8. Vehicle Costs
A vehicle provides access to many of the activities that a family requires and desires. Nowadays, most families require two cars just to get the kids to their activities, run errands, and juggle the aforementioned work commutes. When you consider that over 60% of American households now have two incomes, one car is simply not enough for many families.
The beauty of retirement is that most couples can easily live with just one car. If you finance your vehicles, that means one less auto loan payment each month. Dropping a car immediately reduces the amount you pay in personal property taxes and auto insurance. You’ll also reduce the likelihood of an unexpected repair bill.
Also of interest: 9 US Cities That Are Way Too Expensive for Retirees
We definitely need a vehicle. We don’t live in a city. in fact, we have 2, a car and a truck. The truck is for hauling things like firewood, coal, furniture, etc.
We already pre-planned our funeral and used our small life insurance policies to pay for them. This should have been on your list. Pre-planning is a good idea. It takes the hassle away from family members and keeps them from fighting over what to do. My mom pre-planned hers and it was a big relief off my shoulders. I have no siblings but she still had 4 and I didn’t need them butting in and fighting over what to do.
None of the other items on your list applied to us. We stopped going to restaurants 30 years ago because it was an expense we didn’t need. We were only in our 50s.
When you do these “Frugal” thingies, you need to take into account that not everyone lives in a city.
Funny, my “restaurant” expense has likely gone up since I stopped working….especially “Happy Hour” deals.
Well, You are talking to a different type of living than some of us. There is no public transportation where I live ( even in most suburbs). We never make enough income for the luxury of extra insurance. Our insurance was for cars and house! Going out to eat… seldom even fast food.. sometimes if we had a coupon. Going to a sit down place is a special treat! Buying groceries can be discouraging! We do eat less as we get older, so I take that as a saving! Unfortunately the cost of medication has increased! Could you resend out another list to save money as we could not relate to your list as they didn’t exist.
Bottom line… it comes down to what one plans for. If you have the financial resources in retirement for those things in the “list of things your don’t need in retirement”, and you enjoy those things… no harm done. There are things in that list that would perhaps help a person who is struggling financially in retirement. Retirement is so incredibly “INDIVIDUAL”!!! How well you’ve planned & saved, financial resources, personal preferences & personal needs.