How to survive retirement is one of the most important and daunting decisions of someone’s life. The idea that you will no longer have a regular schedule in your life is frightening in and of itself. Despite the appeal of spending your elder years doing activities you always wanted to try, one rightfully worries they’ll spend the end of their lives sitting around all day, aimlessly watching television.
Worse still, financial concerns make the decision even harder. Even with a pension, the cost of living today makes retiring safely a less likely option. More often, people are working well into their senior years rather than retiring for some well-deserved relaxation.
By several estimates, someone needs 70 per cent of your income to retire. In a society that values instant gratification over fiscal responsibility, such a figure is incredibly unlikely. A study by Northwestern Mutual claims that 21 per cent of Americans have no retirement savings at all, and with Social Security always under threat, those numbers could grow.
For those with no savings, however, there are ways to survive your golden years. Here is a tutorial on how to survive retirement with no money:
1. Be Creative With Your Living Expenses
Living expenses will take up most of the money you need after retiring. Fortunately, there are pragmatic ways to budget your day to day expenses that will ensure your comfort. It’s likely that social security will be your only source of funds. Taking advantage of all senior discounts is just one of many ways to stretch your dollar and how to survive retirement without money.
Other creative ways to keep or make enough to live off are such things as:
- Sell your car and rely on public transportation or ride share services.
- Cut off your landline, relying only on the cheapest cell phone available.
- Sign up for Medicare as soon as possible to avoid out-of pocket medical bills.
- Buy cheaper, generic products rather than brand names. They’re not only cheaper, but often are sold in bulk.
- Make cheap home repairs to increase energy efficiency and reduce utility bills. These can include buying a programmable thermostat or improving attic insulation.
2. Be Careful With Debt
Often, one retires with a certain amount of debt, particularly those forced to retire by the company for which they’re employed. One needs to be strategic about when they make payments to reduce it. Tempting though it may be to dump all extra money to pay it off as quickly as possible, this can also risk even more debt or a lack of money for living expenses. If you are not careful, you may even risk declaring bankruptcy as you draw closer to your retirement years.
As it’s important to maintain some sort of financial cushion for emergencies, it’s best to divide your money between retirement savings, living expenses at debt, chipping away at it wisely.
4. Avoid Generosity
If you have grown children in financial distress, it may be necessary – and unpleasant – to avoid being too generous. Talking to your children and making them understand you must put your own financial safety above theirs. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but it will go a long way in ensuring familial comfort as well as your own financial security.
3. Delay Taking Social Security
Oftentimes, you are physically able to work past your retirement age. So while you may be able to receive benefits as young as 62, delaying collecting and continuing working past your prime will save more than you need. Given that social security may be the only source of income post-retirement, delaying it as long as possible might be your best option.
5. Consider Housing Options
Mortgages are one of the biggest threats to a comfortable retirement. One might consider selling their home and searching for a lower-cost house or apartment to save money. Downsizing will reduce your expenses and utility bills. Should you want to keep your current home, look into reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages are a loan wherein you borrow against the cost of your home and receive the funds as a lump sum, set of payments or a line of credit.
Taking on a roommate or setting up an Airbnb in your home can also help the cost of a mortgage, while also providing some much needed company if you find a roommate with whom you get along well. Loneliness can often be a problem of retiring, particularly if you have no children or family that lives far away.
6. Monetize a Hobby
Perhaps you knit or have a knack for interior design. Not only will monetizing your hobby help with potential boredom that retirement can cause, it’ll bring in some much needed income. Oftentimes, a hobby will require little extra knowledge. It’s a common cliche that the elderly are computer illiterate. Even if you are, learning the ins and outs of sites such as Etsy or Ebay is surprisingly simple. There are also jobs especially designed for the retired, such as Walmart greeter or tour guide.