Gardening is a terrific hobby.  If you have enjoyed gardening for most of your life, you know the joys it can bring to your life.  It gives you the chance to work outside and to feel closer to nature by helping her make food, herbs or beautiful flowers where there was nothing but weeds before.

For many people the joy of gardening is far more important than any cost savings they might get from growing their own food.  In many cases, if you did the numbers on it, the food you grow at home is not that much less expensive than buying it at the local grocery supermarket.  But to have a garden full of producing plants gave you fresh food.  And there was something so gratifying about both growing your own food and in harvesting it as well.

This may have made you nostalgic for gardening if you, like many senior citizens, can no longer garden the way you used to.  Even if you are still living in your own home, the physical labor of tilling the soil for planting and then tending the garden may be more than you can do at this stage of life.  While you dearly yearn to get out there and get your hands dirty in the good earth while planting your favorite flowers or crop producing plants, you must be mindful of your doctor’s instructions and take it easy at this stage of life.

For others in the later years, the time may have come for you to move out of that house you owned that had a yard where you could carve out a bit of land for a garden.  Perhaps you needed to cut back on the amount of maintenance you were able to keep up with.  So you let your kids work with you to sell the old place and get a condo or apartment that is much more manageable. 

Sometimes economy or health concerns play a factor in where you are living and the best place for you right now is an assisted care facility where you can have quality medical care available should you need it.  You know this is a good idea and that your children love you and that is why you worked with them, or at least you tried to when they helped you make the transition.

But giving up gardening may be one of the many transitions to a smaller living space that you grieved about losing and miss easy spring and summer when you want to be out there in nature enjoying the experience of growing things.  If only there was a way that you could continue this delightful hobby and still be careful with the issues that made gardening at a large scale out of the question.

As they say, where there’s a will there’s away.  And there may be new ways you can continue to enjoy the fun of gardening within the constraints of your senior lifestyle.  One way might be to look into getting some window boxes for your apartment.  These long planting boxes are often used by people who want a small indoor flower garden or to nurture house planets.  But you could get a few of these kind of growing spaces, solicit some help from the facility maintenance people or your kids to get them installed and filled with good earth and enjoy puttering in those small gardening space and see the little plants you picked sprout and grow.  With the extra time you have due to retirement, you are sure to do an outstanding job of caring for that little garden.

You can also help your kids learn to garden.  By adopting the “sweet but helpful Grandma” attitude, you may find that your children and their spouses wish they knew your gardening secrets and with a bit of partnering, you could use their muscle and flexibility to set up a nice big garden at their house.  Then you can just come over from time to time to tend it as much as you can and “supervise.”

Be sure you are there ready to go when its harvest day and everyone in the family can enjoy the fresh produce and herbs you grew in that garden.  And you will get a sense of renewal that you found a new way to garden that lets you keep a treasured pastime and do so within the constraints that retired life brings.

Maintaining your sex drive as you get older is very important to most people. Sex is a satisfying part of their lifestyle and not one they want to lose. It is normal for a person’s sex drive to diminish some though as they get older. Specifically those over 60 may find it is harder to get into the mood or even to get your body to physically comply with what you want to do.

There are some things you can do though to help you maintain your sex drive as you get older. Living a healthy lifestyle is going to make a very significant impact for you so don’t blow it off. What you choose to do today is going to affect your health and your level of sexual desire as you get older.

Eating a well balanced diet is something you should incorporate into your life. If you aren’t doing it now, then start to make some small changes. As time goes on you will adjust to them and they will become a second nature to you. Consuming too much caffeine can be a problem. If you aren’t getting all the vitamins and nutrients that you need from food, make sure you take a quality supplement.

Make sure you take the time to exercise at least 30 minutes each day as well. Walking is very common for older individuals as it is low impact but very good for the body. Get a companion such as a friend or even a dog that you can walk with each day. Some malls and other locations have indoor walking clubs too which are perfect when the weather turns cold.

Maintaining a healthy weight is very important to sex drive. A combination of a good diet with plenty of exercise will help you to be successful in this area. It will also help you to feel great about how you look. Too many people are inhibited about sex as their body has changed from what it once was. That is going to be a fact of life for all of us.

Being happy with your body is also important. Too many people start to notice all the small details as they get older. They will see every line and wrinkle on their body so they aren’t comfortable during sex. They don’t have much self confidence that they are desirable. They aren’t able to let go and enjoy what is taking place because they are too focused on such details.

Reducing the amount of stress in your life is important as you get older too. The toll it can take on both your body and your mind is more than most of us imagine. Not everyone can be worry free when they are older though. If your finances or relationships aren’t in the best format, it can be hard to get past it. Do your very best though to reduce as many stressful issues from your life as you can. It will certainly help with your sex drive because you won’t be preoccupied with other things.

If you are healthy as you get older, you will be able to maintain your sex drive. Both men and women have the ability to be turned on sexually until a very late age in life. They also both have the ability to continue having orgasms into those later years as well. It all comes down to how fit a person is though both physically and mentally.

Age is merely a number though as anyone who is over 60 can tell you. Many of them continue to enjoy as wonderful of a sex life as others who are only in their 40’s. It is something you can strive for in your own life as well. Make sure you are making healthy choices today though so you won’t have too many issues that reduce your sex drive as you get older.

There are a lot of things we look forward to when we prepare for a life of retirement and those “golden years” of being a senior citizen.  Of course, it takes a bit of getting used to transition to becoming granddad or grandma and no longer having all those stresses of job and family.  This is not to say that we don’t have our share of concerns as senior citizens. 

Along with the transition to a slower life, however, we also get a new set of things to worry about in our senior years.  Of course, your physical condition is something on your mind as your body ages.  Finances can be a concern and, as always, you worry about your kids and grandkids.  But one worry that sits at the back of the minds of many senior citizens that is the worry that some day your kids will put you in a nursing home.

The aversion to the very idea of going to a nursing home goes back decades, probably to the days when a nursing home was really the only alternative when a senior needed medical care daily.  It wasn’t that long that the phrase, “going to a nursing home” was equivalent of being put out to pasture to wait for death. 

Moreover, the real nightmare has always been that your own dear children would somehow become tired of caring for you and just “stick you in the nursing home” just to get old grandma and grandpa out of the way.  So we have the concept of a terrible living condition, loss of freedom, home and friends and rejection of family that builds up into a pretty horrible fear as you move into your golden years.

This is not to say that even today there are not some pretty horrible nursing homes out there.  And that occasional story about nursing home abuse that seems to get lots of space in the newspaper don’t help our worries one little bit. 

The good news, though, is that today there are a lot more options available to senior citizens for finding a place to live after you leave  your home where you can get some care but not have to endure the nightmare scenario of a nursing home.  In the last ten to twenty years, the field of elder care has undergone what can only be described as a revolution.  Now, instead of nursing homes as your only option, there are assisted care facilities, managed care and senior apartment communities where you can continue to live a life of freedom, creativity and independence but still have as much care as you need and only when you need it.

An assisted care facility can work almost exactly like an apartment complex or condominium.  Depending on what kind of care you need, the directors of assisted care facilities can custom design how much care you need and nothing more.  But they can take a lot of the daily chores off of your mind so you can really enjoy your golden years.  Typically an assisted care facility will do your laundry, provide for food and help with special diets if your doctor needs that and provide the security both for your safety and that you have people around to look in on you should a problem come up.

This can be a tremendous relief to family and to you that you never have to worry about falling and not having help.  The staff at your assisted care home are there to help you and support you as much as you need when you need it but when you don’t need them around, they disappear into the woodwork so you can live a happy independent life until you need them again.

There are medical people on call should you need them and the great thing about these facilities is that if you need more care over the years, they can gradually add those services on an as needed basis and you never have to move out or change your lifestyle.  This truly is the best of both worlds because you can live as independently as you can but have help there on call when you need them to be there.  Above all an assisted care is your home.  It’s a place of friendship and social interaction.  But the one thing you can say about it with certainty is that it is NOT a nursing home.

Some of the issues involving helping your senior citizen parent or grandparent can be difficult and full of tough decisions.  Seniors face unique medical and lifestyle issues that call upon them and those that love them to find solutions that they can live with.  And it’s very common for senior citizens to live in denial about the effects of their advancing years and to accept the changes in the way they live that must happen for them to continue live in a safe and healthy way.

Driving is just such an issue.  For most adults, the ability to drive a car is an integral part of our sense of empowerment and freedom.  We seldom think of what it would be like if we couldn’t just “jump in the car and go.”  But that feeling of complete freedom to go where you want and when you want is such a deep part of how we all function that it seems inconceivable to any of us to lose that mobility and freedom.

But for senior citizens, there will come a time when they will need to give up driving.  The causes are many but the most common reason that calls for senior citizens to stop driving is failing eyesight.  While much can be done to preserve the eyesight of senior citizens, if their ability to see becomes a hazard behind the wheel, they will have to be told that its time to let that precious freedom go.

So how do we help our senior citizen loved one accept and then cooperate with a plan to reduce or eliminate their driving?  You might be surprised that when it comes time for you as the child or caregiver of a senior citizen to talk to them about giving up driving, they may have already begun to think about it.  Senior citizens are very aware of their physical condition.  So while they may resist giving up the car or van, they may know deep down that this time would come.  Some other compelling reasons to take that step sooner rather than later are…

. Doctor’s orders.  If the senior citizen’s doctor specifically directs that Grandpa cannot drive. The senior will often respect that directive even more than family advice.  A doctor’s credibility goes a long way on this issue.
. Their own safety.  In the same way that no senior citizen wants to “fall and not get up”, the idea of being in an accident which may cause serious injury resulting in painful recovery and possible permanent reduced freedom and mobility is a compelling reason to turn the car keys over to someone else.
. The safety of others.  It’s easy to find news stories of a senior citizen who continued to drive only to be involved in an accident that caused injury or death to others, maybe even children.  That prospect is so horrifying to a Grandma or Grandpa that they may choose to ground themselves then ever face that kind of guilt.
. Savings.  Getting rid of the car means no more upkeep, car payments, gas expense and auto insurance.  Senior citizens are penny wise so that kind of savings can make a big difference.

If your senior citizen comes to understand that accommodations can be made to help them get out and about, the loss of that car may not be a big deal. Public transportation or buses that community services centers send out to retirement villages can help senior citizens get out to the grocery store and to doctor’s appointments.  And if their family pitches in to help drive Grandma or Grandpa around, not only do they lose the expense and liability of driving, they get more family time too.  And that is a great incentive to give up driving and let others serve as their chauffeur.

Are you ready to start planning for your retirement?  Whether you are 30 years old or 55 years old, there are a number of important steps that you will want to take.  For your convenience, a few of those steps are highlighted below.

The first step in planning your retirement is examining your future.  There are a number of important questions that you will want to ask yourself.  Where do you want to live when you retire?  How do you want to live?  What do you want to be doing?  Knowing your retirement needs and wants is important when looking to create a retirement savings plan.  Even if you are only 20 or 30 years old, you can still plan for your retirement.  A few small changes to your dream plan won’t be the end of the world.  At least you have a starting point to build on.

As previously stated, knowing what you want and need to get out of your retirement is important to creating a savings plan.  Why?  Because it can help you determine how much money you need to have saved.  Having a set goal to reach is one of the best ways to accurate and successfully save and prepare for your retirement.

Next, are you employed?  If so, examine your company’s retirement plans, such as their 401(k) programs.  How much have you been contributing to your 401(k) account?  If nothing, you will want to start.  Why?  Because it is easy to do so.  Inquire to see if you can have your paycheck set up so that a small amount of money will automatically be deposited into your 401(k) account.

As an important note, 401(k) accounts are advised, as they are considered tax sheltered.  This is because your taxes are much lower when you contribute money into your 401(k).  Also, see if your employer contributes money as well.  There are some companies throughout the United States that will match the amounts contributed by their employees, which is you.  What is better than free money for your retirement?  In addition to a 401(k), also examine IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts).

In addition to 401(k) and Individual Retirement Accounts, you do have other options.  If this process seems overwhelming for you, you should seek professional help.  There is nothing wrong with doing so.  In fact, seeking professional advice can help prevent you from making many common mistakes.  When looking for help, it is a wise idea to speak to a professional accountant or a financial advisor. 

Even though you have made the decision to save for retirement now, there may come a point in time when you find yourself on a fixed income.  It is no secret that living day-to-day on a fixed income can be stressful, overwhelming, and fearful.  With that said, it is still important to keep on saving for your retirement.  Any money that you can put into a 401(k) account or an IRA, do so.  A few dollars here and there can easily add up. 

In keeping with hitting a rough patch in your finances, if you are not use to living on a fixed income, you may want to take steps to improve your financial standing.  This is a good plan to have, but stay away from your retirement savings.  Whether you have spent the last year or ten years saving for retirement, try to leave that money alone.  Dipping into your retirement savings can have negative consequences.  If you are required to pay the money back, you may have to pay interest or taxes.  Even if you don’t have to pay the money back, it is still less that you will have for your retirement years.  Unless you are in a truly serious, life or death situation, leave your retirement savings alone.

As you can see, saving for retirement isn’t really that hard.  Unfortunately, many news organizations and other similar websites make it seem harder than it really is.  As an important reminder, if you need financial planning help, seek it.