Retirement Is Possible for Cheapskates

I come from a long line of proud cheapskates.

The Yeager family crest bears the inscription "Spartica Homo Erectus," which is Latin for "Cheapskate Who Stands on Two Feet," so I was never prone to out-of-control spending.

See also: Want to be a cheapskate, too?

My wife, Denise, and I have been married 27 years. Early on in our marriage, we made a pact. We agreed to establish a "permanent standard of living." We agreed that we were both perfectly happy with the lifestyle we were leading at that point in our lives and we agreed to keep our lifestyle at more or less that same level even as our incomes rose during our careers.

Instead of escalating our lifestyles to absorb every pay raise or year-end bonus we received, we put that money into savings or used it to pay off debt (specifically our mortgage). As a result, we paid off our mortgage in 16 years, rather than the original 30-year "life sentence."     

Ten years ago, when Denise became miserable in a job that grossly underappreciated her and her skills, I reassured her that she could leave that job the next day and not a single thing would need to change in the way we lived. Our permanent standard of living would continue just fine on a single salary.

Jeff Yeager at his home in Accokeek, MD on March 29, 2011.

A few years later — while still in my mid-40s — I quit my last "real job." I decided to roll the dice and attempt to write for a living — a form of what I call "selfish employment." I plan to continue being "selfishly employed" as a writer long after we begin drawing Social Security.   

We still live in the same house and we drive a car that most of our friends would have put out to pasture years ago. More important, we live entirely debt free. We also do spend our money and sometimes even expand our permanent standard of living to include traveling abroad for a month or two each year. Not bad for a couple of cheapskates who both had modest-paying jobs in the nonprofit sector for most of their careers.

So, are you interested becoming a cheapskate-in-training for retirement?
Whether you're already retired or still planning for it, we hope you'll use the Savings Challenge Group as an opportunity to share your favorite dollar-stretching tips and learn some new money-saving strategies to incorporate into your life.

If you're approaching retirement, it's a great chance to think about and start implementing at least some baby steps in the retirement rightsizing process.

According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly 60 percent of those surveyed have changed their retirement plans because of the economic downturn. Record numbers of Americans say they'll need to work longer than planned or now believe that they may never be able to afford retirement.  

If you take to heart even a couple of the financial tips we'll be discussing, I can guarantee that you'll save some money and maybe even decide that you can be just as happy in retirement by spending less rather than more.

Remember: The best way to double your money in this economy is to fold it in half and put it back in your wallet.

Stay cheap.

See what one couple did to rightsize >>