The Kitchen Sink: A RICH FINANCIAL DIET, Part I

I am a retired social worker who loves to travel. Two thirds of the IRA that I funded at $600/month while working was wiped out by Wall Street back in 2000 something. I now live on Social Security, a small pension and the annuitization of what was left of my IRA. Fifteen percent (15%) of my modest monthly income goes for health care. I am better off than many of my fellow sliders on the slippery end of the well-under-$50K slope because I spend every dollar twice.

I love to travel and I have several tips on how to live a champagne lifestyle on a soda-pop budget. These tips require some steady income, maturity, intelligence, discipline and vigilance, but these are traits we all need to develop.

1. 
   Bank at a credit union, not a bank, have income deposited there electronically, and pay your savings account $50-$100 by funds transfer on each payday to avoid having the temptations of cash in hand. Many credit unions offer free checking with autodeposit accounts.
2. Make a list of what bills come due when, what they usually run, and how they are paid.
3. Circle the date three or four days before each due date and pay that bill then.
4. Have as many bills paid by autodraft as possible. Pay the rest by credit card (see #8 below).
5. Add up your usual living expenses (rent/mortgage, electricity, heat, water, phone/internet/tv) for a typical summer month and a typical winter month to get your average seasonal living cost. Add $25 to each and know that those amounts are your non-negotiable monthly seasonal commitments.
6. Note the amount you have left for necessary discretionary spending on food and transportation to complete your cost of living requirements. See what you can do to minimize those expenses (turn off lights, ditch the land line for Magic Jack, ride a bike to work or carpool, water the garden 9am or 4pm instead of noon, tint your windows against summer heat and use drapes in winter).
7. Shop for clothes and shoes at second-hand stores in the ritzy part of town.
8. Shop at Costco with a friend and split the bulk items and the bill for those items. Freeze excess.
9. Barter talents with friends and family - even some professionals!
10. Take camping and housesitting vacations.
11. Instead of presents, give your beloveds presence. Pool your resources and do something special together - a ski trip, a family reunion, a dinner out that will make memories instead of mold.
12. Substitute needed services and treats for things that come in boxes. There are gift cards for almost anything you can imagine. Ask your friends and beloveds to do likewise for you. (See suggestions elsewhere in The Kitchen Sink)
13. On giving holidays for families or neighborhood or social groups, draw names to give one special gift to one person along with a donation in their name to his/er favorite charity or the Heifer Project, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity.
14. To avoid the depressing feeling of being too poor to help others, volunteer at a hospital, animal shelter, mentor a child and/or make small autodraft monthly contributions to charities of your choice. In case of financial crisis you can terminate these and increase your cash flow.
15. If you’re a home owner, see what your credit union or bank will allow you as an equity line of credit and apply for it to have in reserve as a medical emergency fund.
16. If you have large monthly medical expenses, check out genentechaccesssolutions.com for a list of private foundations that offer payment assistance for medications. See simplesavingscard.com, to download and print a card that gives discounts on prescriptions at most major pharmacies, Many drug manufacturers have assistance programs for which you may qualify.
17. Ask your doctors and dentist to set up a payment plan to spread major costs affordably and ask them to waive fiinance charges in exchange for regularity of payments.
18. Look for a Medicare Advantage Plan to administer your Medicare or especially the Part D drug plan. Many have FREE generic drugs if you mail order a 90 day supply and free membership in an exercise facility with free classes in weight management, exercise, indoor sports, and swimming pools.
19. Take advantage of credit card offers, sign-up rewards, and benefits.  Play Spend Every Dollar Twice.
    
     A Rich Financial Diet by Abby Freeborn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. For permission to use contact randmxcentric@gmail.com