Consider Hiring Home Care Services Before you Quit Your Job

Your mom has Alzheimer’s disease, and your dad is having a harder time with mobility. You realize they need assistance with many daily chores. You’ve talked it over with your siblings, and everyone agrees that a caregiver is the best solution.

You’re talking about becoming the primary family caregiver. Before you quit your full-time job, you need to weigh the pros and cons.

How Are Your Finances?

Home Care Services Wyckoff NJ - Consider Hiring Home Care Services Before you Quit Your Job

Home Care Services Wyckoff NJ – Consider Hiring Home Care Services Before you Quit Your Job

When you quit a full-time job to care for aging parents, you’re losing your income. It may be okay for you to sacrifice a paycheck, but you have to think it through. If your spouse is the primary earner, what happens if your spouse’s income is cut due to lay-offs or an injury? What is the backup plan if the worst happens?

What was your income used for? Did you contribute to the mortgage, or did you cover the car payments? If you’re moving in with your mom and dad to be their caregiver, the mortgage won’t matter. You may be able to live comfortably without rent/mortgage payments while living off any equity you’d built up.

Have you thought about the expenses that are coming up in the future? If you’re still a family caregiver years from now, will the loss of income affect you? If you have a child in middle school right now and quit your job, what happens when high school ends and that child is heading for college? Will you be in a position to help with college expenses? Does that matter?

What About Dental and Medical Insurance?

Who pays for your dental and medical insurance? If you’re on a spouse or partner’s plans, you should be fine leaving your job. If your work provided your insurance benefits, can you afford to give that up?

Medical care is expensive, and it’s worse when you’re paying out of pocket. A simple blood test to check your red and white cell counts and iron levels can run upwards of $1,000 in some areas. If you don’t have insurance and worry about the cost of care, you may be more tempted to skip essential health check-ups.

The same is true of dental insurance. You may have signs of gum disease and ignore them because you worry about the cost. That chipped or broken tooth may have you ignoring the discomfort. Avoiding care can worsen the situation and make it more expensive to treat in the long run.

Professional Home Care Services Providers Are a Better Solution

You’ve carefully considered the pros and cons of leaving your job. It’s not in the cards for now, so what do you do? Talk to our home care services agency about the available services in your community. Home care services aides can help your parents while you’re working. When you’re free, you can offer the rest of the assistance your parents need.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Home Care Services in Wyckoff NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC. In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today at (973) 427-3553.

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Pamela DelColle, RN, CCRN