Wellness

[NycVixen]

For the last several months, I've witnessed how someone close to my husband has been slowly ravaged by cancer. This person owned his own business and employed others. He was financially independent and a symbol of the American dream.

Yet, towards the end of his life, he's suffering from financial uncertainty because he didn't take the appropriate steps to protect his business. In addition, he didn't have enough money in savings to cover his out of pocket healthcare expenses or to cover hospice care inside an appropriate facilty.

This made it crystal clear to me; what matters is to have financial security at all times and at all costs. I made the decision that I won't be in the same position. I will save, save, save to be certain I have full control over the care I will receive in my final days.

It's our responsibility to look out for ourselves. We can't depend on family, children or no one else to protect our interests. Material things do not matter.

What matters is controlling one's life so we can have ultimate control over our own destiny. We should live in the present while keeping an eye on the future. Nothing we own now matters if we don't have the money to pay for our care when the time comes. 

We also can't be so selfless that we don't protect ourselves. We must prepare for the worst and hope for the best. To do our best to make sure we don't suffer needlessly, is the ultimate act of kindness we can do for ourselves and for the family and friends who love us. 

[ellaphant]

So true. 'Things' don't matter.But for some people, no matter how they save and plan, medical costs can bankrupt people.

[NicksmomESQ]

  @NycVixen I totally get what you're saying.However,I refuse to live my life planning for my death. My DH has busted his chops his entire life to make a good living.He is old enough to retire but won't. Aside from wanting to continue working he is doing it for the money 💰.

  We are in good shape financially.DH is working so that we can continue enjoying our lives.We enjoy eating out,going away on weekends,taking vacations,fixing up our home  🏡 & shopping. 

   This is why universal healthcare is so important. Regardless of politics we are the only civilized country that doesn't guarantee care for its citizens. What a shame that your friend worked so hard,accomplished so much yet at the end had nothing!! 

   Unless you're a multi millionaire no amount of savings is enough to cover extensive or long term care!! I too have seen successful people with quite a bit of cash  💰 get wiped out.No amount is enough.

   We have quite a bit of savings.That being said we will continue to enjoy our lives.Life is to short.I'm going to live it as long as I can.Maybe someday our so called leaders will step up & pass meaningful healthcare legislation for all!!

[YorkieonmyPillow]

@NycVixen  Approximately how much money are you talking about?

[NycVixen]

In his case, if he would've taken the necessary steps to protect his business, it wouldn't have mattered as much that he didn't have as much savings because he would still have substantial income coming in. He didn't save as much since he thought he would have money from the company. The moral is to save and put the necessary legal steps in place to protect yourself. 

Consequently, those that are caring for him who also depend on him are unfortunately now financially insecure. He's at home but not receiving the care he needs because they can't afford it. He's suffering and his caretakers are suffering.

I'm not talking about spending your whole life planning your death but making sure that being financially secure for yourself and your family is the priority. Be that to protect your business, to save, to invest wisely etc. 

It's hard for us to witness what is going on knowing that if things had been done differently, this wouldn't be such a burden on him and his family. It's heartbreaking. For me, it has been life changing.

I will continue to live my life and go on vacation etc. but with the philosophy to spend one dollar but to save way more than I spend. 

[QVCkitty1]

No matter how much money you have, healthcare can ruin you.

[JobGirl]

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

No matter how much money you have, healthcare can ruin you.

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If you prototect assets some of that can be avoided and I agree it can ruin people

but I disagree with "no matter how much money you have"  it can ruin you

I am sure there are very wealthy sick people receiving the best care who will not be "ruined" becasue of it

[Cakers3]

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@JobGirl wrote:

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

No matter how much money you have, healthcare can ruin you.

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If you prototect assets some of that can be avoided and I agree it can ruin people

but I disagree with "no matter how much money you have"  it can ruin you

I am sure there are very wealthy sick people receiving the best care who will not be "ruined" becasue of it

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@JobGirl  I agree about the rich to a point but even the rich can lose their financial gains in other ways.

However, I read this to mean the average person. 

It is almost impossible for a person earning low wages to save substantially for the future, too.

[drizzellla]

That is one of the drawbacks about owning your own company. The owner is the last to be paid. My husband worked for a man who started his own company. It took at least 8 years before he saw a profit and therefore a paycheck for himself.

And it was sad when he finally had a successful company he could not hand the company over to his children. The taxes would have bankrupted his kids. They would not have been able to come up with the money for taxes.

Sadly, he lost his wife when she was in her 30's and the kids were all under 12 years old. So he made sure that every one of his employees had the best health insurance plan. He did not want any of his employees to go through what he did. And don't you know it, his daughter also got cancer and died when her kids were 6 and 9. It crushed him. 

I don't know what my parents would have done without their savings. My Dad was in a nursing home for over 10 years and my Mom was in an assisted living apartment and a nursing home room (at the same time) for 2 years. My Dad had a stroke and lost the use of his right side (arm and leg) and my Mom at 90 pounds was not able to help him.

You are so right - prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[Kachina624]

I don't think the average person is capable of earning and saving enough to cover a catastrophic illness and all the expenses that go with it.  You'd better be well insured for everything that could possibly happen to you and even then it might not be enough.