Finance
February 2, 2024
If you’re coming up on or have reached the age where you are considering a change in your lifestyle, it may be time to consider assisted living. While you may be thinking “Assisted living is too expensive. I can’t afford it,” you may be surprised to hear that there are actually ways to save money with assisted living more easily than when living on your way.
Assisted living facilities are often seen as an expensive and limiting choice for your life. However, they can provide you with the time to prioritize and focus on the things that truly matter to you and even save money while doing it.
Here are 3 ways you can save money while improving your quality of life by entering an assisted living facility.
1. No Extra Living Expenses
While it may be the American Dream to own a big home to raise your family in, what comes after that? Your kids are all grown up and moved out and yet you’re still stuck maintaining a large house and yard. Downsizing to an assisted living facility may be the clear next step for you to save time and money and to start focusing on the things that matter most to you now. These types of living situations can eliminate your monthly homeownership expenses like taxes, maintenance, utilities, lawn care, and other unplanned costs that can arise like repairs or replacements. Most facilities have a maintenance team and will cover these costs completely, allowing you to live a low-stress lifestyle. Instead of breaking out the tools or dishing out the dollars for costly and time-consuming maintenance, you can simply put in a request to have it handled by management.
2. Save Money on Leisure
When you join an assisted living facility, you may be overwhelmed by the cost, thinking you will have to sacrifice your hobbies and fun activities to save those extra dollars. However, most assisted living will include those opportunities for leisure in the facility and the monthly cost to live there. Assisted living facilities are usually like a small community themselves that encourages and invites you to take part in countless activities at no extra cost from educational courses, art classes, crafting, field trips, concerts, dining, sports, and other clubs.
You can finally take enroll in a class on a subject that has always interested you or visit the museums you’ve been curious about without having to worry about having the extra spending money to do so. An assisted living facility will typically include all of this and more without you having to dip into your own additional funds.
3. Healthy Choices Without the Added Costs
When you’re maintaining a home, a job, and a family, making healthy decisions for yourself can become low on the priority list. Buying and cooking healthy food can get expensive, visiting a doctor regularly can feel time-consuming and get expensive, working on your mental health can take a backseat, and staying active and physically fit can just feel like a chore.
Assisted living facilities can save you money and be the reprieve you need from the stressors of life. Most facilities, while pricey, will also include a lot of opportunities to take care of yourself in the overall cost.
These communities typically have a health and wellness center that is accessible for all residents and included in the cost, ensuring you have constant care and treatment based on your changing needs. Whether you or your loved one are still fully independent or require some level of assistance, long-term care, or memory care, these facilities will cater to each person’s specific needs.
A facility like this will also encourage activities like sports, the gym, swimming, walking, hiking, yoga, and other exercise programs to keep you physically fit.
An assisted living facility focuses on your wellness, giving you plenty of opportunities to build meaningful relationships to avoid feelings of isolation or depression and all different types of outlets to express yourself and stay active during the years where it matters most.
Funding Your Assisted Living Experience
No matter how much bang you may be getting for your buck, there’s no denying that these facilities can be costly, and affording them can be a challenge. However, there are ways you can pay the bills without breaking the bank.
- Sell your house – an obvious solution to getting the cash you need for assisted living is to sell your house. You’ll get the cash from the sale to use toward the payments and won’t have to worry about maintaining a home you’re not living in. While this is definitely a common solution, it can still be a burden to have to move all of your belongings out before you’re ready.
- Bridge loans – this solution still involves selling your home but will get you the money you need earlier. Sometimes you can’t wait for the sale to go through, you need the cash upfront. A bridge loan can be a good way to bridge the financial gap between your home sale and moving into assisted living. However, these loans can be expensive and can require you to pay back the entire loan in a very short amount of time.
- Reverse mortgage – this is a home loan for homeowners that are at least 62 years of age to borrow cash against the value of their home without selling. It’s important to note that these loans must be repaid in full when the homeowner dies or sells the home.
- Sale-Leaseback – this option allows you to sell the home to a company. You get the money from the sale, converting your equity into cash, but get to stay in the home as a renter. There’s no rush to move out of the house before you’re ready and no high-interest rates because it is not a loan. If the question “How can I pay for assisted living with no money?” is still on your mind, check out our helpful guide to learn about even more potential solutions.
Key Takeaways
When you’re ready for the next stage of your life, an assisted living facility could be the perfect choice for you. You can enjoy the perks of this lifestyle without feeling like you’re breaking the bank. Talk to a financial expert to learn about options that can help you to fund this exciting new phase of your life.
