As a caregiver, Your health and well-being may be at risk, but you can take steps to minimize the effects of physical demand and prolonged stress by putting yourself first. You can be a better caregiver, may reduce your need and expense for medical care, and potentially reduce the likelihood or extent of requiring caregiving from your loved ones.

If you find it hard to make time for your well-being, consider the metaphor of putting the oxygen mask on yourself first. At the start of a flight, the attendant instructs all passengers to place the oxygen mask over their face before assisting others. Why? Because without enough oxygen due to loss of cabin pressure, you may pass out and become a burden, not a helper to others.

Apply this same principle to your daily life. You are best equipped to help others, when you are rested, eat well, exercise, and in good health. So it is essential that you make time for your medical, physical, and emotional needs, especially when caring for others.

• What is the likelihood that you will be a caregiver?
• What support systems are in place or can you establish for yourself or others?
• If you are an only child, or the only sibling living close to your parents, is there a plan in place if your mother or father need care?

• Will you want to remain in your home as long as possible and receive care? Is your home suited to your physical needs?
• If you prefer to reside in assisted living or high level nursing care, is the facility near family?
• If something were to suddenly happen, would you prefer to remain close to your community to maintain friendships and the life you have built? Have you made these wishes clear to your loved ones?

• Have an open discussion with your spouse, your siblings, your parents, and your in-laws.
• Discuss the importance of establishing a long-term care plan, and encourage ongoing discussions as wishes and needs may change.

As your advisor, we may be able to shed light on the various ways in which you can establish a plan for long-term care.  Your physical, emotional, and financial health are inextricably linked.  By discussing various planning tools such as insurance and estate planning, we can help you create a plan for the future and put you in a position to make informed decisions.  As you contemplate and discuss your plans for long-term care, aging and retirement, a financial planner can provide an impartial perspective so that all family members are heard and considered.