Over the next 5 episodes, we’ll be tackling an important series that I call The Parent Project. No parent wants to be a burden to their children, but as longevity increases with advances in healthcare, your parents may need you to help them out as they age. Are you helping to care for a parent or an aging family member?

My goals for this series are to help you help a parent prepare for this stage of life, to help you prepare for this stage in your own life, and to share bits of wisdom along the way. You won’t want to miss this pertinent series, so press the play button now!

What is aging?

The word aging can be a noun or an adjective. Aging is both the process of getting older and a way to describe the signs of growing old. We all know that aging is a natural process that we go through, but that doesn’t mean that it’s fun. 

We are aging for a longer period of time due to health and medical advancements. We all go through 5 stages of aging -- although some may happen more quickly than others. The 5 stages of aging are independence, interdependence, dependence, crisis management, and end of life. 

6 ways that aging parents can impact your life

Diving into the parent project can have a big impact on your life. We want to honor our parents in this vulnerable part of their lives, but we also want to live our own life. Many of you are retired or on the cusp of retirement and caring for aging parents can greatly affect your retirement plans. These are 6 ways that aging parents could impact your life.

1. Retirement date - You may delay your retirement due to your parents’ condition.
2. Living arrangements - You may decide not to move or limit where you can live.
3. Time - The bureaucracy of caregiving, court documents, and everything else can eat into your time.
4. Psychologically - The psychological effects of caring for loved ones can lead to many feelings like guilt and disappointment.
5. Finances - You may need to subsidize your parents’ care.
6. Relationships - How are your relationships with your spouse and siblings affected?

What can David’s story teach you?

We have a saying over at the Rock Retirement Club, ‘walk with the wise to become wise.’ The RRC is a place to learn from each other to increase our understanding and gain knowledge of a topic. Since I’m not an expert on this topic, I have invited David to come on the show to share his story. 

David has recently dealt with the incapacitation and passing of his mother while also arranging for the care of his father. He learned a lot about the parent project along the way. Listen in to learn from his story so that you can start considering the different things to keep in mind as you and your parents age. 

As we work through the different topics over the next 5 episodes consider creating a file of resources for yourself. Sign up for 6-Shot Saturday to get FREE resources to help you prepare for your parents’ and your own aging process. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

WHAT’S THAT MEAN?

• [3:07] What is aging?

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [6:39] 6 ways that aging parents can impact your life
• [13:01] What can you do to ease the transition for your parents and for yourself?

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID

• [14:37] How did David’s parent project start?
• [22:08] How to broach the conversation of moving to a facility
• [28:11] David knew that he needed an elder law attorney
• [32:36] How has this event impacted his relationships?

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [37:10] Check out caring.com

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Caring.com

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center