Being a retiree in the United States has many advantages. Among these advantages we find the possibility of receiving a Social Security check every month. This check is different for each person and we can apply for it as long as we have worked a minimum of years. But if you have managed to make a good retirement plan and you have enough money, you will not have to worry about the bills.
However, the problem comes in many occasions when a retiree is not able to control the money that spend on a monthly basis. The Social Security retirement benefit is limited and only increases with the COLA. This means that we cannot ask for an increase. This is why we have to be very controlled about the expenses we make. Some of these expenses are unnecessary for most retirees. Do you have any of these expenses in your month?
Unnecessary expenses that reduce Social Security
These expenses are unnecessary in most cases. In other cases, they are not entirely unnecessary, but we can find a way to keep us from spending Social Security on them. Let’s look at these expenses:
- Expensive insurance: An insurance policy is important, but we don’t need all the insurance on the market. If we spend a large part of our Social Security on insurance, it is very likely that we will suffer a lot financially. Check very well your needs and look for the best priced insurance to find what you are looking for.
- Second home: Do we really need a second home? Many retirees have a second home, but that’s a bad idea when you only collect Social Security. Two houses require a lot of upkeep and involve a lot of bills, so it’s better to sell one of them for extra cash.
- Luxury cars: Most luxury cars are totally unnecessary. Any cheaper car does the same thing and we don’t have to spend all our Social Security on maintaining it. In addition, the insurance policy of expensive cars are also more expensive.
- Debit cards: This payment method is the worst for retirees. Any person in retirement who collects Social Security should use debit cards only in extreme cases of total necessity. The commissions charged by banks for using this type of cards are huge, so it is better to avoid them.