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I know there must be more than just me living retirement on just SS and nothing else. So lets here from you. We retired to a much cheaper place to live, but even so we are going in the hole each month on just food, insurance and utilities.
Neither my husband nor myself are in any condition to work at all, We have a few things we can try to sell on Craig's list or Ebay, but that is about it.
So I guess the life on a shoe string is for us. Any others? how are you faring?
It would be nice if this thread did not turn into criticism of how we and others got into this situation.
My brother is living on his SS alone and was doing OK until Medicare kicked in. He said he was going to apply for food stamps and if he is eligible, it will offset the cost of the Medicare. Have you looked into that or food pantries or other assistance?
I know there must be more than just me living retirement on just SS and nothing else. So lets here from you. We retired to a much cheaper place to live, but even so we are going in the hole each month on just food, insurance and utilities.
Neither my husband nor myself are in any condition to work at all, We have a few things we can try to sell on Craig's list or Ebay, but that is about it.
So I guess the life on a shoe string is for us. Any others? how are you faring?
It would be nice if this thread did not turn into criticism of how we and others got into this situation.
Unfortunately someone will chime in with how great they are doing and others made poor choices.
As a retired (one year)Social Worker in the Expensive State of CA, I saw many folk on SS only getting by just fine in our small town/rural area. How, you may ask? Step one: subsidized rent apartment. Nice one bedroom for $275 a month. Or shared housing. Medical care is free due to state Medicaid along with Medicare. Food is covered by food stamps and various food banks. Church run charities provide clothes, household items, food and more. Senior center provides, food, rides and social services. And there is the informal network of the poor in our community. Funded programs to provide reduced utility and phone rates.
The poor here do ok, but it does take some effort and reaching out.
I know there must be more than just me living retirement on just SS and nothing else. So lets here from you. We retired to a much cheaper place to live, but even so we are going in the hole each month on just food, insurance and utilities.
Neither my husband nor myself are in any condition to work at all, We have a few things we can try to sell on Craig's list or Ebay, but that is about it.
So I guess the life on a shoe string is for us. Any others? how are you faring?
It would be nice if this thread did not turn into criticism of how we and others got into this situation.
Unfortunately it will. Without knowing your circumstances or what obstacles you may have faced in your life financially there will be those here who will scold you for not saving your money or being frugal.
I don't quite fit your scenario, I live on my SS plus a $447.71 pension. How I manage and I manage very nicely was to move to a city with a much lower COL than the one in which I was living to a nice income restricted senior citizens complex. You have to have a certain income or below to qualify. All utilities are paid. My expenses are food and medical costs. There are nice free or very cheap entertainment venues offered here.
You might want to look into these to see if there are any nice ones in your city. I know some have a good number of them and some don't.
I made a household budget and got rid of anything we can do without or found a way to get it as cheap as possible: phones, internet, TV, etc.
We shop a lot at The Dollar Tree and use coupons or shop grocery store brands elsewhere.
We rarely buy clothes or shoes but when we do it's WM or Good Will or Ebay.
We cook or have sandwich stuff and occasionally bring in favorite ''fast food'' or dinners. Maybe once a month if at all on that last. I've learned how to eat well and cheap and shop on a weekly basis to lessen waste. Fruit, veggies, chicken, fish, pasta, rice form the basis and I have a 5 qt crockpot that saves us a ton of money.
Our old car is paid for and I have the minimum insurance on it. I walk, bicycle, and scooter ride when I can so the car sits a lot. I think I use a tank of gas a month, if that.
The library has books, videos, books on CD, social activities. All free!
Most things I enjoy are free: walking with my dogs in parks, riding on bike paths, cooking, reading, photography, visiting friends, writing. A round of ''senior golf'' is 12 bucks riding or 9 bucks walking.
Years of surviving The Great Recession taught us about frugal living and simple pleasures.
Short of hunting and fishing for food, we know how to survive on very little.
Plus it helps to know what you need to be happy at a minimum.
My SO has Medicare, I have no insurance since 2012. I am lucky to be healthy for now. If I need medical attention like antibiotics I use the CVS or Walgreens nurse practioner for a small fee.
We get by and are pretty content and just had 11 years to adjust after those lean years. I know people who could never live the way we do. We find freedom and peace knowing our adversity taught us how to survive. SS is a blessing for us.
We are looking into moving into a cheaper place, but it would have to be way out in the rural areas, so not sure we want to deal with car-dependence and winters out there.
BTW, CD has a great Frugal Living forum!
Last edited by HappyDogToday; 03-02-2017 at 07:16 PM..
My parents lived on Social Security in south Jersey. When they divorced, my mother bought a small trailer in the only park in that county.So it was on the edge of the nice super suburb they had lived in. They moved in together when my father was homeless and she was broke. He had a heart attack at 75 and stopped driving taxi. Their lot rent was something like $500/month and that was for everything except electric. They had one very old car although she should have long since stopped driving.She died in 2005. He kept the trailer and got rid of the car due to eyesight. He walked about two miles a day out of choice, and would only take a taxi if he needed to buy heavy groceries (like a sale on canned goods). He'd take the train into Philly or to Atlantic City to do a small bit of gambling (unlike the major gambling he did as a younger man).
He died in 2012.
Living in a modest mobile home is my "if I have to" plan. Transport is the main issue there. You need utilities and groceries and transport and have a place to live. I find this comforting "just in case."
As a retired (one year)Social Worker in the Expensive State of CA, I saw many folk on SS only getting by just fine in our small town/rural area. How, you may ask? Step one: subsidized rent apartment. Nice one bedroom for $275 a month. Or shared housing. Medical care is free due to state Medicaid along with Medicare. Food is covered by food stamps and various food banks. Church run charities provide clothes, household items, food and more. Senior center provides, food, rides and social services. And there is the informal network of the poor in our community. Funded programs to provide reduced utility and phone rates.
The poor here do ok, but it does take some effort and reaching out.
You've just named a bunch of federally subsidized programs. It's probably good you retired when you did.
Every state has Area on Aging regional offices. These have hotlines to call where you can find out about senior programs like transportation, food stamps, home delivered meals, Medicaid, in home health care, etc.
Also they usually have a subsidized housing list as mentioned by Minervah.
Most counties have senior centers where community resource info can be obtained as well.
Lots of support if you are 60+.
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