The following is a guest blog written by Jenny Wise, who writes the blog, Special Home Educator.

As we get older, there are plenty of things to consider and plan for. For many senior veterans, the planning stage can become a challenge pretty quickly due to obstacles involved with their living situation, health and medical care, mental health, and overall finances. The good news: there are some benefits that are available for veterans that will make life a bit easier, from affordable insurance to simple home loans. 

Once you have the right tools at your disposal, you can begin making plans for your future without all the stress. To help, Soldiers’ Angels shares these tips for easy financial planning for your golden years.

Make a move

Many seniors struggle with finding the perfect home, either because they need something smaller in order to save money or because they want a safer, more accessible home due to health issues. The idea of moving can be stressful, but downsizing can be hugely beneficial for older adults, allowing for a smaller space to take care of as well as an easier one to navigate. Not only that, AARP notes it can be much less costly to move than to make updates and renovations to your current home. 

You can also get a VA loan with little or no down payment, meaning you won’t have to worry about dipping into your savings. These loans also typically don’t require private mortgage insurance, and you can take advantage of 15, 20 and 30 year VA home loans with better terms than most other loans, meaning you’ll be able to secure an affordable monthly payment.

Keep in mind that the steps required to sell your current home and buy another one can be tricky. If you do not purchase your new home first you will have to find temporary housing during the transition period. Having multiple moves close together can be quite stressful.

When you’re ready to start packing and preparing for the move, stay organized in order to keep stress at bay, and consider working with professional movers to ensure an efficient and injury-free move. 

Plan for long-term care

If you’re selling your current home in order to plan for future health needs, you’ve probably already thought about long-term care and how much it will cost. Should you become ill or injured in the future, you’ll want to have peace of mind when it comes to paying for health services, including hospital stays and in-home care. Since Medicare typically doesn’t cover nursing home stays and other long-term needs, it’s important to plan ahead, either by checking into VA eligibility for long-term care coverage or purchasing long-term care insurance.

Another means of paying for long-term care is by starting a business in retirement. Owning a business can be a great way to continue to bring money in during your retirement years, but keep in mind what that will require. Franchises, for example, can be an appealing option due to much of the legwork being done in the form of figuring out the business model. However, you should still stick with industries you know well for best results.

Protect yourself

Protection isn’t just about your physical health; it’s also important to learn all you can about fraud and financial scams that target seniors and veterans. If you have online accounts for paying bills or shopping, find out more about keeping them safe. Change your passwords for each account, and log out as soon as you’re finished with a website. These simple actions can go a long way toward keeping your information safe from scammers and thieves. 

Because websites designed to steal your data are pretty high-tech and realistic these days, it can be difficult to spot the fakes, but there are a few giveaways. For instance, sites that email you to ask for a password or have a different web address than the name of the company are generally best avoided.

Financial planning can be stressful and challenging, in part because there are so many unknown factors. It’s difficult to prepare for the future when you’re unsure of what you’ll need, but with a few small changes, you can take a step in the right direction and give yourself peace of mind that you’ll be well taken care of down the road.

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