Living Longer, Living Smarter in Charlotte

Olender, Michael

You’ve worked hard for a place to call home, a family, a job, and maybe a few extras.  Orchestrating so many life events for others can leave you with little time for yourself. Finding the time to focus on your future is particularly important for women, who generally have more years to cover in retirement with fewer resources. However, planning for your own tomorrow is vitally important: If you don’t plan for yourself, someone else will plan for you.

But life’s calling. 

Picture your next life stages. Maybe you’re living in your current home and running a part-time business. Perhaps you’ve retired in a different community where you take college courses and volunteer. Or maybe you’re living near your family, so you can easily visit with your grandchildren. Whatever you’re doing, hopefully you have a long-term care plan that supports your lifestyle.

 AARP is proud to offer the Charlotte community Living Longer, Living Smarter, a free four-part workshop series that provides a framework for you to think about your future.  It brings women and men together in small gatherings and prompts them to talk about their own situations and to create a plan outlining how to reduce health care risks; how to pay for possible long-term care needs; decide whether their homes will meet their needs as they age; and share their health care wishes with family members to ensure that those preferences are followed even if they are unable to communicate them.

The Living Longer, Living Smarter program is composed of four unique workshops:

“Your Health”: You need to stay healthy if you want to live independently. This session offers tips for assessing health risks, staying healthy, caring for yourself and a loved one.

“ Your Finances”: One of the most important parts of planning for long term care is figuring out how to pay for it. This session will give you an idea of the costs of common options. You’ll learn what is—and isn’t—covered by the government and insurance.

“Your Home and Community”: Deciding where you want to live is critical. This session offers advice for staying in your home and explores other options.

“Your Wishes”: Give your loved ones clear instructions about what you want them to do, should you need them to act for you. This session discusses important documents you should prepare for them."

 AARP North Carolina is offering this series in partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Libraries year-round. Upcoming sessions include:

April
Saturday April 4, 1pm. "Your Health". Mountain Island Library. More info and Register.

Saturday April 11, 1pm. "Your Finances". Mountain Island Library. More info and Register.

Saturday April 18, 1pm. "Your Home and Community". Mountain Island Library. More info and Register.

Saturday April 25, 1pm. "Your Wishes". Mountain Island Library. More info and Register.

May
Tuesday May 5, 1pm. "Your Health". Scaleybark Library. More info and Register.

Tuesday May 12, 1pm. "Your Finances". Scaleybark Library. More info and Register.

Tuesday May 19, 1pm. "Your Home and Community". Scaleybark Library. More info and Register.

Tuesday May 26, 1pm. "Your Wishes". Scaleybark Library. More info and Register.

 

These programs are also available for no cost on request for your community group! For more information on these and other AARP programming in Charlotte, contact Mike Olender, AARP Associate State Director, at molender@aarp.org or 704-359-7407.