Episodes
Florence Klein, author of "Under the Hat: Memoir of an Unstoppable Woman Trailblazer," joins Suzanne to talk about loneliness as a big concern for seniors. Florence says the solution is for seniors to live in inter-generational homes with young and old people living together. She also talks about social workers needing to be paid more and for seniors to make sure they go to the doctor. Florence says, "The biggest need today is loneliness. And so what happens when seniors lose their friends, they lose their spouses or partners, their children may be across the country, across the world, and ...
Alzheimer's and dementia expert Forrest Stepnowski joins Suzanne to talk about dementia, particularly when someone with dementia has gone through a traumatic event. Forrest is CarePartners Living's Executive Director of The Cottages at Renton, in Seattle. Forrest says, "Whether people choose to admit it, trauma — like we used to treat dementia — is an invisible diagnosis that no one wants to talk about. And even if we ourselves have exhibited or experienced something traumatic in our life, that can be very, very scary for us to bring up. Sometimes we forget that our memories come back, and ...
Alzheimer's and dementia expert Forrest Stepnowski joins Suzanne to talk about learning to communicate better with those who have dementia. Forrest is CarePartners Living's Executive Director of The Cottages at Renton, in Seattle. Forrest says, “One thing I try to teach caregivers I work with at CarePartners — and at the Cottages of Renton specifically, as well as family members, as well as people who come to us as community outreach — is when someone has dementia, you have to learn how to speak their language. You have to learn what is triggering them, especially if someone has a trauma hi...
People who've been retired for a while say they wish they'd saved more of their money and invested it more. They also advise to keep investing in yourself, learning how to do your job better, which gives far better returns than anything you'll get from the investment markets. Retirement Watch CEO Bob Carlson provides Suzanne with action steps to improve you retirement planning. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Suzanne asked for some basic steps that anyone could take right now to prepa...
Many people fail when it comes to the non-financial aspects of retirement planning, and many miscalculate their longevity, outliving their money. Retirement Watch CEO Bob Carlson joins Suzanne to talk about these aspects of planning. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Learn more: * Bob Carlson: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8LP5K/about* Retirement Watch newsletter: https://www.retirementwatch.com/ or 800-552-1152* Retirement Watch: The Essential Guide to Retiring in the 2020s...
Bob Carlson joins Suzanne to talk about senior retirement finances. Retirement has changed multiple times, and you can expect the details to change again before you retire, meaning you need to keep up or it can cost you a lot of money. Bob talks about changes to Medicare, inflation, and interest rates that affect retirement planning. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. A lot of people aren't getting the most out of their investment programs. Bob says, "People for the last couple of decade...
If you're adequately prepared, you can live a fulfilling life long into your senior years. Bob Carlson joins Suzanne to talk about senior retirement finances, noting that people haven't realized or properly planned for what their real life expectancy turned out to be. Bob's Retirement Watch newsletter is a staple of our partner Salem Media. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Learn more: * Bob Carlson: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8LP5K/about* Retirement Watch newsletter: htt...
There are different ways you can remain solvent in your aging years, and there are techniques to maintain and preserve assets. Estate planning specialist David T. Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about the three types of leveraged care solutions and to provide an example of how they work. The three types are the Long Term Care Annuity, the Life Legacy/LTC Combo Strategy, and the Return of Premium LTC plan. David says, "The first one's an annuity, expands three times if you need care. If you don't need care, your family gets the annuity money back. The second one is the life insurance policy. ...
According to AARP, 90% of Seniors would prefer to be cared for in their homes. What have seniors done to make sure this happens? Estate planning specialist David T. Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about long term care strategies to make sure you have care in your later life. The solution to the long-term care crisis is a relatively new approach to long-term care insurance, known as leveraged care solutions, a.k.a. asset-based care plans. It's viable so long as you have the means. The concept is simple: With a leveraged care solution, you reposition an asset today from your left pocket to yo...
Most baby boomers haven’t planned for a long term care event, considering that only seven percent of adults over age 50 own any form of long term care insurance. Estate planning specialist David T. Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about how to reposition baby boomer assets in order to have funds available for a long term care event. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured on the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. David says, "Only one in 30 adults have a long term care plan in place. What's going to end up happening is that you're g...
David T. Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about a crisis in Long Term Care and how it is seriously negatively impacting Americans. Financial wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured on the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. He says statistically we are woefully unprepared for a medical long-term care event: * If you are 65 years or older, there is a 72% chance that you will require some type of extended long term care in your lifetime.* If you are married and over 65, there is a 91% chance that one of you will experience a long term medical ev...
Real Estate 55 Plus provides a spectrum of services for seniors. Real Estate 55 Plus CEO Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about what typically happens when a senior loved one passes and a home goes into probate. "When we're gonna go into the home, I would say 25% of the time the personal representative or the executor doesn't live in the state or the city where the property is at. They may have never even have seen it depending on the circumstances. So we're going to come in and do an evaluation on the home, and we're going to give a comparative market analysis that says what the home...
Seniors are waiting longer before they make a change. For many, they wait so long that they end up limiting their options. They have a fall, are injured to an extent that they're no longer able to live independently, and now have a crisis to move. Real Estate 55 Plus CEO Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about what holds people back, the biggest questions people ask about downsizing, and provides an example of a family that faced a moving crisis. Juli Anne says, “It's amazing what you don't see when you live in your own home. When you have somebody with fresh eyes coming in, we can see...
If you're thinking about moving, Real Estate 55 Plus conducts valuable Aging With Choice workshops. Founder and CEO Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about working with families, real estate agents, executors, and estate planners. She talks about how the workshops work, then provides a great example of a senior who took the workshop and how it led to her moving choices. Juli Anne says, "We really are passionate about seniors and we would love for everybody to have a plan about housing and aging. That's really what we would love. And we understand that everybody is in a different stage ...
If you're a senior living in a home that's not working for you, and you need to make a change, but don't know what the next steps are, specialized services for seniors are available at Real Estate 55 Plus. Founder and CEO Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about working with families, real estate agents, executors, and estate planners. She talks about creating a roadmap to minimize the stress involved in moving, particularly for those over 55. Juli Anne says, "Oftentimes people don't know the options that are available to them. So we teach those Aging With Choice workshops, and then we ...
Will people hit their goal for retirement? Like getting out the good china, we rarely think about our post-retirement finances. Brynne Malone, the owner and founder of Aging Solutions NW, joins Suzanne to talk about how a financial manager considers the entirety of your situation. Brynne says, "They kick their feet up, and they might do some traveling and get very active initially,and then it's kind of like using the good china at Thanksgiving and Christmas twice a year. Every once in a while, you think about [finances], but you may or may not break it out. And what people tend to do as the...
A professional finance manager can craft a life book to document your assets, income, and expenses – or for your senior loved ones – and how it insulates mom and dad from feeling like they're sharing too much with their family. Brynne Malone, the owner and founder of Aging Solutions NW, joins Suzanne to talk about life books. Financial wellness, knowing you have resources to maintain your life, is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured in the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Brynne says, "The first step really is to employ a professional like myself...
Brynne Malone, the owner and founder of Aging Solutions NW, joins Suzanne to talk about trip wires when it comes to the financial plan for your aging years, or the finances of your senior loved ones. Financial wellness, knowing you have resources to maintain your life, is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured in the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Suzanne asks, "What are the modern-day dangers to a senior's financial well-being, that could cause a situation where they could run out of money?" Brynne says, "If you're a child, and you're going home,...
Do you have a financial plan to move forward in your aging years? Do your senior loved ones have a plan? Sometimes it's hard to bring up those topics with them, but if you get asked to serve as power of attorney for a family member, it's your business to find out. Sitting down with a senior finance manager might be a great way to bridge you to this information in a non-invasive way. Brynne Malone, the owner and founder of Aging Solutions NW, joins Suzanne to talk about how to talk to your parents about their family finances. Financial wellness, knowing you have resources to maintain your li...
Resident Diane Miller at Era Living's Gardens at Town Square retirement community joins Suzanne to talk about her story, why she moved into senior living, what surprised her most about moving in, the encouraging support she got from residents, and important things she was looking for in senior living. Diane says, "I moved to Seattle when I was in high school. And after college I married my husband, who had been born and raised in Seattle. We had a wonderful home, but ... we had to change. There were signs of dementia coming, very faint signs, but we knew it was coming. And I also knew that ...
From getting our daily dose of vitamin D to the mental health that comes from gardening, enjoying our symbiosis with the environment is healthy. Kelley Dennings from the Center for Biological Diversity joins Suzanne to talk about some of the health benefits that come from connecting with nature. Learn more:Kelley Dennings: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/Center for Biological Diversity: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ Hear other radio shows on this topic: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorRes...
Kelley Dennings from the Center for Biological Diversity joins Suzanne to talk about how we can make a difference when families gather for holidays to live a more eco-friendly life. Suggestions include reducing decorations, using reusable dishware, and offering alternative gifts such as your time can be a win-win for everyone. Learn more:Kelley Dennings: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/Center for Biological Diversity: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ Hear other radio shows on this topic: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/ Answers for...
If we know better, we can do better for our environment. Kelley Dennings from the Center for Biological Diversity joins Suzanne to talk about how we can individually make a difference with our pocket book to live in a way that's more supportive of the ecological sustainability of our world. Learn more:Kelley Dennings: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/Center for Biological Diversity: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ Hear other radio shows on this topic: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource...
Kelley Dennings from the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity joins Suzanne to talk about the mindset of being eco-friendly, living a sustainable lifestyle that's supportive of our world's ecosystem. We're dependent on clean air and healthy foods. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured in the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Living sustainably might not seem that important for one person, but it is for the collective whole of humanity. Kelley is the Center's Population and Sustainability Campaigner. She develops and e...
Suzanne Allbee, CEO of Bee Organized Seattle, joins Suzanne Newman to talk about decluttering, particularly for those with challenges such as ADHD or mobility limitations. Suzanne Allbee says, "Someone may have a mobility challenge. Maybe they are now not able to walk up and down stairs as well as they used to. So that can dictate a change in their kitchen environment. Maybe things need to come down a level. Maybe we need to think about moving their primary bedroom from upstairs to the main floor. Maybe it's the floor plan of where the furniture is arranged, to create space for a wheelchai...
If you've got too much stuff in your house, or a cluttered room, Suzanne Allbee, CEO of Bee Organized Seattle, talks about how to go about changing that. She talks about the first steps of their process. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Suzanne Allbee mentions some signs people can look for to know it's time to declutter. "Some of the obvious ones are when someone's health is not doing so great, perhaps that they are struggling with energy levels, or they know that down the road...
Suzanne Allbee, CEO of Bee Organized Seattle, talks about a harsh reality: Your kids don't want your stuff. The idea of sorting possessions can be overwhelming, but there's a better way than piling everything into a storage locker. Bee Organized offers a short quiz that helps them understand how you relate to your stuff. This helps them understand you, so they can help you focus on how to celebrate what's special, while letting everything else go. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana...
Suzanne shares her story of having ADHD, having to move, and hiring Bee Organized for a life-changing experience to help reorganize her stuff. Suzanne Allbee, CEO of Bee Organized Seattle, joins Suzanne to talk about living sustainably. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Suzanne Newman admitted, "I had no idea how life changing it would be. It seemed to me, organizers don't want to take me on. I'm too embarrassed, I'm too overwhelmed. And I just sent a photo of the room that they ...
Nancy Swanger, Founding Director of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University, joins Suzanne on behalf of Era Living to talk about Era Living's partnership with the Granger Cobb Institute. Dr. Swanger is an associate professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management and the Associate Dean of Inter-College Partnerships in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University, starting back in 2000. In addition to her administrative duties, she teaches various courses in the curriculum, and, most recently, a course in senior living management...
Part D Might Be the MOST Important Part of Medicare To Toni King, the CORNERSTONE of Medicare planning is discussing Medicare Part D. In this Medicare Moments BONUS episode, Toni discusses why it’s so important to search for what is the most cost-effective Part D plan that covers all of your prescriptions. Did you know that if a prescription is not covered, whether generic or brand-name, then you will have to pay 100% out of pocket? Learn more by listening to the episode now! Subscribe to Medicare Moments: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/44MoguG Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7c...