11 Best Frugal Living Tips for Seniors that Really Help

If you want some of the best frugal living tips for seniors, this article will help a great deal.

It reveals a lot about frugal living and the best tips to help seniors.

 

Why Frugal Living Tips for Seniors?

The retirement years for a senior are fondly known as the Golden Years.

This expression may have been coined because when the sun is setting, a golden hue is sometimes cast out upon the landscape.

Perhaps, the golden years refer to the setting of the sun in an individual’s life.

Or the possibility of these years being labeled as golden could be the reality of the years spent working in the workforce.

Usually, the average individual starts their employment journey in their 20s and retires in their 70s.

The span of 50 years is often an anniversary that is celebrated by presenting another individual with something made of gold.

Quite possibly, the golden years are a reference to our hard labor and celebrating the anniversary of our retirement with something gold.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we just received a lot of gold for our retirement?

 

Importance

The retirement years are an important era.

Many individuals work hard and dream of that retirement day when they can leave the stresses of the workplace behind and concentrate on the more enjoyable things of life.

Some of those more enjoyable things of life could include taking that dream vacation, hitting the golf course, spending time with grandchildren, etc.

Of course, to retire and retire comfortably it took considerable effort and sacrifice on your part to ensure that you had the needed financial resources to fall back on.

However, even as retirees who meticulously planned for these years, they still may be confronted with a variety of issues and financial detours that may try to tarnish our golden years.

The obvious issues could be medical potholes and their associated costs.

Some significant medical diagnoses that can completely devastate retirement plans and financial planning is the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, heart attack, or stroke.

Therefore, regardless of what your financial condition is like today, it could change like the weather tomorrow.

Therefore, some tips to help address budget issues and make the money spread out longer over the month may prove to be beneficial.

 

11 Best Frugal Living Tips for Seniors that Really Help

 

1: Cut the Cable

For some, a major expense being realized in the household is through television cable services.

Generally, these companies entice the potential customer with an introductory monthly offer, throw in a gift card, a limited-time offer to view a specific channel, and give you an added discount if you do an automatic payment from your credit card.

Good deal, right?

Until the introductory offer expires, and you find yourself paying well over a hundred dollars a month.

Perhaps a call to the cable’s customer service department is warranted and it is time to cut the cable.

Besides how many of those close to 60 channels that you’re paying for are you watching?

 

2: Grocery Shopping

A local trip to the grocery store will soon reveal to the shopper that the cost of food is starting to increase.

This is due to a variety of reasons including the possibility of increased inflation.

The reality is that even seniors need to eat. Our choice of food and acquired tastes may not be what they once were but nutritional food is still required.

You may have even heard of horror stories where senior citizens had to choose whether to eat food or take their medication.

There are several things that a senior can do to make their money stretch further as it relates to grocery expenditures.

One of those things is to be on the lookout for coupons and utilize those coupons when visiting your grocery store.

Additionally, there are certain days on which seniors may be offered senior citizen discounts.

Certainly, it is worth checking out as to whether your grocery store offers these discounts and on what day.

Another option is to shop at discount stores that offer nutritional food but at a lower price.

They can do this because they are not part of a recognized grocery band and therefore their overhead is not as extensive.

Consequently, they can pass on their savings to their customers.

Also See: Tips for  Saving $10,000 in a Year and Tips for Saving $3,000 in 3 Months.

 

3: Eating In

In regard to eating, seniors need to know that there are some nonprofits in various communities that deliver prepared meals to seniors.

In addition, some organizations invite senior citizens to join them in eating a nutritional meal at their locations.

Although they may not charge for the meal it is always appropriate to donate in accordance with what you can afford

 

4: Entertainment

As senior citizens, for the most part, we are not ready to just sit around during the day in our rockers.

The average senior enjoys socializing with other individuals, taking in a good movie, playing pickleball, board games, etc.

Therefore, rather than going to a movie theater and paying an exorbitant amount of money, even a matinee, and taking advantage of the various concessions offered, why not take in a movie at the local senior citizen’s center.

Additionally, at these centers, they often offer various activities for the senior. Some of those activities could include dancing, playing pickleball, bingo, etc.

Not only are these fun activities but you can enjoy the company of other individuals as well.

Also See: Importance of Retirement Planning to help with Getting Enough Money.

 

5: Utilities

Another major expense item that households incur is utility expenses.

These utility expenses can be water, natural gas, and electricity.

Two reduce some of the monthly costs of utilizing these energy sources, there are several things that individuals can do.

One of those ways is by reducing or increasing the thermostat by a couple of notches depending upon what season of the year it is.

It’s also important to change the filters as required so that the HVAC system is not working as hard and the possibility of reducing maintenance costs.

Of course, there’s nothing more annoying in the household than a toilet that is constantly running.

By making a few quick adjustments, the individual cannot only put an end to that annoying running water but also reduce their water costs.

With natural gas, many water heaters draw their energy from creating hot water through this natural resource.

By reducing the thermostat of the water heater, the temperature of the water can be reduced and help to save a bit of money in regard to the use of natural gas.

 

6: Automobiles

Let’s face it none of us are getting any younger. We start to experience aches and pains that we never realized we had before.

As the old joke goes what works aches and what doesn’t ache doesn’t work.

Also, our reflexes aren’t what they used to be.

Therefore, a possibility of reducing expenses from the household is selling the automobile. The associated expenses with operating a car include gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.

This is a tough decision, and many individuals feel like they’re giving up their autonomy by selling their autos and not continuing to drive.

That is understandable.

However, for one’s safety and the safety of others, there certainly will come a time when these hard decisions need to be made.

Besides, public transportation or reliance on friends and family is always an option to support the lack of personal transportation.

Also See: How to Make 200 Dollars Fast and 30 Day Rule in Saving Money.

 

7: Reverse Mortgage

A popular option today is the option of taking out a reverse mortgage on one’s home.

The essence of this financial transaction is that a financial institution or lender will pay you monthly. The amount of money you receive is based on three factors.

Those factors include your age, home value, and current interest rates. The option of an individual who takes on a reverse mortgage is the leveraging of their home’s equity.

Repayment of the reverse mortgage occurs in one of two ways. Either when the home is sold, or the homeowner passes away.

 

 

8: Garage Sales

It would seem that as we grow older so does our accumulation of things in our lives.

Perhaps, the closets are brimming with items, or the garage and attic are packed or even the possibility of a rental space being utilized to store excess items that have been accumulated.

It’s time to simplify your life by de-cluttering your home.

Therefore, a possibility of adding income to the budget is by selling these items or stopping the payment on that storage unit that happens monthly.

 

9: Property Tax Exemptions

Local governments understand the added financial pressure that is placed upon seniors when there are increases in property taxes.

The nightmare formula or scenario is that property taxes are on the rise and the senior homeowner’s income is pretty well stable or stagnant.

Therefore, many local governments offer exemptions to certain aged homeowners.

You must take full advantage of any exemptions that you have earned on your property.

It is best to check with the local governments to find out what exemptions may be still available for an individual of your age.

Some of those exemptions could include a homestead exemption, military exemption, a senior’s exemption, etc.

 

10: Try Farming

As a senior, the fact that you have reached that golden age is a testament to your versatility and adaptability as an individual.

To further adapt as to what your budget is looking at perhaps, it is time to take up a new vocation.

By taking a little bit of land or setting up container gardening a variety of crops can be grown without the need for a large quantity of land.

Vegetables that can be grown fairly effortlessly include carrots, cucumbers, green beans, etc.

 

11: Being Crafty

Through our many wonderful years of life, we are a treasure trove of skills and experience.

Therefore, why not sell your experience to others who would gladly pay to be a recipient of any skills or craft skills that you are proficient at.

For example, if you are good with woodworking and delight in bringing a smile to children’s faces why not craft various toys made from scrap labor and list those items for sale on such websites as etsy.com or eBay.com.

Or perhaps you love to crochet or knit.

It is quite possible, that there is a market for these hand-crafted items that will not only transport young families back in time but earn you additional revenue towards offsetting expenses in the household.

 

Personal Story

As the old saying goes life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

This reality intruded on our retirement plans as my wife, who is 11 years my senior, prompted my early retirement to care for her and her specific needs.

We dreamed of our retirement and saved accordingly and had done a fairly adequate job.

Our goal was to have retirement income at a level of 80% of our employment salary to see us through our monthly expenses and have financial room to spare.

Unfortunately, the disease of Alzheimer’s caught up with her, and our dream retirement excursion of traveling across the Canadian Rockies by railroad was derailed.

Additionally, the unanticipated added expenses associated with her care have forced us to tighten our belts so that we don’t unnecessarily have to dip into our principal amounts held with our various investment vehicles.

No sour grapes or feeling sorry for ourselves. Like you we take it in stride, although there are obvious bad days, we cut corners as necessary to keep our financial boat afloat.

Speaking of keeping the financial boat afloat, below are some possible budget-balancing tips that may be beneficial for you as well.

 

The Value of Gray or Golden Strands of Hair

Any gray hair that you may have on the top of your head is a badge of honor.

You have earned every colored strand and it is a tribute to your wisdom and capability of not only surviving life but excelling.

Any challenge that you may be experiencing in regards to cutting household expenses or adding to the income side of the ledger is just another challenge that you will meet and exceed.