Undesirable Topics

There are so many things that need to be thought about when one is a family caregiver. Paying the bills, keeping the pantry stocked, household expenses, getting money set aside for your own future when you have worked outside the standard workplace for years possibly even decades. Then there are the less desirable financial subjects to think about, such as long term care insurance and funeral costs and a long list of subjects that we all prefer to assume will sort themselves out even as we know they have to be considered.

After my mom passed away without any kind of insurance, my siblings were all caught short. The sister that was out of state was flown up, apparently with what air miles and little cash the rest of the family had, then they caught most of the costs on the memorial stuff. This left me and dad to pay all of the costs for the funeral home and associated costs for things such as death certificates and everything else - completely draining our already limited savings.

Funeral costs might be something that no one wants to think about, but they are something that every family needs to consider. Having paid full costs on my mom's funeral, plus thousands of dollars in additional costs before and after the funeral, I know better than anyone how expensive it can be.