From the video
House to care months
You came from the video Sell the House or Keep It When Care Costs $10,798? This is the House to Care Months worksheet from it. You write in what the house would sell for, what care costs, and your monthly income, and your months number comes out at the bottom. Free.
Get the free Retirement Money Blueprint, plus the House to Care Months worksheet
Three numbers in, one number out: how many months of care the house pays for once it is sold. It also has the year-by-year table, the who-lives-in-the-house rows and the five checks from the video, on one page you can take to an elder law attorney. The Retirement Money Blueprint and its workbook come with it.
House to Care Months worksheet (Excel)
The same worksheet as a PDF, to print
Your months number
The boxes start with the video's example: the median house and a private nursing home room. Change any of them and the months number at the bottom updates.
| 1. Sale price | |
| 2. Selling costs | |
| 3. Money from the sale (line 1 minus line 2) | |
| 4. Monthly care cost | |
| 5. Monthly income | |
| 6. What the house money covers each month (line 4 minus line 5) |
Year by year
What is left of the sale money at the end of each year, at the care cost and income above.
| End of year | Left from the sale |
|---|
The same house money, other kinds of care
| Care | Monthly median | Months, with your income |
|---|
Care at home is $35 an hour at 44 hours a week, which is not round-the-clock care, so the bill can climb. Costs vary a lot by state. A written quote from a provider near you beats any median.
The video's example
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median house sale price | $429,100 |
| Selling costs at 7% | $30,037 |
| Money from the sale | $399,063 |
| Private room, $129,575 a year | $10,798 a month |
| Months of private-room care, no income | 37.0 |
| Shared room, $9,581 a month | 41.7 months |
| Private room with $2,500 a month of income | 48.1 |
| Private room with $1,000 a month of income | 40.7 months |
Who lives in the house decides the path
| Your row | What the federal rules say |
|---|---|
| 1. Your spouse still lives in the house | For Medicaid the house isn't counted, and no repayment is sought while your spouse lives there. Depending on your state, your spouse can keep up to $162,660 of savings and an income floor of at least $2,705 a month in most states (2026). |
| 2. You live alone, and going home is realistic | The house can stay uncounted while you intend to return. How strictly your state reads that varies. |
| 3. You live alone, and you won't be going home | The house counts like savings. Selling it, or planning years ahead, are the real choices, and your months number above is how long the house carries you. |
| 4. You're healthy, and care looks five or more years off | Planning ahead is open: Medicaid looks back 60 months at gifts, so anything moved more than 60 months before an application is outside the window. Long-term care insurance is the other route. |
Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care; it covers up to 100 days of skilled nursing after a 3-day hospital stay. Medicaid pays for long stays once savings are spent down to a limit, $2,000 in many states. A gift inside the 60-month look-back brings months without Medicaid help: the value given away divided by your state's average monthly private-pay nursing home cost. As an illustration, $429,100 ÷ $10,798 is about 39.7 months; your state's divisor differs.
Your House to Care Months worksheet
Filled in from the calculator above. Print it and take it to any call or meeting.
| 1. What the house would sell for | |
| 2. Selling costs () | |
| 3. Money from the sale | |
| 4. Monthly care cost | |
| 5. Monthly income | |
| 6. Line 4 minus line 5 | |
| 7. Months of care (line 3 ÷ line 6) |
Five checks
- Who lives in the house? A spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. A sibling who co-owns it and lived there a year before you moved gets some protections too.
- If you live alone, is going home realistic? Ask your state Medicaid office: how does my state apply intent to return for the home, and is there a time limit?
- Your months number, line 7 above.
- Any transfers in the last 60 months: gifts, deed changes, or a child added to the title. Note the dates and amounts.
- Three questions for an elder law attorney in your state: Does my state recover only from probate, or more? What is the deadline to ask for a hardship waiver? Would an irrevocable trust, or insurance, fit me?
Papers to have ready: your deed, 60 months of bank statements, and your income letters. Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116 (call or text).
Care costs: CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey national medians. House price: NAR median existing-home price, August 2026. Selling costs of 7% are an assumption. State rules vary; talk to an elder law attorney in your state. Education, not financial advice.
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