The recent surge in inflation had my clients Ann and Mark worried. They lived on Mark’s small pension and Social Security and were noticing the spike in their weekly grocery bills, gas for their car, and price increases for pretty much everything else. Money is a source of stress for many people and for seniors on a fixed income, inflation can significantly erode their savings.
“We really need to pay more attention to our spending habits,” Ann said. She tended to be more financially conservative than Mark, and had always been the one to cut coupons and look for sales. “I think we can live more frugally.”
Ann asked me to help them review their monthly budget and look for ways to trim expenses. Here are some tips that may help you do the same:
- Closely review all your monthly subscriptions and memberships. Are you paying monthly fees for services you no longer want or use? In my clients’ case, they realized they were paying extra fees for certain TV and movie streaming services and cable channels like HBO that they seldom watched. Canceling those saved them $35/month.
- Investigate better rates for your cell phone service. Ann and Mark had been with the same cell phone carrier for years, but their ‘loyalty’ was costing them. They investigated other options such as Consumer Cellular and Pure Talk and found a cell phone plan that saved them $50/month.
- Comparison-shop for your insurance policies. Being a long-time customer doesn’t always mean you’re getting the best rates. Shop around at renewal time and always ask about any available discounts. Ann and Mark opted to increase their deductibles for car and home insurance to save on yearly premiums.
- Eat at home more often. Restaurant and take-out meals can really add up. My clients decided they would eat out just once a week instead of twice a week, saving them $50 – $75 a pop, or $200/month minimum.
- Use senior discounts and membership benefits. Although Ann and Mark were AARP and AAA members, they often forgot they could get membership discounts on everything from restaurants to travel to health and wellness products at their local pharmacy.
- Use cash-back credit cards and cash-back sites. Programs such as Rakuten and MrRebates offer a percentage back in cash of purchases at a wide variety of stores. Credit cards such as Discover and CapitalOne also offer cash back of up to 5%.
These are just a few ways to get started on saving money without sacrificing your quality of life.
If you or someone in your family are facing aging challenges, please give us a call at 610-667-2838 or email us at CareManagement@waverlyheights.org. We’ll be happy to assist!