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What if I told you there's half a million dollars hiding right inside your house? It's true, but it requires some foresight, some planning, and a little creativity. Hi, my name's Aaron Murphy. I'm an architect who focuses on creating homes that support you in the second half of your life journey. And I'm the owner of Forever Home. Today I wanna talk about the significant cost savings of aging in place compared to assisted living and other CCRC continuums of care. The average cost of assisted living right now is well over $4,000 a month. I hear many stories where it's eight to 10 grand. Over the span of 10 or 15 years, that equals over a half a million dollars. And that's a conservative estimate based on the increases in care costs we're experiencing right now. Modifying your home for aging in place might feel expensive upfront thinking about no step entries, wider doors, bathroom modifications, showers being torn out and repaired. But that's a fraction of the cost of long-term assisted living expenses. Even when you consider in-home care help while it's part-time. If all you need is groceries or driving or some of the early ADLs. Occupational therapists call it activities of daily living. And once you've done that, the maintenance costs are a lot lower than those monthly costs assisted living. It's not just financially savvy, it's also linked to a better emotional wellbeing, familiarity, routine, and independence. Aging in place allows you to tailor your own care solutions, adapting it to your needs as your needs change. You guys, I got into this whole industry of aging in place partially because of a story about the cost. My grandmother went through osteoporosis and Alzheimer's in a split level home in Portland, Oregon. And as an architect, that definitely tainted my view of housing design. But the other part was buying a car off Craigslist. Two 63 year olds brought me a car. I said, whose is it? And they said, mom, she's 92. She moved into a sister living down the road. And I said, I'm doing some research. Do you mind if I ask you what that costs? For them, it was $150,000 out of pocket and 10 grand a month. That's where I saw that we have a housing gap related to the 50 plus marketplace. So what do you do? Start with a professional. Get a home assessment from us or someone in your area. We'd actually do it nationally now thanks to technological advances at Forever Home. Figure out what your changes need to be. Think about your current needs, but also think about your future needs. Part of this is good universal design. Part of this is sitting down and actively listening and learning about your family's medical history and what we might expect. Bring more people to the table. Let's talk to your financial planner. Let's talk to a reverse mortgage if you need it. Okay, the bigger the team, the better your solution. But by choosing the age and place in your own home, you get to maintain your independence and you might be saving a fortune. Think about what you could do with that $500,000 over the 10 or 15 years when it comes to your own financial peace of mind and your retirement savings in the new longevity. Thank you for listening. Please join us over at foreverhome-us.com. And if you go into the homeowners section, if you'd like your home evaluated, again, we can do that nationwide. Happy to help, just get in touch. Until next time, please live independently, free, and with autonomy in your own home and in your own community where you want to be. Thank you.