Senior Discounts Coupon! Get 10% off Membership!

Senior Services Savings partners with Senior Discounts - when you, the senior, signs up here - you get a 10% discount on the annual membership fee!  So sign up today!

David Smidt is the owner of Senior Discounts and he invites our readers to join his Senior Discounts at a reduced fee. They offer 3 different membership packages (one is a free membership), all offering discounts at:

• Restaurants,
• Movies
• Shopping & Retail
• Driver safety course,
• Golfing,
• Lodging,
• Gas,
• Airlines,
• Car rental,
• Auto insurance,
• Health & Nutrition
• Home & Garden
• Legal & Financial Services
• Medical & Pharmacy
• DirecTV,
• Brain Fitness program,
• Pass to the National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands for only $10…
• Over 140,000 discounts waiting for you..

Join today!  Senior Disounts.

Once signed up – you receive a FREE SeniorDiscounts Newsletter offering:

• Hundreds of dollars worth of discounts every week
• Information on how and where to locate senior discounts
• Discussions on issues importatnt to you
• Great trivia with opportunities to win great prizes
• All this will be delivered to your e-mail every week, free!

Here’s a sample of what you will read in the weekly Newsletter:

Gas Saving Tips
Date: May 22, 2008
Author: David Smidt, SeniorDiscounts

Gas prices are at an all time high and it doesn’t look like they will be coming down any time soon. Here are some tips and techniques you can use to help save gas.

Purchasing Gas:

• Use non-brand name gas. Most non-brand name gas stations use the exact same product as the brand names.
• Use the correct grade of gas. Premium grade is not always the best for cars. Find out what is recommended by the manufacturer of your car and use the lowest recommended grade.
• Don’t top off. Studies have shown that the “top off” usually remains in the hose or is lost to evaporation.
• Overfilling can also result in sloshing over and out of tank.
• Buy gasoline during the coolest time of day such as early mornings or late evenings. This will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Gasoline is densest when it is cool and you are purchasing for gas by volume not by density.
• Try to fill up only when your car is on empty as a full tank is heavier and leads to less fuel economy.
• Tighten up that gas cap after filling up. Loose, missing or damaged gas caps cause over 147 million gallons of gas to evaporate each year, according to the Car Care Council.

Read the full story on Senior Discounts..

Thank you for visiting Senior Services Savings. Please tell us in the comment below a few of your treasured discounts that you have found in your city or state. Just add it to the comment below. Fabulous! If you have questions, email Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com.

Senior Discounts – Savings for Cost of Elder Care

Dealing with the costs of senior care can be lessened when visiting and using the Senior Services Savings!  Visit us often for new updates, additions, and tips!  Please give us your senior service discount tips and findings by leaving a comment below on your elder care discoveries.  If you are a Senior service provider and would like to add your coupon of savings for families and seniors, please contact me, Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com.

Paying Family Members for Care

Most elder and senior care is provided by families. If you are thinking about quiting your job or working part time to be available for helping your aging loved one, be sure you weigh the costs beyond losing your salary.  Giving up part or all of your salary will cut into your retirement savings and Social Security, and potentially lead to losing medical insurance.

You might check into being a paid family caregiver but that approach is more complicated than just getting cash or check.  Because if your elder ends up applying for Medicaid, such payments could be viewed as tranfers of assets.. which could interupt eligibility. The solution is to have a personal contract or care contract in place which specifies the pay and care given.

Be sure you formalize it and work with an attorney to make sure you get it right. You don’t want the Medicaid eligibility factor biting you down the road. Get an attorney that knows more than just the state law but one that knows what is accepted by the Medicaid office! This is very important.

Here’s a couple of helpful websites:

• Caregiver Alliance
• National Institute on Aging
• WorkingCaregiver.com

Get prepared early on before an emergency arises.  Visit Senior Services Savings often for new discounts being added daily.

 

Get Help to Stay in Your Home As You Get Older – Find Senior Services Discounts

As we all know there may be government and community service programs to reduce expenses so your home continues to be affordable, but many of them are available only to seniors with very limited income and assets. 

Here are some possibilities:

• You may be able to get reduced rates on utility bills. 
• Your local senior center may provide volunteers that help seniors with a range of needs from transportation to gardening.
• You could have inexpensive meals delivered through “Meals on Wheels”
• If you need a few visits by a nurse or physical therapist following hospitalization, medical insurance may cover this cost.
• If you have a terminal illness, medical insurance may pay for hospice care at home.
• If you have a disability or chronic illness, Medicaid may cover the cost of a limited number of hours per month for someone to assist you with homemaking and personal care.

Sometimes staying in your own home is no longer an option, even though it is your preference.  If you have a progressive disease, a serious disability or severe medical problems, the cost of care at home can exceed institutional care and is often not affordable.

If you know of a senior service that offers a discount or know of a senior savings coupon, please share with us via the comment below.  Thank you. Senior Services Savings is dedicated in keeping you comfortable living in your home as long as possible.

Senior Care Services Discounts Save Money in Senior Care

Senior Services can be costly for family members. That’s why we created this blog. We are consolidating & giving senior service providers an opportunity to lessen the financial burden of elder care. If you, a family member caring for an aging relative finds and locates a high quality senior care service that would benefit others, please leave a comment below.  I will contact that senior service personally and ask if they would like to add a discount or coupon to the Senior Services Savings blog.

And if you, a Senior Service provider would like to add a coupon on our blog for senior care, please contact me, Caro@WorkingCaregiver.com and I will add you to our Savings blog. There is absolutely no charge to do so.  It’s all free!!  Outstanding!!

Statistics tell us that a quarter of our adult population care for an aging parent, relative or friend. There are close to 50% of this group providing care for their spouse. The senior industry calls us family caregivers but most family members do not identify with the label of caregiver. We are in most cases, a spouse, an adult daughter or son, or a grown child who lives the closest to the parents or aging relative needing care.

Giving care to an aging parent is rewarding. And many times we grow closer and learn compassion. It can also be stressful and cause tension and grief in families. A new survey that I read states that 31% of family caregivers admit they invite more help from siblings and family members. If a member of the family does not help, then resentment grows.

A lot of family members are stressed especially if they have other important and pressing responsibilities; such as a job, children of their own to care for, a busy social life, or if there is distance between the elderly and the family member. 

Caring for a loved one can be hard for a spouse, especially if care recipient requires around-the-clock assistance. If the spouse giving care has a health issue of their own to deal with, then these health problems can exacerbated stress and lack of attention to their own needs.

Please use this Senior Services Savings blog to locate coupons, savings tips, and more on senior care help.  We intend to help you find ways to cope with the financial burden and stress when caring for an older relative. 

Send all inquires to Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com – please send us your coupon or savings on a senior care service. Thank you.

Help Cut Cost for Senior Care

I know it’s difficult with all the rising costs of gas, food, services, etc. to help our senior parents find quality, low-cost, home care.  Senior Services Savings with WorkingCaregiver.com is just one option to use to help them save some money of the services they need.

Congress is also helping out.  To cut costs in the Medicare Program, Congress is calling for for competitive bidding on medical equipment that is provided to the elderly and disabled Americans. They have set a sensible timeframe for implementing this program. Last year alone, Medicare received bids from companies to supply equipment in 10 metropolitan areas.

They were about to start selling their products but Congress has put a halt on the delivery due to receiving pressure from the losing bid companies.  If you can believe, according to an article in the Austin American Statesman, the House approved legislation to terminate the contracts and delay the launch for 18 months.

We know that Medicare has been paying too much for wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen, diabetic test kits, and walkers. Some examples are; Medicare pays over $1,800 for each hospital bed that can be bought online for $754, and  $4,000 for a power wheelchair that costs $2,100 online.

By signing contracts with close to 325 companies winning the lowest bids, it reduced equipment prices by 26%. In dollars that is close to $125 million the first year and as much as one billion a year if the program went nationwide.

I guess what happened was Congress did some mis-stepping in the bid process. Too bad.  So that created some bad tastes and sour grape for those losing companies… ugh. Meanswhile, many patient oriented groups have called for a delay too, sensing the lower bidder would give diminishing customer service.

Competitive bidding is what free enterprise is built on.. thank goodness. And I believe would also help the Medicare dilemma of over spending at a time when all cost are soaring.

We have no clue if Congress’ delay does not altogether junk the program.. we hope not. But in the meantime, Senior Services Savings and Discounts is working hard for your hard earned dollar.

Have questions? Email Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com. Please give us your comments or suggestions on what companies or services you’d like to see added to our coupon or discount for seniors program. Of if you know of one I should contact, leave a comment and all comments below.

 

Costs of Senior Care Soars – USA Today

Senior Services Savings by WorkingCaregiver.com is what we need to help care for our aging relatives.  Many Americans according to  John Waggoner and Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY, we have not done a very good job preparing for our old age. 

We face massive costs for Social Security and medical care in the next 70 years: almost $43 trillion, according to a USA TODAY analysis. Believe it or not the population in many developed countries is aging faster than the U.S. population, which means fewer young people to support a rapidly growing number of senior citizens.  But in America the financial challenge for taxpayers is supporting older citizens. 

Japan the number of people age 65 and above today is about one-fourth of those ages 15 to 64. By 2050, Japan’s senior population will equal almost two-thirds of the working-age population, compared with slightly more than one-third in the USA.

Our lesson here is paying for a graying society isn’t easy. It’s not cheap. But it’s better to start now. My motto that I preach!  Families… prepare now!

While our birth rate in America is declining, “We’re replacing ourselves,” says Vincent Truglia of Moody’s Investors Service. Many countries have birth rates that aren’t keeping up with deaths, which means their populations will start to decline. “Japan’s fertility rate is so dead low that the population is just starting to drop — and then it will fall precipitously,” Truglia says.

For countries facing such a predicament, the most obvious solution is to raise the birth rate. Australia offers a $2,000 bonus to each couple that has a third child. “Go home and do your patriotic duty tonight,” finance minister Peter Costello urged Australians in May.

A few countries have other weapons to combat the costs of an aging population. Spain, for example, has relatively few women in the workplace. Adding them to the labor force could increase the number of workers supporting the elderly. Norway has oil revenue from the North Sea to offset the cost of national health care and pensions. Read the full story USA Today.

Senior Services Savings and Discounts is a start and good way for us to prepare and save on home care services for our aging relatives.  If you know of additional discounts and savings for older Americans, please email Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com or simply place a comment below.  WorkingCaregiver.com would love to hear from you!

Costs Are High Caring for Parents

I read a new article in the Austin American Statesman yesterday that featured dealing with the cost of Alzheimer’s.  It’s true.  But senior care overall takes a bite out of your pocket book.  The article is written by Tom Lauricella and he tells us a scary story about a woman in her early fifties caring for her mom with Alzheimer’s.  In addition to the extra food bought for her mom, the adult daughter also helped pay for medications, copayments for doctor visits, adult diapers, and the list grows totaling to $300 a month.

The dreadful part of this, the adult daughter went through her mom’s savings, as well as the money she put away for her own young daughter’s college fund. I hate to add that the adult daughter also chewed through her own savings… and is in thousands of dollars in debt.  I can only imagine what this adult daughter went through.  She admits now that her mom in gone that she does not regret any of it… the time, financial burden, etc. My heart opens to her. You see, my dad lived with Alzheimer’s for several years.. I know what it’s like.

If at all possible, please have conversations with your parents before they fall prey to a disease or an emergency happens.  I’t so important to have them and put in place the legal documents.  Because tackling tough questions at the outset can give your mom or dad to express their wishes.  This helps a long way toward avoiding family disputes down the way.

Be sure and check into our senior services discounts and savings. Simply click on the tabs above to find the services you need and obtain your senior care discount or coupon. If you need help and cannot find a resource, please email me – Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com.  Or you can go to WorkingCaregiver.com and fill out the form.

Senior Savings

Senior Discounts and Working Family Caregiver’s Member Discounts is the first source of information about caregiver discounts on the internet. With quality discounts in our program plus on-going money-saving tips, our site has everything you need to put your family caregiver status to work for you.

Senior Services Discounts is about finding solutions for seniors and the family members, in through-out the U.S.  Family members are searching for senior care resources and many times have trouble paying for them.  As I mentioned before, we don’t typically live in the same city of our aging loved ones. Basically, we’re in a crunch hoping to find quality care for our aging relatives and get help paying for the care received.
So far, we have found discounts at many businesses we would expect you to want; Home Care, Home Health care, Medicaid Planning, Elder Law, Financial Planning, Tax Planning,  Estate Planning, Nursing facilites, Assisted Living, Medical Care/House Medicine, and more. 

The very best senior discount is FREE, right? Start your senior discount search by checking out the free offers and deals that Lee Seats has found for you in About.com Freebies.

Find shopping, travel, hotel and restaurant discounts, plus links to other offers, from Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide to Frugal Living.

If you don’t mind telling people that you qualify for senior discounts, seniordiscounts.com can be a good resource for saving on thousands of products and services including airlines, car rentals, travel, sports, recreation, shopping, restaurants, national parks, medical services, pharmacies, museums, and much more.

Remember to make your own senior discounts. When you contact any company, don’t be afraid to ask about special offers, closeouts, or additional senior discounts that may be available.

Susan O’Brien at Senior Living tells us to always be aware and be careful.  Unfortunately, seniors are often the target of scams, so it’s especially important for older adults to be aware of consumer protection information. 

This free packet of consumer protection information offers advice on a wide variety of topics, including:

• Investing in a business opportunity
• Finding a home loan Internet Auctions: buying and selling
• Looking for a scholarship
• Purchasing a dream vacation  -  And more…

Want to know more? Order your Free Consumer Protection Packet now.