Keeping Your Elderly Loved One Safe at Home While You Travel

Caregiving for a loved one is a full-time job. And like any full-time job, you need vacation days to relax and rejuvenate - except caregiving doesn't come with a team to cover for you while you're gone.

If you want to actually relax during your getaway, some careful scheduling and home updates will prevent worrying about the quality of your loved one's care.

Find someone to help

As the primary caregiver for your loved one, you need someone to cover both your caregiving and homeowner’s responsibilities while you're gone.

• Hire a professional caregiver. Professional caregivers help with a variety of duties. They can live with your loved one 24/7, stay during the day, or just visit for a few hours, depending on the need.
• Turn to family, friends, or neighbors. If you have siblings, ask them to cover for you. You can also ask members of your community to take care of your home and do household tasks that your loved one can't do.
• Find a skilled nurse. Does your loved one need special medical help? Have a certified nurse step in to fill your shoes. Nurses are licensed and trained to provide care for complicated medical issues.
• Look into assisted living. Many assisted living communities offer short-term stays for patients. Just be sure to plan ahead - these communities often need advance notice to make accommodations.

Prepare your home

Don't make your temporary caregiver figure things out alone. Prep your home so everything is easily accessible. While you're at it, get some home technology that will keep you in the loop.

• Gather important information. Gather all the necessary paperwork, medical records, and emergency contacts your loved one might need. Tape the documents to the refrigerator, within easy reach.
• Prepare meals. Whether you hire a full-time caregiver or not, prepping meals ahead of time makes it easier for your loved one to eat properly. Package meals in the fridge or freezer with clear labels and instructions.
• Do the laundry. Ensure that your loved one will have enough clean socks and underwear while you're gone. Lay out clothing for the week, or hang outfits grouped together and clearly labeled in the closet.
• Install a home security system. A smart system lets you view alerts and even security camera feeds remotely from your smartphone.
• Get a medical alert. A medical alert will help your loved one contact emergency services at the press of a button. You can also receive a call if anything happens.

Set the social calendar

Your loved one is used to having you around, so make your absence easier with some careful schedule planning. Post a calendar in an obvious place so your loved one always knows what the next thing is on the to-do list.

• Overlap the transition. If possible, have your temporary caregiver start while you're still around. It will help the caregiver understand how you do things, and it will help your loved one get to know them.
• Make a social calendar. From doctor's visits to social events, put everything in the calendar. Hang a large, visual calendar for easy reference, and mark the date you return.
• Write down the daily schedule. Is your loved one used to a certain daily routine? Let the temporary caregiver know. Map out a typical day for the caregiver to have as a reference.
• Plan something fun. Ask your loved one if there’s anything special they'd like to do while you're gone or once you get back. You want them to have something to look forward to during your absence.
• Reassure your loved one. Listen to their worries and concerns before you leave. Let your loved one know that the only thing that will change while you're gone is your presence. Make sure they understand that you're coming back.

Rest and renew

Taking a vacation shouldn't make you feel guilty. Take time to care for yourself, and you’ll be a better caregiver. With everything settled before you leave, you'll enjoy your vacation knowing that your loved one is well taken care of.

Related:

• 7 Safety Upgrades and Tech Tools for Seniors Living Alone
• Visiting Grandma? Make Your Stay Easy for Her
• How to Prepare Your Home for an Elderly Relative

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Renters: Are You Ready to Buy a Home?

For renters planning to buy a home, preliminary steps like creating a budget and saving for a down payment are obvious. Here are five more advanced steps toward moving out of your rental and into a dream home of your own.

Understand the full cost of homeownership

As a renter, a single rental fee covers your monthly housing payment. But as a homeowner, four main factors go into your monthly housing payment: principal, interest, taxes and insurance (P.I.T.I.). Understanding these costs will help you determine how much house you can afford.

Together, principal and interest comprise your monthly mortgage payment, with the principal paying down your loan balance each month, and the interest paying your fee for borrowing the money. Use a mortgage calculator to determine how much of your payment goes toward principal versus interest each month.

Taxes refer to property taxes, which are assessed by the county you live in. They average 1.2 percent of your home’s value each year.

Insurance — paid to a homeowner’s insurance company of your choice — is required when you have a mortgage. Lenders require that your insurance cover the cost of rebuilding the home if it is ruined by fire or other disaster. This “replacement cost” is determined by your insurer, and must be agreed to by your lender. Insurance will typically cost $700 to $1,200 per year for a single family home.

For condo owners, there’s a fifth monthly cost category: homeowners association (HOA) dues. These fees cover common area amenities, landscaping, ongoing upkeep and reserves for future maintenance like roof replacement or exterior painting. These monthly dues range from $100 for cheaper condos to $1,000 or more for luxury condos.

Single family home buyers can take a useful cue from HOA budgets, which generally require that at least 10 percent of dues go toward reserves. Even if you’re not buying a condo, it’s a good idea to set up a similar savings plan for future maintenance like replacing a roof or major appliances.

Know your homeowner tax benefits

Mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible when you file your annual tax returns, and reduce taxable income.

These deductions significantly lower your cost of homeownership. For example, for a $300,000 home with 20 percent down and a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4 percent, monthly P.I.T.I. is about $1,545. Tax deductions reduce this total housing cost to about $1,215.

Study rent-vs.-buy math

Often, people judge the cost of renting vs. buying by comparing P.I.T.I. to a rental payment. But to get an apples-to-apples comparison, you actually have to look at after-tax-benefit homeownership costs and rent costs.

Using the example above of a $300,000 home that costs $1,215 per month after taxes, you could compare this residence to a home that rents for about $1,200. If the $300,000 home was more spacious or in a more desirable area, the math would seem to favor buying — but don’t forget this example requires a $60,000 down payment.

Identify mortgages that fit your budget and timeline

If you don’t have 20 percent to put down, you can still get a mortgage with as little as 3 percent down. However, if your down payment is less than 20 percent, you’ll have to pay mortgage insurance, which is about .85 percent of your loan amount, and isn’t tax deductible.

Your monthly P.I.T.I. (which includes mortgage insurance) is about $1,995 on a $300,000 home with 3 percent down and a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4 percent. After tax deductions, this total housing cost drops to about $1,614. And you’d only need $9,000 for the down payment.

You can also lower your rate and P.I.T.I. with a shorter-term loan like a 5-year ARM, but rates on these loans will adjust in 5 years, so you risk having a much higher payment if you plan to stay in the home longer than that.

Start preparing your credit score now

Credit scores are critical for getting the best mortgages with the lowest rates. Lenders want reliable on-time payment history as well as credit depth.

More credit accounts are better, so renters with only one credit card should consider obtaining more credit. Just note that your credit score can drop 5 to 15 points when you first open a new account, then will come back up when you’ve established a good payment history.

Have questions about purchasing a home? Check out our Home Buyers Guide.

Related:

• Why You Should Get Off the Fence About Buying a Home
• Planning Your First Home Buying Experience
• Can Shopping Around for a Mortgage Keep You from Getting One?

Originally published January 5, 2015.

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