Myth-Busting: “It’s less expensive and more financially secure for me to stay in my current home.”

One concern that never seems to go away, no matter our age, is saving money. We worry about saving to buy a house, saving to send our children to college, saving for the dream vacation, and eventually, we worry about having enough in our savings to carry us through retirement.

According to a survey of older Americans done by Age Wave, a research and consulting company, it may seem like moving to a continuing care retirement community isn’t a fiscally sound decision.

Boxes of Life: Lightening the Load

By: Ann Burnside Love

It’s summer, time to shed layers of clothing … and other belongings as well.

Whether you’re beginning to think about moving to a senior retirement community, or you’re moving soon, or if you took entirely too much to your new retirement residence — planning to think about it afterwards, as many people do — here are suggestions for handling all those boxes which contain chapters of your life.

Myth-Busting: “My current home is the best option to continue an active social life and to stay connected with friends in the years ahead.”

Did you know that just like eating your vegetables and getting exercise, maintaining friendships is one of the primary ways to continue living an active, healthy lifestyle? It’s true! In an article about the health benefits of friendship, the Cleveland Clinic notes that friendships have been found to increase longevity, delay memory loss and reduce stress.

But we already felt that in our bones, didn’t we? Since having an active social life is so important as we age, we must consider our social lives as a factor when deciding where we will spend our retirement years — even if socializing doesn’t come easily.

The Best Mother's Day Gift May Be...

By: Ann Burnside Love

Since my four children’s father died while they were still very young, over the years they’ve found some special ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, ranging from seriously thoughtful to downright funny and beyond.

One of my best ever Mother’s Day gifts happened several years ago, when one son made it my gift to plant all the annual flowers I had just bought when I had a big yard and suddenly could no longer do all the gardening myself. For the last few years it has become a tradition. So now he visits me at my retirement community toting a huge bag of potting soil, trailed by one of my beloved teenage grandsons toting tools. They plant new flowers on my balcony in my favorite containers — and refresh my indoor plants. (I do everything I can to prevent Vanessa the cat from munching on the greenery, but …)

Myth-Busting: "My current home is the best place to live in my retirement years"

“My current home is the best place to live in my retirement years.”

How many of you have thought that’s true? How many of you are sure there is no better option for you than remaining in the home where you’ve spent decades living? After all, this is where you raised your children, hosted parties for friends and family, celebrated holidays, planted your annual gardens and stored decades of fond memories. Often, when looking back, our minds gloss over the negatives, choosing to remember the happy times and moments.

If you are still living in this home, you have to consider that it is also where you had to pay holiday rates to a plumber because your son wanted to see if his toy car would flush down the toilet. It’s where you had to pay to have the leaking roof repaired just after you paid for your daughter’s first year of college. It’s where you had to shovel 18 inches of snow to be able to get to a doctor’s appointment, where you had to pay to have the fence repaired, the swimming pool liner replaced, and let’s not forget that you still have to make dinner, put away the leftovers and clean the kitchen every night.

With all that considered, your home—as chock full of good times as it has been—may not be the best home to spend your retirement years.

A Car, A Car, My Kingdom for a Car!

By Ann Burnside Love

With apologies to Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” transportation is a very big thing for most retirees. For years, as we retain our independence, driving our own car is one of the most important things we do. We drive to the mall and the grocery store, our physicians’ offices, to the golf course, tennis courts, bowling alleys, restaurants, and to our children’s homes if they live nearby. We drive to special events and meetings. We explore the national parks, spend the winter in warm places and drive there whenever it’s the right time.

The "Boomers" Retirement Community is Different

I live in a retirement community built 15 years ago.  Generally, the accommodations are what I expected. I’m very comfortable.

However. There is a very different community rising on 100 acres across the street, definitely part of our community by name, ownership and management. It’s specifically designed for boomers, who—research shows—want a different style of retirement. And what is that?

I visited the model home for this new section the other day, and can certainly see that these roomy residences are intended for 55-plus residents and up, members of the “boomers” generation; the model had elegance, spaciousness, granite counters and profoundly large closets. The hostess/marketer explained that “these boomer homes are for retirees 55-plus. They are not putting off moving from the homes where they raised their children. They are so ready for no-maintenance, single-level homes with fireplaces and plenty of space. They want to have fun. These customers are looking for ease of living, attractive and versatile space, attached homes, the wave of the future. They feel entitled.”

I came away impressed, not only with the space, but also with a vision of a new lifestyle.