demonstrate how other retirees in your income bracket allocate their funds.

      Note: The five budgets are based on Statistics Canada 2001 household expenditure averages and then adjusted to suit scenarios. These budgets are samples for educational purposes only. Personal taxes assume that partners are in the same income tax bracket.

      2.1 Conservative

      Sample 1 describes a lifestyle that provides a modest home or rental unit in a small city. Much of your time is spent with friends and family who live nearby. Leisure time is spent gardening, playing bridge, and going for walks. Vacations are modest.

      Sample 1: Conservative Lifestyle Budget

      2.2 Comfortable

      Sample 2 outlines the comfortable lifestyle which affords a three-bedroom house in a medium-sized city. Free time — and some money — go toward working on local community affairs and charities. Leisure time pleasures include gardening, reading novels, entertaining at home or dining out with friends and family members. This year’s trip is a one-week stay at a nearby resort.

      Sample 2: Comfortable Lifestyle Budget

      2.3 Above average

      Sample 3 shows a lifestyle that provides a three-bedroom house in a large city. Leisure time activities include gardening, reading novels, entertaining either at home or dining out with friends and family members. Hobbies include yoga or membership at the local community tennis courts. Renting an apartment on the sandy shores of Florida for a few weeks each year brings a reprieve from the long winter months.

      Sample 3: Above-Average Lifestyle Budget

      2.4 Luxury

      Sample 4 describes a lifestyle that enables time to be split between the long-time home in an upscale metropolitan suburb and a newly purchased condo in Florida. Leisure time is spent entertaining friends either at home or in restaurants, and with a club membership where you can enjoy tennis or golf. The big vacation this year is a two-week tour of southern France.

      Sample 4: Luxury Lifestyle Budget

      2.5 Prestige

      Sample 5 shows a lifestyle that provides for three pieces of real estate that are owned free and clear of mortgages. They include a primary residence, cottage, and condo in the sunny south with all the amenities for a break from the cold winters, and warmer months are spent at your lakefront summer home with a fantastic country club close by that offers golf, tennis, and swimming. Much of your time is spent with close friends, entertaining at home, in restaurants, or at the club. You’ll enjoy a three-week European getaway including a spectacular cruise down the Rhine. Theater and the symphony are also passions you indulge.

      Once you’ve thoroughly explored your own readiness, and set yourself up for financial success on retirement, we can get back to helping your aging parents prepare for the years ahead. In Chapter 3 we will explore the best way to get started when talking to your parents about their own wishes and needs.

      Sample 5: Prestige Lifestyle Budget

1. Accessed January 20, 2014. www.theravive.com