One of the scariest aspects of discontinuing earning a paycheck can be the prospect of running out of money before you run out of years on earth. In the early chapters of this book you read about a host of ways to build a retirement fund that, hopefully, will carry you through all your years of not working. Even if you are planning on having a period of time where you combine receiving retirement benefits with part-time paid work, most likely you will eventually reach an age where you will rely solely on unearned income to cover your expenses. How will you know if you will have enough? One way is to make a conscious choice, even before your nonwork years, to cut back — way back — on your expenses.

The first step is to identify all the categories of expense. These would include:

• Housing — rent, condo fees, or mortgage

• Taxes — real estate, state and local sales and income

• Utilities — gas, electric, phones

• Food and clothing

• Entertainment

• Travel

• Hobbies

• Health care

• Automobile/transportation

• Charitable support

If you look hard at each of these and consider where you can cut back, you can be well on the road to salvaging your retirement years by learning to living with less. How you spend your money is as much a habit as your morning routine. To change that routine, you will need to override a lifetime of patterned behavior. While it may seem like a daunting task, it can be done.

As part of your “trial retirement” you can begin to live a scaled-back lifestyle while you continue to earn a regular paycheck. Experimenting with ways to cut expenses while you are still working will help you sort out which bits of your overhead you can do without, and which you cannot. Socking away the extra savings will fatten your “rainy day” cushion while helping you transition to a simpler lifestyle.

In much the same way your doctor may advise you that it is time to get caffeine out of your diet, it may be time to reassess your spending habits. Getting rid of caffeine doesn't mean you can't drink coffee. It may just mean you need to develop a habit of drinking decaf. Cutting back expenses doesn't mean you have to eliminate something you need or enjoy. It may just mean having less of it, or finding more economical sources. Whatever the area of your life requiring change of habit, you will need to be deliberate about it.