What tips can you share for living abundantly on a budget during retirement? (drug, husband)
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I think it is more a state of mind than anything. If you decide to be happy with less, you are. I remember my college and young adult days and I think retirement would be the same (I'm not quite there yet). I didn't mind the cheap seats at an MLB game. I got to go, and that's all that mattered! Same with any other venue. I got the cheap seats. And incidentally, that is going to be my mantra this year because I want to save money on things like ball games and concerts and use the money for a family vacation instead. So will still be going to concerts and ball games, but less expensive seats.
I didn't mind cheap clothes. I wore really cheap K-Mart clothes. When you are young and thin, you can look good in anything. But I think if you choose wisely you can do the same when older. I was in Target the other day to get something else, but when I walked by the clothes I saw several shirts that caught my eye. I bought several tanks to wear under other shirts and then another shirt with a 3/4 sleeve that I just loved the style and color.
I don't need 90 pair of shoes and 90 purses. I have tennis shoes, a couple of pair of sandals, my trusty, comfortable black flats plus dress shoes in blue and brown too, and a pair of boots. That's it. I will wear those until they wear out or smell bad. I have a black and a brown purse, both leather.
I ate cheap food and once in a while would splurge and go out. Instead of ribeyes, did you know that what they call spencer steaks or Delmonico steaks are basically the same thing? They look a little different, but they taste the same. I still snatch those up whenever I see them in the store, even though we can afford ribeyes now! Also, ask the butcher at your grocery store when they put out ribeyes or other steaks for clearance. My store is Wednesday morning.
Groupon! If you like to go out to eat, it is definitely worth buying Groupons for restaurants you like. We like to go out for Sunday brunch and there are groupons a lot of times for one of the places we go. I only buy groupons for places I know we like (or know we will like).
What a great tip about the steaks! Yes, learning about cuts of beef can mean snagging some great steaks at a lower cost per pound.
Thursdays and Sunday mornings seem to be the markdown days at my favorite grocery store, but I have never actually ASKED anyone about that. SO I will definitely ask. Thanks for a great suggestion.
I stay away from anything with the slightest red, and "underplay" the color. I have some little artistic tricks to make it look natural (I leave a little telltale grey in certain spots). Of course everyone knows that anyone my age is coloring her hair. Point is, if you're going to do it, there are frugal ways of doing it nicely. Maybe you were using mass market coloring? Looks horrible. Check out the semi-permanent and permanent colors in places like Whole Foods. Or maybe you just like going grey, which is fine (but not on me).
Actually, I always went to Aveda. Wonderful coloring but hardly budget friendly.
I think about frugality a lot, not in the sense of deprivation, but in the sense of taking only what I/we need to live a decent life and not overtax the resources on the planet. There is such a huge cost to others' lives in our maxing out on our must-haves (the kids who put our phones together in China living in deplorable conditions and getting cancer from the benzine, and the poorest populations being exploited for our luxuries, etc.) I say this to emphasize that "living abundantly" for so many Westerners means "living miserably" for so many others, and I am just one who cannot choose to ignore that.
We are used to so, so much, and the media (esp around electronics) is so ever in our faces. I have a friend who rags on me for not having an ipad. I don't need one, and I don't "need" a smartphone. I do need a Mac in order to make money, and I only have the apps that are needed for that.
As an educated retiree, I can use my head about just how much is needed for my own happiness. My being "frugal" is better expressed as just valuing simplicity. If a benefit of living in simplicity is saving money, that's added value. Those who have that mindset have probably always had it, so carrying it into retirement is a no-brainer. That's probably why some of the wealthiest people I personally know live with the easy choice of simplicity in their homes, cars, vacations, etc, and do not feel they're missing anything. They're not misers; they're living their values.
I think about frugality a lot, not in the sense of deprivation, but in the sense of taking only what I/we need to live a decent life and not overtax the resources on the planet. There is such a huge cost to others' lives in our maxing out on our must-haves (the kids who put our phones together in China living in deplorable conditions and getting cancer from the benzine, and the poorest populations being exploited for our luxuries, etc.) I say this to emphasize that "living abundantly" for so many Westerners means "living miserably" for so many others, and I am just one who cannot choose to ignore that.
We are used to so, so much, and the media (esp around electronics) is so ever in our faces. I have a friend who rags on me for not having an ipad. I don't need one, and I don't "need" a smartphone. I do need a Mac in order to make money, and I only have the apps that are needed for that.
As an educated retiree, I can use my head about just how much is needed for my own happiness. My being "frugal" is better expressed as just valuing simplicity. If a benefit of living in simplicity is saving money, that's added value. Those who have that mindset have probably always had it, so carrying it into retirement is a no-brainer. That's probably why some of the wealthiest people I personally know live with the easy choice of simplicity in their homes, cars, vacations, etc, and do not feel they're missing anything. They're not misers; they're living their values.
A lovely post.
I agree. We should be concerned about our "footprint" on this planet. Consumption is something worth talking about!
I agree with you - "valuing simplicity" is the bottom line. We are meant to be good stewards on this planet. It is part of being a good citizen.
Yes, it doesn't have a thing to do with being "miserly," which I think some folks have misunderstood. It has to do with making good choices, responsible choices, and limiting consumption through good stewardship of resources.
Vegetable gardening can really stretch the food budget, especially if you can save seeds or pal up with other gardeners to buy seed in bulk for cheap.
And while it's not cheap up front, investing $200 or so to purchase a small freezer can also save money in the long run, as you can then take advantage of good sales and batch cook to freeze meal-sized portions for your own healthy "microwave dinners."
We've tried organic and self-sustaining gardening for a few years. It's ghastly expensive planting, weeding, fertilizing, water and bending (hurts our knees and back). Bunnies like the few fruits of the labor. I'll do whatever my partner wants to do this year and I suspect it will be more than I want to spend based on failed prior attempts. (We need to have the soil analyzed.)
We've tried organic and self-sustaining gardening for a few years. It's ghastly expensive planting, weeding, fertilizing, water and bending (hurts our knees and back). Bunnies like the few fruits of the labor. I'll do whatever my partner wants to do this year and I suspect it will be more than I want to spend based on failed prior attempts. (We need to have the soil analyzed.)
Maybe you don't have a place for container gardening, but that is the easiest way to work around lousy soil.
And if you can put the containers on a porch or area where bunnies can't nibble, it can be a useful way of getting around their foraging.
That is what I had to do. I also had to cover over some of the containers with mesh to keep the birds off them.
But again, maybe that won't work for your particular situation.
Also - raised beds help with bending and knee problems.
We will be moving into a townhouse, and there is not going to be much space to grow anything there, even in containers. Last summer we talked to our soon-to-be neighbors and they were successfully growing herbs and tomatoes and peppers in containers at their back entrance. So we may try that.
I hope you can figure out a way to work this out. It is an investment in money to get the raised beds or containers so the first several years, it won't be cheaper to grow your veggies but the quality and taste will be nicer (or at least, for me it has been). I love having fresh herbs at my fingertips, too.
I stay away from anything with the slightest red, and "underplay" the color. I have some little artistic tricks to make it look natural (I leave a little telltale grey in certain spots). Of course everyone knows that anyone my age is coloring her hair. Point is, if you're going to do it, there are frugal ways of doing it nicely. Maybe you were using mass market coloring? Looks horrible. Check out the semi-permanent and permanent colors in places like Whole Foods. Or maybe you just like going grey, which is fine (but not on me).
I've colored my own hair for eons, and have always been complimented on the color and style. It's not as though I couldn't afford to have it done by a hair salon, it's just that I haven't liked the results on the occasions I have done so. I figure, why spend megabucks for messing up my hair when I can mess it up for so much less myself!
However, I was thinking about this the other day. Without the kids and all their drinks in the fridge, the space problem isn't really an issue now.
So I am going to see if I can find a jug of Rose and have that as my "house wine." It used to be a very economic way of serving wine for dinner, or when folks stop by . . . so I am curious if it is going to be hard for me to find these jugs -- and what the prices are.
This is the type of thing I am thinking about . . .
I've colored my own hair for eons, and have always been complimented on the color and style. It's not as though I couldn't afford to have it done by a hair salon, it's just that I haven't liked the results on the occasions I have done so. I figure, why spend megabucks for messing up my hair when I can mess it up for so much less myself!
LOL. I have thought exactly the SAME THING!!!
I can do my own hair for pennies on the dollar compared to salon costs and if it doesn't come out as I expected -- OH WELL. It never seemed to be exactly what I wanted when I went to the salon. At least this is a lot cheaper.
My hair grows so fast. I have found that the "root touch up" works great at week 3 to hold me a bit longer b/f I have to do my entire head.
The root touch up is very convenient - takes less than 15 minutes. And stretches out some time in between full applications.
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