Small Changes = Big Savings in Your Retirement Budget

In my evening reading, I came across a nice article tip on saving money by getting oil changes when your auto manual recommends them, not every 3,000.

In summary, many newer cars today require oil changes every 5,000 miles or more, so changing oil every 3,000 miles is excessive. Why is 3,000 recommended? It was in the past the regular cycle and I’m sure it helps the business of your local quickie oil change center if their thousands of customers come twice as often as they need to.

Interestingly though, there are numerous other ways you can stretch how far your income goes (and for retirees, how far your retirement income goes!) just be changing the frequency of routine service. Things like:

  • above mentioned oil changes (every 5k not 3k if manual says!)
  • getting haircuts less frequently (women with long hair can often pull this off easier:)
  • maid service (once/month vs twice?)
  • car detailing
  • buying coffee (one a day not two!)
  • and if you do buy things, use coupons as everyone seems to be offering them and paying full price in today’s marketing environment seems foolish (I mean, do you ever NOT use the 20% Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon?)

of course cutting these down “hurts” the economy but I’m worried more about your economy. And whether your goal is saving for retirement or retirement income planning and budgeting, it makes sense to cut costs on regular expenses and turn those into regular savings!