Years ago, a farmer and I were discussing long-term care insurance. He was having trouble grasping why he needed it and how he could pay for it.

“Let me ask you something,” I said. “I’m looking out at your fields. I see all your cows…”

“Yes, that’s everything I own,” he said.

“And out in that field is a rat hole somewhere, I’d assume; would that be correct?”

“Yep, that’d be correct,” he said.

“Then let’s consider the nursing home, a rat hole. Is that ok with you?”

“Yep, that sounds about right,” he laughed.

“Well, if you get sick and need to go into a nursing home,” I said, “you might have to sell off a fifth of your herd every year for five years until they’re all gone—or else you can set aside some of the milk now from some of the cows so that you can protect the whole herd.”

“OK,” he said. “I get it. You just want me to take a little bit of interest off some of my CDs and buy long-term care insurance so I don’t lose it all.”

He finally understood what I had been trying to tell him. He would be better off giving up some of the milk, or else he’d be risking the whole herd. Do you have a plan for long-term care insurance? If not, it might be time to seek out some advice on where to start, visit www.familywealthadvisory.com for information and resources.