Posted on 01/20/2020 7:34:05 AM PST by oh8eleven
64-year-old Terry Robison is a working-class retiree trying to make his money last throughout the remainder of his life. And Holiday Inn is the clear winner.
That’s according to a Facebook post from Robison in which he evaluated the per-day cost of staying in a retirement home for seniors and the daily cost of staying at a Holiday Inn. Robison found out that when applying the senior discount he qualifies for, the Holiday Inn would cost less than $60 per day. The senior home, on the other hand, cost around $188 per day, making it more than three times more expensive than the hotel chain.
“That leaves $128.77 a day for lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service, laundry, gratuities and special TV movies. Plus, they provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc. Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap. $5-worth of tips a day and you’ll have the entire staff scrambling to help you,” Robison wrote in a Facebook post. “They treat you like a customer, not a patient.”
(Excerpt) Read more at gritpost.com ...
Many years ago I had met a person who was a brother of a very nice lady who lived next door to my girlfriend.
The brother was a bum, and his sister would allow him to live in her house rather than him be homeless.
One day just before Thanksgiving, I witnessed him deliberately throw a brick through a business window and wait for the police to arrest him.
The name of the game was the judge would sentence him to 4 months at Deer Island in Boston Harbor, where he would spend the winter, and reappear in the Spring. - Tom
““Assisted living” is a scam.”
My 95 year old uncle lived in one for almost 6 years. His wife died and no kids and while healthy he was prone to falling and had seizures every so often.
He was super independent and did not want to live with family(he was offered numerous times)but realized he would end up dead living alone either from a fall or something similar.
What Average Joe has that sort of money? I know a lady living in an assisted care place. It’s nicer than a nursing home but the costs are ridiculous. Room prices start at $3k/mo for a studio with meals that are one step above school lunches and light housekeeping (vacuum and bathroom cleaning). The facility has no amenities.
Everything else is paid out of pocket. She pays $165 to have someone make sure she doesn’t trip getting to the toilet once or twice a night. Geez, get a potty chair by the bed and empty it every morning to save $5k/mo.
Oops, I nuked my response. My reply was many hotel chains have extended stay operations and senior citizen discounts.
The mayor of Austin, TX is buying up hotels to house the homeless. After a week, you won’t be able to drive by without having your smeller assaulted.
Hi, mplsconservative-!
“I hope the guy stays healthy or his plan is not going to work.”
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Most likely it will actually help him with the funds should he eventually have to go into an Assisted Living Center.
He’s saving money each day/week/year and banking it. So that’ll make more funds available for when it comes to the point of actually not being able to take care of himself.
Until then, he’s living, I mean really living, not being told what to do, when to do it and he can enjoy the grandchildren if they want to visit. Not many Assisted Living Centers will let grandchildren into their pools. LOL
I read this article earlier and told my beloved about it. We own our home and plan to have visiting nurses should the time come. We simply cannot see signing over a home we’ve paid for only to have to worry about what happens when an Assisted Living Center decides the value of the home has become out spent by the time in the Center.
We have a wonderful neighbor and she went into an Assisted Living Center and about 6 months later, she was gone.
Sigh. I think it was from sheer boredom. And the place she stayed was/is a nice place. She just became ‘old’ being in that place.
It know it’s always a tough call to make, though.
My MIL is at the family home and has doctors come to see her and a visiting nurse. The 2nd oldest bother is staying at the home and he along with the 2 sisters are really good about monitoring her finances and medical needs.
Still, that’s in NY and no way, no how, are we going back up Northeast.
We’re Texas-rooted and really like to live out our lives here.
About the only thing I didn’t like is his cavalier attitude about the tips.
I’m hoping he’s giving more than $5 daily as tips! I like to tip more than that going out to eat.
While he’s correct about the staff liking the tips, I do it more because I consider it a part of ‘Pay It Forward,’ for the fine service. I also happen to like giving working folks a reason to smile! I consider it an opportunity to thank the Lord God for my life and His Mercy to me with the blessings he bestowed on me when I didn’t deserve it.
Well, one would hope he is setting aside some money for the future when he is older and decrepit. Why would Holiday Inn throw him out? He’s a paying customer and a decent guest.
I know someone much the same. He gets free flight miles, free stays and gift cards galore. Too bad he’s not smart enough to put the cards to good use like his mortgage.
“That said, I doubt the Holiday Inn will provide help with lifting, toileting assistance, bathing, medications and such.”
Medicare and Visiting Angels would take care of it,
Retired home health R.N., here. Actually, Medicare will NOT pay for most of that. They’ll pay for a home health aide to come in and bathe someone who is unable or unsafe bathing himself one or two times per week, IF the person has a need for a licensed nurse to see them for a medical reason, a couple of times a month. They will NOT pay for housekeeping, medication administration (except for injections), toileting or lifting (except during the one or two times per week the bath aide is there, already.
Of course, if you can afford it, you can personally pay for an agency home health aide to come in and bathe someone every day, etc, for as many hours as you can afford. With many states having $15/hour minimum wage, an agency would probably charge anywhere from $50 - $100 an hour, for that. (They’re in the business to make a profit).
Another option is to hire someone privately, who does not work for any agency, but on his or her own. In some states, that would have to be an under the table sort of thing. In any state, to do it above board, you’d be paying into social security, etc., like any other employer.
Sorry to be a wet blanket, (no pun intended). I’m not much fun at parties, either.
Did you factor in the extra expenses he would pay in an apartment, such as utilities, cable TV, etc.? Now, a lot depends on where he chooses to live and what kind of apartment, but here apartments are not cheap. Also, he doesn’t have to sign a lease. If he doesn’t like that Holiday Inn, or just wants to live somewhere else, he can pick up and move any time. I would seriously consider this to avoid Iowa winters.
“I heard just last week that one retiree sold his home and now lived entirely on cruise ships, booking them out two years in advance. “
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Oh, yes! I saw a video clip last year of a woman who’s been living on a ship for a few years because it was actually less costly and it provided her with a change of venue and she loves the chance to meet people!
While I am the type to fear the water (I’m the lady you’re going to see hauling the life preserver with me, everywhere!), my beloved husband would love to take a cruise, though on the smaller ratio’d cruise ships. There’s one in Alaska that has a 1-2 crew/passenger ratio, though I forget the name. He would love to live on that cruise ship.
I keep telling him if he’s ever been given a terminal illness that I expect him to use his money to travel like that as when he passes I do not want him to have regrets.
Now, while I’m not sure if I’d even be comfortable on a shipped permanently docked, I might try it. LOL
Tipping is something I always do when the help warrants it.
When you get some kid that can’t do enough to make sure you’re getting the best treatment possible, you make sure he gets a great tip.
On the other hand, there’s the type that ignores you once you’re seated... they get treated appropriately as well.
“Some retirees do this on cruise ships “
We’ve met so many people who have retired while we’ve been cruising. It IS cheaper than many independent living facilities.
Hi, Yo-Yo-!
In most Blue states these days, $1,800 will not cover the rent.
This way he has maintenance covered, a place to eat, visitors can come and go without feeling like they’ve got to be quiet or follow Assisted Nursing Center Visitation Hours.
He also sounds like he doesn’t like to mess in the kitchen. LOL
He’s a walking advertisement for Holiday Inn. As long as he’s not running amok most Holiday Inns would welcome a steady customer. LOL
“Right, all you have to pay for is your own soap on a rope...”
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I’m with you on this one, gov_bean_counter!
I understand those who cannot function in the outside after being in jail/prison sometimes commit non-violent crimes to get back into jail. About the only time I’d want to be in jail/prison is if I were one Death Row or in Solitary for the rest of my life.
There are a few of us who would like being in Solitary because of our like to be totally alone and cut off from society.... I’d still not WANT to be in jail. Too scary a place for me....
If he’s in good health now, why even go there? Unless his house taxes and insurance are eating him alive, or rental on an apartment.
My first husband’s health is badly deteriorating, refuses to sell his home (nice home, paid for, taxes about $400 a month, but in a democrat town whose crime rate has jumped from very low to dangerously high in the last 20 years). He wants to keep the house in case any of our kids needs a place to stay. (They don’t. Except for one, they all have their own homes). Right now, Medicare is paying for most of his hospital and short nursing home stays, but he’s not safe living alone, and our unmarried son is staying with him. The kids are trying to get him to sell it, and move to assisted living, but realistically, even with a government pension and savings, he knows that would soon take all his money, and he’d like to leave the kids something. Kind of a no win situation, depending on how long he lives.
A friend in S.C. wrote that she has put her name on a list for a new senior assisted-living home that is being constructed. They want $3,000 a month for a one bedroom apartment. She’ll have to sell her house to be able to afford to live there. I think I’ll send her the link to this article. Maybe it will wake her up. I sure hope I die before I have to make a decision like that, or my kids have to.
“On the other hand, there’s the type that ignores you once you’re seated... they get treated appropriately as well.”
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My beloved will actually tell me when I *cannot* tip. LOL
Other than when he does that, I tip upfront advising them that I know the service provided will be worth the ‘thank you.’
Had an interesting incident the other day. Was at a restaurant and was taking with a server who was new to us. When I advised her that ONLY thing I cared about was to make sure my beloved husband’s drink was never left empty and server who was within hearing range lol’d. This is how well known our one bit of insistence was well known.
Most times if there’s a new server to us, the waitstaff will actually tell them to be good with use because we’re ‘nice.’ I laugh at that and tell them new server that between Asperger Syndrome and being a retired New York my beloved husband is cranky and they can usually ignore his comments. And they do. LOL
I’ve had for sure only one bad server after thanking him up front. We made sure to tell the restaurant management to never seat us within his area. The next time we went back he was no longer there. Turns out he was a **really** bad server and NO ONE wanted him! So I felt a bit better as his bad service wasn’t personally directed at us. LOL It was just his attitude. LOL
When my beloved husband tells me to not tip, it’s done before I even get out of the car. The man knows me too well!
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