When shopping for an assisted
living community for your loved one, sticker shock is a common
condition.
A Place for Mom's Senior Living Advisors frequently hear the
refrain "That's so much more expensive than just living at home."
But is it true that assisted living costs more than living at
home?
A Different Way of Life
"The key difference is quality of life. Not only is assisted
living financially equal to living at home, it's such a
dramatically different way of life," explains Pam Talon, A Place
for Mom's Market Development Coach for the Northeast region.
Most people underestimate how much money they spend on food each
month, and forget about all the miscellaneous expenses that crop
up, Talon says. Mentally, they simply add up rent or the mortgage
and utilities, guess on how much they spend on eating, and come up
with a figure that's not accurate.
Assisted living costs include all basic living expenses such as
rent, utilities and food--but also includes 24-hour security
services, housekeeping, health monitoring services, lawn care,
property taxes and insurance, trash removal, repairs and
maintenance, and the most frequent things people forget to
include-social activities and entertainment.1
In fact, many seniors living at home cut back on entertainment
as a way to save money.
"With a senior living at home, the monthly budget usually has a
blank space next to social and entertainment," Talon says. "We
point out and say, 'Look at what your mom or dad are spending on
socialization and entertainment--nothing--and that's not a good
thing.'"
Social Activities are Good for the Senior Soul
Those
senior social activities are important for all seniors to keep
them physically and mentally sharp, and are the difference between
surviving and thriving. But they may be especially important for
many women whose retirement isn't very relaxing because their
workload actually increases with their retired husbands or partners
at home all the time.
Talon says sons and daughters need to take a hard look at their
parents' current lifestyle: "Do both people get to retire in this
house? How did mom's life change when Dad retired? Did it get
better or did it get worse? We're still dealing with an age group
where moms didn't get to retire, so we're dealing with quality of
life."
Recognizing the Value
After dealing with the initial sticker shock and touring a
community most of her clients change their minds and realize
assisted living is a great value, Talon says.
"These are the golden years, but they aren't always so golden,"
Talon says. "At an assisted living
facility, people can have a quality of life where other people
cater to them so they can enjoy life."
A Place for Mom has created this chart to help you figure out
whether assisted living costs more or less than living at home. The
sample figures cited below represent national averages, so please
fill in your loved one's actual monthly costs in the spaces
provided, as well as figures for a specific community you may be
considering:
|
Amenities/Services/ Expenses
|
Monthly Costs At Home (average)
|
Assisted Living Costs (average)
|
Costs At Home (actual)
|
Assisted Living Costs (actual)
|
|
Monthly mortgage or rent
|
$9532
|
$3,102.003
|
|
Property tax
|
$1492
|
N/A
|
|
Property insurance
|
$784
|
N/A
|
|
Condominium maintenance fee
|
5 |
N/A
|
|
24-hour security services
|
$1006
|
included
|
|
Three meals a day
|
$4942
|
included
|
|
Utilities
|
$2652
|
included
|
|
Housekeeping services
|
$1182
|
included
|
|
Daily health aide visitations
|
$4506
|
included
|
|
Personal care
|
$452
|
included
|
|
24-hour emergency call system
|
$506
|
included
|
|
Landscaping/snow removal
|
$1006
|
included
|
|
Home maintenance
|
$1472
|
included
|
|
Trash removal
|
$256
|
included
|
|
Social and entertainment
|
$07
|
included
|
|
$2,741.00
|
$2,714.00
|
|
|
1 Be sure to ask each facility what is included in
the basic rate and for a list of any extra fees.
2 2010 U.S. Dept. of Labor Consumer Expenditure
Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
3 2012 Genworth "Cost of Care" Research. The survey
included feedback from more than 25,000 providers in order to
complete more than 9,000 surveys of nursing homes,
assisted living facilities, and home care providers in all 50
states and the District of Columbia.
4 2011 National Association of Home Builders
Residential Real Estate Tax Rates in the American Community
Survey
5 These fees vary widely and may not be applicable.
Actual costs will increase if they are included.
6 A Place for Mom, Inc. "best guess" estimates.
7 Many seniors at home remain house-bound, not
spending any money on entertainment.