We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our
goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you
with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original
and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare
information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with
confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to,
American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and
Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate
us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this
site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear
within the listing categories. But this compensation does not
influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on
this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial
offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions.
While we adhere to strict
,
this post may contain references to products from our partners.
Here’s an explanation for
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with
accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards
in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters
thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information
you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our
advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not
receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader.
Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart
personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure
that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our
editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers,
and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So,
whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that
you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have
been helping you master your money for over four decades. We
continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and
tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial
staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our
advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content,
competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we
make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher
and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for
placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking
on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation
may impact how, where and in what order products appear within
listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary
website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at
your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and
where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a
wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about
every financial or credit product or service.
Which bank should I choose?
Get personalized bank recommendations in 3 easy steps.
It’s Mother’s Day, and I speak from experience: Every mom who is on the verge of retirement has all the tchotchkes, slippers and bath bubbles she needs, plus a buffet brunch isn’t on her diet.
Here are five better retirement planning gifts that say you love her even more eloquently.
Buy her some long-term care insurance. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, two-thirds of women will need an average of three years of long-term care during their lives. If your mother doesn’t have a good plan for paying for this possibility, it is in your best interests to help her figure out her options. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care, and before Medicaid will pay her bills, your mother will have to spend all but $2,000 of her assets, possibly including selling her home. Helping her buy long-term care insurance before she needs it is a hedge against putting both of you in a bad financial situation.
Buy her some good advice. A recent survey by ING Direct says 47 percent of women rely on retirement advice from people who aren’t experts. Even if you consider your mom a financial guru herself, she’ll still benefit from a few sessions with a fee-only financial planner.
Make her home safer. Breaking a hip is expensive. According to U.S. Census statistics, in 2009, 27 percent of people 65 and older lived alone and 77 percent of those were women. If your mom is one of those people, spend a day or two installing grab bars and handrails in her bathroom, add nonskid strips to her shower, tack down throw rugs and replace round door handles with levered ones.
Throw a garage sale and sell all that stuff she’s accumulated. Unless your mom has already been through the downsizing process, I guarantee she owns more stuff than she needs. Holding a garage sale and getting rid of it is a lot of work. Help her do it, and then maybe she’ll take you to brunch and pay for it with some of the money she made.
Help her create a living will and a health care power of attorney. This isn’t a substitute for a will — she ought to have that, too — but it will allow you to make tough but loving decisions on her behalf if she can’t make them herself.
Share