Assisted Living from a different perspective 1

Most of us are going to need some extra support as we age. Cooking, cleaning, running errands and more are called “activities of daily living” and it can be nice to get help with these tasks as you age. Some of us planned for this and invested in insurance that would provide help when we could not do things ourselves, but most of us did not take that opportunity. 

Most of us can’t afford to get help as we age. Whether we are looking at living in an assisted living facility or hoping to have help come into your home, these services are expensive. The annual cost of a private one-unit in an assisted living in BC (where I live) is $32,000. In the United States costs range from a high of $111,195 in the District of Colombia to a low of $34,128 in Missouri.  The national average is $48,000. Homemaker services for 44 hours per week for 52 weeks run at an average of $41,600 where I live.

Whether you are planning for your own life, or helping a loved one, if you are looking for ways to make assisted living more affordable, you may want to get creative.

The first one started as a joke, but the joke was taken seriously

1. Check into the Holiday Inn

In 2019, over 112,000 people shared Terry Robison’s wacky but perhaps brilliant idea to check into a Holiday Inn instead of a nursing home!

Robison wrote on his Facebook post: “I’ve already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn. For a combined long-term stay discount and senior discount, it’s $59.23 per night (or $21,618.95 plus taxes a year). Breakfast is included, and some have happy hours in the afternoon.”

According to his calculations, nursing home care for he and his wife in his area costs $188 a day.  So, he figures that if he is staying at the Holiday Inn, he’ll have an extra $128.77 for lunch, dinner, and other living expenses. He thinks this is more than adequate and Robison cites the wide variety of perks that come with hotel living:

·       They provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge, and washer-dryer, etc.

·       Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap.

·       $5-worth of tips a day and you’ll have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

·       They treat you like a customer, not a patient.

·       There’s a city bus stop out front and seniors ride free.

·       The handicapped bus will also pick you up (if you fake a decent limp).

·       To meet other nice people, call a church bus on Sundays.

·       For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus and eat at one of the nice restaurants there.

·       While you’re at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps building up.

·       It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Holiday Inn will take your reservation today.

·       And you’re not stuck in one place forever — you can move from Inn to Inn, or even from city to city.

·       Want to see Hawaii? They have Holiday Inn there too.

·       TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem. They fix everything and apologize for the inconvenience.

·       The Inn has a night security person and daily room service.

·       The maid checks to see if you are ok. If not, they’ll call an ambulance . . . Or the undertaker.

·       And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to find you, and probably check-in for a few days mini-vacation.

·       The grandkids can use the pool.