Your Home Sweet Home: How to Decide Whether You Should Stay or Move in Retirement

by Penelope S. Tzougros

Overview

Though many retirees love their homes, the maintenance costs are in a tug-of-war with the retirement assets. Can they keep their homes and their lifestyle? Might changes in their physical ability, the neighborhood and their support network lead to isolation and depression? What steps should they take to stay home and be vibrant? Would moving to one of the many other housing options enhance their lives financially, physically and socially? Those in the midst of the do I stay or do I move quandary will read stories of insightful retirees who have faced the same questions. Analytical tools, worksheets and a Decision Guide create a step by step process for sorting out fears, facts and finances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780970987044
Publisher:	Wealthy Choices (R)
Publication date:	11/08/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	5 MB

Editorial Reviews

2018-11-20

Unlike general retirement guides, this book focuses on decisions related to housing.

Recognizing that one's living situation is a crucial retirement issue, financial planner Tzougros (Long Term Care Insurance, 2016, etc.) raises key housing-related questions and offers factual answers without overlooking the emotional decisions related to staying put or relocating. Obviously, housing is a complex problem, and where to live in retirement is a very personal choice, so this manual neither simplifies nor minimizes the various aspects of this matter. It covers the financial side of determining if a house is a retirement asset, provides ways to assess one's current residence as a place to grow older, surveys numerous options (with an especially helpful comparison chart), and ponders the physical, emotional, and monetary implications of moving. Part of the strength of the book is its heavy reliance on numerous stories of retirees facing and making different decisions about housing based on their own unique circumstances. In a nice touch of personalization, for example, one chapter chronicles an evening party in which retirees chat about housing; recipes for food served at the soirée are even included in an appendix. These vignettes, often told from the perspective of each retiree, make it clear to readers that there is no single solution to what can become an emotional, if not financial, dilemma. Perhaps most helpful is the manual's "Decision Guide" that effectively summarizes the content and facilitates objective verdicts about housing. Tzougros cleverly structures the volume in two versions. One, a narrative version, encourages written answers to specific questions; the other, a chart, distills the account into suggested answers and allows readers to simply circle the right ones to make a "Stay" versus "Move" decision. Throughout the authoritative book, and in the appendices, the author includes questionnaires and additional charts to be completed with various information, such as costs associated with the current residence versus potential new housing. Some of the charts in particular may seem intimidating, but they should prove valuable in making a more lucid decision about retirement housing.

A well-executed, clear, and highly informative retirement manual, if a bit overwhelming at times.

Kirkus Reviews