Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not to be disrespectful, but I question any elder who lives on a shoestring providing childcare and other help to grown kids. My view was always that I had the kids, I (and DH) had to find a way to afford them without impinging on our parents (who were not that bad off financially). I always worked several jobs to afford the sitters, and we often worked at home to be near the kids. Now we get our grandkids one day a week at our request. I do see an awful lot of grandparents around here taking care of grandkids much more, some all week long. You sound like you enjoy the kidsitting, but I wonder about the other help, though it's NOMB.
My daughter and her young children have escaped from an abusive relationship and she makes only $8 an hour as a CNA, has no car and no money to buy one. Her rent is over half her salary. I do what I can to help. I would prefer to only have the kids 1 or 2 days a week, but that is not an option at this time.
My daughter and her young children have escaped from an abusive relationship and she makes only $8 an hour as a CNA, has no car and no money to buy one. Her rent is over half her salary. I do what I can to help. I would prefer to only have the kids 1 or 2 days a week, but that is not an option at this time.
Thanks for your reply. I can now see why you help out. It is just unconscionable that CNAs, who do so much physical and responsible work, get paid so little. There's so many people out there not making what they're worth. Best wishes.
PS: The parents I personally know of whose kids are being taken care of by the grandparents are couples who make a fair amount to a lot of money. Four sets of grandparents and one single grandparent of these relatively affluent adult kids can well afford day care or preschool. They seem to be just taking advantage of grandparent who love their g'kids so much they want to sit them up to 5 days a week. I can say that from the one day a week we volunteer (instead of them going to daycare), I am totally out of it after the (twins) leave my house. Today is such a day, and I'm enjoying happy hour.
I have been retirement for more than ten years. I have traveled mainly the eastern US and met lots of seniors. I have met those who are in their 80's and 90's who are well off. However the majority of seniors I met were barely getting by. Generally the reason is medical. Many forced into bankruptcy and losing their homes to foreclosure. I met many who were homeless. All it takes is one major illness to financially ruin most senior.
In my younger years a child was expected to care for a parent in their old age. That is a thing of the past with most children unwilling or unable to care for their parent/parents. In fact many children are still depended on their parents even when their parents retire.
Some like to put the blame on the senior for poor planning, etc. The fact is that many people in their late 50's early 60's are given the boot by a company they may have worked for for 20-30 years. The main thing that takes people down are medical costs and that includes those on Medicare.
If you are doing well, great, count your blessings. Remember that there are others who will need to do without medications or food just to get by.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,721 posts, read 58,054,000 times
Reputation: 46185
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry
For me I spend a lot of money maintaining our home, an old farmhouse built in 1900 on 5 acres. The rider mower just crapped the bed last night, another $3,000. Great. Put that with the 2 dogs, ...
Are you leaving this place when you 'retire'? Consider some options... I can't count the 'repairs' I have done to my $100 riding mowers. (a very proficient welder by now!). Thus I just 'upgraded' to a $300 used riding mower. It was a one yr old Home Depot model, so it will probably NOT hold up like my 1976 mower I keep in the PNW (mows LOTS of wet grass multiple times / week during HIGH season!) I hate mowing grass, but goats are more trouble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by donsabi
I have been retirement for more than ten years. I have traveled mainly the eastern US and met lots of seniors. I have met those who are in their 80's and 90's who are well off. However the majority of seniors I met were barely getting by. Generally the reason is medical. Many forced into bankruptcy and losing their homes to foreclosure. I met many who were homeless. All it takes is one major illness to financially ruin most senior.
... In fact many children are still depended on their parents even when their parents retire.
Some like to put the blame on the senior for poor planning, etc. The fact is that many people in their late 50's early 60's are given the boot by a company they may have worked for for 20-30 years. The main thing that takes people down are medical costs and that includes those on Medicare.
If you are doing well; great, count your blessings. Remember that there are others who will need to do without medications or food just to get by.
yup... happens,,, 32 Yrs of service when I was cut loose (6 weeks prior to retirement eligibility). I get by without medical by 'traveling' and being very creative. I have had 3 friends die due to previous employment with a F/100, but got 'excessed' without medical in their late 50's. 2 lost their homes in the process (medical costs "took the farm" and family is left dealing with spousal impoverishment). This is not 'supposed to happen', but it does, everyday in USA.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 08-17-2015 at 05:13 PM..
Medical, from what I have seen, is the downfall of many seniors. Even if you could find an apartment for under $800 somewhere and have low utility bills, remain very frugal, when you need something like an MRI and subsequent treatment, there goes your money. When you need surgery, there goes your money.
I knew of a fairly affluent couple living in an over 55 community. The husband needed some serious surgery and it went on and on with more surgeries. In the end, he died anyway. The poor wife was left with a huge amount of bills and I don't know if or how she managed.
Maybe if you can afford the very best plans to supplement Medicare, it's a lot different. Younger people often tend to think, "Oh, they've got Medicare, they're fine." But there are lots of things Medicare doesn't cover or cases where it falls short. It's huge medical bills that I think I fear the most.
I forgot to add that I was not including healthcare. We have been on "Cadillac" plans so our health care has been over $2,000 a month by itself. With our lower income we will get on an Obama plan and only pay 2% of our income for insurance. Also, my husband will be eligible for medicare in 2 years.
I am reluctant to add this because it might anger people, but I am compulsively honest. I am 60 years old. I was married before and my first husband died 20 years ago. If I divorce my current husband [but not in my heart, this is a common practice] I will receive late husbands ss [$950 a month] as a survivor. Before you judge too harshly, with my own disabilities I have not been able to work a "real" job in many years and would have had no difficulty in qualifying for ssdi but have not done so because I have always found creative ways to bring in income.
Double check first as the Agency's interpretation of rules change, but it used to be that you could remarry your current spouse after you begin to receive your survivor benefits.
$104.90 for Medicare Premiums comes out of my SS check each month. I pay $120.54 for my Medigap plan to United Insurance by check each month. That was the first item on my list of expenses. When I listed my income, I just omitted the $104.90 that Medicare deducts from the total $1,636.90 benefit and listed the $1532.00 I take in after the $104.90 for Medicare is deducted. Then I added the pension of $477.71 to it to get the $2009.71
I did have a Medicare Advantage plan at one time but I dropped it because it was too expensive and my medical facility didn't take all the plans all the time.
My out of pocket for prescriptions vary. Last year it averaged around $60.00 a month or so. This year it's been a lot less. Food, I would have to guess maybe $150.00 or so. More if I eat out which I don't do often. I probably spend more though. I have been meaning to keep track for a month.
I haven't had to pay for any dental care. My plan pays for all routine care and so far, touch wood, I have had to have any work done.
Got it! I believe anyone can live on less than $25000 if they either own their home in a reasonably taxed city/state or can find a place with low rent and utilities such as you have.
But as long as I have certain expenses, staying under $25,000 is going to be difficult. I'm not willing to give up my LTCI yet so those premiums will continue. I will always owe taxes - my SS check will be significantly smaller than yours so I will be drawing some of my funds from taxable accounts. And I still work a little. Ca-Ching!
I'm still going to review my "budget" and make a few changes. I've already dropped the landline and cable. I doubt I pay much for food so I can't cut there. I've stopped taking one medication that is p.r.n. Unfortunately I'll have to start it up again when it gets cold. Drat! I just thought of a few more expenses: dental work, house repair, vet bill, etc. Done! I'll think about it another day.
Got it! I believe anyone can live on less than $25000 if they either own their home in a reasonably taxed city/state or can find a place with low rent and utilities such as you have.
But as long as I have certain expenses, staying under $25,000 is going to be difficult. I'm not willing to give up my LTCI yet so those premiums will continue. I will always owe taxes - my SS check will be significantly smaller than yours so I will be drawing some of my funds from taxable accounts. And I still work a little. Ca-Ching!
I'm still going to review my "budget" and make a few changes. I've already dropped the landline and cable. I doubt I pay much for food so I can't cut there. I've stopped taking one medication that is p.r.n. Unfortunately I'll have to start it up again when it gets cold. Drat! I just thought of a few more expenses: dental work, house repair, vet bill, etc. Done! I'll think about it another day.
Yes there are always those bills you don't plan on but there they are. I just had an unexpected $100.00 vet bill. Out comes the VISA card. It will get paid off in a few payments. But the kitty needed some care so it had to be done.I have a card with a very low interest rate, 7.09% so it doesn't hurt too much.
As long as I have my eyesight and a City Library full of interesting books and DVDs I am content. I have everything I need on less than $25,000.00 year. Note I did not say everything I want. What the hey I would like to have a 400 foot yacht and sail around the World constantly but even if I had $20 million coming in every year that would not be enough.
There's a lot of discussion about how illness and medical treatment can bankrupt a person.
My parents, who were just middle class folks who never lived above their means and carefully planned their finances died within two years of each other in their 70's back in the 1990's.
The estate they built and amassed was somewhere about one-half to two-thirds of a million dollars. By the time my Mom died after living in an assisted living home, and all the medical bills, funeral expenses (and they had lower than average costing funerals, but decent ones nonetheless), other bills ... more than one half of that estate disappeared.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I hate mowing grass, but goats are more trouble.
I've stopped taking one medication that is p.r.n. Unfortunately I'll have to start it up again when it gets cold. Drat! I just thought of a few more expenses: dental work, house repair, vet bill, etc. Done! I'll think about it another day. 
