7 Things You’ll Regret Downsizing in Retirement
A lot of retirees will get rid of sentimental items such as family heirlooms or other meaningful belongings to declutter. It’s not necessarily a bad idea to toss out a few duplicate photos or broken pieces you no longer care about.
But get rid of too much and you might end up regretting it, especially if you made the decision based primarily on your finances.
“Far too much time is spent in personal finance on purely financial goals instead of balancing your financial and psychological goals,” Peterson said.
Downsizing with only finances in mind can have a major impact on your emotional well-being — especially if it means selling, donating or throwing out the things that bring nonmonetary value to your life.
This is also a common issue with retirees who move into a smaller home during retirement.
“When moving into a smaller home, items have to be sorted and edited. Keeping only a selection that fits into the new space means letting go of many pieces of furniture that were prized possessions,” said Brenda Scott, owner of Tidy My Spaceand a professional organizer focused on helping seniors downsize.
“Many clients feel sad and often angry because the items had taken them a while to save up to purchase and had great value to them,” Scott continued. “Finding out that they bought solid wood furniture for thousands of dollars and when selling it online gets them maybe $50, it hurts their pride and they feel like people are disrespecting them.”
