Your guide to rightsizing - assets.lifestylecommunities.com.au

Your guide torightsizing

Your guide to rightsizing | 32 | Your guide to rightsizing

What is

rightsizing?‘Rightsizing’ is all about choosing the right hom

e to !t your lifestyle or the dream

lifestyle you’re working tow

ards. As

we grow

older, our focus in life may change; m

ost people approaching retirem

ent want to live a peaceful life and enjoy

time w

ith their friends and family. A

dapting the right-sized hom

e to suit your changing lifestyle can help achieve this.

When thinking about the ‘right’ hom

e for your retirement,

there’s a lot to consider. From understanding your lifestyle

and choosing the perfect home, to actually m

aking the move.

In this guide, you’ll !nd resources to help you through your rightsizing journey.

Your Life - Your Lifestyle A

re!ection excercise4

The Options: Rightsizing

options to consider1014

The minim

alism trend

18Finance your dow

nsizing option

21Your notebook


‘Rightsizing’ as it sounds, means fi

nding the ‘right-sized’ home for your

lifestyle. This means fi

rst reflecting on your current lifestyle as w

ell as your short and long-term

lifestyle goals. Here are some prom

pts to consider w

hen reflecting on how

your future home could be best

built to suit your lifestyle.

● Think about m

aintenance costs

While a large hom

e with a pool and garden

might have been the perfect choice w

hen your children w

ere home, think about the future

costs of maintaining such a property. M

oving into a sm

aller home m

ay free up cash spent on bills and m

aintenance, and can be used to fuel other interests such as m

ore holidays or pursuing a new

hobby!

● Consider how

you’d like to spend your tim

e

Is travelling your passion or do you love spending tim

e outdoors doing recreational activities or sw

imm

ing? You might w

ant to consider a secure gated com

munity w

here you can lock-up and leave w

henever you feel the urge to travel. A

lternatively, if you prefer the com

fort of home, but like the option of having

a variety of entertainment options nearby,

think about amenities such as having a cinem

a or the beach or a bus stop close to your new

hom

e.

Your Life.Your Lifestyle.

A re!ection exercise

● Think about storage space

Proper storage is all about organising your space so that !nding and putting things aw

ay requires m

inimal e"

ort. Get rid of the clutter in

your life by discarding things that are no longer of use to you. If you have been storing things for children w

ho have #own the coop, this

might be a good tim

e to reduce the excess!

● Consider visitors staying over

If you have family that live far aw

ay, you m

ight want a hom

e that can accomm

odate an extra room

for when they com

e to visit. A

lternatively, a sofa bed may be the ideal

space and cost-saving solution if you like the option of having visitors stay overnight.

● How

will the space be used?

Think about what you love doing w

hen thinking about rightsizing your hom

e. If you love entertaining or enjoy gardening, it is still possible to have a dow

nsized patio or backyard garden that w

ill allow you to pursue

your interests and !t your budget.


● Can your current house keep pace w

ith changes in your health and m

obility or the health and m

obility of your partner?

Even if health and mobility are not an

imm

ediate concern, it is wise to think about

whether changes in physical health m

ight a"

ect you in the future. If you have a two-storey

house, navigating stairs in the future might pose

a problem, w

hich may necessitate m

oving to single-level hom

e. If you have health issues, you m

ight want to consider a hom

e with m

edical and healthcare services nearby.

● Consider location

You may decide to sell your car and use public

transport, avoiding the maintenance costs and

hassle of driving in tra$c. C

onsider where

you would like to live w

hen choosing your new

home, think about nearby am

enities such as shopping centres and cinem

as. If you love nature, you m

ight want to choose a hom

e closer to a greater variety of recreational spaces such as parks, bike paths and gardens to enjoy.


How to choose the option that’s right for you?

Now

you know w

hat you want to see in your future lifestyle, consider how

your needs align w

ith the options outlined on pages 10 - 13.

Worksheet.

Use the follow

ing worksheet

to jot down your thoughts.

1. Things I’d like to see change in my current lifestyle

2. What I’d like for m

y new lifestyle

What I’d like for m

y new lifestyle

Things I’d like to see change in my current lifestyle

● Start sw

imm

ing

● Becom

e more active

● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●


Moving to a sm

aller hom

e or apartment

Staying in your current hom

e

ProsPros

ConsCons

● Less storage space, m

ay need to declutter a num

ber of items before

moving

● M

ay be harder to accomm

odate more

overnight visitors (on-street parking can be di$

cult in a high rise)

● A

partments generally have speci!c

rules, which m

ay be more restrictive

● A

partments generally charge a body

corporate fee

● Rising m

aintenance costs and utility bills leave less disposable incom

e than w

hat you would spend in a sm

aller home

● C

ouncil and water rates are required

to be paid

● You’ll need to travel to and pay

additional cost for entertainment (cinem

a, bow

ls club, tennis, local pool, etc.)

● N

ot able to bene!t from the equity that

is tied up in your home as an asset

● C

hoose a new hom

e based on your desired lifestyle

● Reduced m

aintenance costs that come

with a new

home m

ean more disposable

cash for spending

● Low

er utility bills; it costs less to heat or cool a sm

aller home

● Less stress and m

ore free time

● Possible intercom

security

● Selling your current hom

e to downsize

may allow

you to free up cash that has been tied up in your large asset

● The m

emories you’ve had in your hom

e m

ay mean you have a special connection

to it

● A

void costs associated with m

oving and !nding a new

home

The Options

Rightsizing options to consider


Moving to an over

50s gated comm

unity

ProsCons

● Som

e restrictions on exterior home

colours and allowable additions to a hom

e

● O

ften include a Deferred M

anagement

Fee (average between 20 - 40%

of the hom

e sale price)

● G

enerally an ongoing maintenance

fee to cover the costs of running the com

munity including on-site C

omm

unity M

anagers and landscaping

● O

ften require permission for visitors

to stay longer than 30 days

● G

reater sense of security without

comprom

ising on privacy

● Independent living w

here residents are of a younger average age

● G

enerally located in peaceful and beautifully landscaped neighbourhoods

● G

enerally more inexpensive than

similar sized hom

es in other neighbourhoods

● M

ove in with like-m

inded neighbours of a sim

ilar age (with an assurance that

there will be no loud renters next door)

● G

enerally less expensive than a retirem

ent village

● G

enerally no entry fees

● V

isitors are often welcom

e

Moving to a

retirement village

ProsCons

● Increased costs of skilled nursing/

health care

● O

ften include a Deferred M

anagement

Fee (average between 30 - 40%

of the house/unit sale price)

● O

ften include additional entry and exit fees (e.g. com

pulsory refurbishm

ent costs)

● Less independence w

hen it comes to

organising your own schedule and

activities

● Possible restrictions around children

and visitors

● M

edical and healthcare facilities available on site (suitable for those w

ho m

ay require health services)

● A

vailability of social activities such as cultural festivities and concerts

● Save tim

e and costs on home

and garden maintenance


● Save m

ore money

When you live w

ith a minim

alist mentality,

you’ll !nd yourself appreciating the items you

purchase more and as a result, spending less

on items you don’t love. W

hile it may m

ean spending a little m

ore initially on an item that

will stand the test of tim

e, it also means you can

choose an item that you truly love. O

ur top tips? Invest in classic pieces of clothing such as w

hite shirts, black pants and denim

in block colours, and use m

ore inexpensive accessories to change your style as fashion trends change. Sim

ilarly, choose furniture item

s in colours and patterns that w

ill be popular for many years to com

e and use cushions and throw

s to modernise your

living room look.

The minim

alism

trend.M

inimalism

has become a w

orldwide trend adopted by

many for its physical and m

ental bene!ts. Here are a few

reasons to consider trying m

inimalism

for yourself.


● Less clutter and cleaning

There’s something to be said for the phrase

“a messy house equals a m

essy mind” and

minim

alism can be the answ

er. Having less

items m

eans there is less clutter to clean. G

enerally, items w

ill have their own “hom

e” to go back to, and your hom

e will feel bigger

and more spacious w

ith less in it.

● Create space for the m

ost important

things in your life

When you carefully select a sm

all number of

items to surround yourself w

ith, you quickly learn to love, respect and be grateful for the item

s you do have. Not only w

ill your mood

be lifted to be surrounded by items that m

ean som

ething to you, but you’re likely to hold onto them

for a lot longer when you treat

them w

ith care.

Tip Top

Minim

alism can extend beyond the item

s in your hom

e. Many choose to practice a

minim

alist lifestyle in many aspects of their

lives. Why not replace som

e of your ‘screen’tim

e today with a m

ore mindful activity such

as meditation, gardening or going for a w

alk?

Finance your dow

nsizing option.W

hen it comes to choosing the ‘right’ option for you in

retirement, it’s just as im

portant to calculate the di"erences

in cost of living as it is to understand the type of lifestyle you w

ant to live.

The best way to do this is to sim

ply list your current expenses and current incom

e along with your future expenses

and future income. U

se the prompts on the next page to get

started and add your own additional expenses or incom

e.

Monthly C

ouncil Rates

Monthy Building &

Contents Insurance

Monthly W

ater Rates

Monthly Electricity and G

as

Hom

e Repair and Maintenance C

osts

Gardening C

osts

Mem

bership Fees (Tennis, Bowls, G

ym)

Entertainment (C

inema, Foxtel, Sport, O

ther)

Current expenses

Total expenses:

Total income:

Di"

erence:


Notes

Monthly C

ouncil Rates

Monthy Building &

Contents Insurance

Monthly W

ater Rates

Monthly Electricity and G

as

Hom

e Repair and Maintenance C

osts

Gardening C

osts

Mem

bership Fees (Tennis, Bowls, G

ym)

Entertainment (C

inema, Foxtel, Sport, O

ther)

Future Expenses

Total expenses:

Total income:

Di"

erence:

Pssst! Be sure to consider the savings on your

expenses. If you’re downsizing your hom

e, you’ll be likely to see a reduction in m

ost expenses from

a reduction in utility bills and insurance prem

iums.

If you’re downsizing to a land lease

comm

unity, you may also save additional

money w

ith no council rates or water rates to pay.


Notes

Speak to one of our friendly Lifestyle Consultants to !nd out m

ore about Lifestyle C

omm

unities and how w

e can help you on your rightsizing journey.

Call us on 1300 50 55 60 for a friendly chat or !nd m

ore information

on our website: w

ww

.lifestylecomm

unities.com.au

Still thinking about your lifestyle options?

Find out more handy tips on the Lifestyle Communities blogwww.lifestylecommunities.com.au/blog

Your guide to rightsizing - assets.lifestylecommunities.com.au

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