Caring for aging parents & family
The money side of being the sandwich generation
Helping aging parents while often still raising your own kids and funding your own future is the 'sandwich generation' squeeze, and money is tangled in it with love, guilt, role reversal, and anticipatory grief. This track is a warm, judgment-free guide to the financial side of that — distinct from estate planning, which is about a person's own wills and directives; this is about the caregiver's money reality. It covers how families gently open the money conversation before a crisis forces it, learning together where documents live and whether a power of attorney exists; what elder care actually costs at a concept level, from in-home help to assisted living to nursing homes, and the hard surprise that Medicare generally doesn't cover long-term custodial care while Medicaid does only after strict limits; how siblings coordinate responsibilities and split costs fairly, keep a parent's money strictly separate, and use a shared ledger and a written caregiver agreement to defuse resentment; and the oxygen-mask principle of protecting your own retirement and emergency fund while helping, since there are loans for college but none for retirement. It cross-links to estate-basics, money-psychology, financial-hardship, and wealth-building. Educational only, gentle, and never individualized advice.
4 lessons · about 25 minutes total · 100% free
Saved on this device only — no account needed.
1. Starting the money conversation with aging parents
Learn why the money talk with your parents feels impossible, the opener that works better than an audit, and the six things to learn before a crisis forces the question.
6 min read
2. What elder care actually costs (and who pays)
Learn the price ladder from an aide to a nursing home, what Medicare pays and when it stops, and how Medicaid, insurance, home equity and family fill the gap.
7 min read
3. Coordinating care and money with family
Learn how siblings split a parent's care gap by income, how a written caregiver agreement pays the sibling doing the work, and how a shared ledger keeps the peace.
6 min read
4. Protecting your own finances while helping
Learn why your own retirement comes first even while you help, what quitting work really costs, and the FMLA, tax and respite tools that let you keep going.
6 min read