One of the biggest outgoings in retirement is how much we need to spend on our homes. This includes any mortgage or rental payments, plus monthly bills and the cost of upkeeping our homes.

It’s often important to think about whether there are ways to reduce your housing costs e.g. thinking about the size and location of where you will live.

Smaller homes often mean reduced mortgage or rental payments, insurance, and utility bills. A smaller home can bring fewer surprise costs and unexpected repair bills.

If you are considering moving, plan a budget for moving expenses, as these can add up.

As well as thinking about where you might live, there are other ways you could reduce your bills such as:

• make sure you take advantage of discounts or exemptions based on age, income, or living alone. For example, you can get reduced Council Tax
• see if there are ways to make your home more energy efficient to reduce your utilities bills
• review and cancel unused streaming services, magazines, or memberships
• reduce your travel costs - you may qualify for a free bus pass or discounted rail travel

If you own your own home, you might even want to consider taking cash from a pension and using this to put towards paying off any large expenses, such as the remainder of your mortgage. This could bring down your outgoings in retirement.

Taking cash from a pension can mean your monthly payments are lower, so make sure this doesn't hamper your ability to meet your essentials in retirement.