Money Saving March: Tips For Saving Money For Retirement

If you are reaching retirement age (or are already there), you may be experiencing some money-related stress and you are not alone. It is very common for people over the age of 60 to be concerned about how to save money when they are no longer working, or possibly working much less. But it doesn’t have to be a source of stress that causes you to lose sleep. It’s not too late to start saving money. Today I am sharing some tips for saving money once you have reached the age of 60:

Downsize Or Sell Your Home

With kids no longer living at home, you may find that the family home is just too big for the two of you. While you may enjoy having the extra space, it’s a lot more to keep up with in terms of cleaning, yard maintenance, and general house maintenance, but also in terms of costs. With less money coming in, you need to have less money going out and a great way to do that is by moving to a smaller home. You may find that you want to stay in the same city but downsize your house. Or you may find that you want to move to a new city or a new state entirely where taxes are lower. Many people over the age of 60 opt to move to states such as Arizona and Florida because of the lower taxes as well as the lower cost of living. By moving to a smaller home, you will not only save on your monthly payments, but you will also save when it comes to utility costs. Air conditioning or heat for a 2-bedroom home is much more reasonable than the price for a 4-bedroom home.

Change Service Providers

You will likely want to keep your cable and internet services after retirement, but you may not want to keep the prices you paid when you were working, and you don’t have to. Spend some time shopping around for new service providers that offer the services you need at a lower cost. You may decide that you don’t need the expensive cable plan you once had and can get by just fine with a lower-priced one. This applies not only to cable and internet but also things such as car insurance, bank accounts, and more.

Hire a Financial Planner

Though you will have to spend money to get the help of a financial planner, they will likely end up saving you much more than you pay them. Financial planners are skilled in the art of finding where you can cut costs in your life including things such as insurance policies, retirement tax bills, and more. So, utilize their services to help you save.

Pay Off Your Mortgage (if you can)

Though a costly affair up-front, by paying off your mortgage you no longer face the monthly mortgage bill. And, since housing costs are one of the biggest money stressors for people over the age of 60, this will help alleviate that. You won’t be free of all monthly costs by paying off your mortgage; you will still have to pay taxes as well as any maintenance costs that pop up, but you will bring down your monthly spending greatly.

Sell a Car

You may have needed two cars when you were both working, but now that one of you (or both of you) are home, you likely don’t need two anymore. So, sell one of them. Not only will you be able to put the money from the sale of your car into your savings, but you will also find that you save money on gas, car insurance, repairs, and more. That can add up to be a large amount of money.

Take Senior Discounts

Senior discounts are all over the place, and now is your time to take advantage of them. You will find you save a lot of money on travel, dining, shopping, hotels, movie theatres, grocery stores, and more by taking that discount.

Change Your Spending Habits

When you were working, you may have felt the freedom to go shopping when you wanted or go out to eat regularly. However, with less money coming in after the age of 60, it’s important that you adjust your spending habits to align with your new life. The best way to do this is to minimize how much money you spend on shopping, eating out, and more. Start cooking at home more. Buy secondhand clothing instead of opting for expensive new clothes (this has the added bonus of being better for the environment, too).

Work Part-Time

You may have recently retired, but if you find that you didn’t plan well enough and don’t have the money you need in retirement, so consider getting a part-time job doing something that you enjoy that will help alleviate your money stress. You may find that a craft you enjoy can turn into a way to earn money, so get creative and find a way to earn extra money.

Like so many of you out there, I am reaching the retirement age too (I am 58) and now is the time to really start planning for the next stage in our lives, retirement! These tips are helping me with my retirement planning and I hope these tips help those of you who are reaching the age of retirement or are retired already and until next time, be happy, healthy, and beautiful!