Cutting expenses to live well on Social Security

I held my first job when I was 12 years old babysitting for a family with seven children. I don't remember exactly, but I believe I got paid a dollar an hour to watch all those kids. I babysat other children afterwards. I wanted to work and earn money so badly. Back then my family was struggling and I needed to earn money to buy necessities, but also to help my family when I could. 

After getting a work permit, I got my first real job at a local department store working in their credit department as a bill collector. I wasn't cut out for that, but I worked hard at it and excelled.

I went on to have several careers I enjoyed very much, including working for 5 pediatricians, 2 chiropractors, one mega church, a hair salon, and a seminary. 

My favorite job of all didn't pay anything monetarily, but all the hugs and kisses I got from my four children made up for it. I loved being a mother! 

I retired in 2011 and haven't really known what to do since then. My husband retired year before last, and since then life has been drastically different. In the past we would take trips whenever we wanted and buy the things we needed with no problem. Now we're finding we have to watch our pennies. We plan our trips a year in advance saving so we can truly enjoy them as they come. Social Security doesn't provide enough to meet the cost of living these days. 

In an effort to reduce spending, I've started watching YouTube videos on frugality. I've also been remembering things from my childhood.  My mother was a very resourceful and thrifty person. I learned many valuable lessons from watching her. 

In one of the YouTube videos I watched recently, they recommended contacting your car insurance company to reduce rates, so I did it. After talking with our agent, she suggested raising our deductibles and taking a safe driving course online which would provide even more savings. I agreed to do all of those things not knowing the safe driving course would be 6 hours long. She told me I wouldn't have to complete the course in one sitting though and I was glad to hear that. 

This morning, after breakfast, I decided to begin the course. I assumed it would be quick and easy, that the 6 hours would fly by. Not so. As I've gone through the past 2 hours working on the test, I feel like I'm back in highschool taking Driver's Ed learning.

Thankfully this online course provides good videos. It does move quickly and if you don't pay attention, as each quiz comes, you might not get the correct answer. In order to complete the course and obtain your certificate, you must pass with at least 70% of the correct answers. I'm sure I can do that. The hard thing about this test is having to sit so long. There's no way I could do it for 6 hours straight. My plan is to break it up into 2 hour increments. I completed my first 2 hour testing today and have two more days to go.

Is it worth it? I think it will be. After pulling the numbers it looks like we'll save about $200 every 6 months on each of our vehicles. I think that's pretty good! I don't know what else I'll do this year to reduce expenses, but I imagine I'll do whatever I can. 

Being frugal, I'm learning, takes time, energy, and effort, but hey, if you can save a buck here and there, it's more money in your pocket, right? With the current economy, we all need to save and be careful with our spending. And I think it's always wise to have some side hustles like I do working as a freelance writer, selling my art, etc. 

Honestly I'm not complaining one bit! I like to be busy, always have. I guess I am the epitome of a type A personality and I'll own that with pride.

 

. 

Another Month is Almost Over

I was looking at the calendar today and realized we're halfway through the year already. Where has the time gone? It seems I blinked and 6 months passed. A friend of mine told me yesterday that I'd better start my Christmas shopping. I shuddered. This year, the pickings will be slim unless I make some of my gifts. 

Since my husband retired and we're subsisting on Social Security, we've had to adjust our budget. Unnecessary items are out. Many of my friends have mentioned doing the same thing as our government continues to allow inflation to soar. 

Prices on just about everything have skyrocketed and shrinkflation is real. When we go buy our groceries, I'm careful to watch for products that have "shrunk." 

The other day, I bought a box of protein bars. The size of the box was the same so I didn't think anything about it until I got home and opened one. The bar was 2/3 the size it used to be and the price of the box had gone up by a couple of dollars. It may not seem like much to some people, but it feels like robbery to me. 

I remember my grandmother talking about the Great Depression. She told me they saved everything from bread wrappers to glass jars. They repurposed and reused just about everything. Her motto was " use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." She learned the hard way how to survive tough times. 

In my kitchen junk drawer, I've got a stash of wire bread twist ties. I don't know what I'll do with them, but they're there in case I need them someday. And last night, after emptying out a jar of spiced peaches, I almost made the mistake of throwing out that Ball canning jar. Just before I closed the lid of the trashcan, I heard that motto in my head. I yanked it back and put it in the dishwasher. I could find a way to reuse that glass jar.

On my dresser there's a big glass jar of change. We've been throwing pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters in there for years. It's comforting to know those coins are there, but if we ever needed to use them, would cash still be an acceptable form of payment? 

These are crazy times! Maybe you haven't paid much attention to these types of things yet, but you'd better start because I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. 

Whoever dreamed we'd see things like this in our lifetime? Sure, we've experienced many economic ups and downs over the years, but not to this degree. 

You may be planning on flipping the page to July without a care in the world, but I'd like to caution you. If you start your Christmas shopping early, and plan on keeping it as close as possible to last year's gift giving standards, God bless you. 

The Bible says "You lazy people, you should watch what the ants do and learn from them. Ants have no ruler, no boss, and no leader. But in the summer, ants gather all of their food and save it. So when winter comes, there is plenty to eat." Proverbs 6:6-9. 

It might be wise to change your shopping practices this year. Consider thrifting or making your gifts. Better yet, consider giving the gift of quality time through some type of memorable experience. 

Bob Dylan was on to something. Read the lyrics of his song, The Times They are a Changin'-

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

 

I'm sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but it's time to wake up people! Maybe your life hasn't changed much and maybe it won't, but frugality isn't a sin. In fact, when we're wise stewards of what God's given us, we can bless others. And I kinda think that just might make Him smile.