Indeed. Just because you've paid off the mortgage you still have maintenance costs on the house.
We live quite frugally but this last two years we've had to spend a considerable amount of money on maintenance and repairs to our house which was built around 46 years ago. For example, new tanks and associated plumbing in the loft; new fence posts and fencing along the boundary with the neighbours; central heating system and radiator repairs and general plumbing repairs, work by an electrician last week was another £120. Our perimeter fencing around the front and back garden all needs replacing. The cooker is around 16 years old and will need replacing soon. We needed a new fridge freezer a couple of years ago which would not have been economical to repair (it was only 7 years old). We still have the original late 70s kitchen units and these badly need replacing. Most of the house needs redecorating and my husband is now too frail to do this. I will be doing some of it but I can't tackle high stair wells. I can do minor plumbing and drains stuff and do most of the gardening. But a lot of the work he would have done on the house when he was younger and still able we now have to pay someone else to do.
Another source of cost that is often overlooked is lack of transport. My husband is no longer safe to drive and it costs over £90 for the round trip to one of our local hospitals and around £50 a round trip to get to the nearest one, 6 miles away. Many of the medical specialities that once had a department at our nearest hospital have been relocated to the hospital that is 14 miles away from us. A & E will also be relocated 14 miles away next year., instead of 6 miles away. There is no direct public transport service from our village and in any case, my husband's balance and mobility means he can't travel safely by bus. So every hospital appointment, some vaccinations, every dental appointment, opticians etc now incurs taxi fares at a cost of around £4 per mile. That can rack up, especially if he is in hospital, with visiting, taking him stuff and bringing him home.
He needs non prescription items that he has to pay for. That can rack up too. So if you get a month where you need to call a plumber out or an electrician or replace a fridge freezer or have a couple of hospital appointments or he's hospitalised the state pension does not stretch very far. Like everyone else, food and fuel costs have gone up, rates and water have gone up. Last April our pensions went up by around £24 each a month - that increase is very quickly wiped out by inflation and additional costs associated with being old and ill.
We are not all going on cruises.