Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not sure what your intent is in posting this but it's way outside the range of normal or typical "forgetfulness".
Quote:
Originally Posted by lenora
Let's see... I no longer use the stove top for cooking unless I remain in the kitchen or someone else is at my home.
Fortunately, my coffee pot is single use, automatic turn off. The oven is automatic turn off after 12? hours.
I use a combination lock on my front door in case I leave my keys in the house, but that of course, did not prevent me from leaving the car key in the ignition all night...with the car running. Oops!
I have learned to use my smartphone to take a photo of my parking space/floor before leaving my car in a lot or garage.
I email myself important documents, in case I forget to take them with me. I also occasionally email myself messages as well as put them in my smartphone calendar.
I have trained both myself and my dogs that they always get a treat when I leave my home. Hopefully I will never again accidentally forget to bring them in the house before leaving.
When I drove a vehicle that did not have a gasoline cap holder in the door, my son (another severe ADDer) taught me to place the cap in the groove that would otherwise hold the pump handle. Of course, I have occasionally driven away with the little door open.
Drive a junker so you don't need to worry about dings, crumbled bumper or leaving your car windows open. Added bonus: Other vehicles tend to give you a wide berth.
NEVER place an object on the hood or on top of your car. NEVER.
If driving at night and exiting a well lit area, try to remember to check and see if your headlights are on. Better yet, if your vehicle has a device whereby your lights will automatically come on at dusk, make sure it's on. (I just learned a few months ago that the vehicle I've been driving for almost 12 years has this ability. I can't remember if I knew this at one time).
Getting lost is no big deal. Many years ago I learned that you will always find your way, eventually.
I'm past the stage of bluffing. Now it's "Sorry, I have memory problems." Often followed by "No, really".
There's no simple answer to either question. My parents, grandparents, and in-laws experienced gradually diminishing capability - such as illegible checks, incorrect subtraction/addition, failure to pay bills on time - as they entered their 80's. There was no aha! moment. In our family, there were always honest, conscientious family members to step in and assist.
It behooves younger seniors to make plans, should this happen to us. In my and my husband's case, our sons live across the country. We're only in our 60's but we've gone a to great deal of trouble to facilitate the handling of our financial affairs, should we become impaired. Plans include our bank's trust department, my younger brother, and detailed instructions to our sons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjm1cc
I think there is another problem. How do you know when you can not handle your money. What do you do?
Not sure what your intent is in posting this but it's way outside the range of normal or typical "forgetfulness".
Ha ha. Life long ADHD and normal aging OR Mild Cognitive Impairment. So far, the medical experts are going with the former. Sorry, no dementia.
One reason I posted all of this is to demonstrate that there is no such thing as 'typical" forgetfulness. The question that the specialists will be focused on is whether this is typical for that individual. Heaven knows if I had given examples of forgetfulness drawn from my 20s or 30s readers would have thought they were written by a demented old lady who belonged in an assisted living facility.
Another reason is to point out that there are folks who have dealt with these issues their entire lives and have developed strategies they may be willing to share with the newly forgetful, i.e. seniors. I have always used strategies for remembering "things", including clustering, visual imagery, rhyming, mnemonics, etc.
And sometimes you just gotta laugh and get on with living, y'know?
And sometimes you just gotta laugh and get on with living, y'know?
Brava! One of my primary philosophies in life. It's one of the reasons I don't get at all wrapped around the axle and obsess about the financial ramifications of retirement which seem to dominate this board. I simply enjoy life.
True, but I'll cut the "obsessives" a little slack.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostly1
Brava! One of my primary philosophies in life. It's one of the reasons I don't get at all wrapped around the axle and obsess about the financial ramifications of retirement which seem to dominate this board. I simply enjoy life.
I am like you, and I like the metaphor about getting it all wrapped around the axle. However, you and I are among the fortunate ones who have pensions. In my case it is a substantial but not lavish one. By that I mean it is inflation-protected and enough that I can live on the pension alone by being reasonably, but not obsessively, frugal, while still having small luxuries such as $120 seats at classical music concerts in Los Angeles once or twice a month. Don't know if you would describe your pension the same way, but I rather imagine so based on your comment which I quoted above.
My point here is that we should cut the people some slack who spend enormous time in this forum obsessing about the financial ramifications of retirement; after all they are having to create their own retirements (financially) for the most part, whereas I just sat back and had 8% deducted from my salary for 34 years (whether I liked it or not) - that plus the employer's 8% was enough to fund my half-way decent pension.
It didn't hurt that I also spent less than I made while working - not by obsession but by life-long habit and comfort zone. Result - I, like you, never give the least thought to financial matters in retirement. It is a great stress-free way to live. But having said that, I understand that others may be required to pay a lot of detailed attention in order to feel confident they will not run out of money after 20 or 30 years of retirement.
I am like you, and I like the metaphor about getting it all wrapped around the axle. However, you and I are among the fortunate ones who have pensions. In my case it is a substantial but not lavish one. By that I mean it is inflation-protected and enough that I can live on the pension alone by being reasonably, but not obsessively, frugal, while still having small luxuries such as $120 seats at classical music concerts in Los Angeles once or twice a month. Don't know if you would describe your pension the same way, but I rather imagine so based on your comment which I quoted above.
My point here is that we should cut the people some slack who spend enormous time in this forum obsessing about the financial ramifications of retirement; after all they are having to create their own retirements (financially) for the most part, whereas I just sat back and had 8% deducted from my salary for 34 years (whether I liked it or not) - that plus the employer's 8% was enough to fund my half-way decent pension.
It didn't hurt that I also spent less than I made while working - not by obsession but by life-long habit and comfort zone. Result - I, like you, never give the least thought to financial matters in retirement. It is a great stress-free way to live. But having said that, I understand that others may be required to pay a lot of detailed attention in order to feel confident they will not run out of money after 20 or 30 years of retirement.
Very true and I'm appropriately humbled as regards those who are not as fortunate as we are. That being said, I still think there are those who don't have to yet dwell upon it over-much. Then again, maybe some others can learn from it all. However, the dooms day subjects likely help no one.
Very true and I'm appropriately humbled as regards those who are not as fortunate as we are. That being said, I still think there are those who don't have to yet dwell upon it over-much. Then again, maybe some others can learn from it all.
Honestly that is I think the most important reason for this. Yes some get wrapped around the axle but for the most part there are so many details that can affect a person's ability to enjoy retirement. Just look at the SSA issues. Single people not a big deal. Married and you are looking at a bunch of snare traps.
Some days I have to pick a co-worker up and take her to work. I really hate doing it as it's out of my way. Most of the time I forget and head straight to work only to realize that I have to turn around and go get her. I forget names a lot now and some simple words and I'm only 56. When I'm at work and things are really hectic my mind works faster and better. I guess the brain is like any other part of our body. Use it or lose it, unless Alzheimer's or dementia set in. There's not much you can do about that.
Maybe you can try this - Keep a pad of sticky notes in the car. Write the day you have to pick up your co-worker and stick it on the steering wheel. When my son was going to college, he had to leave the house when it was dark, but arrived on campus in full daylight. He forgot several times to turn off his headlights and exited school to a dead battery. We taped a note - LIGHTS ON? - to the steering wheel and he never forgot again.
I have a large desk calendar hanging on the wall in my kitchen. I have had one of these for more years than I can remember. Even when I worked. When my sons were single and living at home. When we had Little League and ice hockey and all manner of school functions. Now it records doctor/medical appointments, hair appointments, babysitting duty, and other minutiae that bears remembering.
Thus far, I have occasional trouble remembering the exact word I need, but if I wait long enough, it comes to me. Usually at 3AM! I still handle my own finances, and arrange my own medication refills. I told the pharmacist, who wants to automatically refill my meds and call me that they're ready, that I will handle this myself, TYVM. At 77, I can appreciate that folks want to "take care of the little old lady" but I prefer to remain autonomous as long as I'm capable.
I do the NY Times Sunday crossword. Sometimes, it takes me most of the week. I do cryptograms, and Sudoku, and challenging jigsaw puzzles. It's been a couple of years since I was last on stage, but even four years ago, I was able to memorize pages of dialog.
Sometimes I forget what I went upstairs for and have to go back down to remember. Or leave the living room to get something from the kitchen and stand there wondering WTH? Recently read an article that suggested this is not a memory problem per se, but leaving one area and entering another causes a change in the brain's focus. At least, I think that's what it said.
Is this just hypothetical or is this personal experience?
I go into a room and forget what I was going after ... but stand there long enough I will remember ... or else go sit down in the den and then I remember.
You have one up on me already I don't own a Smartphone and have never sent nor received a text message. I have computers down good as I started when it was just the DOS system before Windows came along. Thus when family members have computer problems they call me. LOL I read a lot of technical info but my hippocampus just doesn't store the memory like it once did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lenora
Let's see... I no longer use the stove top for cooking unless I remain in the kitchen or someone else is at my home.
Fortunately, my coffee pot is single use, automatic turn off. The oven is automatic turn off after 12? hours.
I use a combination lock on my front door in case I leave my keys in the house, but that of course, did not prevent me from leaving the car key in the ignition all night...with the car running. Oops!
I have learned to use my smartphone to take a photo of my parking space/floor before leaving my car in a lot or garage.
I email myself important documents, in case I forget to take them with me. I also occasionally email myself messages as well as put them in my smartphone calendar.
I have trained both myself and my dogs that they always get a treat when I leave my home. Hopefully I will never again accidentally forget to bring them in the house before leaving.
When I drove a vehicle that did not have a gasoline cap holder in the door, my son (another severe ADDer) taught me to place the cap in the groove that would otherwise hold the pump handle. Of course, I have occasionally driven away with the little door open.
Drive a junker so you don't need to worry about dings, crumbled bumper or leaving your car windows open. Added bonus: Other vehicles tend to give you a wide berth.
NEVER place an object on the hood or on top of your car. NEVER.
If driving at night and exiting a well lit area, try to remember to check and see if your headlights are on. Better yet, if your vehicle has a device whereby your lights will automatically come on at dusk, make sure it's on. (I just learned a few months ago that the vehicle I've been driving for almost 12 years has this ability. I can't remember if I knew this at one time).
Getting lost is no big deal. Many years ago I learned that you will always find your way, eventually.
I'm past the stage of bluffing. Now it's "Sorry, I have memory problems." Often followed by "No, really".
I have computers down good as I started when it was just the DOS system before Windows came along. Thus when family members have computer problems they call me. LOL I read a lot of technical info but my hippocampus just doesn't store the memory like it once did.
Your dating yourself. I go back to that point too. You probably remember using computers that had been programmed in UNIX as well.
My first computer came with 64K memory, no screen (it required a television since it had a RF switch), a casset player external to the computer, and a single sided single density 5 1/4 floppy disk drive external. $1000 and my wife hit the roof when I bought it. Yikes
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
True, but I'll cut the "obsessives" a little slack.
