Retirement Realities: Budgeting

Facing a tough money budget in retirement? We discuss ways to move forward with Mark Oberlin. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So let's say you're retired and you're facing a tight budget.
You're not sure that all that money that you've saved
or whatever you can will will last. This is West
Michigan's morning news Stee Kelly and read Keita for decades,
Mark Oberlin has joined us to talk about money. But
now he's retired, so we're calling this retirement realities. And

(00:22):
because he got up so early all those years, he's
up anyway, Mark Oberlin, thanks for doing this again today.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Absolutely, it's a fun time with you guys.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
So what percentage of Americans, let me ask you this first,
are looking at some real tight restrictions once they retire.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, the data is pretty much incomplete. Most survey say
roughly twenty five percent of Americans or facing his tight budget.
I actually think it's a little higher, maybe a third.
And a lot of that changed over the last four
or five years because inflation came from very low numbers,
you know, two percent, and we added twenty five percent

(01:03):
to the inflation number between twenty twenty and twenty twenty four.
So all of a sudden, that thousand dollars a month
social Security check is really worth seven fifty And so
these things alone may have taken somebody that was living
comfortably and now they're really in a pitch.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Well, and that gets me to mark. You know, something
that my wife and I've sat down with our financial
advisor and talked about is social security benefits, when to
take those right? And then keep in mind if you
do want to do some part time worker job, how
much you make right exactly?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
You know, people say, what, what's the best way to
deal with inflation and retirement? I say, keep working. Well,
I want to retire. I did that, but you know,
two three days a week like I do. I work
at a hardware restore. I love it. I don't make
a lot of money. But if I was worried about
not getting my full Social Security to the limit of
twenty three thousand, four hundred, so I could do the math,

(02:02):
that's like fifteen hundred hours at fifteen bucks an hour.
So again, most part time jobs don't pay huge amounts,
but there's no way in the world I'm gonna work
fifteen hundred hours. In retirement. I might work you know,
three hundred four hundred over the year, and so I
don't have to worry about it. But even if you
did exceed that number. Let's say you made thirty thousand dollars,

(02:24):
then you get part of your Social Security deducted from
your check, but you get it all back when you
reach your full retirement age for most people sixty five
to sixty seven, so it's kind of a part time
ding that you get it all back.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, my wife is actually she found a place that
she goes a lot one of her hobbies. So she's
now working there and they're like, yeah, you could work more,
And I'm like, that's cool because she's spending more money
there than she's making. But what about like couponting, do
those things still exist? What if you're a senior, you
got a little time and you want to find to

(03:01):
collect things to save money.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, you know, couponting we used to think of, you know,
maybe ten twenty thirty years ago, but coupon really made
a big resurgence again in the last four years. People
are looking for a deal of any kind. You know,
I got to eat, got to put gas in my car,
and so couponting, we get a coupon envelope like once
a week from Myers, once a week from Walgreen, you

(03:24):
know the places we typically shop and oddly enough, there's
things we've been buying anyway. I'm sure that's a directed
marketing campaign ai've driven. But nonetheless, we just take those
coupons in and by the same stuff we've been buying
and say four to seven dollars. Almost every store, including
retailers like Coals and you know, locally for steals foods,

(03:47):
if you shop on Wednesday and you're a senior, you
get five percent off. Now, if you're not a senior,
you're going to face a lot of slow moving vehicles
in the parking lots and the aisles, so you know
there's trade off here, but nonetheless five percent. And then
McDonald's has deals, Hurt has deals, Marriott has deals, and
a kind of a central collection point for these discounts

(04:10):
or is our American Association of Retired Persons. So if
you're our member, you get baraded with coupons all the time.
Hopefully you don't spend more like Sandy just because you
got the coupon, and you have to show some restraints,
you know. But but these are like common things. It
took me exactly five seconds to google best discounts for Seniors,

(04:33):
and you got pages and pages and pages of these
things so be discriminating, but nonetheless you can save a
lot of money.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
We are calling the segment retirement Realities. Mark Oberlin, always
great stuff. Thanks for your time today, go take a nap.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
For God's sake, I got I had it works this morning.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Guys oh Man sorry eight one eight hard work there
it is.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
Oh I like those hours, Mark.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
I would yeah, three half days a week purpose I.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Would spend more money in there too.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Then I make yeah,