Cost of Caregiving

"Imagine working twenty hours a week at a part-time job for five years -- and never getting paid. That's the average amount of time a long-term health care caregiver volunteers to care for a parent, spouse, family member or friend. This figure is even more startling because chances are, a lot of us will be a caregiver at some point in our lives -- 40 percent of all women 18 or older and 37 percent of all men 18 or older provide care for someone. The AARP has found that a caregiver 50 years old or older who leaves the workforce to look after a parent forgoes, on average, $304,000 in lost salary and benefits over their lifetime. These estimates range from $283,716 for men to $324,044 for women. Being a caregiver can hurt women especially hard."  pbs.org

Staggering.  Those who are not involved in caregiving might want to take notice of the financial sacrifice of those people who do provide caregiving.