Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-10-2015, 09:55 AM
 
Location: SW Florida
14,871 posts, read 12,012,506 times
Reputation: 24656

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Southlander View Post
No, it can't. Dirt cheap clothes fit poorly and are made of crappy fabric. Good quality clothing costs money. I used to sew, but quit when the cost of decent fabric and patterns made it cost as much as buying the garment. Now you can't find decent fabric anymore.

For my contribution to the discussion: Look for free things to do. There are always a ton of them! Check your local library, colleges, schools, wildlife refuges, visitors bureaus.
It's amazing what you might find in the way of good quality (and it's often even hardly worn) clothing or other items in thrift stores like Goodwill or consignment stores. Finding it requires looking through a lot of stuff, and even multiple trips sometimes because you won't always find something you with every trip. But being retired can give a person more time to go looking.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-10-2015, 10:08 AM
 
5,097 posts, read 6,327,764 times
Reputation: 11750
Quote:
Originally Posted by brokensky View Post
I would thank you for your opinion, but frankly, it wasn't appreciated so I won't pretend it was.

And no, I am not looking for ideas because I am destitute, but your concern is noted.

I thought this might be a nice topic for folks on the forum as lately, it seems so many of the threads have ended up with folks being combative.

I saw nothing wrong with jrkliny response to you. Right away your are dismissive.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 10:10 AM
 
Location: SW Florida
14,871 posts, read 12,012,506 times
Reputation: 24656
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post



Where I cannot seem to save is on nutritional supplements and herbs, I spend a lot on those, and on high quality ingredients to make our dog food.
.
Have you checked out these folks for supplements, vitamins and similar items? They offer specials that often include "BOGO", or "buy two get three free", which makes the cost per item pretty cheap. My mother swears by these folks, their customer service, and the quality of their products.

I believe I'm going to start ordering our supplements from this company too. I always tended to look for BOGO vitamins and supplements or good sales in drug stores or the big box stores, and that's worked for me. But since we're living here in the snowbird paradise of SW Florida, I've found that they seem to snap up most of the sale items around and you can't get there quick enough to find much left during snowbird season- which now seems to be running here from October to mid-June.

http://www.puritan.com/

Last edited by Travelassie; 03-10-2015 at 11:00 AM.. Reason: Added the link
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 10:14 AM
 
Location: Florida -
10,213 posts, read 14,772,645 times
Reputation: 21845
What tips can you share for living abundantly on a budget during retirement?

I know this is the 'retirement' forum and some folks get 'offended' whenever God or faith are 'taken out of the box in public.'
However, there is far more to true "abundant life" than having one's finances in order. In turn, 'living abundantly on a budget,' is more a matter of one's priorities, than one's income or spending.

John 10:10 - Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Frankly, I know a number of very wealthy people who have more money than they can spend, but, still are not 'living abundantly.'
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Idaho
2,091 posts, read 1,918,127 times
Reputation: 8347
Quote:
Originally Posted by old_cold View Post
Then it can be added that, even if it took 5 extra minutes to save that $5, it computes to earning the comparable of $60 an hour! More than a decent wage to me.
Old cold,

I really like your 'financial' analysis. I just want to add or re emphasize my view about the emotional and psychological reward which sometimes can be the opposite of monetary reward. I derive a lot of satisfaction from making my own bread not because of the cost saving. Even if I save $3/loaf but it takes me 2 hours to make 4 loaves, I am not even making the minimum wage!!!

The same can be said about spending. If you derive a lot of happiness and enjoyment out of doing a certain 'expensive' activity, it is money well spent. Our aviation hobby is not cheap even when we are doing everything that we can to bring down the cost (building our own plane, doing most of the maintenance - with an experimental, home built plane, the builder with the repairman certificate can do his/her own work, learning how to minimize fuel burn, tenting under the wings instead of staying at an expensive lodge etc), it still consumes a large part of our discretionary income. However, this hobby has been an essential part of our life for the last 14 years. Flying is my life therapy, it is one of the ingredient of the glue which bond us, having fun learning and doing things together. I will continue scrimp, save, invest and do whatever I can to be able to afford to fly in retirement as long as possible.

P.S. I hope that no one will consider this post as 'bragging'. We are certainly very fortunate and 'privileged' in comparison to many people. I just want to add that not all people involved in aviation are 'rich' folks. Some of my pilot and even plane owner friends occupy the lower rung of the economic ladder, making minimum wages, working several jobs so that they could afford to follow their dream, their passion. One can buy a small used plane for less than the cost of an economy car & if one is handy, he/she can build a simple new one for a relatively modest sum of money.

Last edited by BellaDL; 03-10-2015 at 10:57 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Asheville NC
2,061 posts, read 1,951,389 times
Reputation: 6258
Default it also make s sense to me

Quote:
Originally Posted by jrkliny View Post
This sort of analysis makes sense to me. Everyone needs to decide what their time is worth. When I worked it was clear. My paycheck told me what I was worth. Now that I am retired, I need to decide for myself. One guide would be to look at my social security and other retirement income. So is it worth it to save $5 if it takes an hour of time? That would mean if you worked at that full time at 40 hrs/week, your full time efforts would save you about $10k/year. That is very poor pay and not worth it at least for me. Is saving $10 for an hours work worth it? Not for me. Now if I could spend an hour of time and save $40, $50, or $60 that is a different consideration. I would make the time for that.
We love to cook/bake, and experiment with different recipes. We have taken a CSA (community supported agriculture) share at two local organic farms. One is for fruit/vegetables//flowers, which we will pick up weekly; the other is for 15 pounds of meat (equal parts beef/pork/chicken, all organic), which we will pick up monthly. The farms are within 15 minutes of our home, and are a scenic drive for us. Included with our shares are a discount on anything else we might want to purchase from their stores, and recipes for meals specific to the weekly/no they share. Because there will probably be more vegetables than the two of us can consume each week, we will prepare and freeze or give away what we don't use. We will have the frozen extras for when we host family and friends or go to covered dish parties. If we did not enjoy cooking none of this would be worth it.

I also suggest buying annual passes to local attractions, if they are of interest to you of course. We have senior discounted passes to the Western NC Nature Center, and the Biltmore. They are both very close to our home and have many safe walking paths we use often for fun and exercise. Both offer discounts on tickets for others and purchases. The nature center has free classes and discounted trips. Lots of opportunity for our photo/art hobby/business. We are considering passes to the Arborarium.

We always take our cooler with food and snacks on road trips. Saves time and money--plus is often healthier than "road food".

We do enjoy restaurants and go mostly for lunch during the workweek, on days that we are in town on errands. We enjoy all types of music, and try to find places for our more rare dinners out, that have live entertainment. We are hoping to attend some of Asheville' s free concerts this summer.

The university offers free classes for seniors. There are many consignment/and discounted home furnishing stores. There is little excuse to be bored in retirement here, even on a tight budget.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 11:29 AM
 
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
10,335 posts, read 7,913,824 times
Reputation: 27666
Quote:
Originally Posted by jghorton View Post
I know this is the 'retirement' forum and some folks get 'offended' whenever God or faith are 'taken out of the box in public.'
However, there is far more to true "abundant life" than having one's finances in order. In turn, 'living abundantly on a budget,' is more a matter of one's priorities, than one's income or spending.
I don't think your point has to be seen as exclusively faith-based. Retiring gives you at least 40 hours/week free which were formerly spent working, and which can now be spent engaging with others in the community in a wide variety of useful and fulfilling ways. And I think most retirees are eager to do just that!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 11:57 AM
 
2,429 posts, read 4,005,862 times
Reputation: 3382
My tips for living abundantly -- in retirement -- or otherwise, is to the best you're able do what YOU want to do, as along as it doesn't hurt others. If you want to bake, or volunteer, or fish or travel -- and need to do that on a budget in order to be able to afford to do that, then search out bargains or cheaper ways to do those things. And the tighter the budget the more 'creative you may have to be....like with bartering for example, or the trade schools examples for massages, haircuts and auto repairs, dental work, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 12:52 PM
 
4,178 posts, read 3,372,685 times
Reputation: 9127
Quote:
Originally Posted by Southlander View Post
No, it can't. Dirt cheap clothes fit poorly and are made of crappy fabric. Good quality clothing costs money. I used to sew, but quit when the cost of decent fabric and patterns made it cost as much as buying the garment. Now you can't find decent fabric anymore.

Tell me about it. Today's garments all seem to be made from either tissue paper or burlap.

There's a tear in the fleece lining of my favorite runaround jacket. But the fleece fabric is so coarse there's nothing for needle and thread to grab on to.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2015, 03:35 PM
 
Location: State of Being
35,879 posts, read 77,204,447 times
Reputation: 22751
Quote:
Originally Posted by jghorton View Post
What tips can you share for living abundantly on a budget during retirement?

I know this is the 'retirement' forum and some folks get 'offended' whenever God or faith are 'taken out of the box in public.'
However, there is far more to true "abundant life" than having one's finances in order. In turn, 'living abundantly on a budget,' is more a matter of one's priorities, than one's income or spending.

John 10:10 - Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Frankly, I know a number of very wealthy people who have more money than they can spend, but, still are not 'living abundantly.'

Greetings jghorton! And yes, that was the point!

Abundant living is as much an attitude and a matter of spirit as it is of material goods.

That is exactly why I chose the title I did for this thread.

As I have stated on other threads in this forum, abundant, joyous living is not possible if folks are so focused on the material that they overlook actually ENJOYING their lives (no matter what age or stage of life).

The concept of Abundant Living is not based on wealth, although wealth can surely make the path smoother! Rather, abundant living is finding happiness and satisfaction -- and feeling gratitude -- for what we have, in our relationships, in connecting with others and in sharing of our hearts as well as our "fishes and loaves." When we approach life with a bitter attitude, or with anger and disappointment, it won't matter what our health status might be, or how much money we may have as a cushion . . . there will be no joy and there will be no gratitude.

So I very much appreciate your noticing my reference to "abundant living" and being willing to discuss just exactly what that means.

What I have learned in life is . . . An Attitude of Gratitude is the foundation of Abundant Living. A joyful spirit shapes not only our lives, but the lives of those we touch.

We will all be faced with losses as we age. That is part of the nature of and cycle of life. Some of those losses may be financial! And they can make us bitter and if not bitter, sad and despondent. Maybe even hopeless. But the real losses of life are the ones that put everything in perspective. We lose our friends. We lose our spouses.

I take great comfort in Psalm 30 . . . https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...0&version=NASB

"I cried to you, Oh Lord, and you healed me!" (that can be a spiritual healing - not just a physical restoration!). . . and "Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

Every day is a new opportunity to start again, even as we age. And part of living abundantly is accepting whatever limitations or losses we may experience . . . and still being grateful for the gift of life, finding some joy in awaking and facing a new day.

Last edited by brokensky; 03-10-2015 at 03:44 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:31 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top