Having their, and your Medicare Card laminated is a good idea too, as the do tend to degrade, especially men, who sit on their wallets continuously! You can get this done at Kinkos, or your nearby copymart!
Margaret, I had to chuckle about the moth-eaten Medicare card. My Dad had one of those in his wallet along with 4 xerox copies of the card. I was able to get my Dad a brand new Medicare card so he was happy to get that :)
It is interesting to see what else one carries in their wallet. It was fun looking at photos of my Dad back when he was 20 something [he's now 93], my Mom's photo, and my high school photo. Dad carries one credit card and so far he is very good about using it.
Then the misc shopper type discount cards, oh well, I kept those in the wallet because the leather was so stretched out that if there wasn't enough cards in the slots the cards would fall out. I wasn't about to buy Dad a new wallet, as his old one was nicely bent so it was comfortable when he sat on it :)
As for managing an elder's finances, large 3-ring binders were my friend. The large green binder was for the bank.... the large blue binders were for stocks... the orange binder was for the senior living facility as their main flyer colors were orange... you get my drift. It makes finding paperwork so easy.
Good advice. I am 85, living in an independent living facility that is not near my children. As a result of this article I will mail my older son copies of all my relevant cards so he will have a record of them in addition to the other pertinent info I have given him.
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What's in Your Parent's Wallet?
It is interesting to see what else one carries in their wallet. It was fun looking at photos of my Dad back when he was 20 something [he's now 93], my Mom's photo, and my high school photo. Dad carries one credit card and so far he is very good about using it.
Then the misc shopper type discount cards, oh well, I kept those in the wallet because the leather was so stretched out that if there wasn't enough cards in the slots the cards would fall out. I wasn't about to buy Dad a new wallet, as his old one was nicely bent so it was comfortable when he sat on it :)
As for managing an elder's finances, large 3-ring binders were my friend. The large green binder was for the bank.... the large blue binders were for stocks... the orange binder was for the senior living facility as their main flyer colors were orange... you get my drift. It makes finding paperwork so easy.