How do you stretch your income?

We’ve had a lot of comments on a Social Security thread about how to prepare for retirement and how to stretch what income you have. Since many people that are in the forum are on an income consisting only of social security, I thought having a thread which focused only on that would be helpful. I’ll start ——

I often buy groceries at a ‘bent & dent’ grocery store. I can get a week’s supply for 2 in under $50.

mpruet said:

We’ve had a lot of comments on a Social Security thread about how to prepare for retirement and how to stretch what income you have. Since many people that are in the forum are on an income consisting only of social security, I thought having a thread which focused only on that would be helpful. I’ll start ——

I often buy groceries at a ‘bent & dent’ grocery store. I can get a week’s supply for 2 in under $50.

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I applaud this effort.
I'll add ... something... when it occurs to me.

I buy everything I can on sale. I decide what I'll need or want then research prices & wait for it to go on sale. Everything goes on saIe. I found new AR15s for $299 this morning but I don't need much anymore. Now I find deals or specialty things for friends.

I've had routine dental cleanings done at the local dental hygienist training program. (That's a time investment, though -- they're not fast.) By the way, they like old people b/c our teeth have more problems -- their friends/peers are too healthy to give them much practice (or so I've been told).
Eat fewer processed foods / less meat / less/no booze. Eat out less in general.
Rely more on free movies and music, more library less Amazon.
Live in places with lower cost of living.
Some of these things can be quite enjoyable and end up being preferences instead of sacrifices.
And I try to keep up routine maintenance (on self, car, and computer rather than waiting for something to blow up.

Try to stay out of stores as much as possible. When you do go in have a shopping list you stick to. Impulse buying is a major budget killer. Full time Van life can lead to some restless days with the temptation to go to town when restless. But avoid recreational shopping excursions because what you don’t buy is the biggest budget saver of them all.

maki2 said:

Try to stay out of stores as much as possible. When you do go in have a shopping list you stick to. Impulse buying is a major budget killer. Full time Van life can lead to some restless days with the temptation to go to town when restless. But avoid recreational shopping excursions because what you don’t buy is the biggest budget saver of them all.

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I also find that it helps to wait at least a week before buying anything other than food or gas. By thinking it over, I avoid wasting money on an impulse purchase.

RonDean said:

I applaud this effort.
I'll add ... something... when it occurs to me.

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Ditto. How about plain old common sense?

If ur a guy……
1- Don’t have a woman in your life.

2- If you’ve ignored number 1, make sure she has her own in good condition van.

sayn
As always
jonny boi livin the dream

Edit: oh, ok….. True Confession
Most the money I’ve made in life I spent on boats, booze & broads and the rest of it I wasted.

I do a lot of my shopping at dollar stores. In the smaller rural towns they are often the only source for reasonably priced items. You can sign up to get some coupon clipping bargains at them.

I try to only buy meat that is on sale/reduced for quick sale, shop WalMart for staples and non perishables, take advantage of good sales at more expensive grocers, make ALDIs a regular stop, and to spend less every month than I have coming in, transferring anything that is left into savings.

For the months when there is an unexpected expense.

I also cook myself 99% of what I eat, doing batch cooking when at home and vacuum sealing individual portions for the freezer.

"Common sense" is good. And what you do to save money depends on how much money you have/had to begin with. I'm sure Marie Antoinette economized by eating less cake. (or was it more cake?). There are things I don't even think about doing so I don't think about not doing them either. IOW it's good we pool our ideas, but not every idea will work for every person.
A couple of "spend a little money to avoid spending a lot of money" thoughts: (1) don't skimp on maintenance of essential items (including your own body) and (2) do find some kind of treat you can allow yourself, no matter how tight your budget. Nobody can tough out saying "no" to themselves forever; have something indulgent you can look forward to at a time /you/ choose.

One of the things that I did when I first started trying to save was to use a budget tool - not so much to create a budget, but to understand where our money was going. I still use one.

My wife and I do use credit cards which we pay in full each month, but it’s really easy to buy on a credit card and not realize just how much we’re spending. I use the free app ‘mint’ which taps into my bank account and credit card accounts, and keeps a ledger of all expenses. I discovered that were spending a lot on things which were not necessary. Once we realized where the money was going, we could decide if that was necessary.

A side benefit of using a tool like mint is that it will also track hidden fees such as subscriptions that we might have just forgotten about. We’ve been able to eliminate many subscriptions that we had made in the past, but forgotten about.

One additional advantage is that it has been much easier to detect fraudulent usage of our cards. There have been times that I found out about a fraudulent use of my CC within an hour of the usage, long before my CC company knew about it.

I get daily Clarkdeals which have good deals & advice. I've read several times Aldi is the lowest price. We used to shop there & the quality was very good.

Morgana said:

I've had routine dental cleanings done at the local dental hygienist training program. (That's a time investment, though -- they're not fast.) By the way, they like old people b/c our teeth have more problems -- their friends/peers are too healthy to give them much practice (or so I've been told).
Eat fewer processed foods / less meat / less/no booze. Eat out less in general.
Rely more on free movies and music, more library less Amazon.
Live in places with lower cost of living.
Some of these things can be quite enjoyable and end up being preferences instead of sacrifices.
And I try to keep up routine maintenance (on self, car, and computer rather than waiting for something to blow up.

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Outstanding points. My takeaway here is that each idea generates a small saving. What is encouraging is
that 6 small things practiced all the time are now a big thing. Thanks again for sharing.

And, ya know, the more consistently I avoid processed food and eating out, the better my labs look.

So, there’s also that.

Lots of good info.

A lot of the time I'm up early....4am. Grocery Stores open at 7am so I have time to get ready and be there when the doors open. About 6 miles below me are two large grocery stores each within a mile of each other. I have the app's to both of them on my cell. So I can shop the "digital deals" Then I have the key ring tab to use when I check out which often gets me some other discounts.

One of the grocers marks down the meat and I carry a cooler with those blue Ice Blocks in it...in hot weather. In the cooler is an ink marker so I mark the date when I buy it. I keep a thin inventory of meat in the freezer at home and shop more often for meat as I'm out.

When out I often get a sausage biscuit at Wendy's where I can get a free Senior drink.

Below these two stores is an Aldi's and a Dollar Tree where I often find mark down's in the refrigerator case at Dollar Tree. Pizza's and lunch meat etc. Just down the road is a Walmart
which I will hit for the best priced canned goods. Thus one line hits everything including breakfast while I'm out. My luckiest days are Tuesdays & Thursdays. This takes care of food.

Continued:

Another expense people incur frequently are hair cuts. In my area barbers want $15 a cut. So I learned to cut men's hair and some women's short cuts (Pixie Cuts) I have one lady friend whom I taught to cut my hair with a #2 guide on an electric clipper set I found discounted to $13 dollars. I have in the past had people who sit with the elderly to call me to cut hair for aged men. I only charge them $5 dollars. The lady I taught to cut my hair has me trading the favor for her. She cuts my hair twice a month which is a savings for me of $360. Her beautician charged her $30 a cut and every 3 weeks. So it's a savings for her of $510 a year.

I also follow websites like this one which list the best deals to be found in each months.

Best Time to Buy Anything

As for buying or selling vehicles. Anytime you buy a new car or van (anything really) Don't trade in. Sell or have someone help you to sell your present vehicle. Then when you walk onto a Dealership......let the sales rep ask if you have a trade in. Simply say that you don't and let him/her tell you to ignore that sticker on the vehicle's window. (if they don't offer that....thank them and walk out the door) If you don't have a trade in, they can offer you a generous discount as they won't have to contend with selling your used car they took in on trade in. Usually people think their car is something of value......but if you know any car sales people well enough...they'll tell you that it is an added job they have to undertake to sell you a car. And that higher price on the sticker on the window helps compensate them for selling your trade in for you. I would suggest considering going to a Dealership towards the end of the month in bad weather. (but be ready to get serious if you do this)

New vehicles in August when new model year units begin to arrive and sales
departments want to get them out before the pubic. October, November, and December are good used car months.

August tends to turn up deals on camping equipment, and in late August there may be deals to be found on Tires. September is about the only month to find deals on Vehicle Batteries.

To make tires last longer......when they are first installed drive the first 50 miles at speeds below 35 mph. The next 50 miles at speeds below 45 mph. The next 50 miles at speeds below 55 mph. Most tires are steel belted and by driving slowly the first 150 miles the steel belting material has a chance to stretch and wear in. Also the steel belting won't rip loose from the rubber it is molded in.
Some reports claim tires "broken in" like this may last 1/3 longer.

All of us may be faced with replace an aging rig and moving up to something new or newer. And since a Nomad or Full Timer (RV) probably has the rig as their home as well as transportation it could be handy to know this stuff.

I do as much of my own mechanical work as I can. I save a bundle by doing it.
There are places that rent tools....and enable you to work on your own projects and save a lot of money compared to having it done for you.

There are books in print on the topic of how to fix anything. You could buy such a book and carry it with you, or if you have a library card (free) you may access your library website and find such books and manuals free to use online and even print a page you need from it.

camperdan said:

each idea generates a small saving.

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Exactly. little things add up.

I find I save more money in groceries when I am camping near small town with high grocery prices. That is because I am not doing any impulse grocery shopping, I have to think very carefully about saving money by not buying those high priced items.

WanderingRose said:

And, ya know, the more consistently I avoid processed food and eating out, the better my labs look.

So, there’s also that.

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Well, that is a stroke of genius. If you are a reader, you might find Michael Pollen's book entertaining.....
In Defense Of Food. A short book , but packed with insight. There is another book I recently digested, written by an English MD "Ultra Processed People". Quite an eye-opener.