Magnolia Manor Blog

Whether you’re actively independent or not quite as active as you once were, no one wants to sit around all day doing nothing. We all need stimulation to keep our minds, bodies, and spirits strong. Senior living fosters a sense of community and – here at Magnolia Manor, at least – provides a wealth of opportunities to exercise and socialize.

A Medicare premium reduction? With prices rising on virtually everything, you might think you misread that. However, the Medicare Part B premium really will be lower in 2023. That’s great news for more than 56 million seniors. But why, in a world of inflation, are we getting this price break?

Drug Pricing . . . but Not What You Think

The bears have it – for now, anyway. Any time the stock market becomes unusually volatile or takes a definite downturn, investors wonder if they should take action or just wait it out. This question affects seniors, especially, because the older you get the less opportunity you have to take a long-term approach to investments.

You may need that money soon to help pay for your retirement. Meanwhile, high inflation and talk of a possible recession also affect financial planning as well as daily living.

Here are some tips to weather this bear market.

Can you work and receive Social Security retirement benefits at the same time? Yes. Should you? Well, that depends. It’s important to understand that the issue isn’t only whether working will affect your benefit, but when you start receiving your benefits.

Retirement Benefits: There’s a Carrot, and There’s a Stick

If you still think of 65 as “retirement age,” think again. Due to very real concerns about future funding for the program and the fact that lots of Baby Boomers are retiring now, the SSA wants you to wait longer to start drawing benefits.

Welcome to Magnolia Manor in Columbus, Georgia! As our website says, we’re on “the banks of the Chattahoochee, where the Piedmont meets the Plain.” Sounds inviting, doesn’t it? And it is. While some of the nine Magnolia Manor campuses are quite large, we are a small community here in Columbus. Just 44 assisted living apartments plus two skilled nursing wings.

So, what is it like living and working here?

At Magnolia Manor, we are blessed to have so many truly wonderful staff members. They are as much a part of our family as our residents. Usually, the only people who get to know them are their colleagues and the residents they serve within a particular Magnolia Manor campus. So when we have an opportunity to highlight a staff member here in our blog so everyone can meet them, we always say yes.

Meet Bridget Smith

If you reside in Assisted Living at Magnolia Manor Columbus, you already know Bridget. She’s the dietary maven – the woman responsible for ensuring residents get three scrumptious, nutritious meals each day.

One of the best things about senior living communities is that you get to meet so many new and interesting people. Whether you move to Magnolia Manor as a resident, or you work here, or even if you’re a visiting family member or friend, you immediately realize you are surrounded by unique life stories.

And who doesn’t love a good story? That’s why we always highlight residents in our quarterly Manor Living magazine. And from time to time, we like to introduce residents to our blog readers as well. So let’s meet Lucile Garrison.

Our Magnolia Manor website contains lots of useful information about all nine of our campuses. But while living accommodations, care services, and amenities are all important factors in choosing a senior living community, prospective residents mostly want to know: what is it really like to live there? We try to portray that flavor as best we can, especially, in our quarterly Manor Living Magazine.

What would you do if you were to outlive your ability to pay for your senior living accommodations and care? Scary thought, isn’t it? It’s even more frightening when you consider that such a thing could happen to your own Mom. Unfortunately, especially in today’s economic times, it is not unusual for seniors to outlive their financial resources.

Nobody wants to admit they can’t do everything for themselves, especially after a lifetime of independence. The thought of having to move from one’s own home to assisted living or a memory care community can be so daunting that some seniors simply choose denial. Everything is just fine, thanks.