Input, suggestions for poverty level

[rockabillynurse]

I need some input, suggestions, recommendations. I hope that some of you can offer some realistic ideas.
With the recent elections, every one talked about the "middle class" , and programs to help them. which is as I understand it, income in the $100,000 to $250,000 range.
No one has mentioned those of us at the poverty level. My income is $20,604.00 per year. I was a registered nurse for over 25 years, developed heart problems in addition to other medical problems, was forced out of the hospital work force when the hospital denied my request to move to a department where I could continue to work. I loved my work and wanted to continue to work. I never thought I would be in this position at age 45. I actually thought that I had prepared fairly well for my future and I anticipated working for another 20-25 years.

This thread is not about self pity, I do not feel sorry for myself (most of the time) and I constantly look for ways to improve my situation. The background information I am giving is so that you can understand where I am at, how I got here and then possibly offer suggestions.

What would you recommend for someone like me??

In the two years it took me to get social security disability, I depleted all of my savings, had to cash in my retirement, had to refinance my home with money out to survive and now I have nothing left to fall back on. Even with cutting out all the "extras", At the end of month I have nothing.
I have always heard that you pay yourself first, If I pay myself first, then a bill will go unpaid and late charges will be incurred.
I have always heard that you must have emergency funds of 6 months pay. No way can I save enough for an emergency fund.
I do not have credit card debt to blame, however, I do have one credit card for emergency but if I use it I make sure I can pay it off at end of month.
I do have a mortgage which is less than what I would pay for rent in this area. I tried to sell my home but the real estate market is dead in my area, similar houses have been on the market here for over 2 years.
I constantly look for ways to cut expenses and live more frugally. The current economy doesn't help. The tax stimulus plan helped the middle class and married with children but not the people like me, those of us who are at rock bottom. I hear that Obama is working on another economic stimulus plan to help the middle class, why not help the poor?

I take 46 pills every day, plus use inhalers. One medication alone is over $600.00, right now I receive "extra help with prescriptions" from medicare but I will probably lose that in January. I have multiple medical expenses that I pay what I can afford to pay every month, it will take me years to pay the $80,000 I owe for heart surgery.

I try--and I try---but it is not enough. I am sick of the struggle every month to make ends meet. I am divorced for over 24 years, my child just finished college and needs some help getting started, I am unable to provide her any assistance, that hurts more than anything.
My doctors will not release me to do any work, I tried vocational rehab but they could not help me. I am at the end of my rope and the stress is unbearable.

Again,what recommendations can you make for me? I hope someone out there has some suggestions.

Sincerely yours,
Rockabillynurse

[jIM_Ohio]

Middle class to me would be AGI between 35k and 150k

150k+ is upper middle or lower upper.

75% of all taxpayers file in the 15% tax bracket
max 32550 single
max 65100 married filing jointly
max 43650 head of household

In your situation (no earned income) some of the tax provisions do not apply to you. What kind of advice are you looking for? Can you work?

[maat55]

IMO, you need to lower your cost of living by renting a room somewhere and sell your house. Where you live in the country makes a difference also. There is no easy fix for your situation. Being able to work would be your biggest plus.

Eating low cost foods, conserving energy use, finding anyway to produce an income are things to do. Renting out rooms in your home. Good luck.

[tripods68]

You have a medical conditions that none of us can't probably relate to. Can you work another job that doesn't require leaving your home? I would start there. I would change completely your lifestyle where you only spend $15K a year while saving the rest, if possible. That at least gives you some saving goal to attain. Your situation is a tough one.

[Merch]

Sad, very sad. I believe a person must abide by certain core principles. I believe you must truly do what is right and fair and try your hardest to do that.

In your case, I would prioritize my expenses – housing, food and medicine, utilities, transportation, and then bills. I would try my hardest to make sure everything gets paid.

I would also try to look at ways of increasing my income like being cleared to work or perhaps you can volunteer at a hospital and try to get free care. Work through your church and look for community out reach programs and food pantries. I would probably volunteer for services.

I would ask for mercy on the hospital bill. I would meet them face to face, lay out your situation and ask what you can do. Maybe a volunteer for a couple of years?

I wish you the peace of mind of doing the best you can and holding your head up high knowing you are doing your best. Good luck!!!

[Judi Dial]

I think if I were you and you have the space, I'd try getting a roommate or boarder. If you provide someone with room and board, they theoretically have to pay for hte food they eat (at a profit, and thereby some of yours) part of hte insurance on your home, and part of the mortgage.

Re food expenses, I'd see if you have a mud room or sunny living room if you could raise any veggies in containers. There's a lot of books out there on container gardening, and it doesn't have to be heavy labor.

Finally, if you haven't already, I'd contact the heart association. Surely there's some money or work or such you could do. If nothing else, likely you could sit behind a desk for the heart association and answer questions about heart disease, hospital care, etc. for either the other victims of this disease or their families?

I'm one of the few people I know who survived a major head trauma with apparently no ill affects. One doctor I know suggested that I should give lectures to medical personnel, about what it is like (emotionally and mentallY) as a brain-injured patient. I would think the same would be true for you, that you could lecture at medical schools or seminars.

Some of this may not be practical or usable, but I throw them out there hoping there's a thread you can tug on to make something bigger.

Good luck!

Judi

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

If your disability payments are through the Social Security Administration rather than through private insurance you'll need to find out what you are allowed to save without it affecting your payments. Last I was familiar, payments would stop if you had $2000 in savings. If you take in a roommate or boarder, they may consider that income to decrease your need for disability aid. I'm not sure if the decrease is dollar for dollar. If you really cannot work full time then you must understand the rules of disability or you may end up in quite a pickle, setting yourself further back rather than helping yourself.

If you do want to try going back to work, I think SS makes some provision for a couple months of trying without having to re-apply for disability if it turns out you cannot do it.

As far as what you could do to earn, well, difficult to say without knowing what you are able to do or not. But as a nurse, even if you no longer hold your license, I would think that you would be a "hot commodity" when it comes to doing in-home care. There are some people who just need light help, or companionship as much as anything else. You'd make more money if you could find connections to do this on your own, but agencies, both for profit and not for profit would absolutely love to have an (ex?) nurse. If you have your license still, and can work private duty RN, so much the better. Any and all levels of skill are needed for home care. I think if you honestly told an agency about your situation and abilities they could match you up with someone. You could even find a live-in situation, if you are up to it. But be careful with that as I have known home workers to have gotten into very bad situations (uh, almost like slavery!) with that even working through a not-for profit agency.

Can you get work as a coder or eh -what do they call them- floor secretary? I'm trying to think of something that puts to use your health background without being as physically taxing as nursing.

I understand about your mortgage being less than you would have to pay in rent. That does sound like a good situation in which to take in a roommate, if it does not mess up your primary source of income. Do you live near a nursing school? Perhaps a nursing student might think it an advantage to live with you and feel secure that you are likely the kind of person they could trust and get along with. If there is a Craigslist for your area, look to see if anyone is looking for a room. You could start by looking for someone wanting a temporary room. That way you could test out the idea. Sometimes I see ads like that for people needing a room for a week or for a semester as they come into town for training or school. We get a lot of ads from medical students and doctors who basically need a place to crash and get a shower. Sometimes they even say things like they'd rent for three months, but would unlikely be in your home any more often than three times a week due to the number of overnights.

[zetta]

If you are willing to share your budget, I'm sure the board would have suggestions to help you make the most of the income you do have.

Is your income from disability? What are the rules associated with earning more from another source?

What are your physical and energy restrictions? Maybe we can help think of ideas to earn a little cash on the side.

[asmom]

Rockabilly, I know you said your doctor won't release you to work but what about work from home positions? They are very hard to find but perhaps you might get lucky. I know it depends on the area of the country you live in but you can try in-home telephone advice, medical record review, QA. You can even look into LTC assessments, I do those on the side and it is strictly a paperwork job. I do that as an independent contractor and I have never even met the people I work for! Try googling those and see if you get a hit. Good luck.


Edited to add I think that the real tragedy is that it took you over two years to get disability. In that sense, your story is not unique I used to have a lot of patients in the same situation who lost everything waiting for benefits even in the face of overwhelming proof that they are not physically able to work! I can understand that there are some people who are scamming the system but the people who are honest far outnumber the crooks.

[Judi Dial]

Hmm. It also occurred to me that you might want to contact your federal legistlators. Their JOB is, in part, to be our liaison with Federal Agencies, like Social Security.

I have friends where the wife was an immigrant and they were having problems with the INS and they tried it, and it worked. Interfacing between government agencies and the public is part of what they are supposed to do. Most congressional people have regional offices. Find out where yours is, contact the office and explain your problem.

I'm sorry I'd forgotten that having a boarder might actually make things worse since Social Security might remove benefits accordingly.

Good luck!

Judi

[StressLess]

Have you looked around this website?

NeedyMeds

They have lots of resources to help you get into special discount programs, programs where the drug companies provide medications for free, low-cost clinics, and so forth. They also appear to have a forum, where people might have answers to things like how taking in a boarder would affect your benefits.

As far as generally making your dollars count when you're working with really small amounts, the best book I found was "How to get what you want in life with the money you already have," by Carol Keeffe. She has ways to convince you that you can pay yourself first, even if it's only $5 a month or a few coins in a jar. Your library should be able to get it for you, if they don't have it.

If there is a cap on how much savings you're allowed to have, personally, I would keep a bit of cash in the house that doesn't show in a bank balance. And if you can stockpile some sale and freebie items, it's like having another savings account, just not in the form of money.

Free samples, coupons, rebates, buying discounted gift cards, bank deals like from opening ING accounts, reading emails for MyPoints, Inbox Dollars and so forth--It's hard to believe, but when I was taking the time to pursue all this stuff, one year I ended up with well over $2,000 in extra cash for my efforts. You don't have to report or pay taxes on rebates, or discounts, or because you got something free after a coupon. If you have internet at home and plenty of free time, you might want to explore Saving Advice thoroughly along with:

FatWallet.com
Hotcouponworld.com
Frugal Village- Frugal living community
Cardavenue: Gift Card Exchange, Discounted Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, Gift Card Swap
Welcome to StartSampling - The premier website for online sampling

HTH!

($100,000 sounds a lot higher than middle class to me, too.)

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

If you do find that you cannot work and that it is beginning to look like you cannot afford your home or market rate apartments, you can look in to Housing and Urban Development programs. There usually are waiting lists, so it is not something that you should wait till the last minute on. I think with your income you are unlikely to be able to get huge rent subsidies through them, but they do operate senior & disabled buildings where rent is sliding scale, utilities are included, and it is not the case that everyone living there lives in poverty as defined by the federal government. You probably would be surprised, though, what level the US government considers poverty. Your income would be expected to be able to support three people (almost four) above the poverty threshold. Incredible, huh?

2008 Federal Poverty Guidelines --Health and Human Services regarding poverty threshold. See the graph.

Have you added up all the expenses connected with living in your home to see if it really is cheaper than renting? Not just mortgage, but taxes, utilities, HOA fees, and such?

Really, I'm not sure what problems you are hoping for suggestions for. I imagine you are feeling somewhat depressed and it can be hard to even think clearly to formulate the questions when you are so overwhelmed. Like, do you want help brainstorming employment possibilities? Ways to cut your spending? Identify items which you already own that may be salable to make some quick cash? Ideas on how to negotiate payback on your surgery related bills? etc...

Why is your medicine not going to be covered come January? Are you changing the private policy aspect of Medicare that you had to choose?

[Staceyy]

I know my city has a program called domicillary care where people who are not able to care for themselves are placed in homes with a caregiver. The only requirements for the caregiver once the person is placed in their care is someone must be with the person at all times and meals must be provided. Check with your local government to see if there is a program in your area. You can also Google for info if interested.

[Staceyy]

You may find some help at this site:

How We Started Help For Low Income