By Robert E. Quittner, Jr. CFP® & CMFC™
Investment Advisor Representative
[email protected]
It’s good to be back home. I was on vacation in Colorado last week and got enough exercise to cover the entire year! We enjoyed some gorgeous spring skiing in Vail for five days and followed that up with three days of extensive hiking. Colorado is a beautiful state!
As you know we often discuss the five pieces of the retirement puzzle. While investments, income planning, tax planning, and estate planning are the ones most people ask questions about, we can’t ignore the unpleasant realm of health care planning.
One of the toughest conversations I have encountered on this subject was with my in-laws many years back. I can vividly recall my mother-in-law stating that they would have to drag her out of her house kicking and screaming. Keep in mind, they had raised their family of six kids in that multi-level home. Their entire life—precious memories and daily comforts—existed within those four walls.
There was an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week reviewing couples that didn’t want to leave their homes and were renovating, and the things they added to ensure they could stay for the rest of their lives. If you have seen the article, then I’m preaching to the choir. If you haven’t read it and are curious about what they’re doing, here are the big points:
- They’re skipping the fancy tile floors, room transitions, and throw rugs and instead choosing continuous/seamless flooring with no thresholds, and they’re keeping the floor free of clutter, to eliminate tripping hazards and to make it easier to move around when canes and walkers enter the picture.
- They’re making walkways wider, four or five feet wide instead of the three-foot standard, again for future mobility concerns and to accommodate the possibility of sharing space with a home health aide.
- They’re thinking low—lower work surfaces, lower drawer and cabinet access—and accessible, like side-opening ovens and pull-out trash cans, in case a wheelchair is a possibility down the road.
- They’re using hardware that you don’t have to grab, like levered door handles and lever sink handles (or touch/tap faucets) in case arthritis gets more problematic.
- They’re layering their lighting, mixing overhead lighting, task lighting, undercabinet lighting, and safety lighting to help as vision goes.
- And, God forbid someone falls, they’re going for countertops and cabinets with beveled edges and soft corners, to cut down on pointed impact points.
If you’re wondering how much all this future-thinking adds to the reno budget, the families interviewed for the article gave ballpark figures in the 20% range. It’s not a huge amount—a $60,000 renovation becomes $72,000—but it’s not insignificant either.
If you’re reading this, scoffing, and saying something like “I’ll do it when I need it…”, how long have you lived with the kitchen you have now?
Enjoy your weekend and give us a call if you want to discuss all your health care planning options… or move some money around to get a kitchen reno started.
Rob