Home Sweet Home Care - San Francisco, CA

Home Sweet Home Care Newsletter - June 2011

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Undoubtedly, in this new economy that financial experts say we'll probably have to live with for the next three-to-five years, many of us will have to make the transition from our credit card lifestyle to one more like the 'cash and carry' lifestyle that our parents and grandparents knew.

Now that we're feeling the pinch of a sluggish economy, a lot of us have become more acutely aware of how high our credit card interest rates are and how low our savings and money market interest rates are. And since gas, food and taxes are not likely to go down any time soon-in fact, they're much more likely to go up-it's best we adopt some old-fashioned values in a hurry. Some of us should look back appreciatively at our parents and our grandparents and remember how measured and retrained they were about money. Theirs was a time when being frugal wasn't a dirty word. It was just common-sense.

Certainly the seniors who are now over 82 all remember the Great Depression and the hardships of World War II. Necessity made them learn to economize, and, of course, many of them continued to live according to those values throughout their lives, even when they no longer needed to. The old adage, "waste not, want not" still applies for many of them though, and can, undoubtedly, be the foundation for a happy life, imbued with the virtues of gratitude and modesty, for many of the rest of us.

Check out our featured article of the month, "10 Things Your Grandparents Know About Money (That You Don't)."

Shirley Cohen

Founder & CEO

****************************************

Let's Get Social with Social Media

Don't forget to check out our Twitter feed (see icon below). I think you'll be amazed by how many quality articles we find and publish on all kinds of things that affect the lives of seniors. We're very pleased and proud to offer our readers this wonderful resource library and want to invite you to check it out and sign up for our RSS feed so that you can get the latest posts on your desktop.

We'd also like to invite those readers who work directly with the eldercare community to join us on LinkedIn and Facebook (see icons below) where we can all discuss issues of concern and interest to seniors and their families. While you're on the Facebook page don't hesitate to click the "Like" option to help bring our articles to the attention of more readers.

Also, feel free to call us directly by phone at 415.776.7337 if you have any input about our newsletter, want to let us know about special community events or, if you want to inquire about our home care aide services.

...............................................................

Home Sweet Home Care, is a full-service home care aide agency serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990.

10 Things Your Grandparents Know About Money (That You Don't)

money

The U.S. may not technically be in a recession. After all, the U.S. Commerce Department says the economy grew at a 0.6% pace in the first quarter.

But most people look at things more like legendary investor Warren Buffett, who defined a recession as when "people are doing less well than they were three months, six months or eight months earlier."

Waste not, want not: How to make your food last longer

Somewhere between 25 percent and 50 percent of all food produced in the United States goes to waste, according to "From Farm to Fridge to Garbage Can " in today's New York Times. Sound too high? Take a peek inside your refrigerator and pantry. Chances are there are more than a few items there that will never make it to the table. For a family of four, these perished perishables can cost more than

$2,000 a year.

Americans at Risk for Retirement

retirement

Millions of Americans do not have adequate resources for funding their retirement years and this is not likely to get better any time soon. This point has been brought home by a study from The Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI). EBRI has been doing yeoman's work on this topic for many years. My first contact with them was an

interview I did with EBRI founder, Dallas Salisbury, 20 years ago. At that time, I did

some pro bono editing of a newsletter for a

non-profit group focused on retirement and

EBRI was the source I used.

More Older Americans Aware and Open to Caregiving Technology, Says AARP Report

Older Americans and caregivers are increasingly aware of and willing to try new technology that makes it possible to stay independent at home according to a new study by AARP. The new study, "Healthy@Home 2.0,"

asked two groups, people age 65+ and

caregivers age 45-75, about home safety,

monitoring, communications and health

technology and their willingness to use it.

The results show a growing level awareness

of some technology and an increased willingness

to use safety devices among both populations.

Holding a Family Meeting

When taking care of an elderly parent or another relative, family members often need to work cooperatively. The more people participating in care, the less alone a caregiver feels in his/her role. Books and articles about caregiving often mention the family meeting as a way to facilitate

this process.But how does one go about

having such a meeting?

Your Dog Is Watching You

You may be teaching your dog new tricks, without even trying.

Dogs are constantly learning from the reaction of human owners, picking up facial cues and anticipating their owner's behavior, new research suggests. The findings, published online in the journal Learning and Behavior, show that dogs essentially are always in training, and help explain

how many owners unknowingly teach and reward

their dog's bad behavior.

Home Sweet Home Care is a full-service home care aide agency which has been providing bonded and insured home care aide services in the San Francisco Bay area since 1990. We have a large pool of qualified and professional home care aides available to provide warm and caring services to seniors on a part-time, full-time, temporary or long-term basis. Our care providers are ready to assist seniors living with a wide range of conditions, including Alzheimer's, hip replacement recovery, post-op recovery, cardiac, cancer, stroke, Parkinson's, Hospice, to name a few. We also have live-ins. Call us today to find out how we can help at 1-800-286-2774 or visit our website at:homesweethomecare.com