I hope you find this article
1 as useful as I did. We are all have dependent parents or elders in our household. Most of them may be retired and depend on their pension(which doesn't come often), some may even have a small shop just to keep active(which doesn't bring in enough cash to cater for their needs), some may have one form of medical needs or the other(and we know how important this is).We know that one thing that may bother most of us is how we will be able to cater for their financial needs, their access to quality healthcare, provision of some sort of emotional support to them, and help them to engage in activities that make them happy.
Here are some tips
1.
Get them a health insuranceThere is a National Health Insurance Scheme and I believe there are also helath insurance schemes in the states too. And the fee to buy one for them that will get them access to quality healthcare is as low as N50,000.
2.
Put them on monthly allowanceWe already how important this is. Have you budget every month and set aside a fixed amount for monthly allowance for them. Personally, I am of the opinion that it doesn't need to be monthly. It may be weekly, biweekly etc. Just give them something every week.(If you dey give your girlfriend money but your mama/papa dey village or house dey suffer because you nor dey give am shimgbam, you dey craze.)
3.
Open a bank account for themIf your parents or elderly dependents do not have a bank account, please open for them. Do not rely on sending money to them through someone becasue no matter how much trust you have for the person, the person may one day take some portion out to solve their own family need. If your parents have their own account, you will rest assured that no one will tamper with it.
4.
Put them on a special call planWe know how chatty are parents get when they start getting old. Maybe due to loneliness and boredom. To tackle this, put them on a cheap call plan so that they can call you or any of you siblings or their friends and talk for as long as they want.
5.
Provide EntertainmentIf you can buy them a TV set and a DSTV or GoTV decoder. Get them a generator too. This will ensure that they can find something to keep themselves entertained whenever they get bored. My grandma who doesn't understand English loves English Soap Operas. I often wonder how she stays glue to the screen when she doesn't understand a word.
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Help them set up something they love doingSome parents may love gardening. Find a small acre of land that they can grow vegetables of whatever appeals to them. Some may love to sow, get them a sowing machine, if they already have but are lacking some tools, get it for them.
Suggest some other ways you can cater financially for you parents or elderly dependents.
1.
https://nairametrics.com/2023/04/02/financial-tips-for-catering-for-dependent-parents/