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To get a good idea of monthly costs: write down each day for a month ANYTHING you buy.....gum, coffee, groceries, home supplies, medicine, pets stuff, gas, entertainment costs etc. Be very focused, leave out nothing, not a dvd rental, a book of stamps, an imported beer.....
Then add in the costs you have already listed, (which are low, I think) to get an estimate.
Unfortunately, you might need more than expected for retirement!
Don't forget emergencies too! Must keep some $ for that as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kinkytoes
I guess not. I just calculated with $300 for insurance, $300 for medical , $200 for food and $100 extra, but I guess I would have to pay for utilities at least. In my state they can be like $500 per month in the winter.
But I think if you don't have a housing payment, would it be difficult to retire on say $1500 per month?
Oh I see...sounds like you are trying to figure out where mom's money goes? so this info is not for you? Well, no. 1: health problems involved? That is like quicksand for money......my meds are so expensive now I beg my MD for samples when I go in for appt. (I am only 57....).
Can you work with her to determine where the money goes? Help her with a basic budget, so she and you know what is needed or what could be deleted to save? I am sure it is hard for children to help pay for parents-when they themselves could put it to use...is that your feeling perhaps?
We all have to help each other out. If you value how mom raised you and think of sacrifices she made through the years ( some you do not know of), maybe it would not be annoying or a hardship for you after all.
(that is if you feel that way, you did not specifically state that....I am just guessing )
Quote:
Originally Posted by kinkytoes
Wow you're right. It's a little more expensive than I thought.
My sister and I help my mom out with $$ sometimes. How do you guys feel adult children play into the equation of living on a "budget?"
Plenty of retired people rent apartments and have rent payments due every month. Rent takes up the vast majority of one's monthly social security income.
I am not sure that the kind of rent assistance you are talking about (for the general population) is the same as senior subsidized housing, where you apply and then get on a list and when you're called you prove what your income is directly to the housing office (not some voucher or Section 8 program). Does anyone know for sure?
Section 8 Housing Vouchers (supplied by the Department of Urban Housing and Development - HUD) are available to anyone below a certain income. Low income seniors and disabled rely heavily upon vouchers due to their circumstances. The waiting list can be for years.
In addition, HUD administers housing units (like apartments) designated for low income seniors/disabled. This is probably what you are thinking of. HUD also supplies housing for low income families. A married senior couple or two seniors who have thrown in together can be considered as a "family" and thus eligible for an apartment in a family project. A Section 8 Voucher is not required for either of these types of housing, but again, the wait list can be long.
HUD funding is under attack by the Republican members of Congress. If proposed cuts are enacted, untold numbers of low income seniors and disabled will be put out into the streets. The Tea Party wants to kill me. I don't like them.
Finally, there is a housing program which falls under the Department of Agriculture and is administered by the Rural Development Agency. The RDA provides housing units to low income rural residents. I don't specifically know the status of their funding, but given the current political climate, I'm sure its not good.
One way I survive and thrive is renting out rooms in my big old Victorian house. I live only 4 blocks from the University of Pennsylvania, 2 blocks from USP (University of the Sciences Philadelphia - the oldest pharmacy college in the US, founded by Benjamin Franklin) 5 blocks from Walnut Hill College and 10 blocks from Drexel University. I do not rent to undergraduate students; my tenants include a Drexel University professor and the others are graduate students, two from India.
I get $500 per month per room; so from rents I collect $2000 a month ... this pays for the mortgage plus one or two utility bills. However heating the big old house in winter is expensive (10 1/2 foot high ceilings!) But the guys are great guys, mature and clean and responsible. They love living in an elegant old Victorian house with stained glass windows, ornate fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, pocket doors, etc. As a single guy I lived most of my adult life living in an apartment - alone. Now I live in a house full of ... people! It's great, I find it very agreeable. Over the past decade I had students from Italy, Turkey, Poland, India, and other parts of the US. Yes, I sometimes find a dirty dish in sink, or a strange pair of boxer shorts in my dryer ... but I am like the den mother; I very gently berate the guys!
Would any of you ever consider renting a space in your home to an outsider?
Do you think I am crazy?
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