Need advice on $850 month shortage

**alabamagirl** · 02-09-2006, 11:04 AM

I retire April 1 (yippee!) and my take-home retirement pay will net $850 less a month than my current salary. I'm looking for ideas to save about that much a month if possible. I know a huge order!!

Some ideas:

I spent $500 on groceries and $300 eating out in January - I think that can easily be curbed to $300 on groceries and just $150 on eating out. (Two adult household.) There's $350.00 saved.

I am cancelling my cell phone when the contract is up in December - that's about $50 a month. (We hardly ever use it)

I think I can save about $20.00 a month hanging clothes and not using the dryer.

I think I can also save on work costs - such as professional dues, clothes, raffles at work and all those little things that add up. DH and I commute to work together so no savings on gasoline. Not sure how much this will come to be.

I paid off our cc so I won't have any many going for extra debt payment - just pay it off every month.

Our huge expense is we are paying cash for DS to finish college (December 2007) but it's important to us that he incur no student debt.

Any ideas? Anyone else who has transitioned to a lower income?

Debbie

**Early Bird** · 02-09-2006, 11:34 AM

I think you will find many, many ways to save $$$ when you're home full-time.

For us, grocery and eating out bills definitely went down.

But staying home gave me TIME to shop for the best deals -- at one point, I had a Farmers' Market and 3 grocery stores that I'd visit regularly.

I'd hit thrift stores (and I still do) for clothes for me and the kids: $2 for a Liz Claiborne sweater, instead of $40.

I have time to cost compare for services, like insurance.

Do you have household help? There's an expense that you might be able to get rid of.

I use the library a lot. Books, videos, and even a few classes -- all free at the library.

Before we quit being a 2-income couple, we tried to save the 2nd income for a while.

Also, scratch cooking takes time, but I wouldn't be surprised if you find youself spending even LESS than you expect on groceries.

I am frugal, but I dont' hang most laundry outside. Tradeoff in time/effort vs savings.

**alabamagirl** · 02-09-2006, 12:05 PM

Thank you so much! What a relief to hear from others that having more time translates to more savings. I am going to do everything possible to get those grocery costs down. I was shocked when I added up all the numbers in January.

I've never had household help and DH and I are big DIYers.

The only other area I can think of that needs a handle is beauty products. I'm a sucker for trying new and improved products - and no, none have turned me into a supermodel.

That's a good idea on living off one income for awhile and I debated it - but think I would rather pay off our last debt instead. (We owe $11,000 on a car - house and everything else is paid for.) I will get a large lump sum payment for my unused annual and sick leave when I retire - that will be a great emergency fund and I will use some of it for home improvement.

I thought of another area I could save - my neighbor is giving me quilting lessons for free in April and I could make Christmas gifts quilting.

**PrairieRose** · 02-09-2006, 12:13 PM

Be sure to check out ebay for all your purchases for stuff like heating unit filters, vac. bags, etc.. . Everytime you save $5 on something like that it's more money trimmed off the budget. Beware though, ebay shopping can get to be an addiction for things you don't need.

**FrugalMomof3** · 02-09-2006, 12:13 PM

That's plus making your own Xmas gifts, I will be doing that this year as I well, I make primitive raggedies and heart/star make-do's/nodders and stuff like that.

I think you will do fine with your grocery bill since there is only 2 of you.

Also, you will find tons of tips and links to useful information all around the Frugal Village, hey once you start making quilts you can even sell them on ebay.

~Tracy~

**Darlene** · 02-09-2006, 12:30 PM

Have a hobby that you now have more time for that you can make a little extra $ at?
Part time job doing something you always wanted to do is something to think about too.
Congratulations btw!

**homesteadmamma** · 02-09-2006, 01:02 PM

That lump sum payment won't be what you expected because they will take a huge chunk of taxes off it. Be prepared for that. We found out just how much when dh got a severance pkg. We had to have a good financial counsellor to help us work at avoid paying those taxes.

There are a few things you can do to cut back in groceries. Stockpile, stockpile, stockpile BEFORE you are finished working. Also you can cut back by not going out for meals. Far healthier for you as well.

You can make all your Christmas gifts. We have and in fact one Christmas we did a totally pioneer Christmas where everything was homemade.

Energy costs can be cut back. You'll probably save more than $20 per month by not using your dryer. If you cut back your temps by 2 degrees, you save 2% off your heating bill.

**alabamagirl** · 02-09-2006, 02:30 PM

I think I must be the only person on earth who doesn't e-bay! That will have to change. I just worry about getting ripped off.

I like the idea of a pioneer Christmas!

I don't really have a hobby I think I could get paid for (clogging, reading, writing) but I can always try to earn some $$$ mystery shopping and surveys, etc. I'll check some back threads on the supplemental income threads.

Just thirty work days until freedom!

**Jerseygirl** · 02-09-2006, 04:09 PM

Spend some of your extra time looking for freebies and coupons on the internet, trade coupons etc. For every "free deoderant" or "free Shampoo" coupon you print out or sign up for, that's $2 less your spending that month.

**ironmaiden** · 02-09-2006, 05:26 PM

Look into "Once A Month Cooking". Why? To curb some of that going out to eat cause no one wants to cook.

Secondly, you need to spend some time thinking about how you are going to use all that extra time. I did know someone who said that retiring would be very expensive for her cause she'd shop with all that free time. You don't want to get into a situation where you are spending money cause you are bored or the only entertainment you can think of costs money.

**alabamagirl** · 02-09-2006, 06:02 PM

Heavens no on the shopping all day LOL! I do know someone who retired and spends all her time shopping. Her DH told her she better cool it.

Much of my time will be spent on house projects. I want to paint most of the rooms, go through all the drawers, inventory all possessions - basically things I never seemed to get around to when working full-time. I also want to garden.

Eventually, I want to do some volunteer work.

I actually have a typed list of things to do when I retire and it should keep my pretty busy!

As much as I love being at home though, I'll probably have to make a concerted effort to get out of the house and be around others so I won't be hermit-like.

**Early Bird** · 02-09-2006, 06:25 PM

Well, doing your own repairs/rennovations will save a bundle!

And it doesn't take long to figure out groceries with the store fliers. If you menu plan around what's on sale, you'll save a lot.

**willow** · 02-11-2006, 12:05 AM

I haven't retired but have recently gone to living on just my income. I have been going through all my expenses one by one and trying to figure out if there's a way to cut back some. Some bills are fixed like the mortgage. But even bills I thought were fixed have some flexibility, like phone services that I don't need in order to have a phone and towing services added to your auto insurance.

You can save quite a bit by reviewing your bills and cutting out the unnecessary extras.

I hope you enjoy your retirement. It sounds like you have a lot of fun projects your looking forward to.