Your retirement years should be the best of your entire life, a time to enjoy the spoils of your hard work and finally relax. The sad truth its hat these days, your golden years are a little bit less golden than they used to be; the American Journal of Accountancy reports that 57% of us fear going completely broke at some point during our retirement.
However, how much of this fear is unfounded? While retirees generally have to make do with less than previous generations, this doesn't mean that we are having to tighten their belts en masse and deal with a lower standard of living. The key to living your best life in retirement without worrying about money is financial planning.
There are certain steps everyone should make to ensure that they are not only able to live comfortable lives but that they also have plenty of spare cash to play with and do all of the things we wanted to do during the previous 50 years of 9-5 work. If you want to make sure you can live well throughout your retirement, read on to find out how you can do it for less.
Learn to embrace the senior discount
Some people are naive enough to think that senior discounts barely stretch beyond the Early Bird Special at Denny's (which is a solid option nonetheless). However, just a little bit of digging will reveal that virtually anything and everything can be had for lower prices if you're over the age of 55 (or 60 depending on where you're located and which company you're dealing with).
If you're eating out, don't even consider a restaurant which doesn't offer a steep discount for senior citizens. If you're going on vacation, cruises and resorts for older people are often significantly cheaper than their counterparts. The movie theatre, grocery store, gas station, bookstore, museum, and countless other places will happily knock a few (or a lot) dollars off if you're in your golden years, so keep an eye out.
Bonus offers are everywhere
Whether you're officially a senior citizen or just gearing up to become one, there are countless ways to do what you love for significantly cheaper or even for free. Keep a keen eye out for price comparison and discount sites which will tell you how you can do virtually anything fun for less than what you'd pay normally.
This applies to anything you can think of. If you're looking to play some online casino games but don't want to wager your own money at the roulette table, checking out comparison platforms like Oddschecker will show you every casino that allows you to play for free or match your deposits with extra money to encourage you to try them. Why pay for fun when you can have it for free?
Adjust your life for retirement
This one can be a little more difficult for some people to swallow, but it is absolutely key if you want to enjoy a happy and sustainable retirement. The first step, of course, should be to downsize your living arrangements. The big house in the suburbs might have been nice a few decades ago, but with the kids moved out you're just burning money.
Cities tend to be better places for retirees to live due to the generally higher quality and availability of amenities and transport connections, so consider moving into an apartment of your own, or a retirement community. You'll also want to sell off your gas guzzler and start using public transport, as this will quite literally save you thousands of dollars a year.
Pay yourself
When you're retired and have full access to your pension pot, it can be tempted to see it as your limitless honey pot that you can keep dipping into whenever you like. This is the fastest way to financial ruin, no matter how much money you have in the bank.
It is essential for retirements to set up what is often referred to as a Systemic Withdrawal Plan, which is when you are only "paid" a monthly wage from your savings that you'll have to make do with. This will stop you blowing all of your cash away on frivolous purchases and give you the peace of mind that is knowing that you're not spending your way into oblivion. We human beings have a poor track record when it comes to self-control, so let the bank do it for you.
If you follow these steps then there's no reason why your retirement years can't be as exciting and stress-free as possible.