The Blog

5 Dos and Don’ts for Staying Independent in Old Age

5 Dos and Don’ts for Staying Independent in Old Age

My inbox is filled with emails from caregivers trying to figure out how to pay for their parents’ care. They’re facing complicated and hard choices. The big choices? Whether they should quit their job, move a parent into their home to avoid expensive care, or pay for...

It’s All About Connection: Caregivers Survival Guide

It’s All About Connection: Caregivers Survival Guide

 Other than death of a loved one, few things are more disorienting than making the shift from being cared for by your parents to caring for them. This transition is made even more challenging because it usually comes as such a surprise. And it’s not just the...

3 Resources to Ease Caregiver Money Worries

3 Resources to Ease Caregiver Money Worries

In a recent survey, AARP found that about three-quarters of all caregivers spend, on average, 26 percent of their household income on caregiving. This is on top of the estimated $470 billion in unpaid care that they provide; and doesn’t include the potential lost...

3 Medicare Benefits You MUST Know About

3 Medicare Benefits You MUST Know About

“What do you mean Medicare doesn’t cover this?” My friend Sarah was caught off guard when I told her that her parent’s health insurance program doesn’t cover her parents’ care. What I explained is that there’s a lot Medicare doesn’t cover and one of the biggest gaps...

4 Tips for Talking to Your Parents About Death

4 Tips for Talking to Your Parents About Death

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about how important it is to prepare for end-of-life decisions you might have to make on behalf of your parents. I wrote about advance directives, and having important conversations with doctors and family. I culled so much good...

3 Reasons You Might Not Be Getting the Help You Need

3 Reasons You Might Not Be Getting the Help You Need

It’s 5 am on a Saturday morning and I’m lying awake with that cold, sweaty, anxious feeling that comes from deep existential angst masquerading as too many things to do. I know something has to change – that there’s GOT to be another way to look at my life..to live so...

4 Sanity-Preserving Truths Your Good Friends Want You to Know

4 Sanity-Preserving Truths Your Good Friends Want You to Know

Do you realize that 70 percent of the human food supply depends on a bunch of women dancing? This is my interpretation of what my beekeeper friend, Nicole, taught me about how honey bees do their job. It inspired the most important advice I’ll ever give about...

Making Medicare Choices for Your Parents

Making Medicare Choices for Your Parents

“My dad doesn’t have Medicare!” A friend said to me recently. “What?” I responded. This seemed unlikely. Pretty much everyone over age 65 has some form of Medicare and my friend’s dad is at least 90 years old. Then he explained, “Dad has something called ‘Blue Cross...