I practiced living below my means for years before I retired. It made the transition to a fixed income pretty seamless. Your wife is a woman after my own heart - I still balance my checkbook every. single. month. And I have lived with a budget from the get-go. When I first started, it was like you - having more needs to feed & house a family than I had means for. And eventually, my income rose to the place where I didn't have to monitor every penny. It's a great feeling - knowing that you have enough.

Wonderful piece full of great advice!!