Wild Card blog 2

For this wild card blog I wanted to do a little research on the costs associated with long term care within Florida, preferably in the Orlando area.  Throughout my search I found many sites and ultimately my search lead me to this site

http://www.longtermcare.gov/LTC/Main_Site/Paying_LTC/Costs_Of_Care/Costs_Of_Care.aspx

This site provided many helpful, and informative facts about long term care.  Such as overall national averages for health care costs.  The average monthly care for an assisted living facility in the U.S. is $3008 for 2008.  Also provided was a cost breakdown for all 50 states.  The figures were provided by "Genworth Financial" in march of 2008.  Their figures stated that the Florida state average for monthly assisted living was $2642, whereas Orlando had an average monthly cost of $2726.  Other notable figures on Florida averages were daily nursing home rate (private) at $213, daily nursing home rate (semi-private) $190, home health aide hourly rate $20, and homemaker services hourly rate of $17. (2008 cost of care survey, Genworth Financial, March 2008).

I then compared with the California state average for monthly assisted living which was $3099, and the state average of New York which was $3295. (2008 cost of care survey, Genworth Financial, March 2008).

This information was very interesting.  I wanted to compare the figures with that of another large payment such as a new home.  The average median home value in the United States according to the "National Association of Realtors" is $213,000 for September 2008.  Lets say a traditional 30 year fixed mortgage, with an average rate of 6.2% gives us a figure of roughly $1300 a month, plus a round figure average of $700 a month for taxes, insurance, and mortgage insurance brings us to a total of $2000 a month for a new home.  Compare that to the monthly cost of an assisted living facility in Florida of $2700.  Needless to say these figures to someone who does not have a large retirement nest egg, or living on a fixed income could be a little scary.  

So the old saying does hold true, "Its never too early to start planning for retirement".  And at the rate our country is spending money now its more important than ever to save and reach for personal financial independence.  Of course that is not the total cure for everyone's long term costs, but sound retirement planning can help to alleviate the stresses of mounting costs.