It’s a profound moment when you discover that in retirement you now have to pay for office supplies. All of a sudden, a lot more money is going out than coming in, so you begin to keep track of what was taken for granted. For example, pens from the office that made their way home in your pockets are now a Costco purchase. The other day my wife and I were at the insurance agency, and they were offering pens, chip clips, and pads of paper that I turned my nose up at. She reminded me that we need to grab onto these freebees that we used to hand out ourselves. Money gets tight on a fixed budget, and there are no more weekly paychecks, expense reimbursements, bonuses, and commissions – just a pension check, Social Security, and an IRA account that we’ve too generously dug into for the new house and extensive travel. 

It’s time to tighten the bootstraps, as spending habits are hard to break. It looks like we’re now officially retired, looking for discounts, happy hours, dining deals, and free stuff. Honestly, we never paid much attention while we were working, now we have too much time not to. We would probably think twice about this upcoming trip to Egypt if it hadn’t been paid for years ago. A more conservative approach to travel will prevail in the future. Maybe a part-time job to offset the luxury that were used to experiencing? Will we eventually resort to stealing toilet paper from the public restrooms?

Egypt, London, Portland, and Indy, along with maybe a Marriott Vacation Club weekend in the Fall are our remaining excursions for the year. We’ve also paid most of the costs of a Southern Hemisphere cruise next Spring. New dining room furniture has been discussed, but at the expense of giving up other travel. After all, we do live in a resort community with plenty to do. We don’t have to go somewhere to find paradise – just to the store to buy home office supplies or to an event where they’re handing out free pens.