Talking Money with Aging Parents: Essential Conversations We Need to Have with Cameron Huddleston, Author, Award-Winning Journalist & Director of Education and Content at Carefull
Having a conversation about finances with our aging parents can be challenging, but it doesn’t always have to be. However, it’s important that we have these conversations, ensuring that they have financial security and peace of mind.
My guest today is Cameron Huddleston. She is an author, speaker, and award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience writing about personal finance. At the age of 35, Cameron stepped into the caregiving role for her mom who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This inspired her to write the book "Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances". She realized how important it was to have money talks with our loved ones before an emergency or health issue arises. She helps families break the taboo of talking about money, and she brings all of her knowledge as the role of Director of Education and Content for Carefull, the financial safety service, to help protect aging adults' daily finances.
Today, we talk about why this conversation is so intimidating, how many people avoid having this conversation, and understanding why our parents and loved ones are reluctant to go there to talk about finances. We also discuss the cost if we wait and don’t plan ahead, how we can get our siblings involved, how we can be set up for success and prepared for these important dialogues, what not to say, how we can initiate conversation in a positive way, plan for the future cost of long-term care, and how we want an agent in place and what documents are important to put in place. We also discuss what we can do if Mom or Dad can’t pay for care or medical bills and what resources are available to us to help our parents age well. Lastly, we talk about how we can pay it forward and start talking to our kids. This is the greatest gift we can give our loved ones - to have all of our financial and legal documents in place. Thank you, Cameron, for the insightful conversation!
Cameron shares about:
Conversations about finances with aging parents can be challenging but important
Her experience as a caregiver for her mother with Alzheimer's
What inspired her to write the book "Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk"
The importance of having money talks with loved ones before emergencies or health issues arise
Helping families break the taboo of talking about money
Why people avoid talking about finances with their parents
Understanding why parents and loved ones are reluctant to talk about finances is important
Why waiting and not planning ahead can have significant costs
Siblings should be involved in these conversations
How to be prepared and set up for success in having these dialogues
The ways we can initiate conversation in a positive way
Understanding the landscape for the future costs of long-term care and what important documents to have in place
What to do if parents can't pay for care or medical bills and what resources are available
Paying it forward by talking to our kids is important and having financial and legal documents in place is the greatest gift we can give our loved ones
Where we can learn more and connect with Cameron and Carefull
Learn more at cameronhuddleston.com & www.getcarefull.com
About Cameron Huddleston & Carefull
Cameron Huddleston is an author, speaker and award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience writing about personal finance. She was inspired to write her book, "Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances", while caring for her mom, who had Alzheimer's disease. She realized how important it was for adult children to have money talks with parents before an emergency or health issue leaves them unable to manage their finances on their own. Since her book was released in 2019, she has been helping families break the taboo of talking about money and continues to do so in her role as director of education and content at Carefull, the first service built to protect aging adults' daily finances.
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