How to continue living independently in your own home and avoid being incarcerated in a nursing home
You’ve worked hard all your life. You’ve brought up your family, paid your taxes, your mortgage, all your bills; you’ve even saved up a little. Now you’re retired, it’s time to sit back a little and relax… isn’t it?
Not yet it’s not. Not until you’ve read this guide and found out how you can try to avoid being pushed off into a care home or, should the worst happen and you do end up being carted off to a residential home for the retired (or whatever other term people like to use) how you can avoid the considerable fees, not to mention selling the house you worked so long and hard for to pay the bill.
The reality of life in a care home can be a long way from the picture painted of it in the glossy brochures you may have seen. Companionship; beautiful sunny rooms; well-tended gardens to enjoy at your leisure without the taxing work of maintaining them; activities to prevent one from getting bored; dignified and thoughtful care as and when you need it.
We’ve all heard the horror stories about staff being prosecuted for neglect and even abuse. Are these the type of people you want caring for you when you are vulnerable?
Add to that the prospect of complete financial catastrophe. Life savings gone, not on that worldwide cruise you’ve always longed for but on lukewarm horsemeat lasagne and cold showers. Your life’s work means nothing and your family home has been sold to pay for, at best, complacent and, at worst, downright neglectful treatment from those who are meant to be looking after you.
As you are no doubt well aware, this is a very real problem for many members of our society who, just like you, have worked long and hard, all the while assuming that their efforts, responsible behaviour and contributions to society will amount to something.
All it takes is a bit of bad luck… an illness, or an injury; a spell in hospital. Suddenly you are no longer deemed capable of looking after yourself and you’re being sent off to a ‘nice little place where you’ll be well cared for’.
Don’t think it won’t happen to you. It might not, but it could.
In the United Kingdom, one third of elderly people end up in a care home. This is generally a result of ill health, or injury, and being judged unable to look after oneself at home.
The idea that, should the worst happen to you, your children will take the strain is nice but, let’s face it, unlikely. Your children are probably busy bringing up their own families, working to pay the bills, and contributing to the system to support those who can’t be bothered to do the same.
However, do not despair. Help is at hand. Download your free guide now. Full of guidance and advice, the aim is primarily to help you avoid care homes wherever possible, thereby retaining your dignity, your home comforts, and the fruits of your labours.
If this is not possible, however, then the secondary aim is to enable you to tackle the problem of care fees positively and, ideally, retain those assets you worked so hard for.