The Advocate

The one-stop shop for both older adults and the children of aging parents in Minnesota. Whether you’re looking for a senior apartment, assisted living or a nursing home, you’ll find it here! The Change AGEnt Group of RE/MAX Results specializes in helping older adults downsize.

What is a CCRC? Word of the Week #2

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on What is a CCRC? Word of the Week #2

Word of the Week: [su_highlight]Continuing Care Retirement Community, or CCRC[/su_highlight] One type of community not many seniors know about is a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).  A CCRC offers a full continuum of care for seniors on one campus.  This allows residents to stay in one place even if their care needs change.  The services…

Is it “Facility” or “Community?”

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Is it “Facility” or “Community?”

The words we use matter. Do you use words that preserve independence, empowerment and dignity? Or, do you use words that promote dependence, institutionalization, and degradation? Which do you say? Senior Facility or Senior Community? A community of people do NOT live in a facility. Please see below.  [su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#c5c5c5″ link_color=”#cccccc” margin=”40″]Senior Facility or Senior Community?[/su_divider]…

The Hidden Language of Senior Housing

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on The Hidden Language of Senior Housing

If you’re considering downsizing into senior housing, you’ll quickly find out it’s a little more complicated than just leasing a regular apartment. There’s an entirely different language used in senior housing. So, in addition to learning new vocabulary, you also have to take the extra step of finding out why all these new words should even…

Downsizing? Start with the Beginning in Mind

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Downsizing? Start with the Beginning in Mind

I received a call last week from a professional who works with seniors, whom I have known for a number of years. I’ll call her “J”. She was telling me about one of her senior clients who is 87 with a  daughter with some physical challenges, and she wants to move and find  place for…

5 Tips to Search for Senior Housing

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on 5 Tips to Search for Senior Housing

It can be difficult to find good information about senior housing. Which websites have the most accurate, trust worthy information? How do you know what information to trust? Here are 5 tips to finding senior housing information on the internet 1. Beware the 1-800 number on Senior Housing Guide websites. The majority of the websites I’ve…

No Excuse to Not Exercise!

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on No Excuse to Not Exercise!

Almost anyone, at any age, can do some type of physical activity. You can still exercise even if you have a health condition like heart disease or diabetes. In fact, physical activity may help. For most older adults, brisk walking, riding a bike, swimming, weight lifting, and gardening are safe, especially if you build up…

Exercises for Seniors

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Exercises for Seniors

Exercise should no longer be a dirty word for seniors. At one time exercise was judged to be too dangerous, too vigorous for older adults due to frailty and/or fear of being injured by exercise. However, a number of well-conducted studies over the last several years have shown that a variety of exercises are not…

Consider Medical Needs When Traveling

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Consider Medical Needs When Traveling

While those of all ages can enjoy traveling, the itinerary should take into account a senior’s physical and cognitive abilities, and other special needs. Those with Alzheimer’s or memory loss – even in the early stages – can become easily disoriented when removed from familiar surroundings and routines. You may want to design a vacation…

Share Family History

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Share Family History

How do we impart to the younger generation an appreciation for experiences of those before? Can we engage children and adults in conversations about the differences and similarities of their lives? This is a typical exchange: (Older Man) “Son when I was your age, we had to …” (Young child) Blank stare. To some extent,…

Treasures in the Attic

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Treasures in the Attic

I recently discovered the true meaning of a treasure hunt. I spent Sunday afternoon in the attic with my grandma, intending to sort through the “stuff” that had accumulated over the past fifty some years — by all accounts, a dreary task. On this day, however, I approached my ascent into the attic as an…

5 Steps to Getting a Reverse Mortgage

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on 5 Steps to Getting a Reverse Mortgage

People often think that applying for a reverse mortgage is complicated, but it’s really a simple and straightforward process. Here are the five steps you’ll need to follow to take advantage of this financial program for seniors: Becoming informed: Learning about reverse mortgage options until one is comfortably ready to take advantage of such a…

Plan Your Move

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Plan Your Move

Congratulations! You’re thinking about moving and you’re gathering information. Do you know that very few seniors take the time to adequately plan a move? Planning increases the chances of staying in control of your future. You are to be commended! Now that you’re here, let’s briefly discuss the steps involved in developing a move plan.…

Common Mistakes When Selling Your Home

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Common Mistakes When Selling Your Home

Mistake #1 — Placing the Wrong Price on Your Property Every seller obviously wants to get the most money for his or her house. The best way to get this most money is to price your home correctly the first day it’s on the market. If it’s priced too high, you’ll lose showings, your house…

What do we do with all the old paper?

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on What do we do with all the old paper?

Seniors are well advised about identity theft and many of them have personal shredders. Those small home office machines are notorious for jamming, and are frustrating and worthless for handling any significant volume of shredding. They are designed to handle a single, occasional sheet for shredding and are not helpful in clearing a house of…

Packing Tips for Seniors

By Lisa Dunn | Comments Off on Packing Tips for Seniors

Movers charge by the hour. A variety of boxes of different shapes and sizes will slow down loading the truck. What you save in boxes you will probably lose in movers’ costs because your assorted boxes will slow down your movers. You want boxes that are stackable, and uniform in size and appropriate to the…