Downsizing For Dummies

by Ralph R Roberts

Organize, declutter, donate--downsize and simplify your life

Downsizing For Dummies provides you with strategies to downsize your life by moving to a smaller home, decluttering, simplifying your budget, and saving more money. You'll find tips to help decrease your cost of living, lower your home maintenance costs, protect and leverage your assets, and decide whether downsizing is right for you and your family. After downsizing your life, you'll save time on household chores and gain the freedom and flexibility that come with having fewer possessions. What will you do with all the time you save? Downsizing For Dummies will help you understand the benefits of living simply!

Discover ways to declutter and simplify every corner of your life Weight the pros and cons of moving to a smaller home Save time and money by cutting down on your chores and home maintenance Experience a reduced stress level when you create space at home and work
This book is for anyone who is ready to live clutter-free and to downsize. It's the perfect Dummies guide for homeowners looking to save money, plus real estate brokers who are working with clients who are downsizing, and designers and builders of new homes who want to stay on top of the downsizing trend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Finance, Reference, Adult

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2006

About the author

Ralph R. Roberts is a real estate expert, investor, and author of more than a dozen books, including Flipping Houses For Dummies and Foreclosure Investing For Dummies. As a real estate agent, he sold more than 10,000 homes, with a focus on helping his clients find the perfect living arrangements for their situation.

Reviews

[January · Rating 5 out of 5]

Downsizing for Dummies by Ralph R. Roberts (2022)
For Dummies Series
xiii+367-page Paperback SWITCHED TO
ii+371-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-351

Genre: Moving, Organizing, Decluttering, Household Management, Retirement

Featuring: Table of Contents, Icons, Introduction - About This Book, Foolish Assumptions, Icons Used in This Book, Beyond the Book? Where to Go from Here, Getting Started with Downsizing, Downsizing in a Nutshell Downsizing, Who, What, When, Where, and Why?; Envisioning Your Future, Navigating a Major Lifestyle Transition, Getting All Your Ducks in a Row, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Decluttering Basics, Moving Out and Moving On, Our Downsizing Experience, Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents), Recognizing Common Reasons People Downsize, Weighing the Pros and Cons of Downsizing, Websites, Analyzing Your Situation and Mindset, Considering Your Loved Ones, Making the Tough Call for an Aging Loved One, Settling a Major Dilemma: To Sell or Not to Sell Your Home, Envisioning Your Future: Lifestyle and Location, Choosing a Location: Factors to Consider, Researching Locations, Test-Driving a Location or Lifestyle, Developing a Positive Mindset, Consulting with Family Members (or Not), Tabulating Your Net Worth and Monthly Income, Distinguishing between Essentials and Extras, Drawing Up Preliminary Plans, Tapping Your Family for Help, Getting a Little Help from Your Friends, Hiring Professionals, Delegating and Coordinating with Team Members, Helping a Loved One Downsize, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Getting a Handle on Your Finances, Calculating Your Net Worth, Gauging Your Cash Flow, Accounting for Medical Insurance and Health-care Costs, Planning to Live on a Fixed Income, Planning Your Estate, Getting up to Speed on Estate Planning Basics, Preparing Your Will(s), Keeping Your Valuable Assets Out of Probate, Creating a Power of Attorney, Ensuring You Have Some Control over Medical Decisions, Planning Your Business Succession, Buying Life Insurance (or Not), Documenting Your End-of-Life Plan, Gathering and Organizing Essential Documents, Completing an Estate Planning Checklist, Using Your Home to Generate Income, Leasing Your Home (or a Part of It), Selling Your Home, Borrowing Against Your Home to Cash Out Equity, Making the Most of a Reverse Mortgage, Decluttering: Sell It, Give It Away, or Trash It; Mastering Decluttering Basics, Stop Cluttering, Sorting Your Stuff into Six Categories, Digitizing Photos, Videos, and Documentation; Selling Stuff You No Longer Want or Need, Giving Away Some Stuff, Storing Stuff You Can’t Part With, Disposing of Your Remaining, Moving Out and Moving In, Choosing a Home, Finding Your Place in the World: Location, Location, Location; Deciding Whether to Buy or Rent, Deciding Whether to Build or Buy, Estimating the Living Space You’ll Need, Considering Mobility and Accessibility, Exploring Your Housing Options, Accounting for Additional Costs, Buying and Selling a Home ,Deciding Whether to Sell or Keep Your Current Home as a Rental, Deciding Whether to Buy First or Sell First, Choosing Whether to Pay Cash or Finance Your Purchase, Picking the Right Real Estate Agents for You, Timing the Market (or Not), Getting a Home Equity Line of Credit (Just in Case), Accounting for Taxes on the Sale of Your Home, Packing Your Belongings, Executing a Successful Move, Ten Good Reasons to Downsize, Ten Tips to Make Downsizing Less Stressful, Ten (or So) Ways to Reduce Your Living Expenses, Ten Ways to Supplement Your Income, Index, Connect with Dummies, List of Tables - Short-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022), Long-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022): List of Illustrations

Rating as a movie: PG

Books and Authors mentioned: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Throw Momma from the Train by Stu Silver, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin M. Wilson, Medicare For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Patricia Barry, Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies by Aaron Larson, Business Succession Planning For Dummies, by Arnold Dahlke, Decluttering For Dummies, by Jane Stoller, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin Wilson

Memorable Quotes: U.S. News and World Report’s top 10 retirement destinations at money.usnews.com/money/retirement/art.... We can save you some time — of the top 10, eight are in Florida. Notably not listed is America’s number-one retirement community: The Villages in central Florida. It also happens to be the world’s capital of Viagra sales.

You may be able to take the sting out of large auto or home repair bills by buying a vehicle warranty and home warranty, but those are additional expenses. For more predictable home heating and cooling bills, consider getting on a budget with your gas and electric companies.

Try to get past the idea of what you paid for something and think about what you will pay for it in terms of moving it, storing it, and thinking about it in the future. Cut your losses and sell it for whatever you can get for it, or just give it away.

Here’s a short list of the documents that are safe to shred: Credit card statements Bank statements Brokerage statements Maintenance and repair records for vehicles you no longer own Old documents that aren’t relevant anymore (probably most of the documents crowding your filing cabinet)

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🤓☝️💡⚠️

My thoughts: 📖 Page 9 of 367/380 Chapter 1 Downsizing in a Nutshell - After reading the table of contents and introduction this book is the full ride and I'm not sure I have time for all of that. I did enjoy Foolish Assumptions, but I'm not sure what supplementing your income has to do with downsizing so this may be a DNF.
🔖Page 29 of 371 Chapter 2: Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents) - I had to get rid of as many hardcopy books as possible, I kept 2, and exchanged them for digital copies. This ebook feels less overwhelming than the paperback, probably because you don’t see its size when you read it. So far the information is typically, but there is a personal story included. I'm not sure if I need to read this, after reading other books on the topic, but I'm going to read it anyway. I like that you can skip sections that don't pertain to you, although I won't be.
🔖83 Chapter 5 Rallying the Troops - Okay, I was wrong this book does have a lot of helpful information, and all of the websites are still active.
🔖239 Chapter 14 Disposing of Your Remaining Belongings - I had to force myself to read the last chapter on storing stuff. I don't even want to read about giving collections away but I need the information. This book is pretty thorough I'm not sure I save the information about donating and storage there are a lot of organizations I didn't realize I could utilize. I stopped here because I didn't want to overload myself. I continue this weekend.

Okay in the end this book was way more helpful than I expected. I think I'll reread it in the next few years, or read one of the recommendations.

Recommend to others: Yes. This isn't a personalized as other books on the topic but it's detailed enough to go beyond getting it done, you'll tap into a few other areas as well.

[Katelyn Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful information as to the intricacies of finding, fixing, and selling a variety of homes! Great for a beginnner like myself.

[ilhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

It is helpful and clear enough to grasp good ideas and info for implement it on the field thanks to author’s backround

[Alex Randazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided so much detail, I felt like I could just hop right in. Extremely thorough, and everything focused on doing the job honorable and above board. Highly recommend for anyone trying to get into flipping/renovating/rehabbing homes.

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had the most thorough explanations of acquiring properties from foreclosure that I've seen.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Solid Starting Point for Beginners, but Lacks Depth for Seasoned Flippers

[Michelle Bellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful!

[Munchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its an okay read. Really meant for people retiring and those who have actual homes or assets to think about. But i was looking for downsizing in general. And this was more for the elderly.

[Heather Richierich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was on the hunt for the best book about flipping houses and I found this one to be really helpful. A lot of the questions about what to prioritize or whether to invest in X as opposed to Z were answered in part by this book. I think this is a great overview and is super digestible doesn’t take too long to read for people who are interested in getting into real estate investment with slow flipping or live in flipping.

[Go · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/23/22
I read the 2022 version this time and there were some good updates as far as how flipping houses has changed since Covid hit and affected real estate. Other than that, it is similar information. I was disappointed that they didn’t bother to update the photos to today’s standards. Who puts laminate countertops in the kitchen anymore? The styles were not reflecting today’s modern look.

original Review: I love this book. It was very educational and exactly what I wanted to know. My husband and I have been interested in Real Estate for many years and bought our first Fixer Upper a few years ago, which we lived in during the renovations with kids and all. I do not recommend doing that if you can help it. Total chaos. Dirty disaster. We still live there so we have yet to sell it to realize our profit. There is so much helpful information in this book, little tips and tricks and so many different directions you can go with house flipping opportunities. Depending on how big of a project you want to take on and how big of a profit you want to take home.

There is too much to mention so here are some of the things: doing title research, shopping for reliable contractors, hiring the right realtor, homeowner’s insurance, different methods for funding flips, websites to refer to, searching for the right house (or worst house), paying a realistic price to ensure a profitable outcome, levels such as bare minimum renovations and maximum renovations, how much money to have for holding costs—the breakdown of repairs and such, even how much you may get taxed. I loved the breakdown of every step to take towards making flipping a house for a profit a reality. There was, of course, dry information with a lot of numbers but if you are passionate about house flipping, it is valuable. I think the photos need to be updated and in color, but besides that, very useful. I liked that there was also humor throughout the book.

Most bang for your buck on renovations—replacing the front door

Spotting the signs of a good neighborhood—"If you're driving down a street at dusk and neighbors are sitting on their front porches with guns across their laps, that's not a neighborhood you should consider flipping in."

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Has the beginning strategies provided you have access to a potential market.

I have no background in real estate, and by no means is this a comprehensive book in that regard. If you were at least fascinated by the topic, this is a good introductory book.

[Carl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for a beginner, I didn't get much out of it though.

[Michael Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great basic introduction to flipping houses. Provides a little information about everything you will need to know.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORING!!!!!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

BORING!!!!!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit redundant at times, all the info is there but definitely could have been a shorter book. taught me a lot about real estate and such a good base book!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Enough to get me to give it try.