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ELIMINATE DEBT If you are going to live mostly on Social Security, getting rid of high-interest-rate consumer debt, such as with credit cards, is something you should do before quitting your
job. (For those already retired with credit card debt, at least make sure you're not adding to it.) Ideally, your mortgage also will be paid off before you quit working.
"Mortgages are often the biggest payment that people make on a monthly basis," says Steven Thalheimer, a principal at Thalheimer Financial Planning in Silver Spring, Md. "If
you don't have one, you have greater flexibility with your cash flow should something unexpected crop up." That said, if you still carry a mortgage but it's manageable on your
retirement income, don't deplete what modest savings you have to pay off the house, says Robert Schmansky, founder of Clear Financial Advisors in Livonia, Mich. MOVE TO A LESS
EXPENSIVE LOCALE Downsizing to a smaller place can lower your expenses, but it may not be a significant savings if you still reside in an area with a high cost of living. Consider moving to
a place where you can live on much less without any impact on your standard of living. "Especially if you can move to an area that's warmer so you can save on heating costs,"
Thalheimer says. After all, experts say, it costs more to heat a home than to cool it. Bankrate, a financial website, offers an online tool to compare living expenses from one place to
another. For example, if your income is $50,000 a year in Boston, you would need only $30,942 — or 38 percent less — to achieve the same standard of living in Augusta, Ga. Schmansky says a
client of his wanted to move from Detroit to Florida for the warmer weather. Despite Florida not having an income tax, the client discovered that the overall cost of living in Florida —
including utilities and property taxes — was too high for him. Instead, he settled in less expensive Knoxville, Tenn., where the weather is still milder than in the upper Midwest. DON'T
FORGET TAXES As you plot your move, make sure taxes are included in your equation. Fortunately, most states — and the District of Columbia — don't tax Social Security benefits. Some
are even tax friendlier. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington state and Wyoming don't tax any income at all. And on top of not taxing Social Security benefits,
Oregon and Delaware have no sales tax. BUDDY UP Get a roommate or housemate. This is a common way for retirees to slash living expenses, financial planners say. "Keep in mind the way
you lived when you were in college," Thalheimer says. "What did you do? You shared living quarters."