Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Based on data from The Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs, by 2022, there will be around 800 nursing homes in Indonesia with a population of up to 25 thousand people. This number is predicted to continue to increase in line with the current reality where the marriage to birth rate is falling.

The decline in the number of marriages is reflected in the data The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2023 will see the number of marriages in Indonesia fall by 128 thousand annually to 1.57 million. And in the last decade the marriage rate fell by 28.63%.

It is also predicted that the decreasing number of marriages will have implications for the number of child births which will decrease. As is known, the results of the BPS survey in 2020 stated that the total birth rate (total fertility rate) was only 2.10.

Not long ago, the Indonesian Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini voiced his comments regarding his disagreement with the concept of nursing homes.

“Nursing homes are a foreign culture. Actually, in my opinion, I don't agree. It doesn't suit our culture. Later, many children will think, oh well, their parents can be left there. Is it really like that? Our culture, our religion, doesn't teach like that,” said Social Minister Risma to the media crew.

According to him, the presence of a nursing home could be a justification for a child refusing to care for the elderly in the family. He also encouraged families to care for the elderly, instead of leaving them in nursing homes.

What is your response regarding this? Do you agree with Social Minister Risma's comments?

If the answer is yes, but you are still struggling to recover your finances, there are several things you can do below.

Provide health insurance according to your ability to your parents

This may be the main priority that must be fulfilled. Medical costs are not cheap, and it is very easy for critical illnesses to appear and attack people in old age.

Without health insurance, you will have to bear the incredibly expensive medical costs when a disaster occurs.

Health insurance does not have to be in the form of private health insurance, but can be in the form of BPJS Health whose fees are much cheaper. By paying BPJS contributions regularly, protection will be active and your parents can receive free treatment at various health facilities.

Rearrange household expenses

Re-record your routine expenses for a month, and after that you can create your own expense post for your parents' expenses, starting from food, daily necessities and so on. An increase in expenses is a natural thing to happen when you have to care for your parents.

Without financial records, you will not have an idea of ​​how much expenses you can allocate to your parents. Parental expenses can be variable (not fixed) expenses and can cause you to experience a monthly cash flow deficit.

Be wise in managing your lifestyle expenses

Reducing does not mean completely eliminating these expense items. Even though the financial burden feels heavy, you still have to be able to have time for yourself to have fun using your personal money.

It's just that like it or not, these expenses have to be cut so that you have more money that can be used to support your parents' lives.

Just allocate funds for lifestyle needs or doing things you like, amounting to 10% of your income.

Increase your income

The solution to most financial problems is of course to increase your monthly income. But be aware that not everyone is trained and used to this one thing.

Learn new skills and look for side job opportunities that you can do to care for your parents.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(aak/aak)