5 Reasons to Downsize in Retirement
You might have a few things planned during retirement, such as vacations and new hobbies. For some, downsizing their home might be on that list. If you haven’t thought about downsizing your home in retirement, you might want to consider it, as downsizing your home can offer several benefits. It can benefit your pocket by putting more money into it, and your body might also thank you. Keep reading for five reasons why you should downsize in retirement.
Save Money
If you currently live in a larger home, you may be paying more in property tax, mortgage, and bills. Owning a home does come with some costs, and once you enter retirement, your income is probably not the same as it once was. Even if you have a good amount of money saved away, you likely won’t want a majority of that money to go toward your bills. Instead, you can consider downsizing to a smaller home once you enter retirement.
A smaller home can have smaller bills, depending on the location and how much you can put down when you purchase the home. Saving money will be beneficial in retirement as other bills, such as your Medicare premium, can increase each year. Additionally, you don’t know what the future holds regarding your health and how much you could spend out-of-pocket for health-related services. To learn more about Medicare in retirement, visit https://boomerbenefits.com/new-to-medicare/what-is-medicare/.
Better for your physical body
When you live in a larger home, rooms are likely to be bigger and more spaced out from one another. It can be physically exhausting when walking around a larger square foot home. You likely have to carry cleaning supplies, laundry, and furniture throughout the house, which can be dangerous as you get older.
Additionally, stairs can increase your risk of falling and injury. If you live in a two-story home, you may consider downsizing, so all rooms are on the first floor.
Have your bedroom on the lower floor
Climbing stairs every day to make it to your bedroom is not easy. Stairs can be exhausting and risky. Many people will move their bedroom to the lower floor as a safety precaution and convenience. If you downsize altogether, you can choose a home that best fits your interests and includes the master room on the lower floor. Additionally, your closet and clothes will be on the lower floor, and therefore, doing laundry can be more convenient.
Minimize unnecessary space and clutter
When you sell your larger home and downsize to a smaller one, you have the opportunity to clean out the clutter and reduce unnecessary space. If no one has stayed in the third guest room in several years, you likely don’t need a third guest room anymore. Therefore, you can downsize to a smaller home to eliminate the unnecessary bedroom.
Additionally, downsizing allows you to declutter your belongings. You may find items that you’ve been looking for or realize many things can be donated or thrown away.
Less maintenance
Moving from a larger home to a smaller one cuts your cleaning in half. You will have fewer square feet and bedrooms to clean when you downsize. If you have a smaller kitchen, you won’t spend as much time mopping and sweeping. If your large home sits on a large property, you’re used to putting more time into cutting your grass or keeping up with your yard. When you downsize, you can look at homes on smaller lots, so you won’t have to spend as much time with the upkeep of the yard.
Summary
Downsizing in retirement has many benefits, including saving money and time. You can focus on other important things and have more money simultaneously! If you feel like you need a change in your life and have more space than you know what to do with, downsizing might be your next move.
