Aging in your own home, safely, independently and comfortably is the goal of most seniors. In fact, in one report commissioned by AARP, 90% of seniors over the age of 65 preferred to live in their current home as they aged.
However, aging in place can present significant challenges. Poor health, isolation, and financial distress can all force some seniors to seek alternative living arrangements before they really want to.
Here are 5 tips to help you live as long as you possibly can in your own home.
Stay Connected
Staying in touch with family and friends is a big part of everyone’s health and happiness. Being a part of a community whether it’s family dinners, cards, bingo, dancing or movie night at the senior center is an integral part of everyone’s mental and emotional health.
However, as we age, mobility often becomes an issue and being able to socialize outside our homes can become increasingly difficult, leading to social isolation and depression.
The great news is, that there are tons of new technologies that make it easier than ever to communicate. Whether it’s phone, text, facetime, facebook or skype there is no shortage of opportunities for friends and family to stay in touch daily.
Keep Fit As A Fiddle
Often times, declining health and our inability to perform activities of daily living like showering, cooking, dressing and toileting, force seniors to move into assisted living communities to get the requisite help.
While some ailments are unavoidable, there is no doubt that staying as fit as possible will help keep you healthier and more independent.
To help you stay fit we would recommend some form of exercise that you enjoy doing. We’ve actually researched the answer to the following question: if there was only one exercise a senior could choose, which would be the most beneficial.
According to a Harvard Health study, they recommend you try one of the following exercises: swimming, tai chi, walking, kegel exercises or strength training.
Make A Difference
Learning, being productive and making a difference all contribute to our vitality. Whether you’re home bound or able to get up and go there are tons of opportunities to lead a life with purpose.
Giving back can make us all feel good. If you have the time, use some of it to help others. This can be with your own family and grandchildren or you can volunteer. There are more and more volunteering opportunities available to seniors from the local library to the community soup kitchen.
Don’t stop learning. It used to be that only kids went to class. Now seniors of all stripes are taking classes on everything from current events to astronomy in community centers and university extension classes. In fact, world classes colleges and universities like Boston College and Penn State have up to 1,000 seniors audit their classes every day!
If it’s difficult for you to leave your home, you might want to explore taking classes at an online university such as edx.org. They offer courses from MIT, Harvard and UC Berkley free!
If you find the formality of class work out of the question, create your own syllabus and read! Explore your local library. Many libraries offer programs for seniors that will deliver books right to your door completely free!
Learning a new language is also very challenging and stimulating. There are now a host of online websites and applications like Duolingo and Babbel that offer daily language learning regimens completely free!
If cards or strategy games are your thing, try playing online. Millions of players from all over the world, at every level, play chess, backgammon, bridge, blackjack, poker and mahjong everyday!
No matter the activity, if you’re living on your own, you’ll have to pay special attention to ensuring you give yourself every opportunity to learn and stay productive.
Stay Safe and Secure
As we age our homes need to adapt to our needs. Long gone are the days when we ran up our stairs two steps at a time!
Here are a few tips to make your home more senior friendly:
- Make it fall proof. This means add lighting, remove area rugs, add grip tape to bathtubs and showers, add grab bars in bathrooms, remove clutter and raise toilet seats if necessary.
- Get a medical alert system. In the event you become one of the 25% of seniors who fall this year, you’ll want the protection of one of the newer medical alert systems that can automatically detect a fall and alert emergency responders and your family to your exact location – in or outside your home.
- Put everyday items within easy reach, especially in the kitchen. Put the heavier items at a height between your hips and your shoulders.
- Accessorize for independence. If you’re living alone you’ll have to be able to open your can of tuna and jar of peanut butter on your own. Get some cheap mechanical help with things like an electronic can opener and an EZ Jar opener. Get an extended hand grabber to change ceiling light bulbs.
- Get comfy, but dress smart. We’re all for slippers, but make sure they don’t have a high heel and they fit snuggly around the back of your foot. Also, if you have a night gown or robe, make sure the sleeves don’t hang too low to avoid catching fire on the stove top.
Get Financially Flexible
Many seniors have a significant portion of their net worth tied up in their homes. As a result, when they’re looking for financial flexibility they often choose to sell their home to gain access to their home equity.
While not a bad decision, there are other options available. For example, life settlements offer a very convenient way for seniors with universal life insurance policies to access upwards of 20% of the value of the policy’s death benefit. Put another way, if your policy’s death benefit is $1,000,000, you could possibly get access to a $200,000 settlement!
Another option for homeowners is to take out a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage allows seniors to access their home’s equity without ever having to repay the loan until they die or sell the home!
Whatever your scenario, before thinking you have to sell your home to fund a nurse’s aid or a live-in caregiver, explore some alternative options with a seasoned financial advisor that has a fiduciary duty to you and you alone.
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