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How to Downsize Without Feeling Deprived
Tips for simplifying life while maintaining comfort
It is important to recognize that downsizing is not for everyone. However, downsizing has advantages for many people aged 65 and older.
As my wife and I learned in 2021, downsizing can turn the equity in your current home into liquid cash or significantly lower your monthly fixed housing expenses, freeing up money for retirement fun and games.
In July 2021, we sold our mortgage-free, 1650-square-foot home in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and purchased a mortgage-free, 588-square-foot home in Green Valley, Arizona. Even though both homes were mortgage-free, we still reduced our monthly fixed cost by more than $250. In addition, the smaller home in Arizona costs $250,000 less than what we sold our house for in North Carolina.
That said, you do not want to feel like you went from the frying pan into the fire after downsizing. You do not want to wake up feeling that you have deprived yourself of all the things that made living in your home enjoyable.
My goal in this article is to provide a few simple steps that you can follow so that downsizing results in an improved quality of life.