 If you are 65 or older, you likely have an income that falls somewhere near the $20,000 mark. This is probably a sharp contrast to the money you made during your professional career. But just because you are learning to live with fixed finances does not mean you can’t experience your best years on your own terms. Here are some ways to do just that without worrying about your wallet. Look at your healthcare plan. Sure, you probably have Medicare, but what you might not realize is that there are many different options. And, sometimes, the cheapest premium is not the most cost-effective. Work with a licensed Medicare agent to shop for a plan that works for you. Open enrollment comes around in October of each year, and it is never too early to begin your search. Cut expenses. Cutting your expenses is obvious, but it may not be quite as clear which expenses you can cut. One is the cost of a car. If you don’t drive often, it might not make sense to keep the vehicle parked in the driveway. You should also look for ways to reduce your spending on everyday activities, such as dining out and traveling. Money asserts that seniors can save big by simply asking for their senior discount at places like Kohl’s, US National Parks, and some cell phone carriers. Focus on affordable self-care. Self-care is something you might neglect when you’re on a fixed income. But you should not. When you do things that make you feel well from the inside out – or the outside in – you’ll have the mental and physical fortitude to enjoy your days no matter what they may bring. Consider shiatsu massage, acupuncture, or working out. If these are outside of your budget, things like swimming, sleeping in a comfortable bed, and enjoying a home-cooked meal will also go a long way toward your self-care efforts. Consider a second career. Retirement means you should have the freedom to do as you want. But when what you want costs money, don’t forget that you have valuable skills that can help you pay the bills. Say your background was in administration or human resources, you could parlay those skills into part-time work. Or, if you worked in design or construction, for example, consider offering freelance architectural rendering services as needed. A quick look at Upwork, an online job board, shows that you can pretty easily charge anywhere from about $20 an hour up to $70 an hour or more if you’re familiar with 3-D modeling and CAD design. Budget for your needs first, but don’t neglect your wants. Retirees tend to spend more money in their first two years out of work than they did while they received a paycheck. This may be partly because we get used to having assets, and money becomes just an afterthought. But now, it’s time to sit down and take a close look at your needs. These are required expenses, such as your mortgage or rent, food, and clothing. You may have to do some juggling to cut costs, but these are things that cannot go un-funded. Do make a point to budget for at least one of your wants. This might be something as simple as dinner and drinks with friends once a month or a date night with your spouse or partner. Learning to live on a smaller budget is work, and it might take some juggling. But, rest assured, once you get the hang of it, your quality of life will improve, and your retirement will become that much more enjoyable. Heed the advice above and you’ll be on your way to financial freedom at any age. Karen Weeks is a Senior Lifestyle blogger. She struggled to find a new sense of purpose after retirement which made way to learn a new skill and took a computer course. She then created ElderWellness.net as a resource for seniors who wish to keep their minds, bodies and spirits well. HeCares warmly welcomes our new blogger Karen Weeks who would like to share some good tips with hundreds and thousands of seniors our team serves. 
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At HeCares, we’re proud to offer urgent care and home visits, even during the pandemic. In fact, we feel it's even more important during the pandemic, since we can help patients in need while saving them a trip to the ER or urgent care where they might encounter contagious patients. This was the case for an elderly patient who had a fall. He was out in front of his house, when he went to help a lizard into the bushes. Then when he turned around to head back inside, he tripped and fell, injuring his face, arm and chest. Had he gone to urgent care or the ER, he would have been there for hours, possibly surrounded by infected patients, and likely have walked away with a bill for several thousand dollars. Instead he called us for urgent care, and I was able to make a house call shortly after his fall. It looked like quite a daunting case. He’s 89 years old, was on blood thinners, and it took awhile for the bleeding to stop. His face had two large cuts, which had bled on his shirt and bed. He was having chest pain that traveled down his left arm, and difficulty breathing. He had multiple, large bruises on his face and arm. There were a lot of things we were worried about, especially someone his age. It could be broken bones, a concussion, and maybe enough shock to cause a heart attack! I immediately began the physical examination, and was fortunately able to exclude many of the worst-case scenarios. He was conscious and clear headed, his pupils and eyes movements were normal, and he showed no signs of concussion. Great start. His chest pain was all in the superficial soft tissue of his chest and arm, and it was sharp pain local pain, not the crushing indistinct pain expected from a heart problem. Even better. I encouraged him to very slowly inhale until his ribs expanded, no pain. I was then able to gently touch his ribs while he inhaled. All the pain was in the muscles, not the bones. So there was a good chance he hadn’t even brokena rib (though I told him he should get an X-ray just in case). We were all grateful, it seemed it wasn’t nearly as serious as we first feared. I then moved on to treatment. Using the meridians of Chinese medicine, I was able to find two points (SJ 5 and 6) in his arm that relieved his chest pain. He could breathe easier from the first needle! Then I added a few more to promote healing in his face and chest, and let him rest. After just 15 minutes, he was feeling well enough, he got up and went to the restroom without any assistance, when just 30 minutes before he had barely been able to move. I scheduled a follow up visit with him, and was going to make it another house call. But, he was feeling so much better, he changed it to an office visit! At a follow up visit 5 days later, he was nearly back to normal. He was feeling so much better, he forgot to get the chest X-ray! The bruising had cleared up, and the large cuts on his face had almost completely healed. I really admired his spirit, and he was determined to get better, and not let a fall keep him down. And we were all grateful that it hadn’t been more serious. We were also grateful that at the height of the pandemic, we were able to provide him care without taking time from the doctors and nurses treating covid patients, and we were able to prevent him from waiting in crowded urgent care or ER where he might have been exposed. He was also very grateful for the price, a fraction of what urgent care would have. We’re here for you, pandemic or no. June we resume normal operations. Pandemic or no, urgent care, house call or office visit, our team is here for you! David Dick, L. Ac., DAOM Imaging technology is so helpful for HeCares Team that our needles would never miss the points. The wife of this patient with severe lumbar spine pain thoughtfully documented his progress during the last four days. Thanks to Sunnyvale MRI Imaging Center! Special thanks to HeCares intern Ying Ava Zhang for encouraging the family to drive the patient all way from San Francisco to Los Gatos and Sunnyvale... Mission accomplished and patient discharged!
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AuthorsAcupuncture Specialists at Integrative Medicine Center Archives
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