This does have to do with preparedness, honest...

I've been looking at everything going on around me, our investments, the lives of those older than me, etc. and have come to the conclusion that being able to stop working and living off of our investments doing fun stuff spending our child's inheritance isn't going to happen.

I was listening to NPR interview a 62 year old gentleman who was going back to school for his masters so he could shift jobs/career, and I've also watched folks older than me make plans to enjoy their life after retirement only to have something catastrophic medically happen to thwart those plans.

My plan is to have our overhead such that I can work part-time and have some small bit of time to engage in the fun stuff (gardening, travel, etc) that usually gets put off until retirement.

What does this have to do with preparedness? Well, I'm glad you asked. The lower the overhead of operating hearth and home with regards to preparedness, means...a whole bunch of things. Less to keep up with, but less to fall back on (cash, supplies). What to do about medical insurance?

True to my classic ADD nature, I have oodles of ideas (reducing energy usage, insulating, saving, planting a garden, etc), but need a little help in focusing on what to attack first.

Advice from those older and wise than I would be appreciated.

Start with things that you know will save you money, like lowering utility bills.

Pay yourself first, sounds corny but at least some of the television money gurus are right, put money away first, then pay your bills. If you try to save after the fact, most people won't.

Find something tangible and immediate that you can do tomorrow to save money, then find another thing for the day after that. Keep doing that and you'll see the effects much faster which should inspire you to do even more.

I second what JohnE posted.

Paying yourself first (10%??) works very well.

Don't know about being wiser or older, but we have been looking at the same issues.

First, I am still employed, but the bank is talking about possible staff reductions in my office.

We looked at ways to cut the monthly budget, and examined refinancing the mortgage to a lower rate, but found it would only save 75 a month, but add several thousand (fees etc) to the note. Did not seem a good pay off.

Then we re-looked at the remaining principal of the mortgage and realized that we could dip into the retirement nest egg and pay it off. This cut our monthly expenses by a significant amount, and the monthly money we paid to the mortgage company is refilling the nest egg as long as I am working. If I lose the job, we don't have to worry about losing the house also. Our monthly expenses are now a lot lower.

I realize that not everyone might be able to do this, and that some might think we are crazy, but it is interesting to me that no financial "pro" I have talked to (and I work in a bank!) has ever suggested even thinking about something like this. It's always "put the money here, not there" type of advice.

From my point of view, I made myself a mortgage loan. I trust me to pay it back as I can and will, but will not foreclose on myself if worst comes to worse.

Seems to me that entering retirement with a mortgage isn't very sensible. Somewhere in 30-40 years of working getting to a point of having no mortgage ought to be achievable. Since the mortgage is often the single largest bill per month, that would be the one to pay off to enable retirement. In retirement, you don't have a labor-based income and are trying to conserve what you have.

Yes, this would probably mean smaller properties for retirees and pre-retirees. Living within one's means is part of the concept.

Maybe the conventional behaviors aren't leading to optimum results?

I doubt that I am older or wiser; but, my general philosophy is to avoid debt whenever and wherever possible ... and, take any steps possible to pay off any existing debt.
We all have ongoing EXPENSES; but, if you can eliminate DEBT, that can be liberating.

I am an avid gardener. But, keep in mind that gardening MAY NOT be a money-saving proposition. If you figure your value in time and materials, it may (or may not) cost less to purchase your produce instead of growing it.
However, the benefits of growing your own vegetables [especially if you grow with Organic principles] can be an excellent INVESTMENT in your overall health and vigor.

Best of luck!

You can be very surprised at how much you can decrease your spending when pressed to do so. Put yourself in a position that you have no income as of today, what would you change in your spending habits? Do you really need your home phone? Okay if you do, do you really need the voicemail or 3-way options? You could save $10-15 a month lowering your phone bill. Change your food spending habits, bag lunches, buy generic at stores. Do you really need memberships at one or both movie rental businesses? Add the late fees up and it may be cheaper to do netflix. Do you have items you can sell in a yard sale or craigslist? Can you adjust your insurances if your not driving as much? What debt can you transfer to lower interest credit? What is your debt payoff plan, smallest first and snowball the savings into the consecutive debt bills?

Just like our Prepardness mind for this site, act as if the worst has already happened what do you do?

I doubt that I am wiser, but I have a few thoughts (caution: long-winded :-).

First of all, the old model of retire-at-65-on-a-pension has pretty well gone the way of the Dodo. Full pensions are increasingly a rare breed, so many people will work part time for walking around money even if they have the basic essentials covered.

People reaching 65 these days are healthier and more active, and may in fact want to keep working until 70, especially if they can negotiate more flexibility into their job situations. Or maybe they want to take lower-paying but more satisfying positions in not-for-profit or community organizations.

With the coming mass retirement of baby boomers, there will actually be a shortage of skilled people in many areas. All that right-sizing in the '90s means that companies killed off a lot of young up-and-comers who would now be ready to fill these positions. This means there will be an increased opportunities for those who keep up-to-date in their fields. Age-ism may be less of an issue than it is now.

Regarding money, some people try a "material fast" for one month, where they try to cut their non-essential spending to zero. This gives them a benchmark of what really matters. It's also an opportunity to step off the consumerism treadmill and cultivate interests that are very inexpensive and yet highly satisfying. Once you start thinking this way, it can ripple through many areas of your life and save you untold thousands.

For casual income, consider starting one or several Saturday micro-businesses. Ideally, choose something that meshes with your hobbies, so it's interesting, and so you can write off all that gear so you don't pay tax. For example, I'm testing the waters with a micro-business that does basic sharpening and minor repair to knives, axes, pruning shears, gardening tools and so on. A couple of afternoons a week at farmers' markets should tell the tale. Free advertising through Craigslist and Kijiji and bulletin boards. I have every indication that the demand is huge; and the overhead is stuff I buy anyway.

My 2 cents (and then some).

Doug, that micro business idea is a great one. Wish someone would something like that at one of my local monthly swap meets. For that matter, that could be the way of some other service businesses that have been slowly going away from their traditional storefronts. Shoe repair could be done on a weekly market basis, the cobbler could use pretty much any space to do the work and use the market space to let customers pick up and deliver the shoes. Tailoring too.