If you’ve noticed your cost of living increasing each year, you’re not alone. Everything costs more today than it did even five years ago. And if you’re an older adult who fondly remembers $90-a-month mortgage payments and 49-cents-a-pound ground beef, wrapping your head around today’s prices can be difficult at best.
Do you wish to reside in a senior living community where caring team members help make your golden years truly golden? However, you fear that you can’t afford to make such a move. But is this really true?
Cost of Living at Home
Most older adults believe that continuing to live at home costs considerably less than living in a retirement community. But at-home living comes with its own significant costs, including the following:
- Mortgage payment
- Groceries and other necessities
- Property taxes
- Homeowner’s insurance
- Home repairs and maintenance
- Lawn and landscaping care and maintenance
- Ever-increasing utility bills
- Transportation costs
- In-home medical or care assistance
If you’ve never added up your monthly at-home living costs, you should do so. You may be surprised to discover that they total nearly as much as it would cost you to live in a retirement community where the monthly fee likely would include utilities and indoor and outdoor maintenance. Depending on the community, it might also include meals, transportation, and home-care.
Older Adult Living Options
It may surprise you to learn that you have several living options from which to choose, including the following:
- Independent living apartment community
- Assisted living community
- Assisted living and memory care community
- Assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation community
Monthly costs vary according to the type of community, its geographic location, and the level of assistance you desire or require. As your needs increase, so does your monthly cost. Nevertheless, assisted living community costs compare favorably with the costs associated with hiring a cleaning service or home health aide to allow you to continue living in your own home.
Tips for Keeping Costs Down
Like you, senior living communities face rising real estate expenses and cost of living increases. Consequently, the best way to minimize your costs is to determine exactly what is important to you. In other words, how many services and amenities do you actually need as opposed to want? It goes without saying that a senior living community that provides skilled nursing services will cost more than one that provides assisted living services only.
Also, check into the types of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ and state benefits you’re entitled to. Here at Elder Care Alliance, we not only help you do this, but also help you coordinate your health care between and among your various providers.
In addition, we have a convenient online Care Needs Assessment that lets you quickly determine if senior living in one of our unique communities is the right choice for you.
Finally, all of our Elder Care Alliance communities provide you with a wide variety of included programs for healthy and enjoyable aging, such as brain fitness activities, exercise classes, art classes, live in-house performances by musicians, dancers and others, and the opportunity to experience intergenerational projects and activities.
