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The Home Downsizer

Real Estate and Living Advice For the Active Boomer

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The Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift For Baby Boomers

Several years ago, our family friend Chuck bought his wife of many years a dust buster. She was not pleased.  Retaliation had to wait until next year on Valentine’s Day when Chuck unwrapped a large bag of manure.  They were even.

When you get to a certain age, it just gets hard, doesn’t it?

A few years ago, my wife found me the perfect gift. But I’m not going to lie.  It was also the strangest gift I had ever received.

When I tell you, my idea for your gift will make perfect sense.

 MY STRANGELY PERFECT VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT

My wife bought two cemetery plots,  One for her; one for me. It was the best gift this girl could ever ask for.

It was a gift that kicked us into gear to really start planning our lives. You see, our youngest children, the twins, had left for college the year before. And our two pets, Louis and Charlie, were having trouble finding us in our big empty house in Montclair. We had been thinking about downsizing. We had talked about it, but the conversation was kind of paralyzing.

I joked that I was now clear about where I would end up so now we could focus on the journey from here to there.  And so we did.

I bet you and  your friends are talking about downsizing.  Well, Joan and I actually did it!  It was excruciating. I cried often. I couldn’t believe how much crap I had accumulated. The second grade math text book, the PS&G bill from 2005.

Simplifying my life made it so much bigger. We no longer have high overhead — taxes, utilities, services. Downsizing gave us more time and cash to do all those things I wanted to do during the next stage of our lives.

In our first year after downsizing , we wanted to travel and we planned it all out — Sedona, Santa Fe, Maine, Martha’s Vineyard and then a grand trip to Italy. Bliss, at least for us.

But enough about me.  I did say that I had a Valentine’s gift for you!

HERE’S YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT

With this post, this gift and this blog, I want to help educate you about the process of downsizing and do what I can to make the process of getting started as easy as I can.

And so my gift.  A free worksheet to get you started.  Before you can start working with that travel agent, you need to do some basic math.  I have made it really simple.  And from my experience, this worksheet will get you over the first hurdle.  How would the numbers work?

My gift does not include chocolate or flowers but it may be just the thing to jump start new adventures.

P.S. As you are filling it out, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments below.  Happy to be of help!

 

 

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Thinking About Downsizing?

This site is a resource for empty nesters and Boomers who are ready for a new perspective on life.

Not sure where to begin? Here's my downsizing story.

My Appearance on America Weekend

I had a great time being interviewed by Valerie Smaldone for this podcast. It's all about home downsizing, my favorite subject. Listen and learn.

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About Eileen Opatut

Eileen Opatut is a blogger and real estate agent. She’s also a Boomer and empty nester with three college age kids. In 2014, Eileen sold the home she’d lived in for 20 years and became a downsizer. The experience was a lot tougher than she ever imagined and there just wasn’t a lot of helpful information anywhere. Eileen created this blog to share what she learned -- the tips and tricks she wishes somebody had told her when she first considered downsizing. Learn More...

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