* And how long will you be able to drive in order to take care of your personal needs and enjoy company of others?

* Can you plan for alternatives to personal driving?

* Are their resources available to provide assistance with daily living when you are at point of needing help?

If you are willing to consider these contingencies and plan for aid in future, will your budget accommodate those changes to your lifestyle?

As you seek answers to these difficult questions in order to make a long-term housing decision, keep in mind that we rarely make such decisions on basis of hard financial facts and physical realities.

You have a housing history which includes values, wants and needs associated with every place you've ever called “home.” It is possible that you are unwittingly clinging to psychological needs and wants from your childhood, perhaps related to early housing dreams unfulfilled.

Your housing decisions are about everything in your life, present and past. The more you can learn about your personal housing psychology, that place where human interaction - role of “place” in our lives - and finance all come together, more likely you are to make right decision about remaining in your home through your final years.

There is perhaps a place for employing inmates (the old cliché of inmates making license plates come to mind); however, using felons to gather personal information about you and your family is clearly a problem.

Even if you never deal with telemarketers, there is still potential of finding your personal information in hands of convicted and incarcerated felons, since direct marketing lists are sold and rented among various businesses.

For people who want to receive marketing offers in mail and have their names and addresses sold to other companies, there should be an "opt-in" option (i.e., "Initial here if we may use your name and address for marketing purposes.") Unfortunately, this is not case, and most companies just assume that once you conduct business with them your personal information is theirs to do with as they please.

HOW TO REMOVE YOURSLEF FROM THESE LISTS

While there is no "opt-in" option available, there is an "opt-out" one available.

Because most reputable businesses that engage in direct marketing (sending junk mail) are members of Direct Marketing Association(DMA), you can notify DMA Mail Preference Service and DMA Telephone Preference Service that you do not wish to receive direct marketing ads and calls from telemarketers, and they will add you to a database of names and addresses to be excluded from mailing and telemarketing lists.

Of course, DMA can do noting to limit junk mail from companies that do not subscribe to it, so this is not an all-inclusive way to get rid of junk mail. However, opting out with DMA is a free service; all it takes is a few moments of your time and a couple of postage stamps.

To have your name removed from member mailing and/or telemarketing lists, contact DMA at following addresses:

Mail Preference Service Direct Marketing Association P.O. Box 9008 Farmingdale, NY 11735

and

Telephone Preference Service Direct Marketing Association P.O. Box 9008 Farmingdale, NY 11735