INVESTING SANDWICH GENERATION
Checklist for
the sandwich
generation- Plan your finances
carefully, particularly
building up your
assets. - Stick to a budget.
- Reduce your debts
such as your mort-
gage. - Te a c h yo u r c h il d re n
to be financially
responsible and
independent. - Getuptospeed
with your elderly par-
ents’ financial position. - Visitanagedcare
expert to help plan
your parents’ financial
needs and government
assistance. - Set up benefits
such as home care
for your parents. - Explore community
assistance programs
for your parents. - Checkifyouqualify
for the government’s
caregiver benefits. - Make time for
your own needs.
A
sanonlychild,JonBlake
hasbeenacaregiver,
helping out his mother, Els-
peth,invariouswayssincehe
was a teenager. Elspeth, fol-
lowing infantile meningitis and
encephalitis, was unable to
ever work. She struggled financially
and so, following her divorce, it fell
to 19-year-old Jon to help as she
couldn’t afford rent, let alone to
get a mortgage.
“Mymumcouldn’tgetahome
loanandsoIwentintoamortgage
withhersothatshecouldhavea
placeshewashappyin,”saysJon.
Nowinhismid-40s,Jonhashis
ownfamilywiththreedaughters,
aged16,13and10,tosupport.Heis
a generous and compassionate man
who continues to support Elspeth,
but he is feeling the typical pressure
of the sandwich generation – caught
betweencaringforhisownkidsand
hismum.“Ifeeltornattimeswant-
ingtobethereformykidsbut,
beinganonlychild,mymumstill
needs support too.”
For20yearsbeforeshemoved
intoagedcare,JonsupportedElspeth
andhelpedtopayhermortgage.
SevenyearsagowhenJonandhis
wife bought their first home to get
into the skyrocketing property mar-
ket, he discovered he didn’t qualify
for the first home saver grant. He
hadtogetasecondjobontheweek-
endtomanagethetwomortgages.
Seeing what happened to both of
hisparents–hisfatherandstep-
mother were injured in a car accident
–hasinspiredJontotakecontrolof
hisfamily’sfinancessothatheisina
stronger position than his parents.
“My parents, throughout their
lifetime, weren’t able to get ahead
financially,” he says. “They lived
hand to mouth and were on and
offemploymentbenefits.”
Following his parent’s divorce, the
family home was sold but money
Juggling act for a caring son
wasnotusedtobuildupanyequity
in another property.
Nothavinggoodfinancialrole
modelshasbeenoneofthebiggest
problems for Jon. He had to start
from scratch.
Joncertainlydoesn’twanttobea
financialburdentohiskids.Hehasput
systemsinplacethatinvolvecareful
budgeting, investment accounts,
building superannuation and buying
shares. He is cautious about taking on
toomuchdebt,buyingasmallfamily
house and building up the equity.
Whenhismothermovedintoaged
care, he was able to recoup some of
the money he had put into her home
and pay down some of his mortgage.
OneofthehardestthingsforJonis
juggling his time between his moth-
er’s needs and his busy family life. He
had to take a week off work recentlyto help with his mother’s personal
issues.“That’swhereIfindthepush
and the pull. I’m pulled financially and
emotionally to look after my parents
rather than giving to my family.”
Hetriestopassonsomefinancial
lessonstohisownkidsthroughlife
circumstances. “There are no closed-
door conversations,” says Jon. They
areawareofthecostofsupporting
his parents and when his family goes
to visit Elspeth they understand the
time it takes and what the interstate
trip costs. He has always tried to
teach them the cost of things in
termsofhourlywages.“Ihopethis
stands them in good stead.”
Settingagoodexampleofbeing
a responsible son for Elspeth hope-
fully means that his daughters will
be good caregivers to Jon and his
wife in their old age.CASE STUDY