October 2018 6

15 Things Retirees Should Buy at Costco

American shoppers are going gray. Chalk it up to aging baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. There are roughly 74 million of them alive today, still outpacing millennials, with the first wave of boomers already entering retirement. And boomers like to shop. In particular, they like to shop at Costco. More older shoppers prefer the warehouse club over popular retailers such as Walmart and Target, and boomers are more likely than millennials to renew their Costco memberships.

So it makes perfect sense that Costco caters to retirees and near-retirees, despite the stereotype that it only sells bulk items that are too much for an empty nest. As a boomer and regular Costco shopper, I already knew this from personal experience, but recent research trips to my local warehouse clubs revealed even more deals aimed at the mature market that I hadn’t noticed before. Here are 15 things I found that uniquely appeal to retirees. Check them out.

12 Things That Cost Less Today Than in the 1900s

The good old days may have been better, but they weren’t always cheaper. Believe it or not, many items today cost less than they did in the last century — once you adjust for inflation.

How did we do that? We used a nifty inflation calculator courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to adjust purchases ranging from big (cars) to small (eggs).

Here are 12 of the most intriguing…

8 times when it’s smart to be a cheapskate

Nobody wants to be thought a cheapskate. But, at times, it makes good financial sense to purchase a cheaper option if you can.

A high price tag doesn’t necessarily make something better. Often low-cost items will serve your needs just as well, or the higher quality option may not be worth the extra money.

Other times, there’s little or no difference in quality between the priciest and cheapest versions of products. Here are eight times when it’s smart to be cheap.

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11 Expert Tricks for $1 Million Just Using Your 401(k) Plan

This major milestone can be attained

It’s not a magic number, but when your 401(k) finally hits the $1 million mark, it certainly feels like a major milestone.

You’re not there, yet? Not even close? Well, consider the average cost of retirement is $738,400, according to Merrill Lynch’s 2017 Finances in Retirement study.

Many retirees need quite a bit more. Your own number will vary depending on your standard of living and lifetime income and savings, so it’s best to use a retirement calculator or meet with a financial advisor.

But for now, consider $1 million just because it’s a round number and a decent starting point. How can you get there? We turned to financial planners for their best tips.

Click through gallery to see what they said.

7 Things You Can Do If You Regret Retirement

Many of us punch the clock for decades dreaming of the moment when we finally can retire. But what happens if you retire only to find that post-work life is less thrilling than you imagined?

Following are seven things you can do if you regret retirement.

Buy These 10 Items at Walmart Not the Dollar Store

WALMART VS. DOLLAR TREE

Dollar stores are brimming with bargains, and often beat Walmart on the price of many items. But Walmart can give shoppers more bang for the buck on some consumer favorites. Cheapism.com compared prices on similar items at Walmart and Dollar Tree, the nation’s largest chain of dollar stores, and found 10 that are cheaper at Walmart. The savings are substantial on some items, and pocketing a few extra pennies on others can add up over time. (Although the products were comparable, they weren’t always identical, as the dollar store carries relatively few name brands.)