“Turn off lights when you leave the room.
Flick off appliances at the wall.
Close the blinds when it’s hot outside…”
You’ve probably heard these tips (and a million just like them) whenever you’ve looked for ways to save money and maximise your finances. In fact, you may have even passed these on to the kids and grandkids!
How about some advice you haven’t heard?
Read on to find out how you can:
- Receive free products from your local community (that aren’t handouts)
- Save on your weekly grocery shop
- Collect unclaimed and lost money
- Create a budget with no stress and no fuss
- Get on the right track to good investments and a stable financial future.
Let’s get started.
Ways to save money in retirement
Whether you want a little bit extra for dinner with friends or you have your eye on a big ticket item, it’s safe to assume most people would like a bit more bang in their bank accounts. Well, if you want to make your money go just that extra bit further and save more in retirement give one of these a try.
- Join a local ‘Buy Nothing’ group
Connect with your neighbours and save money in the process. How? ‘Buy Nothing’ groups are community Facebook groups where neighbours can give away various bits and bobs from around the house. From furniture to food and homegrown produce, these groups are also a great way to get to know the locals in your area.
Join Buy Nothing City Beach here. - Manage your unclaimed money
When you move house there’s often a lot of details you need to update. Sometimes, one or two get missed and the result of this can be lost money from bank accounts, shares, investments and life insurance. Alternatively, if an account hasn’t been used in a 7 year period it can also become “lost.” But it doesn’t mean it’s gone for good. Find out more about lost money and how to claim here. - Try ‘Meatless Mondays’
You may have heard the term “Meatless Mondays” before. It was a campaign first started in 2003 by The Monday Campaigns and the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future with the initiative to encourage people to reduce their meat consumption one day a week with benefits for their personal health and the overall environmental health of the planet. It’s been adopted by schools, hospitals, households and more across the world and not only is a lowered meat consumption good for your health, it’s also a great way to reduce your weekly grocery bill
Try out our red lentil, sweet potato and coconut soup or pumpkin, leek and feta mini frittata recipes. - Wash clothes in cold water
How does an extra $100 in your pocket sound, without really changing anything in your routine? Well you can save up to $100 a year by washing your clothes in cold water! - Do your grocery shop at night
If you can, grabbing your groceries closer to closing time is a great way to save big on your shop. The end of the night is when all products that are close to their best before dates or prepared fresh daily (like breads, pastries and hot chickens) get marked down - Look for discount grocery sections
Some grocery stores will offer discount sections, filled with perfectly good products that aren’t quite as pretty as the rest. Rest assured, these fruits and vegetables (and more!) are perfectly fine to eat and taste just as good - Take advantage of senior concessions and discounts
This may not apply for younger retirees but there are some serious perks to getting older. If you’re 60+ and work less than 20 hours a week, you’re likely eligible for a Seniors Discount Card. You can save on public transport and a plethora of goods and services. - Get notifications about lower prices
Look at Price Hipster. It sends you notifications when any of your favourite items or ones you’ve been eyeing off go on sale. From weekly groceries to one-off treats, if you want to buy it you’re sure to find it here. The best feature of this website is that you can control exactly what you want to be notified about and how. It’s a pretty powerful tool and can really help you save big. - Become your own masterchef
Bring your favourite restaurant to life in your own home and learn how to make your favourite meals. Dust off your fanciest cookbook or try out one of those YouTube videos we mentioned in our blog on How to make the most out of your life during retirement - Move to a higher-earning interest account
If you have a savings account, check the interest rate your bank gives you on it. Then compare it to other saving account options with your bank. Chances are, the interest rate is higher. If you want to switch over (it takes only a few minutes!) just ask your bank to do it for you, or you can do it through online banking. Switching can make you hundreds or even thousands (depending on how much is in your account!)
Budgeting tips for retirees
The key to maximising your money in retirement really does lie in a well planned budget. Without one, it’s impossible to truly know how much you need to live comfortably and hit your financial goals. It doesn’t need to be super complicated or take hours to set up. These are the core elements to setting up a good budget:
- Calculate all of your monthly expenses
- Calculate your monthly income
- Identify how much you have left after paying for your expenses
- Divide the remaining sum between regular luxuries (eg. dinner with friends) and long term savings goals (eg. a holiday fund).
Websites and Apps to help you budget:
Budget Tip: When calculating your monthly expenses don’t forget things like grocery shops and regular transport expenses! Things that you don’t receive a physical bill for are easy to forget about when first drafting up a budget as most people will just flick through their recent bills for an idea of their expenses.
- Banking apps
Your bank will most likely have a free downloadable app that can help you track your spending and manage your accounts with the tap of a button. - Moneysmart Budget Planner
Moneysmart is a government run initiative you can access for free online! Managed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Moneysmart website’s main objective is to help Australians from all backgrounds, age demographics and income groups to maximise their financial well being. They have an easy to use budget planner which is super handy to help you get started. - ATO App
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) also has their own app to help you manage all your tax related (and super related) affairs easily. It’s available for pretty much all devices too, download it for iOS (Apple) here and Google Play (Android/ Samsung) here.
Future thinking: Investments and Financial Planning
Once you’ve gotten your savings habits and budget set up, it’s time to look towards the future and how you can maximise your money for years to come. This is where financial planning and potentially even investments come into the mix. A financial planner can help you create a long term monetary plan to give you that extra assurance that everything is in order and you can focus on enjoying your retirement. They can also help guide you through the investment process and help you learn how to make smart, informed decisions. Moneysmart even has a handy guide to help you choose the right financial advisor for your needs.
Book recommendation: The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
You might have already heard of The Barefoot Investor. It’s potentially the most popular finance book in Australia because of its candid, easy-to-understand and honest approach to financial planning. You can find The Barefoot Investor in pretty much every bookstore and library across the country.
Financial security is one of the sure-fire ways to ensure that you can spend your retirement doing what you love and not worrying about what you don’t. But, getting on top of your finances is only one piece of the pie when it comes to making the most out of your retirement. Things like staying active and social, as well as stretching out your mental muscles are just as important. Learn exactly how you can do all of these things to make the most out of your retirement here.
