What is the average monthly rate for assisted living where you live?

Unfortunately, it gets worse. Mom is now in a nursing home and it costs $12,400 a month. Since there is a five year lookback, the best thing to do something about protecting your mother's money now. I wish we had. At this rate her lifetime savings will be gone soon and she will end up on medicaid. I don't know if they even allow her to keep enough back for a funeral before she can go on medicaid.

Knock on wood, so far my Medicare and supplement insurance, and Rx insurance has been reasonable. Back when I was self-employed over a decade ago, my premiums use to jump drastically and the deductible would go up, too. That was back when women use to pay a higher rate then men for health insurance.... the APA [Obamacare] put an end to that.

And I remember having a hard time trying to find heath insurance because I thought I had a wheat allergy.... thus it was a "pre-existing condition".... guess the insurance companies thought I would OD on a loaf of bread :P The ACA also put an end to that, too.

Sounds like a GREAT deal vs. NJ! My MIL has similar services with dressing assistance added on. She is at $6600/month!

Here in Western NY, average is about $3500 with level 2 care. It just keeps going UP.

My Dad is in Independent/Assisted Living and his rent for a 4 room apartment is $4,000/month which includes dinner, housekeeping, linen service, nurse/aide on-call. This place also has different level of care, so when the time comes, Dad can add those levels.

We live in Upstate NY (north of Albany and close to Vermont border) Its expensive here. Mom was paying $4250 a month for level 2 care. This included 3 meals, reminder for meals, administering meds, laundry and housekeeping, putting in hearing aides and monitoring them, and general oversight and helping with shower once a week (except she wouldn't let them). For that she got a private single room which had a kitchen sink, set of cabinets, small fridge and microwave and bathroom. There was only room for a small table, twin or double bed, one chair and dresser. The cost increases by about $200 a month as the person needs more help. She also had incontinence materials and disposal for another $85 a month. Those costs are about average for this area, more as one gets closer to the city.

Wow, that's a bargain. when Mom was in Independent Living in Westchester County NY in 2012, a one bedroom apt with light housekeeping and 3 meals a day was $5500 per month. That's with NO ASSISTANCE. I set up her meds each week.

$4,000 a month for similar care in Minnesota. It's crazy.

You can be as frugal as possible and still never save enough, I've been doing a bit of calculation with the help of some on-line data. Figuring inflation at 3.5%, $1 today will be equivalent to $2.81 in 30 years (I'm in my 50's, that's why I used that timeline). Start looking at the examples above and projecting them into future costs if you want some sticker shock!

What scares me is the way health care insurance and co-pays keep going up - in ten years the money we thought we saved enough for our IL, AL or NH care will have to be used just to keep us alive - to pay for our health care and medicines.