“Thrifty Living Series” How to save on gas usage!

We will be covering many interesting subjects and each of the ladies listed below will have a post about this subject today.

This is a big consideration when you are in the researching and planning phase of retirement. It’s important to make of list of what you need to be near. When we were in our 40s we bought a piece of land in a remote area in the mountains of Western North Carolina. As a matter of fact we still own that piece of property. We spent a lot of time designing a house and finding the perfect location with a view of the mountains. It was fun to drive out there on the weekends and dream of living there. We fished in the stream and hiked in the forest. But when we got a ‘little’ older and sat down to make our list, we realized we would rather live in a place closer to all of our favorite conveniences.

My list of places I like to be near included, the library, a nice park with walking paths, a good grocery store and a hospital. Our home here in Florida is less then 15 minutes away from all of these. We've lived here 7 years and haven’t had to ‘visit’ the hospital but it’s nice to know it’s there in an emergency.

We even chose a house in a walking community. I just got back from a Zumba class and I walked! We can walk to the pool, Fitness center, an auditorium that hosts lots of wonderful events and a restaurant.

(this is my street)

Many of you plan to retire to live near family and that’s important, too. My husband and I have six 'grown’ kids and they are scattered all over the country so for us that wasn’t an option. But when you can, that’s wonderful.

Now that we don’t need to drive to work every day we are more flexible about running errands. We group them together and sometimes make a day of it. When you’re together all of the time, it’s also important to get out on your own to do your own shopping. I like to ‘make the loop’ as we call it…stop by the library, shop at the Thrift store, run into CVS or Walgreens to check on their specials and then pick up items at the grocery store. (we’re very close to Walmart, too but I’m not going to brag on that…it’s not my favorite place to shop although the prices can’t be beat on some items)

(This is the street I drive to go to Walmart. I don’t live in a BIG city!)

I will end by saying that being retired means having the time to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do. I would rather buy a tank of gas and go on a ‘day trip’ and have a little adventure than go out to eat at a nice restaurant. We pack a picnic lunch, lots of water and some snacks and take off for the day. That is a very good use of gas, when you are retired and live in the sunshine state of Florida!

Please stop by and visit the others….

Brenda of Cozy Little House

Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Elaine of Sunny, Simple Life

Jen of Muddy Boot Dreams

Remember to ‘make the loop’

when you have errands to run

and save your gas for an adventure!

I’m linking to Katherine's Corner !