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By Steve Barker
(Sponsored Content)
Anyone who is approaching the age of retirement or planning for their eventual retirement is likely to give a lot of thought to just how much they’ll need to enjoy their golden years. While affordable life insurance policies are something else to add to the retirement list, so, too, is whether it would be a good idea to look into living with other people in shared housing: not only to reduce living expenses, but for a host of other reasons as well. Ready to learn more?
High cost of living combined with diminished resources
No matter where you live, chances are good that the cost of living has gone up in the past couple of years, a trend that is likely to continue. While you can control how much you save for retirement, you cannot control how expensive everything from food to medication will be when you’re ready to retire. Additionally, there may not be government or federal financial resources available when you reach the age of retirement, cutting off another source of income. Living with roommates can help immensely in cutting down the cost of living without the need for you to go to great financial and personal lengths to make your living situation work.
You have a built-In social circle
Many seniors grow lonely as they age because they aren’t able to get up and about as much as they used to when they were younger. When you live with people you get along with, being social is as easy as walking down the hall. Elderly individuals who have mobility issues don’t have to worry about making special transportation arrangements to spend time with other people, and being social can be mentally and emotionally beneficial for everyone, no matter their age or health.
Share common house chores
Keeping an entire house clean can be quite a task even for married seniors. Rather than hiring house cleaning services, which can drain your retirement funds, you may find it’s better to divide the chores between the people you live with. Besides saving money, chores allow you to move around and keep somewhat active, which senior citizens need to remain healthy.
Peace of mind
With the number of emergencies that senior citizens are susceptible to, it’s nice having people around who can help you if need be. If you fall or have a stroke, there’s a higher chance that someone will be around to help you get proper and immediate medical attention. There are also medical conditions like dementia and Alzheimers that affect you slowly over time, and living with people who see you every day and know your normal behaviors and habits could be instrumental in catching symptoms before they result in serious consequences.
Pick your roommates carefully
Just as you probably did with your first roommate(s), you want to give plenty of thought to the type of person you live with during your retirement. Everyone in the house should get along well, have complementary lifestyles and have a great deal of trust in each other. While you don’t have to be best friends, you should at least be able to tolerate sharing a meal, catching a movie or having a nice chat together. Be clear on the type of roommate relationship you want to have, and understand where each roommate stands regarding performing chores around the house and dividing the cost of living. After all, you don’t want to live in a house where no one like scrubbing the toilet or washing dishes; balance is essential.
There’s nothing wrong with going back to having roommates when you’re older and likely to need a bit of help anyway. The right arrangement can offer a number of benefits, financial and otherwise.
Steve Barker loves to read books. He’s best known for writing finance-related issues like planning budget, tax saving tips, etc. He also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from startups to worldwide travel. He enjoys pie, as should all right-thinking people. You can go through his writings to get helpful information on finance-related topics. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading him.
