Everyone wants to retire, I mean who wouldn't, you get to lay around all day and still get a check and benefits! You can retire sooner with less savings, if you're willing to give up some things now. To chill later you must work hard now! There are a variety
of ways for people to reduce their bills, and it's all about management. Eliminating your mortgage is one of the best ways to make retirement more
affordable, it removes the most expensive monthly bill. In most households the most expensive bill trends to be the mortgage Although you'll still have to
pay taxes and expenses towards your home, that's not likely to be as much as your mortgage.
I know everyone just LOVES, for the kids to be around, but once
your children are independent, it's time to downsize a little. You won't need that house with 8 bedrooms, and five bathrooms any longer. Downsizing can be a beautiful, and cash saving thing, if you do it the right way. Consider downsizing to a smaller home in a less-expensive
neighborhood, and add the money you don't have to spend to your retirement fund. Where you live plays a big role in how much you pay for
food, taxes and a variety of other services. In lower income neighborhoods you have grocery stores that sell produce, that are only two or three days old, it's still consumable, but it's cheaper, and you would have to use it faster. If you live in a higher income neighborhood you have the "fresher" produce, which cost at lest two to three dollars more, and it won't go bad as fast. Moving to an area where the cost of
living is less could allow you to spend down your retirement
savings more slowly.
Exercise is always good, and if you don't need a car, SELL IT! When you retire, since you have no where to really go, you can downsize to one vehicle, this eliminates, gas cost, insurance, and the money you spend when those darn brakes go out. In walkable
communities with good public transportation, you may even be able to get by
without a car in retirement. All and all in order to live in serenity when you retire, you must save and realize you don't need everything you had pre-retirement.
