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What I Have Learned to Value Most

What I’ve Learned to Value Most

Time teaches us many things. I’ve learned that every season of life has new lessons to teach me. You never know it all and you’re never too old to learn new ones. I’ve learned lessons from my kids and my grandkids but the most important lessons I’ve learned have been from my folks. People Matter […]

Palliative and Hospice Care: Divining the Differences

a stethoscope and a pen and medical charts

If you or yours are up against a serious illness, you will likely hear the terms “palliative care” and “hospice care” — and may even be asked to choose between them while being confused by the question. There’s good reason for the confusion. Blurred Lines By most lights, “palliative” is just a multi-syllabic word for […]

A Primer on Paying for Hospice Care

USD notes, stethoscope, calculator

Updated April 2026 Hospice care, usually elected toward the end of life to alleviate pain and symptoms rather than cure an underlying disease, involves fewer medical interventions and technology than conventional medical care. For this reason, and the fact that the care is often provided in a home, in part by trained volunteers, it is […]

Does a Charitable Gift Annuity Make Sense?

coins in a jar

Updated January 2026 Maybe the phrase “the gift that keeps on giving” seems trite, but for some — in the right circumstances — it can fit charitable gift annuities. Whether a charitable gift annuity can also qualify for that other overused and abused phrase, “a win-win situation,” depends on the precise facts and circumstances. What […]

Swallowing Problems: Causes and Cures

Human anatomy,sore throat infection, chest, rib cage. 3d illustration.

Updated February 2026 The medical term for difficulty with the mechanism and process of swallowing is dysphagia. Dysphagia is a common concomitant of aging, but it also occurs in people of any age who have nerve or muscle problems. According to Ohio’s University Hospital, swallowing disorders occur in up to 22% of people who are 50 […]

Caring for the Caregiver

Friends holding cup of coffee

Caregiving can take a toll on all those who love and care for the older loved one in need of help. Perhaps those who are quickly forgotten are the spouses, children and friends of the caregiver who find themselves having to change their lives almost as much as the caregiver herself or himself. Suddenly that pivotal […]

Seniors, Cocktails, and Homeowner’s Insurance

Senior Hispanic couple outside home

Sound like a strange combination? Not really. Here’s why. Rose and George are in their early 60’s and have worked all of their lives. The magic day of retirement has come: kids are married, Rose and George have saved their money by living in a rented house, and are ready to depart the snowy Midwest. […]

Can You Avoid Running Out of Money in Retirement?

Finance graph

In a September 2023 report, of workers across the United States, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 45 percent of people of all ages cite running out of money as their greatest retirement fear. This finding is a huge wake-up call because this fear isn’t just a possibility — it’s an all-too-real scenario […]

5 Misconceptions About Aging

Grandpa at graduation with grandkids

I’ve always been told to be careful about assumptions. It’s really a wise recommendation when it comes to aging. Generalities that once might have held a thimble of truth have been blown out of the water by the Greatest Generation and the beloved Baby Boomers. When social security was first signed into law, not many […]