Balancing the chequebook and managing your overall finances becomes even more important as seniors enter retirement. Without a pay cheque coming in from a job, learning to budget with a pension or other savings can be challenging. This is an issue to navigate whether living alone, in a retirement or long term care home.
Yet, moving into a retirement or long term care home, can offer a more managed financial experience with costs that can be regularly expected. When many people look at the cost of a retirement residence, they get sticker shock but there are wider factors that are important. In this article, we briefly touch on some of the considerations that frequently come up when planning a move to one of Caressant Care’s homes.
The costs of home ownership
Even if you’ve paid off your home’s mortgage, there are still lots of added costs — taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities — it all adds up. In fact, according to the 2021 Seniors Housing Survey, the total monthly expense for a $720,000 house is around $4,549. Over a year, this adds up to over $50,000.
In addition, as you age, you might have to make changes to your home. This may mean renovations to make things more accessible.
Saving day-to-day costs
Moving into a retirement home provides predictability as we noted earlier. Caressant Care homes charge a monthly rate between $2,000 to $4,000. This includes not just your room, but also the cost of food and other entertainment.
Not paying for groceries every week, eating out less and overall, reducing your day-to-day costs are a natural part of moving into a retirement home. While residents’ certainly still spend money — everything from a haircut to a walk to a local coffee shop — virtually everyone says their incidental costs drastically drop.
Seek professional advice
While reading this article is a good start to getting you thinking about the types of things to think about when you consider your finances and moving into a retirement or long term care home, it cannot replace sound advice from a professional.
Moving is a big change and it requires significant choices. Many residents sell their homes and make financial investments with the equity they have leveraged; this is hard to do on one’s own. Getting counsel from a trusted financial advisor is a critical step before deciding how to move and when.
Everyone’s circumstances are different, and they require decisions that can only be made by you. Cost will absolutely be a factor when considering living in a retirement or long term care home. It’s our hope that as you consider Caressant Care, you find value and satisfaction in the life you could lead in one of our homes.
