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ways to stretch your retirement income (and
here are 3 more.)
Here are more "Budget
Nudging" tips for you. Budget nudges are ways to maintain your
retirement lifestyle while saving money. And we are not
talking about just cutting coupons and taking advantage of early
bird dinners for seniors, as useful as those cost-cutters may be
for some people.
4. Cultural
Exchange. Yes, we all love to support our favorite
cultural institutions with annual membership fees. Many
institutions, however, offer exchange privileges and by choosing to belong
to just one, you can still visit others. A second thing to
consider is simply paying each time you visit a museum, if you
only visit it occasionally--instead of paying the annual fee.
And, obviously, you can take advantage of the senior membership
category.
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5. Clip Garden
Costs.
Going to the local nursery or garden center can be an expensive
excursion if you are a plant lover. You go for two plants and come home with
ten! Now that you have
more time, grow your annual plants from seeds and save hundreds of dollars. You might also want to get
(and give) cuttings of favorite plants. |
Don't be shy about
asking a neighbor who has a plant you admire if you could have a
cutting. Your neighbor will, no doubt, readily say
"Yes", especially if you tell him/her that you like the
look of their garden. Ask the garden's owner to cut the stems for
you. Plants sales by Garden Clubs and botanic gardens also are sources of
inexpensive plants. You can also earn
extra cash with your love of gardening.
6. How Clean Is
Your Car. This may come under the category of a Pet Peeve.
Sarah, a 70-something who still works part time, complains
constantly about not having enough money to do anything or take a
vacation. Yet, she has her car washed every two weeks,
rain or shine, at a cost of almost $400 a year. Well,
maybe she just likes to complain instead of solving her problems.
And complaining won't save a dime; having her car washed less
frequently would. The moral to this story: think seriously
about where you spend your money. Better yet, get personal
finance software and keep track of every dime you
spend.
3 more budget nudging savings
tips here.
NOTE: All names on
this site have been changed to protect individual privacy.
The stories are real, the names are not. |
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