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Yeah; I could also do without condo insurance for my personal belongings because their sentimental value couldn't be replaced at any cost, and I could refurnish it pretty cheaply with my penchant for thrift stores and curb shopping. It just never occurred to me to forego it because carrying it seems the responsible thing to do, although I long ago dropped collision on my old car, and same principle.
I could do it (though would prefer not to :-). Definitely own your home (and I can strongly recommend owning a condo), live somewhere where you don't need a car (because there is a good public transportation), and develop a book addiction (with free public library nearby). I'd be ok living that way forever, if needed (though, if not needed, I'd prefer not to, since I enjoy travel. It WOULD be possible for me to travel on soc security only, but the trips would be either not frequent, or not too far away).
Travel would be feasible with car camping, which I'd personally be prepared to do. And if you own your own home and are over 62, you can get a reverse mortgage. It gets a bad rap, but I don't know why. There's no one I plan to leave my house to, so why shouldn't I spend the equity in it while I'm alive?
If you own a condo, the building master insurance covers pretty much everything except your belongings. If you live on soc security only, it is unlikely that you own belongings worth insuring. I have a minimal insurance on my primary home condo, but that is only because without some home insurance you can't get an umbrella policy to insure your other assets if someone sues you for some type of damages. My condo insurance for something like $20k with umbrella insurance for $1 million (which covers my personal liability worldwide) costs around $270 per year, ie, practically nothing.
My unit did get totalled in a building fire several years ago, when I did not have any home insurance (though I owned the second condo in a different city, where I could stay without extra expense), and the building insurance policy covered the entire gut rebuilding of my condo.
I would never live in a condo as a retiree. You are still paying for insurance through the monthly condo fee, and if the building needs a major repair, you can get hit with a huge assessment that you have no choice about paying.
Of course you will have "major repairs" when you own a house, too. But you may have something there. Maybe the cheapest way to live is to buy a house, not insure it, and not make repairs.
Living on SS alone is amazingly easy if SS benefits are > than expenses. And there are many, many kinds of both rewarding and satisfying lifestyles.
I know this has been talked about, talked about and then talked about some more. For myself, living on SS alone is not a big deal. It really depends on what your lifestyle was like before retirement. I get almost the same amount on SS as I did while working as a single person when you consider I no longer pay into all the taxes I had to pay when employed.
With a payed off mortgage I have more spending money now than when I worked and I do have a decent amount in savings for a rainy day or taking short vacations if I like.
No, I'm not shopping at Costco and Trader Joe's nor taking cruises around the world, but I didn't do that before retiring either. I don't feel deprived because of that.
Last edited by marino760; 09-30-2023 at 01:50 PM..
My SS income is $2773/month(after Medicare is deducted).
I have no savings of any kind./..I'm a renter...I'm still working but those days are numbered...I'm semi handicapped with neuropathy and begginnings of kidney failure and congestive heart failure..,and I live in Miami,Florida...Lived here for 57 years and haven't travelled anywhere but to Las Vegas and Washington State;where my 2 remaining family members live...$60K in debt(Used to be >$80K)....
Without debt payments.I can have about $150 left over every month on just the SS. but i'm paying half the market value in Miami,so a rent increase in eminent.
When I lose my job I won't be able to make any debt payments;so to the bankruptcy lawyer I will go.
I'm just hoping for my health conditions to hurry up and kill me.
I could do it (though would prefer not to :-). Definitely own your home (and I can strongly recommend owning a condo), live somewhere where you don't need a car (because there is a good public transportation), and develop a book addiction (with free public library nearby). I'd be ok living that way forever, if needed (though, if not needed, I'd prefer not to, since I enjoy travel. It WOULD be possible for me to travel on soc security only, but the trips would be either not frequent, or not too far away).
Owning a condo could be risky if one doesn’t have savings.
What would a person to do if the condo has huge repairs - the assessment could run in several tens of thousand dollars.
You have no control what other people decide to spend your money on - the monthly fees could go up too.
Then the government could change regulations like it happened in FL - it would cost you too
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