Are You Prepared? Things Everyone Should Know As They Age

We all age and we all get bombarded with messages about how to slow it down, reverse it, and all together avoid it. Aging is all too often seen as a bad thing or a scary thing. But aging doesn’t have to be either of those things if you’re prepared. Being prepared means to ready something or someone to deal with a challenge. While aging shouldn’t be a challenge it can present a variety of challenges and preparedness covers a wide range of things to do when some of these difficulties come to light.

1. Plan for emergencies: Even with all the preparation in the world you can’t be sure what’s going to happen. You need to ensure that you know who to call in an emergency, you can even set up emergency contacts in your phone in case someone needs to call for you! Everyone should also consider investing in a home security system and emergency funds. Emergency funds should have enough to cover a few months of home payments (rent or mortgage), a few months of utility payments, and some money for groceries.
2. Consider housing: Even if you want to stay in your own home, it’s not always possible and it’s best to save for future housing needs. Take a look at current costs for assisted living, memory care, home nursing, senior living communities, and other options, and consider your plan for paying if you need to use one of these options. You will also want to create a care plan of the things you would like to have and things you will need if you need to move into a care home or facility. If you’re scared about moving into a facility check out one of our blog posts about the benefits of assisted living here!
3. End-of-life preparations: This step is really hard for a lot of people. Emotions run high when difficult discussion topics are brought up and end-of-life discussions are definitely difficult topics. You will want a living will to address what happens to your estate, what happens to your things, your money, and other items. You will also want to ensure that you have someone who will be given medical power of attorney if there is an issue that makes you incapable of making those decisions.
4. Make your home safer: Falls are a big deal for a lot of elderly and can cause a lot of damage. The good news is that you can prevent falls and larger issues from occurring. If you start noticing you are struggling with mobility, first you should remove rugs from the floor, organize cords to stay out of walkways, set up grab bars or stools in showers and baths, and add ramps or chair lifts to stairs. Safer homes ensure you can stay in your home longer and avoid any hospitalization issues.
5. Take care of physical health: Too many folks go crazy with what they eat, drink, and do when they are young without thinking about the consequences. Eating healthy food, drinking enough water, avoiding excessive intake of unhealthy food and drink, sleeping well, and working out safely are all important parts of aging healthily. You should care for your body when you’re young to build habits that last as you age. For more information on whole-body aging check out one of our blog posts here!

It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, prepping for the future is something everyone should do. As you age the things you do for each of these steps also change and are something you will want to re-evaluate. Don’t be afraid, be prepared! Aging is beautiful and something that happens to everyone if you are worrying about emotional struggles visit one of our blogs discussing emotional resilience here!

Check out our socials!

References

https://gracefullygreying.com/News/often-overlooked-things-that-all-seniors-should-know

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/6-ways-you-can-prepare-to-age-well

Aging Well

https://www.rightathome.net/blog/how-to-be-better-prepared-for-successful-aging