The question is not whether we're having a hard time financially, getting old is a new paradigm that I had to adapt to. Throughout my career I made questionable choices that at the time I thought were sound. I recovered each time, repeating my comment, 'Well if nothing else I certainly learned a lesson from that.' Things change, what we thought our 'golden years' were going to be like, travelling around the country on a whim, having enjoyable visits with friends and relatives, living the good life with no worries have turned out to be nothing like that.
My health has hindered my travel, my focus is now on, did I remember to take my medicine, I can't eat that like I used too, I'm on a first name basis with my primary care provider. Health care becomes a major player in your financial well being and when we were younger most of us thought we were bullet proof. I planned to have my SS, pension and 401K there to sustain me until I passed. I now have to make sure I have enough to make all my maximum annual co-pays and have enough saved to cover final expenses. We moved here to escape the bitter winters, 2 of our 3 children & married granddaughter followed us. At first we spend a lot of time watching grand kids and g-grand kids to help their parents with expenses.
We told them when we retired and gave everything away they didn't want, we have paid for their education and weddings, now it was our time. At some point we finally just had to cut the cord and say 'NO!, you'll have deal with it'. We do watch the kids occasionally but for the most part their parents have shouldered the responsibility, the other thing I've learned, not to step in and try to save the day, I realize most of my advice is taken with a grain of salt anyway. So, I quit giving it. We're doing ok we have no debt, no fancy phones or tablets, each a laptop, basic satellite TV and DSL rather than cable internet. We streamlined our auto insurance and drive older vehicles that are paid off. Our hobbies are inexpensive but enjoyable and travel is mostly a thing of the past. Our only questionable luxury is we buy alot of our food prepared and frozen for quick and balanced meals, my wife has earned her retirement too.