Cheap Places to Retire

Texas Has a Low Cost of Living,
But a Few Other Places Do, Too!

Are you looking for an affordable place to retire?  Where can you live cheaply and comfortably?  Kiplinger Magazine looked into this issue in their September 21, 2011 issue.  Although this was a few years ago, the places they recommended are still good choices.  Below are some of their findings, along with my personal experience with some of these places.

Texas is one of the cheapest places to live in the United States.   When Kiplinger listed five of the most affordable communities in the US, three of them were located in Texas.  If you are trying to figure out how in the world you are going to be able to survive on your Social Security alone, you may want to do additional research on the communities listed below to see if there is one which appeals to you.

My husband and I lived in Texas for over 25 years, and raised our family there.  I also sold real estate in Texas, and know a great deal about the large, beautiful homes you can purchase there for reasonable prices. We have visited several of the communities on this list, so I have included my own knowledge of these towns, in addition to what Ms. Browne had to say in Kiplinger.

It is important to expect that there will have been some inflation, with higher wages and prices than those listed below.  However, this does not change the fact that these locations offer good retirement opportunities for many people.

Here is the Kipplinger list, along with some basic facts:

Brownsville, Texas was the cheapest place to live on their list, according to Kiplinger.  The median household income was only about $30,000 in 201l and the average home price was $209,000.  Brownsville is right on the Texas border with Mexico, but it is also near the Gulf of Mexico and South Padre Island.  We took our daughters on a vacation there, and rented a condo in a gorgeous gated community.  There are numerous golf courses and sweeping beaches.  Because of the proximity to Padre Island, there are plenty of upscale restaurants and hotels.  However, rents in Brownsville averaged less than $700 a month in 2011 for typical apartments, according to the Kiplinger article.  There is one thing you should know: you need to be prepared for the fact that it gets VERY hot in the summer.  However, the winters are mild and pleasant.

Pueblo, Colorado was the second cheapest place to live on their list and is an ideal location if you want to be in the mountains.  The median household income was about $41,000 in 2011 and home prices averaged about $200,000.  This city of 153,800 people has a wide variety of activities, and yet is very affordable.  The winters can be tough, however, if you are not used to dealing with ice and snow.

Ft. Hood, Texas hasd a median household income of $46,200 in 2011 and an average home price of $220,000.  This town is about 60 miles north of Austin, and is on the edge of a major military base.  As a result, it has an unusually large population of young adults.  However, apartments rented for only about $650 a month.  The area around Austin is very popular in Texas.  Not very far away you will also find Sun City, Texas, which is located in the town of Georgetown.  Many Texans like to retire to the Texas Hill Country, as this region is known.  It is affordable, friendly and a spot where most people can live comfortably on either their military pay or their Social Security benefits.  (Below, you'll notice that Austin, Texas came in number 10 on Kiplinger's expanded list.)

Fort Smith, Arkansas is a charming town on the border of Arkansas and Oklahoma.  The median household income was $37,000 in 2011 and home prices averaged about $250,000.  The average apartment rent was just $500 a month!  This is a comfortable Midwestern town that doesn't get as cold as Pueblo, Colorado in the winter, nor as hot as Brownsville, Texas in the summer.

Sherman, Texas came in on the Kiplinger list at number five.  This town is about 60 miles north of Dallas, near Dennison, another popular retirement location.  Houses averaged about $220,000 in 2011 and apartment rents averaged around $650.  I have driven through this sleepy town many times.  Although it is not quite as metropolitan as some of the other communities in Texas, you can always drive to the large cities of Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington if you seek entertainment ranging from Six Flags, baseball games, elegant restaurants, country western bars, and top-notch symphony orchestras!

Rounding out the Kiplinger list of top 10 cheapest places to live in the United States are:  Springfield, Illinois; Waco, Texas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Austin, Texas; and Springfield, Missouri.  Of these, Austin, Texas is one of the most popular communities for retirees, as well as young adults.  With several colleges and universities in the city, as well as its location as the state capital of Texas, you will find innumerable activities to keep your mind stimulated and your body busy.  Sun City - Texas in Georgetown is only about 30 miles north of Austin and is an exceptional retirement community.

If you are interested in more retirement information including where to retire, medical concerns for retirees, financial planning, family relationships, Social Security, Medicare and more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this article to find links to hundreds of additional articles.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

photo courtesy of morguefile.com

How to Avoid Debit Card Fees Charged by Your Bank

Bank ATM
Photo from Morguefile.com

As though Americans need more bad economic news, some of the large banks plan to start charging $5 a month to their customers who use their debit cards to make purchases.  The largest bank to announce that they are going to take this action is Bank of America, according to a 9/29/11 Associated Press article titled, "More bad news for bank customers: Debit card fees."

It appears that, even if you restrict your debit card just to purchasing groceries, you will still pay an extra $5 a month as a fee to your bank if you are a Bank of America customer.  In addition, according to ABC news, other banks such as Wells Fargo are also test marketing these fees.  However, the fees are so controversial, that some banks may change their minds.

If you bank does decide to start charging these fees, you could always switch to another bank or use a credit union.  If you stay with your bank, you have a few options for avoiding these fees.

How to Avoid Debit Card Fees Assessed by Your Own Bank

* As mentioned above, if your bank begins to charge unreasonable fees, you can change banks or begin to use a credit union.

* Another possibility is to stop by your bank's ATM machine and take cash with you before you head to the grocery store.  However, it can be scary to carry around a lot of cash.  In addition, you could be embarrassed if you spend more money than you estimated, and end up short of cash.  Also, if your closest ATM is not convenient, you will waste gas by doing this extra driving.

* Another option is to go back to writing checks for your groceries and other purchases.  For the past decade, banks have worked hard to ween all of us from check writing, by encouraging us to use debit cards and pay our bills online.  However, if you only make a few purchases a month, writing checks may be cheaper than the $5 debit card fee.

* It might also be preferable for some people to use a credit card for their purchases, instead of a debit card. One word of warning on this approach:  If you are doing this to save money, you should be sure to pay off the entire balance at the end of every month.  If you carry a balance, and pay interest, it will wipe out anything you might save by trying to avoid the $5 debit card fee.

* One possibility, at least with Bank of America, is to maintain a minimum average balance of $1,500 in your checking account.  They have said that accounts with that minimum balance will not be charged this fee. Of course, you will not earn interest on this money, so that will cost you money in a different way.


If you are looking for more information of use to retirees, click on the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page for links to hundreds of additional articles about where to retire, medical issues, financial planning and more.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

How to Avoid Vitamin D Deficiency



Get Outside and Walk
Photo by Public-Domain-Photos.com

Although Vitamin D is one of the easiest vitamins to obtain, it is shocking that many people are deficient in it.  As a result, we are seeing a return of diseases that should be easy to avoid.  As we age, Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to a number of serious health issues.

Approximately half the people in the world are experiencing a Vitamin D deficiency, according to the VitaminCouncil.org, in an article dated 9/21/11.  With so much known about the importance of Vitamin D in maintaining good health, how can this be?

Vitamin D from Sunshine

Vitamin D is known as the Sunshine Vitamin because our bodies are able to make this vitamin when our skin is exposed to a few minutes of bright sunlight every day.  However, as we get older, it is not uncommon for people to spend more time indoors and avoid the hot mid-day sun.  When we do need to be outside, we often take great care to cover all our exposed skin with a thick layer of sunscreen.  After all, dermatologists and other physicians have been telling us for years that we need to keep our skin out of the sun in order to avoid skin cancer.  As a result, our skin is rarely, if ever, exposed to the bright sunlight that we need in order to make our own Vitamin D.

How much sunshine is necessary?  I have read that our bodies can create an adequate amount of Vitamin D if we expose at least our faces and forearms to the mid-day sun for about 20 minutes every other day. This is considered a healthy amount of sunlight by many medical personnel.  However, this is only true if you live in a mild climate, preferably in the southern half of the United States.  If you live in the north, the winter sun is not bright enough to produce the Vitamin D you need.  In addition, it may be too cold in some areas to expose our skin to the outdoor air for 20 minutes.

Illnesses Caused by Vitamin D Deficiency

What are some of the illnesses that can develop if we do not get enough Vitamin D?  We are hearing about more and more new diseases every day that may be related to Vitamin D deficiency.  Here are a few that are either caused directly by a deficiency, or are suspected to have a relationship to a deficiency, as reported in Wikipedia and WebMD: 

Rickets -- characterized by a softening and weakening of the bones and dental deformities.
Osteomalacia -- bone-thinning and muscle weakness
Osteoporosis -- reduced bone density; this is a very common disease as we age
Fasciculations -- muscle twitching
Colon Cancer -- taking 1000 IU daily reduces this cancer by 50%
Breast and Ovarian Cancer -- taking 1000 IU daily reduces these cancers by 30%
Pancreatic Cancer -- taking 400 IU daily reduces this cancer by 43%

In addition, I saw a recent article that linked low Vitamin D levels to Fibromyalgia.

How to Avoid a Vitamin D Deficiency

What should you do?  Ideally, for optimal health, we should all take the time to get some sun on our skin as often as possible ... as long as we do not exceed 20 minutes in a day.  After that, we can slather on the sunscreen.  In addition, to be certain that you are getting enough Vitamin D, you may want to supplement your diet with at least 400 IU of the vitamin every day.  It would be sad to reach this stage of our lives, and let ourselves become ill because we were being so careful to keep our skin out of the sun, wouldn't it?

If you are interested in reading more articles that could be of use to Baby Boomers and retirees, click on the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles on health, where to retire, medical issues, financial planning and more.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Gift Giving Ideas on a Fixed Income

Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach
(photo by public-domain-photos.com)

It is not too soon to start thinking about your holiday shopping ... especially if you are on a fixed income.  As the holidays approach, one concern that many retirees have is how they are going to handle holiday gift shopping.  This is one of those extra expenses that is often left off the retirement budget you originally planned.  Before you retire, you need to decide how you are going to pay for all those little extras that can add up to a lot of money.

In our family, we have four grown daughters, three son-in-laws, and seven grandchildren, and we like to purchase gifts for all of them. We have also always bought gifts for my parents, who are still alive, as well as my sister and her family, and assorted other friends and relatives. However, we do not earn nearly as much money as we used to.  There was a time when I could go to the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach (pictured here), and purchase a nice gift for everyone on my list.  Today, however, that is not as realistic.  The older we get, the more difficult that is likely to become.

I recently read a darling article about purchasing small or fun items and tucking gift cards into them.  Among the suggestions the author made were putting gift cards in underwear, and coffee mugs!  I don't think I'll buy underwear for anyone on my list, but I do like the idea of buying small gifts and inserting a gift card into each one.  For example, all our daughters and granddaughters have pierced ears and they all like silver earrings.  I'm watching for a good sale on silver earrings.  If I can purchase earrings for all the girls on my list, it will greatly simplify my holiday shopping.  I'm still exploring what small gift I can get for the guys.  Funny coffee mugs might be an excellent idea.

For the three youngest grandchildren, I will continue to purchase them toys, and perhaps give them a little cash to go along with their gifts.  My parents have asked that we no longer send them gifts because they already have everything they need.  However, I know they love chocolate, so I'll certainly send them a nice box of candy.  My sister and I have agreed to stop exchanging gifts this year, which is a relief to both of us.

Giving homemade cookies or nut breads is something simple I can do for many of my friends.  I may make my life even easier by picking up some cute, decorated cookies at the store and giving them to friends.

The bottom line is that now is the time in our lives when we need to start saving money on holiday shopping.  The expense has become so large, that I can no longer handle all the purchases we made in the past.  It is almost a relief to begin to cut back on the big holidays we used to have!


If you have some ideas on how you are going to save money on holiday gifts this year, feel free to pass on your suggestions in the comments section.  Who knows how many other people you could help with your ideas!

For more ideas on saving money, retirement planning, where to retire, health issues and more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page for links to hundreds of additional articles.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com