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I've had health problems, major ones, for some time, in episodic fragmants. I thought about all the stuff I'd want to 'DO, but then my rule is simple. What gives me the best options with things as they are now? The things I want the most will take some effort, and be now and then, but I've also gotten where the quiet life is already more than desirable. Me and my pets are family, and I don't really want to 'go back' to where I was, even though here and there are things I miss.
I don't miss the crowding, the smog (number two worse in the nation, I had ongoing breathing problems), and that sense of loss from being apart from what I considered my REAL Family is real, but the last years have been so dramatic and I welcome the peace.
I've discovered that when you let go of the wishing, and quit wishing things which, with consideration, you really don't want anymore, its a lot easier to figure out what you do.
Couldn’t agree more. I feel blessed to never feel “want”. I’ve been extremely fortunate to amass a lot of money, but the truth is, most people in my situation would be living in a 5M home, and be wanting a private jet. There’d be no satisfying the desire for more. Not me, just let me control my time, having to answer to nobody, and I’m good.
Given local grocery prices, I'd find it difficult to even eat as a single person for under $300/month. It might be possible, but it would be very difficult. I'd have to retool in virtually all ways.
That’s about what I spend as a single too. But it’s because I haven’t broken out of the routine I had when working...takeout and frozen entrees. I tried, because I figured I should eat healthier, but I hate cooking. I envy those who are great cooks and enjoy it.
We've had this thread before. If you cook all your own food, buy bulk and freeze, and do cost control on what you put in your shopping cart, you can do it for $100/month. No prepared/processed foods at all. Tap water instead of soda. Protein sources like boneless chicken and pork loin that are $2.00/pound with no waste. Walmart and discount grocer eggs are cheap. Bulk frozen vegetables. Beans/legumes, rice, potatoes. Learn how to bake. It's pretty easy. Way more than half the population on the planet has a lower food budget than that. They're not eating frozen microwave entrees and take-out.
I'm not saying it's not possible, but who would want to eat this way?
Boneless, lean pork loin at my local Sam's is $2.68/lb, according to the Sam's website, and comes in 8-10 lb packages. If you ate a 4 oz. serving with each meal, you'll get 25-30 servings per case. I guess you could eat on that package of pork tenderloin all week long. Let's just say it's $25 tax and all.
Boneless, skinless breasts or tenders are about $2.50/lb. You can get 80/20 ground beef in a chub for $2.30/lb. 90/10 will run you about $3 at Sam's.
One of those a week and you've blown the budget. Go meatless and it would last longer.
A 12 oz., six count bulk bag of frozen, mixed vegetables is $5.48. If you're that hard up, you can get a 6 lb. can of green beans for about $3.50.
A dozen and a half of Sam's eggs is $2.98. Member's Mark milk is about $3 gallon - skim a little less, 2% a little more. A 20 lb. sack of basmati rice is about $15. Pintos are about the same amount per pound for a 12 lb. bag. I don't care for eggs or pintos, and I don't buy them.
That same gallon of milk at the regional grocer is $4. The 90/10 ground beef is $6/lb. The pork loin will be pushing $4/lb. Sam's and Walmart are by far your cheapest options. The Knoxville Costco and grocery stores are cheaper, but they are a hundred miles away from me.
I buy probably 80% of my meat at Sam's, but I don't want to be eating just pork chops and chicken breasts.
Where do seasonings come in the budget? Condiments like ketchup? Cooking oils and such? Things that aren't required but most people might want with some foods, like honey, butter, or jam?
I'm sure you could go through Sam's and jam the cart full of pintos, rice, and cheap cuts of meat that could probably get you through thirty days on a dollar a meal, but it's not going to be particularly tasty and there's going to be nearly no variety.
I spend about $400 a month for 3 adults (2 men) and 2 dogs. I shop at Aldi's and use coupons to stock up on items at the grocery stores when items I have coupons on are on sale. I don't have a membership to warehouse stores like Bj's or Sams as sometimes - I can buy the same thing for cheaper at a regular grocery store with a coupon.
I buy snacks, chocolate, pop and frozen - you just have to watch your costs, the sales and cut coupons.
To answer the original question, I couldn't live on that amount because in my current house, r.e. tax just went up to $6300/yr and it goes up a few hundred every year. Certainly could not keep a car.
I plan to live quietly in my new town and will have a mortgage but will be getting a lot more than $1k a month in pension and Soc. Sec. I don't plan to develop any expensive tastes and honestly doubt I'll do much traveling.
But still I worry. And will try to get a paying job at the animal shelter.
If your SS was 1K a month and you lived alone, never had kids, and kind of a homebody, could you make it? House would be paid for, but of course, there is HOI and maintenance (or a condo fee if you have a condo).
get a roommate for $500 and you can pay the property taxes and keep the house while living in it
or hire yourself out as a live-in maintenance guy if you are a homebody, and rent out the entire house for extra income
get a roommate for $500 and you can pay the property taxes and keep the house while living in it
or hire yourself out as a live-in maintenance guy if you are a homebody, and rent out the entire house for extra income
Yes but the lack of privacy often hinders a persons quality of life.
Just having an RVer stay on the side of our garage was a lack of privacy. Needed the $300 a mo. back then but couldn't imagine getting $500 for him living inside with us.
We do a lot of gardening and produce most of our own food.
What caught my eye was your mention of drinking tap water. I shifted to green tea a few years ago. I have a few tea bushes [Camellia sinensis] along with a bed of mint and some stevia. So it is possible for me to produce my own green tea.
I am also a beekeeper, but I find that I do not care for honey in my tea.
I do use tap water for coffee, but its filtered first, and I'm looking for a better one than a pour in the holder type. The water is clearer, but it retains the junk in the filter, so that first one is the only one which gives you the full filtering. I don't mind this for cooking, but you can tell the difference in the tasted.
I've been using milk from powder most of the time but only because I don't have a ride to the store. And the amazingly good milk from a local dairy is really a treat. Except I sometimes don't drink the whole half gallon soon enough.
I've come up with a way to shop mostly online and intend to keep it up. The list if *just* what I need, but doesn't get added to with all that stuff in the store which is too tempting. And I've really good at making a meal out of assorted leftovers and stuff that's canned I've come up with some really good, really cheap dinners. What really works is that you are aware of the price when you assemble the list, and may be able to check several sources. And with a list but no stuff to stare at as you move through the store, you don't get those last minute gotta haves which were not on the list.
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