Retirement on a Super Tight Budget – #retirement #frugal #budget #costoflivingcrisis


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We retired from full time work early. I tell you what you can do to achieve the same on a budget. Frugal Queen in France Like the …

47 replies
  1. Sheila P
    Sheila P says:

    As always a sound inspirational chat, that keeps the light shining at the end of the tunnel. You'll never know how many people you help cope with this very trying time of energy bill's spiraling and mortgage increases…. it certainly helps me to stay on track, and for that I'm very grateful to both you and Mike, for your efforts to share your knowledge with us all x

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  2. Lisa Ward
    Lisa Ward says:

    Hello Jane &Michael, this video was spot on for me today as i will at some point retire. I commute 40 minutes to my work monday-friday. 80 miles round trip i know sounds awful! I have been at this for 8 years now. My husband will be retirement eligible in 3 years,we are working on getting our mortgage paid in full,still working on that! We bought a new to us car on a short finance loan,low percentage rate and have paid that off in full 5 years ago. We drive our vehicle till they die completely! For example we have a car 2005,with close to 400,000 miles on it. We do maintain it regularly and it has served us well. We do know at some point we will need to replace. We do not buy brand new,we usually like certified used vehicles. Beautiful blanket on your sofa,love those kind! I have sewing,crochet,knit,plastic canvas craft that i enjoy doing,my husband would really like to relocate to a warmer winter climate than where we live currently. What would be your thoughts on a scenario as this? Thank you Jane &Michael for sharing your home with us& reflective thoughts! You have a very photo genic 4 legged fur baby! Love it!

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  3. Sheri B
    Sheri B says:

    One question on retirement in France or Italy. I will definitely start studying my French or Italian long before I retire but are there areas in either France or Italy that you can get by with English or should I try to get fluent before I arrive?

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  4. kakelinga
    kakelinga says:

    People in France are losing their minds because the president is raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. People are living longer so that makes sense. In the U.S. the age for full social security has been raising as the population lives longer. Once upon a time it was 65 and now it is 67.

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  5. Heather Tucker
    Heather Tucker says:

    I resonated with what you said about your parents Jane. We are probably nearer their ages than yours and when we paid off our mortgage and put as much as we could away for our retirement we thought then that we would be comfortable! We knew we would never be rich but we assumed we would be able to manage well! How wrong we were. We couldnā€™t have envisaged how the country would have mismanaged everything so badly to get us to this cost of living crisis. There are many a lot worse off than us but itā€™s been a bitter pill to swallow!

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  6. Lesley Chater
    Lesley Chater says:

    Thanks Jane for talking about the State Pension oh life it makes my blood boil how people are calling it a benefit ( mainly politicians) Iā€™m one of the unfortunate ā€˜back to 60ā€™ ladies who have worked so hard in life and then robbed of my pension. Iā€™m very bitter but itā€™s made me be frugal and have a simpler life that Iā€™ve got to admit Iā€™m less stressed and always learning to make things better for us. I really have got to master Quilting itā€™s a new found hobby after following you and saying to myself I could have a go at that so Iā€™m going to. Thanks for all your useful information, itā€™s very much appreciated. X

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  7. HawkStrong
    HawkStrong says:

    Thanks for all this helpful information. Every video you put out I find helpful in some way. I have about 20 years until I'm retirement age (wow, time is just flying by!) but it gives my husband and I consistent time to think about our retirement needs. Your tips and insight are very helpful. Thanks!

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  8. Barbara Hollands
    Barbara Hollands says:

    Never have one person doing the finances if you are married. My husband claimed no one could understand how the money worked since he had a construction business. We lived a comfortable life but I did many frugal things and if I had known how wealthy we were I would have made some different decisions that would have benefited the children especially. Turns out he was spending our money on other women and even a second family though the children were not his. No matter what I was trying to save, he used for his activities. I had no idea. As someone in my 60s it was difficult to know we could have retired very nicely but now I need to be extremely frugal as my only income is a very minimal social security since he did not report our income properly either. I will make it but I repeat, never ever let one person have full control of finances refusing to show what is actually happening. Even if that person is trustworthy, is not scamming you in any way ,it makes it very difficult to figure out everything if they die or are incapacitated.

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  9. Ann Taylor
    Ann Taylor says:

    Hi Jane & Mike, great vlog, thank you. I'm in UK, receiving my State Pension for which I worked over 40 years. I've always been a saver and continually sourced the best savings rates. However, the very high cost of living is proving most challenging.

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  10. LilaLavendel
    LilaLavendel says:

    YES! You really are my frugal QUEENā¤. My husband and I are in the mid fifties and we hope that we can retire with 63/64 instead of 67 here in Germany. Our house will be payed in 3,5 years (yeah!). Since 3 years we are saving every month 10 % of our income for our retirery in a private way. And this is what I have learned from you! We are still working on costs that we can cut down, step by step. Thank you again for all your helpingful videos.

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  11. Elaine Taylor
    Elaine Taylor says:

    Hi Jane &Mike
    Thankyou for the session always great to have another perspective to living & retirement. I would like to add another perspective. Not that long ago people seem to seperate from a marriage/long term relationship around 50-55 . It seems to be quite a considerable amount of separation of couples in their 60's .Often this leaves the single person near retirement or planning in a different situation than was planned.

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  12. Raewyn Ann Benten
    Raewyn Ann Benten says:

    Government old age pensions are means tested in Australia and are not universal. Firstly you have to be 67 years old to be eligible. Then when you apply, you are subject to either an assets test or an income test. You are clobbered, by whichever is the higher amount. Itā€™s a tricky balance having just the right amount at 67, so one can still be eligible for state and federal health care cards and even a meagre part pension to supplement your own savings in private superannuation. The worst situation is to be right at the cut off thresholds for any Government pension whatsoever. People are effectively punished for saving conscientiously for retirement, as the government deducts money off the government aged pension for every thousand dollars you are over the allowable thresholds. It utterly disincentivises people to save beyond the threshold amounts, as the more money you save, the more the government deducts off the Aged Pension and you can be worse off than if you had saved less but not exceeded the eligibility thresholds.

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  13. Leane Fortune
    Leane Fortune says:

    Love your style Jane…comfortable, casual with those lovely bright scarves. They light up your face more than any make-up could. We are retired, in our seventies and completely debt free for years. We live a simple life here in Canada and still save every month to help our grandchildren. Living below your means is the secret!

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  14. Sonora Grove
    Sonora Grove says:

    Raising 4 kids and sending them to private school and college made it difficult to save a lot in retirement accounts. We worked 4 jobs just to send them to school. We just paid off mortgage and no debt. Im self employed and my husband retires early with a great pension. We are now able to save a lot more for the future so Iā€™m not to concerned. There are some renovations we need to make on house but we will pay as we go. With all the years of severe frugality we are now ready to loosen the purse strings! We made it šŸŽ‰šŸŽ‰

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  15. bunnobear
    bunnobear says:

    I hope one day you can do a video about the choice to move away from family. We cannot get our saved for pension until we are 60 so we are saving and building side incomes to retire before 60. We have an enormous amount of capital in our house but I canā€™t imagine moving away from family. Also since house prices are through the roof and a rental crisis it will be a few years before my kids move out. They do pay board. Love your videos, I am always on the same wavelength and I really respect your opinions. I also want to shout out to Mike, I love the music in the videos.

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  16. Wendy Susan
    Wendy Susan says:

    Thanks for another helpful video, Jane. A friend and I watch and discuss your videos. It helps to keep both of us on track.
    I now have a little accordion file folder system, where I can put any spare cash, until it gets deposited in my bank account, at the end of the month. Itā€™s surprising to me how much Iā€™ve saved in the 2 months that Iā€™ve been watching your talks.

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  17. John Hendrickson
    John Hendrickson says:

    Retired. Only bills are electric, car insurance, property taxes ,tithe, and a very economical combined cell phone/internet bill. I am able to grow 75 % of my own food and preserve masses. I have some cash set aside and some precious metals. I have a nice rental income and a generous state pension. I now wonder what I and possibly you will do if this current bank and stock disintegration continues to worsen and all pensions state and private collapse.

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  18. Christine Morhac
    Christine Morhac says:

    When my husband died 13 years ago I freaked out. He was a spender, I was a saver. He lost his job about 10 months before he passed. Since he had cancer he was uninsurable and lost his life insurance. That is when he freaked out because he wanted to take care of the mortgage the car, extra money, etc for me when he was gone (At 47). But that did not happen. I told him not to worry…that my parents raised a survivor and I would be okay. When he died the bills…oh my goodness. Luckily I had a fantastic lawyer who helped tremendously with those. Colleagues at a job I had been at for just 3 years helped lead me to places that assisted. Somehow I made it through needing a new roof, new windows, new bathtub, new counters, new garage door…you name it and it broke to needing replaced. Co workers had more faith in me than I did and had me apply for promotions. I have worked my way and have put money aside in a savings account and a 401k through my employer (bonus! They match a percentage of what I put in. I read books from my parents house on being a pennypincher and living frugally. No one has questioned my methods because 13 years later I am still in my house, have a job that pays the bills and puts food on the table. Every step of the way the universe has put exactly who or what I needed in front of my face…with discounts, because there still are caring people out there. I quite like what I do and at 64 plan on working hopefully until I am 70. But a new granddaughter came into the picture last August and she lives in North Carolina and I am in Ohio. Might change my thinking on retirement. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I do know that I have enough and well…that is enough. 2 sons who love me, a new granddaughter, food, clothing and shelter! Love your podcasts!

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  19. kakelinga
    kakelinga says:

    I learned a good lesson from my mom's situation. She worked for an employer that did not offer any pension. She is living on social security and it's not much. If we were not living together, she might be homeless. The hubby and I are both state employees, so we pay 6% of our salary into our state pensions. In addition, we have been contributing to our 403b accounts. It's a before taxes retirement plan offered to state employees to supplement their pensions. We are two years away from retirement. We will both have our pensions and social security. He will have reached the full age for his social security benefit and I will take mine early at age 62. We don't plan to use our 403b accounts until we must start withdrawing at age 72. We are trying to put money away because the cost of living is going to keep rising and our income will be fixed. What we do know is that every fiscal year after we retire, we will get a 2.5% increase in our state pension. We will still have our mortgage for a few years after retirement. We are doing our bathrooms the way you did. We replaced the toilet and vanity ourselves. We just need to do the tubs and shower.

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  20. Living Simply
    Living Simply says:

    Like you, Jane, I learned from an older couple that I knew in my 20s. They were professionals (university lecturers) so had a good income, but they lived in a small 2 up 2 down terraced house and had a rickety old camper van in which they often took off on adventures. This was 30 odd years ago and the way they lived even back then definitely went against the grain. That they were happy to live a simple life, not keeping up with the Jones's, inspired me. The lesson for me, and if I could give any advice to anyone contemplating the future, it would be this. Debt is enslavement. Being debt free is the most liberating feeling ever. Money doesn't buy happiness. Working out how much money is 'enough' changes your perspective on life and your world view. Know your values and priorities. You can't fully appreciate the real world while you're overly invested in the digital world. Be present in the real world, that's where real life happens. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed šŸ˜Š

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  21. Kerstin Kiel
    Kerstin Kiel says:

    I don't think I'll make it to pension age but I'm prepared if i do. I have no debts (thank you Jane) or mortgage now, I will have the money for the remainder of the roof at the end of the year, then there are 4 windows to replace ( a want rather than a need). that would give me 3 whole years to get a healthy emergency fund behind me

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  22. Allison Speer
    Allison Speer says:

    Always love the midweek money chat. Everyone's situation is different but no matter what enjoy your retirement. As you said it would be nice to have more money but we have already lived our lives without more money and we did just fine. We are running a 10 acre mini-farm with cattle, goats and chickens… alot of work which keeps us healthy but also costs money but we enjoy this lifestyle. I also have an AirBnb cabin which brings in additional income. I think sometimes we are busier now that we are both officially retired, I don't know how we managed to get anything done when we were working. LOL

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  23. Jacky Horn
    Jacky Horn says:

    Well thought through video. Thank you. We took partial retirement in the UK, returned to work after 24 hours (the rule there) and worked 2 days a week, same job, different contract. Mortgage and debt free. We saved 50% of that part time money. After a few years we emigrated to Australia to be with family. This meant my husband going back to work full time, and me extra work, as we rented for 2 years, (painful), couldn't sell easily due to the GFC, then took on a mortgage again as house prices are so dear here. We saved like crazy and paid it off in one and a half years and are now fully retired with a great life style, yet have so much less than most of our friends. We feel rich doing all the things you recommend. Frugality is sooo worth it. We are only here with family due to our saving habit as our visa was so expensive as we were older, $84000. Terrifying. That is all now replaced, thoughtfully, not frighteningly. With thought and planning, it is all possible.

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  24. gailnoll
    gailnoll says:

    What did you do for a living when you worked? I was a nurse in a Dr.'s office and wore scrubs everyday. when I retired I sold all my scrubs on ebay so my years of work wardrobe cost me $0. That made me so happy!! Only expense was good shoes and a watch. Have a good week.

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  25. rmcwchandler
    rmcwchandler says:

    Weā€™re retired and Iā€™ve found that with more time to shop and cook the desire to eat out has reduced significantly because we can make nice food at home. And we live within walking distance of our local town so rarely need to use our car for shopping or going to amenities saving on petrol and parking.

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  26. DeAnna B
    DeAnna B says:

    Hi Jane, what about this, we paid off our mortgage a year later all the maintenance started. First a air conditioner $8,000.00, then 5 new windows $10,000.00 then repair the deck $4,000.00. We bought our house new 16 years ago and it seems like the maintenance is just starting and will continue. We done all the work and then sold the house for a nice profit and now we are in an apartment. Now we are not sure what to do, buy another much smaller house for cash or just use all the money from the house for retirement? What do you think!

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  27. Liz P.
    Liz P. says:

    I'm retiring in just over 2 weeks time. Because I'm only 56 I will have to wait a few years for my state pension but I just paid off my house last month and am now completely debt free. I have positioned myself so that my lifestyle costs are lower than most folks so will be fine. I will also get a federal old age security at 65. I'm planning on making it a game of sorts to see how little I can live on until these kick in. Great video as always. Thanks for sharing x

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  28. Jon S
    Jon S says:

    Thank you Jane, your advice is ā€œBang Onā€ to use British terminology ! My wife and I began taking steps towards retirement when we were in our 30ā€™s. Maxed out our retirement investment accounts, paid off the mortgage and any miscellaneous other debt, etc. We were able to retire before 60 ! We learned to live on a retirement income BEFORE we retired. Some of our ā€œfriendsā€ donā€™t think itā€™s fair that we were able to retire and they wonā€™t be able to in the foreseeable future. When we try to explain how we were able to it falls on deaf ears. šŸ¤¦šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø. Your finances and health are basically determined by your lifestyle choices so make intelligent choices !

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  29. Ken Hawrelluk Hawrelluk
    Ken Hawrelluk Hawrelluk says:

    Here in Canada you can expect a 30% discount for multiple windows done at the same time. Save longer and get the discount is the way to go. Same for plumbers, a set fee for going in your home and then each item itemized. So significant savings to save for the whole job and get it done together. Each country may be different but we can all ask the right questions. Thanks for all you do Jane and Mike. šŸ™‹ā€ā™€

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  30. Melissa Rohlfs
    Melissa Rohlfs says:

    Here's a link to a great read from an American author that you might enjoy on this topic! "How to Retire the Cheapskate Way" by Jeff Yeager. He also used to have a regular YouTube series on thrifty living on AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) a few decades ago. I was watching him for tips in my 30s.

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  31. CT
    CT says:

    Itā€™s funny, I still think of us as ā€œretiredā€ although we watch our grandchild full time and both still freelance. Itā€™s having the freedom to order our time that makes all the difference. And youā€™re rightā€”a tight budget is not new!

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  32. Debbie Alston
    Debbie Alston says:

    We have been planning for our joint retirement for a long time. There are 15 years between our ages and if the last few years has taught us anything life can be cruel and short. Hubbie reaches the magic retirement age in September this year and I will retire at the same time ( in my early 50ā€™s) so we can spend our retirement doing things we want to together. We have planned for this for a long time and both paid into work pensions since we started work and have lived below our means for many years, paid off mortgages and built up savings etc. We have plans to downsize and continue our current frugal lifestyle with deliberate planned spending. Many of my work colleagues do not believe I will do it, more fool themā€¦ we are both counting the weeks down till Septemberā€¦šŸ˜€

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  33. Gail M
    Gail M says:

    i live on much less than half of what I was making when working. But my quality of life has increased! I don't have to drive when there is freezing rain or white-out snow conditions. I don't have to worry about the dog being alone too long. And its true I've had the time to research into things that I want to learn to do. Also, I enjoy being away from the workplace gossip, negativity, comparing, and general anxiety that some workplaces exude on its employees.

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