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There are a lot of discounts that senior citizens can start to receive, whether it’s a discount for a movie ticket or a percentage off of your meal at particular restaurants. This is really where age pays.Hidden Discounts for Seniors Starting at 50

Here are some unique senior discounts that you may not have thought of before, and some of these discounts even start at age 50 instead of the traditional 55 or even 60 and up. Amtrak tickets. Tickets go for 15% less off the lowest fare to travelers who are at least 62 years of age or over. Department stores. Places like Banana Republic, Belk, Dress Barn, Goodwill, and Kohl’s all offer discounts for folks 60 or 62 and over starting at 10% off.

Restaurants and fast food options. These include places like Wendy’s, Rainforest Café, Outback Steakhouse, McCormick and Schmicks, IHOP, Dunkin’ Donuts, Denny’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and the Bonefish Grill. Ages vary from 55 to 62 and over with discount starting at 10% or more. There are lots of travel options including tickets, airlines and hotels. Just a few of these include:

  • Best Western
  • Budget car rentals
  • Choice hotels
  • Grand Canyon Railway and hotel
  • Greyhound bus
  • Howard Johnson
  • Hilton
  • Hyatt
  • La Quinta inns and suites
  • Marriott hotels
  • Motel 6
  • Ramada
  • Southwest Airlines
  • Starwood hotels and resorts including Sheraton in Weston
  • Super 8
  • United Airlines

Other places that offer a discount to seniors are Verizon Wireless, which has a 65 Plus program offering discounts on wireless plans. The Royal Caribbean Cruise lines offer travelers 55+ certain discounts all over the place.  Rite Aid members receive a 20% discount on non-prescription items on the first Wednesday of the month. Regal Theaters offer discounts and Pearle Vision and Lenscrafters has quite a few discounts for AARP members. Michaels Art Supply offers people 55 and over a 10% price reduction every day.

Other Discounts? How about a different type of service when buying or selling a house? As a specialist in the Mesa area, I work with seniors and those 55+ to find the perfect home, housing option or condo for their needs, not just immediate but for the future as well. Contact me today for more information on how I can help you in your real estate search.

Downsizing? Here’s some tips:

Thinking about moving, you need to establish the current value of your existing home, calculate your share of any closing costs, what the financing costs are of the new home, and then calculate all the additional costs of moving, what your bills will be in the new home, and what if any repairs or improvements are needed in the new home. Restate agency will help you with this. If you do not have enough equity in the home the savings of moving could be quite minor. The decision then becomes, where would you be happier? If you save an exceedingly small amount to leave a home, you love, is it worth moving.

Many elderlies want to downsize, but their personalities tend to get in the way. They may move into a smaller home, but many have difficulty cutting back money. The initial purpose of downsizing is to have a smaller monthly cost, yet the money they may save in mortgage payments ends up going to remodeling the new home or a new car payment

If the elderly cannot cut expenses by at least 25 percent, downsizing may not be a suitable option for many Americans.

When approaching old age in an empty nest or your partner is gone and you are looking for something different,  is it better to put money into remodeling your home and enjoy it, or is it more economical to move to a smaller nest.

Living on a smaller scale may mean fewer expenses, such as lower mortgage or rent, lower maintenance costs, and lower utility bills. However, a move to a smaller home does not necessarily guarantee savings. They need to set-up a budget when moving into a smaller home. Not spending money on items that they do not really need.