TakingCareofGrandma.com

Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned Since I Quit My Job for Caregiving

When I began caring for my grandma, I was working full time in a job I loved. I’d been there for 5 years, so at that point, I had already created my work family. 

Banner: Quote from Rob Lowe on Caregiving

Early last year, due to a loved one going on hospice (and a few other factors), I decided that working full time while balancing my caregiving responsibilities. I quit my job to care for my loved one until he passed away and then launched my own graphic and web design business. 

People quit their jobs due to caregiving. It’s a fact. If you’re in the same boat, you’re not alone. An estimated 1 in 3 family caregivers quits their job due to the demands of caregiving1.

Let me tell you: It hasn’t been the easiest ride.

I’ve learned a lot since then. There are a lot of things to consider before you quit a job, and even more when you start your own business. 

Here are the top 10 lessons I’ve learned since I quit my job for caregiving.

10Good luck getting credit.
Unless you are bringing in boku bucks from an online business or you blew up from a brilliant idea, it can be difficult to get credit. If you don’t have much money coming in, lenders will be hesitant to extend your credit because you have no track record.

The same goes for buying a house. If you are considering quitting your job and branching out on your own… and you are looking at purchasing a home, try to get the pre-approval and employment verification out of the way before you take the leap. Self-employed mortgage applicants must prove stability of employment and income, usually going back two years. This can be a bit tougher for you if you are self-employed, unless you’re the next overnight Instagram sensation.

9 If you don’t get health insurance, look forward to getting taxed.
Learn from my example. I shrugged it off and paid a huge penalty when I filed my taxes. The 2018 tax penalty for not having health insurance was $695 or 2% of your yearly income for adults, whichever amount is more.

8 YOU are responsible for putting away the money for your taxes and making sure they get paid.
It’s not like when you work at a job and they take the taxes and withholding. If you’re not diligent throughout the year, you can owe a huge chunk of money. I’ve made it a practice to put about 30% of the money I make from my self-employment away for taxes. 

7 There’s nobody to throw under the bus when the job doesn’t get done.

At the end of the day, if you are self-employed, your neck is on the chopping block if your clients aren’t happy. 

6 You will spend more time than you ever expected grappling with the clock.

Have you ever heard of Parkinson’s law? Parkinson’s law says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Take it from me, it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in a project and then let it suck time away from your other responsibilities. It’s also easy to put things off until the last minute once you think you’ve figured out how long things take.

Staying on track is key. You have to create a system of time management that works for you.

There will be also times you find yourself with TOO MUCH time on your hands. Use down time for planning your next moves. What can you create that can generate income for you passively while you aren’t busy working on projects?

5 Your personal experience can help you earn money.

You can leverage your caregiving journey to bring in money or build your empire and help others at the same time. As our grandparents and parents get older and begin needing care (and 70% of people will need some level of care)… the market for services catering to family caregivers is only going to keep booming. Find out how to convert your caregiving experience into a career.

4 It’s not enough to be good at a thing, you have to find your niche.

When I quit my job, my ego was at an all time high. I figured that just having the skills of web and graphic design was enough for people to knock down my door. Having highly marketable skills is great, but if you don’t know who your target audience is, they’re basically null and void. Figure out who needs what you have and go after them!

2 Most successful people don’t just do *one thing.*

As I look around at my role models and the people I know who are leading the kind of life I’d like to life, I see one thing. Multiple talents and income streams. Figure out *all of the ways* you can make money now that you’re on your own. I sat down and created what I lovingly called my “Escape Plan” and listed out all of the possibilities I could think of to generate an income for myself just in case one of my streams didn’t hash out.

2Bedside manner is everything.

Get your mind out of the gutter 😉

How you interact with your clients and your communication with them can make or break you. Too much information, and they are overwhelmed. Not enough, and they feel like they’re in the dark. Try to map out all of the processes and communication points of your business so you have the right practices and tools in place to support a successful relationship. Throughout your relationships with your clients, show them how much you appreciate them. When you do a great job and people love how you work with them, they will tell their friends and the business will keep on coming!Stay positive.

Starting your own business can be hard. It is especially challenging if you walked away from a job that you truly cared about in the midst of a caregiving storm. You know that the decision you made was right for you. Keep your head up and believe that the Universe will provide. With the right efforts, you will see that things start falling into place.

1 You’re the boss.
That means you can take a break when you want to. You can schedule work when you want to. You can build your whole life around your business. As time goes on, you’ll learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you can get away with. You can go on long breaks (as long as you plan ahead and communicate with your clients). You can skip a day of work and not feel bad about it. 

Have you started your own business to free up your life for caregiving?

I’d love to hear about it. What have you learned? Share your experience in the comments below 👇👇👇

Sources:

32% of Employees Quit Jobs to Provide Informal Care at Home

You Can Use Your Caregiving Experience for a Higher Purpose

After you’ve been caregiving for a while, life can feel different.

The problems and worries of your life before can seem, well, insignificant.

Whether it’s from an awakening about the brevity of it all that shakes you so hard you want to spend every waking moment fueling your passions, or you’ve realized there’s more to life than what we’ve been led to believe matters… it can be easy to call into question what we have been told is required to have a happy, successful life.

You can feel a stirring. Like a small flame that grows stronger with each day.

That stirring is telling you you’re destined for something more. 

More time. For yourself. For your family and friends. For what is important to you.

More freedom. To move as you wish. To rise and lay your head when you choose. To work, to play, to rest, to just be.

More impact. On your finances. On your self esteem. On the world.

You just want more.

Why not create the opportunity for more yourself?

Photo: Rachel (left) and Gael (right), at the National Caregiving Conference. Gael coaches caregivers, but not the way you think. She helps them infuse yoga practices into their caregiving life to reduce stress and grapple with the emotions that come along with caregiving.

If you’re a seasoned family caregiver, or perhaps caregiving has ended, you have developed an amazing skill set and unique insight into the challenges and emotional struggles of family caregivers.

Why let that experience go to waste?

You can turn the battles and victories from your caregiving journey into a venture that can support your financial independence and self sufficiency. At the same time, you will be sharing your time and talents with people who need them. 

There’s plenty of money out there for all of us. The market for caregiving is only going to keep growing.

With a $308 billion cumulative market opportunity between 2017 and 2021, up from AARP’s January 2016 projections of $279 billion for 2016-2020, caregiving continues to represent a vast, multifaceted frontier of opportunity. Whether integrating current solutions and making them better or addressing gaps in underserved areas, great needs persist for helping caregivers tame daily tasks, navigate the health system, and deliver a high quality of life for their loved ones while caring for themselves.

CAREGIVING INNOVATION FRONTIERS 2017, AARP, p11

The first step to converting your caregiving experience into a career is becoming a Certified Caregiving Consultant™.

This one of a kind training helps you build the skills required to understand the needs of family caregivers so you can offer them a marketable service or support. 

What if I don’t want to be a consultant?

First off, let me say that consultant is very broad term. The dictionary defines it as a person who provides expert advice professionally.

You might be thinking, I can’t give advice to other family caregivers. My own journey was a train wreck. 

Well, you’re right about that. Any family caregiver can tell you how they feel about “advice.”

Photo: Saskia (left), a fellow CCC and owner of CreatingBeingWell, and Rachel (right)
Saskia (left), owner of CreatingBeingWell and a CCC, with Rachel (right) at the 2018 National CareGiving Conference. Saskia coaches family caregivers but also markets to local business owners. She’s building a huge empire in her neck of the woods.

The best consultants help lead you to your own solutions through listening, asking good questions, and validating your experience. 

That’s what you learn through the CCC program.

You don’t have to ever interact with family caregivers to use these skills.

In the simplest terms, a consultant is someone who offers their expertise as a service to others. 

A consultant could:

  • Contract with a print or online publication to write articles focused on caregiving 
  • Launch a blog, video channel, community or website focused on caregiving (and monetize it)
  • Start a service or launch a product for family caregivers 
  • Provide feedback on product development (like a new app or good in the marketplace)
  • Offer evaluations and help for business or organization who want to make their policies and practices more family caregiver 
  • Give family caregivers hope and support through coaching

These are just a few examples. Notice I mentioned interfacing with family caregivers last. That’s because you can do a lot for those who are caring for a loved one without ever making contact.

If you’re not sure just exactly how you could use your caregiving experience, Denise at CareGiving.com helps you figure out what your simple solution could be. When you complete the training, you get access to leading experts (called “Skills Consultants”) in the caregiving industry who have also completed the training and can support you to sharpen your CCC skills, build your outreach plan, and get the most out of our network.

If you think a new path is right for you, the time is now.

Find out more about becoming a Certified Caregiving Consultant and sign up.

I’d love to talk to you about my own experience becoming a CCC. Feel free to reach out to me so we can chat more.

The Tragic Story of Gma’s Friend, Betty

Back in the days where my grandma was getting along on her own, she had a good friend named Betty.

She and Betty were in the same Bible Study group and they always sat together in the same spot at the front of the church.  I think they took turns driving. My gma always had a date for the monthly senior dinner in her friend Betty. 

While Grandma was recovering from her own issues, Betty ended up in the hospital after being found on the floor from a fall. She passed away.

A couple months later, one of the church staff tried to throw Betty’s unfortunate passing in my face as a reason to “place my grandma.” 

I assured the well-meaning person: that was them and this was us.

The moral of the story is every situation is different. 

That person didn’t know me and probably still could never conceive the fierce commitment and loyalty I hold for my grandma.

Admittedly back when I was all about Rachel I would let 2 days go by without hearing from Gma. But never in modern history has that happened.

If I haven’t heard from her within 20 minutes I’m freaking out. 

Certainly, people who do not have close connections in life—someone that has five minutes in a day to call and check on them and can go by or send someone for a wellness check if they don’t get a return call—should live in an environment where help is right around the corner.

Maybe since Betty was still driving and living alone and seemed to be getting along just fine, nobody thought to ask questions about if that was still working for her. And maybe they believed she was getting along just fine. And maybe she was.

But that doesn’t have anything to do with us. 

Don’t let someone else’s horror story dictate your future.

If I had listened to that person’s suggestion, I would have robbed myself of precious years with Gma I will never be able to get back and an experience that has truly changed my life. 

Has anyone every tried to convince you to do something out of fear? How did you handle the situation? I’d love to hear your experience. Share with me below in the comments.

*Betty’s name has been changed to protect her identity

Convert Your Guilt into Gratitude

As caregivers, we feel guilty for a million reasons.

We feel guilty when we’re taking a break, because we feel like we don’t deserve it.

We feel guilty because people tell us we should take a break (uh, hello, we know), but we just don’t have the time or energy to figure out how.

We feel guilty for resting (even when we have permission), because we feel like we should be doing something.

We feel guilty when we hear about other caregiving situations, because we think our situation isn’t as difficult or complex.

We feel guilty when we only have enough bandwidth to make sure the bare minimum is handled.

We feel guilty when we decline invitations from our friends because we’re maxed out.

We feel guilty because we should be doing more. 

We feel guilty for things that haven’t even happened. 

The “what if’s”.

What if something happens to my loved one when I’m away from him or her?

What if I make a mistake and everything blows up in my face?

What if I give bad advice and things turn out to be a disaster? 

What if something happens to me? 

These are the worst guilt feelings because they are completely disabling. They leave us stuck, immobilized.  

I’m not immune to guilt.

Earlier this week, I came home from my meal delivery route not feeling well. The only thing I could think of was crawling into my bed. As I exchanged my daywear for something a little more comfortable, guilt came over me like a housecoat. 

I felt guilty for not getting work done or using my time productively. 

I realized that feeling guilty wasn’t going to help me feel better any more quickly. I obviously needed the rest. Before too long, I found myself saying out loud, “I’m grateful I have the flexibility to rest when I need to,”

Today, I woke up late. After the initial, “Holy crap it’s 9:00” smoke cleared.. I decided it was too late for coffee. I sat down at my computer and piddled around. After a little while, I felt myself getting restless, so I decided to go on an adventure. I needed to pick up Grandma’s colostomy bags and CBD oil in Midtown. I took the long way there, stopping for coffee. I took the long way back, too. 

As I got closer to my house, I thought, “Gee,  I wish everyday was like this… being able to get up when I feel like it (not having to make sure Gma gets up in the morning) and get out in the world for a little while and see people in the morning.” I started feeling guilty, and then I quickly remembered to be grateful. After all, this is only temporary. There will be a day when my life and routine won’t be dictated by caregiving. Until then, I should be forgiving and compassionate with myself when my day doesn’t go as I planned or I don’t do everything I set out to do. I will be grateful for opportunities to take a break, the flexibility I have created for myself, and what I have accomplished.

I figured out that when I convert my guilt into gratitude, I have found it is easier to get unstuck and get on with my life. I am able to move forward with peace and joy. A little self-compassion and forgiveness goes a long way. 

My challenge to you, dear readers: 

Silence that guilt feeling– you know, the one that’s telling you that you don’t deserve to rest, that you’re not working hard enough, that your situation isn’t so tough. When remorse and regret start creeping in, proclaim your what you are grateful for. 

Become the Head Caregiver in Charge with the complete Handbook!

Just over four years ago, I began caring for my grandma. I cared for her by myself (pretty much) for two years before bringing in help.

Like many others caring for their loved ones, there were times I refused to accept the fact that other people care for my grandma how I would care for her.

I thought hiring outside help would be too much for me to deal with at the time. So I kept putting it off. And putting it off. “I’ll just think about this later.”

I can honestly say that one of my few regrets is not doing it sooner.

I could have freed up so much more time and prevented some major detours on my path to fame and fortune 

I can never get that time back, but hopefully, you can save yourself some precious time and get out from underneath all that caregiving.

If you’ve been looking at hiring private caregivers, the Head Caregiver in Charge Handbook is for you.

It will show you how to hire private caregivers the right way. Once you follow the steps outlined in the Handbook, you will be running your very own in-home care business focused on your loved one.

Tell me more
Screenshot: page inside Head Caregiver in Charge HCIC Complete Handbook how this handbook is organized preview

Many people are already doing something like this, but they’re paying cash under the table.

That’s okay, but it’s kind of risky. I address the risks in the Handbook.

Sure, it requires some energy and effort on your end. Getting everything up and running is the hardest part. Once you have everything going smoothly, you can get back to your dreams and aspirations before you became a caregiver.

That’s right, an added bonus of becoming an HCIC is the ability to compartmentalize caregiving.

What? You mean I’ll have time that’s guilt and worry free?

Of course, always in the back of our minds, we fret over our loved ones’ safety and security, but once you know you have a solid support team in place, you will actually be able to turn your brain off and get back to your life. You will have regular time throughout the week you can count on to get things done and accomplish your goals.

What are you waiting for?

Do it today! Become the Head Caregiver in Charge

Get the The Head Caregiver in Charge (HCIC) Handbook

PRESENTING.. The Long Term Care Calculator!

I created this calculator long ago before I brought in her Sidekicks to help me see how much it would cost.

Instead of letting it collect dust, I made some tweaks so you can use it to see how much care will cost for your loved one, and forecast the cost of increases of care.

Whether you are leveraging your loved one’s private assets or using a long term care insurance policy to pay for some of their care, this calculator can not only help you figure out how much you can pay your caregivers, but also forecast how much your loved one’s care might cost over time as their needs change.

Tell me more

Join me LIVE!

I will be hosting a LIVE webinar to walk you through how to use the calculator Wednesday, August 7 at 8:00pm central.

To save your seat up for the webinar, go here: http://bit.ly/TCGLTCC

My relentless pursuit for the others – EXCLUSIVE feature on AlzAuthors.com!

I met this amazing group of ladies at the National Caregiving Conference. They call themselves the AlzAuthors.

They are six daughters who have experienced the loss of a loved one with dementia and chose to write about their personal stories to help others along their journey.

Now, they feature hundreds of books and authors of all kinds, from memoirs to practical guides, and yes, even bloggers like me.

Check out my reflection on searching for support, sending out smoke signals, and starting this blog at alzauthors.com.

The link is: https://alzauthors.com/2019/07/09/8946/

8 Ways to Make Money While Entrenched in Caregiving

When you’re a caregiver, sometimes it means you have to scale back on gainful employment or even take it off your plate altogether. It can be hard to bring in the money you need to support yourself.

It’s no fun being broke or unemployed. But all hope is not lost.

Fortunately, thanks to all the technology we have today, there are a number of ways you can make some bank on your own terms. 

Driving

If you have a car, it can be a great asset to you while caregiving. You can drive for a number of different companies, all at the same time and setting your own hours.

1. Delivering Passengers

Ridesharing has disrupted transportation and changed the way a lot of people think about making money. If you are a people person and you have solid blocks of time in your schedule where you can drive during periods of high demand (weekend evenings and late nights, during rush hour), you could earn good money driving for Uber or Lyft.

Besides earning money driving, you can also earn money for people you refer to become drivers. 

I have driven for Uber and I always have a ball! It’s so much fun driving around the city and getting to know all of your different passengers. It’s a great way to network, actually.

UberLyft
Sign up for Uber using my link https://partners.uber.com/i/p2g5v

Sign up for Lyft using my link https://www.lyft.com/drivers/HILES71215

2. Delivering Food

If you’re not so much into spending time with people or not crazy about the idea of having a bunch of different people getting in and out of your car, delivering takeout might be a great option for you.

At any given time, people can call up food whenever they feel like it through services like Uber Eats and Postmates (my favorite). There are a number of major food delivery companies you can drive for to deliver food to hungry people and stack up your dough.

Some of the major players in the on-demand food delivery sector:

Uber Eats is a way you can drive and earn money while caregiving

Uber Eats

Sign up at https://partners.uber.com/i/p2g5v

Doordash is a way you can drive and earn money while caregiving

Doordash 

Sign up at https://doordash.com/dasher/signup/

Postmates is a way you can drive and earn money while caregiving

Postmates

Sign up at https://fleet.postmates.com/

Grubhub is a way you can drive and earn money while caregiving

Grubhub

Sign up at https://driver.grubhub.com/

3. Doing Odd Jobs 

From simple tasks like moving furniture to being a personal assistant, you can use help people who need something done and make money at the same time. 

TaskRabbit is a way you can complete odd jobs and earn money while caregiving

Task Rabbit

TaskRabbit is a site where people post all types of tasks, from simple errands to big projects.

Sign up at https://taskrabbit.com/become-a-tasker

Fiverr is a way you can complete odd jobs and earn money while caregiving

Fiverr

Fiverr is a great way to make money while checking off other people’s to-dos as well as those looking for freelancers on projects.

Sign up at https://fiverr.com/start_selling

When you can’t leave the house

If you are so entrenched in caregiving that you can’t leave the premises, there are options for making money from the comfort of your home. Consider exploring the opportunities below if you’re looking for a way to make some positive cash flow happen.

4. Becoming Certified Caregiving Specialist

Would you like to earn extra money by running your own business? Would you like to set your own work schedule which allows you the time you need to devote to your caregiving responsibilities? Would you like to support family caregivers by helping them manage their To Do lists?

If so, the Certified Caregiving Specialist™ training program at Caregiving.com may be right for you. As a CCS, you become a family caregiver’s virtual or in-person assistant. 

Learn more and sign up at https://www.caregiving.com/ccs/

5. Building a Side Hustle

If you need a gig that truly meets your needs in terms of logistics, you might consider dreaming up your own hustle. Nowadays, you can start a business you can run from home with minimal effort if you need to bring in some money. Certainly, it will require some work, but you will have the power and flexibility to set your own schedule and workload.

Before I became self-employed, a good friend of mine sent me this book as a gift. I read through it and it helped me realize I had a number of talents and skills I could monopolize on. 

I highly recommend it if you are thinking about launching a part time side gig outside of your caregiving life 

6. Becoming a Virtual Assistant

If you are a whiz with technology or you have previous office experience, becoming a virtual assistant may be a great option for you. You can sign up with a company that offers this service, or you could launch it as your own side hustle. 

Popular Sites to Sign up on:

Upwork is a way you can get freelance gigs while caregiving

Upwork

TaskRabbit is a site where people post all types of tasks, from simple errands to big projects.

Sign up at https://upwork.com/i/how-it-works/freelancer/

Fiverr is a way you can get freelance gigs while caregiving

Fiverr

Fiverr is a great way to make money while checking off other people’s to-dos as well as those looking for freelancers on projects.

Sign up at https://fiverr.com/start_selling

7. Becoming an Investor 

If you have some funds to play with, consider leveraging those dollars and playing your hand on Wall Street.

With Stash Invest, you can investing with as little as $5 and build your own custom investment, retirement, and custodial portfolios. For over a year now, I’ve been using Stash Invest to help me earn on money I put aside and save for retirement.

If you have a little know how (and even if you don’t – they have great resources to help you learn more and get started), you could make your money go to work for you.

Sign up and become an investor at https://get.stashinvest.com/rachelgeca3

Bonus: When you refer your friends, you and your friends will each get $5 when they sign up.

Extra Bonus: You can also share a gift link with friends and family to ask for the best gift of all—cash to invest for a better future!

8. Signing up on Rewards Sites: Not Money but just as Good

Rewards sites are a simple way of getting gift cards and even actual cash that you can then use to buy the things you need.

Granted, they are not going to provide all the money you need to live on, but they can help you with affording the little extras.

Rewards sites might be great for you if you have chunks of time where you’re sitting around waiting or doing nothing. You could be:

  1. watching videos
  2. filling out surveys
  3. clicking on emails in your inbox
  4. earning points/money on purchases you’d be already making anyway.

Here are some of the most popular rewards sites:

MyPoints

Sign up & earn

Swagbucks

Sign up & earn

InboxDollars

Sign up & earn

Mypoints is my favorite. I’ve been with them for over 10 years and earned over 68,000 points doing very little. That amounts to 43 $15 Amazon gift cards or 10 $50 CVS giftcards… anyway you stack it, I think it’s a great deal for the energy that went into it.

Here’s a link to a great smackdown on rewards sites that lists even MORE sites you can earn on: https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/the-best-survey-sites-to-make-extra-money/

What have you done to earn a living or make extra cash while caregiving?
I’d love to hear your experience. Share it in the comments below 👇👇👇

Disclaimer: This blog post/email contains affiliate and referral links which may reward me in the event of a subscription or sale. I use these funds to go to feed my cats. Thanks for the cat food.

Long Term Care Explained

“Long term care” is a term you might have heard if you’ve ever interacted with the health care system or aging services. You’re going to be hearing it more and more as growing numbers of Americans reach age 65 and the home care worker labor shortage surges to record levels. 

In this post, I’ll break down all the common suffixes that come behind the phrase “long term care.”

Long Term Care as a Service

You’ve been told your loved one needs long term care. When we first hear from a doctor or hospital social worker that our loved one needs “long term care,” it can be daunting. Most of us have no context for what that really means, so our minds go directly to the nursing home. 

[Read more…]

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