When Should Seniors Downsize?

It can be challenging to tell your parent they need to start preparing for the next chapter of their life. The topic of downsizing can seem foreign to them if they owned and maintained a home their entire adult lives. Your parent may also believe the process to be slow, frustrating and overwhelming, hoping to avoid it all together.

After living in their home for years, the idea of reducing the number of belongings and amount of space they have may seem daunting and intimidating. However, downsizing can actually allow your parent to save money, enjoy their retirement longer and improve their quality of life.

Learn the signs you should familiarize yourself with to help you determine when your parent should consider downsizing.

7 Signs It’s Time for Your Parent to Downsize

1. 1. Financial Troubles. If your parent is struggling to afford their monthly household expenses, this is a sign they should consider downsizing to a smaller house or a senior living community like Fellowship Senior Living. It’s important that your parent has enough money saved up to be able to enjoy their retirement. Attempting to maintain home expenses they no longer need will prevent them from being able to make their savings stretch the way they want them to.

2. 2. Lifestyle Changes. Have you noticed your parent has become bored, or even depressed lately? Sometimes lack of visitors and activities can leave them feeling sad and lonely. If your parent is feeling isolated in their home, it may be time for them to downsize. Downsizing can help your parent move to a location closer to friends and family, and in turn, ease their feelings of loneliness.

3. 3. Retirement. As your parent moves into their retirement, they will most likely want to spread out their savings as long as possible to truly enjoy their golden years. A great way to do this is to decrease their yearly expenses by downsizing into a smaller space that is less expensive and requires less maintenance. 

4. 4. Health Complications. With aging comes new physical challenges. As your parent continues to age, it may become more difficult for them to move around their home, especially if their home has multiple levels. Tasks like going up and down the stairs may become difficult and even dangerous for them. Downsizing to a smaller, single-level home may help your parent maintain their independence for longer.

5. 5. Unused Rooms. A key indicator that it’s time for your parent to downsize is if they have multiple unused rooms in their current home. Unoccupied rooms may be a waste and can end up costing your parent more money annually in property taxes or maintenance.

6. 6. Empty Household. When everyone is grown and moved out of the house, your parent may experience empty nest syndrome. This can cause your parent to feel grief, depression and loneliness. If your parent is experiencing this, chances are it makes financial and lifestyle sense to downsize to a smaller space that doesn’t seem so empty. Once your parent moves to a home that works best for them, they’ll have more time, money and energy to do what they enjoy and socialize with friends and family.

7. 7. Inability to Keep Up with Housework. Have you noticed that your parent is suddenly struggling to keep up with household work? Houses require a lot of maintenance, especially large ones. From everyday chores to yardwork, these tasks can become difficult as your parent ages. If they are having a hard time keeping up with their current home, this may be a sign it’s time for them to downsize.

These 7 signs that it’s time to downsize can help you prepare your parent for the next chapter of their life in retirement. If you notice one or more of these indicators, use them to ease into a conversation with your parent and help them find a new home that will help them thrive and enjoy their retirement for longer.

Find Your Next Home at Fellowship Senior Living

Fellowship Senior Living is a premier senior living Life Plan Community located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. We offer residents a variety of cultural, educational and wellness activities on our beautiful 72-acre wooded campus. Residents can also enjoy a large range of healthcare and residential services.

Our campus offers various living options such as Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing, all right on campus. At Fellowship, we take great care to keep our campus looking beautiful and provide our residents with amenities they need to help them live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

The residences at Fellowship Village offer maintenance-free living to residents. Your parent can stop focusing on household tasks and start doing all the things they are passionate about. We have a dedicated team that will help your parent with snow removal, interior and exterior maintenance, trash collection, housekeeping and more.

Contact us today at 908-580-3840 to learn more about our living options and the many services we offer our residents.