Questions for Mom & Dad

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Questions for Mom & Dad

I am blessed with parents, who at age 89, are still living in their own home, driving and taking care of themselves!

As my parents have gotten older, I wonder, at what point will they no longer be capable of paying their own bills.  I have gradually created a checklist to ask for information, for such a time as it would be necessary to know.

Assets

  1.  Banks                                                                 Names & Addresses
  2. Investment Firms                                            Names & Addresses
  3. Credit Cards                                                       Names & Addresses

Monthly Payments

  • Utility Companies                                           Names & Addresses
  • Home Mortgage                                               Names & Addresses

Coverages

  • Insurance
    • Health
    • Life
    • Home
    • Auto
  • Auto
    • Insurance
    • Location of Title

Important Papers

  • Safes/File Cabinets
    • Keys or Combinations
  • Will
    • Location

Professional Contacts

-Attorney

  -CPA

-Pastor

-Doctors

-Funeral Home

    Security

    1.   Passwords
    2.   Keys to Home/Locks

    If you have been through this life stage with parents, perhaps you have created such a list too.  Please share other items you would add to the list!  Since we navigate this passage only once, it’s helpful to learn from others’ experiences.

    Budget Form

    “If you measure something, you can understand it. If you understand it, you can control it, and if you can control it, you can improve it.” The same holds true in your monthly budgeting.

    The reality is that it is nearly impossible to complete & follow a monthly budget without improving your overall financial position. There are several reasons for this, so I would challenge you to do this.

    First, just developing a budget for yourself will raise your awareness of what you have for revenue or income sources and then also boost your cognizance of how much you are spending each month. Next, you will come to grips with the reality of one of three facts. Either you need to boost your income sources, reduce your outgoing expenditures or, thank goodness, if you have more income than expenses, you can then save some money. Of course, this is fantastic! You just need to determine where you will store or invest those extra funds each month…

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