How and to live in old age with very little retirement savings (diabete, friend)
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WOW...How many seniors have the energy to do any of of this. Not realistic.
Yeah, by the time you did all that and you are an elderly senior, you'd probably drop dead from exhaustion, then you won't have to worry about any of it.
My favorite one is:
"Collect the extra holiday plants leftover in the dumpsters behind the store after Xmas. then go to the local community park where the ducks are and scoop up duck poop. Put in your plants and keep them around for clean air inside your RV/Home".
This is true. My ex was doing carpentry work and windows on a house in an upscale town. Big house, had a three-car garage, snow melt system under the driveway. The owner would come home and was interested in what my husband was doing and how, asking questions. My ex felt comfortable enough that he asked hey, what do you do for a living? You're dressed like me, workboots, flannel shirt, but I don't have a house like this, plus you are home at 2 or 3.
The man laughed and said, I kill rats. I have contracts with warehouses down at the docks, and they constantly need rats killed. People will pay a lot of money to get rid of rats.
In my neck of the woods we have staffing companies that provide "Chicken Catchers". Yes, chicken catchers, who go into large chicken coops and catch and cage as many chickens that they can in the shortest amount of time, then load the cages onto trucks to be shipped out to processing plants. Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? It ain't easy. I tried to catch one in the Bahamas years ago, no dice....Anyway my understand is about 20 years ago it used to pay about $18 an hour. Now its about $13/14 an hour. I'll bet they're short staffed.....
No one has actually answered this question have they? I'll take a shot at it.
Meals on Wheels
Live in an RV park only part of the yr, winter I suppose. Otherwise drive around and find places to park. Consider Slab city https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City,_California
Gym membership so you can shower.
Drive around to various food distribution places. Tell them you are homeless and have no residency to obtain food.
Volunteer at Food banks. Take home food that would otherwise be thrown away
Go to church on church potluck days
Take advantage of Free Community Events.
Get a job but for only half the year. Then half the year you'll qualify for free healthcare and you can get your teeth cleaning (if your state also offers dental) and get your medication filled.
Find a partner to live in the RV with you.
If you are able to live in a modest home, obtain some free manure from Craigslist and start a compost pile. Toss some potatoes in it, get some chickens too so they can eat the compost and the feed is less money. Start a vegetable garden
Make your social life revolve around coffee at Starbucks
Rent an office building with a shower if you cannot afford to rent a home. If not, rent an office space with a kitchen. Live in it on the weekends, but be very discreet. Place dark curtains so no one can see the light. Do it in an older building where there are always vacancies so when you are caught, owner is less likely to evict you. But also..live in your RV about half the time which reduces the chances of being reported.Try to start a business to justify the rent
Take Advantage of Senior Center activities
If you want a dog, foster one in an area where they provide you the dog food for free. Someone may adopt it, yes, but it's still free pet for a while.
Create a FREEGAN group- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism
Create a bible study-place flyers around town & put time in the local newspaper. Meet at a coffee house
Collect the extra holiday plants leftover in the dumpsters behind the store after Xmas. then go to the local community park where the ducks are and scoop up duck poop. Put in your plants and keep them around for clean air inside your RV/Home
Buy an electric toothbrush. They work much better and you can space out your dental cleanings more
Whenever you go a great distance, place an add on Craigslist in the ride share section looking for someone to share gas costs. Learn where the common area's are and allow everyone to chip in so the gas is free. Your contribution is your wear and tear on the vehicle
At certain times of the year, go berry picking near the rivers
Learn to can. Sometimes produce can be on sale at a fantastic price so you can buy them all up and can them.
I'm fairly certain you're serious with all this, but some of it is funny, too.
Foster a dog and get free dog food? I could never foster a dog. I'd want to keep it.
This is a great idea. The only problem is if you don't know when you are going to die. If you do not have a terminal illness it's anybody's guess when you're going to die. If you're 70 you might live to 72 or you might live to 95. See the issue here?
LOL, yes, kind of obvious. And while you're alive, you might need a car repair, or a car itself, or a new refrigerator or other major household item that could die before you do.
In my neck of the woods we have staffing companies that provide "Chicken Catchers". Yes, chicken catchers, who go into large chicken coops and catch and cage as many chickens that they can in the shortest amount of time, then load the cages onto trucks to be shipped out to processing plants. Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? It ain't easy. I tried to catch one in the Bahamas years ago, no dice....Anyway my understand is about 20 years ago it used to pay about $18 an hour. Now its about $13/14 an hour. I'll bet they're short staffed.....
Yes, as a matter of fact I HAVE tried to catch a chicken, but I was a kid and a lot faster then. We had bantams as pets in the backyard that we'd have to catch and put back into the coop.
. No, there aren't "plenty of options"; that was my point. The "options" no longer cover the cost of tuition. They used to, but even in-state tuition has skyrocketed to the point that work-study and a part-time off-campus job plus summer jobs and a Pell grant don't come close to covering the costs. That's exactly why students now have to work full time while going to school full-time, or even part-time. Times have changed radically.
In VT, if you are over 65 and a school participates in the program, you can take a class for the admin fee. No tuition.
I can do that now but I don't want to Zoom a class. I'm joining a woodworking group to see if I want to spend some $$ for a mini lathe and such. They have mentors, too, so I might be able to find someone to help me.
Used to be you could 'audit' a class for a small fee, but no more. Many schools charge the full tuition. WTH.
WOW...How many seniors have the energy to do any of of this. Not realistic.
Most of it is, and I endorse. If you are not using it for travel, used motorhomes are a great resource. Cheap fruit in season and canning is a no brain thought. Do it all the time.
And what do you mean not having the energy? How old and frail do you think seniors are? I'm 70, I still hike in mountains, walk stairs rather than take the elevator for 2-3 flights, am diabetic, overweight, but have the diabetes thing controlled, working on the overweight thing. I build websites for clients, sit on the board of two charities, one local and one large regional one. I have a very small pension, and some savings. I spend my winters in warm areas (Florida and now mostly Mexico), my summers back in a very small village in the prairies of Canada.
I watch my money like a hawk. But... I live well as a result of that. No debts.
Flights south are cheap. It costs me about $300 one way, go south before the 15th of December. Come back in May, before the summer price increases.
WOW...How many seniors have the energy to do any of of this. Not realistic.
That list identifies many of the things people with little to no income or resources do to survive. It may not be pleasant to read but given the topic of this thread, it's certainly more realistic than discussing the cost of college tuition or what people should have done 40 years ago to avoid being in this situation.
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