As you get up there in years, many seniors who can afford the outlay contemplate living in a senior care community that will provide not only attractive housing for independent living, but also includes facilities for assisted living and skilled care (a much preferable moniker for nursing home).
Some people have no problem deciding on the best time to make the move, visiting local continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), selecting one that best meets their needs, and, if necessary, getting on the waiting list. The search can certainly commence well before the planned time to make the move. But this is such a momentous and emotional decision, it’s easy to put it off. There are excuses aplenty to dawdle.
We’re not quite sure where we’ll live. You had better start solving this dilemma now, lest you spend most of the rest of your life dwelling on geographic decisions. Begin by exploring locales that are of interest to you.
It’s going to take years to clean out the house. Now is the time to get your well loved possessions into the hands of those you care about. This process will be beneficial to both now (while you are living) rather than later. Will it take years? Indeed, it might, but a good rule of thumb is to multiply the time you think it will take to go through decades of accumulated junk by three. Thus, if you think it will take a year to do the cleanout, it will take three years. It is best to undertake this process now (pun intended).
We’re too young and active to move into an old folks home. Your visits to these facilities will show vibrant communities. (They don’t hide the residents during prospect tours and hire professional actors to convey a false image of the mileau.) That’s why seniors who choose to make the move are by and large very happy there. Remember, the goal is to find a place where you feel at home.
We’re in pretty good health so a move now will be premature. This can be a big mistake, hence the title of this article. CCRCs have health requirements for prospective residents. A health “event” could be serious enough to prevent your qualifying. Plenty of people have impaired their chances of entering a CCRC because of a health issue. Of course, these can arise at any time, but the longer you dawdle on the move, the greater the likelihood of an adverse health episode.
Smart Money Tips
- Store unused valuables in a safe deposit box. If you have some valuable jewelry or other baubles that you don’t use very often, if at all, store them in a safe deposit box. They’re safer there and they’re a lot cheaper to insure. And yes, you should insure any valuables that you keep in a safe deposit box, because the bank doesn’t provide insurance coverage. Don’t forget to prepare a list of what’s held in the safe deposit box. A worthy alternative to a bank safe deposit box is a home safe, but it should be fire resistant, hidden, and bolted down so that burglars can’t carry it off.
- Know what you’re getting into before you buy an exchange-traded fund. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) come in a variety of flavors, and some could create an unpleasant surprise. ETFs have become very popular for good reasons. They usually assess low fees, many endeavor to keep taxes low, and they are designed to replicate the performance of a particular index which is a lot better than most actively managed mutual funds or individual investors are able to achieve. But the popularity of ETFs has spawned a growing number of offerings that are far afield from the traditional ETF that simply mimics a well-regarded index, like the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. While some of them may be rightful additions to your investment stable, do your homework first to understand what you’re getting into.
Food for Thought
Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
–Saint Francis of Assisi
Money Can Be Funny
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.
-Herbert Hoover
Word of the Week
accismus (ak-SIZ-muhs) – A feigned refusal of something that is actually desired.
Origin: From the Greek akkismos meaning coyness or affectation.
When Martha said she didn’t want to make the softball team, you knew it was just accismus because she’d been talking about nothing else since January.