groups

we are trying to rig that way. have 0 debt and the house is paid for. so are both cars. we bought a new house in a new subdivision thinking that should lower maintenance cost over the years. also the new stuff is much more energy efficient. we both know how to cook on the cheap and still eat well. I am worried about the market because one way the government can reduce its debt is through inflation. we use the library a lot more and buy fewer books,etc.

The short answer is it would suck. Needs and wants. I know someone who lives in a subsidised apartment and pays $180 a month for a $1200 apartment. It would be hard but yhe government would take care of you. What a country!

Our home is paid for, and if we move, it will be to a more modest home, so no house payment. I have a service connected disability and could get medical care if we lost our insurance. We'd probably have to work part time to pay for a supplemental insurance policy. It would be tight. Also, we don't have all our savings in the market....we have some of it in insured money market accounts and cd's....some in bonds.....right now, next to nothing in stock.

I rent, own my own car...about 2 weeks after I retired, the bottom fell out of the market and also my savings. I am fortunate I had money in my checking account when I retired (at the time I was thinking about what to do with it). I didn't lose all my savings but it will probably be years before anything I draw on it will buy anything but the Sunday paper. I am drawing on my SS and should be able to manage with that, hopefully, until next year - my biggest expenditure is rent. I don't spend a lot of money...I also have family if I'm desperate enough I could fall back on (amend that to say go live with -love them dearly, but don't want to do that!). Cannot stand either and/or all the political parties...tired of reading and hearing what their retirement plans will pay them even if they are only in office one term!!! Don't know what is going happen and am glad I am the only one I have to feed and put a roof over my head.

Lafingpenny, have you looked into Secure Horizons? Might be worth it...

Laughalot, Yes, I agree. I want the same retirement plan and health insurance enjoyed by my miserable congressman. Funny how they never mention how fortunate they are, but they quietly sit in the catbird seat, voting against anything that's good for the general public.

Yes, we've looked into every insurance company and because of my husband's cancer we are either turned down or quoted astronomical prices. So we're just waiting for our government to change things. (smile). We're not poor, we're not rich....but we used to be middle class. What happened to the middle class?

We were depending on my husband's 401K, which went down to half, is slowly slowly coming back, and when it gets back to what it was before the recession, we're taking it out and investing in something more secure. We'll never trust Wall Street again. Why should anyone?

Another money saver we're using. Stop using your credit card, use cash, shop locally. Don't give those blood sucking credit card companies your business, your money. Cash is harder to spend and local businesses don't need to pay credit card companies 4% of the sale.

My big fear is inflation. With all this spending of money the US doesn't have, the dollar is weakening. That's why some are investing in gold and driving the price up. Gold is their hedge against the weak dollar.

We are (in January) 61 and 63. Ins is thru the Fed govt retiree program. My husband spent 40 yrs giving his workdays to the govt, we have the same offerings of ins as Congress.

The bad news???? FAMILY coverage for next yr will be $400.79. Yup, that's a month, folks. We are too young for Medicare and with diabetes, etc, can't get other ins. We checked into the other offering thru the Feds, it is $235/month for family coverage, but we would pay $10 a month for each pres. Me...4 pres's, hubby....8. That would be another $120/month. And the co-pays are higher.

So it is actually cheaper for us to use the higher-cost ins. Neat...only $4800 a yr. Neat....

My late husband, who died in 2003 was a state of MN employee...we pd over $750 a month. As a widow, in January '08, my ins was over $400 as a single widow. Yikes! So as much as I think this ins cost that we now have is awful, it has been worse in the past for me.

We live in a manufactured home, have a 6 yr old car, live frugally and give thanks for how lucky we are to have what we have and that our health is good enough to enjoy our days.

We use coupons, buy no ne clothes, shop thrift stores, use the lib, and yesterday we shared a treat at McDonald's...$1.89 for a small choc sundae and a SR diet coke. ASK for a SR Coke, it is only $ .69.

they laughed at my wife for being conservative with 401K; now hers is still going up while her workers 401k have tanked to about half. yes, living on SS; tough but you can do it. Reverse mortgage saved us; paid off everthing plus had a little cash left over.

kd-Your $400/month isn't bad-ours will be $500/month when my husband retires in December. He'll only be 62.

Luckily we both get set pensions, not having to rely on our investments. SS will make up for the drop in his income. The retired teachers in Texas have not gotten an increase in their annuities since 2001. I can't get any SS benefits because of my pension-not even as a spouse. What irks me is that I can't get back any of the money I've put into SS over the years when I was not working as a teacher. If that money was put into some vehicle like an ira I could pull that out.

We've decided to hold off on receiving my husband's SS benefits for about a year or so, pulling out of his Roth because we will not have to pay taxes on that, but would on SS. When he retires he will receive unused vacation and sick leave (up to a point) which is taxable so income next year will be higher than usual.

We also took a hit when the stock market tanked, but luckily we're up 14% since the beginning of the year. That money will be to offset any emergencies, new car (which my husband wants to get), travel, down payment on new home, etc. Hubby does not feel we can live with one car, though I suggested we try it after we move.
.

Trudy, You can live with only one car. We did and it's not bad. Just get up in the morning, and tell him, "I need the car today." Take turns using it. It beats paying insurance, plates, registration on a second car. We use the money saved to travel and see our children in California and Colorado. Only, make sure that the one car you have is well maintained, because when it breaks down......you're stuck. (Anybody like and use a bike?)