1. Finding a roommate.

The flip side of moving into someone else's home is to find someone to live in one's own home, particularly if the cost of staying there, rather than the home maintenance, is the issue. 

Some seniors are finding other seniors to share expenses, as mentioned above, while others—who might need help around the house as well as financial assistance—are taking in college students who are willing to take on their share of cleaning, cooking and laundry in exchange for an arrangement that could not only provide not only more privacy but lower cost than a room in a crowded dorm—as well as being mutually beneficial.

Here are 10 strategies that retirees are using to drive down bills or drive up income, since Social Security only covers about 40 percent of the income they had while working.

Given that tens of thousands of near-retirees have little to no retirement savings, it's useful to examine how retirees already dealing with a tight, fixed income cut expenses. 

And while some techniques are downright hazardous—cutting dosages on their medications, for instance, or simply not filling prescriptions, or even foregoing health/dental care altogether—other strategies can be helpful, if perhaps not pleasant. (Photos: Shutterstock)

10. Grocery shopping early in the morning.

Supermarkets often mark down fruits and vegetables, baked goods and even meats that are at or near their sell-by dates early in the morning. 

Many seniors are early birds when it comes to grocery shopping and pick up these bargains, which can be as much as 50 percent or even more lower in price than they were just the day before. Then they plan their menus around whatever they were able to find.

9. Sharing grocery orders.

A common complaint, especially for people who live alone, is that lots of goods are cheaper in the so-called large economy size (although you really need to check per-ounce, per-pound or per-unit pricing to be sure that's the case).

So some seniors go in together on large packages of everything from paper goods to potatoes and split the order. That way they get to take advantage of the lower bulk price while still getting the benefit of items they might otherwise not have been able to buy as often as they'd like.

8. Sharing shopping club memberships.

One way to carry that a step further is for seniors to pool money for membership in a shopping club, like BJ's or Costco. Then they can split even larger bulk purchases of food and household items, or find special prices on items that might rarely go on sale otherwise.

7. Giving up land lines.

This one isn't all positive, since land lines are less likely to fail in case of power outages or emergencies, but the cost of maintaining both a home phone and a cell phone is leading many seniors to choose the portability of a cell phone and abandon the traditional hardwired phone. 

However, seniors need to be careful with this one, since if they have bundled services with a single company dropping their land line could result in higher costs for the remaining services.

6. Eliminating cable.

Seniors can save substantial sums by dropping cable service, and while subscription services like Hulu and Netflix aren't as cheap as they were just recently, they still provide entertainment at a substantially lower cost than cable companies.

5. Bargaining for lower interest rates.

Seniors carrying mortgages, car loans or credit cards can try to negotiate lower interest rates (or, in the case of a home mortgage, refinance) to bring down the amount of money lost to interest payments rather than principal.

4. Lowering the heat/raising the air conditioning.

It's almost a caricature of the elder wandering around draped in sweaters in an overheated house, but utility bills can be lower if seniors do the opposite—don warmer clothes and turn down the heat. 

Conversely, in summer, if they can raise the thermostat on the air conditioning, that can cut electric bills substantially—although they need to be wary of doing either one too enthusiastically, particularly during bitter weather or heat waves when it can actually be dangerous.

3. Giving up the house.

The cost of owning one's own home, particularly if a senior lives alone, can be too high—not just in money but in labor. If money is tight, how much maintenance is getting done? 

Seniors on a tight budget who really can't manage the physical demands of caring for their own home might want to consider downsizing, selling and moving into an apartment, where the labor requirements will be far lower.

2. Becoming a roommate.

If apartments are too expensive, some seniors are instead looking to rent a room in someone else's house—perhaps even in exchange for cooking meals or helping out in other ways. A side benefit might be companionship so that neither is alone.

1. Finding a roommate.

The flip side of moving into someone else's home is to find someone to live in one's own home, particularly if the cost of staying there, rather than the home maintenance, is the issue. 

Some seniors are finding other seniors to share expenses, as mentioned above, while others—who might need help around the house as well as financial assistance—are taking in college students who are willing to take on their share of cleaning, cooking and laundry in exchange for an arrangement that could not only provide not only more privacy but lower cost than a room in a crowded dorm—as well as being mutually beneficial.