Episode 78: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Speaker1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.
Speaker2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in, no matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.
Speaker1:
Hello and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal and your confidant. Thank you so, so much for being a part of the show this time and every time we are lucky enough to get together. Uh, I really do appreciate it. I appreciate your support. I appreciate your continuing to listen to the show. Without you, I don't have a show. It doesn't exist. So thank you for being a listener. Or, you know, if you're watching on the old YouTubes. Uh, I appreciate that as well. Yeah. Go there and subscribe. Like the videos. I'd appreciate it very, very much. And, um. Yeah, I mean, that's that's the the big thing here. Keep spreading the word about take pride in retirement and about the fact that whether you are, you know, gay, straight, bi, trans, whatever part of the community you are and beyond, um, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in. I mean, that's really what it boils down to. You know, no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify or how much money you have. That's what you deserve. So I would love to work with you personally, one on one, to come up with a plan for your retirement that is based on your individual situation. Go to take pride in retirement.
Speaker1:
We'll make that happen. The consultation absolutely free of any cost or any obligation. Again, it's take pride in retirement. Com or give me a call 855246 9211 (855) 246-9211. Is that number. Um, now this time around here on the show, I'm going to welcome in a guest here momentarily. We're going to talk about caregiving and kind of caregiving burnout and and how there's support out there for that. And I wanted to share this conversation on this week's show. You know, we're getting close to the holidays, and the holidays are a time that is about, you know, family and friends and whether that's chosen family or family, you know, relation by blood or just by I. The circumstances of life and bye bye love instead of by blood, necessarily. Um. Or whatever your family or your friend group looks like. That's what it's about. And a lot of LGBTQ+ folks end up becoming caregivers at some point in their lives. I know it's happened to myself and my husband. It's happened to him several times, um, with his dad first, then with his mom, then with my dad. And, you know, myself, I helped care for his mom, and then I helped, of course, obviously care for my dad. But it's a burden that falls a lot on LGBTQ+ folks just because of life circumstances. It tends to happen that way. And that's, you know, me from my my observations, my own lived experience.
Speaker1:
But there is help that's available. And you don't have to be burned out if you are in that scenario. So I'm going to share that momentarily. One other thing that I did want to share with you as well. You know, as we approach the end of the year, there's a lot going on. There's a lot to think about. There are a lot of distractions out there that are coming up with gatherings and meals and, you know, all of the things I want you to not have to be thinking about. You know, in the last episode of the show, we talked about kind of all the year end deadline kind of stuff that's coming up. You know, you got RMDs if you are, um, turning 73 or if you are 73, you've got required minimum distributions, RMDs. You got those to worry about. You've got Roth conversions to worry about before the end of the year, if you want those to be counted toward this year's taxes, 20, 25 taxes, uh, you've got, you know, qualified charitable, uh, deduction, qualified charitable distributions, rather, uh, any, you know, sort of charitable gifts for this year's tax. So like all of those things, there's a lot to worry about there. But I wanted to mention before I get into this conversation about caregiving, that you should be focused on the turkey and the ham and the mashed potatoes and the pecan pie and all of those things.
Speaker1:
You should not be focused on the other things, like, are my distributions going to go out in time? And is this going to count toward this year's taxes or next year's taxes? Am I doing my RMDs right? My Roth conversions are those correct? I want to take that burden off of you. You know, we we do that every day at the firm that I work with, active wealth management in the metro Atlanta area and beyond. We work with folks in different states as well. And so what I would say to you is take advantage of that, because I want you to be focused on your family, your chosen family, your friends, your gatherings, all the different things that you have to do. And so that is my sort of call to action for you to reach out and just see if I can make a difference in your financial life. And I, I really want to I believe that I can and, you know, we'll take a look at your situation, what you have now and what you could have in the future based on what you have now versus what you could have in the future, based on a new portfolio of of, you know, changing things up and maximizing and optimizing all the different aspects.
Speaker1:
We'll even take a look at Social Security, income and all of those things. So again, give me a call 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. Or go to take pride in retirement comm take pride in retirement comm. That's the website. You can go there and you can schedule a consultation directly in my calendar with me one on one, whether that's in person or, you know, if you happen to be in the metro Atlanta area, I'd love to meet you in person. Or if you want to do that via zoom, I'd love to meet you on zoom as well. I'd love to work with you if that's something that you would like to do. All right, so that's that pitch. Once again it's take pride in retirement. Com well, there are an estimated 59 million unpaid caregivers here in the US. A lot of people finding themselves balancing their own lives while providing all of the emotional, physical, logistical support to loved ones. And a lot of times without the resources that they need or the rest that they need. I have I've been there in my own life, actually, to talk more about how this leads to a lot of burnout among caregivers and what to do about it. I'm speaking with Doctor Michael Gabriel, national medical director at Carolina Palliative Care. Doctor Gabriel, thank you so much for being here. We really do appreciate your time.
Speaker3:
Thank you for having me. It's such an important topic to discuss, so I appreciate it.
Speaker1:
Yeah, it really, really is. There are so many people and I mentioned there just briefly that I have been in this situation. My family has been in this situation when my my dad was ill. You know, there are times where you just do get burned out, uh, after, uh, you know, caring for someone and someone that you love. But, you know, it can lead to that. What are kind of the signs that you look for as far as caregiver burnout?
Speaker3:
Well, first, I appreciate you bringing it up, because I think that a lot of people are afraid to bring up that they feel these signs. And I think some of the things you'll see are emotional signs such as feeling overwhelmed, irritability, some anxiety, guilt, shame. You also have sleep problems, problems concentrating, or focusing on your own life. There's there's quite a bit that overlaps with a lot of depression and anxiety symptoms of caregiver burden.
Speaker1:
Yeah. And um, this is not something that is uncommon. I mean, it's uh, I think in the caregiving in the US report this year, 64% of caregivers report high emotional stress. Uh, 45% experienced physical strain. So this is not something that's uncommon. Are there resources out there for people who are experiencing this kind of burnout that we're talking about?
Speaker3:
Yes. And I think it's it's very important to seek out those resources. There's specific caregiver resources such as the Family Caregiver Alliance, the caregiver network. But there's also palliative care, which which I am in the field of. And I think that for patients facing serious illness, things like cancer, heart failure, COPD, dementia, there's there's also that coordinated team support as well.
Speaker1:
And talk about that as well, because that's something that, um, my family's explored. Anyway, things didn't quite work out for us and I won't go into all that. Um, just a timing thing. But what is the difference between palliative care and something like hospice? I think people might often sort of get those two confused a little bit, or think that palliative care is just another word for hospice. But what's the what's the difference there?
Speaker3:
Yeah. No, thank you for asking that question. I think it's an important distinction. Palliative care provides that extra layer of support and comprehensive support for patients and their families at any point in their illness journey. Hospice is related to a benefit related to terminal illness and approaching end of life. Unlike hospice care, patients who have palliative care can continue period of treatment. They'll continue with their primary care physician, their specialist. So it's a care again, that extra layer of support working in coordinating and collaborating with their teams.
Speaker1:
Yeah. And I think that's important too because you know it really is more of a partnership, it sounds like, than something where, you know, someone comes into your home and just kind of takes over. Um, it sounds like it's more of a partnership, not only with the family or caregivers or, you know, friends, whoever might be doing the caregiving, but also your existing doctors and that care team. Right?
Speaker3:
Yes. Obviously, the key element that we want to avoid is silos in healthcare. And this is a this is a group that can advocate and help bridge those. But as an additional layer, rather than ever trying to take away or prevent those other key bonds with healthcare providers, patients, families or other community resources.
Speaker1:
And sometimes I know that small changes in and this has been something that has been true again in my life. Small changes can make a big difference in a caregiver's life. What are some of those examples that you might have of the way that, you know, palliative care? Working with a support team like this has really helped people just improve their overall life and health, not only for the person being cared for, but the people doing the caregiving.
Speaker3:
Yeah, I think there's such a focus on a very deep evaluation to look for these. So there may be emotional or psychological support we can provide for caregivers specifically, there may be education and training, so few are actually given formal training for all of the things they're expected to do with patients as their illness progresses. I think that we also can really work on the advocacy and the discussions with care teams, so that the caregiver feels a part of that in a crucial support and resource in the patient's care. So it's it's again, it's that whole person look. And it's not just care for the patient. It's involving the caregiver. And and I think evaluating a lot of the the issues that you brought up at the beginning that isn't always done. And I think that making that normalizing that is such an important part of our process and palliative care.
Speaker1:
Yeah. You've got to acknowledge those, those issues if you want to do anything about them. Of course. And so that is I think that that definitely means a lot to folks. Um, and of course, I think one of the things too, that that is, um, people might be concerned about, obviously, anytime you talk about health care is is the cost. I mean, it's, you know, obviously, that's probably one of the reasons that family and friends end up doing a lot of caregiving themselves. Um, you know, what would you say to people who might think that, oh, this is this sort of care cost prohibitive or anything like that?
Speaker3:
No, I think that certainly there is cost reduction with palliative care, but it's from practical care and goal concordant care. Patients are able to proactively work on their symptoms, to stay at home, to do the kind of care that they would like in, in focus on their quality of life. So certainly it helps to prevent overutilization, but by giving patients what they want and working with the patients to find that.
Speaker1:
Well, great. Well, Doctor Gabriel, just about time to wrap up here. But anything else you wanted to mention really quickly? Or maybe, uh, some online resources?
Speaker3:
Certainly. I just love to, to say to visit our website. Com c a r e l o n.com. There's much more information and frequently asked questions about palliative care and a great resource to to start that journey.
Speaker1:
Wonderful. Well, Doctor Michael Gabriel is the national medical director for Caroline Palliative Care. Thank you so much, Doctor Gabriel, for spending some time with me. I really do appreciate it.
Speaker3:
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker1:
And really grateful for that conversation. You know, as I said, it is an important one to have, especially because LGBTQ+ folks tend to be in caregiver roles. There is help out there. There are ways that you can share that burden instead of trying to bear it all on your own. So that I hope you found that insightful and helpful and gave you some good ideas and resources. If that's where you find yourself in your life or hey, spread the word, you know, send out a link to, um, the the show, send out a link to the podcast in general, not just this episode, but all of the different episodes where we talk about all things retirement with an eye toward the LGBTQ plus community. As far as planning, as far as getting you to and through retirement right here on Take Pride in Retirement. Once again, the website Take Pride in retirement.com. You can give me a call (855) 246-9211. Well that's going to do it for this edition of the show. I really do appreciate you joining me each and every time. And until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.
Speaker2:
Thanks for listening. To Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ plus community deserve to work with the financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call (855) 246-9211 or go online to take pride in retirement. Com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC. Bcm, a registered investment Advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered in sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
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