79. How To Choose A Home That Still Works 20 Years From Now

We walk through what a longevity home really is and how to choose a place that supports you for decades, not just for today. We share a simple framework to reduce stress, avoid last-minute moves, and make decisions your future self will thank you for. 

• the difference between staying put no matter what and living somewhere that supports staying put 
• physical function priorities like main-floor living, entry steps, door widths, bathroom space, storage access 
• planning for financial sustainability with taxes, HOA dues, maintenance cycles, and deferred repairs 
• building social connectivity through proximity, walkability, and a realistic no-driving plan 
• emotional fit and lifestyle alignment so you do not downsize too far or keep wasted space 
• practical ways to test a home by imagining surgery, a wheelchair visit, or a future caregiver 
• why “my kids will help me” still requires a clear plan and shared expectations 

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review and Follow our show so you never miss a new episode. We’re here for your downsizing questions — on the podcast, in your community, and when you’re ready to move. As Realtors®, we can connect you with the right specialists to make your next chapter smoother. We’d love to hear from you!

Get connected here ➡️ https://downsizingroadmap.com/help/

Download our FREE Downsizing Guide: https://downsizingroadmap.com/guide/

📧 Email us: info@downsizingroadmap.com

📱 Follow us on social:
     Facebook
     YouTube
🌐 Learn more: www.downsizingroadmap.com

Join our private Facebook group, Downsizing & Decluttering for You or Your Parents | Downsizing Roadmap, where members ask questions and support one another through the process:: https://www.facebook.com/groups/downsizingroadmapcommunity

Let’s simplify, declutter, and create space for your next chapter—together!

Transcript

Welcome And The Longevity Home

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jodi Rosko 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 we're talking about the longevity home. So this can be, you know, the home you're in now, making sure that it's going to stand the test of time and serve you well. Or it could be that middle uh stage, I know I'm at this stage of, you know, emptiness. If you said the word downsizing to me, I'm like, I'm not ready yet. But making those plans of how do I get ready or how do I make sure that the place where I am is that place that will support me 20 years from now.

Jodi Rosko 1:01

Right. So I think some of the stuff that we do every day, we don't think about what that's going to look like 20 years from now, if there's steps or if there's, you know, bet the laundry's on a different floor, or you know, just things that you don't necessarily think about. And um so we're talking about basically how to kind of think about that in a long, long term.

Heather Fisher 1:21

Yeah, yeah. And if you're making, you know, more of that empty nest move or um you're still very active, still working, uh, but you are wanting to make uh more of a lifestyle move is how I might classify it. How to make smart decisions um so that that same decision can support you longer than you're planning for now. Just how to look a little future-proof uh down the road. Right. I'm Jodi Rosko. I'm Heather Fisher.

Jodi Rosko 1:49

So I think that, you know, we think, okay, this house is going to be great. And you don't realize maybe that there's four or five steps up from the garage into the house. And you, you know, you're all on one floor maybe, but there's certain things that that might not actually

Staying Put Versus Staying Supported

Jodi Rosko 2:06

work later and stuff that you actually pay no attention to until it's something that you can't do.

Heather Fisher 2:12

Yeah, yeah. I think we'll definitely touch on this, but it's really a difference between you know, just I know in my family I've met many people like this that just say, I just want to stay here forever. Right. And it's the difference between saying, I'm just staying put no matter what versus I want to be somewhere where I can stay put no matter what. Yeah, because we work for you.

Jodi Rosko 2:39

Had sorry. I think we've both had that experience where um at least I have, where my my grandma and my mom were in a place that did not work. And um both were it like we're staying put no matter what, not we're staying put because this is the right place. And so um they were in a house with uh all the bedrooms upstairs, with the full bathrooms upstairs, in a place where b both of them got to a place where they could not get to those anymore. Um and still, well, we're gonna just stay here whether it's working or not. But um that's stressful for them and it's stressful for the family because um you worry and you know it's not working, and um so uh I think people sometimes we see them wait too long. Um they stay and they're like, it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine until it's not fine, but then it they've gotten to a place where it's almost too late to move, or they feel like they don't have as many choices, or it's just not uh feasible to make the move, and now they're just trying to make do instead of live there.

Heather Fisher 3:49

Yeah, this conversation is much more about downsizing into that next place with planning that your future self is gonna thank you for instead of that crisis.

Jodi Rosko 4:01

And just being stuck and then feeling overwhelmed that you're stuck. Like we don't want that to be happening for anybody. And you know, five years down the road you think you're good, and then you think, oh, we need grab bars, we need wider doorways, you know, we need we need a ramp. You know, what we need things that we don't have or that are harder to add to the house. You know, the CDC reports that by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or over. And by 2040, over 80 percent of the older adults say that they want to stay in their homes, but the homes don't match their needs over time. And so I I don't even think I think we talked about this in another episode that we don't have enough homes that would match their needs. Like many, we have many more two-story homes than we have ranch style homes or even that ranch being fully uh without stairs is rare. No, we see yeah. And even even stuff like we see that seems so minimal, but like in the 70s they made a lot of ranch homes that had like a step down to the living room or just a step up to the kitchen or whatever, which seems like, oh, whatever, but if you physically can't do steps, that's a big deal. One step can be a big deal, even though that doesn't seem like anything right now.

Heather Fisher 5:15

Yeah, I've mentioned this on another episode, but we moved into a ranch and thought about the doorways being wider for you know the master bath and the bathroom and bedroom are on that that main level. And then I'm like looking after we're moving in, I'm like, oh yeah, but there's two or three steps from the garage into the house. Yeah. So you know, not as thorough of a full plan as it could have been.

Jodi Rosko 5:41

Yeah, our house is like that. So our house has the um primary bedroom on the main floor and the laundry, and if once you're inside, you can absolutely just live on that main floor and you're you're great. But we have probably five or six steps in the garage to get up to it, and we have like four, three steps, like two steps and then a porch, you know, and then another step into the house to get up into the front. And then we have and then it's a walkout, so we have many steps to get, you know, up upstairs. And so I didn't realize that until my mom was in a wheelchair and I had to get her in my house. And I just thought, oh, this is a great, you know, it's every it's first floor living, it's great. And then I was like, oh, like, and it doesn't seem like I mean the steps from the garage, I know they're steps, but like even the couple steps outside when you're trying to bring somebody in was a technical.

Heather Fisher 6:31

It's difficult, yeah, for sure, for sure. We're seeing that. And I think this conversation, we're of that age, um, both of us, where we're that sandwich generation, we're creeping up to thinking about these things for ourselves, but we're just in that, you know, that span of years where we've both been taking care of our parents and you know, having them over to our homes and all of that. And um, so if you listen to this episode and kind of put those plans in place, it can really open up your ability to have um, you know, if your parents are still with you or your older generations in your family, it gives that flexibility to enjoy that space with them much easier, like you were saying, having them over with ease of coming in while it does the double work of serving you in the future and giving you that peace of mind.

Jodi Rosko 7:28

Yes.

Physical Function And Future Mobility

Jodi Rosko 7:29

So we're gonna break this down into four key dimensions physical function, financial stability, social connectivity, and then emotional fit and lifestyle alignment. Um so let's start with just physical function, which I think is what we've been talking about the most right now, which is single-story living, uh main floor bedroom, full bath, laundry, because some places might have all of that, but um, they might have laundry in the basement um depending on where you live. Um wide hallways and doorways for future mobility, or the ability to do that. I mean, you might have a house that doesn't already have doorways wide enough for um your, you know, a wheelchair or st or a walker or something if it needed to. But or is there room to even make that happen if you stay there? Um and and same for the bathroom. Like, is it big enough to get a wheelchair in there or a walker in there? Or once you get in there, is that too little, you know, yeah, or the door swing.

Heather Fisher 8:31

I know that's a big deal. Yeah. Um, something that aesthetically you're not gonna notice um the difference, but if you have that door swing out, then someone can't get stuck in you know, the little commode area if there's a fall or a wheelchair in there, things like that, it can be harder.

Jodi Rosko 8:52

Yeah. And you know, is it possible to do you have enough room in there to maneuver? Because you can always change a tub out for a walk-in shower, or you know, those kind of things can happen, or you can add grab bars and all of that stuff. But physically, is it big enough? Is it a big enough space? Um, obviously, minimal stairs or the ability to add a stair lift.

Heather Fisher 9:15

Yeah, I would say um it is it convenient to bring in your groceries is a big one that can become harder if you're navigating with a walker or a wheelchair. Um, and one that I was thinking about is accessible storage. Are there convenient storage places that aren't an attic with pull-down steps or just a basement to the amounts that you you know need storage for for that lifestyle?

Jodi Rosko 9:44

Right. And and as far as the chair lift, we see this a lot. We see that people have put in chairlifts, but you also have to be able to get in the house. So the chairlifts are great to get you up to the second floor and all of that, but if it's three steps into the house, is that gonna work in the future? And I know three steps right now may seem like nothing, but if you've watched somebody who's struggling try to get up three steps, that's hard.

Heather Fisher 10:08

Yeah, it absolutely is the difference maker as to you know some of the other factors, social and um, you know, those logistics of leaving the house to go do something, if you're adding that huge burden, people will isolate and stay home. Correct. Yeah. So um on the physical functions, even if you don't need these now, it's a matter of looking around your current house if you're, you know, just insistent that you want to stay there forever, or if you're deciding on options for that, you know, early downsizing move and that lifestyle change, finding a house that has most of those options currently and gives you the flexibility, like you said, to easily change a doorway or to easily make adaptations, not you know, a four-story townhouse with all those flights of stairs.

Jodi Rosko 11:03

Or even tight hallways and tight door frames inside those hallways, like that doesn't give you an opportunity to to change it if you need to. So keep it keep that in mind. Financial

Financial Sustainability For Retirement

Jodi Rosko 11:16

sustainability.

Heather Fisher 11:17

Yeah. Is the mortgage or rent that you currently have sustainable into your retirement years? Um the property taxes, are those manageable? Um, even if your mortgage is paid off, the property taxes, I know in our area, they just increased, and um, you know, that's just going to routinely do that over time. Is that something that you can maintain?

Jodi Rosko 11:43

Um I think we see that actually a lot, and especially in areas that become popular um, you know, for vacationing or things like that where price where the taxes just go way up and you, you know, people who've lived there a long time struggle to even keep the house whether it's paid off or not, because the taxes are a problem. So I don't know if that we can fully future think that, but but what does that look like and what have they historically escalated by and you know, kind of do some math around that?

Heather Fisher 12:13

Yeah. Um HOA dues, if you're in a community that has um HOA or condo dues, looking at um the amenities that they provide, are those ones that you are utilizing and are adding to your lifestyle and you know reducing your financial burden in other places if utilities are included or uh repay replacement or repair of exterior things, things like that, or are you spending money monthly and it's more focused on amenities that you don't use, a pool or tennis courts, or you know, a clubhouse or weight room? Um, just kind of evaluating is am I getting the amenities for that spend that will serve me now and into the future, or is there somewhere else that I could transfer that spend to things that make my life easier?

Jodi Rosko 13:09

Yeah. And then just what's the house like? Is it you know energy efficient? Does the roof need to be replaced? Does the HVAC need to be replaced? I mean, what we see often is um the house gets out of hand, like it's either too big or too much to take care of, landscaping, those kind of things. And um instead of hiring somebody, um the house just ends up going into disrepair a little bit, and we see deferred maintenance happen, um, which eventually if that turns into you know water damage or anything that you know goes long enough, um, that can really cause a problem with the house. So um make sure that it's something that you can keep up and um that you can financially keep up, but you also mentally can keep up with. It doesn't feel huge or overwhelming.

Heather Fisher 14:00

Yeah, when looking at um you know whether that maintenance budget is comfortable and sustainable, that should include um, you know, those mechanicals that we know are on a life cycle, and if you are wanting to stay um, you know till you're not here anymore, you want to stay in that house, are you factoring in those average life um cycles of the mechanicals and budgeting so that when we know it's going to come up as a replacement time, you have that cushion saved up or you know what that plan is to pay for it? Social connectivity.

Social Connection And Isolation Risks

Jodi Rosko 14:38

Um, I think this is one that is underrated. I think um being by yourself and the loneliness of being by yourself um is not good for your health. Yeah. And um some people are more loner kind of people, but you still need people around. And so um what is your what is your social life look like? Can you get out? Can you meet people? Are there people around you so you don't have to actually physically drive away somewhere? You can be around people. Um, what's your proximity to your friends, to your family? Um community, can you volunteer? Can you like can you what are you doing, hobbies, anything? Like what can that look like so that you aren't just alone in your house all day long?

Heather Fisher 15:26

Yeah, and what was what would that plan look like if you couldn't, you know, if something happened that you couldn't drive? Right. Are you close enough that there is it mean it doesn't need to be down to the detail? We're looking at this way far ahead, but these are the type of questions to ask yourself, you know, what if I couldn't drive for a period of time? What does that look like? What's my support system close by look like? Um, you know, is that working for me, or do I need to think about an environment that that that would encompass more both socially and just support people looking out for you?

Jodi Rosko 16:03

Yeah. Is there a walkability to stuff? Coffee, the library, the park, churches, whatever it can, or is that not something that you need? I mean, you don't to walk to, you know, those things. I don't know. But think about how far they are away. Um and are are you isolating yourself or or are you staying part of something by living in this place?

Heather Fisher 16:24

Yeah, absolutely. We have a stat here that says older adults with strong social connections have a 50% increased chance of longevity. So you're increasing your lifespan by putting those plans in place early and keeping yourself active and involved and engaged.

Jodi Rosko 16:43

Yeah. And and that's a quality of life thing too. So not only are they living longer, but they are having a better quality of life around it. So emotional fit and lifestyle alignment.

Emotional Fit And Right Sizing

Jodi Rosko 16:55

So does the house feel like it belongs in your next chap next chapter, or was this your last chapter house, right?

Heather Fisher 17:02

Yeah. Yeah. So making sure that as you make these decisions early on, you're, you know, making conscious choices about is something going to be too small for what I want to continue doing, hosting, family gatherings, hobbies, all of that, but also is it too large that there's just a lot of wasted space that is both not space for those type of activities, so it's not being utilized, but also not needed, you know, five bedrooms or you know, a basement that nobody goes down into, uh, just making sure you're right sizing the space you have for what you want these years to look like.

Jodi Rosko 17:45

Yeah, we've definitely had clients who um downsized too much. Yeah and they'll call us a year or so later and they'll say, yeah, we need to go a little bigger, uh, we're on top of each other, or our kids, you know, want to come and bring the grandkids and there's just not enough space for them. And um sometimes we don't know, but sometimes when we do that, step one of our plan of that dreamy future thinking, we can think like, I still want to host Christmas, or I still want to host, you know, a holiday, Thanksgiving, whatever it is. And um so the question is, is is this house going to make you feel independent longer or slowly restrict your life? And it it could restrict it by being too small and it can restrict it by being too big. So just a thought process around that. Um how how little is too little? What do you what do you want your life to look like? Are is your family coming over? You know, somebody, are your grandkids gonna spend the night? You know, what is what does that look like? Because it may not need to be the same big two-story stairs house that you have now, but you may want to have a place for you know some of those things.

Heather Fisher 18:56

Yeah, I've definitely experienced that personally in my last couple moves. I was in uh the house I raised my kids in, um, you know, that worked for younger kids. You know, we had the the tri-level with a basement, like, oh, go play downstairs and all of that. Um, and then we moved temporarily into um, you know, my husband's house at the time, which was too small for our stage of life. We did not have an extra bedroom, you know, beyond our needs. So there was no room for guests and um our living room space, seating in the kitchen and in the living room, you know, it was fine for um you know the three of us that were in the house, but there was not room uh when we had the other kids and grandkids over. It was cramped and uh, you know, just tight. And because that would have been too small of a downsizing move for our stage of life. Um, but now that we're in the house we're in, you know, it's smaller than the first house, it's bigger than the other one. Um, but the r the room we gained was intentionally in that great room area so we can have that balance. Yep. I saw the picture of the of the holiday with the whole family table. Yeah, and so that it's just really making those plans of what can you know, the word downsizing doesn't mean getting rid of all of these phases in your life. It's just really evaluating the space you have and the things that you manage to fit the stages that you're in now and look forward to the future before it's a crisis.

Jodi Rosko 20:34

So in if you're in a house now that's feels like it's too big, really take note of what rooms you're in and what rooms you're not in. Because you may think, oh, I need all of this, but you realize you don't ever go in that room. You know, you don't you don't use it at all, like perhaps a formal dining room. Um and yes, you might have holidays in there, but in your house, you don't have a formal dining room, right? That but you have a big enough area that the table can be extended and you can do that in that kitchen family room area, so you can still get all the people at you know at a big holiday table and have it feel like a spacious, you know, place that you are in. It doesn't feel crowded because your ceilings are a little taller and you know, whatever. Um, but you may not need the formal dining room, but you may just need a space that could uh accommodate it, right? So pay attention to the rooms that you are using.

Heather Fisher 21:32

Yeah. A house that's too big might contain rooms that are too small. The ones you use even, you know, the square footage doesn't always calculate to the right use of the square footage. Right.

Jodi Rosko 21:46

So write down the usage of what you think you want to do, and then you can, you know, fit the house to that.

Heather Fisher 21:50

Yeah, absolutely. Important, important tip there.

Remodeling Pitfalls And Home Tour Tests

Jodi Rosko 21:54

Okay, so real life pitfalls, right? Um, I think that's Just the the planning for now only and not really thinking forward. So um if you think I'm gonna stay here and and so and when we get those questions, what we get is I think I'm gonna redo the kitchen because I'm gonna stay here, or I'm gonna redo the master bath, or you know, whatever that looks like because they're ready to maybe update and remodel a little bit, but they don't want to do that if they're gonna move because they want to put the money into the next house, but you know, what should we be doing? And so when if you're thinking on those kind of around those lines, that's a good time to start thinking future, like what is it that I um could want or need in this next house? And if it's staying, make sure they're putting blocking behind the bathroom showers, you know, so that you could put grab bars in there if you're redoing the bathroom. Or, you know, make sure you're just doing some things that can help you um do that. But um, but like you don't, you know, don't maybe you're not thinking you need a full bath on the main floor, and could you get that? Could one of could your formal dining room turn it into a uh bedroom without it being weird and feeling like it's your form, you know, like what does your floor plan look like?

Heather Fisher 23:07

And yeah, some of that thought process can just be as simple as, you know, sitting at your house and thinking, you know, if I had knee surgery tomorrow and couldn't go up the stairs for two months, you know, whatever, fill in the blank, how would I live in this home temporarily? You know, you're just imagining that experience and thinking, what are the hurdles in here? And is there anything I could do to make those easier? Or is it just uh like, oh, this wouldn't work at all? Yeah, I need to start planning for something different.

Jodi Rosko 23:43

Yeah, and are you thinking you might want to need to take care of your parents or want to take care of your parents, or you know, your kids might come back? Like, what does that look like? My house is a large house, but there is nothing else on the front, you know, main floor except for our bedroom and bathroom. So if I needed to have somebody who couldn't go up the stairs come live with me, that doesn't work, even though the house is big. There's no there's nowhere to do that. So yeah, just some thoughts about what what you might want to do for your family, what you might, you know, what things might happen not just for you, but for your family and what you want to have happen in in that house. So and you know, if you have a condo, great. It has an elevator, fantastic. Elevator breaks. Now we can't get to the house. Oh right. Maybe just for a few days, but uh, you know, just things to think about.

Heather Fisher 24:32

So Yeah, yeah. I think uh that's back to the the HOA, you know, are the amenities what you need now or has that changed and and are are the rules in a way that you couldn't add on or you couldn't do something make modifications that you'd need to make.

Jodi Rosko 24:50

Right. Sometimes historic houses are in that, you know, way or whatever. So just think about what that looks like.

Heather Fisher 24:55

Yeah, whether or not they'd allow a wheelchair ramp if that was needed, things like that.

Jodi Rosko 25:00

Right, right. Yeah. So um when you're touring homes, if you're if you're thinking about moving, um, can a wheelchair, you know, easily move there? Would you need to just put in wood floors or or your or you know, vinyl floors or whatever, um, and then it would be okay, or no, it's too tight. Like, you know, it's one thing if it's something that's changeable. You have carpet and that's not great for rolling, but you could change the flooring and you'd be great. You know, again, hallways are too narrow, doorways are too narrow, those aren't things you can easily change.

Heather Fisher 25:32

Yeah, it's just making that pros and cons list. Moving is hard. I mean, it's overwhelming just going through it myself. And so you don't want to just make choices for today, and then five years later, you are like, oh, well, now things have changed because as we age, our health changes, our situation changes, retirement might change our our budget and our you know income. So just thinking a little bit further before you make that big decision can make that next house serve you for the long run.

Jodi Rosko 26:07

I mean, if you had a future caregiver, where would they stay if you needed them to? And some of this stuff may not happen, but if you really want to pick a house that you can really stay in till the end, if that's what you are really thinking that you want, then those are the things you need to think about.

Heather Fisher 26:22

Well, it brings you that peace of mind so that you're not thinking about it all the time once you've made the decisions and you're ready for any opportunity and or crisis that comes up.

Jodi Rosko 26:33

Right. Would I still love this home at 85 years old? Um, could this home evolve with me through a health event or um, you know, a being widowed or something? You know, it those aren't things we want to think about, but would you still want to stay there if you were staying there all by yourself? Like that's something, you know, things that you should think about. Does the neighborhood support your next chapter, or is it just you, you know, the one the kids grew up in and that was your old chapter, and you know, you're just kind of still there?

Heather Fisher 27:00

Yeah. Yeah.

Misconceptions And Reverse Engineering Your Plan

Heather Fisher 27:02

So the three um, you know, phases to kind of think about when you're looking at an uh your next house is you know, is evaluating it against the you that you are today, the you that you're going to be 10 years from now, and the you if a temporary crisis or major change comes up.

Jodi Rosko 27:22

Right. So um, you know, I think where people get lost on it is I'm still active, I don't need to worry about that stuff right now. I'm good. And we we have clients like that who are, you know, in their maybe 70s and they're looking at, you know, two-story houses and uh we'll say something along the, you know, hey, well, how do you feel about the stairs? And they're like, well, I can still do stairs, and they can still do stairs, and that isn't actually a problem right now, but like how much future thinking is going into that. And I'm not saying everybody's never gonna be able to do stairs, but um, you know, stairs can can be a problem.

Heather Fisher 27:56

Yeah, it can just bring you that peace of mind that you've made that next choice, and then you're you're good there. You're as good as you can get. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 28:05

Yeah. There um and people will say, well, I'll I'll just remodel later if I need to, and that's fine as long as you understand that it takes, you know, energy and time and planning and money and and a floor plan that can handle that. So not you know, you could have all the energy and time and money, um, but if the floor plan can and you're really rebuilding the house, that's probably not the best, you know, use of it.

Heather Fisher 28:30

Right, right. Um, you know, people will say a smaller home is always cheaper. Um, you know, not always. New builds or condos or different areas may cost more per square foot, um, but that's back to that math, and we've done that on other episodes. Um, you know, the exchange of peace of mind and being able to stay there without a second move, and um, you know, services that you're able to continue doing for yourself because of the way the house is designed can save you that difference in money uh maintenance and repair costs if something's newer. Um, so there's a lot to go into that.

Jodi Rosko 29:12

Yeah. Yeah. So just maybe reverse engineer your downsizing, right? Think about yourself at 90 or 85 or 80 and work backwards from there. Like if I, you know, needed a walker or if I needed somebody to stay here with me sometimes, or you know, whatever that is, you know, if I couldn't do my own laundry or whatever that looks like, what's happening? Yeah. And then again, all of this stuff is just kind of insurance thinking. Um, just like we say, go find a rehab place just in case, so that you don't get that list at the hospital and be like, you need to pick one in an hour and you don't know what to pick. This is the same stuff as that. We hope that doesn't happen. We hope you aren't having that experience, but you won't have that experience if you put some thought into it now.

Heather Fisher 29:52

Yeah. Yeah. One more misconception uh that I think is important to mention is uh we often hear, my kids will help me. And I we as kids, we absolutely want to, um, but I think it goes back to still needing a plan, um, still needing to have these conversations and thought process so the kids both know what you are planning and can help you make that happen, and or just consideration of um, you know, they might not be in the area, they might not have the financial resources to help, they might not have, you know, time with their current schedule, things like that. So don't kick that can down the road and not have those plans, and then the kids can help you.

Jodi Rosko 30:41

Well, and the kids can't help when they don't know. Yeah. Like they want to help, but if you aren't sure what's going on and you aren't sure what your future you want to look like, um, you know, we've had a lot of conversations with people who are at the beginning of their path, which is absolutely when we want to have the conversations, so that we can, you know, talk about what the obstacles are and what's stopping you. So um we definitely want to talk to you in the beginning of it. But what we find is if they aren't clear or if you aren't clear on what's happening, the kids don't know how to help you. They want to help you, but they are like, uh what what do you need, mom? Like, what do you what do you need, dad? And um they're more like a lot of times the kids are more in that doing mode. Um and so you need to do the thinking mode first and then just share with them what you're envisioning, what you want that to look like. And then I think a lot of kids will help you find it. And some people don't have those those people to help you. And we have professionals that can help you, you know, um if you don't have your kit you know, kids to help you or whatever, but a lot of times the kids, if you tell them, they'll they'll work hard to help you find what you need. But if you are just like, I don't know, they're like, Well, I don't know either.

Heather Fisher 31:48

Like, yeah, and and making the putting that thought into it and just having some future planning puts everybody at ease. Yeah. The ta you know, as adult kids, we're worrying about our parents.

Jodi Rosko 32:00

Yeah, and we want to know that we're on the same page. Yeah, we want to be doing what they want.

Heather Fisher 32:05

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Key Takeaways And How To Reach Us

Heather Fisher 32:08

Okay, so um, you know, this hopefully gave you some, you know, thought process around starting to think about that longevity plan and where you're at currently and whether um something else should be on the horizon. There, you know, are so many options that can fill the definition of a longevity home. It doesn't have to be the goal of I just need to find a ranch. The goal is to find a home that gives you the most choices. Right. And so whether that's your current home with some modifications, whether that is getting your current home ready for the future choices, whatever that looks like, um, that's what we're talking about today is just that early planning. Yep.

Jodi Rosko 32:54

So um if you're look thinking about moving, you know, just put all of this kind of thought process in before you actually pick a house. Um, if you're thinking about staying, do the same thing. Figure out if that's what it looks like, especially if you're gonna make major uh changes in the house, you know, major updates before you do that. Make sure this is a house that you think you can stay in for quite some time.

Heather Fisher 33:14

So good to talk to you this week. Yeah, if there's any resources we can help you with, our website, downsizingroadmap.com, and we will be back next week. 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.