Your Personal Financial Assistant

News

Preparing for the Financial Aspects of Caregiving.

2/14/2024 – DEMENTIA SPOTLIGHT Podcast
Bobbi and Mike Carducci, the hosts of Demetia Spotlight, and dedicated caregiver advocates talk to Ms. Kay Bransford about Powers of Attorney, Money Manager vs. Financial Advisor, and taking care of the financial aspects of your loved ones.

Kay took care of her parents’ finances when they were diagnosed with dementia and that experience led her to pursue a passion of helping other families prepare for the financial aspects of caregiving. She has an award-winning blog called Dealing With Dementia, is the founder of MemoryBanc which is a money management business, and the author of a best-selling book, MemoryBank: Your Workbook for Organizing Your Life.

Adult Day Centers Help Retirees with Alzheimer’s

May 11, 2022, Kiplinger
Kay Bransford works with many spouses caring for a loved one with cognitive and/or health issues. She was contacted about what some of her clients have done to help manage and connected the Kiplinger article author with some resources to provide insight on options for family caregivers.

One Daughter’s Fight Against Charity Fraud

November, 2021 – The Perfect Scam Podcast
When her parents begin to show signs of memory decline, Kay Bransford steps in to help manage their finances. She quickly discovers a caregiver’s nightmare: An abundance of questionable charities have homed in on her generous parents. Angered that her parents are being targeted because of their cognitive challenges, Kay creates a system to help other caregivers protect their loved ones. Includes tips and tactics on how to navigate and protect yourself and loved ones. Includes advice from CharityWatch director Laurie Styron on how to be cautious while still being generous.

Care Collaboration: How Professional Teamwork Can Serve Your Family During Stressful Times

October, 2021 AADMM.com – A quick primer on how Aging Life Care Managers and Daily Money Managers work together to ease the stress and find quick solutions to a health care crisis.

What’s a Daily Money Manager and How Do They Help?

June 2021 – Steve Gurney, the founder of Positive Aging Sources, interviews Kay Bransford and Amanda DesBarres to understand who and how Daily Money Managers (DMMs) work with individuals and their families. DMMs are financial professionals who provide personal financial services to individuals and families managing personal daily money matters such as bills, budgets, tax organization, claims, record-keeping and much more.

10 Dementia Blogs You Should Be Reading

next avenue – Chose DealingwithDementia.org for the wisdom, diversity, humanity, information and humor in the face of a situation that, on the surface, is far from funny. Kay started the blog back in 2012 as she was caring for her parents.

23 Tips for New Caregivers

January, 2020 CAREX.com
Kay Bransford offered a variety of key tips from her caregiving journey:

Meaning and Purpose is a basic human need. Assist a loved one side-by-side to pay bills, catch up on email, make a meal. Allow them to take part in feeling a sense of self and purpose.
Dementia can prevent loved ones from seeing their own deficit. I thought my Mom was being stubborn, but most people that have had a stroke or are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s cannot perceive that they are unable to perform the tasks they have always done. Accept it and work to assist them in maintaining purpose in their lives or get help from someone who can assist them.
Find a Way to Savor Your Time. I was so busy as a caregiver, I missed out on just hanging out with my mom and sharing a walk, doing a puzzle or activity together. I wish I had brought in more help so I could be a daughter and not have all my time with her be spent as a caregiver.

Adulting Never Ends

November, 2020 — “Move or Improve with Debbie” Podcast
Kay Bransford is a guest on this Podcast to discuss how the term “Adulting” is really a series of life stages that require care and consideration. Ultimately, Kay believes retirement is a launchpad, not a finish line.

Financial Planning Strategies for Caregivers & Their Parents

July 2020, Rodger That
Bobbi & Mike Carducci interviewed Kay Bransford (Founder of MemoryBanc) about how caregiving can be emotionally & physically challenging, but also a rewarding, selfless act. However, it shouldn’t come at the expense of your financial health & well-being.

In this podcast, we discuss some tips and tactics to help make choices or structure the finances to make things easier on everyone.

Ten Ways to Save Money During Coronoavirus

April 29, 2020 – U.S. News Kay Bransford is interviewed along with nine other experts on simple ways to save money and cut expenses.

What to Save and What to Shred as you Age

EBW financial planning hosted Kay Bransford to share the key documents to save, and which items you should shred and why it’s important to you and your loved ones.

Credit Card Tips from the Pros

August 30, 2018 Top 25 Credit Card Tip s
Kay is interviewed for a story about how to best manage your credit cards.

The Heartbreaking Stories of Some of America’s 43.5 Million Unpaid Adult Caregivers

Moneyish, Jul 23, 2018-Sixty-nine percent of working caregivers — who are mostly women — must rework their schedules, cut their hours or take unpaid leave. Kay was asked about her experience and you will her the stories of caregivers who are taking care of their parents, their jobs and their kids. But who is taking care of them?

Five Things You Need to Know about Daily Money Managers

LifeMatters, May, 2018 — Watch this video interview where Kay is asked about Daily Money Management, When to Hire One, How to find a Trustworthy One, How to Talk to Your Parents About Bringing in Some Help to Manage the Finances, and How Daily Money Managers Differ from Aging Life Care Managers.

Maintaining Your Marital or Familiar Roles While Giving Care

Lifematters, January 29, 2018–Most caregivers aren’t familiar with some of the options that can improve your caregiving journey. Kay shares her regret over not bringing in more help so she could have spent more time as the daughter, not the caregiver.

3 Technologies for Military Families to Share over the Holidays

SpouseLink, November 29, 2017 — Three ways to stay connected to loved ones using the phones and iPads they already own.

For Seniors: How to Decide When to Move From Your Home?

Cheapism, October 12, 2017 — Some simple ideas on how to save when looking at housing options. Kay was interviewed about how MemoryBanc helps clients look at the costs to “age-in-place” and for many, it’s cheaper to stay at home early on, but once care services are needed, the costs can quickly grow. There are also pros and cons to consider when it comes to your lifestyle preferences.

Seniors: Victims of Identity Theft

August 9, 2017 LifeLock
If you’re over 60 years old, be careful. Criminals take more than $36 billion from older Americans every year through financial abuse and outright fraud. Kay H. Bransford was interviewed about some of the common scams she sees in her role as a Daily Money Manager for older adults.

3 Mistakes Adult Children Make When They Step in to Help

May 27, 2017, Senior Care Advice
The fact that adult children typically step in when a crisis erupts means that all of the parties involved have made or will make mistakes. Find out how to avoid these pitfalls.

Be on Guard: 3 Common Senior Scams

May 8, 2017 — Most adults are surprised to learn that charities are one of the biggest threats to a seniors savings. Kay H. Bransford is interviewed to understand why so many seniors are giving away more money than they planned. This type of financial exploitation is estimated at $17 Billion annually. Read the full story by Amy Fontinelle.

Dealing with Dementia Named One of 2017 Best Blogs Again

April 18, 2017 — For the second year, Dealing with Dementia named a Best Blog citing that it “chronicles the journey of a dementia caregiver. The author Kay gives advice on how to navigate the early stages of the disease, when to stop driving, and how to get financial support. Come here for actionable advice on how to deal with real issues the dementia community faces.” Healthline carefully selected blogs that are actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with frequent updates and high quality information. We are honored to again be named to the list of winners.

Blog Named One of Five Best for 2017

April 5, 2017 — Our blog “Dealing with Dementia” was named to Five of the best Alzheimer’s Blogs. Honored!

The Painful Choices End-of-Life Brings for the Caregiver

January 6, 2017, Healthline
The final in the three-part series on being an adult-family caregiver.

Aging in Place vs. A Life Care Community: How to Compare the Costs

December 17, 2016, Senior Care Advice
A simple way to compare costs and make the right choice for you or a loved one.

What It Means to Be a Caregiver

November 21, 2016, Healthline
The second on a three-part series on what it means to lead the life of a caregiver and some tips on coping with the role.

How Much Would a Flu Shot Save You?

November, 2016 — MemoryBanc Customer Newsletter
The lack of vaccinations is estimated to cost the American people $15.3 billion in healthcare costs. Every wonder how much NOT getting that flu shot might cost you?

MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life Wins Today’s Caregiver Magazine’s 2016 Caregiver Friendly® Award

(Arlington, VA– November 11, 2016) Today’s Caregiver, the first national magazine for all family and professional caregivers, and caregiver.com announce the 2016 Caregiver Friendly® Award recipients. The Caregiver Friendly® Awards are designed to celebrate products, services, books and media created with the needs of caregivers in mind.

During her journey as a caregiver, Kay H. Bransford, had created an organizational system to help her manage all of the information she needed to be an effective financial and healthcare advocate for her parents. Friends and colleagues began to ask her for a copy to use for their loved ones which lead her to refine the product and enter a business plan competition. After being recognized as an “Older-Adult Focused Innovation” by AARP Foundation, the company Bransford launched, MemoryBanc, went on to turn the system into a workbook that could be easily distributed and used by the millions of caregivers around the globe. That workbook, MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life hit the Amazon best-seller status before it was even ready to ship.

“The average caregiver is responsible for over $40,000 in health related expenditures each year, in either personal or directed funds” Says Gary Barg, Today’s Caregiver magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, “This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones.”

About MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life
Designed to walk readers through the process of collecting, organizing, and managing their documents, accounts, and assets, the workbook is used by a wide variety of individuals and families to manage the information they keep in the head, under a keyboard, on their phones, or stuffed away in a file cabinet. MemoryBanc, Your Workbook for Organizing Life provides a roadmap to the key information we need to manage our lives, and can be used as a guide to help a loved one step in and help us, should assistance ever be needed. The book can be found at both brick-and-mortar and online bookstores, as well as Amazon and MemoryBanc.com.

About The Caregiver Friendly Awards
Caregiver Friendly® Awards are presented by Today’s Caregiver magazine to celebrate outstanding books, media, products and services designed with the best interest of the family caregiver in mind. Today’s Caregiver magazine, launched in 1995, is published by Caregiver Media Group, which also produces the Fearless Caregiver Conferences, www.caregiver.com and The Fearless Caregiver book which teaches caregivers how to become their loved one’s fearless advocates within the healthcare system.

# # #

The Fight to Become My Parents’ Caregiver: Kay’s Story

October 13, 2016, Healthline
Most people find themselves plunged into the role of caregiver overnight. I had to fight for it.

What To Do When Dad’s Memory is Bad and He Refuses to See a Doctor

October 6, 2016, Senior Care Advice
Simple steps to get dad help even when he refuses.

How Will You Age Better Than Your Parents?

Summer 2016 — Quarterly Journal of the Life Planning Network
Simple ways to ensure you lead the life you choose and why estate planning is for the living.

Three Important Facts You Should Know about your Digital Rights

July/August — 2016, Life Planning Network
What you don’t know about your lack of online rights, may hurt you … and your loved ones.

Are dementia and Alzheimer’s different?

June 20, 2016 — Kay H. Branford helps describe how these two words cause confusion, and how to make sense of a diagnosis for TelMeNow.

Dealing With Dementia One of the Best Alzheimer’s Blogs

May 18, 2016–Healthline, a consumer health information website with 65 million monthly visitors, named DealingwithDementia one of the best Alzheimer’s blogs for 2016. They shared “At the top of Kay Bransford’s blog is a family photo. The picture is a reminder that Alzheimer’s affects more than just the person who has it. Bransford, the primary caregiver to her parents, offers practical advice, like how to manage financial and medical information, how to cope with caregiver guilt, and how to maintain sibling and family relationships during even the most stressful times.

The Three Reason Every Adult Should Document Their Personal Details

April 26, 2016, The Boomer’s Ultimate Guide
Kay H. Bransford is interviewed on what to organize and why doing this will enhance the life of every adult.

Do you know your child’s passwords?

Parent Nation, January 26, 2016 PN_header
Kay H. Bransford was interviewed on Parent Nation to help families understand why they need to set up a system for sharing their passwords, and how to frame this discussion with your kids.

The Two Documents Everyone Over 18 Should Have in Place

The Brett Winterble Show AM760, January 18, 2016
Brett asks Kay H. Bransford how American’s can make sure none of their assets end up in the “unclaimed money” pool now over $58 Billion. He was shocked to learn the 2 documents, and reasons behind, the need for everyone over 18 to have them.

Getting Organized in 2016

WYCB Spirit 1340am, January 4, 2016
Shawn Perry with the “The Senior Zone” hosted Kay H. Bransford for the first broadcast of 2016. Kay is the author of best-selling book, “MemoryBanc”: Your Workbook for Organizing Life.” Media outlets around the country have turned to Kay to understand and educate families, caregivers and retirees on why it’s important to organize personal documents, accounts, and assets.

Helping a Family Member Age Gracefully While Respecting Their Wishes Takes Planning. Here’s How.

BBC, November 24, 2015
Kay H. Bransford was interviewed and provided some tips on how to help a family member age gracefully and respect their wishes.

How to Help Those You Love

Caregivers’ Circle, November 9, 2015
It is very difficult to get all of the information we need to make the right decisions on behalf or with our aging relatives. How do we organize finances? Manage investments? Gather medical information? Organize personal appointments? This week’s guest, Kay Bransford, developer of MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life offers her personal experience and how this led to the development of a simple method to keep track of all necessary information. She and I discuss all of the essential financial, legal household and personal information that should be collected and organized to assist you in helping another.

Mission Organization

Author’s Talk About It, November 5, 2015
Drs. Rob + Janelle Alex, Ph.D. interview Kay H. Bransford to understand why 7 out of 10 couples would benefit by getting their finances and their household on the same page (of her book!)

Don’t Put Off ‘Til Tommorrow

Savino Veritas, October 22, 2015
Author Kay Bransford discusses her very practical and resourceful book MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life with Tom Savino. Savino, who likes to look at the lighter side of communication between couples, interviews Kay about the reasons she wrote the book and the many ways it applies to American families.

Worried about Parents, Forgetfulness, and Money?

Credit Care Guide, Oct. 21, 2015
If a parent or other loved one develops dementia, a risk that grows with age, finances can present a big problem. In fact, you may have to step in to make sure your mom or dad doesn’t rack up credit card debt or even go broke.

That’s what happened to Kay Bransford, an author and entrepreneur in Virginia, after her mom and dad both developed dementia. When a home contractor tried to charge her parents more than $5,000 for needed repairs, more than five times the going rate, Bransford acted quickly to cancel the contract.

Important Records to Keep About Your Home

Homewise, Oct. 8, 2015
Kay H. Bransford was interviewed to help homeowners understand which documents, accounts, and details are important to keep about your largest asset, your home.

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

Agewyz, Oct. 2015 [Episode 17]
Author and innovator Kay Bransford left her corporate career because she couldn’t work full time, be a mom and an effective medical advocate for her parents, who both had dementia and were in denial about their condition. In this episode, Kay shares her tough yet at times comical caregiving journey with mom and dad, and how it affected her relationship with her siblings and her kids. Caring for her parents not only changed Kay’s perspective on life, it led to a new career: the organizational book she created to manage her parents’ lives—and her own sanity—became the basis for MemoryBanc, an award-winning system Kay created to organize and protect documents, accounts, and assets.

McLean Community Center Helps Residents with Retirement

McLean Connection, Oct. 6, 2015
This fall, McLean Community Center (MCC) has put together a five-part series called “Are You Ready for the Rest of Your Life?” Each presentation will cover key topics that are valuable to anyone looking toward or enjoying the retired life.

Three Technologies to Share with Grandparents

Snapchat Dot Complicated, September 13, 2015
In honor of National Grandparents Day, my kids helped me select three technologies to share with grandparents.

Why You Need to Know Your Kids’ Passwords

Dot Complicated, August, 2015
Our kids are online constantly and most of us have no idea exactly our kids are getting into. We’ve talked with them about the permanence of the medium, counseled them on how to behave and interact with others, but yet we still fail to recognize that we have rights, as parents, to their accounts. Read more >>

Keeping Your Life in Order – WBAL TV

WBAL TV, August 8, 2015
Jennifer Franciotti talks with Kay H. Bransford and how to simplify your life and get your documents in order.

5 Steps to Provide Elder Care for Parents

Bankrate, August, 2015
In addition to having a handle on the documents, accounts, and assets, adult children should start early, get advice from others in similar situations, consider a parent’s preferences, and recognize the long term consequences of the choices being made.

Simplify Your Life

News Channel 8, August 4, 2015
Melanie Hastings and Julie Wright talk with Kay H. Bransford about how to get your papers organized, help mom and dad, and stay on top of your own paper tsunami at home.

How to Help Mom & Dad

WFCM nASHVILLE, August 3, 2015
Kay H. Bransford is interviewed on Mornings with Mac to understand how to step in to help mom and dad should they need it.

Why Parents Need to Talk to Each Other

Parent Entrepreneur Power, July 31, 2015
Mary Kathryn Johnson and Kay Bransford discuss the reality that 7 out of 10 couples are unprepared should something happen to them and the likelihood that they would need to step in and help a parent along the way.

Key Tips to Simplify Your Life

WCCO, July 29, 2015
Jordana Green helps us figure out how we can simplify our lives and understand why families should get started now.

The 2 Documents Everyone Over 18 Should Have

Bringing Inspiration to Earth, July 2015
The host, Robert Sharpe, and Kay H. Bransford talk through real life stories and discuss why having a durable power of attorney and medical directives are important for everyone over 18. We also go into the how and why these details are most important to ensure you have the life quality you desire.

The Benefits of Managing Your Household Using Business Best-Practices

Tough Talk Radio, July 2015
Why using best-practices from business can benefit your personal life. Creating and sharing life goals and setting up systems for no single point of failure will benefit you and your loved ones.

How to Protect Your Personal and Financial Account Information

Aging Boomers, June 2015
Kay H. Bransford is interviewed by host Frank Samson to discuss the award-winning system to help families organize important documents, accounts and assets as well as navigate some legal roadblocks. She discusses these as well as her book, MemoryBanc: Your Workbook to Organizing Life.

Helping Families Care for Loved Ones

The Mary and Melissa Show, May 2015
The show featured Kay Bransford, President and Chief Curator at MemoryBanc, a company that helps families organize important documents and family memories when loved ones are no longer able to do so. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that at least 70% of Americans turning 65 will need three years of care, and many people struggle to care for loved ones because they don’t have the right legal paperwork or the information to be able to act on their behalf. This is where MemoryBanc helps.

MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life is Featured on The Eric Stewart Show

WMAL, 5/17/15
Eric Stewart asks Kay about the origin of her best seller and how it helps individuals and families of all ages.

How to Find Your Piece of $58 Billion

Widowcare, 4/12/2015
Kay H. Bransford, the best selling author of MemoryBanc: Your Workbook for Organizing Life, shared with WidowCare members and other residents of Rockville how to search for and claim this money during her presentation “Save or Shred: Which Papers are Important?” Read this story to see how to claim your money.

McLean Community Center Names Kay Bransford as 2014 Outstanding Volunteer

McLean Connection, 4/14/15
The 2014 H. Gordon Randall Outstanding Volunteer Service award was presented to Kay Bransford for her contributions to the Center’s Lifetime Learning 50+ Program

Turning Tears Into Triumph

Caregiver’s Blog, 3/21/2015
Kay is interviewed by Kenneth E. Ruppert who shares how your life stage can impact your caregiving skills.

Prepared for Life

MemoryBanc, 2/4/2015
– How an Active Family of Five Use MemoryBanc
– Our Mission to Help 250,000 People This Year
– Free Download “Taming the Internet: Keeping Track of Online Passcodes”

11 Products & Services to Get You Organized in 2015

Sparefoot, 1/7/2015
MemoryBanc is features as one of the key products to make 2015 the year you get organized.

Isn’t a Durable Power of Attorney All I Need?

Why Minding Your Stuff Matters, 12/26/2014
Why this one document is the most important for any one over the age of 18.

Sharing my DPOA and Estate Plan Wishes

Why Minding Your Stuff Matters, 12/9/2014
How to make sure the ones who would step in to help you, could, when it’s needed.

Life Preparedness 101

Why Minding Your Stuff Matters,11/28/2014
The basics along with a complete checklist of documents and details a loved one would need to assist you.

Carving Out Time at Thanksgiving to Share

MemoryBanc, Nov. 2014
Tips on how to define your retirement plans and start a discussion with family about your future pursuits.

MemoryBanc Register Named #1 Gift in the 2014 Brain Healthy Gift Guide

Total Brain Health, Nov. 2014
What better gift could you give someone than peace of mind? Keeping the details of our day-to-day lives in order can become difficult as we age, but the MemoryBanc Register organizes and records all of the important documents, accounts and assets so you can easily access them or share them with loved ones.

Questions? (703) 436-2827 | Info@MemoryBanc.com | Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

News

Recent Posts