Key Points
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While the 2026 COLA may help reduce the pinch of inflation, taking additional steps can save you even more.
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If you’re unaware of the many discounts available to seniors, you may be leaving money on the table.
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The first step is to comb through your monthly budget, looking for expenses you can easily do without.
If you think that inflation will wipe out your entire cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, it’s possible you’re right. However, it’s equally possible to adopt a handful of new habits that can blunt inflation’s impact on your budget and leave you with more of your COLA.
Saving money doesn’t have to be a chore. Look through this list and identify any moves you may enjoy trying. If nothing else, pick and choose easy money-saving steps that won’t take up much of your time. After all, you have a life to live.
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Recast your mortgage
If your retirement plan didn’t include a large mortgage payment, recasting may be for you. Here’s how it works:
- You make a lump sum payment. The minimum amount a lender requires you to put down varies by lender, although it’s not unusual for the minimum to be $10,000
- The bank charges a small fee. Lenders typically charge around $300 to recast the loan.
- The mortgage is reamortized. Once your lump-sum payment is made, the lender adjusts your repayment schedule to reflect your new mortgage payment. Your interest rate and term remain the same.
Imagine you took out a 30-year mortgage with an APR of 5% to purchase a $300,000 home. Your monthly payment on principal and interest is $1,610.
You’ve lived in the home for 15 years, and your mortgage balance has dropped to $194,296. You sell an asset and put $30,000 down on the remaining balance, and the bank adjusts your payments based on the $164,296 you now owe.
Your interest rate remains at 5.5% but your term drops to 15 years to take the 15 years you’ve already paid into account. Your monthly principal and interest payment drops by $311, to $1,299.
Use online or mobile shopping apps
You’ve worked hard to earn Social Security benefits. Why not save as much of it as possible? If you’re not using at least one mobile shopping app, you’re leaving money on the table. These apps save money by giving you access to digital coupons (not more clipping!), deal alerts, cash back offers, and loyalty rewards for the things you would buy anyway.
The most popular apps include Fetch, Ibotta, RetailMeNot, TopCashBack, and Honey. Your favorite retailers may offer apps with some of the deepest discounts available, so be sure to check those out.
Join AARP
Even if you still think of yourself as a 21-year-old, take advantage of your chronological age and join AARP for the discounts. AARP members have access to hundreds of them across a wide variety of categories. These discounts include everything from grocery shopping to auto services and travel.
Check with your local tax assessor
The number of people who count on Social Security benefits to pay bills comes as no surprise to anyone. That may be why some local tax assessor’s offices offers tax discounts or exemptions for seniors. Explore your options by asking.
Rethink your withholdings
If you receive a tax refund every year, why loan that money to Uncle Sam for free? Instead, change the number of deductions you claim on your W-4. That’s not to suggest you pay so little that you owe money at tax time. Instead, calculate how many deductions it would take for you to end up with a minimal refund.
Don’t be shy about calling your local utility companies
Like your local tax assessor, your utility providers may offer senior discounts. You won’t know unless you ask. One thing many local utilities do for free is offer energy audits to help you identify ways to save money on energy costs. Solutions may be as simple as sealing drafts around your house.
No one is immune to financial surprises. The difference when you’re retired is that you’re typically dealing with a set amount of money. If you’re counting on your 2026 COLA to give you a little breathing room and don’t want inflation to beat you to it, consider the small things you can do to save money in other ways, thereby outsmarting inflation.
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