Caregivers spend $5,500/yr. out-of-pocket

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. children and spouses who care for a loved one over age 50 spend, on average, $5,531 a year on out-of-pocket caregiving expenses.

The Evercare/National Alliance for Caregiving Study found that found that half of those caring for a loved one 50 years or older spend, on average, more than 10 percent of their annual income on caregiving expenses.

To pay for these out-of-pocket caregiving expenses, 34 percent of the respondents had used some of their own personal savings, while 23 percent said they had cut back on their own healthcare spending.

The caregivers said money was not their most significant sacrifice -- their loss of time was. However, most of the caregivers saw their caregiving as a labor of love and one they did willingly.

Of the more than $5,000 that family caregivers spend on a loved one, 42 percent was spent on household goods, food and meals; 40 percent on travel and transportation costs; 31 percent went for medical co-pays and pharmaceuticals; 22 percent on medical equipment and supplies and 21 percent on clothing.

The telephone survey of 1,000 U.S. caregivers was conducted last June and July and has a margin of error of 3 percent.