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Plan ahead for the expense of growing old: Watson continued from p.12 Over time, the cell death and tissue loss associated with Alzheimer's disease cause the brain to shrink, and its efficiency declines. In the later stages, simple tasks of routine living are out of reach. The top five things you can do to lessen the chances of dementia are: socialization, physical exercise, mental exercise, nutrition, and head protection. Being proactive to stay mentally healthy is fine, and recommended, but there is also a reality check. The single most useful predictor of dementia is age. The older you get, the more likely dementia will occur. One of the challenges of growing old is to anticipate what potentially lies ahead. Although this may be awkward for many of us, it is better to plan ahead while we are still in control and of sound mind. There are many financial implications of aging, including what happens if dementia occurs. At some point, it might be required to move from your family home into assisted living. That is very expensive. Especially if your spouse continues to live at home. Home care is available and that too has a cost. However, at some point, moving to a facility more able to care for the person with dementia will be the best option. Anticipating the expense of growing old is the starting point. Danielle Arbour We recommend cash flow projections be done at least every year to estimate your future living costs and how those costs will be funded. Make an assumption at a certain age your living costs will increase. We can't predict the future, however, as a planning exercise, it makes perfect sense. Do you have the financial resources to provide you and your loved ones the lifestyle that is hoped for in later years? In simple terms, life happens... plan ahead. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP , 13 | Thursday, February 18, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE Forsythe Street at the intersection with Rebecca Street for trunk wastewater main installation Town of Oakville Closure start date: February 16, 2016 Closure end date: June 30, 2016 Please follow detour route. Local access will be maintained at all times. Project Number: Project Manager: PR-2869 Mark Bajor, C.E.T. 905-825-6000 ext. 7617 mark.bajor@halton.ca Working together to keep Halton safe this winter Winter weather can be unpredictable and it's best to be prepared. Whether you're out driving or are hiking the beautiful trails in Halton, we have important online tools to help you plan your day and stay safe. For safe winter driving tips and to learn how to prepare an emergency car safety kit, you can visit halton.ca/winterdriving. You can also sign up to get cold alerts delivered straight to your inbox at halton.ca/cold and learn how to protect yourself from cold-related injuries such as frostbite. Working together, we can all stay safe and have fun outside this winter. Meetings at Halton Region, 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville, L6M 3L1 Visit halton.ca/meetings for full schedule. Gary Carr Regional Chair Mar. 1 Mar. 2 9:30 a.m. Health & Social Services Cttee. Mar. 2 1:30 p.m. Administration & Finance Cttee. 9:30 a.m. Planning & Public Works Cttee. Mar. 23 9:30 a.m. Regional Council Please contact us, as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. 180216