Healthy Aging Month – the Secret to Aging Gracefully!

I don’t know about you, but I’m at the age where I’m considering different anti-aging skin products, and am always looking for ways to stay young, fresh, and healthy.  This month I’m stopping to ask myself what is so bad about aging? Instead of trying to beat it, we should embrace it!

Healthy Aging Month

September is Healthy Aging Month.  It is a national health initiative developed to help individuals think more positively about growing older, more information can be found at Healthy Aging. The initiative encourages health care, physical fitness, diet, mental wellness, social wellness, and financial fitness.

Financial Fitness

We are never too young or too old to be financially prepared. I believe financial preparation includes a financial plan, insurance coverage, retirement planning, and an estate plan.

A financial plan is necessary to make sure you can comfortably lead and afford your lifestyle, while saving and preparing for the future at the same time. Do you have funds set aside for an unexpected health care emergency, or to cover your living expenses during a time of unemployment?

What kind of insurance is necessary and advisable for you? Our insurance needs often extend beyond just health insurance. Take this month to check in with your financial advisor and consider possibilities of Life Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance.

Are you on track to retire? What funds will you need available in order to retire? Do you have a retirement plan set up yet?  Are your contributions to your existing retirement plan sufficient, or should you be contributing more? These are all questions that can be evaluated for you by your financial advisor as well.

Do you have an estate plan? Is your existing estate plan sufficient? Do you have health care directives and powers of attorney for incapacity? Will a Will meet your family’s goals, or is a Trust advisable for your family? There are many estate planning tools available to help you pass your wealth and assets to your loved ones. All adults, regardless of their age, should have their estate plan in place. Our estate planning needs and goals are personal, and the right plan can be developed for you by your estate planning attorney.

This September, embrace aging and age healthy!
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Christine Ellingsen is a Northern California native now practicing law as an estate planning attorney in Carmel Valley San Diego at the Barger Law Group, APC.  She spent a year in New York working in the business sector before moving to Southern California to attend law school at the University of San Diego.  She is happy to have started her law career in San Diego and to now call Encinitas home, where she keeps busy between exploring Coastal North County and training her new puppy.