My mom and dad live alone and would never think of leaving their house or anyone coming in to help them. Both have some serious medical issues. Mom can still drive at this point. They have very little income but are surviving. I help out all the time but they are so depressed. I truly am at a loss as to how to help them? Any advice would be wonderful.
Depression is a matter for a mental health professional, there really is nothing you can do to cheer them up.
Having said that are they making the best possible use of their money.
1 Applied for relief on their school and /or property taxes if there is a program where they live. We save 25% on our school taxes and once you are approved NYS just looks at our tax return and recertifies.
2. Are they eligible for Medicaid? It is a hassle but if they are approved it makes a huge difference.
3. Can they get food stamps?
4. Is here a local food bank?
5. is there a senior center they can go for a hot meal?
6 .Many organizations host dinners, breakfast etc with just a free will offering.
7. Is meals on wheels available?
8. Medicare will only pay 80% of costs so it is work investing in a supplementary policy. Some have no monthly fee. The local senior center can help with that.
9. Do they take advantage of mark downs at the grocery store? One local store marks down everything expiring the next day about mid morning. You can actually follow the butcher and snap up the bargains.
10. Go through the inserts in the local papers and see what will be on sale next week and plan menus around that and stock up when appropriate. Right now eggs and cheese are fairly cheap.
I don't bother with coupon's much because there is usually a catch. This week there is a coupon for 99 cents for a half gallon of milk but you have to spend $15 to get it.
11. Has Mom taken the safe driving course? That will get her a discount on the car insurance. There is a fee but you can do it on line so don't have to go somewhere and sit for three hours. It still takes three hours but you can do it bit by bit, print out the certificate and send to ins agent.
12. Does Mom sew or knit? You can often find fabrics and yarn at thrift stores. Good way to make presents for family members for a few cents.
13. Thrift stores, rummage sales and garage sales are a treasure trove for clothing, household items and other treasures. Go to an expensive area where the residents want to get rid of stuff and the prices won't be to high. At the end of a sale they will practically give stuff away. I got 2 sheeps skin jackets for $1 each in a bag sale.
14. Question every test the Dr orders and make them satisfy you it is really necessary.
15. Go through all their medications and look for cheaper alternatives if similar or generic. it is better to take something every day thats cheap even if not the latest than try and stretch expensive stuff by not taking the prescribed amount. The big box stores have formularies of the cheap generics and there are usually several good alternatives.
16. Explore the home made versions of popular products like detergents, cleaning stuff and even skin care. You can also find recipies for bug spray, weed killer and the like, even oven cleaner.
I think that is enough to be going on with, but the most important thing is to get their depression taken care of first. if they are prescribed medication and are willing to take it be sure and get the cheapest in it's class at least to start with. Good Luck