Money feels different after retirement.

For most of our working lives, there was another paycheck coming.

We could usually recover from an unexpected expense by working, saving a little more or simply waiting for the next check.

Retirement changes that.

Income often becomes more predictable, but expenses don’t.

Property taxes increase.

Insurance premiums change.

Groceries cost more.

The furnace doesn’t care that you’re retired when it decides to quit.

At 79, I don’t believe worrying about every possible financial problem accomplishes much.

But I do believe in paying attention.

There’s a difference.

Financial peace isn’t necessarily having enough money that you’ll never worry again. Sometimes it’s simply knowing where you stand and knowing what you’ll do next.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned.

Start by Knowing Where Your Money Actually Goes

This sounds obvious.

But it’s surprisingly easy to lose track of smaller expenses.

You know what the mortgage or property taxes cost.

You probably know the electric bill.

But what about everything else?

Subscriptions.

Streaming services.

Cell phone charges.

Insurance.

Restaurants.

Groceries.

Automatic renewals.

Small purchases that don’t seem important individually.

They add up.

You don’t need an elaborate spreadsheet.

Start with three simple numbers:

What comes in each month?

What has to go out each month?

What are we spending on everything else?

Once you know those numbers, you’ve replaced some uncertainty with facts.

And facts are much easier to deal with than fear.

I’ve Learned to Question My Bills

For years, I probably accepted too many bills without questioning them.

If a company increased the price, I paid it.

I’m much more willing to ask questions today.

Recently, when one of our monthly expenses increased substantially, I contacted the company.

Sometimes a company has a different plan.

Sometimes there’s a discount you didn’t know about.

Sometimes there’s nothing they can do.

But I’ve learned something remarkably simple:

Ask.

The same applies to insurance.

Phone service.

Internet.

Banking.

Subscriptions.

You don’t have to change companies every six months.

But you shouldn’t assume that the price you’re paying is the only price available either.

Small Savings Matter More Than They Seem

I don’t believe enjoying retirement means eliminating everything enjoyable from your life.

Diane and I still want to enjoy ourselves.

But we’ve discovered that spending less doesn’t always mean enjoying life less.

Having dinner at home with friends can be every bit as enjoyable as going to an expensive restaurant.

I’ve become more conscious of prices at the grocery store.

Sometimes buying a larger package reduces the cost per pound considerably.

Discount grocery stores can save money on many everyday items.

And after overlooking it for years, I finally started using a veteran discount available to me.

One saving by itself may not change much.

But save $10 here, $20 there and $40 somewhere else every month and eventually you’re talking about real money.

You don’t necessarily need one enormous financial change. Sometimes you need ten small ones.

Cash Sitting Around Should Still Be Working

This is something I’ve paid more attention to recently.

Many people keep money in a savings account because they want it safe and available.

That makes sense.

But that doesn’t mean it should earn almost nothing.

I recently discovered that E*TRADE’s premium savings account was paying considerably more interest than some traditional savings accounts I’d seen.

Rates change, so I’m deliberately not putting a specific current rate in this article. A number that’s accurate today could be wrong six months from now.

The larger lesson is what matters:

Know what your savings is earning.

Compare FDIC-insured savings accounts, money-market deposit accounts and CDs where appropriate.

Understand the restrictions before moving money.

And don’t chase a slightly higher rate without understanding where your money is going.

A little comparison shopping applies to banking too.

Investing Is Different From Saving

I’ve returned to investing in stocks later in life.

I enjoy it.

I like researching companies and following what’s happening.

But I would never tell another retiree:

Don’t be afraid to invest in stocks.

That makes investing sound much simpler than it is.

Stocks can go down.

Sometimes substantially.

Money that you may need soon is very different from money you can afford to leave invested through market declines.

Everyone’s financial situation, risk tolerance and time horizon are different.

For me, investing is something I choose to do with money appropriate for that purpose.

It isn’t a substitute for emergency savings.

And something being enjoyable doesn’t make it risk-free.

An Emergency Fund Buys More Than Emergencies

I’ve owned homes long enough to know that something will eventually break.

You just don’t know what or when.

The roof.

Furnace.

Car.

Appliance.

Plumbing.

When I was younger, I did a tremendous amount of repair work myself.

I’ve installed wiring, plumbing, flooring, fencing and even a furnace.

Doing things yourself can save a lot of money.

But at 79, I’ve added another question:

Should I still be doing this particular job myself?

Saving $300 isn’t much of a bargain if I get hurt doing something I shouldn’t be doing anymore.

Having money set aside for unexpected expenses gives you another option.

It lets you make the sensible decision instead of the cheapest decision.

That’s valuable.

Extra Income Is an Option — Not a Requirement

I’ve experimented with different ways of earning money from home.

This website is one of them.

I hope Reinvent After 60 eventually produces meaningful income.

But I’ve changed my thinking about telling other seniors that they should start a home business.

Not everyone wants one.

Not everyone needs one.

And starting an online business certainly isn’t effortless income.

If you’d like additional income, there are possibilities.

Consulting.

Part-time work.

Tutoring.

Selling something you make.

Using a skill developed during your career.

Freelancing.

Or experimenting with an online project.

But retirement doesn’t become unsuccessful because you’re not earning money.

Extra income should solve a problem or add something positive to your life—not create another source of stress.

I’ve written more about my own experience with this in Extra Income After Retirement: What I’ve Learned About Trying Something New at 79.

Be Very Careful With Financial Scams

This deserves a place in any discussion about retirement money.

Scammers understand fear.

They also understand urgency.

Your bank account has been compromised.

You owe the government money.

Your grandchild is in trouble.

Your computer has a virus.

An investment opportunity is about to disappear.

The details change.

The pressure is often the same:

Do something immediately.

I’ve learned to react in exactly the opposite way.

Slow down.

Don’t click the link.

Don’t provide financial information because someone called you.

Don’t use the telephone number in a suspicious message.

Contact the bank, company or government agency yourself using information you independently know is legitimate.

One moment of patience can prevent an enormous financial problem. Online safety has become important enough to me that I’ve also written about simple ways to stay safer online after 60.

Don’t Assume Every “Senior Discount” Is a Good Deal

I like discounts.

I’ll use them when they save me money.

But the word senior doesn’t automatically mean cheapest.

A senior cell-phone plan might sound attractive while another company’s regular plan costs less.

A special insurance offer may not actually provide better coverage.

A discount isn’t valuable because of what it’s called.

Compare the final price and what you’re actually receiving.

That’s what matters.

Know When Professional Advice Is Worth Paying For

I’m a great believer in figuring things out myself.

That’s been part of my personality for most of my life.

But some financial decisions are too important to make based solely on something we read on the internet.

Taxes.

Estate planning.

Medicare decisions.

Large investment decisions.

Insurance.

Long-term-care planning.

Those decisions can have consequences that last for years.

That doesn’t mean handing everything over to somebody else.

Ask questions.

Understand what you’re being told.

Know how the person advising you is compensated.

And get another opinion when something doesn’t sound right.

Good advice should help you make your own decision—not pressure you into someone else’s.

Financial Peace Doesn’t Mean Never Spending Money

This is something else I’ve come to appreciate.

Saving matters.

So does living.

Diane and I aren’t trying to finish retirement having spent as little money as humanly possible.

There are things worth spending money on.

Family.

An occasional trip.

A good meal.

Something that makes our home more comfortable.

An experience we’ll remember.

The goal isn’t to become afraid of spending.

It’s to spend deliberately.

I think there’s a big difference between:

“Can I afford this?”

and

“Is this worth it to me?”

Sometimes the answer to both is yes.

When it is, I don’t think we should feel guilty about enjoying the money we worked a lifetime to earn.

Focus on What You Can Control

None of us controls inflation.

We don’t control interest rates.

We don’t control what the stock market does tomorrow.

We don’t control what an insurance company decides to charge next year.

Constantly worrying about those things doesn’t change them.

But we can control quite a bit.

We can know where our money goes.

We can compare prices.

We can question bills.

We can keep emergency savings.

We can be cautious about scams.

We can decide what risks we’re comfortable taking.

We can ask for professional help when we need it.

And we can decide which things are worth spending money on.

That’s where I prefer to put my attention.

If you’d like a broader look at managing money in retirement, I’ve put together a Simple Guide to Financial Peace After 60.

Final Thoughts

At 79, I don’t believe financial peace means reaching some magic number where money never crosses your mind again.

Life is too unpredictable for that.

To me, financial peace is closer to this:

Know what you have.

Know what you spend.

Keep some money available for surprises.

Question expenses instead of automatically accepting them.

Be careful with risk.

Protect yourself from scams.

And remember to enjoy some of what you’ve worked for.

I can’t control what everything will cost five years from now.

But I can make sensible decisions with what I know today.

And I’ve found that having a plan gives me considerably more peace than worrying about things I can’t control.