Reply #7: I did this a while back. When I retired (spouse still working) I realized

[CTyankee]

the shift in what had happened. I no longer had a paycheck that grew each year with the COL. I have investments from my mother's estate and SS, but I felt it was necessary to cut back on expenses, since I could no longer increase income.

I took a long, hard look at my gas consumption. I got a gym closer to my house to save gas on that daily trip to the treadmill! I ate leftovers for lunch instead of eating lunch out, except for some monthly regular lunches keeping in touch with friends. I got energy efficient windows for my 194l house to save on heating and air conditioning bills.

I reduced my monthly mortgage payments by refi-ing my mortgage loan to interest only. We will be selling our house in about 5 years (we can't pay it off soon because we bought it a bit too late for that) so I figure we have a nice equity in it so far, now lets save on the monthly payments.

My cell phone bill is very low, since I don't use it that much. I pay about $17 per month, which is really for emergency situations.

None of this is rocket science. Anybody can do it. It helps to develop a BUDGET! Just do it! It is so liberating, you will be surprised!