Nitty Gritty Senior Finance Questions

Will people hit their goal for retirement? Like getting out the good china, we rarely think about our post-retirement finances. Brynne Malone, the owner and founder of Aging Solutions NW, joins Suzanne to talk about how a financial manager considers the entirety of your situation. Brynne says, "They kick their feet up, and they might do some traveling and get very active initially,and then it's kind of like using the good china at Thanksgiving and Christmas twice a year. Every once in a while, you think about [finances], but you may or may not break it out. And what people tend to do as they get older, their energy level can drop, their motivations can drop and with that, their focus and their goals kind of go by the wayside. I think what a professional brings into that scenario is keep them focused and help give them focus and more goals. Like how long do you want to stay in your home? Do you have a goal for how long you want to live and try to get people engaged? Do you have a goal for your weight? Do you have a goal for staying healthy? Those kind of things. And to just to get mom and dad thinking about how they want to have a really high quality of life. We're all gonna end up in the same place at the end of the day, right? We're going to have an expiration date at some point. What do you want that journey to look like? And part of what I do is really talk to mom and dad about their life journey, and really try to document that, put it down on paper, have a witness, and help them get to that goal. And that brings in the care planning piece, as well as the financial piece. But they're symbiotic, they go hand in hand." Brynne adds, "We look at a person's life holistically, where other providers, they look at that specific issue. But we're trying to look at a paint a broad brush and what the problems could be going forward, and that's just so important, the quality of life. You want your kids to have a quality of life so you want them as involved as they need to be. But they don't want to feel like they have to be involved. I mean, 60% of caregivers suffer from depression and sacrifice, sacrificing their own time for their own family. Parents don't intentionally try to do that. So if parents are more focused and goal oriented, it's better for the entire family." Suzanne asks, "A great majority of the people out there including seniors, they live on a fixed income. They have and oftentimes they have no assets. Does that mean they don't need a plan?" Brynne says, "No, just the opposite. Planning is not immune to wealth. Everyone should have a plan. When you have restrictive funds and those type of things, you're still a human being, and there are still resources that will be avail available to you. We need to really sit down and, again, document what those are. Look at your resources ahead of time. It doesn't matter if you have $5,000 to your name." Aging Solutions connects people across the United States with resources to guide you through aging challenges. Brynne Malone offers a free 30-minute consultation for listeners to Answers for Elders. Reach Brynne at 509-981-1520 or https://agingsolutionsnw.com/. Learn more* Brynne Malone: https://agingsolutionsnw.com/about/* Aging Solutions NW: https://agingsolutionsnw.com/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ See more* Articles and podcasts about Financial Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/financial-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/ Image: © Can Stock Photo / monkeybusinessSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.