Moving right along...
51. Lonely? Consider getting a pet (preferably from a rescue). Pets are great companions, give you oodles of unconditional love, and are even good for your health (examples here and here)!
52. Pick up hobbies that you can carry into old age. Obviously I wouldn't recommend parkour, but things like fishing, knitting, genealogy, etc. are hobbies that people can do at any age.
53. Look into the many travel opportunities available to seniors. Seniors can get a lifetime National Parks Pass for only $80, there are a number of senior-only travel groups, and even senior-oriented cruises.
54. Speaking of travel, did you know that many seniors travel for medical care? From medical tourism, to hopping across the border for cheap dental and vision care in Mexico, to even moving abroad for cheap yet high-quality elder care.
55. For a more local type of care when you are ageing, there are several options for having friends or relatives get paid to care for you (examples here).
56. There are also several options for getting free or reduced prescriptions if you need them (examples here, here and here).
57. And if you are a veteran, don't forget to take advantage of the numerous veteran's benefits at both the federal and state level.
58. If you live in a college town, besides taking advantage of community life programs that are open to the public like lectures and performances, did you know that seniors can often attend university classes for free or cheap?
59. Another way to keep busy is to volunteer. One friend of mine is a retired dietician so she spends one or two days a week volunteering at a local food bank, sorting food and teaching participants how to create healthy meals out of the food they receive from the food bank.
60. More senior housing options if you don't own a home: low income senior housing (varies by state), living with others like the Golden Girls, having a rent controlled apartment, living in an ADU in your kid's back yard, renting out an ADU in your backyard, vandwelling, or even living on a cruise ship!
61. Use a big calendar. I used to keep my calendar digitally on my computer but these days, since I don't work, I may not check my email/calendar for several days so now we have a big calendar in our kitchen with appointments, birthdays, events, etc which we see everyday.
62. Keep a "sick kit" in case you come down with the flu and can't get out to a store for supplies.
63. Ask for what you want. If someone asks what you want for your birthday, for example, instead of saying "anything", ask for something you will specifically use (like grocery or restaurant gift cards). This way you won't end up with shelves full of dusty tchotchkes.
64. Instead of struggling with a problem, ask for help. Sometimes you need help navigating tech, navigating government programs, or just navigating your daily mail. Ask someone to help you with difficult things; most people will be more than willing to help if they know specifically what you need.
65. Sometimes you need people to advocate for you if you have a difficult problem. This is why hospitals have patient advocates, states and sometimes local news stations have consumer advocates, and there are even victim's advocate programs, etc. Utilize their services if necessary.
66. If you are stuck with a problem that you don't know how to deal with, call 211. This is a hotline for help with pressing social service and other needs.
67. Note that if you need help with mental health issues, 988 is the new number to call for this.
68. If you need to find honest, reliable doctors/dentists/service providers, I usually skip Yelp and online review sites and ask friends for personal recommendations, search our local subreddit by topic like 'electrician' or 'plumber', or ask other service providers (like the local car parts store for mechanic recommendations).
69. Share your knowledge with others. Seniors are taking to the internet in droves to share their knowledge whether through blogging (hi bloggy friends!), via YouTube, on TikTok, or through regular mentoring programs (examples here and here).
70. Don't be afraid to turn over work to the younger generation. Before, hubby used to cook for all family gatherings but these days that is too physically taxing on him so now we assign parts of the job to the kids and grandkids when they visit. Ditto home improvement projects (we recently asked the son in law who is a contractor to come visit...so he can install a walk-in shower for us!).
71. On another topic, I haven't dated in 40 years so I don't know much about this subject, but judging by the number of seniors we know who are dating, this is a big deal. Whether they meet people in person or online (eeekkk...the horror stories I have heard!), this is a topic of concern for seniors.
72. On a related note, if you decide to get married at a later age, there are several things to consider. From protecting assets for your descendants, to the possibility of losing insurance/pension payments from a deceased spouse, there are many things that make this more complicated.
73. Another senior money topic is when to take social security. This is definitely something that should be researched ahead of time.
74. As a side note, if you take social security before full retirement age, there are some rules about your earnings you should know.
75. And no matter your age, you may find discussing everything from earnings to investing to remarrying to making a retirement plan with a qualified financial planner.
LOL,,,having an animal in the house would be torture. Now, crochet hurts my hands due to age related arthritis. I don't want to take pills or use creams, so I just don't crochet. This was not a hobby for old age, so that's okay. I dated from the internet and like it better than trying to meet someone in person. Of course, one must be careful and discerning about men out there.
ReplyDeleteI would be so afraid of dating online. Then again, I do watch quite a bit of Dateline and 48 Hours so there's that!
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