62. Start Downsizing 10 Years Early? Here's Why

Most people do not think seriously about downsizing until a move starts to feel close enough to require decisions.

That is usually when the process becomes more difficult than it needed to be, because repairs have been delayed, storage areas have quietly filled over time, financial questions carry more weight than expected, and belongings that could have been handled gradually now require attention all at once.

The smoother transitions tend to come from people who started earlier, not by packing up their lives years in advance, but by making thoughtful decisions over time that reduced pressure later.

In this episode, we walk through what it actually looks like to think about downsizing ten years before a move, including how to approach your home, your belongings, your finances, and your day-to-day lifestyle in a way that keeps your options open and your decisions manageable.

If downsizing is likely part of your future, this conversation will help you move through the next several years with more intention so that when the time comes, the process feels steady and well thought through instead of rushed.

In This Episode:

• Why downsizing pressure often builds years before a move is even on the calendar 
•  How delayed maintenance decisions can create unnecessary stress later 
•  Which categories of belongings become the most overwhelming when left untouched 
•  How to reduce what you own gradually without forcing decisions too early 
•  What to start thinking about financially long before a move is planned 
•  A realistic way to prepare over time without making downsizing your full focus now

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Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time.

Heather Fisher 0:17

Hi, welcome to the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. Today's topic preparing to downsize 10 years before you move.

Jodi Rosko 0:26

That seems kind of crazy, but it's actually such a smart plan.

Heather Fisher 0:29

Yeah. I actually feel like this is close to home for me. I'm like, okay, I'm definitely early 50s, and these are, you know, what we're going to talk about today is some of the mindset I've been feeling myself start to broach. So we're just going to talk about how this downsizing can be a really long process, and that if you do start looking at it way early, um, it can just give you more and more choices and options and ease.

Jodi Rosko 1:03

Yeah, I think that's the key. More choices. Um, your life will get easier as you go along instead of harder. Um, and you're gonna start living intentionally and it's gonna feel better all the way along until you get to where you're ready to go. And when you get there, you will be ready instead of like, oh gosh, now I have to deal with all the repercussions of the decisions I haven't made over the last 10 years. So I'm Jodi Roscoe.

Heather Fisher 1:29

I'm Heather Fisher, and this is truly setting up a future that you're gonna be grateful for later.

Jodi Rosko 1:36

No, totally, a hundred percent, because we have worked with so many people who have not done this and they just kind of procrastinate it down the road, and I know this needs to happen, but I'll just deal with that later and later and later and later, until it gets to a place where it's hard to harder either physically or emotionally, often physically, um, because they just can't anymore. And then they're like, Oh yeah, we really have to do it now. And it and they've lived in that knowing they need to, mental weight of that space all that time.

Heather Fisher 2:09

Yeah. And this way you can know you've made those early decisions and early um steps that you can live a a little more carefree and really enjoy the ease that you're building into your life for the future now.

Jodi Rosko 2:27

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 2:27

Um, it's a wonderful way to do things.

Jodi Rosko 2:30

I think because um because we do this all the time, I think a lot about like, I don't want to leave this for my kids. You know, some people's philosophy is like, oh my kids will deal with it when I'm gone, but I don't want to. I don't want to leave it for them. Um that happened for me and that wasn't an amazing experience. And um most of the people that we talk to who don't want to leave it for the kids have had to deal with it as the adult kid. Um, and so it's really, really important for me to not leave it. And so starting now is just exactly what I should be doing.

Heather Fisher 3:04

Yeah, I think uh layering onto that, I see people um that we meet, clients and and family members and stuff that are living under the weight of knowing they have way too much stuff and they don't know what to deal with it, that I don't want to leave that burden to my future self. Yeah. Not even your kids, just to you. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, I want to handle that now so that I'm not living under that weight of what did I do to myself?

Jodi Rosko 3:36

Yeah, because your choice is absolutely closed down, and the fact that to make a choice, there's so much that has to be done to get there is just you know paralyzing for people when they get to that place. So let's not paralyze ourselves when we get older. So the 10-year philosophy, right? We're not we're not leaving our house, right? You're not leaving. You just oh you just got your new house. Yes. So we're not leaving our house, but we are gonna prepare to live well in well in in it. We're we're gonna live well, we're gonna live intentionally in our house until you know we're ready for that next chapter. But when the next chapter chapter comes, we will be ready. Absolutely.

Heather Fisher 4:15

And guys, I mean, new chapters come so f much faster than we feel like they're going to be. You think when your kids are little and then suddenly they're 10. Right. And then suddenly they're go to college. Right. And then suddenly they're getting married. Yeah, they're getting married. Like those ten years when we say that as the topic sounds like, oh, so far down the road, but blink of an eye sometimes. Yeah, for sure. It it changes, and this is just a real easy early way to to make some choices.

Jodi Rosko 4:48

So start with some future planning. What when in your mind, when you're retired or when you know you're in a place where you don't want this house that you have now, what's your life gonna look like? And you it may change in the future, and it's okay. But what could that look like? Imagine yourself, and what are you gonna need? What what kind of finances are you gonna need? What uh what kind of home are you gonna need? Do you want to live somewhere half the year and somewhere else half the year? Do you, you know, wanna move to wherever your kids are closer to them? Like what is it that that's gonna look like? What kind of support network do you think you're gonna need? So just kind of, you know, our steps are number one is dream it, and that's that's do dream it out in a 10-year plan, right?

Heather Fisher 5:26

Yeah, absolutely. And I think um if it feels far off, um one way to do this is to look around you at examples of um, you know, people in your life that are that are closer to that downsizing age and um you know have made some choices. Do you want to model after how great they're living and you know some of the ways that they're just embracing life in those older phases? Or are you looking at examples of gosh, I don't, I don't want that to be how I leave you know my life at that stage and just kind of working through that um yes or no, what you want to model after?

Jodi Rosko 6:08

Yeah. So every decision, like every decision that you make is gonna have repercussions in the future. Yeah. And so what does that look like and and align those decisions? This this way, once you've kind of made that future plan, you can align the decisions that you're making with that plan so that it's gonna go along together instead of just making decisions kind of willy-nilly, or what most people do is make no decisions at all and just let it accumulate.

Heather Fisher 6:36

Yeah, wait for things to happen. But every choice over the next dec decade either adds options or removes them.

Jodi Rosko 6:43

Yep. So Yeah. So yeah, so you want to remove you want to have as many options as you possibly can when you get wherever you want want to be.

Heather Fisher 6:51

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 6:53

So um also you we want to avoid a crisis move, which we see often, and that's honestly what our whole podcast um and mission is with Downsizing Roadmap is to help people get where they want to go before they're in a crisis. We we just we want you to think about it sooner than later, um 10 years sooner if that's what it is, but sooner than later, so that um when some when life comes up and grabs you, you aren't in that place where you also feel totally overwhelmed by the rest of what needs to happen. Yeah. Studies show that 70% of moves are triggered by a health event. And um what that means is that all the decisions are being made out of crisis mode, that you know, you don't have your health to, you know, physically move things or do anything possibly. Um somebody may have to be making all the decisions for you, so they're not your decisions even that you're making anymore. So um we really early preparation will protect you from that, not to say that something can happen. We don't want anything to happen to anybody, but if it does, you won't have all that extra stuff. You know, you will have made the decisions, you will know what's going on, you will it it will be your plan and your way that you want it to be.

Heather Fisher 8:06

Yeah, we um just talked in our last episode about our five-step method for downsizing, and we say all the time in our classes, you can get through the first three steps with no move on your radar at all. Um, but that's what we're talking about, that you get to that point where you've made all those dreams and decisions and handled so much that you can just go through life whether there's ever a move or not a move, without that burden of, ooh, I should downsize, ooh, I should think about what I'm gonna do later. You know, you have your ducks in a row, and we don't want any health crisis to pop up and you know, get anybody, but it happens and you can face that with, okay, here's my plan if I can't be in this house anymore, or here's my plan if I need to shift this timeline. I have already done the other things and I'm ready.

Jodi Rosko 9:08

Yeah, yeah. So um so so let's start with uh your house. So you're not scrambling later. Um I think the biggest thing that you don't want to have is deferred maintenance. And so that often happens when people the house gets too overwhelming for them as they age and it just turns into more than they can handle. Um, but that will deflate the price of your house. It will you will lose equity, you know, you'll lose money on that.

Heather Fisher 9:37

So um and can snowball into more and more, you know, a simple early maintenance can snowball into a bigger repair or a bigger problem.

Jodi Rosko 9:48

Correct. Yeah. So you want to make sure that the big stuff, the roof, the HVAC, the windows, you know, all of that stuff is replaced when it needs to be. I'm not saying like, hey, run out and replace your windows right away. Um but if if that's something that needs to happen, then then make sure that you're not deferring that maintenance. If there's leaking, water is the most, most damaging um thing to a house. So whether that's pipes that are leaking, or whether that's the roof that's leaking, or whether that's the windows that are seals aren't working quite right, or whatever that is, make sure that all of that is wrapped up and you know the house is very well maintained and you're you're preparing for any kind of long-term fixes that you might have to do in the next 10 years before you sell it.

Heather Fisher 10:31

Yeah, by looking at that long picture with the 10 years, you can also um spread out those um regular things that you know are gonna need replaced at some time, the water heater, the furnace, the roof, you can spread out and budget for them so you're not hit with all of them in the same calendar year, and you're like, Right, how's this gonna happen? You're just planning ahead and whether you um, you know, need to pull the trigger and and make that repair or replacement. Um, you're at least planning for it when it comes. Right.

Jodi Rosko 11:06

Financially. Yep. Safety and accessibility. So, you know, if you're in a two-story house and you can't do stairs anymore, there's really, you know, you can get a chairlift, you can do some things if you want to, you know, stay there. Um there are some safety things that you can do. Um, but maybe it's better to make the move then. So, you know, that's some things to think about. But just know that there are things that you can do to make the house safe if you want to stay there longer. Um, you know, grab bars, toilet high, you know, replacing toilets for higher toilets. There are definitely, you know, lever door handles that are easier to open. There's definitely things that you can do if you want to stay. Um I wouldn't do them until you're ready, until you need to, but just know what those are.

Heather Fisher 11:48

I think it's a uh when you've had this um, you know, thought process with yourself, a lot of people um, you know, in that stage of life, maybe your kids have moved out, your empty nesters, you're like, hey, okay, we're done helping pay for college, we're gonna, you know, remodel the bathroom or remodel the kitchen. It's a great time when you have that long-term plan to not visibly make the changes, but to be have it on your radar, you can add extra blocking, you know, behind the walls for future grab bars without installing them yet. But you know, if you're making renovations or updates, you know, kind of have that thought process of how will this work? Should I make this a zero entry shower at this point? Um, you know, that still is very modern and aesthetically pleasing.

Jodi Rosko 12:40

It doesn't look like it's yeah, yeah.

Heather Fisher 12:43

You can just kind of future think, how will this serve me if that dream that you thought about was to, you know, age in place and stay there, you're making that all part of that early planning.

Jodi Rosko 12:55

Yeah. Um simplify your storage areas uh now. I think this is like the number one thing that you can do. Um that that you can do it, then you can have that whole time to thoughtfully do it, to to really spend the time that you need to do, because a lot of times what'll happen is if you're back to that 70% crisis, the family's cleaning it out, it's just a let's get a dumpster, you know, let's just get on with it. And you know, no really great decisions are made about w what to keep and what not to keep. Um, especially if, you know, if the crisis is causing like mental anguish, then you just aren't making good decisions, you know, you aren't able to make good decisions on what to do with the things.

Heather Fisher 13:42

Well, and this is one of the things on our list that by doing it early, it not only is so much easier in the future when mobility becomes harder and all of that, but you're seeing that ease in your life immediately. And you know, the things like mobility issues or um, you know, uh some other health problems, they're not always an instantaneous change. They're a slower creep on things get harder. I mean, we've been doing some, you know, moving and installing things, and you know, we put some cabinets up in our laundry room, and I'm just like, oh my back hurts, and that was harder to do this than it used to be than it used to be. And you know, you start doing that. So once you're simplifying storage and how to access things, you will reap that benefit now and in the future.

Jodi Rosko 14:39

Yeah. We're talking about attics, basements, crawl spaces, sheds, garage, loft, you know, garages in general. Um so any of those, any of those places, things that are stored there often degrade too. So like keeping them there, if something's in a box in your garage or in a box in your basement, it is not serving you in its in your life. It's not serving you. You you there's so you need to be really honest about what why you're keeping it. Um if it's something that you love, then put put it out where you can see it. If it's something that you're keeping because you feel guilty about, then we're giving you permission to let that go. Um and so I think that we spend a time like when when we're young and we have our kids, it's like an accumulation time, right? You you buy all the things, like you get your stuff for your kids and you get your house together, and you it's a whole like time of accumulation. And so these 10 years are gonna be a time where you're gonna just really focus on living lighter, right? And letting go of some of those things that you've accumulated and served you and served your purpose when they needed to, but now probably don't need to be in your house anymore.

Heather Fisher 15:48

Yeah, it's a it's a phase when you can be trying to use what you already have. Um, you know, if you have craft supplies, if you have duplicates of things, if you have, you know, too many holiday items, try out like, do I actually put all of this out at the holidays and do I want to use it all? If not, it's okay to let that go. Or, you know, instead of buying, you know, new fabric every time you have a new project, what can you use what you already have? And if there's not a time where that works out, it's time for that stuff to go.

Jodi Rosko 16:24

Yep. Yeah. So I I love the use what you have because I because I think a lot of times we just think, oh, I need to just go get I I want to do something, I'm gonna go get it. Yeah. And not really think about if I wasn't allowed to go get it, what how could I make that happen, whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish with whatever I have already here. And sometimes that might be if you want to freshen up your house, maybe move things in different rooms. You know, just kind of, you know, maybe you don't need to go buy something new. Maybe, you know, getting out of that mindset of accumulating things and just things that you have, or let a bunch of it go and then you can bring something new in. So, you know, really start thinking about what that looks like.

Heather Fisher 17:03

Yeah, I think I mean such a simple thing, but I think like uh paper goods, like party goods, like has there ever been another birthday where I'm like, okay, I remember I have a bin with, you know.

Jodi Rosko 17:18

Oh, so but you only have seven napkins left, but you don't throw those away because that feels wasteful. So yeah, I've started to just put them on the top of my napkin thing, and we're just gonna use them till they're gone. You ready?

Heather Fisher 17:30

Yeah. So we accumulate that I'll use them later, but we won't because it it's the want new. So we either need to change that mindset and use them, like you said, for every day, or you know, our family's not gonna care if the map napkins all say happy birthday, but they don't match, or what not?

Jodi Rosko 17:49

You can make a little game of it, like how long can I go before I buy, you know, what X, you know, because I'm gonna search this whole house and I'm gonna use every napkin that we have already.

Heather Fisher 18:00

Yeah. So things like that to just move through it and use it, make it fun, and don't worry so much. Nobody's stressing over it but you.

Jodi Rosko 18:09

Right. So um, so personal belongings, I there's a you can use like a slow release strategy on your personal belongings, right? So it's it's a mindset. So start thinking about your legacy, your legacy. What is it that you really want to pass on? Um, careful with this because it's not everything. Um, and don't make that a burden on your family. Um, you know, but start thinking about if there's things that are really specific, documenting the stories behind those things, why they're meaningful to you, um, you know, why why you would want to gift them to somebody and consider gifting them early, gifting them now, while you can enjoy that other person, you know, loving that thing as well and seeing the reaction to that instead of you know, you're gone and then you've gifted it to them. Especially if it's something that you aren't using um really all the time and you just keeping it f for them, maybe jewelry or you know, things, things like that. So start thinking about what that looks like. But I again be careful, yeah, you know, let your family pick the things that they have great memories around as well, not just things that you expect them to want.

Heather Fisher 19:22

Yeah, and I think early on, um, you know, documenting the stories and keeping it with that and and letting, you know, those people that you want to have things know what those items are and why, and um, if you're not ready to give it early, that's okay, but just that that knowledge, so if it comes to a point where someone had to take care of your things for you in a crisis, uh they're clear on that permission of oh my gosh, I don't I know where the important items are and what those things are, and the rest I can just handle in an easier way.

Jodi Rosko 20:02

And not feel guilty about it and not be questioning, I wonder what they would have wanted me to do here, wonder what they would have wanted me to do here. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 20:09

You're very clearly laying that out.

Jodi Rosko 20:11

So legacy thinking, what is your legacy? What are the things that make you you? You know, are you do you cook all the time? Do you want to share all your recipes with your kids? You know, make them books, like start doing that, you know, whatever that is. Um figure out what that looks like. Um number two, um, break that deferred decision cycle. So that deferred decision cycle is basically like, hey, I'm not really using this thing anymore, so I'm gonna just shove it in the you know, basement slash attic slash, you know, garage slash storage area, and not making a decision on it, just kind of being the stuffer, right? I'm I'm I can be a stuffer. Um Yeah. And then then it just gets postponed forever because I'm you're never looking at it again. Now it's just stuffed in a drawer or a closet or you know, some storage place. And so you stop making decisions on it. So don't do that. Stop procrastinating the decisions or deferring the decisions and start pulling out that stuff that you have deferred all those decisions on and making decisions on it.

Heather Fisher 21:10

Well, ten years um on this timeline, it gives you time to work category by category. So you're taking that emotional overwhelm out of it. Um, but you do have to be careful that you don't ease up so much because you have ten years that you're not setting those little milestones. You know, is it one area a month? Is it four larger areas a year? A photo box a month.

Jodi Rosko 21:37

You know, it takes a while to get through the photos, but that's okay.

Heather Fisher 21:39

Yeah, whatever that looks like, set you know, a little milestone win for yourself and a goal so that you are chunking it out, and then it it won't be too hard. I mean, ten years is plenty of time, but if the ten years goes by, then you're right back to that. Oh, I have a short time frame and a mountain.

Jodi Rosko 22:00

Yeah, it's about creating habits, right? It's about just creating habits around the stuff you keep, the the mindset that you have around stuff. Um it it's just creating like tell yourself you're gonna do this ten minutes a day or you know, one time a week or you know, whatever, once a month even. Just ten years is a long time. But like like you said, it'll go by in a minute and then you won't have done it. So give yourself some parameter of what you're expecting to to do for yourself.

Heather Fisher 22:27

It's like any goal. The time goes by whether you do anything or not. So at the end of that time, do you want to look back at all you accomplished or do you want to be still facing that same mountain? There's no way around it. You gotta go through it.

Jodi Rosko 22:42

Yeah. Something you can do is start testing your a lighter lifestyle. So you can get rid of 10% of the items that are in an area that kind of feels full already and just see what that looks like. That could be your linen closet, like you know, go through that, get rid of some some things that you don't use. That could be your kitchen drawer that you have all of your gadgets in and it's a little bit stuffed, and you just kind of get rid of some of those things and just start testing out what it feels like to be living a little lighter because it feels great, I will tell you.

Heather Fisher 23:10

I will have to say, I mean, you know, we do this all the time, and I'm not a a super keeper, and so I was pretty adamant when we moved to just not bring a lot of stuff we don't want. And we have a completely empty dresser in our bedroom that we have all of our stuff unpacked and in the closet. We have that, and I don't think my husband and I have a single thing in either side of the dresser. So that's so do we need the dresser at all?

Jodi Rosko 23:40

Or do you put things on? Like what do you need something different? That's just an interesting thought process.

Heather Fisher 23:47

Right now, I just it it the room is plenty big enough that it fills the space, and I just need to not tuck things because I don't need it for storage. So I have that too, actually.

Jodi Rosko 23:59

So I we bought um a different console thing um that goes under our TV and it has a bunch of drawers in it, and all those drawers are empty when we moved. And I c I consciously decided like I am not going to put things in those drawers. Like I don't need to. It's beautiful and I love it, and it looks pretty there.

Heather Fisher 24:17

Yeah, the purpose for me of having it is it's the furniture piece kind of anchoring that wall. Yeah. But turns out it's empty, and that's okay. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 24:31

So that is something also to get used to like you do not need to fill up every single space, and it's okay. And it's okay to have that furniture piece there because it needs you can't just have no furniture in in your house because you don't, you know. So it's okay to have that there, but you don't have to have the storage all storing things.

Heather Fisher 24:48

Yeah, yeah. I think that that's that's what I'm learning and enjoying is that I'm like, that's fine, it's not crammed, it's not, you know, because I've had other phases in in life or other storage situations where every space was crammed and you opened a drawer and things are popping out. So you know, be okay with just having some empty space in your life. And it makes a huge empty mentality.

Jodi Rosko 25:15

It's amazing what it does in your brain. It's amazing. The the the space in your brain that your stuff is taking up is is just mind-blowing when you actually let it go and realize it. Because it doesn't feel like it. You just don't even know. You just don't even know how much space that's taking up until you let it go. Yeah. So um build yourself a future home wish list. So start paying attention to what serves you, what doesn't serve you, what you're really not using, and if you can let it go without your house looking half empty, then do that if you just need to empty what's in it and let you know keep it there, whatever. But pay start just paying attention so that when you do need to make those decisions and you're only gonna take half your furniture, or maybe none of it, maybe you need to you're gonna get new furniture when you get there, whatever that is, but just know um, hey, I love that, and that's gonna go with me, and that doesn't need to go with me. It's perfect where it is right now in that space, and I like it, but yeah, I can let it go.

Heather Fisher 26:11

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So let's talk a little bit about on this 10-year plan finances and preparing for a move that matches your future.

Jodi Rosko 26:22

Yeah, I think that um number one is how how organized are your papers. So financing finances is one thing, and what's it gonna cost for your future and all of that, and that is super important, and you need to figure out what that might look like and make sure that you're prepared for that. Talk to a financial planner, you know, talk to you know, estate planners. There's definitely people who can help you. Um we aren't those, you know, experts, but definitely we know that that's something that you need to talk about. But before you can even do that, really in a meaningful way, you need to make sure that all your paperwork is together. Um, all of the important documents are together. You don't have, you know, all paperwork from the last 20 years that is mucking up the po stuff that's important and the stuff that you really need. I think paper is something that can absolutely get out of hand in your house. We have a podcast on paper, go listen to it if this is you, um because you don't want to have to sift through a whole bunch of things to get to the important stuff. And it's hard to make decisions on what's happening with your finances and stuff if you don't have it pulled together.

Heather Fisher 27:29

Yeah, I watched my mom having to go through a lot of paperwork over the last year or two and really get it in order, and it was so overwhelming, and it's a category that you really um you kind of have to do it yourself. I mean, you can have someone help you get it to the shred pile or things like that, but you really have to put your eyes on all of your paperwork for you and your partner um to to even get a a start on organizing it. Um but now that she's done it and it's organized, she that weight is lifted and she knows exactly um, you know, when she needs various things for you just need all of that at a moment's notice. Yeah, people will ask you for yeah, do you have this? Do you oh I don't know. Yeah, and that weight is lifted if you just have it organized and it's not, you know, eight file cabinets overstuffed, you're just like, here is exactly what I need, and it's updated, and I know I I revisit that at least once a year, making sure it's still organized.

Jodi Rosko 28:34

Yeah. The other thing is like you know, what is your home gonna be worth ten years from now? We don't a hundred percent know, we don't have a crystal ball. We can kind of get an idea um, you know, of an average in increase in what equity could look like. Um and then where are you wanting to go and what does that look like? And do you need to start like a little fund to for your moving fund to pay for you know moving and fixing up the house a little bit and you know, cleaning and all of the things that might need to happen when you move. Maybe you you do want to live somewhere else. Maybe you buy that house now, you know, maybe it's you know it's 10 years less expensive right now, and maybe you rent it out until you're ready, or maybe you know, you do something. There's some really some thought process that you can go through on if you you have the 10-year time, then you have so many more options on what that looks like. And if you want to end up somewhere else or in, you know, even in your same area, but you think you could buy that and you know, now and rent it out and have it pay for itself, you know, there's so many options that you can do.

Heather Fisher 29:35

Yeah, we know from talking with our young adult kids that the earlier you start when it comes to money and whatever your plan is for it to work for you in the future, the earlier you start, the more it has time to snowball into a bigger dream. So just thinking, am I going to want, you know, additional funds for a second home or a vacation home or buying it now so I can use it later, the earlier you make all those choices, the less of a financial burden they are. And as you're talking to um, you know, whatever financial team you have in your life, your accountant, your financial planner, if you've done that step one of dreaming and that we always talk about, you can take that to that team of financial people and say, here's my dream, here's my time frame, here's you know, you know my picture, how can we make this happen? What are the tax implications of doing it this way versus that way? What you know, what does my strategy look like right alongside with, you know, us as your real estate agent to help you with what's that equity in my home and how can that be used for that?

Jodi Rosko 30:55

Yeah, I mean retirement timing can really affect uh too if you want to get a mortgage on something. If you don't have an income anymore, it it that all can, you know, be changes. Yeah, really change it. And so it might be worthwhile to buy it while you're still working and you know, really pay attention to what that all looks like. So um yeah, talk to a real estate agent about any of that stuff, but and your financial planner.

Heather Fisher 31:19

Absolutely.

Jodi Rosko 31:20

Yep. Okay, um, lifestyle mindset. So preparing for your next chapter, right? So it's not just your house, it's also, you know, your social, like if you're gonna move out of town, what's that gonna look like? What you know, uh what kind of clubs, volunteering, interest, church circle, whatever it is. What are you doing? Um, how are you staying connected? Are you gonna stay connected in the community you're in now? Do you have a community you're gonna go to that you need to start looking at what that might look like?

Heather Fisher 31:47

Yeah, it's like building your own ecosystem of what that looks like. And sometimes people um that is so built into uh their work life that they feel a bit lost, you know, if they retire and that's not their day-to-day anymore. What what does your day look like? Who are you you know hanging out with? What are you doing?

Jodi Rosko 32:11

What's your pace of life, right? Like um, you know, sometimes we're so uh fran hectic, you know, we have kids and parents and you know, all of the things, jobs and so much going on. Um the future then y is probably gonna be a little simpler, and you know, where how can you simplify what you're doing a little bit right now to test drive that a little bit?

Heather Fisher 32:34

Yeah, or some people are scared of the simplicity and think they'd be, you know, crawling out of their skin like I would I don't I would be so bored. I would I don't know what I would do. And so just kind of figuring out that um you know combination of things and time spent and what feels good.

Jodi Rosko 32:51

Yeah, yep. So um just you know, you want to reduce your future burdens for your kids, honestly. That's what I want to do. That's my biggest motivator on this. So um just take some small steps to figure out how you're gonna do that.

Heather Fisher 33:05

Yeah, absolutely. So if we you know run through really quickly a review of, you know, the kind of what we've been talking about, how you can use the next 10 years.

Jodi Rosko 33:16

In a timeline.

Heather Fisher 33:17

Yeah, in a timeline, you know, years eight to ten years out from a big change, you can start thinking about the big ticket maintenance, uh, begin any safety improvements, um, definitely start decluttering your storage zones and um using up excess things so you're getting wit rid of the weight of items.

Jodi Rosko 33:41

Yep, and then six to eight years out, you can, you know, reevaluate what spaces you actually use. I mean, are there bedrooms that you basically don't even go into anymore? You know, uh lighten up your sentimental stuff. Maybe now you're tackling your pictures and you know, things that were family heirlooms. Um always, you know, revisit that financial um projection because it's gonna change as life changes. So I would do that, you know, yearly probably. Um just kind of make sure you're on track. Yeah, and make sure that what you thought you wanted to do ten years from now is still what you want to do eight eight years from now or six years from now, or you know, has your thought process changed? Have your kids moved to a different town and now you're gonna go there, you know, what is it? Just making sure that you're still aligned with whatever goals that you really are trying to accomplish.

Heather Fisher 34:29

Yeah, um when you get to years four to six out, you want to start looking at maybe some of those cosmetic updates if you're preparing for a sale in the next few years.

Jodi Rosko 34:40

Again, talk to an agent before you do that.

Heather Fisher 34:43

Yeah, yeah. Start thinking um seriously about the um not just a vaguer dream, but specifically what you're looking for in your next home and start maybe early gifting items that you know you won't be taking.

Jodi Rosko 34:58

Yep. And if you're two, two to four years out, you you you know, you're still moving towards that lighter daily lifestyle, um finalizing your wish net list for your next home. So now you're really like, okay, in a couple years, like this is what I want to be, you know, where I want to be. And you know, that might be doing some research out in the marketplace and figuring out what fits for you, what feels good, what size of a house, where what location of a house, you know, really doing some more, you know, on the ground work about what that could look like.

Heather Fisher 35:29

Yeah. And if you're um one to two years out, you know, if you haven't called us or a real estate professional yet, this is definitely the time to do that, um, to execute on any remaining updates or last minute things, um, your final decluttering so that you don't have to pack and pay to move stuff that you're not taking with you, um, prepping your listing timeline. I would say, you know, make sure you know what your next options are. If you're buying another house, what is the, you know, is it a buyer's market? Is it a seller's market? What your will your timeline maybe look like? If you're thinking about a senior community, this is definitely the time you need to be researching, finding out if there are wait lists that can change your timeline and getting on those. Um, just making that early planning, um, you know, we're eight years into this plan, but it's is still one to two years out.

Jodi Rosko 36:29

You want to Yeah, and honestly, if if you're looking at a community, um, depending on your area, I would be looking at that three to four years out because there are definitely uh there are popular communities where we are where the wait is three to four years to get into some of their um patio home kind of situations and whatever. So um if that's something that you th if that's what you think your next move is, I would move that section of it into the three to four year. Yeah. Um and and a lot of them, find out what it is, find out all the small print and everything, but a lot of them if you put some money down, um, not a nominal, usually a nominal amount, um, that will put you on the list, um, which I would suggest if that's what you think you want to do, because once you get to the top of the list, if that's if you're not ready or whatever, you make sure, make sure with your that community they don't put you back to the bottom of the list. But a lot of the communities then will kind of hover you at the top until until you're ready. Um and that is really I mean, you can't buy back those three or four years if you decide, hey, I'm ready now, and now it's three or four years away that you can go where you really think you want to go.

Heather Fisher 37:38

Yeah, it's exactly what we said at the beginning of the episode. The earlier you plan, the more your options expand. Yeah. So it's just one more option by knowing how long the list is and getting yourself on it if that's something you're considering.

Jodi Rosko 37:53

Yes. So um it's just think if you could make one thing easier for your future self, um, what would it be? Right? Yeah. For me, it's like stuff getting rid of, I think.

Heather Fisher 38:04

Yeah, living a a lighter life in my home is just so freeing.

Jodi Rosko 38:10

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yep. So um, so it doesn't have to be a fast process. You guys, you know, start thinking about it now. Be dreamy about what that looks like. Maybe you maybe you do want to buy another house, you know, earlier than you thought. And and, you know, there's so many options that you can have when you start so early. I think that's the key thing to remember. The earlier you start, the more options you're gonna have.

Heather Fisher 38:34

Yeah, absolutely. And um, we've done lots of episodes on a lot of these key um things to to start thinking about. So please go back and listen to those episodes. Reach out to us um on our website, downsizingroadmap.com, if there's any questions we can answer or topics you want us to address. And we'd love it if you enjoy the podcast, if you would give us a review, and we will be back next week.

Jodi Rosko 38:58

Yeah, let us know what you start cleaning up.

Heather Fisher 39:02

Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.