My answer to your question is: for the moment, it is enough... barely. For the long run, it is not going to be enough. All my savings were used during the years I was waiting to get approved.
With only $800 a month, I just squeak by. If/when I have a major car or house repair, or anything else expensive happens, it is not going to be enough. Don't get me wrong ... I am grateful what what I get. But we all know that things happen - especially to old houses and cars. And of course, I can't forget medical bills.
I also get food stamps and have no trouble making them last the month.
My SSDI is 1200 a month, since my son is disabled , His benefits and mone, we can get by. Right now were in HUD housing , so that helps too, eventually we are going to move , and not have HUD to rely on , so things will get expensive again. You do what you have to do , and so far we have been ok, i have been on SSDI since 07'
Yes, my SSDI is enough for me to live on fortunately. My car is paid for and I don't ever plan on buying another one....just keep repairing the one I have now.
@Vann04>>>hey Vann, what about you? You did not answer your own question.
Yes it is blue I am very lucky that my wife to be makes $23 an hr at her job and I get over $2,000 a month. So I'm blessed I worked a long time to get what I'm getting, I wish every one who is on ssdi gets enough to live on no one should live a sub standard life in this country we are the USA not a third world country.
The following user gives a hug of support to vann04: ferd144 (11-03-2011)
I have enough with retirement disability, SSID and the childrens benefits to live without issue (especially because we had to declare bankruptcy) Our house payment is lower than most rent, so we have been able to easily save $1000 every month.
But now the van died... (2001, 182,000 miles) and we have a car payment, we are still able to save. We are doing it because someday we will have to get another car for DH and don't want to get used to spending all our money each month.
Pup
The following user gives a hug of support to pupcake: ferd144 (11-03-2011)
I have enough with retirement disability, SSID and the childrens benefits to live without issue (especially because we had to declare bankruptcy) Our house payment is lower than most rent, so we have been able to easily save $1000 every month.
But now the van died... (2001, 182,000 miles) and we have a car payment, we are still able to save. We are doing it because someday we will have to get another car for DH and don't want to get used to spending all our money each month.
Pup
Thats great that you are able to save like that, me and my wife are still trying to catch up from the move from illionise to Florida we hired a moving co. At the tune of $8,000 then first and last months rent for an apt. To the tune of over $2 500 then auto insurance doubled in Florida and it cost over $500 to change plates and get new driver licenses but thank goodness they don't have a state tax.I just have to stay healthy till I get Medicare in march of next year. We have no plans on buying a house cheaper to rent and I'm to old to do the up keep on a house anymore. Plus I gave my ex my car so all we have is my wife's. I'm glad it's new don't have to worry about it breaking down.
Congrats Vann. I wish y'all lots of love and happiness together. I agree with what you said about renting as opposed to buying a home. Renting makes a lot more sense for many people esp. if the couple has no small children.
I am single and my biggest expense right now is the monthly rent I pay. When I was working, I use to spend a lot of money on geek gear and techie stuff. I quit doing that when I became disabled and that alone has saved me a tremendous amount of money. Most of my meals now are also home cooked. I also gave up the fast foods when I became sick and unable to work. This not only saves you money but also improves your health IMO.
Gayle here is the best example I have seen on how you can survive on a budget. She lives on under $900 / month. It is amazing how little you can learn to live on. SpineAZ and some others here here gave some wonderful money saving tips in another thread.
I am sure if I was still working, I'd have the latest iPhone by now and that big 27" iMac. even tho my old smart phone and old wintel computer running windows XP pro work absolutely fine and they can both do everything "I" need them to do.
Last edited by BlueSkies14; 11-04-2011 at 06:40 AM.
I am sure if I was still working, I'd have the latest iPhone by now and that big 27" iMac. even tho my old smart phone and old wintel computer running windows XP pro work absolutely fine and they can both do everything "I" need them to do.
Same here, Blue. No new toys for me. I paid off my student loans a few years ago, and paid off the mortgage on my small, older house a few years before that. It is nice to not have rent, but the constant repairs on an old house can be a challenge. Only this morning, I saw a board hanging from one of the eves of the house. Before, I would have grabbed my hammer and ladder fixed it myself. Now I have to get someone to do it.
Just a few months before I became disabled, I bought a new car and paid cash for it, so I have no car payment, and I hope it will last many more years. The computer I am using now is a 2005. Many people upgrade their computers every couple of years - so I hope I can get a good deal on a used castoff, when this old computer dies.
Same here, Blue. No new toys for me. I paid off my student loans a few years ago, and paid off the mortgage on my small, older house a few years before that. It is nice to not have rent, but the constant repairs on an old house can be a challenge. Only this morning, I saw a board hanging from one of the eves of the house. Before, I would have grabbed my hammer and ladder fixed it myself. Now I have to get someone to do it.
Just a few months before I became disabled, I bought a new car and paid cash for it, so I have no car payment, and I hope it will last many more years. The computer I am using now is a 2005. Many people upgrade their computers every couple of years - so I hope I can get a good deal on a used castoff, when this old computer dies.
I use to do all the repairs when I had a house in Michigan and without fail in the winter something would go wrong. I had a doublewide mobile home 3 bedrooms 2 full bathrooms a separate room for the washer/dryer a wood burning fireplace a shingled roof with vinyl siding and one winter the temp fell to -15 with a windchill of -50 and my heat tape went out and my water line froze so I had to go outside and replace the heat tape I tell you I have never been so cold in my life, I'm out there snow up to my knees wind blowing hard and me fixing a frozen water line, now you know why I love Florida . Also trying to get your car started I would have to start both cars every 4 to 5 hrs to make sure they started for work I had to be at work by 4 am when I was working. So renting is so much better a house use to make money for you not no more.
What happened to the mobile home Vann? Did you sell it? I also live in a mobile home. Michigan winters sound brutal. I am not in Florida like you are but I am right next door in Ga.
Last edited by BlueSkies14; 11-04-2011 at 10:33 AM.
Same here, Blue. No new toys for me. I paid off my student loans a few years ago, and paid off the mortgage on my small, older house a few years before that. It is nice to not have rent, but the constant repairs on an old house can be a challenge. Only this morning, I saw a board hanging from one of the eves of the house. Before, I would have grabbed my hammer and ladder fixed it myself. Now I have to get someone to do it.
Just a few months before I became disabled, I bought a new car and paid cash for it, so I have no car payment, and I hope it will last many more years. The computer I am using now is a 2005. Many people upgrade their computers every couple of years - so I hope I can get a good deal on a used castoff, when this old computer dies.
I hear ya Gayle. I also paid for my last car with cash when I was working. I do most minor maintenance stuff like oil changes myself. Hope you and everyone else have a good weekend.
What happened to the mobile home Vann? Did you sell it? I also live in a mobile home. Michigan winters sound brutal. I am not in Florida like you are but I am right next door in Ga.
I sold I just before I got divorced and mobile homes are built different for the north than the south they have more insulation and are equipped with natural gas I had a natural gas furnace hot water tank and stove and dryer ,it's taking me sometime here in Florida to get use to all electric . It takes longer for the hot water to recover. I am using a iPad to post this I also have a iPhone 3G my wife has the I4 I got her old one ,also our home computer is a I Mac took a while to get use to I was always a windows user but Mac is more reliable I'll tell you that. Plus the winters can be life threting in Michigan the cold and snow can be killers I was only 30 miles from the Canada boarder ,so we got there weather.
my brother totaled my Toyota Camry a year and a half ago, It was not his fault so I did get a insurance settlement, that helped me get a Honda Accord, their are not car payments so that has helped save a lot of money. For the last 8 years I have lived in HUD housing , and that has saved so much in rental fees. I am looking into moving to a bigger city so my son will have more services to be able to work. I will not have HUD . And overwhelmed about paying higher a rent. So as of now we are in a tiny town far away from anything. I have lived comfortably though. once my son starts recieving SSI/and adult child benefits our income will be around or above $2000 a month. I still do not want to spend most of it on monthly rent. however, want to upgrade to a place that has a washer and Dryer hookups . Around here you pay for space. The bigger the space the more expensive . The commute time will be gone after moving though, and we will be able to get things done faster, and not spend the whole day in grocery shpping like we have to do now. The high bills for us are in paying the full coverave car insurance and Cable TV. I stopped using a home phone and rely on cell phones. That saved us $65 a month. Food costs are also very high around here. So it is the rent/food costs that are the most expensive. Location has a lot to do with high rents. We lived in the San Fransisco Bay area and had a small rental which was expensive . Now living in the Valley it is more affordable, but still costly
my brother totaled my Toyota Camry a year and a half ago, It was not his fault so I did get a insurance settlement, that helped me get a Honda Accord, their are not car payments so that has helped save a lot of money. For the last 8 years I have lived in HUD housing , and that has saved so much in rental fees. I am looking into moving to a bigger city so my son will have more services to be able to work. I will not have HUD . And overwhelmed about paying higher a rent. So as of now we are in a tiny town far away from anything. I have lived comfortably though. once my son starts recieving SSI/and adult child benefits our income will be around or above $2000 a month. I still do not want to spend most of it on monthly rent. however, want to upgrade to a place that has a washer and Dryer hookups . Around here you pay for space. The bigger the space the more expensive . The commute time will be gone after moving though, and we will be able to get things done faster, and not spend the whole day in grocery shpping like we have to do now. The high bills for us are in paying the full coverave car insurance and Cable TV. I stopped using a home phone and rely on cell phones. That saved us $65 a month. Food costs are also very high around here. So it is the rent/food costs that are the most expensive. Location has a lot to do with high rents. We lived in the San Fransisco Bay area and had a small rental which was expensive . Now living in the Valley it is more affordable, but still costly
I'm paying over $1,200 a month for a big two bedroom apt. In Clearwater Florida it's over 1,241 sq feet
I sold I just before I got divorced and mobile homes are built different for the north than the south they have more insulation and are equipped with natural gas I had a natural gas furnace hot water tank and stove and dryer ,it's taking me sometime here in Florida to get use to all electric . It takes longer for the hot water to recover. I am using a iPad to post this I also have a iPhone 3G my wife has the I4 I got her old one ,also our home computer is a I Mac took a while to get use to I was always a windows user but Mac is more reliable I'll tell you that. Plus the winters can be life threting in Michigan the cold and snow can be killers I was only 30 miles from the Canada boarder ,so we got there weather.
Cool Vann. You sound like an apple fanatic. They say once you go apple, you will never go back to Bill Gates and Microsoft windows LOL. The Android based smart phones are really nice also. I absolutely love the touchscreens. May one day get me a mac but I am ok for right now.
Most of my meals now are also home cooked. I also gave up the fast foods when I became sick and unable to work. This not only saves you money but also improves your health IMO.
even tho my old smart phone and old wintel computer running windows XP pro work absolutely fine and they can both do everything "I" need them to do.
