5 Costs That May Increase When You Retire
Retirement Costs
When planning for retirement costs, financial planners often calculate costs decreasing during retirement but there are some costs that will increase in retirement. It is important to plan for them. There will be a number of costs to consider when you’re approaching retirement. Budgeting may be easier because many costs will decrease like commuting, work clothes, lunches, dinners out when you are too busy to cook but there are at least 5 basic costs of living, which increase when people retire. These include:
1. Home/Property Maintenance Costs
The good news is that you will have more time to maintain your house but the bad news is all those repairs you’ve been putting off will cost money for materials even if you do the work yourself. It’s very likely that the cost of maintaining your home will increase during your retirement years, especially if you bought it many years ago and have been living in it for a while. The cost of home maintenance and improvement usually rises after retirement due to the age of the house and the need to replace things like the roof and the water heater, furnace or heat pump, etc.
Retirement Abroad: Affordable Retirement Living
Affordable Retirement Living
Have you thought about retirement? If not, why not?
Perhaps you’ve already retired or are approaching/planning retirement? Either the way, everybody thinks about it sooner or later. There is no such thing as ‘too soon’ when it comes to funding retirement and saving money. The key is to know how much you have to spend and find a location that’s affordable within your budget.
Seeing the World on a Budget
One goal many retirees entertain is to see the world after they retire. But often they don’t consider how affordable it really is to move/retire abroad and truly experience life as a resident rather than a tourist. The aim is to have all your debts and/or mortgages cleared and enough money to move to the place of their choice where they find comfort and relaxation. This kind of decision is not an easy one and entails many problems/obstacles. But once you consider the idea you may realize that it is more do-able than you previously thought.
The Major Obstacle- Family
For example many couples the major consideration is family. Of course as a family member you want to see your newly retired parents/grandparents retire comfortably and enjoy the later stages of their lives. Yet naturally the decision to split the family up can be a big one for both parties. Moving away from your family is a sizable decision that’s dealt with in varying ways from family to family. But often it is possible to move from a higher cost country to a lower cost and drastically improve your standard of retirement. And who doesn’t want their parents to have a more comfortable retirement.
Today it is quite possible to fund a comfortable affordable retirement in many places in the world where your Pension or Social Security will easily cover your expenses, including Ecuador, Thailand, and Mexico plus many more for less than $1500/month or about what Social Security pays for one retiree. If both members of the couple are receiving Social Security they can live well indeed and even save enough to make frequent visits back to the states to visit the grandkids. (Or fund trips to visit you).
Financial Considerations of Retirement Living
However there are other factors in retiring abroad, Continue reading
How to Save Energy in the Laundry
Save Energy when doing Laundry
Whether you’re planning to buy new laundry appliances or already have them, it is very important for you to know how to save energy while doing your laundry. Doing the laundry is one of the most energy intensive tasks in your home. It is right behind heating and air-conditioning and heating water (which is actually part of doing laundry). Saving energy while doing laundry will help drastically reduce large utility bills to a more manageable size.
Here are 9 Tips on how you can conserve resources and keep laundry energy usage at a minimum:
Making Smart Decisions When You Need Extra Money
Need Extra Money?
When you’re facing financial troubles, there are basically two solutions open to you.
1) You can find a way to reduce expenses
or
2) You can find a way to make more money.
There are plenty of tips for lowering costs every month, but bringing in extra money can be a little harder.
Here are the best places to get some extra cash, as well as a few ideas that aren’t nearly as attractive.
Shopping Tips: More for Your Money
Shopping Tips
With economies in the gutter around the world, many people are re-evaluating their daily spending habits. Even if you do not want to become an extreme coupon enthusiast, there are ways you could come home from the store with a bit more cash in your pockets. Food and grocery bills are one of the places where people often end up spending more than they have to.
Many people simply consider food a necessity and put very little effort into budgeting or planning for spending at the grocery store. You must eat, you know what you like, you know what’s “gourmet” and what is not, so why budget? However, the grocery aisles are one of the best places to cut your overall spending, and once you start saving money on food, you will never want to go back to your former shopping habits.
Cutting costs while grocery shopping doesn’t need to be a headache. Instead, use these 7 simple and effective tips for spending less money at the store.
Buying ‘New’ Can Be Cheap Too: Shopping Online The Right Way
By Maria Rainier
Major appliances and household items are not cheap. Depending on what you need, you can end up spending your entire paycheck on just one single item. No wonder sites like Craigslist—which is essentially an online garage sale—seem so appealing. You can buy used furniture and appliances for a fraction of the original store price.
While there are certainly some bargains to be found, there are particular items that you should always aim to buy new. For example, a washer and dryer set can set you back if purchased new at the store, but if you purchase a used set it can set you back far worse. This is because washer and dryers are super sensitive—any forceful movement during pickup or drop off can damage the appliance and make it stop working and it’s difficult to know if they were actually working in the first place just by looking. And if they are working why is someone getting rid of it? In tough times why would someone get rid of working appliances? And unfortunately, you aren’t always offered a warranty when you purchase from individuals. So you may just be buying someone elses headaches.
Used mattresses are never a good idea to buy used either. This is because despite what you may think, mattresses do not generally have a lifespan of more than 5 years. Over time, mattresses absorb sweat and skin flakes and begin to sag and conform to the user’s shape. Not to mention it’s hard to determine whether a mattress is infested with bed bugs from a photo online.
Ok, you get the idea. Some items are worth purchasing new. But that doesn’t mean that buying new has to make you go broke. With some time and effort, you may just be able to purchase a brand spanking new appliance or some furniture still within your budget simply using Continue reading
7 Easy Ways to Eliminate Wasteful Spending
By Kim Moore
Tips to Help you keep more of your Money
Many of us feel powerless when it comes to our finances. Luckily, we can reclaim our power and take charge of our financial lives. As parents, we have a responsibility to our families to make the most of every dollar.
If things feel especially tight right now, consider that there are ways to save money that you may not have thought of before. Here are some tips to help you eliminate wasteful spending and keep more of the money that your family earns. Continue reading
5 Top Tips For A Lower Shopping Bill
By Jessica Mackie
Shopping: you either love it or hate it but it’s a fact of life and it can be an expensive fact. Here are 5 tips everyone can try to bring that checkout total down to a more manageable figure.
Grow What You Can
You can’t grow fries or pizza but you can grow the staples that make up your food, the herbs and vegetables are all really easy to grow yourself. Even if you live in an flat a small window box is all you need to start growing your own rosemary and thyme. You might even consider taking a small allotment where you can grow your own fruit or vegetables on a slightly larger scale. Look at the foods you eat on a regular basis and start with the basics of those before you jump into trying to grow something too complicated. For most of us, this will be things like potatoes and tomatoes. Continue reading
20 Tips for Saving Money When Raising Kids
Raising children can be expensive. Especially if you have more than one child. In tough financial times, here are 20 possible to save money and to help cut the cost of raising children.
- Buying second hand clothes. Clothes are without a doubt one of the greatest expenses in having children. Children grow up fast and usually need clothing for every season change. Buying second hand can save you money.
- Hand-me-downs. Once your child grows out of clothes, choose to save money by saving it for the next child along the way.
- Buying food in bulk. Food is also another large expense when taking care of kids. Get a membership to your local food club so that you can take advantage of the savings when buying in bulk.
- Saving for college. Kids are expensive! They get even more expensive when college rolls around. Save for college over time instead of waiting until they enter college to do so. State sponsored “529″ programs are a great way to save for college costs and protect against rising costs. Continue reading
