From A Woman's Perspective: November 2nd, 2024 "Downsizing and Common Sense"

Downsizing and Common Sense

If I told you that I was going to pay 100% of the cost of something but I only used 30% of it, you’d think I was crazy…

If you had a friend that was choosing to continue living in an environment that is hazardous for slips and falls, you’d tell them they were being foolish. 

If you heard a story about someone who continued to procrastinate on doing a difficult task even though by delaying it just got more difficult, you’d think they were completely lacking in common sense! 

Of course by now you know my point is that downsizing your home to something that fits your financial, wellness and lifestyle goals in retirement is just. Common. Sense. And here’s why:

Downsizing can make Financial common sense:

• Homeowners have a lot of potential wealth tied up in the equity of their homes;
• This wealth could be used to enhance their retirement lifestyle and provide for escalating costs;
• This wealth is not easily accessible - part of the reason why real estate is such an excellent investment is exactly because it’s hard to “cash in” - people tend to buy and hold onto their homes while they appreciate in value.
• By moving to someplace smaller and better suited to life as a retired person, downsizing can reduce your living expenses while increasing the amount of money you have more direct access to.

Downsizing your home can make health and wellness common sense:

• In Canada, falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and injury deaths among people aged 65 or older; (Source Statistics Canada)
• Most of those fall occur in a household residential setting;
• Falls can have life-changing consequences, especially for seniors who live alone.
• Speaking of living alone, downsizing can remedy the devastating emotional and cognitive costs of living in isolation by moving seniors into more community and social settings. 
• At some point seniors realize that freeing themselves from the worry and responsibilities of taking care of a big home just makes sense. 

Downsizing is planning for the future common sense:

• Putting off moving to some as-yet undetermined future time creates the perfect scenario for a “reactive decision” vs a “proactive decision”
• Waiting means that you are less likely to be in control of the circumstances under which you will be moving
• Downsizing when you want to as opposed to when you have to puts you in the driver’s seat to arrive at a destination that suits your needs and wants. 

For these and many other reasons, downsizing just makes sense. So then, why don’t we all just automatically sell our homes and move when we are first empty nesters or realize we no longer need all this space? 

Because downsizing is so much more than a purely rational decision. There’s a lot of factors to consider, and a lot of information to be gathered. 

My mission as a downsizing specialist is to equip my clients with knowledge and empower their decision making. We fulfill this mission through a variety of means:

• Free Downsizing Consultation: this one-on-one meeting gets your questions answered about how to prepare, where to go next, or who I can recommend to help you as you get ready 12 to 24 months ahead of a move;
• Free workshops about downsizing in the community and online
• Free workbooks: about decluttering and renovating and all things relevant to getting ready to move
• Free speaking engagements to community, faith-based and seniors organizations. 

To contact me for any of these free resources, call me, Sharon at 416-460-5636 or visit our website at smartrealtysolution.com. 

That’s it for me, Marilyn. My name is Sharon Parenteau, and these have been your smart realty solutions for this week.

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