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Hands of old senior with piggybank on a wooden table

Cost Comparisons: Living at Home Versus Carnegie.

Do you think it’s more cost-effective to live at home as you age, or move into a senior living community like Carnegie Village? You can compare by doing a thorough examination of what you do and don’t get in your home versus a retirement community. Once you examine the costs of living at Carnegie Village versus your own home, you may be surprised how affordable our senior living community really is.

Carnegie Village Senior Living Outside Lake

Living at home isn’t free, even though your mortgage may be paid off. You’re still paying for insurance, taxes, property maintenance and improvements. Plus, you may need to modify your home if you want to age in place – for example, installing grab bars in the bathtub and near the toilet; widening doorways to accommodate walkers or wheelchairs; and possibly installing ramps. These may be mostly one-time expenses, but they can add up quickly. That’s part of the price you pay to age in place at home – numerous homeownership costs, plus the costs of ensuring your home is safe and a more secure place for you in the years ahead.

On the other hand, senior living communities offer you a consistent monthly payment you can count on. You can eliminate the worry over large expenses like a new roof or furnace that a home may need, or emergency repairs that can stretch a budget. At Carnegie Village, there are no additional charges for a second person, no endowment fees or entrance fees, a $500 security deposit and a $300 pet deposit if needed.

In addition, when you choose to live at home as you grow older, you also may have to hire home health care service providers who can help if you have a health care need in your home.

Carnegie Village has a full continuum of care all on one campus. In addition to offering independent living, we also offer assisted living and memory care so you don’t have to leave our inviting community if you need extra assistance. According to AARP,* costs associated with families who need to pay for caregiving costs for aging seniors at home are surprisingly high. When you choose to live in an assisted living or memory care community, your caregiving costs are often built into your monthly living expense.

Find out what’s included in a senior living community.

It’s important to learn the actual costs of living in a retirement community before concluding it’s too expensive. For example, look at what’s included with life at Carnegie Village, at NO CHARGE:

  • Gas
  • Trash
  • Cable TV and Wi-Fi
  • Snow Maintenance
  • Yard and Landscaping Maintenance
  • Property Taxes
  • Homeowner’s Insurance
  • Outdoor Home Maintenance
  • Indoor Home Maintenance
  • Meals
  • Housekeeping
  • Entertainment
  • Fitness Programs
  • Educational and Cultural Programs

When you add it up, you’ll have a good starting point for understanding what it costs to live at home. The average cost of senior living in Cass County is $3,585 per month. Cheaper nearby regions include Jackson County with an average starting cost of $3,148.

Senior Asian couple grandparents using a smart phone together on sofa at senior community

At Carnegie Village, the maintenance-free lifestyle with all the utilities covered is just the beginning. You can also enjoy all our exceptional amenities and services. You can take a yoga class in our studio; relax in our spacious library with double-sided fireplace; pick up items in our on-site country grocery store; get pampered in our on-site beauty and barber shop; and play pool, foosball and other games. There’s even a beautiful city park adjacent to our community.

You may think the process of finding a good senior living community is intimidating at first. But you can be confident there are many great senior living communities, and each offers a variety of features and amenities to help seniors live comfortably.

Don’t cut corners during your search for the right community, though, because no two senior living communities are identical. Instead, allot time to perform a thorough senior living community search. You can discover a senior living community to match your personal needs and budget and make sure you or your loved one find a comfortable place to live.

 

*Source: AARP, Oct. 1, 2019.