It’s one thing to grow into your retirement years, and something else to actually retire. If you had been practical (i.e. realistic) when you were younger and had a little luck besides, you are one of those affluent elders living out a leisurely existence. No more freeway commutes for you. No more pulling an all-nighter to get a presentation ready for the boss or swallowing your pride to demand a well-earned raise or promotion. Chances are, these days, you wake up each morning in cheery surroundings in a home that you paid for in full, and decorated down to your specific tastes. Outside your bedroom window, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the 9-hole golf course in your gated community. Every weekend you attend country club dinners or nights out on the town. You make three or four trips a year to exotic locations that you always dreamed of exploring but could never afford. It’s good being financially solvent, at last. And if that’s what you are, you are to be applauded for making it happen. I have no further advice for you on this subject other than to keep on doing whatever it was that allowed you to retire in style.

On the other hand, a shocking number of Americans over 65 were not as far-sighted as you, and are finding themselves buckling under rising costs of virtually everything and the shrinking value of the dollar. So, what do they do now—those penurious people over 65?  Is it too late for them to have their piece of the American Pie? My belief is that it is never too late—for anything. You just have to be a little smarter than you were, a little less materialistic, a little less risk-adverse, and a lot more proactive about preserving your health while you go about expanding your wealth. Making money at this stage of your life is going to take you on a whole new path, and it’s going to require you to be in good shape—mentally and physically, and even philosophically.

Here’s a list of some basics to get you started with the nest egg you would have done well to build when you were younger.

1. Cut your costs of everything in terms of consumer goods and household management. Take a good look at last year’s receipts and see where there are things you can do without. Be stoical if you have to, but be brutal. How much do you really need all those cable channels? Or the Botox cosmetics? Or that extra car accessory? Or those front row seats to an overpriced play? Forget season boxes to the baseball stadium of your choice. Don’t think of this as a sacrifice. This is merely your living example of short-term pain for long-term gain.
2. Invest in short-term instruments, and use the advice of a good and conservative counselor. You might want to master the techniques of buying or selling options or investing in the currency markets. But you need to know what you’re doing, or hire someone who is expert at doing it for you. Be sure it is someone you trust, with sterling credentials. It’s all a crapshoot, but you want to stack the odds in your favor. Whatever you do, don’t buy into long-term investments. You need to see significant gains within your lifetime. Do some serious studying of the markets. No matter what kind of economic scenario we are currently living through, there is always a way to increase your bottom line. It is no secret that the biggest fortunes have been made when there was “blood in the streets.”
3. Sell belongings that have value to other people but which have no real place in your life. Now is a good time to learn to use www.ebay.com or another online auction house where you can exchange your items for cold hard cash.
4. Get a job. You may already be working, and glad of it, but if you’re not, it could be the best thing in the world for you—not only for your financial bottom line, but to keep you productive and connected with the world. Being of use to the world is one of the smartest things you can do to keep yourself living longer and healthier. The job doesn’t have to be extraordinary, but after all these years of living you have gained expertise on at least one subject, and it is time for you to monetize it, once and for all.