Easy energy savings? What if you are more concerned with long-term savings? If you have already done a lot of the small things you can do to save energy and you plan to live in your current home throughout your thrifty retirement, it’s time to consider investing in more complex and extensive forms of energy savings.

With renewed emphasis on conserving energy for both monetary savings and ecological reasons, emerging technological advances offer new opportunities to save. Your local climate plays a role in determining which methods will save you the most money, as well as which are most viable. For example, a region with few sunny days is not a likely location to invest in solar panels. On the other hand, if you live in a sunny, arid spot in the Sun Belt, solar panels for heating water or generating home electricity will give you almost instant savings and a short pay-off period.

Replacing old drafty windows with double-pane thermal windows is particularly popular in areas that experience all four seasons, especially colder winters. Depending on the condition of your old windows, winter energy costs can be reduced dramatically by installing new windows. Most homes can be completed in just one day, so interruption is minimal.

Adding insulation to your walls and ceilings is another long-term energy saving solution. Unless you have added insulation in the last five years, chances are you need to upgrade what you currently have. Many options are available, from thick fiberglass batts or rolls, to blown-in cellulose insulation for walls, to spray-on expandable foam for crawl spaces and other specific areas. Green insulation materials range from baled straw to shredded denim jeans and almost everything in between. Do your homework before you decide and hire a reputable contractor to perform the work.

Installing a programmable thermostat not only saves money on energy costs, but also relieves you of one more thing to remember. Most of us turn our thermostat down at night simply to enjoy a more comfortable night of sleep. A programmable or set-back thermostat is programmed once, and then adjusts the temperature for you automatically every day. Different programs are used for winter heating and summer air conditioning. Most thermostats have weekday programs that can be different from weekend programs, and the temperature can be raised and lowered several times a day.

For example, even though we’re retired, you might do part-time or volunteer work for part of the day. In the winter, you can set the program to warm the house before you get up in the morning, turn it down when you leave, warm it up again when you return home, and finally turn it down for the night. Not having to remember that yourself is wonderful, and you will save money with virtually no effort.

You can go to the U.S. Department of Energy website at www.energysavers.gov for information on a home energy audit you can do yourself. Some utility companies offer free energy audits of your home, and they might install programmable thermostats free of charge. The trade-off for that service is often that you must allow them the ability to control your thermostat to reduce energy drain during peak seasons of heat and air conditioning. If you’re comfortable with such an arrangement, free professional installation is a good deal.

If your major appliances are more than ten years old and you are contemplating replacement, you should certainly consider purchasing Energy Star appliances. The advances that have been made in the last few years are impressive and will save money every time you do the laundry, wash dishes, or open the refrigerator. A tankless water heater provides instant hot water that never runs out, and although it has a high initial cost, the energy savings are considerable. Even low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets reduce energy costs. Of course, you use less water, but you also use lesshot water, for even double savings.

In our thrifty retirement, sometimes we have to spend a little to save a lot. The long-term savings offered by improving our energy efficiency will pay us back in the long run and give us a warm internal glow right now for helping save our planet.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

As the winter season closes in on us, we all begin to think about the cost of winter energy bills. If you are lucky enough to live in a location that’s warm year round, you probably welcome the relief from high air conditioning bills. But for those of us who have four seasons, winter poses the heaviest burden of energy use and the highest utility bills. You can ease the pressure of those bills, especially in today’s uncertain economy, by using cheap and simple measures to reduce energy use and save money.

The easiest thing to do must be to replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, compact fluorescent lighting, in as many places as possible. During shorter winter days, you will probably have lights on for more hours, and energy savings can be substantial. Start with the lights that you use most often and for the longest periods. It’s best to install CFLs where they will be on for at least 15 minutes at a time, so a closet, hall, or stairway where the light is turned on and off after just a few seconds is not necessarily a good place for a CFL. Although it uses less energy, each on-and-off click shortens the overall life of the bulb, and your savings might be minimal.

Turn down the temperature on your water heater to 110 or 120 degrees to save money and energy. In retirement, most of us have only two living in our household, so you’re not likely to run out of hot water. And while you’re there, insulate your water heater. You can buy precut blanket-style insulation made especially for a water heater to make installation easy.

Replace your furnace filters at the beginning of the heating season and check for dust accumulation in the middle of the season, as well. If you have a permanent type of filter, be sure to clean it thoroughly. Also make sure the humidifier on your furnace is working properly. Air that is more humid feels warmer than dry air of the same temperature, making your home more comfortable. Check the humidifier water pad and replace it if it is caked with lime and scale.

Turn your furnace thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and up a couple degrees in summer. The rule of thumb is that you save about 5% of your retirement dollars on heating bills for each degree of adjustment. Wear an extra layer of clothing, like a sweater or long-sleeved shirt, if you get chilly, or use a small space heater to warm the room in which you spend most of your time.

Take advantage of free heat and humidity for your dry winter air by opening your dishwasher and allowing dishes to air dry. As you open the door, the moist steamy air rolls out and both warms and humidifies your home. Now that’s thrifty retirement! You save the energy that would have been used to dry the dishes, and you warm your home while saving money. If you have an electric clothes dryer, you might be able to vent it indoors in the winter, taking advantage of that warmth and humidity, as well. Gas dryers should always be vented outdoors.

Check doors and windows for drafts. If cold air comes in under doors, purchase and install weather stripping that is designed for doorsills. Alternatively, you can roll up a small rug to place in front of it or buy a decorative “door snake” to block the draft. For windows, the clear plastic shrink-to-fit kits you install yourself are amazingly effective at saving energy and saving money. The kits come with double-stick tape to apply around the window. Then you cut the plastic film to size and stick it to the tape, sealing all edges. Finally, use a hair dryer to shrink the film and render it virtually invisible. In the spring, the tape and film are easily peeled off, leaving no residue. For windows that you never open, or that are in rooms you seldom use, you might want to leave the film on all year.

These tips on reducing winter energy use cost little or nothing, but they can add up to major savings on your winter energy bills. In our thrifty retirement, we can use the knowledge we have gained along the way to reduce our utility bills and make our lives warmer.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

We all like to go out to eat, but we know cooking at home is much less expensive. In our life of thrifty retirement, there are ways to enjoy restaurant dining without emptying your wallet.

Eating out is many times a social experience more than a nourishment experience. We often go to a restaurant to join friends and bask in the ambience as much as to relish the food. If joining friends or family is the reason for the trip, consider alternatives to a lavish four-course dinner. Meet your friends for lunch. Some of the finest restaurants offer lunch-sized portions at prices much reduced from dinner prices. Of course, early-bird dinner specials are another common option to save money. You can enjoy your friends or family and the same wonderful atmosphere while saving money, with a much lower dent in your retirement dollars.

Meeting for breakfast, especially a late breakfast, is another option. You can consider it brunch, but avoid overpriced weekend or holiday brunches at hotels or restaurants. They offer more food than you could possibly eat, so you end up paying for the selection rather than the meal. Instead, choose a restaurant that specializes in breakfast and lunch only. Menu items are usually fresh and healthy, and costs are far below those on dinner menus.

You could alternatively meet at a coffee shop to enjoy a warm and soothing latte or cappuccino. If you want this to substitute for a lunch or breakfast, you can have one of the decadent pastries with your coffee. Keep in mind, the nutrition is minimal and the calorie count is scary, but cost will be less than most full meals.

If evenings are your preference or your only option, savvy ideas can help you save money here. If you like early dining, consider having cocktails and appetizers. It seems nearly every bar or cocktail lounge has happy hour specials, which often include appetizers for $5 or less. You can enjoy your favorite cocktail and split two or three appetizers rather than buying a full meal. The cost is sometimes amazingly cheap and it can be a lot of fun in your thrifty retirement. Of course, it’s “bar food” and sometimes not healthy eating, but salads and soups are often among the selections. Choose wisely.

If cocktails are not what you want, you can save money on a pricey main course by going out for just dessert. Enjoy a simple salad at home and then splurge by splitting a decadent dessert, followed by luscious after-dinner coffee. The best part of the meal is at your favorite restaurant, where you can relax and leisurely enjoy the atmosphere and the company.

But if it’s a special occasion or you want the complete experience, a full-blown dinner at a 4-star restaurant might be the only thing that will do. First, check the restaurant’s website, or other websites featuring coupons, to see if you can take advantage of any specials they offer. In this economy, even the finest dining establishments offer coupons featuring 20% to 50% off. If those are not available, you might want to split an entrée. There is sometimes a small charge for that, but it’s almost as good as getting one dinner free. In the end, if you each want your own entrée and you have no discounts, take consolation in the fact that you can take home half your meal and eat it the next day. It’s a little like reliving the pleasure.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

The economy is not looking much better as we approach the holidays this season. The stock market has posted only the shakiest of recoveries, our retirement CDs and savings accounts still pay almost nothing in interest, and the largest spending season of the year is on our doorstep. This year you’ll want to make best use of your retirement dollars as you search for holiday gifts.

Getting the family together for a big dinner is a holiday tradition shared by nearly every ethnic group. If you, as the parents, have always footed the responsibility for that, this might be a good year to initiate a new potluck tradition. Assign a dish to everyone so each cook can shine with his or her own special creation. If you have dishes that are a tradition in your family, whether a spectacular mince pie or a luscious casserole, this is the year to share the recipe with grown children and let them learn the secrets.

For generations, it seems that we have been over-indulgent parents and grandparents, showering our children and grandchildren with toys and gifts. Their rooms overflowed and they often lost interest in a toy as soon as the next one was opened. Nearly every grandparent in thrifty retirement has fretted over what to buy that the grandchildren would treasure and appreciate for more than a few days. Many have resorted to handing over cash and letting the kids decide for themselves. Do you wonder if that’s all it has come down to?

This year, think about taking the path less chosen. Consider giving a share or two of venerable stock that can appreciate as the child grows. Start or contribute to a college fund. If you are strapped for cash and want to spend less, start a family history. Assemble all those old snapshots of family holidays and vacations and make a scrapbook for each child. It’s easy to make copies of old photos, or if you were a real shutterbug, you might be able to make each book unique, with different pictures that would interest the individual child.

For grown children, assemble a book of favorite family recipes, or have old family movies or slides converted to a DVD. Pass on a family heirloom before you pass on. If your grown children have the hectic lifestyle that is so common today, give the promise of fixing dinner for them once a month by sending over a favorite family meal. Offer your handyman services to fix their broken light switch or their leaky faucet.

Even better, buy a tape recorder and create an oral history of your family. Talk about your childhood, your parents, and your grandparents. Talk about long-lost cousins or estranged siblings. Recite the history of the family treasures. Explain why the antique bed is important, describe living next door to the artist who painted that picture, and tell why your grandma loved the little doll so much. Even if your family acts tired of hearing the same story now, someday they will appreciate this treasure more than imagined.

If you have a massive gift exchange with extended family, downsize giving by drawing names–separately among children and adults–and give only one gift rather than ten, twenty, or more. This custom makes the season easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Gift buying is doubly difficult for relatives you might see only once a year. If you exchange gifts with your card club or bowling league, give something homemade instead of another dust-catcher or gag gift to clutter up their homes. Share some of your favorite holiday treats, such as tangy cranberry-orange relish or mini-loaves of yummy pumpkin bread, and be sure to include the recipe.

Holidays don’t have to bankrupt your savings or turn family pleasures into panic. In your thrifty retirement, you can give meaningful gifts and save your retirement dollars.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

Rising costs have everyone pinching pennies, and those of us who are retired feel the pinch at least as much as others do. In our thrifty retirement, we want the best value for our dollars. At the grocery store, years of experience have taught retirees to be aware of cost per ounce or cost per serving, as well as overall cost.

That has never been more important than it is in today’s marketplace. Boxes, cans, and containers are shrinking at faster rates than ever before. Package sizes are jumbled, with little uniformity left. Virtually nothing (except fresh milk and eggs) still comes in the same size package as it did a generation ago, when we were raising our families.

Canned fruits and vegetables used to weigh 16 ounces, and a can would provide a meal for a family of four. Now cans weigh perhaps 14 or 14.5 ounces, and often, a good deal of that is juice. The three peach halves in a can will not feed four people. A half gallon of ice cream? It’s a challenge to find that anywhere, yet the price has not dropped. Your best strategy might be to try a few different brands and compare contents. Surprisingly, a store brand turned out to be the best in our area. The cans of fruits and vegetables are filled with produce, not juice, and the cost is lower than national brands.

Laundry detergent used to be sold in standard sizes, regardless of the brand. Then manufacturers began a series of changes that now makes it nearly impossible to compare prices. They added softener or fragrance or bleach, then they concentrated it (2X? 3X?), and then they downsized from 100 uses or 50 uses to odd multiples like 40 or 70 uses. Again, prices stayed the same. If you are loyal to a brand, you probably continue to buy it. If you’re adventurous, you might try a different brand, or perhaps alternate use of a store brand and a national brand.

Paper products are worse. Even with the extra time we have in retirement, unless you carry a calculator, it is impossible to compare prices. You must consider how many rolls of toilet tissue or paper towels are in the package, and then whether rolls are single, double, “big,” “giant,” or some other size. Then you determine how many squares are on the roll and whether they are single ply or double ply. Maybe the tissue is extra soft or extra strong, or the towels are extra large, extra small, selectable, or just basic. It is a real chore to figure out the best value for our retirement dollars.

One of our favorite shampoos went through at least three different bottle designs in about two years. Now it is a different product, clear and colorless instead of pearly white. Without our glasses in the shower, we had a hard time determining how much we were pouring into our hand. Even worse, the new formula made our scalp and skin break out. But it still bears the same brand name, and, oh yes, a fancy new price. This is no longer a good value or a good way to spend our money. Toothpaste has also recently seen a price increase. Costs jumped from around $1.50 to over $3.00 in just a couple months. Those of us in retirement must watch for sales and not be lured by coupons used to cover up price increases.

Breakfast cereal is another challenge. Serving size: well, maybe ¾ cup, maybe 1 cup, or maybe 1½ cups. All calculations you try to do for price, or for calories or fiber or sugar, must first be adjusted for the same size serving. And the serving size should be reasonable. A breakfast with only ¾ cup of cereal is going to be a bit scrawny for the average person.

Solutions for the dilemma of the incredible shrinking package and the other techniques manufacturers use to confuse consumers are difficult to find. I have only suggestions that urge caution. As seniors interested in a thrifty retirement, we must remain vigilant and keep an eye on our pennies. Compare sizes, compare cost per serving, compare cost per unit, or use whatever basis you can find for comparison. Mostly, remain aware of what manufacturers do to products we all purchase, and spend your retirement dollars wisely.