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Budget

Enjoying Your Golden Years on a Fixed Income

by Maggie 4 Comments

a couple at table with coffee cups - enjoy golden years of a fixed income

Today, I have a great guest post to share from Joyce Wilson. Joyce is retired and wanted to offer her mini-guide of several tried-tested strategies on living life to the fullest during your golden years on a fixed income.

Seniors who manage to save enough for retirement are as rare as hen’s teeth. With the median retirement savings for workers pegged at just $97,000, an increasing number of seniors are working post-retirement age.

You need to save $1.04 million in 2021 to retire comfortably if you are wondering, according to Annuity.

If you have not saved enough, do not fret. There are countless seniors in the same boat as you.

Furthermore, many of them have managed to set up fulfilling, enjoyable lives for themselves, despite drawing a limited income every month.

As a matter of fact, studies suggest seniors are happier than expected.

And you can be the same way!

If you want to learn how to enjoy your golden years on a fixed income, here is a mini-guide of several tried-tested strategies from Joyce Wilson.

Know where your money is going.

It is basic but essential – you need to have a clear, big-picture view of your finances. Knowing exactly how much money you have coming in and going out prepares you mentally and emotionally for cutbacks. You will know what your necessary expenses are and what you cannot afford.

Moreover, the clarity makes it easier to plan for the future. If you do not enjoy tracking your money (who does?), you can automate the activity through a budgeting app.

The Best 8 Budget Apps for 2022

Reading bank statements will also work in a pinch.

Create a budget.

You need to limit your access to spending money. Otherwise, you are going to spend too much, too quickly. Essentially, budgeting – and self-discipline – is non-optional.

Give yourself a fixed paycheck to live from each month, maybe by setting up a bi-monthly deposit to your checking account. Set aside money for necessary expenses and emergencies. Of course, do not go overboard with limits – give yourself some “flex” money for other expenses. As with all things in life, aim for a sustainable balance. 

Be savvy about debt. 

Debt is always a slippery slope – but especially so when you are a retiree. The interest will eat massive chunks of your spending money, making budgeting impossible and draining your retirement fund dry.

When possible, avoid debt – throw your credit cards away and save until you can afford two of whatever you are buying. If you are forced to borrow, prioritize paying the amount back quickly. Also, ask for assistance from a local agency for seniors, and consolidate the debt (for a lower interest). 

Invest in your health.

Your health can be your biggest asset or greatest weakness. If you take care of your health, you won’t have to spend your money on doctor visits and hospital bills. Furthermore, good health will make you happy and make it easier for you to enjoy your life or work.

10 Healthy Habits for Seniors to Keep

It is never too late to work on your health. Go for long walks, take up an exercise routine, eat more greens, and do away with stress through activities like meditation.

Get creative with your meals.

Your meals do not have to be a large, ongoing expense. Get creative and plan them out to save money.

a bowl with veggies - eat healthy food in retirement

First, shop for generic brands instead of premium ones – there is little to no difference, as Foodtown can confirm.

Second, shop at the right time, in the right place. Go to a discount store at the end of the day, before the food is to be thrown out, for the best deals.

Third, make a list of your needs and stick to it when you go shopping.

Fourth, have filling meals using “stretcher” ingredients like pasta and potatoes. Also, try Asian recipes – they can be delicious and affordable at the same time.

Last, but not least, when eating out, go to places offering deals and discounts. 

Find part-time, low-stress work.

You may have to work to support yourself – but it does not have to be a difficult, stressful endeavor. Freelancing, for instance, is a wonderful, stress-free option. It gives you freedom and flexibility, not to mention can bring in some good money.

If you are starting up your own gig-based business, forming an LLC is a good idea.

It protects your personal assets from lawsuits and offers other advantages like tax benefits, less paperwork, and added flexibility. To save big lawyer fees, you could file the paperwork yourself or use a formation service. States have regulations around forming an LLC. Check the local rules before you continue.

Consider alternative living options like downsizing.

Depending on where you live, your living expenses will account for as much as a third (or more) of your monthly expenses. With some adjustments, you can take away from those costs. You could downsize, moving to a smaller place that requires less upkeep (and money) to maintain.

Downsizing is possible with a smaller house, condo, or even active living arrangement.

If you want to stay where you are, you could rent a room out to someone, if it is an option. Likely the best way to save is to rent a room, instead of an entire home.

Choose free or low-cost entertainment.

You do not necessarily have to spend money to entertain yourself.

There are countless free activities that are just as enjoyable as paid ones.

Some examples are reading a book, visiting a library, museum visits, community events, concerts and festivals, hobby groups, and volunteering activities. Technology – the internet, apps, and games – can be your best friend when it comes to entertainment. You can ask your grandkids for advice.

Buy second-hand.

Buying second-hand is good for your wallet (and the planet in general). If you look hard enough, you can find as-good-as-new items at rock-bottom prices. This includes clothes, furniture, appliances, gadgets, and more.

Websites like Poshmark, Geebo, Mercari, and Craigslist allow you to buy (and sell) second-hand.

You can also, of course, visit nearby flea markets, thrift stores, goodwill sites, and charity organizations. 

Final Thoughts

Age offers many advantages – like hindsight, experience, and an appreciation of the smaller things. Take advantage of your age to create and recreate your life as necessary.

Money is not everything, and your imagination can be your best friend.

Last, but not least, do not hesitate to ask for help – whether it is financial advice from a planner or monetary assistance from friends and family. You deserve it!

What are your ways to live on a fixed income? Share your ideas with us in comments!

Share this article if you like it!

Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Money Management, Retirement Planning Tagged With: create retirement budget, health in retirement, part-time work in retirement, retirement living

20 Easy Ways to Save Money Every Day

by Maggie Leave a Comment

people-meeting at table-easy ways to save money

We all know it is easier to spend money than to save them. Spending money often gives us emotional comfort and became a habit. But changing your spending habits and finding new ways to save money can be a great thing for your financial life.

Learning how to save money can help you to reach your financial goals:

  • to buy a house
  • to pay off debt
  • to save for a vacation
  • put more money in your emergency fund
  • to save for retirement
  • to save for kid’s education

No matter what your financial goals are, this post has money-saving ideas for everyone. Start with a few of these suggestions and see if they work for you.

Here are 20 of my favorite ways to save money every day:

How to Save Money Through Money Management:

1). Pay your bills online.

There are many benefits of paying your bills online. I personally do not remember the last time I mailed off a check to pay our bills. By going online, you will not be using envelopes, stamps, and checks as much as it was popular in the past. Automation helps to save money and time and reduce the stress of money management.

We pay all our bills automatically. Our online payment is set up with a local bank and bills are paid out of our checking account. I just have to make sure I added money to that account before the bills are due. Even though I keep an eye on all our transactions, but I never have to worry about being late on bill payments.

Related Post: 9 Ways to Organize and Simplify Your Finances

2). Consolidate your credit cards debt.

Debt can be a very terrifying issue. When you face thousands of dollars in credit cards debt you do not have enough money to save for retirement or to pay off your mortgage more quickly.

You can save a lot of money and reduce your monthly payments by consolidating your credit cards debt. If you own several credit cards try to consolidate your debt into a single credit card with a lower percentage rate. It will help to reduce interest costs and make your monthly payments more manageable.

table-paper - easy ways to save money

One of the best ways to consolidate your debt:

  • Refinance with a balance transfer credit card
  • Consolidate it with a personal loan

3). Get cash back when you shop online.

For many of us, it has become so convenient to shop online regularly. That is why we need to turn it to our advantage and learn how to get paid while shopping online. You can sign up for websites like Ebates, Ibotta, Rakuten, and Swagbucks to take advantage of cash-back rewards. All these websites are free to join and easy to use.

If you want to learn how to earn cash back, save money on groceries and travel, I recommend reading the article by Michelle from Making Sense of Cents:

Best Rewards Credit Cards for 2021 – What You Need to Know

4). Negotiate credit card rates.

If you are losing money by paying a lot of interest on your credit cards you should negotiate your current interest rate with your credit card company. It is important to remember that you have some power to negotiate your current interest rate as long as you have been making payments regularly. Call your credit card company and ask for an interest rate reduction.

5). Transfer your credit card balance.

If you cannot reduce your credit card interest rate, try to transfer your credit card balances to 0 percent APR card. Transferring your balances will help you save hundreds of dollars in interest over time.

The Best Zero Percent Interest Credit Cards

6). Move your money into a high-yield savings account.

Most people have their savings stashed in a local bank with a very low-interest rate. The primary reason for that is because it is convenient and close to their homes. Unfortunately, your money will not grow fast over time with low-interest rates.

You can do a lot better by moving your money into a high-yield savings account. Find online banks that are paying interest rates higher than your bank and keep your savings there.

Check out the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts and start earning higher interest right now.

7). Refinance your mortgage

You can save a lot of money by refinancing your mortgage to a lower interest rate. With a lower interest rate, you can get lower monthly payments. And once you reach 20 percent equity you can eliminate PMI – private mortgage insurance.

Refinance rates from Wells Fargo

How to Save Money Shopping:

The next time you are going shopping make sure to apply these money-saving ideas:

8). Stick to your shopping list.

One of the easiest ways to save money is to stick to your shopping list. Do not go shopping if you do not have a shopping list. Creating a list is a great way to make sure you will purchase only what you need. Otherwise, you might go on impulse shopping and spend more money than you have planned.

Stay away from email marketing and do not subscribe to emails from your favorite retail stores. Avoid the chances of spending more money on things you do not need.

9). Stop going to the Mall.

Retail marketing is all around us and it is hard to fight the temptation to shop for new clothes. That is why if you want to save money you should stop going clothes shopping so often. As I said before you should have a plan and shop only for what you need. And stick to your shopping list!

10). Do holiday shopping right after the holidays.

One of the best ways to save money on shopping is to do your holiday shopping after the holidays. After the holidays, the prices go down drastically, sometimes up to 75 percent lower. I often buy party supplies, decorations, wrapping paper, and even gifts a few days after the holiday passes.

11). Clean your closets.

If you have an urge to buy new clothes often, I recommend going through all your closets and see what you might find. Make an inventory of your clothes. Have a yard sale or use craigslist to sell clothes buried in your closet for years.

Another useful trick is to take the clothes from the back of your closet and bring them to the front. After cleaning your closets, you might find your wardrobe looks completely different and you do not need to spend money on clothes right now.

How to Save Money on Food:

Learning how to save money on food and groceries does not have to be complicated.

12). You can save money on food by:

  • Prepare some meals at home
  • Cook from scratch
  • Get a crockpot
  • Brown bag your lunch
  • Invite friends over instead of going out
  • Share meals when eating out

13). You can save more money on groceries if you choose to:

  • Skip the bottled water and soda
  • Buy in-season groceries
  • Plan your meals around your grocery store’s sale
  • Start a vegetable garden

How to Save Money on Entertainment and Vacations:

If you are planning a road trip or vacation, there are lots of money-saving ideas. Here are a few of my favorite ones:

14). Check out free events in town.

Our town has several wonderful parks, lakes, trails, free tennis courts, and more. Everyone can have fun playing outdoors, hiking on trails, walking around the lakes, or trying any sports activities. And it is all there for free.

Most towns schedule many free events. You can save a lot of money if you want to get free entertainment and free food. What you need to do is just look at your community calendar. Stop by the local town hall or library and ask how to get a list of upcoming community events. I always check out our town’s website to keep in touch with what is going on around us.

You also can save money by replacing cable TV bills with low-cost video streaming.

Absolute Best Cable Alternatives to Watch TV, Sports, Movies and More

15). Pack food for road trips.

If you want to get out of town, take some time to pack meals and snacks for your road trip. Thus, instead of stopping in the middle of the trip and driving around looking for a place to eat, you can just eat on a road. Even better if you can stop at a nice park and have a picnic there. This way you will have fun and save money. Travel service plazas and fast-food chains are conveniently located right off the highways and always expensive, so you better off avoiding them if possible.

16). Use Airbnb when traveling.

For the past decade, Airbnb became hugely popular among travelers as a cheaper alternative to hotels. Vacations are always expensive. The next time you plan on taking a trip, check out to see and compare prices for Airbnb vs hotels. You can save a lot of money by renting an entire house to yourself for a fraction of the hotel cost.

Stay at Airbnb

17). Use Booking.com for travel deals.

Booking.com is one of the best websites in the online booking world.

city of Rome - save money on travel expenses

We like to travel and use this website all the time for booking our hotels because you can find some incredible deals. If we stay at the hotel, we always try to find one with breakfast included in the price. I love hotel breakfast especially when they offer regional specialties. With breakfast included we do not need to start our day trying to find a place to eat and we can take a bagel or pastry and some fruit for our lunch later.

Use Booking.com for last-minute deals

18). Use your AAA discount.

If you are an AAA member you can save a lot of money by using your AAA discounts. AAA travel agency has money-saving offers from cruise vacation packages and hotel discounts to car rental deals. To save more money use your membership card to get a discount anywhere you can.

Use AAA for your travels

How to Save Money at Home and on Services:

There are many ways to save money at home and on services. These tips will help you minimize your household expenses significantly.

19). You can save money at home if you want to:

  • Try to fix things yourself. You can learn anything you want from YouTube.
  • Turn off the lights every time you leave the house or the room.
  • Install energy-efficient light bulbs. Swapping just your 4 or 5 most used light bulbs for LEDs can save you $50 or more a year.
  • Rent out unused space in your home.
  • Cut your lawn.
  • Look for a cheaper place to live.

20) You can save money on services if you choose to:

  • Get rid of some of your subscription services (meal deliveries, streaming services, etc.)
  • Cancel unused gym memberships.
  • Cancel the cable or satellite channels you do not watch. Switch to low-cost cable alternatives such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu.
  • Get rid of your home phone and switch to cell phone plans.

Great Article by Internet Advisor: 14 Ways to Save Money When Working At Home

Final Words

We all know that trying to find easy ways to save money can be tough. We have been there before. There are times you feel that you are not making much progress even you have tried everything. However, if you are prepared to sacrifice now and learn about the best ways to save money every day you can reach your financial goals a lot faster.

What are your favorite ways to save money? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments below.

Remember to share this post if it helped you!

Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Money Management Tagged With: best ways to save money, how to save money, money saving ideas

9 Ways to Organize and Simplify Your Finances

by Maggie 4 Comments

woman's hands - dollar bill - organize-simplify-your-finances

The modern lifestyle can be very chaotic and stressful. It is no wonder we are overwhelmed by our busy schedules, family responsibilities, and finances.

Money management can be complicated on all levels. Everything from budgeting, retirement planning, savings, investing, debt, and even types of insurance needed to be organized and managed.

I do not know about you, but I have found that often enough finances are in control of my life. I get overwhelmed with so many parts needed to be managed to keep my money goals on target.

Fortunately, there are many ways to manage money without getting overwhelmed. Learning how to organize and simplify finances eventually will help you stress less about money and focus on what is important in your life.

If you feel that your financial life is out of control, I encourage you to try one or two ways to organize and simplify your finances.

1. Organize financial paperwork.

It is hard to simplify your finances when you do not know where to find your financial papers at the last minute. And in case something happens to you does your family know where to find your important documents?

That is why the key to keeping your finances simple is to keep them organized in one place.

Collect all your bank statements, bills, legal documents, mail and set up a filing system in a way it suits you. The filing system should be simple and yet effective to keep track of your financial papers. I keep all my papers in simple manila folders and hanging file folders inside a 3-drawer file cabinet. All papers are divided into categories:

  • Expenses
  • Credit cards
  • Banking
  • Medical
  • Insurance
  • Investments
  • Tax returns
  • Miscellaneous

Once a year I go through all folders and get rid of everything I do not need anymore.

2. Track all financial accounts in one place.

It is hard to keep a track of everything you own if you do not have a system. If you want to simplify your finances, you should create a list of everything you own. Seeing all your financial information in one place will help you get a big picture.

Start the process by gathering your financial information in one place. This way you will see all your expenses, assets, debts, and liabilities at glance. Whether you want to list them down in a traditional ‘pen and paper style’ or create an Excel spreadsheet, call it “an inventory of your accounts”.

You can also do it with a personal finance app like Mint. This popular free online financial tool allows you to link all your accounts to get a real-time view of your financial life in one place. Also, this app helps you pay bills in one place, gives you updates on your payments, gets reminders on your due dates.

I personally use a combination of Mint and Excel spreadsheet and it works well for us.

MINT

3. Consolidate your accounts.

One of the easiest ways to simplify your finances is to consolidate your accounts. Many people still like to have multiple savings and checking accounts and keep money in several different banks. In addition to that, you may also have a mortgage, retirement and investment accounts, and insurance products. It is a lot to juggle.

I believe it makes your financial life is complicated. If you want to simplify your finances, you should keep your accounts to a minimum.

I even recommend closing your old accounts including your old retirement accounts. If you changed your jobs a few times, you might still have your 401(k) money with previous employers. And if you forget to roll over this money to your IRA or Roth IRA, you may even forget to track thousands of dollars invested in old retirement accounts.

Related articles:

  • A Guide to Understanding a 401(k) Plan
  • Understanding Different Types of Retirement Accounts

Save yourself the headache of dealing with multiple savings and checking accounts by closing those that are not useful and consolidate them in one bank account. If you have fewer accounts to track, it means you have less hassle remembering logins, websites, and tracking your money.

4. Pay your bills automatically.

If you hate keeping old receipts and bank statements, you should take advantage of automation and go paperless. I personally do not remember the last time I mailed off a check to pay our bills.

table-globus-smartphone-organize your finances

There are many benefits of paying your bills online including convenience and security. By going online, you will not be using envelopes, stamps, and checks as much as it was popular in the past. Moreover, it will be easier to track your payments using a lot of tools like reports and alerts when you sign up with an online service. The best part of automation is to reduce the stress of money management and make it less complicated.

All our family bills are set up to be paid automatically out of our checking account. I just have to make sure I added money to that account before the bills are due. Even though I keep an eye on all our transactions, but I never have to worry about being late on bill payments.

5. Automate your savings.

Another great way to simplify your finances is to automate your savings. Learning how to automate your savings will help you stress less and save more. Every time we receive our paychecks, a lump of it automatically is going into our retirement accounts. Another portion of our income is deposited into our savings account and then the rest is going into our checking account.

We use our savings account for keeping our emergency fund money, and funds for future travels. The checking account is where we keep the money for our monthly bills and living expenses. I like to know that our income gets distributed in a few simple accounts. By automating it, I always know I am going to be saving a certain portion of our income each month.

Another great thing I like about automating our savings is that even a small amount of money will grow up over time. I started with a $50 automatic transfer from checking to savings account once a month, then increased it to twice a month. The automation really helped to raise our travel fund from $1,000 to $8,000.

6. Simplify your investments.

The simplest way to invest your money is through index funds. Index funds are low-cost and low-risk investments because they follow the market indexes. But you still have to deal with asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing.

If you are a new investor who likes hands-off investing experience, try using Robo-advisors.

I recommend checking out Betterment as a Robo-advisor.

Robo-advisors are known as online advisors or automated investing services. Robo-advisors are much cheaper than a human financial advisor. These online services make it easier for you to start working on your financial goals. You will get help with your investments at a low cost and with low account minimums.

If you want to learn more about Robo-advisors, I recommend reading What is Robo-Advisor and How Do They Work from Balance.

7. Pay down debt.

Carrying debt on a few credit cards makes your financial life stressful. When you face thousands of dollars in credit card debt you do not have enough money to save for retirement or to pay off your mortgage more quickly.

Set your financial goal to get rid of high-interest debt as quickly as possible. You can use recommended debt snowball or debt avalanche strategies to pay down your debt.

Related Post: How to Pay off Debt?

You can also reduce your monthly payments by consolidating your credit card debt. Consolidating a number of your credit card debt into a single one may be a good idea if the new debt has a lower percentage rate than your credit cards. It will help to reduce interest costs and make your monthly payments more manageable. One of the best ways to consolidate your debt:

  • Refinance with a balance transfer credit card
  • Consolidate it with a personal loan
blue credit card-debt-simplify finances

However, it will depend on your credit score and how much debt you have accumulated.

8. Package all services in one place.

Consolidating your expenses in one or two places is another way to simplify your finances and save some money.

Many companies produce and supply multiple products and services. They sell these products or services separately or in packages or bundles, at a “bundle price”. As a result, you can buy them together as a package at a lower price than what you would pay for them individually.

You can bundle together services like your internet, cable TV, and cell phone. You can also package together with all your insurance needs with one company such as homeowner and car insurance.

The best part is that you can save money by getting a discount from your provider for combining two or more services on one bill. And you can reduce the number of bills to pay each month from several to just one.

9. Reduce the number of your credit cards.

Another way to simplify your finances is to get rid of numerous credit cards.

Once, we used to have nine credit cards and it was way too complicated to keep track of our spending. We used credit cards for promotional money transfers, to earn cash back, and other rewards. At some point, it became a nightmare to pay off those balances.

Eventually, we trimmed down the number of our credit cards to just a few. We prefer to use credit cards with no annual fee and cashback rewards. And we do not worry about high interest rates because we always pay the balance off in full each month.

Best Credit Cards Comparison by Forbes

Final Words

If you want to simplify your finances, it does not have to be complicated. Just making small changes as I have described in this post can make a huge difference in your relationship with money.

Do you feel frustrated dealing with your finances? How do you simplify your finances?

Remember to share this post if it helped you!

Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Money Management Tagged With: finances, financial life, how to simplify your finances, organize your finances, simplify your finances

Financial New Years Resolutions for Baby Boomers

by Maggie Leave a Comment

a piece of paper _new year resolutions for baby boomers

Happy 2021! In the spirit of the New Year, I have put together a list of financial New Year’s resolutions for baby boomers.

These financial goals are especially important for people who are planning to retire within the next 10 years. I personally think that the beginning of the year is a great time to start something new and work towards a goal.

Here is the list of financial New Year’s resolutions for baby boomers:

1. Determine how much of the nest egg you will need.

When you are near retirement, it is important to know how much of the nest egg you will need to live comfortably for the rest of your life. How do you figure it out? You have options.

The typical advice is you should aim to replace 70 to 80 percent of your annual pre-retirement income. For example, if you earn $70,000 per year before retirement, you should expect to live off $49,000 to $56,000 per year.

Also, you can use an online retirement calculator. Take a few minutes to enter initial information and then see the numbers, and where you stand today.

Vanguard – Retirement Nest Egg Calculator

Or you can use your current expenses and determine how it will change when you retire.

The best advice is to create an estimated retirement budget based on your current and future expenses. You might have a general idea of what you spend now. But you will be better prepared financially for retirement if you have a clear picture of your expenses now and how that might change in the future.

Related Articles:

  • How Much Will It Cost to Retirement?
  • How Much Do You Need to Enjoy Retirement?

2. Get a clear picture of your retirement income.

When you are working, you probably have a single employer and a single source of income – your salary. In retirement, everyone has different sources of income.

As a retiree, you receive income from multiple sources: Social Security, pension, part-time job, or rentals (if you have any).

Another source of income will come from your nest egg – investments and retirement savings:

  • Tax-deferred accounts – 401(k), IRA
  • Tax-free – Roth IRA, Roth 401(k)
  • Taxable investment accounts
  • Taxable bank checking and savings accounts

Getting a clear picture of your retirement income will help to make sure you have enough money to cover all your living expenses.

To make your assets last through the next 20 or 30 years, use the rule of thumb to withdraw 4 percent of your portfolio annually.

For example, if you have $500,000 in retirement funds, you can spend roughly $20,000 ($500,000 x 0.04) per year when you retire. Add this number to your Social Security, pension, and other savings, and calculate if it is enough to support the retirement of your dreams.

Related Articles:

  • The 3 Buckets Strategy for Retirement Income
  • 3 Best Ways to Generate Retirement Income
  • Passive Income and How to Create One for Retirement
  • What is the Source of Your Income in Retirement?
  • Smart Ways to Take Money Out of Retirement Accounts

3. Set a target retirement date.

woman and man walking on the beach - financial new year goals for baby boomers

Another important financial goal for baby boomers who are near retirement is to set a target retirement date. We all need to plan for the day when we are ready to retire or can no longer work.

Based on your target retirement date, retirement income, and what you want to spend in retirement, you can determine if you have enough money saved for your golden years. If it is not enough for a comfortable retirement, move the date, and save more into your retirement funds.

Related Article:

  • 7 Financial Mistakes to Avoid in Retirement

4. Update your budget.

What is your budget? How much you want to save and how much to spend in 2021?

Sticking to your budget can help to know where your money is going. If you want to save more money for your upcoming retirement, begin eliminating some expenses that may not be important to you anymore.

When you retire, you do not need a lot of things that you did when you were working. The costs of commute, take-out lunches, and business clothes will go down. But you will start spending more money on travel, hobbies, and activities.

Balancing income with your spending plan will help you to save more money for retirement.

Related Articles:

  • 7 Easy Steps to Set Up Your Budget
  • Retirement Budget in 5 Simple Steps

5. Maximize your retirement savings.

Whenever possible, increase your retirement contributions up to the maximum allowed in retirement plans such as 401(k), IRA, and Roth IRA.

When you are a few years away from retirement, being short on retirement savings can be problematic. The best option is to start reducing expenses in your budget, so you can put more money into your retirement savings.

The 2021 contribution limits are:

  • $19,500 for 401(k) retirement plans. And if you are age 50 or older, the catch-up contribution is an additional $6,500. So, you can save a total of $26,000.
  • $6,000 combined contribution for traditional IRA and Roth IRA. And the catch-up contribution for people age 50 or older is $1,000. So, you can save up to $7,000 with your pre-tax money (IRA) and after-tax money (Roth IRA).

Related Article:

  • Why Do You Need to Max Out Your 401(k)?

6. Get out of debt before retirement.

Paying off debt, no matter how much you owe, is a key to a stress-free retirement. Getting into retirement with any kind of debt will put a burden on your lifestyle.

The best advice for baby boomers is to pay off all your debts before you retire including a mortgage.

When you are working, you have years of earned income to pay a mortgage, credit cards, student, or any other kind of loan. But once you retire, you will be living on a fixed income.

And when you start living on a fixed income, it is hard to pay off debt if you need to pull big chunks of money from your savings. Although, big withdrawals from retirement funds could push you into a higher tax bracket.

Being debt-free gives you more freedom and money left in your pocket to enjoy your golden years than struggling to pay the mortgage or other debts.

To pay off all debt including a mortgage might not be realistic for everyone. However, the less debt you have, the better you are prepared financially for retirement.

Related Article:

  • How to Pay Off Debt Before You Retire

7. Rebalance your portfolio.

list of 2021 goals - financial goals for baby boomers

The 2020 year has been a volatile year for financial markets. It can be tempting to stay away from stocks to reduce the risk of losing money in your retirement funds.

But stocks provide growth, and investing for growth is important at this stage of your life. If you retire at 65 and spend 20 years in retirement, you need to have enough growth to make your money last that long.

Take the opportunity to review your asset allocation and make sure your portfolio is diversified and invested for growth. You should have a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other assets that fits your retirement goals.

You need to remember that a well-balanced portfolio will help you to weather market downturns. Also, it will potentially generate a retirement income to cover your living expenses.

Related Articles:

  • How to Set Up Your Retirement Portfolio
  • 5 Basic Rules of Investing for Women
  • How to Protect Your Retirement Savings During COVID-19

8. Think about the future medical cost.

Health care is expensive. Unfortunately, many baby boomers forget to include it in their financial plan. Medicare will cover most of your routine health-care costs if you retire at age 65 or older. Unfortunately, it does not pay for all medical bills, and it does not pay for long-term care at all.

Underestimating health care expenses or how to pay for long-term care can be a big financial mistake. Think about your future medical cost and find ways to protect your retirement savings.

Consider buying long-term care insurance which can help to pay for home health aides in your late years. If you buy long-term care insurance now, your premiums will be lower than if you wait several years.

It is recommended by many financial gurus to open a health savings account (HSA).

The money you can contribute to HSA is tax-deductible or pre-tax. And any increase in the value of your account is free from federal taxes. But it has to be used for qualified medical expenses otherwise you will be paying income tax and penalties on your contributions.

The 2021 HSA contribution limits are:

  • $3,600 for individual coverage
  • $7,200 for family coverage

You can put money into HSA every year until you enroll in Medicare benefits. After that, you are no longer allowed to contribute. However, money that you do not spend will be accumulating in this tax-free account until you need it in retirement.

Related Article:

  • 5 Ways HSAs can Fortify Your Retirement

9. Plan where you will live.

Where you will live in retirement could have a big impact on your living expenses. Consider this option – sell your big house in an expensive location and move to a smaller house or condo in a low-tax state. In this case, your living expenses will be reduced, and you might have some extra income to pay for things you love to do in retirement.

You may also consider staying in your town but moving to a smaller home or condo. That will be more financially manageable while living on a fixed income.

But if you are planning to move to a big city you should be financially prepared to spend more money because retiring in a booming metropolis can be pricey.

Related Articles:

  • Where Will You Live When You Retire?
  • Finding the Best Place to Live in Retirement

Final Thoughts

I know many people do not bother with New Year’s resolutions. But I find them to be very motivating. New Year’s financial resolutions are a great way to take steps to move towards your new goals.

What is your New Year’s resolution? Do you have any financial goals?

Like this post? Share it.

Filed Under: Budget, Money Management, Retirement Income, Retirement Planning Tagged With: financial goals for baby boomers, medical expenses in retirement, retirement expenses, retirement income

Holiday Spending and How to Control It

by Maggie 4 Comments

Christmas houses-how to control holiday spending

The holiday season is here. There are so many fun things to spend money on like gifts, decorations, parties, travel, etc.

The stores are decorated with Christmas trees and twinkling lights. TV commercials tell us about the “great deals”. Families and friends are making plans for holiday parties and activities.

With all the pre-holiday noise around us, it gets hard to remember how to control our holiday spending.

Follow these simple steps to avoid overspending, stick to your holiday budget, and keep more money in your bank account:

Create a holiday budget and stick to it.

No one wants to hear the word “budget” when it comes to preparing for the holiday season. But if you do not want to drain your bank account, this is exactly what you need to do.

Before you make a list of all the things you want to buy for the holidays, you need to create a realistic budget. A holiday budget will be helpful to know your limits, so you would not be dreading a moment when the piles of credit card bills will come due in January.

Decide how much you can afford to spend on things like:

  • Gifts
  • Holiday cards
  • Decorations
  • Holiday meals
  • Entertainment
  • Activities
  • Travel
  • Donations

And do not forget to budget for additional costs of holidays such as gift wraps, wrapping supplies, stamps, packing materials, and shipping. It all adds to the price of your gifts.

Related Post: 6 Smart Ways to Create a Holiday Budget

Make a shopping list.

holiday gifts - ho to control holiday spending

Do not go to the store without a shopping list because it is so easy to get caught up in the moment and overspend.

Before going to the store, make a list of your family members, friends, and neighbors and assign a gift budget to each name. Also, you can add to your shopping list a few gift ideas for each person.

I like to use a small notebook for my shopping list with names, gift ideas, and the total amount of money I can spend. With all details listed in my notebook, I enjoy my shopping without worries of getting into new debt during the holidays.

It is a smart idea to start shopping early because you will have more time to shop around and very often get the best price. Moreover, you will have time to compare prices at different websites and retail stores. That gives you more options on what to buy and helps to save money.

Last-minute holiday shopping is stressful and often comes with the risk of paying much higher prices.

Limit your gift list.

Do you have a list of all people you give presents to every year? Do you buy gifts for family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors? Be honest and ask yourself if you really need to exchange gifts with all of them?

If you have a big family, it will be hard to limit your gift list. But if you still buying gifts for relatives you ever hardly see, consider dropping them off your list and just send the holiday cards instead of presents.

Consider a DIY alternative and buy fewer gifts.

glass mugs with chocolate-homemade gifts for holidays

Another way to control your holiday spending is to buy fewer gifts. Change your shopping habits to fit your holiday budget.

With fewer store-bought gifts, you can get creative and make one DIY gift for everyone on your list. It can be homemade cookies or holiday sweets in a glass jar, a framed family photo, or a special ornament.

Here is the list of free or affordable holiday gifts for family and friends:

  • Homemade treats – put a dozen of home baked cookies in a cute tin or mason jar with a ribbon.
  • Homemade bath gift set – fill a box with bath salts, soap, candles, matches, and chocolate.
  • Christmas tea box – fill a box or a canvas bag with your loved one’s favorite tea bags and a cute ornament or card.
  • Holiday plant box – fill a box with the cute succulents. 
  • Hot cocoa party gift – fill the Christmas-themed mugs with hot chocolate and marshmallow bags.
  • Christmas potpourri – fill a small glass jar with candy canes, greenery, cinnamon (it will smell like Christmas), and decorate with a festive ribbon.
  • Ready-to-bake cookies gift – prepare a cute sack filled with a dry mixture of ready-to-bake cookies.
  • Make a colorful printout of the 10-minute meditation or relaxation guide and wrap it with a ribbon or ornament.
  • Frame a memorable family photo.
  • Offer to put actual photographs in a photo album and catalog them.

After all, homemade gifts are a great alternative to store-bought gifts. Most people understand the current state of the country and economy and would be grateful for whatever gift you get them.

Other alternatives to holiday spending – Sacred Santa gift exchange, holiday e-cards, holiday potluck party, etc.

Shop online.

laptop - shopping online during the holidays

Shopping online became so convenient in recent years. The number of people shopping online instead of going to retail stores is growing every year.

Most of us prefer to shop online in the comfort of our homes and avoid the stress of fighting traffic on the roads, and then circle the lot looking for a parking space.

Also, the online shopping brings a lot of advantages if you want to control your holiday spending. The biggest advantage is how easy it makes for you to compare prices.

Check out these deal-oriented websites:

Retail Me Not

e Deal Info

Deal Hunting

You can automatically check prices all over the Web by using the browser extension Honey. Also, this browser will help you find and apply coupon codes to save money.

Honey

Moreover, you can earn cash back on your online shopping by signing up for a website like Rakuten.

Rakuten

Pay with cash and leave the credit card at home.

It is so easy to get caught up in the moment during holiday shopping. You are in a store, you put everything you like in a shopping cart, and it is overflowing.

It will be so convenient to pay with your credit card. But do not use your credit card unless you are sure you can afford to pay your bill off at the end of the month.

Once you figure out your holiday budget, take that money out of the bank account and stop shopping when the money is gone. Paying with cash can help to limit your spending.

It is smart to pay with cash and leave your credit card at home. Which means you will pay only for what you can afford. Ask yourself if you really need everything you put in that shopping cart?

Be selective on holiday gift deals.

Do not fall for all those holiday gift deals. Many of these big deals you find during big sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not actually deals at all. I personally do not like to get into this holiday deal bonanza and prefer to start shopping early.

Recently, I have read that ‘Black Friday is a better time to buy newer, big-ticket items. And Cyber Monday is a better day to shop for tech deals and smaller gifts’

Even we see thousands of deals during the holiday season, it does not mean they are all worth shopping for. Be selective. Create a list of things you are hoping to purchase and make sure to do your research on what you will be buying.

To save money, check and compare prices online before setting foot in a store. The goal should be to buy the best product at the best price.

Resist temptation and know when to stop.

It is so easy to go overboard with holiday shopping. While visiting a mall it is hard to resist temptation and do not buy something “extra”. It could be a little present for yourself, new towels for the bathroom, new luggage set for future travels or nice lunch with your daughter.

If you buy too many “extras” you can blow your holiday budget fast without having any idea where your money went. I found it easier to set a budget for my holiday “extras” so I can enjoy spending the money within that limit.

Once you have bought everything on your shopping list, it is time to go home. I know it is not that easy to resist the temptation to stop at other places and see “what they have on sale”.

But no matter how good the discounts are, you should not be buying things that are not on your list.

Enjoy your holidays.

fireplace decorated for Christmas

You do not need to spend a lot of money to be happy. The joy of hosting fancy Christmas dinners, giving expensive gifts, and throwing big parties will soon be replaced with the stress that comes later when you have to pay for it all.

Planning, dealing with a budget, and controlling holiday spending can be frustrating for many people. But what makes holidays memorable is not the money you spend but the time you spend with your family and friends.

Time is often harder to give than anything else. Spending time with your loved ones can be as simple as baking holiday cookies, decorating a Christmas tree, lighting candles, or just watching a movie together.

How do you control your holiday spending? Do you make a holiday budget? Do you prefer to shop online instead of driving to the mall?

Filed Under: Budget, Money Management Tagged With: control holiday spending, holiday budget, holiday spending, money management

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Hi, I'm Maggie. Welcome to Save, Invest & Retire! I am on a mission to help baby boomers learn how to save & invest smart. Follow me on detailed information about retirement planning, travels, and living the life of your dreams.

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