THRIFTY SENIORS

Practical Penny-Pinching

Hi Folks,

Saturday was a beautiful day in Upstate South Carolina. After all the snow and ice we’ve had this month, it got up into the high 60′s. . .  So my backdoor neighbor hung her washing on the clothes line she has in her back yard.  Throughout the year she hangs her clothes outside to dry on nice days. Don’t you know she saves a bundle of money every year by not using her clothes dryer except in bad weather.

There are thousands of ways for folks to stretch their dollars if we will just apply ourselves to learning how and then applying them to our lives - like my backdoor neighbor.

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How To Be A Frugal Retiree

Hi Folks,

Are things getting tight at your house? They are at mine. Expenses are going up but my income isn’t. My wife is going over our “Spending Plan” (some folks call this a budget but “spending plan” is much more appropriate) for 2011 to see where we can cut costs this year. The difficult part is we cut costs last year and the year before!  But we shall see – we shall see.

Woody

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Thrifty Retirement

Hi Folks,

I have published several articles by Linda Manley on this site as well as on my Woody’s Retirement Blog ( http://www.woodysretirementblog.com/). Linda always writes wonderful and insightful articles that inspire and give hope.

This article offers some insightful advice that we all should heed.

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Energy Saving Tips – For Washers, Dryers and Dishwashers

Hi Folks,

Here is another batch of easy to follow energy saving (translate - money saving) tips. These are for when you use your washer, dryer and dishwasher. Try them and watch your power bill go down.

Remember, it’s your money.

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Reverse Mortgages For Seniors

Hi Folks,

Nick Clark has an insightful little article for us today about reverse mortgages. Let’s all read it and learn a bit.

Woody  Read more…

SENIOR DEBT

Avoiding The Stress Of Coping With Debt As A Senior

Hi Folks,

We live in a consumer society where the mentality is that if we cannot afford something then we should use the credit that we have been offered by various loans companies to buy now and pay later. This is all well and good if you can afford to pay later, but a high number of people cannot afford that luxury and get further and further into debt as a result. Being in debt can be a humiliating and frustrating experience because, once you are in it, it proves to be near on impossible to get out of it. Credit companies thrive on this because it is how they make their profits. However, seniors suffer more than most as a result of it because most seniors do not have the means to pay back debts as readily as younger people do. They cannot go out and earn more money in order to pay back loans and credit cards. It is just not that simple for them. However, there are solutions to this pressing problem.

Debt is not an individual problem; it is an issue for a high percentage of society. While this is not a comforting thought and doesn’t help an individual senior’s plight, it has resulted in the introduction of various services that will offer solutions to the problem of debt in general. If you cannot pay loans back, then counselling and debt services can be called upon to offer you free advice and act as a liaison between you and the debt companies. This should only be a last resort because it can affect your credit rating. However, if you are having problems with debt then you are unlikely to want to get into that situation in a hurry again! However, this is where the “just in case” theory comes in. You never know what will happen to you in the future and thus it is best to leave your options open if at all possible.

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Thrifty Retirement – Saving Money by Spending Time

Hi Folks,

Are you struggling to make ends meet? Well, I can assure you from personal experience and from maintaining two retirement blogs that there are millions of other retirees out there having the same problem as you.

Many of us didn’t have to struggle as much when we worked so we didn’t have to watch our budget so closely. But now things have changed and we are having to look for ways to stretch our dollars.  There are many ways to save money but it’s difficult training ourselves to apply the new tricks we learn and a lot of us aren’t willing to spend the time and effort.

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ENERGY SAVING TIPS FOR WATER HEATERS, REFRIGERATORS & FREEZERS

Hi Folks,

Let’s explore some more energy saving tips that will save you money.

Have you tried some of the energy saving tips I suggested in my last two posts? Some of them are really easy to do and pay you back in big savings.

Woody Read more…

5 Ways to Save Money on Lighting Your Home

Hi Folks,

Have you started implementing any of the energy saving tips on heating and cooling your home I shared in my last post. All those dollars you save could pay for those Christmas presents you’re going to buy this year and next.

I have five more energy saving tips for you today.  These are on lighting your home and they are so simple, so effective and so easy to do.

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15 Ways to Save On Heating And Cooling Costs

Hi Folks,

I have some great energy saving tips for you that I’ll post over the next few days. Put just a few of these to use and you’ll save a bundle on your electric bill each year.

Want to see how much you are saving? Make a list of your electric bills from over the past year (two years is better, if you still have the bills). List them down a sheet of paper: Month, killowatts used, dollar amount of the bill. Then each month post this same information from your new bill to your list opposite the same month from the previous year.  Now you can see the difference between last years usage and this.

I have a friend that changed out all of his incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFL). He is saving several dollars a month from implementing just this one energy saving step.

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