Dear Helaine: I need your advice on my financial situation. I am married, in my early 70s, and still at work. I earn $100,000 as a hairstylist. My husband is retired with no pension or any other means of income besides $1,500 monthly in Social Security. I am receiving $1,600 from Social Security monthly.

We owe about $5,000 on two car loans, but other than that, there's no debt and no mortgage. We own our home outright, and it's worth about $500,000. The issue: We only have about $50,000 in savings.

I would like to retire as soon as possible; my job is physically demanding, and I know I can't keep up the pace much longer. I also know we won't be able to live a good life on just Social Security, especially living in the relatively expensive region that's our home. Can you please help me? -- Ready to Retire

Dear Ready to Retire: Perhaps it will make you feel better to know you are far from the only person in this position. Pollsters regularly find the vast majority of us think we can work as long as we are alive. That's just not true, sad to say. In many cases, including your own, our bodies just can't keep up.

So what should you do now? I wish I had magic powers and could spin gold out of straw for you. But I can't do that. There is no way you aren't going to experience a significant cut in your income when you cease work. That, in turn, will all but force you to cut back on enjoying the "good life," as you put it. But there are ways to mitigate it.

You could sell your home and move to a less-expensive area of the country. This, especially if you trade a home for a one- or two-bedroom condo, will likely allow you to bank a few hundred thousand dollars in savings.

I get that you might not want to relocate. In that case, you should consider a reverse mortgage, which will allow you to use the equity in your home to live on, giving you and your husband a set amount monthly. But reverse mortgages are difficult to navigate, and you'll need someone expert and trustworthy to guide you through the process of finding the right one.

Finally, you might want to consider -- if you are physically able, that is -- continuing to put in even a few hours a week on the job. If you are earning $100,000 annually, you are likely working a full-time schedule. That's hard in your 70s. But it's possible a part-time schedule will be doable. That will allow you to gradually reduce your expenses and build up more in the way of savings.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Hi, Helaine: I felt very edgy in the first weeks of the Trump administration. I thought about altering my investments and even considered stocking up on gold coins. But my financial adviser talked me out of it and told me to stay the course. It worked for a time.

Trump's now threatening increasing tariffs on Twitter, the stock market is down and it feels as bumpy as I feared. Should I cut back on spending and save as much as possible? Or should I stock up on cheap stuff and anything else I think I will need before the prices go up, thanks to trade wars?

Should my wife and I invest our budget reserves in paying down our home loan to get out of debt, invest abroad, or keep more money in cash to keep our reserves as liquid as possible? What do you think? -- On the Financial Edge

Dear On the Financial Edge: I agree having a president who appears to use Twitter as a governing tool can be somewhat disconcerting. But don't let it scare you into upsetting what sound like well-laid-out financial plans. The stock market goes up, and it goes down. Trying to guess at this stuff is a fool's errand. I'd stick with your current investment plan and savings and spending strategies.

As I am forever pointing out to people, the stock market can go down 20 percent, but that doesn't mean your chosen alternative won't go down even more. Similarly, I wouldn't suggest stocking up on stuff you think you might use one day because you think tariffs will make the things more expensive, unless it's something you are sure you will need to purchase within the next few months in any case. Also, it's worth noting that tariffs hardly only impact unnecessary "cheap stuff." They can also impact everything from food to cars.

As for liquid savings, three to six months emergency savings is recommended -- no matter who the president happens to be. If you don't have that, I would suggest cutting back for a time to build up an easy-to-access nest egg.

But most important: Stay calm! It's when we panic that we make the biggest financial mistakes.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: Help me out with this one. My salon, like most where I live, charges for a blowout after you get highlights. I do it once every few months as a treat -- it's $40. Or, I should say, I did it occasionally.

I had a big meeting with my boss scheduled the day after my last appointment, so I said yes, I'd love the help, when my colorist asked if I would like to schedule a blowout. When I paid the bill, I discovered I was charged $80. I asked the receptionist to look over the bill and said I thought there was a mistake.

She told me my blowout was done by a master stylist. When I responded that in the past the salon always used assistants for the task, she told me the salon recently changed that policy, and I should have realized I was in the hands of a senior stylist. I told her it was wrong to spring a doubling in price on me or any customer. After another minute of back and forth, she refunded the $40 as a courtesy "just this one time."

I'm now feeling guilty and wondering if it was all my fault for not asking the price in advance. What do you think? -- A Hairy Problem

Dear Hairy Problem: It is customary to send out an email notification of a change in salon prices, as well as to post a notification at the front desk. It doesn't sound like the salon did that in this case. I doubt you are the first person to experience this sticker shock, though you might well have been the first to speak up -- and good for you that you did!

If an establishment suddenly doubles the charge for a service, it needs to tell customers about it before they sign up for it. Springing a 100% price increase on a customer after the fact is not acceptable. Moreover, I know very few people who know all the stylists in their salon, so the idea that it's your responsibility for not recognizing the person is simple excuse-making. You did nothing wrong here. The salon did.

One other suggestion: Get your colorist's contact information. This is such an unusual situation, I wonder if the salon is experiencing financial woes. It's rare to see a price go up by that much, with or without notice. You don't want to be out a prized beautician if the establishment suddenly shuts its doors.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)