“Repair and maintenance can be expensive, especially when it comes to things like heating and air conditioning,” says Swartz. If the plan is to stay in your home, look for ways to make the costs more manageable. Bear in mind, however, that housing prices are sky-high right now, so be sure the sale of your current home can cover the residence you’d like to live in, whether you’ll be buying something smaller or renting. While a reverse mortgage might not make sense for someone who is flush with cash in a non-registered or tax-free savings account and has no specific liquidity needs, another person whose retirement savings are mainly held within a RRIF might be able to optimize taxes by accessing money through a reverse mortgage,” says Massoud.ĭepending on the housing market where you live-and where you’d like to live, if you did move-downsizing your home is another way to increase your cash flow. “The decision to access a reverse mortgage depends on everyone’s own facts and circumstances. This option allows qualified homeowners (who are 55 or older) to receive up to 55 per cent of the value of their home in cash. If you need to increase your cash flow, you could ask about a reverse mortgage, says CPA Michael Massoud, principal, operations and corporate citizenship with CPA Canada. But treat them as debit cards and don’t carry a balance. Look for a low interest option or a cashback card, which offers the added bonus of rebates on your purchases. The cards do have their benefits though, as there may be purchase insurance or extended warranties or waiving of international currency transaction fees attached. While bank interest rates are in the low single digits, credit cards still charge 20 per cent or more if you don’t pay them off each month. KEEP TABS ON YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBTĬredit card debt is expensive so “you’re better off getting a line of credit,” notes CPA Stan Swartz, principal at Infomoney Solutions Inc. Here are some ways you can stretch every dollar of those savings. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on dreams of enjoying new experiences. Those retirement savings you’ve squirreled away have to last for an unknown amount of time. Carefully evaluating all your expenses and downsizing your home are two options when trying to maximize your retirement budget (Getty Images/shapecharge)

Cashflow club