5 ways to save money in retirement

Experts say one golden rule of retirement should be "Plan what you spend, spend what you plan." "Too many people don't have a budget," says Michael Kay, a certified financial planner who's president of Financial Focus in Livingston, N.J. "You need to know which costs are fixed costs, and which costs are discretionary. It's the discretionary costs that you choose, that you can trim."

Before you can cut your discretionary spending, you have to know how much it is. So keep track on what you're spending for frills like entertainment, travel or impulse purchases.

Dining out is one place to put your budget on a diet, says Bernhardt. "Our clients have shared that they did not realize how much money they spent on eating out until they changed their habits and ate at home more often," he says. "And they did not feel like they were making a significant sacrifice."