There are plenty of reasons to downsize. It reduces your outgoings, keeps housework under control and avoids the waste of heating a large home when you’re not using most of it. But when I the right time to make that move, and is now the right time for you?
Today we’re putting downsizing under the microscope to ask what’s involved, and should you be downsizing now? It could be the right time to start looking for one of the many companies offering storage London has to offer and compressing your life to fit into a small home!
Retirement
The time most people think about downsizing is when they come to the end of their working lives. With children hopefully grown up and successfully leaving the nest, you don’t need as much space. The other side of that coin is that, sadly, as you get older, a large house could be more than you can manage. If you need to negotiate a steep staircase every day simply to get to the kitchen to make coffee, this could well become impractical and even dangerous into your 70s and 80s.
There’s also the financial side of things to consider. Pensions vary a lot, and you may be entering your retirement feeling comfortable or needing to economise. Downsizing to a smaller home may be a useful step to liberate some of the value the home of your professional years has accrued and give you a lump sum to start your retirement.
While you’re downsizing, you may want to take the opportunity to move to a new area, one you can enjoy more in your retirement. The stormfront of Brexit makes the once popular choice of retiring to one of the warmer countries in Europe a less certain prospect but you could still move to enjoy the countryside more, or the convenience of a more metropolitan life!
Saving
If you’re in your 20s or 30s and beginning to worry about getting on the property ladder, you need to start thinking about how you can reduce your monthly outgoings and start to save towards a deposit. Downsizing is a good way to start: rent accounts for a big proportion of your monthly spend and minimising this can help to tip the financial scales.
Accepting some slightly cramped, less than salubrious living conditions for a year or so while you establish a base of savings could be a price worth paying for the feeling of security in future.