4 Stores To Stop Buying From To Boost Your Retirement Budget

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If your retirement budget has you breaking a sweat, then you might need to consider analyzing when and where you spend money in your golden years. Your income level, tax bracket, investments, expenses and every other aspect of your financial life change — so your shopping habits should change with them.

If you got used to shopping at any of the following stores in your working years, it might be time to find some new spots that sell similar stuff for less. Simply put, stop buying from these stores if you want to cut expenses in retirement.

Erewhon

Your retirement income won’t stretch very far if you are shopping at this hyper-trendy health food store. Yes, Erewhon may be a status symbol experience for A-list celebrities, big-name influencers and the legions of pretenders eager to project a similar image, but if you’re collecting Social Security, you need to place more value on dollars and cents than likes and follows.

You can almost always find the same grocery items at other stores for way less money. What you spend in retirement will go much further if you aren’t paying $25 for a loaf of bread or $22 for the juice bar’s smoothies. 

Erewhon offers two membership tiers. The Cafe Membership is $10 per month or $100 per year, and Membership Plus is $20 per month or $200 per year. Neither of these, however, seems to offset the exorbitant cost of grocery shopping at this store.

Whole Foods

When Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017, fans of the beloved but notoriously expensive grocery store hoped that the acquisition would combine Whole Foods’ selection and quality with Amazon’s competitive pricing.

That dream did not really become a reality, and you should probably avoid the trendy chain’s high prices and give your business to a low-cost supermarket instead. You can also find major grocery chains or wholesalers where you can take advantage of senior discounts.

It’s important to focus on limiting what you spend on average every single time you do some grocery shopping. A nest egg or fixed income can only go so far, so if you overspend, you can find yourself in a tough financial situation.

Best Buy

One type of store to avoid is the kind where the next expensive gadget upgrade is always right around the corner. Best Buy, along with other big-box electronic stores, can easily have you dipping into your fixed income instead of saving money for bigger picture issues like long-term care or housing costs in retirement. 

It is best to avoid all stores that target consumers with extended warranties and unnecessary upgrades. Not only will expenses like these needlessly drain your retirement savings, but companies like this often prey on the fear of being left behind technologically. Instead, you can buy refurbished tech that is much more affordable and still fits all your needs.

7-Eleven

Money experts often warn of convenience stores, where customers pay a premium to get in and out quickly. 7-Eleven is typically a go-to destination in this category, especially for people over age 65 who just want an easy dash to the store. This is unhealthy for your finances, however.

According to a study from the Department of the Interior, convenience stores charge the following average product markups:

• Prepared food: 120%
• Automotive products: 93%
• Hot dispensed beverages: 170%
• Ice cream and frozen novelties: 101%
• Ice: 262%
• Health and beauty care: 132%
• Candy: 100%

So if you can, skip the pit stop and stock up on savings instead.

Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

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