Save for the future without jeopardizing benefits

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ABLEnow.

Raising a child with special needs

When Charlie was first diagnosed with autism almost three years ago we didn’t know what to expect for the future. We had to learn everything about a diagnosis we knew very little about. We had to learn technical and administrative things about therapy, health insurance, and acronyms, but we also had to learn how we could best help Charlie in our daily life. These are skills we’re still learning everyday three years later.

There’s one thing we learned very quickly though… the cost of raising a nonverbal child with autism. It didn’t take us long to realize that therapy services were going to be expensive. Charlie is in ABA therapy 36 hours a week.

I often talk about what it’s like to raise a child like Charlie from an emotional standpoint, but there’s also a heavy financial weight that comes with an autism diagnosis. Charlie is a high-needs kiddo. Therapy alone costs thousands of dollars per year.

We receive a small amount from SSI for him every month but it’s not much, and Charlie’s grandparents help with his therapy too. As soon as families start making even a modest amount of money they’re often excluded from benefit programs. For us, we want to be able to save for Charlie’s future but assumed it wasn’t possible without losing benefits. Or so we thought…

How to save without losing benefits?

I recently learned about an awesome program called ABLEnow. With ABLEnow, you can save for the future without jeopardizing your eligibility for disability benefits. You can save and invest in a simple and tax-advantaged ABLEnow account without losing benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These programs are often critical for us and so many other families out there.

Advocates fought hard so people with disabilities could save without losing benefits, resulting in the federal ABLE Act and this, the ABLEnow program. One way to think about it is that ABLEnow empowers people with disabilities to achieve more independence and a better quality of life, all from the financial security it can bring you.

With an ABLEnow account, you can use the money for a variety of qualified disability expenses related to maintaining health, independence, and quality of life. A few examples includes housing and living expenses, medical equipment, therapy, and much more. It gives individuals a reliable tool to build the best life possible. Conveniently, you can open and manage your ABLEnow account online.

For more information, take a look at this informative video —> https://vimeo.com/ABLEnow/introduction

How to use your ABLEnow account

ABLEnow is open for enrollment to eligible individuals in all 50 states. We’re planning on saving money every month for Charlie now that we don’t have to worry about losing benefits. With the holidays around the corner, I think it’s a great gift idea for relatives too. They can gift money to Charlie’s ABLEnow account knowing that that money will be safe and used for purposeful expenses and purchases important for Charlie’s wellbeing and development.

ABLEnow is administered by Virginia529, the country’s largest college savings plan, which now has an expanded mission to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. I’m thankful something like this exists. I invite you to read more in this informative ABLEnow FAQ here —> https://www.able-now.com/resources/faqs

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ABLEnow.