My wife and I had both worked really hard to raise our two kids and at the same time live a comfortable life.  We did some investing in stocks and real-estate but my wife always had an affinity for jewelry, especially diamonds.  We both retired in our early 60’s and planned of traveling and enjoying retirement.  That’s when it all changed one day when my wife went to her doctor after complaining of some mild forgetfulness.

We thought it was nothing other than old age but her doctor told us that she had the early stages of Alzheimer’s and it was rapidly progressing.  They said with medications she may have 10-15 good years left.  Our mind jumped to how to pay for her long term care in a nursing home if it ever came to that.  As I said, we had some assets in stocks and savings but most were tied up in jewelry.  This happened in 2008 near the market low and we had to sell about $200,000 dollars of diamonds for about $70,000 once the medical bills started to pile up.  Long Term Care Insurance was something that our financial advisor told us about five years before but we never acted.

We naturally called the first long-term care insurance company we could find after we got the diagnosis but they told us it was too late for her but I could still get it.  The guy we spoke with was from South Carolina about 10 miles from where I grew up and he worked for a company that sold a bunch of different companies.  He got me a long term care insurance plan but could not find anything for my wife. They were great and if you ever need long term care insurance info call them, their site is here.

My wife on the other hand was going to fund her care by selling all her jewelry which included seventeen high-end diamonds.  Some of her jewelry had been in her family for years and it was tough to let it go… but we had to do it.