Tips for senior and independent living.

Sorry I ran out of room, I wish there was more space because there is a lot to share here: I'm going to repost this in the form of an answer


I wasn't sure where to put this, and it's not really a question but a nice list of helpful tips anyone can use:

After listening to all of the responses on here regarding senior independent living, something came to mind. I think it's time to share some tips for seniors who still maintain independence at home, especially those living alone.

I know that in some situations, seniors are able to remain independent. The mention of people checking on someone in their golden years is a blessing as long as no one takes advantage of them or abuses them. In order to stop this from happening, a few tricks can be put in place to help stop/preevent financial abuse before it ever happens,because prevention is key.

Definitely show appreciation for those who check on you, but don't let anyone take advantage of you in any way. Below are some tips you all can use (regardless of age) to help prevent elder financial abuse and to also maintain a very good level of independence as much as possible.

How to avoid scammers and being scammed:

Since I can only share what currently applies to me, I will say that the first step is for cell phone users. When you get a new cell phone, put all of your current contacts into that phone. That way, when someone calls you after you give them your number, their name should show up on your screen. If you get a call from an unknown caller or it says private, ignore it. There's been an awful lot of that's going around lately, and come to find out it's most likely scammers. Never answer a call from an unidentified person. If your software gives you the option to block that number, block it. If not, just hit the reject button or the end call, (whichever will drop the call).

Never answer any of the junk mail with advertisements for anyone trying to sell you something, and definitely ignore sweepstakes. You can Google the words 'opt out'. Follow all of the results and unregister your phone number. That way, telemarketers cannot call you.

For those using a computer, opt out of all promotions and advertisements. This will help reduce the chances of you being targeted through the mail.

For paying bills:

You can try setting up online automatic bill pay (from your end). If you don't know how to set it up, a banker will be able to help you. Never ever let any company gain access to your bank account. If you go to initiate business with any company and they insist on going in after payment, hang up or walk out, which ever applies to the situation. You'll send a strong message in doing so.

Paying bills online is really just a matter of set it and forget it if set up to be paid automatically and autonomously

Setting up online bill pay will save you legwork because you don't have to go around and pay your bills on the busiest day of the month when everyone else is out running around and also paying bills. I did this for my foster dad, and it freed up his time to do other things in the time he would normally be out paying bills.

Most importantly, you never want to give anyone access to your bank account, meaning don't let them come in and take out the money owed them, this puts you at risk of them getting greedy and taking more than they agreed amount. That's why setting up the bills to come out from your end is key to avoid being ripped off and double dipped. Before setting this up for my foster dad, I tested this for myself to see how reliable and trustworthy it really was. When it was proven trustworthy and reliable for a certain amount of time, I then set it up for my foster dad and monitored the account very carefully since it was from another bank. That bank's automatic bill pay also proved trustworthy and reliable.

The beautiful thing about automatic bill pay is that you don't have to carry cash anymore, especially since money is generally very dirty and carries lots and lots of potentially dangerous bacteria that can make you very sick. If you find yourself getting sick an awful lot, and you happen to carry cash, you may want to stop carrying cash and just use the pre-paid plastic that comes with your checking account instead. If you deal with strictly plastic, you don't even have to write any checks anymore. I haven't written any checks for quite some time, in fact some places no longer take checks around here. I've used my unique method for quite a while and it definitely works very well. I recommend it to anyone, especially if you happen to be a little older and live alone and happen to not have a vehicle. During the bad weather you don't have to go out when all of your bills are already taken care of by automatic online bill pay. All you do is set it up once, and after that you don't even need a computer most of the time unless there are any changes to the amounts on your bills that need updated.

Keeping your card in a safe place and not sharing it with anyone is key in helping to reduce the chances of financial abuse.

If any business you're trying to initiate services from such as television service tries to get banking information from you, don't give it out. If they can't send you a copy of the bill, that's a big red flag.

Maintaining a good level of independence as we age is key to staying at home.

For the physically disabled for those with physical limits:

If you happen to have a big place and are disabled but not necessarily confined to a wheelchair, you can buy secondhand wheelchairs to keep throughout the house. That way, if you have a problem, you can go to the nearest chair. Power chairs are especially handy since they're motorized. You always want to keep your chargers plugged in and ready to go, and park only by the charger. This is going to be especially helpful if perhaps you have arthritis and have tasks to do around the house. Having a wheelchair handy will help you continue with portable hot or cold therapy while you do your tasks around the house from your wheelchair. Let's say you have lower spinal arthritis like I do, and it hurts too bad to stand or walk too long. Whatever therapy you use for low back relief, you can use it from your wheelchair while you're doing your household tasks. Even if you have a small place, you can still keep one or two wheelchairs handy depending on available space.

As a helping hand around the house, you may consider using putting your lamps on appliance timers. That way, your timer is your friend and your helping hand because the timer is can be set to come on and go off at any chosen time. No matter what you're doing around the house, your timer works for you. You can change the times anytime for security purposes. Another helping hand is those little sensor lights that come on and off by themselves. You can use these in a window as long as the bulbs don't get too hot and they don't come into contact with your curtains. You can also use them in any other place where there is lots of light to operate the sensor properly.
Another favorite is those solar lights. They're very popular these days and you can put them in your window since they're cool to the touch, and no threat of a house fire. For the ones you stuck in the ground, you can actually get a vase and use them in your window. For the ones with a base you can just set the light in your windowsill.

If you have no night lighting and you navigate in the dark with a wheelchair, you can strap small flashlights to the underside of the arms of your wheelchair. That way, you have a hands-free way of being able to hold the flashlight while navigating in your wheelchair.

These tips on nighttime lighting are sure are ways to have automatic night lighting for your safety, especially if you use a wheelchair. I hope those living alone trying to maintain some level of independence can actually use these tips, because you never know when something can actually save your life.