How to live on retirement: ways of survival, advice and revelations from pensioners. Below the survival bar

The size of the pension in Russia is the eternal pain of those who receive this same pension. Alas, the picture is no better in other nearby countries. We talked to several pensioners we know and collected the best people's councils about how to live on retirement.

Optimize your nutrition

Cloth

• Avoid impulse purchases. Take what you need at the moment. Choose what suits you in terms of quality, and buy the cheapest of these things.
• Buy clothes by size. If it is a little too small, it may wear out or tear along the seam; if it is too big, it will get caught on something else and tear.

• Try to master buying clothes online. The most profitable option is Chinese stores like Aliexpress and jd.com. If you want to definitely try it on, choose Russian stores where you can order it at a pick-up point with a try-on, and then buy what suits you. The most famous of these are lamoda.ru and wildberries.ru.
• Buy clothes on sales. They occur after the New Year and from mid-summer. Each store has its own schedule. If suddenly your clothes or shoes fall apart at the beginning of the season, visit a stock or discount center. They sell collections from previous years at a discount.

Communal apartment

• If you have a meter with several tariffs, use the washing machine after 11 pm. The same applies to other devices with high energy consumption.
• Find out if you are eligible for a subsidy. Each region has its own rules, but some pensioners manage to reimburse themselves for part of their housing and communal services costs.
• Give up your home phone. Now it’s more profitable to use a cell phone, but you pay for a landline every month. If you still have a radio point, turn it off too.

Energy saving

• Frequent cleaning of the vacuum cleaner. If the vacuum cleaner has not been cleaned for a long time and is clogged with debris, it will absorb more electricity. But, if you clean it more often, your vacuuming will end much faster and you will see the difference in savings from frequent cleaning.
• Removing scale from a kettle. Don't let limescale build up in your kettle. The more it is, the longer the kettle heats up and naturally absorbs electricity. If you need to heat enough water for one mug, do not fill the kettle full. Pour as much as you need. The more water, the longer it will take to warm up.

• Defrosting food on refrigerator shelves. The easiest way to defrost frozen foods is in the refrigerator. Then you will save on processor work, and it will save energy.
• Using a plastic bottle saves on draining the water in the tank. First, improve your barrel. You can buy a new barrel with a button for separate drainage. But there is also a way out for old barrels. You will need to place it inside the tank plastic bottle with water. The mechanism will work the same, but drain less. The savings are significant.
• Unplug all appliances from outlets. Many people have the habit of leaving a charger, washing machine, hair dryer, TV, or microwave oven in the outlet. Even in this state, they slowly but surely “devour” electricity.
• Use energy-saving or LED lamps. Use energy-saving light bulbs and your significant costs will drop quite quickly. It is better to use class “A”; although it is more expensive, it will pay for itself very quickly, and you will notice clear savings in electricity and costs.

• Many pharmacies and supermarkets offer discounts for pensioners. And some also have loyalty cards - they give a discount or save you points so that you can pay with them later. In general, apply for all free cards everywhere - be it a pharmacy, a store or another institution, a discount will not hurt.
• More often give your family and friends something made with your own hands. Such a gift usually costs much less.
• Under no circumstances take out credits, loans, or use installment plans. Living in debt with little income is a very big risk. What if you find yourself without money?
• Set aside 10% of your pension for unexpected expenses if you have no savings. If you have savings, then perhaps you can spend all your income.

Today we will talk about how to live on 8600 and on any “meager” income. I’ll note right away that 8600 (naturally, this means 8600 rubles a month, and this is a pension) is not the smallest income that can be found in our country. There are pensions of 7,300 rubles, there are salaries, official ones, without gray and black options, 7-10 thousand rubles per month.

Despite the fact that the cost of living in our country is from 10 to 14 thousand rubles, there are pensions of 8 thousand rubles...

The salary of a janitor in Moscow, as Internet sources say, ranges from 5 to 55 thousand rubles, with an average of 26 thousand rubles. In the regions, janitors earn 10 thousand... As for Moscow, it’s hard to believe that a janitor’s salary is 30-40-55 thousand rubles, either he sweeps 10 houses at once or works in an elite area.

According to the pension fund and the government of the Russian Federation, “the number of Russians whose income is below the subsistence level increased in the first quarter of 2017 by 2 million people - to 22 million (15 percent of the country’s total population).”

But these are official figures, and there are other figures:

Most pensioners and those with low incomes need permanent medical care, medicines, and for the same medicines - half of the pension (or even more), half of the salary is spent. And there are housing and communal services, and you still need to take them away from your pension, that is, 2-5 thousand of the subsistence level goes to housing and communal services, leaving literally pennies on your hands. That is, half, or slightly less than half of our population is below the poverty line..

Our authorities do not take into account this system, that people who are not officially poor are actually poor; after paying for all the necessary services, they have 5 thousand left on their hands...

Pension 8600 is not uncommon (phrases from the Internet from 2017-18):

“My pension is 8600, I have 2 children, my total seniority 38 years".

“My pension is 8,600, of which 2,503 is federal social supplement, the rest is insurance, meanwhile the cost of living is 11,000.”

There is also a pension of 7300, at least at the end of 2017, I don’t know if there is one now. That is, people need to pay for “utilities” and live on what’s left, and often these people have worked for the state for 25 years, but are paid the “minimum wage”.

How do they and those who receive “mere pennies” live?

From what I have seen with my own eyes and read on the Internet: many people earn extra money, some as janitors, some who bake and sell pies, some who knit socks. Those who have less strength live by tightening their belts.

And they are angry with the younger generation, for whom even 30 thousand rubles a month is not enough, they say, they want something tasty, but they have to pay for something else, and there is little left for food, they want a salary of at least 100 thousand. To which pensioners, who know the harsh everyday life of both the Soviet era and the present, respond that the young are full of food, do not know how to save, are spoiled, parasites, lazy. And, in general, they are right!

“I see this picture in supermarkets,” says one pensioner with an income of 8,600, “these young people go to the store and pick up 3 thousand worth of nonsense at a time, and so on every evening. Cheeses, yoghurts with chemicals, sausages, sausages, mayonnaise, tomatoes in winter, canned pineapples, sweets, smoked meats, etc.

What do I take: 1-2 chicken per week, cut it into several soups, sometimes beef or bones, cabbage, potatoes, cheap vegetables, bread. Only what is necessary, no sausages - I cook everything myself. I don’t have a vegetable garden, in the summer and autumn I buy cheap fruits and vegetables from my grandmothers at the market and prepare everything myself: lecho, pickles and jams, salads, sauerkraut, dried greens. I buy the fish at the base - I smoke and salt it myself.

And for 8600 you still have to pay for housing and communal services, that’s 2 thousand (and the author’s clarification is that this is the lowest level, usually a communal apartment is 3-4 thousand). You can even buy cookies sometimes, or bake them yourself. “And I don’t understand,” the pensioner complains, “these young people, they don’t know the hardships of life, they don’t know the value of money, they don’t imagine how much they can save by excluding all sorts of nonsense from the basket.”

I myself (the author) once asked myself the question of saving, especially after meeting such pensioners, those with many children, the poor, etc., having found out how much they spend on food per month, and they do not live like beggars - I made an approximate list of the most vital important products which they buy. So:

Monthly grocery list for two people

2-3 kg of veal, beef - 1500-2000 rubles

4 kg turkey, chicken - 1500 rub.

bread - 15-20 loaves per month - about 500 rubles

butter 3 packs - 300 rub.

fruit apples 5 kg - 500 rubles,

bananas 2 kg - 150 rub.

milk - 10 packs per month - 500 rub.

sour cream - 10 large sour creams - 800 rub.

eggs - 4-5 dozen - 250-300 rubles

flour - 2 kg - 70 rub.

horns - 150 rub.

buckwheat - 150 rub.

potatoes - 250 rub.

sugar 3 kg - 150 rub.

tea pack 50 - 150 rub.

onion - 100 rub.

carrots - 200 rub.

cabbage - 150 rub.

dry beans - 150 rub.

garlic - 50 rub.

Sunflower oil - 50-100 rubles

kefir - 100 rub.

Total about 8 thousand rubles. Well, you can also add fish for 1-2 thousand rubles, for example, you can afford a couple of salmon steaks, or 200 grams of red caviar, or sushi (just kidding, of course), herring or mackerel 3-4 kg - enough for the eyes. In principle, it’s not even too poor, and it’s quite enough for two people.

Accordingly, one can really survive on 5 thousand rubles a month, but he needs a clear list and sticking to it, a step left and right - a raster... in the wallet by zeros. As the pensioners themselves say, the main thing is to learn to live according to the list, not to succumb to the temptations to buy cheesecakes, yoghurts, actives and other nasty things, they exist to empty our wallets and harm our health.

The last thought is very reasonable: 80% of supermarket products are for scamming and ruining people, these products do not bring any benefit, only harm, and they ruin people. Having bought sausages and quickly prepared food a couple of times, a person gets used to a lazy lifestyle.

Saving is needed if you need to save up for something important, and in general the ability to save is one of the most important qualities for a person. Because you can spend even the largest fortune for nothing, but sometimes you need to start learning small. For example, even if you save 10 thousand every month, eliminating all “nasty things” from your diet and not buying unnecessary things, after a few months you can already buy a TV or a new computer, etc.

I know several parents with many children, where there are 5-7 children in families. They spend from 10 to 30 thousand rubles a month on food (for the whole family). Either 10 or 30 thousand is very little with such a number of people. However, they skillfully distribute finances, for example, they buy meat in the village - fillets for minced meat and goulash, bones for soup. Fish and vegetables are bought at the bases. They make their own ice cream, pies, and cookies. Children always eat fruits and vegetables. I am not a supporter of huge numbers of children and poverty, but in this case there is something to learn from these people. Of course, mothers, as a rule, cook from morning to evening, take care of their children, and fathers earn money. In private houses they keep chickens and goats, milk, eggs, and meat.

There are situations for the average person, usually lonely and temporarily unemployed, when there is only emptiness in his pockets (well, there are different situations, maybe a student graduated from a university, was kicked out of work, or ex-wife sued the last socks). And the experience of surviving on a couple of thousand for a week is real. But this is provided that the person is somehow looking for a way out of such poverty. Even on the rainiest day, the house should always have: buckwheat, sugar, tea, butter, sunflower, eggs, potatoes, onions, carrots, flour (preferably meat in the freezer).

bread 3 rolls - 90-100 rubles

sour cream - 80 rub.

milk - 2 packs for 50 rubles

fruit - 200 rub.

total no less than 450 rubles

So, for 2017: “The cost of the required minimum for adults is 6,300 rubles per month, for minor children – 6,400 rubles, and for old pensioners, oddly enough, only 5,400 rubles.

This is a food basket, data on living wage different for each region.

The following ratios of the cost of non-food goods and services to the cost of food products are established (as a percentage):

Non-food products - 50% of the cost of food for all groups of the population.

Services - 50% of the cost of food for all groups of the population «.

True, housing and communal services in our list of necessary services stand in this form - 18 meters per person, and in the amount of 50% of food products (that is, 3 thousand rubles) per month you need to pay for utility services, transportation costs and everything other services. Where are these prices? In the regions, only utility services for an apartment of 30 square meters are about 2 thousand rubles... and transport if you go somewhere by public service at least once a day (to work, from work, or if pensioners are on business) - 1.5 thousand rubles , if twice a day or sometimes several times, then it’s already about 3 thousand rubles.

“An ordinary average citizen of the Russian Federation for a normal existence should consume 300 g of bread per day, potatoes - 280 g, vegetables - 300 g, fresh fruits - 160 g, sweets - 60 g, milk and dairy products - 800 g ., vegetable oil and fats – 40 g.

And also eat one egg every 2 days, be content with 160 g of meat per day, and eat 350 g of fish per week. As for cultural development, here an able-bodied Russian citizen has the chance to go to the cinema or theater once a month for his subsistence minimum; there is no money provided for more for these purposes.”

The most necessary food products are in the photo (above), but it is already clear that the subsistence minimum (it includes products, services, and non-food products), the food basket, the very minimum financial threshold for existence is not for living, but for survive.

And here the picture is twofold: on the one hand, you can survive on a rainy day if you learn to adapt to circumstances with maximum savings, preparing in advance, and on the other hand, all this is not life, but some kind of stingy epic, where if you accidentally spent an extra penny - you won’t have enough to live on tomorrow... You live, you save, but sometimes you want a holiday! But this holiday is not included in the cost of living. And in response to indignation they say: parasites, give you everything, they don’t want to work, but they want to be given everything for free; and the “poor”, who do not even receive a living wage, say: live on this minimum yourself - you will immediately think differently!

I believe that pensioners who have worked 25-45 years for the state (especially in the field of medicine and education) and paid taxes should receive a decent pension, and not 8600! It's disrespectful to older people to give them such pennies.

As for the younger generation, sometimes difficulties with temporary lack of money are useful because they stimulate them to search for prospects and gain experience.

Young people have a lot to learn from the older generation.

The food minimum for other countries: “in England the number of goods and services is 350, in Germany – as much as 475. Even in America, the list includes almost twice as many as in Russia – 300 goods and services. In Russia, there are 156 items on the list.”

But still, for those who think that we live very badly, here are some facts from the project “Hungry Planet. What does the world eat":

On average, in economically prosperous countries, spending on a minimum set of products is $300-400 for a family of 5-7 people. But there are families, in comparison with which all Russians are rich (although the contrasts are largely one-sided, but sometimes they are needed to show reality):

Aime family, Ecuador. Food expenses per week: $31.55. Favorite food is potato soup with cabbage.

Natomo family, Mali. Food expenses per week: 17,670 francs ($26.39). Favorite food is a family rice dish.

Abubakar family, Chad. Food expenses per week: 685 CFA francs (1.23 US dollars). Favorite food - soup fresh meat sheep.

How to live on a meager pension? This is the question thousands of pensioners ask every day. It is especially difficult for lonely old people who have no one to support them. Magazine Reconomica interviewed a pensioner who shared her experience of distributing a pension of less than 10 thousand rubles. How to save, what to eat, what to give up, how to live at the end of the month, when there is still a week until the next pension - about this in today's material.

At the beginning of 2015, I, Ilmira Imelievna Gavrilova , joined the huge 42 million army of pensioners in our country. I won’t lie, I was looking forward to this moment and left work with pleasure. I wanted to live freely: take care of my health, my beloved grandchildren, devote more time to hobbies and reading, and not jump up and run to “work hard” every morning.

Maybe this wouldn't have happened. In connection with “optimization”, with the 22-year-old teaching experience became unemployed, I had to get a job as a salesperson in a grocery store for a private owner on the basis of a mutual agreement without registration.

Therefore, the size of the pension, despite the total 30 years of experience, turned out to be slightly higher than the minimum, equal to the subsistence level per capita in our region - 8,200 rubles.

What problem did I face in the first months of retirement?

This is what my pension looks like

The first months of “free” life flew by instantly: I didn’t feel a lack of funds - my small savings helped. But everything comes to an end: savings have dried up, and a bare old-age pension has become the main means of livelihood. Out of habit of living lavishly, I continued to spend my money twice as much larger size my allowance. In the end, I got into debt with friends, took out loans...

The former optimism diminished and the constant question “how to continue to live on 8,000 rubles” haunted me. Eg, . What's worse about me? It’s completely incomprehensible to me why there is such injustice. How can I live on half the money?

What to do when your pension is not enough?

Why is the problem of lack of money relevant for pensioners?

The number of pensioners in our country is growing rapidly, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the younger generation to feed us unemployed people, so there is no need to wait for an increase in benefits as “manna from heaven.”

Most older people are unable to work due to poor health, and the crisis and rising unemployment prevent them from finding work. I don’t argue, not all pensioners are “offended”: hundreds of thousands of former officials,management staff, military, judges, oil and gas workersthey get a lot. These are only a few hundred thousand people, but the remaining millions are disabled,victims of radiation disasters,orphans without a breadwinner,old age pensionerslive on funds ranging from 7,000 rubles. up to 14,000 rub.

It turns out that millions of people have the same meager funds as my pension - 8,000 rubles, in most cases even less. But you shouldn’t despair about this, you can live, and you need to learn to live on what you have.

I offer some tips to solve this problem, acquired from personal experience. I hope that the knowledge I acquired during my first retirement years, will help you not only learn to live within your means, but also change your outlook on life itself.

How I looked for a pension increase

I’ll tell you about the methods of increasing your pension that I excluded. I do not advise pensioners:

Take on hard physical work.

Feeling the first financial difficulties, I immediately went back to the store as a salesperson, fortunately they respected me there and did not forget me. I worked for three months, paid off debts and closed loans... But hard physical work and being on my feet for 12 hours undermined my health: my joints ached. Doctors explained that senile changes in the body cannot be cured, but can only be slowed down: reduced physical activity and relieve it with the help of painkillers... There was no talk of continuing work... Costs for medicines have increased significantly.

Take out loans.

Loans to pensioners are issued without guarantors and extra documentary evidence: easy and fast, but paying on time from a small allowance is almost impossible. I have already told about my such experience before. There is a big risk - getting stuck in a debt hole for a long time - also not a suitable option for replenishing the budget.

How I found the right method and started planning a budget

Having left my job, which gave me the opportunity to get out of the debt hole, but which completely undermined my health, I began to learn to live in a new way, within my means. Changing the entire way of life and attitude towards it in accordance with the sudden onset of physical and material disadvantages was difficult, but it turns out it is possible.

First I calculated all my expenses:

• communal apartment,
• nutrition,
• cloth,
• medicines,
• gifts for relatives,
• feasts on holidays,
• necessary household goods,
• repair

Etc. for a month. The result was an impressive amount, much higher than my allowance. I crossed out everything that was not urgently needed at the moment. The list contains the essentials for each month:

• communal apartment,
• food,
• medicines,
• household goods.

The total amount of money previously spent on this list did not suit me: if utility expenses remained within a certain amount, then expenses for food and medicine were large and did not change for the better.

Advice: utility bills can be reduced.

It was necessary to change the range of products and reduce medications, reduce costs on household goods. This means changing your lifestyle, your diet, a set of medications and necessary goods. My new principle of life is “eat half as much, but move twice as much.” fresh air” helped bring them into line with the pension.

How do I spend my 8,000 ruble pension? Specific plan of my budget for the month

I divided my monthly expenses into several groups.

Calculating utility costs

Communal payments. I live in my own house, so the costs of sewerage and general repairs are not included here.

• heating (gas) – 1600 – 1700 rub.
• electricity – 300 – 350 rub.
• water – 100 rub.

Total – (maximum) 2150 rub.

How to live on 3,000 rubles a month: list of products

Going to the store now only with a list!

Nutrition. Probably, many are interested in the menu of a pensioner for 3 thousand rubles. Indeed, for this small amount you can eat normally. I excluded expensive ones from my diet meat products, sausages, canned food, smoked meats, overseas fruits and other food delights imposed on people by the insatiable trading industry.

Here is my grocery list for the month:

• Bread– 1/2 loaf per day, that is, 15 pcs. – 300 rub.
• Cereals:
• oatmeal (most of all) 5 kg – 150 rub.
• pearl barley 3 kg – 90 rub.
• semolina 1 kg – 45 rub.
• buckwheat (favorite) 3 kg – 210 rub.
• millet (cheap) 2 kg – 50 rub.
• rice 3 kg – 150 rub.
• peas 3 kg – 75 rub.
• Flour 2kg – 70 rub.
• Meat and fish(usually chicken and cheap pollock) – 1000 rubles.
• Dairy and 2l cheap sunflower oil– 300 rub.
• Eggs 3 dozen – 180 rub.
• Sugar 2 kg – 100 rub.
• Vegetables and fruits(most necessary):
• potatoes 10 kg – 200 rub.
• apples 1 kg – 65 rub.
• cabbage 3 kg – 60 rub.
• onions 3 kg and garlic 3 pcs. – 100 rub.
• salt and seasonings – 100 rub.

Total – 3245 rub.

How to save on medicines

Here are the most essential medications (designed for me, you can change the list, but choose cheap analogues instead of the recommended expensive imported ones domestic production, eliminating as much as possible the risk of buying a fake):

• Medicine for hypertension (one tablet every day) 1 package – 250 rubles.
• paracetamol 2-3 packs (for colds, fever, joint pain) – 180 rubles.
• nimesulide 1-2 packages (for joint pain) – 120 rubles.

Total – 550 rub.

How much does the minimum set of household goods cost for a month?

Household goods (most necessary):

• Washing powder 1 pack – 50 rub.
• toilet soap 2 pcs – 30 rub.
• toilet paper 5 rolls – 50 rub.
• dishwashing detergent – ​​50 rub.
• toothpaste and Shaver– 150 rub.

Total – 330 rub.

We create an emergency reserve

The total amount of expenses is in the range of 6275 - 6300 rubles per month. Of the remaining amount of 1,700 rubles, 700 rubles. I put it in my wallet (for unplanned expenses), and put away 1000 rubles for a “rainy day”. Of course, you can spend it right away, but the ability to withstand the onslaught of “habitual” desires and needs, to be content with the minimum, denying yourself the pleasure of eating delicious food and showing off fashionable clothes, is new image life.

I even noticed an improvement in my health on a meager diet of porridge in water with vegetable oil.

Opinions of people and doctors on the problem

True, there are not enough people who agree with my current daily routine. Strict accounting of budget expenses and income and strict adherence to what was planned seems almost indecent to people: like a manifestation of stinginess. But in developed capitalist countries people have been living this way for a long time.

Medicine has long convinced us that most people get sick due to poor nutrition: excessive consumption of high-calorie protein, fatty, sweet, salty and smoked foods has a bad effect on health. Eating carbohydrates and plant foods, on the contrary, improves health.

How to live on retirement in Russia: ways to survive, tips

So, my advice to retirees:

1. Make a budget plan and stick to it strictly.
2. Change your diet.
3. Don't spend money on expensive gifts, or better yet, sew, knit or make a souvenir for your children or grandchildren.
4. Do not follow the lead of the trading industry and do not “buy” into advertising.
5. Take advantage of the opportunities: vegetable garden, garden, picking berries, mushrooms and herbs.
6. Take advantage of subsidies and benefits offered by the state.

Let's begin with Russian pensioner- a Soviet person, which means not a hothouse, active, equipped with a healthy share of the ability to survive. Young pensioners (people with disabilities) still show some vitality, that’s who you can envy in white and take as an example.

The weak become an alcoholic, fall ill from black envy and anger at everyone, and live shorter lives. If they increase benefits for the weak (psychologically!), will this save him? No, such a person will have no reason to be angry, envy, or feel sorry for himself under any circumstances.

Psychologists urge you to set yourself up for psychological health, try to change circumstances for the better or adapt yourself to them. No other way.

We cannot do without activity and optimism. Believe me, it is much healthier and healthier to rejoice at a half-filled glass of water than to look with longing at a half-empty glass.

So we are short of livelihood. Fellow citizens advise:

Learn about regional opportunities social assistance:

• search on local websites for addresses and telephone numbers of public protection services; social programs of social security agencies, maybe promotions; conditions for applying for a subsidy (considerably saves rent costs); any one-time assistance; clarify which categories are eligible for preferential payments for housing and communal services in the region;
• perhaps past merits were not taken into account at the time, and you can ask again whether the time has come to apply for it; in some regions it provides really great benefits. Working pensioners increase the length of service required to obtain the title of veteran (subject to other conditions). Call and find out. Awards and titles are unlikely to catch up with you;
• They recommend contacting the Red Cross Society. As a rule, it is morally more difficult to work for yourself, but to draw the attention of societies charitable foundations to the plight of your neighbor - effectively, efficiently and, most importantly, healingly for yourself.

Think about it:

• exchange the apartment for a smaller one that is more economical to maintain;
• rent a smaller apartment, rent out your own. This enterprise is fraught with the fact that repairs after the housing is completed can absorb all the funds received. Rent out an apartment with a set of conditions for its safety and the property in it (agreement, security deposit, which is returned at the end of the rental period in good condition). Find out as much as possible about potential tenants;
• rent one room. This is a controversial issue and requires additional study: a candidate for a guest should be checked or looked for through friends. And even the right person can be difficult to tolerate in your apartment. Then you can try to rent out housing for a day or two or three. For some retirees this has proven acceptable and profitable;
• many come to the conclusion that it is easier to survive not alone, i.e. it is cost-effective to create a semi-commercial union with a kindred spirit, combine pensions, move into one apartment, and rent out the second;
• go away for some time (summer) to the village, to the dacha, where you manage to live modestly, buying a minimum of food.

Save on products:

• Taking into account the smaller needs of an already grown body, you can balance your diet: reduce the amount of sugar; give up sausages (fortunately, their modern production makes it possible to do this with ease; more and more often you regret that you bought expensive chemical crap); canned food, mayonnaise and other things; eat simple healthy food; use cheap shops; promotions, sales with a 15–20% discount.

Surely residents already know where they can buy food and whose production it is without risk to health. It is advised to purchase products wisely, without buying too much.

Here are some sample menus from families with in a healthy way life and healthy eating(you can take something into account):

Breakfast.

Porridge on the water. Let's say rice. You can add a spoonful of butter to the porridge. Sunflower will do just fine. Loose tea is better. It contains a lot of dust, but it can be washed by pouring boiling water over it before putting it in the kettle. Sweets. It is advisable that they are not empty. Dark chocolate is the most suitable product. He is also good because he large quantities

Coffee. Very wealthy people buy a certain inexpensive type of coffee because it tastes good, for example Horse.

Dinner.

Chicken giblet soup: gizzards, hearts, liver, chicken necks.

Boil, drain, cook the broth, chop everything except the necks. Add diced and grated potatoes (for thickness), rice, or cabbage, season as usual. We get a soup that is healthier than concentrated lagmans. Dinner . Potatoes, rice, cabbage

(you should eat less of it, endocrinologists say),

1. buckwheat, pasta, beans, lentils as a side dish and baked, stewed, fried fish or meat. And the vegetable proteins of legumes are perfectly absorbed in a healthy body and do not require the addition of meat so that there is no excess protein.
2. We must remember that it is possible to produce something useful, for which people are willing to pay, it is possible:
3. Nanny (payment may be hourly).
4. Seamstress (sewing custom bed linen), if the price of the work is reasonable, there will be customers.
5. Taxi dispatcher (vacancies are in demand at night, but a pensioner also has one during the day). (they share their experience in writing reviews, they pay well for this, but it is only suitable for those who can intensively and for a long time admire services that actually do not exist; a certain moral attitude is required); The integrity of the employer can be checked by reviews, searched by black and white lists. The work of a cleaner requires
6. physical health
7. , but it’s good as an option (you can search and find evening work with a small amount of space).
8. Flower growers grow indoor flowers, drive out seedlings during the planting season; sales can be negotiated in flower shops.

Good chefs are successful, their products are used for corporate events (some dish is made cheaper and more soulful), and sometimes housewives turn to it when there is no time to mess around in the kitchen.

• Minor clothing repairs (sew buttons, shorten trousers, mend anything). The following pricing scheme is popular on the Internet:
• Facial surface
• knitting costs about three rubles per 1 m of yarn.
• A simple crochet fabric is also within these limits for 1 m of yarn.

Knitting motifs are more than three rubles per 1 m.

Knitting in a certain style from five rubles per 1 m. Difficulty coefficients are also presented, all of which are freely available.

Let's give an example:

1. Calculate the average working day in the region. Let’s take the minimum: ten thousand rubles divided by 21–22 working days. We get 400–500 rubles. If the item is knitted in 4 days, the payment for the work will be 1600–2000 rubles.
2. Cost of material (yarn). Here we take advantage of sales, discounts on wholesale, discounted leftover yarn is also used, and if knitters cooperate, they can take good wholesale at a substantial discount.
3. Add 10-30%. You can always throw them off. While you don’t have your own name, market, or clients, you can try to offer things for sale at any retail outlets. With experience, improvement in the quality of work, and design skills, demand will come.

Another example: a tunic dress was knitted in 3 days. Work – 1200 rubles. Yarn - 150 rubles. Total 1350. But it was set for 1800, taking into account the store’s interest and fees to sellers, the price increased even more, but was still lower than the bulk of the goods.

Professional freelancers advise: Be sure to submit your work, even to retail outlets with a big markup, go there often, ask, look, measure, what they say. Exchange contacts, prepare business cards.

One craftswoman found clients quite by accident when she decided to photograph her products on women. Through friends I brought my things to enterprises. I gave it away against salary. This is convenient for customers.

The main thing is to love the things made, to work with high quality, and to process everything carefully. Under such conditions, success will not keep you waiting.

The knitter herself sold luxurious shawls for 1,000 rubles, explaining that they didn’t charge more. A friend was indignant at such cheapness. It's no secret that a creator and a trader rolled into one is not always successful. We took them to the store, where they were sold quickly and with a markup.

There are a lot of subtleties in online sales: from using appropriate sites to creating your own website or online store. The secrets to the success of such an enterprise are also widely outlined on specialized websites.

Wherever you put your hands, wherever you use your intellectual potential, there will definitely be profit. Maybe not immediately and not necessarily material. Feeling like a creative person, capable of something effective, is also worth a lot and will certainly push aside the poverty and infirmity of old age.

They were written by people with jobs. But today - unusual story: Pensioner Lyubov Petrovna told us in detail about her income and expenses. We are publishing her story.

The photo is for illustrative purposes only. Photo from website: pixabay.com

— I am not a working or part-time pensioner. I am 63 years old, I live alone in Minsk in my apartment. There is no car. ABOUT I dare you please publish your exact factual budget, because I don’t see the budgets of pensioners, but I would like to look and maybe learn something. And I would like to tell everyone, not just pensioners, that it is really necessary to take into account and plan your finances. Even though each family’s budget is individual and managed differently, in our time this is especially necessary, and given the presence of computers in every home, this is quite possible.

Until 2011, I made notes only sporadically (for example, when I had to buy everything from scratch for a new apartment). And since 2011, when a computer appeared in the house, I have been saving quite detailed data on the PC. I created the application myself in Microsoft Office Access. Before retirement, I always worked on computers, but not as a programmer. Maybe the accounting is too detailed, but I spend very little time on data entry (I almost “automatically” enter it, since mostly monotonous expenses), the computer is one of my hobbies, very useful for me. Besides, this is a good help for my poor memory. And I really like to keep my budget up to date. Here I will show the last two years: 2016 and 2017. Until 2015, I looked after my mother, so then there were other needs and expenses. At the moment I have no savings.

Income. Pension - 354.12 rubles (from November 2017), 335.66 rubles (December 2016 - October 2017), 318.16 rubles (until November 2016). According to statistics, this is the average pension in the country. So you can say that I am an average pensioner. Additional income - help from my daughter, because... I can't live on retirement.

Expenses are ahead of my pension and look very different from month to month: sometimes more, sometimes less. Separate expense items are “non-standard” (large expenses such as repairs, which are rare and were due to old savings) and “ medical services“(mostly dentistry) I don’t show here. This is a fairly large expense (especially dentistry), and you can’t do it without your daughter’s help, otherwise you’ll end up throwing your teeth on the shelf.

Photo by the author of the competition story.

Monthly payments (I also show 2015 here to clearly show what has increased in price the most over 3 years).

Monthly payments:
		rent	SPACE INTERNET

In order to save money, I use the cheapest tariff plans (they are enough for me), sometimes I change them through my personal accounts. But they are still growing, especially, as can be seen from the table, the Internet (Cosmos) and mobile phones (Velcom, tariff “About everything at once”). Electricity per month - 90−115 kW. Home phone - I try not to exceed 60 free minutes. By mobile phone 250 minutes for all numbers in your network is enough. And on Skype and Viber, communicate as much as you want, for free.

I don’t go to cafes and restaurants, I cook at home: it’s healthier and cheaper.

I don’t smoke, I don’t drink (but I buy 3-4 bottles of wine a year). This also saves money.

Food is the main expense item. I follow the promotions, if the price suits me, then I buy in the nearest stores, such as “Euroopt”, “Almi”, “Vitalur”, “Skala”, “Corona”. I buy eggs at the market (better quality, although more expensive) and dairy products cheaper than in the store. I also mostly buy meat at the market, because... better choice and it seems to be cheaper than in stores. I buy vegetables at a convenience store, and potatoes at the autumn fair (I have enough until spring).

I don’t save much on food, but if necessary, I try to limit it harmful products. I may have been able to live on 150 rubles a month for groceries, but I couldn’t live on 100 rubles a month for groceries even with the most severe savings.

MEAT PRODUCTS
				Cost in rub.
Sausages products
Semi-finished products
Beef

This table shows that savings come from reducing the consumption of sausage products and practically eliminating beef. That is, the nutritional structure is changing.

A lot of money is spent on fruits; there is room for savings here. I’ll show you the costs for fruits and vegetables:

Cost in rub.

I even wondered what conclusions could be drawn? From year to year, fruits are less in weight and more expensive. But I didn’t draw any particular conclusions for myself regarding vegetables.

People come to visit me, I sometimes go and I don’t want to somehow take it into account or calculate it, so it’s unlikely that my food costs are optimal. I try not to go far beyond my own average values, but I also don’t particularly infringe on my needs.

Pharmacies - medicines, sometimes a glucometer, consumables for a glucometer. I try to use domestic drugs (if they help more or less).

Non-food expenses are not only household goods, but also everything that is not related to food.

For example, a swimming pool. Sometimes I go once a week, sometimes I go 2 times a week, I can buy a subscription, and sometimes with single tickets (depending on what is more convenient and cheaper for me).

I also save because I try to do everything myself - minor repairs of household appliances, plumbing, I sew something, I make something. I like it and it's not a burden at all. I like to tinker with some household problem or computer problem. It's kind of a hobby. And this also takes up my free time, there is no time to be bored.

I have enough time to track prices on the Internet.

I spend less money on clothes than many of my friends, because... I don’t need much, but I can sew what I need myself (except outerwear). Here are my expenses for item 4-Non-food:

Non-food costs in rubles
Name
Hygiene Cosmetics Perfumery
Stationery
Clothes, shoes
Recreation, entertainment, sporting goods
Sewing supplies
Transport
H/T-tree
C/T furniture
C/T-metal/tool
C/T-washing, cleaning
C/T plastic
C/T-for repair works
Kitchen utensils
C/T-chemistry
C/T electrical products

Household goods are divided into these categories for ease of data entry into a computer database. It is impossible to draw conclusions from numbers that “dance” from year to year (and from month to month as well).

I just regularly look through the main first table, try not to go far beyond my own averages for products and plan whether I can buy something non-food that I can do without this month, or put it off for later. And other indicators in various sections are sometimes interesting and useful to view in order to optimize your costs. It’s not for nothing that they say: “A penny saves a ruble.”

When communicating with other pensioners similar to me, I see that they live at approximately the same level. Some children help, while others themselves help children using past savings. Some people don’t have children; they live off the safety net they have prepared in advance. And some people still have to work. Everyone somehow survives, but without excesses.

I sympathize with some young people who, for objective reasons, cannot earn good money, I myself had such times with work, and it happened in the family that pancakes were a dessert food.

The goal of my budgeting is to wisely manage available resources. There was a time when I was generally afraid to spend money, because... Without accounting, I was not sure that there would be enough money until the next pension.

I don’t think that those who manage their budget in any way will be able to take note of anything from my story. The purpose of my article is to convince those who are not trying to control their budget that this is still very useful for both the poor and the rich.

Stories for the “My Budget” competition are accepted until January 20 (inclusive). Until February 14, we will publish the remaining most interesting stories, and then the readers will decide who gets the .