Everyone deserves to enjoy a vibrant and fulfilling lifestyle in retirement, but some seniors find their budgets become more restricted when they stop working. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative and enjoyable ways to make your income stretch without missing out on life's pleasures. Below, you can find five ideas for living well on a budget as a senior.
If you're a bookworm or movie fanatic, purchasing new titles can be expensive. Joining a public library gives you free access to a broad range of books, films and even magazines without any pricey subscription fees.
Grand Junction residents can become members of Mesa County Libraries, and there are several branches within easy reach of the Grand Villa assisted living community. Mesa County libraries aren't just for borrowing books. They also provide plenty of free entertainment and educational opportunities to community members. You can enjoy free admission to the annual Culture Fest to experience cultural activities and exhibitions, including musical events. The libraries also offer regular activity sessions with the artist in residence and computer skills courses.
Visiting a library in person can be an enjoyable way to get out and about. Still, Mesa County also offers a mailing service if you prefer to have your books delivered to your assisted living apartment. It also stocks a wide range of accessible texts and materials for people with visual impairments.
Buying secondhand sometimes gets a bad rap, but embracing pre-loved items is a great way to stretch your budget further. You can save money and help reduce the number of unwanted items going to landfills to support increased sustainability. Many people also find that buying secondhand allows them to buy higher quality brands than they could afford new.
If you don't enjoy browsing through thrift shops to find the perfect item, there are plenty of online services where you can find thousands of pre-loved goods from the comfort of your assisted living suite.
Vinted is a popular second-hand clothing community with millions of users. It has an easy-to-use interface that lets you narrow down your garment search by size, type and color, and it also remembers your preferences and provides a personalized feed of items you might like. Facebook Marketplace is another excellent resource for finding all sorts of items secondhand from local sellers, including clothing, technology and furniture.
Embracing more vegetarian meals is a great way to shave some money off your weekly food shop. Plant-based protein sources like beans and lentils are significantly cheaper than meat and can add variety to your menu.
Saving money isn't the only good reason for seniors to explore vegetarian cookery. Research carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that reducing the amount of red meat in your diet could extend your life and reduce your risk of developing several diseases, including colorectal cancer.
If you love a juicy steak or burger, you don't need to cut out red meat entirely to see the benefits to your health and wallet. Simply consider replacing a couple of meaty meals a week with a vegetarian alternative. You could also try halving the amount of meat in your regular recipes and replacing it with a vegetarian protein like lentils if the idea of meat-free eating leaves you cold.
YouTube is a great source of inspiration and free cooking tutorials for people who want to start cooking more meat-free meals, and there are plenty of high-quality channels to subscribe to. Sweet Potato Soul is a popular plant-based cookery channel from Jenné Claiborne, who shares quick and easy plant-based meal ideas with her followers.
If you love entertaining your grandkids but need to stick to a budget, there are plenty of free and inexpensive ways to keep them busy without the high price tag.
Board games are a wonderful way to entertain children when the weather's bad, but they can be eye-wateringly expensive to buy new. If you have a printer, there are plenty of cheap or free printable board games available online. Adventure in a Box is a wonderful online resource that collects educational ideas for entertaining children, and you can find its selection of printable board games here. Alternatively, check your local thrift store to see if they have any games in stock.
Getting out and about in nature is also a great way to keep children busy and fit in some healthy exercise for the whole family. Fortunately, there are plenty of beautiful outdoor spaces to visit in the Grand Junction area without breaking the bank. The City of Grand Junction has 36 parks to explore, and you can turn a trip to the park into a fun activity by planning your own scavenger hunt or I Spy game.
Joining an assisted living community is a great way to manage your budget in retirement. It lets you cover your meals, accommodation fees and other living expenses in one convenient monthly payment. The Grand Villa assisted living community in Grand Junction is a faith-based community that empowers its residents to live a vibrant lifestyle. The affordable monthly fees cover various services, including daily living support, restaurant-style dining and a lively activity schedule.
2680 N. 15th St.
Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
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