I always worked and earned a good living. The problem is that I am now retired and I have to quit spending and I have a really hard time doing that. I am single and I just can't afford to spend on anything but food, rent, utilities, etc.
Please tell me how to do this!!! Thank you.
Is there a way you can watch a couple of kids part-time or do before and after daycare so that you have some extra cash coming in? I can't even imagine being retired and then having no money to spend on top of it.
Start a budget. Build in a little for fun stuff or else it will be unable to stick to.
No offense, but if your budget is only limited to the necessities, do you really have enough to retire on? Could you look for a part time job to get some extra income without the time commitment of a full time job?
It's hard, I'm sure. I don't know when (or if) my husband's going to retire, but I'm not looking forward to the financial changes we'll have.
If you live near any kind of senior center, you might be able to meet some other retired folks who have more personal experience in this venture than you do. Or check Dave Ramsey's site - I hear good things about his system, but I don't know if he has a special niche addressing the newly retired.
One thing you can do right now is to sit down with some scratch paper (don't even buy a notebook) and a pencil, and write down everything you have *right now* that you're thankful for. It sounds corny, but it can really make you think!
sounds like you are bored & need a hobby.....how about volunteer work; womans shelters, hospital, library, school, church, etc
Why not get a PT job somewhere fun for fun money?
Actually the best thing would have been a period of time before you retired to stop spending and plan adjustments. By this I mean you could have paid off or reduced any credit card bills, considered what you would be doing after retirement (hobby, pt job, school) and begin to transition so that you didn't hit a brick wall head on. My hubby did this and is still adjusting and it is two years later.
What you could do is plan menus of what to eat and stick to it. Go out once a month instead of many nights in a week. Do you "need" all the things you did working since you are retired? If not sell them.
We have been "brainwashed" for a lack of a better word all our lives to spend and now we can't due to the economy, health, or job situations. It is hard but it can be done. Figure out what you need and enjoy and eliminate the rest. This is a time for doing for you and stopping to smell the roses and do what you want.
The other S.
PS I hope to transition in a couple of years to being home but have my own business.
Make a hard budget that guarantees your necessities, then look at how much extra you would like to have. Pick up a part-time job or even full-time and use that for "spending." Look at retail, work from homes, selling Tupperware or Mary Kay, etc. Also look into pleasurable things you like that don't cost: hikes in the woods, volunteerism, library books and movies, etc.
I would assume that taking a look at your lifestyle and making some changes would be in order. If you are paying a high house payment, big car payment, other things like that then I would say pay off those things or downsize to have more ready cash available. Retirement is supposed to be a time of travel, doing the things you didn't make time for before. It isn't supposed to be a time of throwing money away either...I would just stop and look at everything then decide which direction I wanted to go in. If sitting at home paying nothing but housing and bills is what you want to do for the next, hopefully many many years, then that is the direction you need to go towards. On the other hand if you do want to spend some time enjoying life and doing those things you put off to work hard then budgeting and cutting some other areas is a must instead.
It's inherent in our system that people do not get enough to retire on. In Europe the retirement funds which are the equivalent of our social security pay a living wage not this dinky amount which you are supposed to survive on. If you were ever married for at least ten years and your ex-husband made a better wage than you look into getting his money. He won't pay but SS will pay you more than you are currently getting.
Single women your age are penalized first for earning lower wages until they reached their 40's and secondly because without a partner who has his/her own SS you have that much less to live on.
L.:
I'm sorry!!! This must be hard. I know going to cash only was VERY hard for me as, like you, I love to spend!!!!
I would start tracking each and every expense for one month - then make yourself a budget off that tracking.
I would also see if I could pick up a hobby that will make me money...my dad does wood working and makes rocking horses and many other things for people who pay him. My mom makes quilts and gets paid for those as well.
Go to the library and check out Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey - or any other author on retirement and spending and see what you can garner from them.
GOOD LUCK!!
Congratulations on your retirement!
Retirement is suppose to be about taking time to enjoy your life. Find things to do that don't require you to spend money - join a book club, visit the local senior center, volunteer.
Also, just because you're retired doesn't mean you can't work. Look for a part-time position that will bring in some income. Do you like small children, maybe you could babysit a few hours a day after school?
