I see a lot of information from my clipping service on keeping memory sharp by working puzzles and learning new things. The advice seems to be related to doing sudoku and other recreational activity. I would like to propose a different strategy for stimulating the minds of the older adults who read this. I often see a widow or widower who gets into some financial difficulty because their mate was the house bookkeeper. They may have gone thirty or forty years without using the checkbook. Now they have to try to rediscover the system at the worst possible time. It might be a good idea to switch jobs every few years so everyone in the house knows all the tasks.
I know how territorial people can be about these things. There’s the story of the accountant who retires then finds his wife has rounded off the checking account for thirty years and now that he has the time, he goes through the entire account history to rectify the account. After weeks of calculations he announces proudly that he has finished the job and discovered her balance was off by sixty-two cents!
Working the dishwasher and other appliances may have become (or always been) a mystery to your spouse, where is the air conditioner filter? What is that brush for next to the toilet? Who takes care of the tire rotation, oil changes and wiper blades? The risk you take by not knowing is the potential dependency on a paid money manager or family member to write your checks every month to keep the cable on.
Some folks just learn to golf, and that’s a fine way to keep yourself alert and oriented. It would also be a good idea to prepare for a time when you might have to do for yourself, because your wife is playing in the Master’s Tournament.