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Auto maintenance (I assume most retired people actually still own cars?)
Auto insurance (see question above)
Cable/internet (lots of free time once retired...no cable or internet?)
Travel (will you never go anywhere ever again?)
Personal (will you stop cutting your hair?)
Electric bill (do people in senior facilities not pay this?)
Water bill (see question above)
Gifts (will you not give to any charity and/or give any gifts to anyone ever on special occasions and/or holildays?)
Hobbies/socializing/shopping (will all the things you do be free? will you never eat out? will you never buy anything you want for these hobbies or shop for clothing again?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by arwenmark
We used to be high income, now after husband retired due to health we live on SS only, and yes we get higher than normal SS, about 42K a year between us. I won't go into all the reasons we had no savings.
The point is I forsaw a problem here and five years before retirement bought an old house in WV with the idea of retiring to it when we retired. It was cheap and big, I intended to get my youngest son and his family to move with us to take care of us.
Now we live off SS ONLY and we partially support 7 people.
We went through bankruptcy and now just the monthly expenses take us over what we get each month.
gas heat 185.
electric 358.
city utilites 85.
car and house insurance 285.
Part B ins. 268.
Sup. ins. 298.
Life Ins,540.
That does not include food or a few other things but you get the idea. BTW, I am NOT looking for advice here, just giving information in keeping with the thread. Please no you should have done this or that.
I think both posts above ^^^^ illustrate precisely, that relying solely on SS income is simply ridiculous!! Sorry, but Op's suggestion ability to make ends meet with 500.00 income ( excess) per month does NOT match up with COL for regular expenses!!
The Old adage of relying on SS income in retirement went by the wayside maybe 4+ decades ago.. Citizen's were advised to bring down debt load.. invest into Retirement Pension Plans privately... But Op, paints some sort of UTOPIA.. like they're on some easy street SMH!!
My parents did it. They owned a home and 80 acres, though, and sold that and bought two houses and lived in one and rented the other one out so that was some additional income. They didn't get Medicaid.
They seemed to do okay. When they died they had already prepaid their funerals and had almost $8000 set aside that we used for a headstone and to do some other things they had expressed they wanted done.
I'm not going to list the amount, but I get way more than $1000 to $1500 ss a month (my husbands's) plus I have pensions from my husband's retirement and a little that was saved in my own 401k. I was well aware that my retirement, much like my life, would be modest to average. Not a jet setting retirement. But I never did that while working. Why would I expect to do it in retirement?
Maybe that's how the op is looking at it. But if he's truly only in his 30's, it's a little early to guesstimate what his ss will be. Anything could happen between now and retirement.
I read the OP's post to be a hypothetical - "what if my money runs out" -and not necessarily his intention. Always best to look at worst case scenarios in planning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliza61nyc
Hey Bucfan
I would never encourage my 27 year old son to plan for living on welfare. I m old school, I taught my kid the old "reach for the stars, and even if you fail, you hit the sun" mentality
At 30 living off of SS and food stamps is something you plan to AVOID at all cost.
At 30 the mentality should be "Ok this is the life I want to live, how do i get it"
NOT "hey I bet I could survive in section 8 housing"
That's just the way I advise my two young adults
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
i spent my life trying to stay out of a nyc housing project . i vowed never to return the day i got my first job and i kept that promise to myself no matter what life threw my way . it was all to easy to find that road back there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyJuly
People are surviving right now who don't have any additional income/savings other than SS. It seems like the poorer you are the more benefits you qualify for; if you have retirement income it will be held against you.
I am always amazed at people who say they can get a decent job in their 60s+ or that they have the option to stay working as long as they want into their 70s (other than consulting). Has age discrimination suddenly vanished in the workplace? Before I stopped working in my corporate job in 2016, I was always the oldest or second oldest in the conference room, at age 57. They slowly but methodically reduced their older workforce through various means.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BucFan
Worse case scenario in planning involve "what ifs"....I'm sure you talked to your grown sons what life would be like "what if" the kid chooses a profession that doesn't pay very well or his "reach for the stars" plan doesn't work out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by s1alker
SS is the new "pension" since the vast majority of workers won't be getting one. In the old days you had a pension, SS, and whatever savings you accumulated.
Everyone I ever knew who was retired with a pension was glad they had that over a 401k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southkakkatlantan
Lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliza61nyc
But plan "B" is always about getting ahead. No I've never said "ok if your job is low paying welfarw is a good alternative".
I say ok this major wont pay livable wages, what can you do that pays well. What do you need to get ahead"
Once again in my world living in the projects is NEVER an acceptable option. ESPECIALLY at 27. Now I'm not talking about if someone becomes disabled or tragedy hits but sorry in my house we do not plan for poverty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by boston904
Not here in So Florida and good luck living with Section 8 people. This whole thread is unrealistic
Quote:
Originally Posted by boston904
My feelings exactly
Quote:
Originally Posted by skeddy
tough times ahead for people with no savings. Poor decisions make for poor people.
If staying in some dump living hand to mouth in your senior years is anybody's idea of living, you have my sympathy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightengale212
What difference does it make if you are retired or not ?? If you think I read more into your post than what you actually meant so did several others whose posts following mine with similar response to yours. If you missed the important point that the OP is 30 something and is considering 30 years into his future a life entirely dependent on government assistance to support his retirement years then admit you missed that very important point instead of responding back with meaningless information.
Several others that followed your post? Umm where? Here are the 10 that followed your post. I could have gone to 25, but why? The result would be the same-nothing
Tell me where I said I advocated for able bodied 30 year olds. A simple request.
I think the OP was just hypothesizing a scenario to elicit responses on how others see the scenario he presented.
It doesn't matter the age of the OP or what the OP plans to do with his life. He's just setting out a scenario to see if it is a possible way to live. And to elicit details on what he might be forgetting or elicit ideas of what can go wrong or how others are currently living in a similar circumstance.
Let's say you retire early and then your money runs out about the time when you start collecting Social Security.
It seems like you could do OK even as a single person. Let's say you get $1,500/month in Social Security.
You can move into a subsidized senior complex where you pay 1/3 of your income, which would be $500. You'd also get $200/month or so in food stamps, and you would also get Medicaid. If you live in a city, you could get senior bus/train passes which should be very cheap.
So really, your monthly expenses would be as follows:
$500 Rent
$50 Bus pass
$300 Food (since $200 is covered by food stamps)
$0 Medical since you get Medicaid
$50 cell phone with unlimited data
$100 household goods
------------
$1,000 total expenses per month
That means you would have $500 left over for whatever you want. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by matisse12
I think the OP was just hypothesizing a scenario to elicit responses on how others see the scenario he presented.
It doesn't matter the age of the OP or what the OP plans to do with his life. He's just setting out a scenario to see if it is a possible way to live. And to elicit details on what he might be forgetting or elicit ideas of what can go wrong or how others are currently living in a similar circumstance.
That's cool, I think it's interesting to see a 30 year old selecting a scenario where he is basically on welfare? I mean is that what people "dream" about now??
Ok so op if you are 30 and looking at details you maybe forgetting. Here's the best "detail" most here will give... compound interest is your friend, start saving seriously now, max out your 401K and live below your means. This way when you're 60 and ready to retire (early) you will have a host of options open to you, that don't include food stamps.
Let's say you retire early and then your money runs out about the time when you start collecting Social Security.
It seems like you could do OK even as a single person. Let's say you get $1,500/month in Social Security.
You can move into a subsidized senior complex where you pay 1/3 of your income, which would be $500. You'd also get $200/month or so in food stamps, and you would also get Medicaid. If you live in a city, you could get senior bus/train passes which should be very cheap.
So really, your monthly expenses would be as follows:
$500 Rent
$50 Bus pass
$300 Food (since $200 is covered by food stamps)
$0 Medical since you get Medicaid
$50 cell phone with unlimited data
$100 household goods
------------
$1,000 total expenses per month
That means you would have $500 left over for whatever you want. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
OP: as,one who was early medically retired at age of 40 on SSDI ( and having a spouse working) I can tell that after 13 years it no longer paid my share of the bills.
Of course,we aren't in senior housing, but our housing cost isn't thst big a deal.
It's the other costs of living that will get you.
Here in my fair city, a bus pass will set you back $100. The bus,doesn't cover all territory, and you'll be knocked out of food stamps here, as that income is considered good. Still you could get by on $100/week conservative shopping for good food, we do as a couple.
You also have to,allow for miscellaneous, TP, tissues, soaps of all kinds, household stuff. Figure another $100 for that, including laundry as if the unit doesn't come with a set, you'll have to pay to do your laundry.
I don't know anywhere here where a cell phone can be had for $50/m thst includes unlimited data around here. Those phones are available but have data cards to purchase to use data.
You apparently are assuming no cable or internet bill. Local channels can be picked up by antenna but not very well. Reading is an option, but unless the library is close and you don't like newscasts, unless included, you'd have that bill too.
It seems possible, and I know reality bites, but it some times does.
Also travel might take a bite if you ever plan to go anywhere.
As one who HAS lived on social security, I can tell you it dies out when COLA are far and few between, and cost go up.
SS wasn't originally established to be the sole income for folk's retirement - but it appears that in the next several decades, more and more Americans will depend on it as their only source of retirement income....
In several decades you won't be able to retire until you drop.
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