Planning for older age in your current home – what you need to consider
Have you started to consider planning for older age in your current home?
We spend years, don’t we, making our home just as we like it, especially those years after our kids have left home. Then we invest our time and energy and our money in getting it ship shape again.
Why we need to plan
It is important though to realise that our home has to change as we do and that if we do want to spend our old age in the same home we have now that we need to plan for it in advance. If we don’t we may have to move into a retirement home sooner rather than later. Or we may have to make the move to a bungalow or to sheltered accommodation. Either way, we will probably find if we don’t get planning we will have to get moving and we may well lose the home we have cherished for so many years.
Some needs to consider
All people in their old age have different and differing needs and some will, of course, be far more mobile than others.
Let’s look at some of the areas you may wish to plan for:
- You could almost certainly make life easier by getting a stair lift Stair lifts are just brilliant inventions that allow you to keep mobile between several levels of you r home and avoid either moving or having to bring both bedroom and bathrooms downstairs. In fact, a stair lift can be a real money saving option as relocating bathrooms/bedrooms can be expensive as well as being a huge effort!
- Grab rails are also handy things to install, in bathrooms, by the toilet and by steps. These are really good at assisting mobility and preventing falls – which can lead to a whole raft of other debilitating conditions and consequent adaptations. They are a good, preventative measure
- You may also want to think about storage. If your Christmas tree lights and toolbox are stored up your loft, accessible only by a rickety ladder you may well want to make some changes. Any storage needs to be safely accessible as you head into older age.
- Bath seats are also useful things to install as they can keep you safe and again act as a preventative measure against falls. Bathing can be tricky business as you get older and it may be that you consider a walk in bath as an even safer option.
Now it could be that you require all or none of the above but they are all worth considering. Physical changes in your mobility should not mean that you have to change your home (just some aspects of your home) and it is worth preparing for that both financially and psychologically.
Other things to consider when planning for older age in your current home are financial. You need to go about ensuring your mortgage will be paid off or covered in some way as you head into retirement. The last thing you need is paying out for lots of adaptations at a time when your income has reduced so this does all need considering in advance.
Planning for older age in your current home is well with considering as retaining your home and your independence as far as possible will really boost your wellbeing.
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