Medicare is a government program created to provide healthcare coverage for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and those on Social Security. It covers hospital stays, doctor visits, lab tests, eye exams, and more.

Medicare has many options for beneficiaries, including traditional Medicare (Parts A & B), which is full-service coverage but only includes items that are medically necessary or preventive in nature; a Prescription Drug Plan (Part D), which provides prescription drug coverage; and an Advantage plan or Part C that combines both Parts A &B plus supplemental medical insurance.

According to the National Association of Homebuilders, a majority of Americans (around 75 percent) believe that owning a home is the best way to make a solid investment in their future, and so it is a goal that many people strive towards.

Whether you’ve saved for years and are considering buying a home, or you have already become a homeowner and are planning your financial future from here, you must consider the hidden costs of home ownership.

In this article, we’ll talk about those costs and what to consider, no matter what stage of the home-buying process you are in.

Buying a home is a significant step. With so much at stake, both financially and emotionally, you must be prepared for the process of fitting the house into your life — as well as fitting your life into the house.

If you need a mortgage to buy a home, take the task of finding a mortgage as seriously as any other task related to homeownership. The mortgage process might seem intimidating, but you can boil it down into five categories:

If you developed a disability or chronic condition that required long-term care, how would you pay for that care? Would you expect health insurance or Medicare to pay for it? 

Unfortunately, you can’t count on either of those options to pay for ongoing care that you might need. Medicaid might cover the cost of long-term care services if you have very limited income or assets. Otherwise, if you need professional care at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home, you’ll have to pay for it. 

This article was originally posted by NAIFA partner Carefull. Carefull is the first service built to organize and protect older adults' finances. It is available for individuals, families and financial advisors who need smart financial monitoring, identity theft protection, and bill oversight for older adults' daily money matters.

Timing is really important when it comes to talking to your parents about their finances. The holidays might seem like the perfect opportunity to have these conversations because you, your siblings and parents will be together in one place (that is, when there’s not a pandemic making gatherings a challenge). You’ll be celebrating, and everyone will be relaxed. Perfect time for a family money talk, right?

Wrong. A holiday meal is not the ideal time to talk to your parents about their finances. Your efforts to discuss what could be an awkward topic could easily backfire. So before you say, “Mom and Dad, pass the turkey and let’s talk about your will,” consider the cons of trying to start this conversation during the holidays.

When most people intensify their financial planning efforts, career planning often falls by the wayside. Budgeting, debt reduction, and investing and saving strategies are typically the focus. However, career planning is a crucial part of preparing for your financial future. No matter how great you are at pinching pennies, a meager salary can put severe limits on the goals you are able to achieve. If you are considering your future financial plans, take some time to assess the state of your professional life. Follow these career planning tips to improve your economic outlook.

If you have children or are planning to start a family in the future, you must be aware of higher education costs. If you have not yet adopted a saving plan, you might get yourself caught up in limbo. But do you know life insurance can be used as a funding source for your children's college fees? Yes, other than funds from your spouse's premature death, life insurance has a saving component known as cash value. This feature of life insurance gives an allowance of portions of your premiums to be invested.