When it comes time for you to retire, the one thing that everyone is hoping is that they’ve saved enough during their working years to live comfortably. And while some people are able to accomplish this, many people wonder if the nest egg they have will last them throughout the duration of their life. And because no one knows how long they’ll be living in retirement and what expenses might come up—like big medical expenses or needing to move into a senior living facility—it’s wise to try to make your money last for as long as possible.

To help you in doing this, here are three ways to stretch out your retirement funds. 

Don’t Draw On Social Security Until You Need To

Once you’re ready to retire, there will hopefully be a few different ways that you’ll be adding money to your bank accounts each month. One of these will be social security.

While you can start drawing on your social security benefits when you’re 62, and get full benefits when you’re 66 and 67, if you can hold off on these benefits for a few more years and continue working, you’ll be able to make them last much longer. So if you have other funds that you can live off of until you’re 70 years old and you’re physically able to keep working, you’ll have a bit more padding in your finances. 

Cut Back On Your Biggest Expenses

Something else you can do to help your retirement money go farther is to not use so much of it. To do this, you’ll likely need to cut back on some of your expenses, with the biggest expenses making the biggest impact. 

If you can, consider moving into a smaller home and selling off the larger home that you lived in while raising your family. As you do this, not only will you be paying less on a monthly basis for your mortgage, but smaller homes also have lower rates for things like utility bills. 

Live In A Tax-Friendly State

For those who are up for moving somewhere different in their retirement years, moving to a state that has tax-friendly laws around retirement could help you save money and stretch your retirement dollars as well. 

In some states, there is either no income tax or exclusions for tax for retirement funds. If you’re already living in a state with these laws, great. But if you’re not, consider if moving to a place like this could be worth it to you in the long-run. 

If you’re getting closer to retirement and you want to increase the chances of your funds lasting you throughout the rest of your life, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to make your retirement funds stretch further than you may have thought.