One would think as we age, life would be easier to navigate. Life experience does bring wisdom, but aging can bring events into our life that we have not experienced, proving that living life at any stage can bring new challenges.
As I look around the neighborhood (a 55 plus community or active adult community as they like to be called) I can see the future. Like a train coming at me in a tunnel, there is no escape…at some point, I will be slammed just like others before me.
The one thing I am determined to do is to live and not be a financial burden to my children. I hear them say to me, “Mom, don’t worry about not spending your money…live and have fun.” Inside I am thinking right…wait until it is time to change my diaper! There is a joke circulating that reads: Does anyone know why baby diapers are called Luvs & Huggies while old people diapers are called Depends? Cause if a baby craps in their pants, you are still gonna Luv'em & Hug’em. If an old person craps in their pants, will they still be Luv'ed or Hugged? That "Depends" on who's ass is in the Will.” We old folks may laugh at this one but I have not heard anyone tell this joke without hearing a chorus of “ain’t that the truth” following.
So I am exploring the “what’s next” in my life. I am proud of the fact that I am living and doing what I am doing at this stage. My husband was uninsurable since he was 36 due to medical conditions so there was not a large life insurance policy to pad my aging days. What I am living on is what we together saved during our working years. With wise advice and prudent spending habits that allowed us to enjoy life and still save I am lucky. But with my health being good, and money not easy to grow, I must maintain the balance in my life that I have always lived in order to continue my independence.
Like many I am sure, I feel out of sink with the world. I’m 69 and still full of spunk and a desire to wander around and see a few more things before I can’t. As I see it, I have about 8 to 10 good years left in me that I can do these things without any physical handicaps. And because Pat and I were “cheated” out of those opportunities by his illness during those “empty nest” years, my desire is strong. But few my age are as wanderlust as I am. They have already traveled….gone places….done things…they are content with a trip nearby and hanging around home. I get that, but for me, that means traveling alone and a higher cost for a trip. So that being said, how do I make my money stretch so as not to be a financial burden to my kids and still enjoy my days doing a bit of what I want to do.
So, I begin the journey of looking to downsize. These decisions are not easy and cannot be addressed in one writing. I am discovering it can be very complicated and VERY expensive. I cannot imagine as the baby boomers fill the senior spaces available how competition for the limited opportunities for seniors will only increase what is already a pricey adventure. No wonder I see so many around me still working to make their money stretch.
So my first thought is, do I want to get a part time job to make my money stretch? But then that really limits my ability to travel and seems to defeat my goal. So staying here and working does not seem to be the place I want to go to first.
When I let it be known to my kids what I was thinking I had one son who offered up his place with a willingness to install a mother-in-law apartment in their home. A possibility. But I worry that the one that gets me gets me until the end. I was thinking about the 3 that have settled into homes and their lives. All of them got a helping hand, even if a small one, in some way when they bought their first home. I worry about my daughter, who alone in life does not have a working partner like the others have had…and part of me would like to provide that helping hand to her like the others got. So “moving in” with one has some positive opportunities. But before I make my final decision, I shall explore other “senior” possibilities.
I’ll let you know what I find!
