This week I will be out of town attending my first ever Blogging Conference. So when I recently read this article that Tom Sightings wrote for U.S. News Online explaining his view of rightsizing, I asked him if I could share it with all of you. I’ve always believed that rightsizing is individual to each of us and hearing different versions is helpful to us all. Thanks Tom for allowing me to share your perspective!
Rightsizing isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about finding the right fit for everything in your life.
According to a survey by the Demand Institute, almost half of Americans between ages 50 and 64 plan to move within the next five years or so. Some baby boomers — especially those who have been renting all their lives, or who never moved up from their starter house – actually plan to spend more on their homes in retirement. But more often than not, the baby boomer move will involve downsizing – trading in the old family home for smaller digs, perhaps in a less expensive neighborhood.
Putting the old house on the market and clearing out decades worth of possessions can involve a lot of work and emotional unrest. Many who do not plan to move actually cite the overwhelming amount of their possessions as a significant reason why they are staying put. But there are enormous benefits to cleaning out the clutter and changing to a simpler lifestyle. It helps to think of a move not as downsizing, which suggests sacrifice, but as a liberating choice that points us toward a less stressful and more rewarding lifestyle.
But whether we’re moving cross town or cross country, or not moving at all, we shouldn’t let our future lives be weighed down by our past commitments or former obligations. The best solution, for all of us, is not necessarily to downsize or upsize, but to rightsize – to choose a home, neighborhood and lifestyle that allow us to pursue our true dreams in retirement.
Here are a few suggestions inspired by a new book by Kathy Gottberg, Rightsizing: A Smart Living 365 Guide to Reinventing Retirement about making “conscious choices for a better lifestyle that more closely fits your new needs in retirement.”
- Step off the keep-up-with-the-Joneses treadmill. Some of us have our self-esteem wrapped up in the size of our house or how fashionable our neighborhood is. But at this point in our lives, we should be beyond such superficial comparisons. It’s not what you have that’s so important, but what you do. So stop trying to impress your friends and neighbors, and start enjoying life as you want to live it.
- More freedom in your life. A smaller home brings lower house payments in terms of taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance. It also means less clutter, less work and less stress. Maybe you can even get your new home without a mortgage — how’s that for achieving a dream! The money you save on your home can be used to finance the things you like to do, whether it’s for travel, a new hobby, helping out your children and grandchildren, or shoring up your retirement savings.
- More time to do the things you want The bigger the house, the more maintenance you have to do. The more stuff you have, the more you have to clean, store, fix and find. Once you rightsize your life for your new stage – with no kids, no job, no obligations – you can spend your time doing the things you enjoy. You no longer take care of things for other people, but have the time and energy to pursue your own interests and passions.
- A more friendly neighborhood. If you give up the big suburban yard for a little patch of cityscape, what you lose in lawn maintenance you gain in convenience. It saves time – and it’s more fun — to walk to the corner to get your morning coffee and hook up to wi fi, compared to climbing in the car and fighting traffic for 15 minutes to do the same thing. Also, many people benefit from a closer-knit community, and develop more friends when they’re walking the dog in the neighborhood or frequenting a local restaurant rather than ranging over miles of suburban highways. One caveat: If you’re sensitive to noise or bothered by the idiosyncrasies of nearby neighbors, maybe your smaller home should be in the country, not the city.
- You have everything you need … and nothing you don’t want. The key to rightsizing is to stop living for other people, and to live for yourself, to stop putting off happiness for some later date, and start living the life you’ve always dreamed of, right now. You are no longer tied to a job and an office, so you don’t need to live within commuting distance to work. You can go to the seashore, the mountains, a small city or large metropolis, or even to a foreign country. Rightsizing means keeping the things that are important to you, shedding everything that has become a burden, and focusing on the things that enhance your current and future life.
Tom Sightings writes and produces the blog, Sightings Over Sixty. He is also the author of the recently published book You Only Retire Once.
Please make Tom welcome with your comments and thoughts below!
Photo Credit: Ochileer
This is a great post to read if you’re thinking about rightsizing. You do a nice job highlighting the perks of rightsizing. This is definitely reassuring and encouraging. Thanks for sharing!
It’s good to see other writers writing about the common sense and beauty of rightsizing. Now that we have accomplished that, I can’t imagine rambling around in a big house with a lot of extra space. The best part is that I have been inspired to get rid of so many things I don’t need. Save a lot of money, too as I have a “rule” that I must identify something I will get rid of when I buy something new.
Hope you had a wonderful time at the conference, Cathy. Will you share some of the wisdom I’m sure you acquired?
Hi Nora! Yes I think it is so important for those of us who “learned” about rightsizing and simple living to share it with others so that none of us feels alone. There is certainly a lot of contrary messages out there so we can’t hear it enough. And I love your “practice” of only buying something new if it replaces something else. That would sure help to make you pause and think before you buy anything, and then hopefully cut down on that impulsive buying which can always get us in trouble.
As far as the conference, I did learn a bit which you will see unfold in the months ahead. But the biggest by far was how gratifying it can be to meet and connect with fellow bloggers who write and think similar to ourselves. I’ve made some really good friendships and it is so nice to meet them in person. I’m thinking I would LOVE to meet you one of these days too. I already consider you one of my BFFs (Blogging Friend Forever!) ~Kathy
Hi Kathy!!
i just love to read all this stuff , and of course your vision of explaining all this really make me read all of your articles.
Hi Naveed! Welcome to SMART Living! And thanks for saying you like my info! ~Kathy
Thanks for the reposting, Kathy. You were my inspiration not only for the article but for my real life rightsizing efforts which are going on in earnest right now.
Hey Tom! Thank YOU for writing about rightsizing and helping me get the word out. It is very much appreciated and heartwarming to know that I’m helping to influence people in a positive way. And congratulations on voting AND having the courage to explain your vote in such a clear way. These times call for rational and SMART thinking! ~Kathy
So many re-locations…almost as many as the 99% of Boomers that will travel this year. Still pulling odd facts out of my head from BAM. So great to meet you.
Hey Anna! Thanks for stopping by my site and saying “Hi!” I too enjoyed meeting you at the BAM conference and look forward to reading your work in the future. Oh, and YES to Boomer travel and “rightsizing!” ~Kathy
I was so bummed about missing the conference, but maybe next year. I’m hoping I can catch up to you on my upcoming trip to California in September! I love that he spoke about your book, it is by far my favorite this year!…and not just because I agreed with every bit of it…okay, maybe a little.
Hi Rena! There were many, many good things about this conference, but the very best had to be meeting up with some of the bloggers that I consider friends. I so wish you could have been here too!!!! Hopefully next year…there was talk that it might be in Long Beach, California which I would do for sure so I have my fingers crossed. And yes, if you come to California this fall it could happen too. While it is very rewarding to connect online, it is REALLY great to meet in person. And yes, it was great to get Tom’s perspective on rightsizing. Now that I think about it, maybe I should get a guest post from you on rightsizing as well????? Think about it! ~Kathy
Very timely information, Cathy! Oddly, we added a master BR addition making a larger house and another bathroom. I now have space for my office and I am happy (my house was only 950 sq feet). Looks like we are happily staying here as our home base, once we BOTH retire, for travel. And sidebar…SO WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU in person at BAM!
Hi Terri! So awesome to meet you in person here at the blogging conference here in Las Vegas. There are just some people you know that when you meet in person you will feel a resonance with, and you are definitely one of them. Wish we had a bit more time to talk about rightsizing AND blogging but will definitely connect again in the future! ~Kathy
I like the idea of right sizing. It’s happening in this household rather slowly, as we don’t tend to buy things we don’t need or really want. But we’re working on it.
Hi Anne! I don’t think rightsizing needs to happen fast. Maybe it’s like weight loss. If it does happen fast it doesn’t stick. Instead, if you make it a gradual change it becomes who you are perfectly. Good luck on your journey! ~Kathy
I love that picture! Right Sizing is ALLRIGHT!
Hi Haralee! Yes, isn’t that a fun photo? I thought i perfectly represented the idea that it isn’t so much the size of our car…but rather, how it fits us. So sorry you didn’t attend the BAM conference so we could meet in person. Maybe next year? ~Kathy