Universal Design House Plans

Five Expenses That Derail Retirement

Wise retirement planning begins long before you give your boss two weeks' notice about your last day on the job. It involves analyzing current expenses, anticipating future outlays and making sure you will have enough income to cover them all. But beware of certain expenses that may thwart your best-laid plans.

On a typical retirement budget work sheet, you'll see lines for "miscellaneous" or "other" items, probably somewhere near the bottom. It's easy to gloss over this section once you've assessed your income needs for such basics as housing and health care. But when you get down to the details of filling in the blanks, these add-ons can account for a significant portion of your retirement spending.

Consider these five situations that might put a strain on your retirement budget if you're not prepared.

Taking Up an Expensive Hobby

Say your retirement dream includes racing yachts, collecting antique dolls or starting a goat farm to make artisan cheese. Even if your only real passion is playing golf, your retirement plan should include a way to pay for it.

Harriet Veenker, a Certified Financial Planner in Aitkin, Minn., says it's especially easy for spending on hobbies and recreation to get out of hand during the early retirement years.

"Most new retirees tend to overspend in their first year or two because there is so much out there to do," Veenker says. "Some of the pension plans aren't helpful, because they'll let you take more out in the first five years -- because that's when you're really busy."

Veenker's neighbor, a teacher in the Elk River, Minn., teachers' pension program, elected to take bigger payouts at the onset of retirement. "It is a decision that she has regretted, since the income was cut back after five years," says Veenker.

Make sure you have a spending plan that will fit your lifestyle and allow your retirement income to last for the long haul.

Upgrading Your Home

Consider how much room you'll need in your retirement budget for home improvements --whether it's renovating your kitchen or bath with universal-design features, putting a master suite on the first floor or replacing an old roof.

Melissa Motz, a Certified Financial Planner in Harleysville, Pa., finds that her clients often underestimate what they will spend on home improvements during retirement. But while they may insist they're done with renovating, their plans often change later on.

The Accessible Home of the Future | Universal Design | Aging in ...

Mark Leder and Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D. have a vision: To bring about awareness of the quality of indoor and outdoor lifestyle through universal design , green building, safety and healthy home construction practices to the public, construction and design industries.

If that sounds like a big endeavor; it is. But, they are making it a reality by building a national demonstration home to showcase how an accessible home can be suitable for all ages and abilities. This home by the Universal Design Living Laboratory will serve to help people better understand how to create a more comfortable living environment that will enhance their quality of life. Besides showcasing universal design principles, the goal is to have the home certified from the U. S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design ( LEED ) for Homes, the National Association of Home Builders National Green Building Program and Energy Star.

The home is approximately 3,500 square feet and is being built in the Columbus, Ohio, Metropolitan Area. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2010. The home incorporates unobtrusive universal design, resource and energy-efficient green building methods, advanced automation technology, a healthy home construction approach and the design principles of feng shui. The finest craftsmanship and state-of-the-art products and services will be applied. The gardens will be wheelchair accessible with pathways and will feature raised beds and containers.

The home will focus on being convenient to all lifestyles and life stages, easy accessibility and livability, natural resource conservation and a healthy indoor and outdoor environment. It will be home to Rosemarie and Mark as well as be used as a campus to instruct builders, architects, designers, home owners and manufacturers about Universal Design, green building and chemical-free construction.

How it all began

The idea for the Living Laboratory came about after Rossetti suffered a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed after a tree fell on her during a bike ride with her husband 11 years ago. After that, most of their home became inaccessible. “You couldn’t even enter because of the steps,” Rosetta recalls. “We had to put a temporary ramp in, and the carpeting was so thick you couldn’t push yourself around. The doors had to be removed for me to get into the bathroom. I couldn’t get to my office desk or reach file cabinets. My publishing company was in the basement, and I couldn’t get there. The bedroom and my husband’s office were upstairs, and I couldn’t get there. I was suddenly facing a home that doesn’t work for me.

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