You’ve likely heard of people who spend their entire life saving up as much of their money as they can, but then they are forced to spend all of that money on medical care at the end of their life. In fact, many of these individuals are surprised by just how quickly they churn through their life savings and how expensive it is to simply live at this age.
As you plan for your future, especially when considering medical concerns, it’s important to know why this happens and how you can avoid it. To start, let’s look at a few of the most common things that people start spending more on at this age.
The cost of healthcare
As noted, the first major cost to consider is medical care or healthcare concerns. Major events, such as a stroke or a heart attack, can lead to incredible costs even when you have insurance. You also have to think about the ongoing costs if you’re living in a nursing home or an assisted living center, or if you’re on multiple medications.
Your living situation
As your living situation shifts, this can also get to be very expensive. For instance, it’s much more expensive to stay in a nursing home than to live in your family home, but not all elderly individuals have a choice. When there’s a change, it’s likely that your housing costs are going to increase.
Fitness costs
Many people try to avoid major health concerns by staying in good shape and working on their personal fitness. They may also alter their diet to include more healthy options. All of this is very good, but it’s also more expensive, so these basic costs can go up even when you are on a fixed income.
As you can see, learning how to preserve assets and wealth through estate planning is very important. Be sure you know what steps to take.