Frugal Habits I Wish I'd Started 10 Years Earlier (Retired at 62)

A crown cracked on a piece of peanut brittle the first winter after I retired, and that's when I started counting up the frugal habits I wish I'd started ten years earlier. I retired at sixty-two on a fixed income, my Social Security check and not much else behind it, and if I'd taken up these eighteen money habits at fifty-seven, I'd have walked into retirement with a cushion. Every one of them is still worth starting at any age. We start with the teeth, because Medicare doesn't cover most dental work, and I'll tell you what to do while a job's insurance still pays and where to go once it doesn't. Then the car note you keep paying after the car is paid off, to yourself, with the savings limit to ask about first if you're on SSI or Medicaid. I talk about walking every morning, a price notebook that catches the sale that isn't a sale, reading every line of the bank statement, cooking for one by cooking for six, shopping your own pantry, and my mama's envelopes. Some of these are about family, like setting a number for the grandbabies before anybody asks. Some are about the big bills, like getting a second price on any big repair and buying the good one once. Near the end I cover keeping every warranty and paper that's worth money where you can find it, clearing out the extra while you can still lift it, and why frugal living on Social Security was never supposed to mean doing without. I also name the three places I won't save a dime, including any deal that comes to you over the phone. You paid into this life a long time. Spending careful is how you keep it yours. Tell me in the comments which habit you wish you'd picked up sooner. Where to check: Understanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) I'm not a financial adviser. This video is general information from my own experience and the official sources above. Rules and amounts change every year and differ from state to state, so confirm anything with the agency before you act on it.