Episode 16:1 Joy Loverde on Housing, Transitions, and Creating Your Safety Net

Joy Loverde, best-selling author and eldercare visionary, speaks to important considerations on making housing decisions as you age, how to focus on transitions in response to change, and why you should always have older people in your life.

About Joy

Joy is the author of the best-seller, The Complete Eldercare Planner, Revised & Updated 4th Edition and Who Will Take Care Of Me When I’m Old?  A seasoned keynote speaker and media spokesperson, Joy’s appearances include the Today show, CBS Early Show, ABC News, NPR and more. She is quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and many others. USA TODAY ran a four-part series on her employee eldercare programs. Joy works with professionals as a mature-market consultant.  Visit Joy’s website: https://elderindustry.com   

Key Takeaways

• Housing and health are interrelated; you cannot talk about one without the other. When thinking about where you’re going to live as you age, you must consider what resources to support your health will be available to you.
• Aging in place requires planning. Making sure you have the appropriate support and resources while aging in place is critical to longevity, especially when homecare services can be limited.
• Aging involves lots of change. Rather than focus on the acute change, focus on the transition. Explore the questions and possibilities that arise based on the transition.
• It is important to create a safety net as you age. This includes finances, but also the flow of people around you, your community, and the things that make your feel vibrant and supported.
• Aging planning can be overwhelming. Start your planning process by picking one thing to do. Let that sink in and be enough for a while. Then, go back to planning when you can.
• Having people that are 20-30 years older than you as part of your safety net is a gift. They can be your living answers to questions that cross your path.