Many folks spend their entire working lives planning for the period after. With so many people looking forward to retirement, they budget for exciting extracurricular activities reserved for the golden era. Oftentimes, potential retirees forget to budget everyday expenses which damper their retirement fund. Let’s take a look at regular expenses often overlooked during the retirement planning process. 

1. Insurance 

How much do you pay for insurance each year? Are there premiums in your monthly budget you can walk away from? Insurance forms such as work insurance and life insurance could become needless the older you get. People approaching retirement age might direct focus toward health insurance over life insurance or work insurance. Remember to consult with a financial expert before making any large financial leaps.  

2. Gas

Fueling up a gas tank multiple times a week wicks away at a retirement fund. Fueling up multiple tanks several times a week doubles the damage. Prior to retirement, ask yourself if you really need two or more cars for a successful retirement. If you’re a single person, are you able to pick one fuel-efficient vehicle over the other? If you’re coupled, which person drives more than the other? Can you forego extra vehicles in favor of the ergonomic car? A fair amount of retirees stray away from automobiles as their main mode of transportation, looking into bus fares, biking, or walking to get around their neighborhoods. 

3. Transportation

Taking the previous bullet point into perspective, envision your retirement following a prosperous career. Regardless of success, you decide to downsize your garage, sticking with the cheapest fuel-efficient vehicle. Though the Toyota Prius collects dust in your driveway, you grow curious about the other transportation options available to retirees. Without the time crunch of a work commute hinging your days, you find the time to admire your city through a sanitized bus window. Again, each location features various discount rollouts for the older generation. Popular discounts include 10% discounts for 65 and over and reduced senior citizen fares. 

4. Streaming services

Streaming services follow a similar approach as gym memberships. The perpetrator ropes in the victim with a promise of 30 days for free or an unbeatable deal of $1 for the first month. Beneath the deal, scribbled in glaring, bold print, reads a strict policy covering the months after the cheap trial finalizes. I believe streaming services also operate on humans’ impulsive nature, figuring as long as they trap them in an appealing deal, they’ve checkmated the customer. Tips for avoiding falling into corporate greed regarding streaming services include no-cost services like Tubi and Pluto, opting for Live TV, hitting up the library, or cable TV. 

5. Exercise 

Have you ever missed a gym payment due to a hacked credit card or forgetting you signed up? I know I have. Left unattended, these gym fees stack up needless debt, clouding your mind. Every year, innocent groups fall into the warpath of New Year gym memberships with sticky fine print. Instead of holding onto the membership for $1 In January, the victim ends up stuck in a year bind with a gym charging outrageous rates for a subpar gym affiliation. 

I have a solution. Rather than popping into the sneaky gyms once the new year rolls around, peruse online blogs and Facebook groups for free fitness groups or exercises without any of the legal bindings stuffed into a gym membership. If you absolutely must sign up with a gym, read and reread all of the fine print, to the dismay of every gym employee, but for your wallet’s health. 

6. Groceries

A trip to the grocery store can cost upwards of $100, depending on the items purchased. A cart overflowing with fresh produce and meats could breach the $200 line, while a cart teeming with frozen foods could waver around a lower price point. Meal planning with regard to sale items saves a ton of money in yearly expenses. Keep an eye out for coupons and sales. Don’t fall into the statistic of throwing away $1,600 of food each year. Numerous online blogs and channels illustrate fabulous ways to prolong shelf life and reduce food waste. 

7. Housing

Rent is expensive. Certain programs for retirees allow them to keep their rent low and affordable, working against greedy corporations obsessed with increasing rent. In big cities like New York, SCIRE or senior citizen rent increase exception freezes rents at affordable rates for seniors. Supplemental security income, or SSI, doles out fixed payments each month to senior citizens assisting with everyday expenses like rent. 

Each state varies in rental assistance programs, though most require paperwork and depend on availability. Retirees who don’t meet rental assistance requirements may think about downsizing. A lot of people live fruitful lives, raising families in big houses, then decide they don’t need the extra space come retirement. Downsizing saves money and forces the subject to part ways with items eating up extra income and space. 

8. Debt

Unless you’ve emerged on the graduating side of your career with unlimited money, debt trails us like a pesky mosquito determined to bite. Financial advisors recommend relinquishing all debt in advance of retirement, but what do you do when that isn’t a feasible option? Debt management plans permit debtors to pay back their debts at a lower interest rate than their credit card companies’. By lowering the interest rate, the debtors find a restored sense of hope in paying off large sums of owed money. Or, debtors apply for a debt consolidation loan where all of their debt compiles into one spot featuring the lowest possible interest rate for the debtors. 

9. Pet care

When our furry (or scaly) creatures get sick, we scramble to find the best care for them. By prioritizing their health, we end up neglecting other bills peppering the horizon. This isn’t to say avoid treating your pets with mandatory medical attention. Nonetheless, affordable options do exist for older, income-compromised beings or individuals without the means to scrape together thousands of dollars for their pets’ life-saving operations. 

10. Taxes

For retirees living in states with high taxes, experts suggest moving to states with lower or fewer tax requirements and regulations. We all have to pay taxes, but why eat up your retirement fund sooner than you have to? Before planning your retirement, read up on your state tax laws and find a backup plan that aligns with your finances. 

11. Traveling

Some people consider traveling a luxury. Others consider it a necessity. Many future retirees hope to spend their retirement traveling since they spent their career life staying in one space for an extended amount of time. Don’t fall into the trap of booking pricey travel arrangements a week in advance. Take the time to create an itinerary and consult with travel agents for the best deals of the season. Pro tip: research busy seasons in a designated location. Plan a vacation during the shoulder season or off-season for reduced prices. 

12. Dining Out

Never pay the full market price for a meal at a restaurant with senior citizen discounts. Participating restaurants provide older individuals with discounted or free items to accompany their dining out experience. Customers 55 and older relish a 10% off discounted bill at Chili’s and Dunkin’, while AARP members enjoy 10% off Bonefish Grill and Outback Steakhouse. Inquire about the senior menu or early bird discounts, too.  

13. Entertainment

The last time I ventured to the movie theater, the kiosk displayed four ticket options. 1. A regular-priced movie ticket for adults between 18 and 55. 2. A kid’s ticket for ages 3 to 17. 3. A student ticket for current pupils with valid proof. 4. And a senior citizen ticket for people 56+. The senior citizen ticket price aligned closer to the kid’s price than the adult ticket, creating a stir within the local movie community. A few grumpy adults groaned about inflation as the spendthrift seniors grinned and skipped toward their theater.