The Other Side of the Ledger: When Scrimping and Saving Aren't Enough

image: Mark Pell on Unsplash

Over the years, we've spent a lot of time sitting together at my virtual kitchen table, discussing the ups and downs of making ends meet on moderate incomes. We've celebrated the deals we've found on groceries and household items. We've discussed making substitutions that fit within our budget better than the standard options. We've detailed the frugal ways embedded into our holidays, vacations, and days' out so as not to break the bank. We've talked about being good stewards of the bounty we've been given. And this weekend we talked about the enjoyment we gain from many of the free experiences and opportunities in our lives.

But today I want to look at the other side of the ledger, the side that acknowledges that sometimes scrimping and saving aren't enough to offset expenses. In my own story, there have been seasons where no matter how tightly I pulled that belt, the math simply didn't add up. The budget didn't need another cut; we needed a bridge to cover the gap.

Together my husband and I have worked to boost our income at several points in our married life. We have both worked side gigs to bring in the little extra we needed in the moment. And now, as my husband and I approach the time in life when working income dwindles or even stops in many cases, we understand that we will have to rely on all we have saved or continue to bring in just a little extra. 

As we've been planning for retirement for basically our entire married life, we don't need to replace our household income entirely with a new income. We just need to bridge a gap of around $200-$300 per month between 401K distributions/SS and how much we'd like to have monthly. Doing so would give us some wiggle room in the event of unforeseen circumstances, or so we can enjoy a few of the more expensive luxuries like travel.

This desire for just a little more each month is compounded by the incongruency between how inflation affects workers compared to retirees. When you're fully employed and inflation in the cost of daily necessities hits, at least you can feel relatively assured that there will be some sort of cost of living raise at the end of the year. When you retire, cost of living increases in entitlement benefits tend to be small compared to the actual increases in your "just surviving life" bills. In retirement, we will still pay property taxes, medical/dental insurance and copays, grocery bills, and energy to power and heat our home. 

There are some help programs in place for some of these major expenses, but they are often only available for the very low end of the financial asset population. For those of us somewhere in the middle, where we have some assets going into retirement, but we are not truly wealthy, we need some sort of back-up plan to bring in additional income in those early years of retirement, while we still have health and energy going for us.

Let's talk about ways to bring in a little extra money in a dignified way, shall we?

The Professional Touch: Wisdom at the Desk

image: Bobby Barr on Unsplash

In our family, my husband and I plan to continue working in some capacity until we can't. My husband has the benefit of a long career in an in-demand field. In retirement he'll be able to leverage his expertise and either pick up consulting work, train others to perform the work he does, or write about his field. He has already completed a consulting job in his field, so he is fairly confident he will be able to find more work of that nature.

Hobbies That Fund Themselves

image: Eugenia Pan'kiv on Unsplash

On my end, since my work has been mostly unpaid over the years, I will leverage my experience as a homemaker, a caregiver, a scratch cook, a cottage gardener, home bookkeeper, and a small-time writer.  For me, it's always been about micro-gigs that feel more like an extension of my day rather than significant extra work. 

I have brought cash into our family's coffers over the years through babysitting, working a few hours per week at our church, writing for a newspaper, and sewing items for sale. 

A top contender for micro-gig work in this season of my life would use my gardening skills. I could start heirloom vegetable seedlings in late winter to sell,  using the grow lights I already have. Heirloom tomato plants and annual flowers are the most sought after plants in spring.  I could use an honor box (securely attached to a table) in our driveway on some early May weekend for the selling part. In our neighborhood, this would do very well. I could even turn a larger part of our yard into a single-crop, luxury vegetable garden to sell produce via farmers' markets or our local facebook group. In addition, I could garden-sit for neighbors who travel.

Other possibilities -- I could return to sewing items for sale by consignment in the gift shop where one of my daughters sells her artwork. I could also continue to hone my writing skills and write for other publications. Or, I could pull together some of my past blog posts into a curated booklet to sell. 

Those are the most logical possibilities for me considering my work experience.

The Reward of Breathing Room

image: 光术 山影 on Unsplash

If we have to make some pocket efforts to bring in a little extra in retirement, it doesn't mean we have failed retirement or frugality. In fact, I think that earning extra to fund a little travel is the ultimate in empowerment. Taking control of our retirement income means we decide how much is enough instead of sitting idly watching the money be depleted.  We will be able to look towards weekend plans with some breathing room instead of counting our last penny. In doing so, we will protect the peace and serenity that we've worked so hard to build over the course of our marriage.

My husband and I aren't quite there yet. But making plans now will help the whole process go more smoothly. Thank you for letting me share this piece of my own financial journey with you today.

Your Turn: I’d love to hear your thoughts on this side of the ledger. Have you ever had a moment where you had to pivot from saving to earning? What kind of gentle, flexible "pocket money" gigs have worked for you or your friends in retirement or other points in adulthood? Let’s chat in the comments below!