by Hal Salazar
Look for passive income opportunities
The Frugal Lifestyle blog has touted the benefits of passive income before. There are many ways to make a few dollars here and there, from downloading apps to selling stuff you no longer need. You can also get cash back when you shop by using certain apps, such as Honey and Ibotta.
Freelance
As a freelancer, you can work for who you want, when you want, and for how much you want. But, even as an independent contractor, it makes sense to form an LLC, which helps keep your personal assets free of issues associated with business losses while giving you some tax benefits. You can save some money by filing your CA LLC online, but you’ll need to do your research for information specific to California.
Change your plans
You no doubt like to enjoy yourself, but that doesn’t always have to mean spending money. There are lots of ways to have a fun night out without watching your wallet shrink. Stylecaster offers several suggestions, including attending free concerts, visiting a museum – many offer free admission for seniors – or having friends over for a night of poker.
Travel differently
One of the best perks of retirement is having the ability to travel when you want. Unfortunately, this costs money. But, you can save a huge chunk on your travel expenses by doing things, such as staying at bed-and-breakfast instead of hotels or booking a room at a casino, both of which are often less expensive. But, the pinnacle of discount travel is free cruises. Although it sounds too good to be true, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and other major cruise lines often offer $0 fare for loyalty or casino club members. You’ll still have to pay port fees and taxes, but you can’t beat four or five nights free on a luxury liner.
Budget
Even if you’ve never had to watch your dollars closely before, you find yourself on a fixed income, every penny counts. GoodLife Home Loans expects that the average older American spends more than $50,000 each year. Learn how to budget by breaking down these expenses into housing, transportation, healthcare, food, utilities, and assorted expenditures. Then, you can save money by shaving some of the unnecessary items off. You might even refinance your home for a lower interest rate or take a cooking class so that you don’t have to rely on dining out when you get the urge for something other than a sandwich.
Shop used
There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying used furniture, clothes, and decor. You can also save by buying used sports equipment instead of paying for a monthly gym membership. With a bit of digging, you can also find used books, cell phones, computer equipment, and pretty much anything else you want by looking at Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or local yard sales.
The point of retiring is to enjoy freedom in your senior years. But, that can be challenging when you can’t be free with your money. However, with a few tweaks to your way of life, you don’t have to give up anything to enjoy everything. From freelancing to simply sticking to a budget, the above tips can help you live your best life when you have time to enjoy it the most.
Hal Salazar created Elders.Today to lend a helping hand to seniors via carefully curated resources. Hal is newly retired, and as he embarked on planning and preparing for his golden years, he realized there was a lot of information to keep up with so he started gathering it all on his website to help out his fellow seniors. When Hal isn’t working on Elders.Today, he enjoys walking at his local park, testing out new recipes with his wife, Marlene, and playing piano.