Downsizing – moving into that smaller, better-organized, better-located retirement residence that’s just right for you as you age – is a popular topic these days. We’ve presented dozens of articles here on the AgingOptions blog about where and why to downsize. But here’s an article we found last fall on the MarketWatch website that we…
If you’re a caregiver, actively caring for a loved one with serious health issues, the symptoms may sound all too familiar. You find yourself feeling exhausted all the time. Sometimes you feel irritable, even losing your sense of sympathy for the person you’re helping. You may have experienced physical symptoms such as headaches or weight…
Few things are more important to retirees than Medicare. Tens of millions of Americans, most of them 65 and older, rely on Medicare to keep them healthy, pay for all or most of their prescriptions, and help them deal with chronic medical conditions that can become much more serious with age. Yet for a program…
What stresses you out? If you’re like nearly two-thirds of Americans, issues surrounding money are right up there near the top of the list, according to the American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America” survey. Money ranked alongside our divisive national politics and work-related stress as the leading source of anxiety among our fellow citizens. Financial…
Here at AgingOptions, we run across articles from time to time that make us want to shout “Amen!” in heartfelt agreement. That was our reaction when we read this Judith Graham article on the Kaiser Health News website. Her premise: the American medical system, Graham asserts, provides poor service to seniors, because it is rife…
The traditional to-do list for couples approaching retirement includes several familiar elements: signing up for Medicare, deciding when to take Social Security, figuring out what to do about the 401(k), and so on. But what about selling the big family home and downsizing to the smaller house with lower costs and less maintenance? A significant…
Generosity is a wonderful thing. If you’re at a stage in your life where you feel you have plenty of resources, and you’re motivated by a desire to give some of your money or possessions to those you love, that’s an admirable impulse – but beware. Your generous spirit can end up causing more trouble…
If you’re not doing it, you probably know someone who is. Over the past few decades, millions of people have bought into the idea that the key to better health is walking at least 10,000 steps per day. That’s a worthwhile goal, but is it valid? New medical research has revealed that, while there’s probably…
Big numbers have a way of getting our attention, especially when those big numbers are intended to scare us. One of the “big numbers” that often scares retirees is the projected cost of medical care: usually it’s presented as a huge lump-sum dollar amount, as in, “The average retired couple will need at least $280,000…
The late American psychologist Wayne Dyer once said, “If you are what you do, then when you don’t – you aren’t.” This little aphorism accurately describes the plight of many retirees. Their identity is so wedded to their work that, once they quit their jobs, that sense of identity disappears. In short, they’ve lost their…