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1. Understand How Long-Term Care Insurance Helps You Save
You probably think long-term care insurance is something your grandma worries about, right?
Well, surprise. It’s one of those things you’ll be glad you handled early when life throws curveballs.
This type of insurance helps cover the massive costs of nursing homes, assisted living, or in-home care when you can’t handle everything yourself anymore.
And if you think Medicare’s gonna swoop in and save you. Nope, it won’t cover most of these expenses.
That’s where long-term care insurance comes in clutch. It protects your savings, your family, and your sanity.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Check your state’s average long-term care costs on Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey and compare it to your insurance options to see how much you could actually save.
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2. Choose a Plan That Matches Your Budget and Needs
You wouldn’t buy the most expensive phone plan if you barely text, right?
The same logic applies here. Don’t pay for coverage you don’t need.
Policies vary in what they cover, how long they pay benefits, and how much they cost each month.
You can go for shared coverage (if you’re married) or shorter coverage periods to save on premiums while still protecting your money.
The key is to pick what actually fits your life, not your neighbor’s.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Compare plans using SmartAsset’s Long-Term Care Calculator or talk to a licensed agent who can show you policies side-by-side in minutes.
3. Save More by Starting Your Policy Early
You know how your car insurance is cheaper when you’re young and careful?
Same idea here. The earlier you get long-term care insurance, the less you pay in premiums.
Waiting until you’re 60s means you’ll pay way more, and you might not even qualify if your health takes a nosedive.
Buying young locks at lower rates gives you peace of mind for decades.
Plus, it feels nice knowing you’re already one step ahead of everyone else procrastinating on this decision.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Get a quick quote through LTC Consumer to see what your monthly cost would be today versus waiting ten years.
Bonus Tip: Use Long-Term Care Insurance to Protect Your Savings
You’ve done the smart stuff. Picked your plan, started early, and figured out what’s covered.
Now it’s time to make sure all that effort actually sticks.
Here’s the thing. Long-term care insurance protects you from big expenses, but you still need a safe place to grow your cash while you’re not using it.
That’s where a high-yield cash account like Betterment Cash Reserve comes in. It’s FDIC-insured, earns interest, and keeps your savings easy to access when life decides to test your patience.
People love it because it’s simple, automatic, and built for folks who’d rather chill knowing their money’s working in the background (kind of like having your own financial bodyguard).
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Open a free Betterment Cash Reserve account, move a chunk of your emergency or long-term care fund there, and let it grow quietly while staying ready for anything life throws your way.
4. Know What Expenses Long-Term Care Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Here’s the tricky part. Not everything is covered.
You might assume the policy pays for everything once you’re in care, but nope, some things fall through the cracks.
Most policies won’t cover home renovations, daily household bills, or informal family caregiving.
You’ll want to budget for those separately or stash a little emergency fund on the side.
Better to be prepared now than shocked later when the bill shows up.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Review the “Exclusions” section of your policy carefully and ask your agent directly about any costs you’re unsure about (trust me, they’ve heard it all).
5. Use Long-Term Care Insurance to Secure Retirement Savings
Think of your retirement savings like a beach umbrella. You want to keep it safe from unexpected storms.
Long-term care insurance acts as the shield that keeps your money from blowing away when medical costs hit hard.
Without it, one long hospital stay or assisted living bill can drain years of savings in a few months.
With it, you keep control of your assets and avoid burdening your kids with crazy expenses.
In short, it lets your retirement money do what it’s meant to. Support your freedom, not your hospital bills.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Talk to a Betterment financial advisor or check Betterment Retirement Accounts to safely grow your retirement savings funds.
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And that’s it!
Never forget it…
🍔 A Bigger Bank Account Is Waiting For You!
😉 Dale!
