This week, I enjoyed a great interview with Dr. Jay Zigmont with Childfree Wealth.

Their website is https://childfreewealth.com/

I learned that 25% of U.S. adults don't have kids. That's a huge part of our population that is underserved in the retirement planning community. Many planners consider that with our without kids, your plans should be similar, and that's simply not accurate.

When we dont have kids, we know we need to have a plan for long term care needs. Many parents presume their kids will take care of them, or they'll at least make sure they're taken care of. Childfree folks know that this is not an option.

If married and childfree, it's important to make sure that an extended care need like dementia or a stroke for one won't bankrupt the other.

If married or not, we all have an idea of what we really care about in regards to long term care needs. We need to dig in and ask how are we going to make sure that this happens?

• That I live in the place I want to live if I can't live alone
• That I get those little things that make me happy (for me it's cheesecake - I don't eat it now, but if I make it to 90, I want that to be my breakfast every day).
• That I have enough money to take care of myself gracefully - and don't end up with less than than Zero and on Medicaid

Jay's childfree clients know that they need a plan, and they create that plan - usually in their 40s, when it's most affordable and can be paid up long before retirement.

Jay takes well known planning concepts and turns them into childfree planning strategies.

Feel free to reach out to him at support@childfreewealth.com

Contact me if you are childfree or not. We can design your LTC plan together - diane@preparing4tomorrow.com

We need to start planning now, 30 years before we think we'll need help living.

It'a hard to believe that care could ever cost that much, but in 2001, when I started working in the LTC industry, nursing homes were $1000/month. People I spoke with thought that was so unfair.

Use Genworth's Cost of Care report to view projected future costs here https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care Be sure to input 5% inflation growth to budget accurately.

Most of us would be happy if care for dementia or mobility concerns was only $1000/month.

In 1990, home care costs were about $11/day.

Getting old and needing help is not ever going to get less expensive, so we need a plan.

This week, I share the plan Maureen and I designed to create $250K annual LTC benefits in 30 years, when she is 80. She has enough income and assets to cover higher costs withoujt hurting herself or her family financially. Listen and learn about the plan she chose to protect her family and, even more importantly, her CHOICES.

Schedule with me to design your plan at https://calendly.com/diane-p4t/60min

If we want to make sure we can stay home when long term care is needed, we need a plan. We need to afford the care we want.

If costs of care continue to increase every year like they have been, this is not something most of us will self-fund without bankrupting ourselves or destroying family relationships.

The first thing we need to do is admit that we'll probably need help living at some point.

Bill Comfort with Certification for Long Term Care says, "If we don't die, wil live long lives. If we live long lives, we get old. And when we get old, we need help living."

We need to prepare for this and presume we will be the one who lives a long life. How are we going to get the care we need? Who will provide it? How will we pay for it?

Will we pay in dollars or with the physical and mental exhaustion of our family?

Let me help you prepare to live a long life successfully. Schedule with me at https://calendly.com.diane-p4t/30min