Living On A Fixed Income - Need Help

[questions]

Can someone help me? My problem is I live on a fixed income. I have Disability SSI and cannot work. I still have several debts to repay and others just keep popping up.

I'm tired of getting anxiety over having 23 cents left to last until my next check arrives. I now have two dollars and nine days to wait.

I have cancelled cable, land line phone and come spring my Internet will have to go. I'll have to go to the library. Oh my car is gone as well. I have also stopped buying junk magazines. I figured that freed up about $60 a month. Where else can I cut back. No, I don't go out to eat.

I hope you can shed some light on my situation.

[mom-from-missouri]

Can you give us a break down?
What are your current bills-total and the money payment and dates.
What date do you get your DSSI and how much?
Are any medical debts?

[disneysteve]

Same question here. We can't help you find places to cut without a list of your current expenses. If you are willing to share your income and expenses, maybe we can help.

[nanamom]

I agree we can't help without more details of your picture. Many people have given us details without a problem even though I know it can be hard to do at first. Sometimes it helps just to be able to write it down.

[mom-from-missouri]

I confused. I've read the posters past posts (or what I thought was the past post of this posters-I may have done it wrong), to try and get an idea here...... One post says the age is 20's. and other says 57 and one says she is 30. One says she is married and another says has a BF.
Am I clicking on the wrong thing??

[jeffrey]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

I confused. I've read the posters past posts (or what I thought was the past post of this posters-I may have done it wrong), to try and get an idea here...... One post says the age is 20's. and other says 57 and one says she is 30. One says she is married and another says has a BF.
Am I clicking on the wrong thing??

These are questions that are sent directly to me from people (see signature) and I repost because I think all of you can give more detailed answers and variety of opinions

[mom-from-missouri]

So, questions is not a single person, but a collection of questions that were sent to you? And, this just happens to be the most recent question?
I think I got it now. (told you I was confused...)

[Diolla]

Guess I should read more carefully, I figured it was just a nutcase.

Resolution: Will not jump to conclusions.

[jeffrey]

Correct - they are simply questions that arrive in my email that I place up, this being the latest one. Each thread posted by "questions" is a different person.

[LuxLiving]

Don't feel bad mom-from-missouri and diolla, I did the exact same thing last week!

To the original post - I'll echo again, we'd need more info in order to help you.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Let me see if I can think of things I might consider doing if I were in your situation.

Get a roommate if possible. Or look for ads for others seeking a roommate. Might require a big change in your level of privacy and how you live, but then your income level might leave you no choice.

Look into HUD (Huusing and Urban Development) sponsored housing. There are apartments buildings that are intended for senior citizens and disabled. They can be safe, monitored buildings, with security, private contracted management, and maintencance people there during business hours. (Security might always be present.) Apartments can be varying sizes, including studio (single room) apartments. Rent is market rate to start with, but can be subsidized if your income is low.

Other HUD subsidized housing includes "Section 8" apartments which are privately owned and dispersed thoughout the community, usually in smaller aprtment bulidings or complexes. Quality of the apartments should be high as standards for a landlord to participate in the program are high and the apartments must be inspected. However, you have to check out each apartment possibility to make sure it is in an area acceptable to you. I have a friend who has been on disability since her mid thirties and chief Section 8 apartment issues for her have been whether the place was close to public transportation and grocery stores, and whether the neighborhood was safe. Sometimes things changed on her, and she ended up moving elsewhere. It has not been easy for her.

If you need to free up cash to pay down bills, see if you are eligible for foodstamps, so that more of your cash can go to the bills.

If at all possible, see if there is another way you can pay back the bills without money. I don't know your disability, of course, but there may be something you can do in exchange fore forgiveness of the debt, or part of the debt, especially if the debt is to individuals or small local business. For example, could you babysit and hour or three at a time to get a few dollars per hours knocked off the bill? Or do you have a friend who wants to help and who has skills that the persons you owe may be in need of? My friend for example, has an ex-son-in-law who is good to her. He is a mechanic. He fixed somebody's car in order to pay off the money she owed them. I understand a lot of this just depends on your abilities, your social connections, and what type of business/individual you owe.

Are you a member of a religious congregation? Some will gladly help you if they are aware of your need. Perhaps they might pay a utitlity bill or something basic like that.

It sounds like you have made some responsible choices about giving up the luxuries. Good going! Are the bills that keep popping up unavoidable ones?

[Ima saver]

I have a friend that works at a low income housing place. some women are only paying $1 a month in rent! Can you qualify for something like that?? The churches are always giving out free food also.

[Snoopy2645]

Well we would need to know more about the income & how many people they support & a few detailed expenses

[ThisTime]

There are lots of things that you can do, and many good ones have already been posted, but here is a gold mine of articles on different ways to save money is different areas such as insurance, housing, shopping, debts, utilities, and more. You might already be doing a bunch of these things but who knows, maybe there is something new. Here is the link:

http://simplejoe.com/articles-resources.htm

[Fern]

Chances are if this person sent the note to Jeffrey directly, she/he is not even reading these threads....

[jules77]

I am in a similar situation--on disability and in debt. I know you mentioned that you cancelled your landline, but did you know the phone companies offer discounted rates for low-income folks? I get service through Qwest for $11.13/month. If you get a landline, you can keep your internet and switch to Netzero which offers free internet connection up to 10 hours per month.

I keep a cell phone for emergencies and the best deal I've found is through Virgin Mobil. No contract needed. My sister gave me a phone, and now all I have to do is pay $15.00 every three months to keep it active and that provides enough minutes for me. What a deal--just $5/month. Much better than Verizon--I was spending $34/month and hardly using it.

If you need help paying rent, there is the Section 8 program. The wait list for it could last a couple years, but you may as well get signed up as soon as you can.

As for keeping the food budget low, try to shop sales and keep your diet simple, but nutritious. I buy lots of potatos, dry beans and brown rice, oatmeal, cheap fruits like bananas, apples, oranges, and the staples milk, whole grain bread, eggs. I make a big pot of black bean soup from scratch for under $1 and it last several meals. Recipes can get expensive, so mostly I just use the ingredients I have and whatever goes good together.

There are also ways to supplement your income with things you can do online. Selling crafts you make, surveys, and other things I talk about on my blog.