Reduce Housing Expenses
“If you find that you’re playing catch-up, you may have to make some big moves,” said Roth. “For most Americans, the biggest possible budget booster comes from reducing housing expenses. Housing accounts for one-third of the average American budget. This is huge. It’s more than clothes, food and health insurance combined. You can clip coupons all you want, but that’s never going to make a material difference to your retirement despite all of the effort. But if you’ll suck it up and find a way to cut your housing costs, you can save hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars per month.”
“This can be a tough sell, though, because people love their homes,” Roth said. “They view downsizing or moving to a lesser neighborhood as backward motion. That’s too bad. To my mind, it’s actually progress because it helps you reach your financial aims much more quickly.”