Worried about making ends meet?
Are you feeling squeezed by the high cost of housing and the reality of your income? You are not alone. This is a reality for millions of retirees. How are you going to manage? One idea is to live in shared housing so that you cut your largest cost. 
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
- Stressed by paying for your housing by yourself.
- More space in your house than you need..
- Spending more time alone than you like.
- Letting maintenance go because it’s too much to do by yourself.
- Worried about a loved one and how that person will manage.
- Wanting to downsize.
If any of the above are concerns you have…
How about exploring the possibility that you can share housing?
Come take a class and learn how it might work for you or someone you care about. A class offers the liveliness of talk—listening, speaking, dialogue, questions, and answers. You have the opportunity to engage with others who are also considering the shared housing option. You get to participate as you learn.
What We’ll Explore Together
- The five benefits of sharing housing.
- The research of the health benefits of companionship.
- Your personal requirements for comfortable home-sharing.
- Transitions and how to manage such a big change in your life.
- Perspectives of the other participants so that you get a sense of what is reasonable to expect and what isn’t.
- A proven selection process.
At the end of the class, you should have a solid understanding of whether shared housing is an option you should pursue. And you might decide it isn’t for you but then you are making an informed decision not having a knee jerk reaction.
The class, Discovering Shared Housing, was a gem. For me, three take-aways “worth the price of admission” were these:
- the concept of “home-mate,” as opposed to roommate or even housemate,
- the notion of “enough,” as in finding a home-mate compatible enough (along the way we thought about “must haves” and “deal breakers,” and
- a process for finding a home-mate that is thorough enough—with a process that getting the right references.
Bethene LeMahieu
I enjoyed the class and recommend it with enthusiasm. ZOOM was easy to use and made the instruction more interactive.
Having taken the class, I feel confident/comfortable enough to forge ahead into the new territory of shared housing.
Thank you, Annamarie
After reading an article in AARP magazine, I made a call. It was to a woman who gave a workshop on “Home Sharing.” My erroneous thought was “Sure, another scam for money.” I was quite wrong. Annamarie Pluhar is an excellent instructor, very eloquent, really interested and interesting. And yes, wise as she explains the pitfalls, highs and lows of home share. All this on a conference call. Her skills are well honed. I do recommend her unequivocally. Thank you Annamarie!—Charlotte, Florida
This class definitely opened up the possibility of sharing housing for me. It got me thinking about the idea, but I’m not 100% sold on it. Might be something I have to do for my finances. If I have to downsize my only option living alone is a studio, but I’m a chef! I’d like to live in a nice house and share it with two other women. Together we could rent a nice place – one with a kitchen like I used to have before my divorce. The tools I learned in the class to set up home sharing would make it be more successful. Now that I have the tools to use, it feels like less of a gamble. But you can’t really know until you live with someone. It was good to hear what other people have to say. I liked the interaction with others. — Rachel, New Jersey
How The Class Will Meet
We’ll use a program called ZOOM. It is somewhat like Skype, but easier. You’ll be able to see and talk with the other participants. There is also an option for using a telephone. We’ll meet for seventy-five minutes once a week for four weeks. There will be some exercises to do between each session that might require one to two hours of your time.
ZOOM is great! I liked being able to see everyone. — Class Evaluation
When It Will Be Held
Mondays, September 17, 24, October 1 and October 8. 6PM EDT/3PM PDT.
Each class is 75 minutes. All classes will be recorded. If you have to miss one you can view it later. If you want to review the content you may also do that.
Note: Class discussion in breakout groups are a part of the course. The videos by themselves are not the complete experience of the class.
I learned a lot from this course. Worries and concerns about sharing housing were addressed. Lots of examples of successful sharing and also things to watch out for were described by our teacher, Annamarie. I enjoyed how diverse our group was as far as where we lived and what we were looking for. Lisa, North Carolina
This class definitely opened up the possibility of sharing housing for me. It got me thinking about the idea, but I’m not 100% sold on it. Might be something I have to do for my finances. If I have to downsize my only option living alone is a studio, but I’m a chef! I’d like to live in a nice house and share it with two other women. Together we could rent a nice place – one with a kitchen like I used to have before my divorce. The tools I learned in the class to set up home sharing would make it be more successful. Now that I have the tools to use, it feels like less of a gamble. But you can’t really know until you live with someone. It was good to hear what other people have to say. I liked the interaction with others. Rachel, New Jersey
Your Teacher
Annamarie Pluhar
I will be teaching the class. Over the years of working on Sharing Housing since the publication of the book, I’ve been focused on helping individuals discover that they can share housing. I love teaching. It has been a consistent element of my professional life whether I’m working as a management consultant, non-profit director, or instructional designer. For more than twenty years of my adult life I chose to share housing.
It is a natural venue for me to offer classes. I’m an extravert, I like the interaction that is possible and want you to enjoy it as well. I’m passionate about sharing housing as a solution to multiple problems and am convinced that most people can find an other (or two, three, four…) with whom they would be compatible. However, should you decide at the end of the class it’s not for you, that’s great info too.
Cost
What it is worth to you. Seriously. We are asking you to “pay from the heart.”
What’s the right price for this course? We don’t know. The class is unique. There’s nothing like it available anywhere on the web or in person. That would make it very valuable. On the other hand many people start considering shared housing because they are feeling so pinched by their economic reality.
We are asking you to pay what you feel is a fair price for you. Please check in with your heart, consider how you use your income. This is a genuine offer. So much of what we do at Sharing Housing is driven by a sense of mission and ministry.
We want you to be able to take the class.
Being Sustainable
That said we are not offering the class for free. We also need to pay our bills. When we did a canvas and asked how much we should charge some people said $125. We think that somewhere between $75 and $95 is appropriate. But we don’t want you to not take the course if you can’t do that. We are putting a bottom limit at $25. And if you can’t afford that please be in touch.
Paying for the class creates in you a commitment to taking it. Imagine how discouraging it would be for us if a whole bunch of people signed up for the class and then didn’t show up. That would feel awful.
So please, pay what it is worth to you and what signifies a commitment from you to show up and do the work to make it the best learning experience you can.
Questions
Do you have questions? Use the form below to ask.
Guarantee
Your learning is really important to me. This class is designed for you to understand the dimensions of sharing housing and equip yourself to venture into new territory. If after you have taken the first two classes you decide it’s not what you were expecting I’ll be happy to refund you your investment.