Budgeting
Majority of older adults are living with a limited income; therefore, budgeting for the year is particularly important. We’ve developed a few tips to guide you in beginning your yearly budget:
- Creating a monthly expense worksheet can help you get a good idea on what costs are fixed for each month and what costs can be adjusted if they create a deficit in your income.
- Searching senior savings programs or government benefits can help limit the costs coming from your fixed income. These could include nutritional assistance, housing assistance, or other federal and state discount programs.
- Decide what hobbies you have been interested in getting into. Doing so will allow you to allocate money for these new hobbies without breaking the bank. Sometimes we get excited about new hobbies and spend too much of our budgets on them so pre-budgeting is helpful.
Home Safety
Many injuries for older adults happen in their homes. These injuries can result in adjusting ones life, higher medical expenses, and sometimes worse things. These can all be prevented if you plan to make your home safer. Some alterations to be done to create a safer home are: Removing clutter, being mindful of area rugs and other trip/fall hazards, adding railings or support systems, installing fire safety devices, installing life alert devices, eliminating the need to go up and down stairs often, installing floor grips on slippery surfaces, and many more.
By planning out the changes to be made and when, you can lower the chances of getting injured in your own home this year.
Transportation
Being an older adult typically comes with having to get frequent checkups to make sure everything is operating correctly. This can be a challenging task for many older adults who may not drive or are starting to feel uncomfortable driving in inclement weather or at night. Planning out how you or your loved one will get to and from places on time can relieve you of a huge stressor. This could include uber service, public transportation, fellow loved ones, or even senior services.
Caregiving
The most important thing to plan out for the new year is senior care. Each year is a good time to sit down and decide if you or your loved one can still maintain your safest and best life on their own or if it is time to consider getting a caregiver.
This requires asking the hard questions such as,
“Can they get places on their own?”
“Do they have trouble remembering what they’re doing?”
“Are they able to take care of themselves to their best ability?”
If any of these questions make you think of yourself or your loved one, it might be the year you contact your local Senior Helpers or take our “Is Caregiving Right for me?” quiz.