Phased retirement or partial retirement has a lot of things going for it: staying active and stimulated during retirement; having a little more money to enjoy some of those retirement perks you’ve been putting off; and enjoying a retirement lifestyle before you might have otherwise been able to.

If you’re looking to ease into retirement and begin enjoying the lifestyle a little sooner, cutting costs can help you do it. Here are some tips to get you enjoying your Meaford Haven retirement sooner.

Live where it’s cheaper
Just moving to a retirement community in a small town like Meaford, Ontario will immediately cut your expenses. That large city or suburban home carries a lot of regular, ongoing costs in maintenance, taxes and insurance.

If you still have a mortgage, selling your home and finding an Ontario retirement community in a small town can see you mortgage free, which frees up a lot of monthly cash flow right away.

And you’ll be surprised at how many things are a lot less expensive in small-town Ontario.

Reduce your belongings
Moving to a smaller place – or right-sizing, as we like to think of it – means you need less stuff. Selling off some of your belongings can provide a tidy sum for additional investment or other use. And donating items, as long as you get a tax receipt, can help you to a tax break.

If you’re retired, or working in the “nobody-knows-you’re-retired” guise, you don’t need the same clothing budget you had when you were heading to the office, the plant, or the store every day.

And a second car isn’t nearly as necessary once you’re in retirement or semi-retirement. Selling the second car can immediately net you thousands, and the additional savings on insurance and maintenance will continue to add to your bottom line.

Do you need a land line? In this age of mobile communications, you might want to take a tip from those 20-somethings who rely on cell phones alone. A good family plan can have you both in touch at all times for not much more than you’d pay for a land line alone.

Re-evaluate your insurance needs
Your home insurance will likely drop when you move to a retirement community. If you’ve shed that second car, you’ve slashed that insurance burden. And as you ease into retirement, you should consider your life insurance policies. At this point, changing at least part of a large whole life policy into term insurance provides protection while cutting costs.