What Have We Learned?

Middle Class Americans – Our Greatest Hope

Work hard. Save for a rainy day. Pay it forward. Lend a hand. Play by the rules. Help the unfortunate. Worship as you will. Keep an open mind. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Rules we have lived by. Ideas that built our nation. Your life of commitment to these simple but profound ideals has provided more prosperity for more people than at any other time in history. Living these basic truths are our greatest hope for the future.

Who works harder than middle-class folks? Who saves more? Who pays more taxes? Who volunteers more? When the going gets tough, who do they expect to help?

And yet, who gets blamed for society’s ills? Whose values are mocked and derided? Whose contributions are dismissed or minimized? Why was it so easy for most to ignore the horrific rates of COVID-19 death in long-term care facilities? Open the paper. Watch the news. Listen. You already know the answers.

But if you’re like me, you’re not here to complain, but to make things better. What should regular, middle-class Americans, workers and retirees, do in times like these? Same thing as ever. Dig deeper. Try harder. And that starts at home. With you. Single or married. Kids or no kids.

The simple fact is that America is getting older: every day another 12,000 Baby Boomers turn 60, 65, 70. The “Greatest Generation” is in its 70s, 80s, and 90s. Poisonous rhetoric and slanted commentary about the “Me Generation” and the supposed self-centeredness of the Boomers is flat wrong. The truth is that 75% of Baby Boomers are right now caring for parents, have already done so, or expect to.

Middle-class American families have always stepped up to meet the need. Long-term care is no exception. But this challenge cannot be fully met on an individual basis. Everyone prefers care at home; who wants a nursing home? Providing that care, however, simply wears family members out.

Providing that care, however, simply wears family members out.

If your husband or wife is caring for you, almost half of the time, he or she will die first. Spouses who give care die first 40% of the time! And many more will die shortly after you do, much sooner than otherwise expected. Skilled nursing home care, according to the State of Michigan, costs almost $9,000 every month for the most basic care. Extras (like oxygen!) can easily push the total much higher. And no one can afford it.

Medicaid is the way many Americans pay for long-term care. As with so many other things, though, the burden falls hardest on those who have worked and contributed the most. No savings? No problem! Live life on a credit card? Medicaid is there for you. But if you worked hard and saved. If you were frugal. If debt was dumb and savings was smart. If you did the right things, Medicaid will not help until you are impoverished. Until all your life’s efforts are wiped away.

But if you plan ahead it is possible to: Keep your savings. Provide for your loved ones. Receive at-home care. Participate in choosing a care facility if necessary. And still pay it forward.

A terrible lesson has been accepted and taught by most planners and attorneys. Spend it down. Spend it all. You are not in control. You cannot choose. Your values are wrong. Nothing can be done. It is a counsel of despair.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The LifePlan approach keeps you in charge. Your life savings protected. Your life choices respected.

If your husband or wife is caring for you, almost half of the time, he or she will die first. Spouses who give care die first 40% of the time! And many more will die shortly after you do, much sooner than otherwise expected. Skilled nursing home care, according to the State of Michigan, costs almost $9,000 every month for the most basic care. Extras (like oxygen!) can easily push the total much higher. And no one can afford it.

Medicaid is the way many Americans pay for long-term care. As with so many other things, though, the burden falls hardest on those who have worked and contributed the most. No savings? No problem! Live life on a credit card? Medicaid is there for you. But if you worked hard and saved. If you were frugal. If debt was dumb and savings was smart. If you did the right things, Medicaid will not help until you are impoverished. Until all your life’s efforts are wiped away.

But if you plan ahead it is possible to: Keep your savings. Provide for your loved ones. Receive at-home care. Participate in choosing a care facility if necessary. And still pay it forward.

A terrible lesson has been accepted and taught by most planners and attorneys. Spend it down. Spend it all. You are not in control. You cannot choose. Your values are wrong. Nothing can be done. It is a counsel of despair.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The LifePlan approach keeps you in charge. Your life savings protected. Your life choices respected.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The LifePlan approach keeps you in charge.

The first step to making positive changes is to reject hopelessness and recognize that good things are possible. Don’t accept the gloom and doom. The LifePlan Workshop shares the essential tools and techniques that have secured the future for thousands of families, just like yours. LifePlanning is not experimental, but proven time and again.

At this moment in history, America needs your example of middle-class success. Too many unfortunate young people have become disillusioned and hopeless, led astray by angry rhetoric and disinformation. LifePlanning embodies middle-class American values. We all win, one person, one family at a time.