Are you confident about your retirement nest egg, or do you doubt whether you’ve saved enough to cover the costs of senior living and support your retirement lifestyle? Either way, savvy seniors know the importance of assessing their finances.

Financial Literacy Month is an ideal time to take a closer look at your fiscal affairs, including health insurance coverage and care, Social Security benefits, long-term care, estate planning, investment strategies, pensions and retirement savings accounts.

Understand the costs that come with retirement

Taking stock of your financial situation will help you develop a budget that considers income and expenses and help you set future retirement goals that align with the vibrant lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

Retirement is a time for discovering new passions and adventures, all while feeling healthy and active. And when it’s time to move on to your next chapter, there’s a sun-soaked oasis where you can keep that momentum going: Phoenix, Arizona.

With its warm climate and dynamic culture, it offers an ideal setting for active older adults. Think: Bright, bold senior living set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, where resort-style amenities, upscale dining and a range of engaging activities keep you entertained every day.

What’s the price tag for senior independent living?

Before you set out to retire in style, it’s crucial to have a solid financial plan in place. This will help you define your retirement goals, determine your preferred lifestyle and provide a clear picture of your future financial situation.

Take the time to research senior living communities that fit your lifestyle and budget. A plan also helps safeguard your nest egg from rising healthcare costs and other unforeseen expenses. There are several types of retirement community costs, financial obligations and fees to consider, including:

• Monthly fees: It’s important to keep in mind that monthly expenses accompany senior living retirement communities, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and maintenance costs.
• Healthcare costs: As you age, healthcare costs can surge drastically, including medical care and long-term care services. These costs can be an additional expense when calculating the overall cost of living in a senior retirement community.
• Level of care: Note that different levels of care in senior living communities come with varying costs. Therefore, it’s essential to clearly understand the services you may require and their associated costs before selecting a retirement community that suits your needs.
• Amenities: There are various amenities and services offered at senior living communities, such as fitness centers, transportation services and social events, which may impact the overall cost of living.
• Contract terms: It’s essential to carefully review the contract terms, including entrance fees, move-in fees and refund policies, to have a clear understanding of the complete cost of living in a senior living retirement community.

Beatitudes Campus: Exceptional value for your retirement investment

You may be surprised to learn the cost of living at Beatitudes Campus — a retirement community that offers active living and asset protection — is comparable to your current expenses. We’re proud to be recognized for our financial stability as a leader in independent senior living and senior healthcare.

Understanding the healthcare costs and tax advantages associated with retirement communities is vital as you explore your options. Beatitudes Campus offers tax savings and asset preservation benefits that may be overlooked.

By living at our Life Plan senior community, a portion of your entrance and monthly service fees may qualify as a medical tax deduction. In addition, our predictable Life Care model typically results in lower healthcare costs compared to prevailing market rates should you need care in the future.

Resources for planning for your dream retirement

The perfect way to begin your next adventure is with opportunities to save time and money and the freedom to live your best life. No matter what you decide, Beatitudes Campus can help you make a sound decision with our personal assessment tool to determine if it’s the right time for senior living and an interactive retirement planning guide.

We also provide MoneyGauge™, a cost calculator to learn which type of entry fee residential option is your best financial fit and other senior living resources. And you can always get in touch with our residency counselors, who can answer any questions.

Featured Image: VGstockstudio/ Shutterstock

With gorgeous weather, great cultural opportunities and unique outdoor activities, Phoenix, Arizona, offers the ideal place for a staycation. A combination of “stay” and “vacation,” a staycation inspires you to unwind and spoil yourself while taking time off from everyday responsibilities.

Staycations typically include exploring your city or the surrounding region as if you’re a tourist seeing it for the first time. The idea is to do what fills you up, whether that’s lingering over a cappuccino at a quaint, out-of-the-way coffee shop, hiking local trails, browsing antique stores, or visiting botanical gardens, zoos, museums and art galleries.

Sound fun? Start your new year off right with some rest and relaxation on a staycation. Here are six expert tips for ensuring your experience is more enjoyable.

6 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Staycation in Phoenix

1. Decide where to stay by narrowing your focus. As you’re thinking about your staycation, decide what’s most important to you. Is it spending time in the sun, golfing, exploring nature, enjoying cultural attractions, being pampered at the spa or dabbling in lots of different activities? Once you know, you can focus on finding a staycation spot tailored to your preferences. Thrillist offers a list of staycation places by category to get you started.
2. Plan fun things to do. It’s not a getaway without enjoyable activities. Browse the Phoenix visitors website for ideas. You’ll find hotspots beloved by locals, outdoor adventures, day trips, Wild West fun, fine dining, air tours, sporting events and more.
3. Be flexible and avoid overbooking your time. Definitely plan fun things to do; otherwise, your time will slip by, and it won’t feel like a vacation. But be careful not to overbook your days. To truly feel like a vacation, you need plenty of downtime or at least space in your schedule to explore.
4. Stay in vacation mode. To reap the restorative benefits of a staycation, it’s important to treat your days just as you would if you were on vacation 1,000 miles from home. Let your family, friends and colleagues know you’ll be away and unavailable unless it’s an emergency. Be sure to turn off your phone or put it in silent mode from time to time so you can fully focus on what you’re doing.
5. Limit screen time. Don’t scroll, post, ping, tweet or text, at least not yet. Wait until you’re back from your staycation to share your adventures. Otherwise, keeping up with comments will take you away from enjoying the moment at hand and spoil your vacation-y feeling.
6. Eat dessert first. Make your staycation time feel special. Find ways to do the unexpected. Go someplace you’ve never been; do something you’ve never done.

Treat Yourself to a Staycation at Beatitudes Campus

Want a relaxing staycation that doesn’t involve large expenses and complicated travel plans yet offers a wealth of opportunities? Consider a staycation at Beatitudes Campus. Using our Phoenix senior living community as a home base, you can explore the Valley’s entertainment attractions, cultural opportunities and award-winning dining. In the process, you’ll save money and get a peek at life at Beatitudes Campus.

For a limited time, the Beatitudes Campus Winter Stay & Play offer lets you stay for 30 days OR the entire winter (up to 4 months) in a furnished, one-bedroom Beatitudes Campus senior living apartment. It costs as little as $115 a day, depending on the number of people and the length of your stay.

Your all-inclusive staycation comes with a $200-a-month dining allowance per person at campus restaurants, biweekly housekeeping, internet service, DIRECTV^®, phone line and more. Plus, you’ll have access to campus activities and amenities, including exercise and wellness programs as well as social, cultural, spiritual and recreational opportunities.

To learn more about staycation options at Beatitudes Campus, call 602.833.1358 or contact us here. We look forward to making your staycation special!

The holidays are a wonderful time to catch up with family and friends, share in special traditions, enjoy your favorite foods and create new memories. Visits with older relatives can also be helpful in spotting health issues, especially if you don’t see each other often.

In between the laughter and sips of eggnog, take some time to look for the early signs of dementia. Catching Alzheimer’s disease or other memory issues early gives you, your loved one and your family more time to plan for the future. Of course, more time to plan means more options, including supportive services offered by senior living communities like Beatitudes Campus.

During your visit, be sure to watch for these and other early signs of dementia. Don’t panic if you see something concerning. Some signs may be attributed to something else, such as side effects from a medication, vitamin deficiency, lack of sleep, low blood sugar, dehydration, injury due to a fall or other medical conditions. Unlike dementia, these can generally be reversed. If your loved one exhibits one or more of these early warning signs, a thorough exam by a doctor will help rule out another underlying cause.

6 Early Signs of Dementia

1. Difficulty with complex tasks such as following a recipe, balancing a checkbook, playing a game or completing a puzzle. It takes a fair amount of cognitive brain power to process and properly implement a list of sequential actions, track and pay bills and adapt to changing situations as in gameplay. If your loved one isn’t able to engage in activities they once did easily, please bring this to the attention of a doctor.
2. Difficulty following conversations or storylines in movies and TV shows. Holding a conversation with friends and neighbors challenges the brain in numerous ways — memory, comprehension, reasoning, empathy and more. The same holds true for following plots in movies and TV shows. If an extrovert is now avoiding conversations or a long-time movie buff is only watching 24-hour cable news, they may be experiencing some cognitive issues, especially when paired with other signs.
3. Loss of smell and taste. Is your loved one not eating as much or not enjoying holiday meals as they typically would? Allergies, smoking and COVID-19 can lead to a loss of smell and taste. However, some studies show it could be an early indication of problems in the part of the brain that processes these senses.
4. Vision changes. Alzheimer’s disease can cause trouble with spatial relationships, depth perception and peripheral vision, even distinguishing between colors. Watch to see if your loved one bumps into furniture often, sets objects on the edge of tables and counters, gets into minor scrapes while driving or has trouble seeing the color of their pills. A standard eye test can detect structural changes in the retina and optic nerve, which may help identify seniors at risk for dementia.
5. Repeatedly putting objects in strange places. From time to time, everyone misplaces something or absentmindedly puts an object in a weird place like socks in the refrigerator instead of the washer. If it seems to happen a lot, seek a doctor’s evaluation.
6. Paranoia and unfounded accusations. As the underlying cause of dementia, whether from a disease or other medical condition, damages the brain, it can affect how a person perceives reality. It often leads to paranoia, a feeling of danger and mistrust in family and friends. Please don’t take this personally. Your loved one can’t help how they feel. Like other early warning signs of Alzheimer’s, it could be caused by an infection, medication, sleep deprivation, electrolyte imbalance or another medical condition. Make an appointment for your loved one to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Experts caution family members not to consider these symptoms in isolation but within the context of the person’s overall health. Even healthy people may exhibit mild symptoms but never develop dementia. Still, early warning signs are a signal to reach out for a doctor’s exam.

If you’re wondering if it’s the right time to seek help for your loved one, we invite you to learn more with our quick assessment tool. After answering a few questions, you’ll get personalized results in just four minutes.

When is the right time to get help for your loved one?

Find Out Now

Trusted Memory Support in Phoenix

Should you or someone you love need memory support, Beatitudes Campus specializes in appropriate extended-care living options for older adults. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, our retirement community offers a full continuum of choices, including independent living, assisted living, rehabilitation therapies, home care, skilled nursing care and memory care. Our award-winning and nationally recognized Comfort Matters^® program ensures residents with dementia enjoy the flexibility, freedom and respect to pursue their personal interests in a safe, nurturing setting.

To learn more about memory support at Beatitudes Campus, call 602.833.1358 or contact us online [https://beatitudescampus.org/contact-us]. We’re here to help.

If you live in a region that gets extremely cold or snowy in the winter, you’ve probably wondered from time to time what it would be like to live someplace warm and pleasant. Now, as the temperatures drop and the snow piles up, the idea of a sunny day to walk, garden or lounge by the pool can start to feel like an all-too-distant dream. It doesn’t have to be!

This winter, we invite you to leave the cold behind and enjoy a trial getaway at Beatitudes Campus independent living in Phoenix, Arizona. Come experience what life is like on the greener side, where you don’t need a heavy winter coat or a snow shovel for that matter.

You’ll learn how and where you might fit into our community and see how your day unfolds without worry. Here in paradise, our staff takes care of the maintenance and housekeeping chores, leaving you plenty of time to explore your world your way.

A Great Getaway for Our Cold-Weather Friends

With our special Winter Stay & Play offer, you can stay with us for up to 120 days and explore the Valley’s abundance of attractions, cultural opportunities, award-winning dining and more. Best of all, you’ll enjoy it enveloped in Phoenix’s mild temperatures and gorgeous sunshine.

Plus, as a guest of Beatitudes Campus, you’ll have access to our entire community and its many amenities and programs. You can enjoy a refreshing dip in the pool. Take a yoga or tai chi class. Attend a musical performance. Get creative in the art studio. Dine in any of the restaurants. And more!

If you’ve ever considered moving to a retirement community in Phoenix, this trial stay is your chance to get an extended look at our vibrant lifestyle — a no-obligation, try-it-before-you-buy-it test drive.

Top 5 Reasons Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix Makes a Great Getaway

1. Mild weather — Leave the frigid temperatures and snow shoveling behind and enjoy the blue skies of Phoenix .
2. Opportunity to try new things — You’ll find a variety of enjoyable activities and programs on campus all winter long, in the thriving 19North neighborhood, and throughout the greater Phoenix area . From Cirque du Soleil and hot air balloon rides to concerts and special exhibits, there’s something for everyone this time of year. Plus, in February 2023, Phoenix plays host to Super Bowl LVII and the Phoenix Open if you’re in the mood for some high-powered spectator sports.
3. Comforts of home — Set the right mood for your getaway by skipping the hotel. Staying in a furnished, one-bedroom Beatitudes Campus apartment means you’ll be able to stretch out in the extra space, pop leftovers in your refrigerator, sip cocktails on the balcony and take a walk around campus in the evening. In other words, you’ll feel safe, secure and at home. You can even bring your pet.
4. All-inclusive and affordable — With our Winter Stay & Play offer, you can choose to stay for 30 days or the entire winter (up to 4 months) for as little as $115 a day, depending on the number of people and the length of your stay. Your all-inclusive getaway comes with a $200-a-month dining allowance per person at campus restaurants, biweekly housekeeping, internet service, DIRECTV^®, phone line and more. Plus, you have access to campus exercise and wellness programs as well as social, cultural, spiritual and recreational opportunities.
5. No-obligation preview of community living — Come experience our vibrant lifestyle, explore Phoenix and find out if Beatitudes Campus is the right fit for you.

To learn more about our special Winter Stay & Play offer, call 602.833.1358 or contact us online. We look forward to seeing you!

With an expensive holiday season and new year drawing near, now is a smart time to sharpen your focus on financial matters before being swept up in it all. With that in mind, how are you doing on planning for your financial future?

Do you have a sense yet of where you might live in your later years or how you’ll pay for expensive health care costs? What about supportive services — who will help you with running errands, managing medication, getting to the doctor, or recovering from an illness or surgery? As you know, time flies so it’s never too early to open the conversation and start exploring your options.

As a Life Plan retirement community in Phoenix, Beatitudes Campus’ approach to senior living offers a smart way to enhance your independence while also protecting your nest egg and preparing for your future needs. Here, you can live brightly with far fewer burdens and concerns. You’ll enjoy a vibrant, self-empowered life of real connections and meaningful friendships with interesting challenges and exciting opportunities.

Meanwhile, our approach to senior living helps put you ahead of the game, as they say, with a proactive Life Plan for your future needs — a safety net of sorts that gives you access to whatever supportive services or care you need when you need it. It’s all right here in one place for you: independent living, assisted living and memory care in Phoenix.

To choose the right retirement option, you need to know and understand the financial bottom line so you can plan appropriately. Specifically, you need answers to the question, “What’s the cost and what do I get for my money?” Beatitudes Campus offers a variety of planning resources to help you make well-informed decisions.

Be Smart

Find Your Best Financial Fit

Expenses are an important part of any future planning. When you’re ready to dive into the costs, benefits and overall value of moving to Beatitudes Campus, check out our Cost Calculator. It’s an easy way to compare your current expenses to the projected monthly cost for both entrance fee and rental apartments at Beatitudes Campus. It’s a quick assessment, only taking a few minutes from start to finish.

Try Our Cost Calculator

Be Curious

Wondering which senior living option might be right for you? Try this tool that lets you see what type of residential option fits your situation best, starting with independent living and assisted living. It’s easy. Just answer a few questions about your current living situation as well as your abilities and preferences, and we’ll show you options that best meet your goals.

See Your Options

Have questions?

If you have questions about any of our financial planning tools or want more details about floor plans, how our Life Plan works or even Beatitudes Campus in general, give us a call at 602.833.1358 or contact us through our online form below. We’ll be happy to help!

10^th annual charity auction of designer handbags rolls out the red carpet on November 6

If you or someone you care about appreciates fabulous fashion, here’s an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of lively entertainment while supporting a great cause. On Sunday, November 6, Power of the Purse, Beatitudes Campus’ most popular charity event, returns for its 10^th year.

Our signature fundraiser features a live auction fashion show and silent auction of new and gently loved designer handbags from Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Coach and more. In addition to designer purses, the silent auction features curated collections that include specialty items, such as food, wine and jewelry. Special guest Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego will join us as the keynote speaker and red-carpet model during the live auction fashion show.

Annual fundraiser supports Beatitudes Campus residents and programs

In 2022, Power of the Purse celebrates an important milestone — 10 years of supporting initiatives, programs and healthcare that enhance the lives of older adults. Every year, the beloved charity benefit attracts greater interest from people of all ages. In honor of the 10^th anniversary, this year’s live auction fashion show and silent auction promise to be bigger and better than ever.

We invite you to join us. Come sip champagne, savor chef’s appetizers, browse beautiful purses and watch a lively fashion show. Just by being here, you’ll be doing some good in the world while, hopefully, claiming the winning bid on a gorgeous handbag.

“One-hundred percent of ticket sales and auction proceeds support initiatives and programs for the campus,” says Beatitudes Campus President & CEO, Michelle Just. One of those programs is the Resident Assistance Fund, which provides financial scholarships to Beatitudes Campus residents who may have outlived their personal assets through no fault of their own. Power of the Purse proceeds also support the Comfort Matters^® program, an award-winning dementia care program dedicated to improving the quality of care and the quality of life for people living with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Everyone is welcome to attend

Tickets for Power of the Purse are $95 and sponsorship opportunities are available. To purchase tickets, donate or become a sponsor for the Power of the Purse event, call 602-995-6136 or visit BeatitudesPowerOfThePurse.org.

Get your tickets now!