I need advice on how to use my money for a cheap place to live

[GaiaGoddess]

@GaiaGoddess

Further Questions:
A) The job good job you had for 18 years. Did you not save any money or put anything in retirement accounts?

When I first got that job, I was 19. When you're a teenager, you're not thinking about retirement, lol I needed a vehicle so I bought one so I was making payments on that. Then I realized I needed 4 wheel drive living in MN so I bought a new truck. After that was paid for, I bought a house with a friend. I would still be in that house if I still had that job and if my friend hadn't moved out. I also took a trip to California, that's the only major trip i've been on, but trips are expensive so I couldn't afford any more, after that is when my job started sending us home without pay if there wasn't enough work to do, this went on for a few years actually. Eventually we were laid off.

B) Or was the money you saved used up when you were unemployed?

I couldn't save any money when I was unemployed, I was making half of what I was making so I needed every dollar for my apartment, which I ended up losing anyway because I couldn't get a full time job.

C) What happened to the equity of the house you were buying?

We had to sell the house because my friend was buying a different house and I couldn't afford it alone and I didn't know anyone to be my roommate. This was back when the housing market started to get really bad so we didn't make any money off the house, we got for it exactly what we owed, no more.

Lots of 40’somethings still rent. According to this link in 2013 from the U.S. Census Bureau roughly 65% of Americans own a home. 29% own it free and clear. This means about 111 million Americans still rent (as of July 2014 the U.S. has about a 319 million population).

You can't subtract the number of people who don't own a home and say they're all renting, that number has to include kids still living at home. I myself don't know anyone my age who is still renting.

An 11 hour trip shouldn’t take 2-3 days. If you are wanting to buy a house or mobile home you should probably spend 1 night at most. It would save you money in the short term and allow you to move out quicker in the long term. Food for thought.

I've already explained why I need so many days in a hotel, sometimes it's because of bad weather (I won't drive in any amount of snow), but coming home from work I always need more time to try to get my sleep schedule turned around. It's hard enough for a normal person to get up 10 hours earlier than you normally do, it's torture for someone with DSPS. It's also hard to drive long distances off little sleep. I want to be well rested to avoid an accident. Another huge reason for staying in hotels is because it's the only time I actually feel like an independent adult. When i'm home I feel like a child, when i'm at work i'm too busy to think and I certainly can't do anything but work and sleep, so my time in a hotel is the only time i'm truly happy. I wish I could afford it the entire 2 weeks i'm off.

I realize most people don’t want to be rich. However, most people want to be wealthy, to be able to provide for themselves, and retire comfortably. Getting there is the trick though. It means making sacrifices, planning, and working smart (not necessarily hard).

If living with my mom for 4 years isn't a sacrifice, I dont know what is! I'm sacrificing my mental health. And my job isn't easy on my health either, I love what i'm doing but working 84 hours a week is hard no matter how healthy or young you are. I am trying to plan, I just feel like it's getting me nowhere because every time I come up with a new plan to replace each one that falls through, that new plan falls through too! It just gets old after so many years.

[GaiaGoddess]

@GaiaGoddess

Re: Hobbies and Interests… And being stuck to a job you don’t necessarily enjoy. That’s the problem right there. Your job isn’t supposed to make you happy. Your job is a means to an end. But a career? That is something you can grow with and succeed with. You need a career not a new job. One of the ways to get a career is to get further training or education. We work to live, not live to work.

Just the sentence "your job isn't supposed to make you happy" is a sign of how far off the world is from what it should be. We are at our jobs 1/3 of our days! Why doesn't anyone else see how wrong it is to be unhappy for most of your time because it's just what everyone tells you you have to do? I agree a career is different than a job, and I wish like hell I could find a career I could do. I have been researching this subject since I got laid off from the factory 6 years ago. I have bought tons of books on how to figure out what career to do. I have dozens of websites saved on the subject. I've just come to the conclusion I am not cut out for a career OR a job. I WANT to do something, but I can't create the perfect job for me that doesn't exist.

You are doing a really good job in responding to people on the thread. Yet you are not open to the changes we suggest. I would agree with BJL584, BukyBadger, or Dawnwes that it seems like you are not really willing to change your mindset. That is unfortunate.

It isn't just other people's suggestions i'm not open to, they're my own. Every time I get excited about a new possible career I discover, I research it like crazy until I eventually learn why it won't work for me. I am rejecting my own ideas, too. But I didn't mean for this thread to turn into what kind of job I should do. There HAS to be a good way to put my money into a home right now. I work too hard to be still living with my mom until i'm 50 or 60!

[GaiaGoddess]

Tuition - http://www.mnwest.edu/business-office/tuition-fees/ – Tuition rates for fully online courses is $177.45. This rate does not apply to web-enhanced courses. Programs or specific courses may carry a higher per credit rate
Online Programs - http://www.mnwest.edu/minnesota-west...line-programs/,

https://mnwest.ims.mnscu.edu/

It's $177 for one CREDIT...that's about the amount I see too, for a variety of schools, like community colleges. But you need like 50 credits for one degree. Regardless, if I did by some miracle find something I wanted to go to school for, it would certainly take up all my money then i'd be broke again. But I wouldn't be able to go while working at my job anyway. I can't even do online classes because of how many hours a week I work.

Minnesota West Online Programs include:
Apply now for online programs!
Accountant, A.A.S.
Accountant, Diploma
Accountant Clerk, Diploma
Administrative Assistant, A.A.S.
Administrative Assistant, Diploma
Biofuels Technology: Biodiesel Certificate
Biofuels Technology: Ethanol Certificate
Business, A.S.
Business Management, A.S.
Education Paraprofessional, Certificate
Energy Technical Specialist, A.A.S.
Healthcare Supervision and Leadership, Certificate
Information Security and Assurance, A.A.S.
Information Security Management, Certificate
Liberal Arts, A.A.
Management and Supervision in Healthcare, A.S.
Medical Administrative Secretary, AAS
Medical Secretary, Diploma
Medical Coding Specialist, Diploma
Three Year Nursing Program (Online) A.S.
Practical Nursing (Online) Diploma
Nursing A.S. (Online)
Receptionist, Certificate
Supervisory Leadership in Management, Certificate
Windsmith, Certificate[/I]

There is info for other colleges in Minnesota as well.

Out of all those, the only one I have 1% of an interest in is liberal arts, but I crossed that off my list because in order to go for that you have to take general classes first, including math. I got D's and F's in math in high school. My grades were pretty bad in general, because even back then I thought education should be different than it was and I couldn't fake an interest long enough to retain the information.

[GaiaGoddess]

Have you ever considered self-employment?

Yeah I have, but when you work for yourself you have to take care of the business side of it too. You have to be good at accounting, math, knowing the laws, knowing how to take care of tax issues, you have to be good at marketing, you have to be good at dealing with people too, or you won't get any customers.

[GaiaGoddess]

Here is another site I think you may enjoy. The author is no longer blogging, but you can read through the old posts. This family bought a house for 13k cash and moved to the middle of nowhere. The wife/mother had a part-time online job, and supported the family on that. Her job required a good deal of education, so is not a possibility for you. However, I think you may find it an informative and enjoyable read.

http://budgetingwiththebushmans.blogspot.com/

That would be amazing to do, and you're right the education part might not work for me. but i'll read it, it sounds pretty cool!

[GaiaGoddess]

And you know, there is a blogger here who lives full-time in an RV parked near the entrance to an oil field (if I recall correctly). She is a paid security guard. Does anyone know who I am thinking of? She has not made any new posts in a while. Still, I recall her giving some information regarding how she got this job. You could read through her blog.

I think there is a solution out there for you somewhere, but I am not certain how flexible you are willing to be, or what you are/aren't willing to do.

Where I work we have security guards but they are still employees of our company so when we all go, they go too. I am actually good friends with a guy who is a security guard and he had a hard time getting that job, he said you have to have a permit to carry a gun and you need gun training, I really don't want to be involved with guns. The security guards there go through hell, the men that come through treat them like ****, spit on them, yell at them, it was enough to drive him to quit but he isn't happy at his new job either because he says it's the same **** everywhere you go. I have a hard enough time dealing with people the way it is, lol

[GaiaGoddess]

How about taking the amtrak from MN to ND and timing it so that you don't need to spend $500 on hotel stays every month? Would also save you that $150 in gas money.

There are way more cons than pros to taking the train. Sure it sounds easy in theory. The main problem with that is it isn't good for a vehicle to sit without being driven. I actually start my car once a week when i'm at work to keep it lubricated and running smoothly. Another big problem is when you take the train, you can only carry so much. I have a fully furnished bedroom at work, I wouldn't have been able to bring that stuff on a train. Even the amount of stuff I bring back and forth is way too much. Another reason is that the train is late every time, I know this sounds silly but other people have had their vacations ruined because of this. You need to arrange for a ride to the train station and if it's late, it's sometimes 4 hours late, so you need to have someone pick you back up and then bring you back again, and if you're lucky you won't miss it. One of my coworkers missed it and got stuck there until someone could go get him and then he ended up having to buy a last minute plane ticket to fly home so he had to spend $1000 plus he was late getting back for something important. Other people complain it's a pain in the ass riding the train too, it isn't just that one guy who has had issues. And every time someone complains, I always say "I am SO glad I drive to work!". Also remember I stay in hotels because it's the only time I can be alone (therefore, happy and peaceful). I can really tell mentally when I haven't stayed in a hotel long enough, I get more depressed & withdrawn than usual. I NEED that time to myself.

Social anxiety can be controlled if not completely eliminated. You just have to work on it little by little.

The only thing that has ever helped me with social anxiety is alcohol, and i'm not drinking on the job, lol

[GaiaGoddess]

I'm getting the feeling your friends may not be good comparisons. Do they make minimum wage as well? Do they own homes?

well it's kinda hard to compare yourelf to people you don't know, lol I can't compare myself to my parents, aunts or uncles, they're all old enough to have paid off houses by now, lol Some of my friends make minimum wage, some don't. Most of them own their own homes, except the ones who are in their 20's and that's pretty young anyway, i'm just going by my friends who are my age. One has owned 3 houses and one trailer home, and one has owned a condo and 2 houses. One has owned a few houses but lost her recent one when her husband was killed and didn't have insurance so she couldn't afford the house anymore and had to sell it. She's the only one my age who rents but that's because of her husbands' death, if he hadn't died she would have still been living in her house.

It seems you do have something to show for your hard work. 12k in cash and your 401k. Assuming you retire around the age of 65 you have about 24 more years of work left. The way you post you'd think you are in your late 50's or early 60's.

I just look at how much lives are ahead of younger people compared to mine, the young adults going to college are 20 years younger than me. They have time to pay off their loans and get out of debt and still enjoy life. They have more time to earn more money, more time to pay the debt back, and more time to enjoying having a house paid off. Anytime you start something later in life, you never get the same benefits younger people get.

What you can do is keep working the job you have for another 5 years and live with roommates while renting. If you can save up $12k a year that would be 60k in 5 years. So that means you'd have 72k saved up (12k you have now and the 60k you'd make) and your 401k on top of that. (I think you could save up more personally unless I'm not looking at the numbers correctly)

How can I save money if i'm renting though? I was able to save this $12,000 BECAUSE i'm not renting. And I could only have my job for another year, there is no guarantee it'll last 5 more years. They're already building hotels to replace the man camps I live in.

With 72k you could buy a house outright in many places. Or at least put half down on a decent house.

If I had $72,000, I would buy the cheapest liveable mobile home I could find and put the rest in the bank to live off the interest, and grow my own food to save money on groceries, and hope whatever job I can get would be enough combined with the money in the bank. I don't spend money foolishly, I don't even buy clothes or bedding or towels or furniture or kitchen items anymore. Everything I have is all i'd need for life.

Your situation isn't really all that bad (you have a steady job, money in the bank, you are saving for retirement, and you probably will have a pension for the 18 years you worked at your previous job) considering you are unwilling to help yourself by changing your situation.

My situation isn't bad NOW, financially anyway, I agree. It could be worse. But I know it won't be this good forever, in fact probably not much longer at all. I am trying to think of the future. And I dont know why people say i'm unwilling to change my situation, I have been racking my brain for 6 years to come up with a plan for my life. I have been struggling with this the whole time. I took a job 800 miles from home despite being scared to drive so far away all by myself but I did it and my mom is very proud of me for it. (my dad is another story, lol)

[GaiaGoddess]

I wasn't suggesting you go to school for something you wouldn't like. Merely pointing out there are many many options out there.

Oh I know there are a lot of options, i'm sure if someone were to add up all the different jobs in the entire world it would be like a million. But for someone who has certain problems, that eliminates a lot of the jobs. My perfect job might exist but it might be a morning job, well, i guess then it wouldn't be my perfect job, lol But some jobs are 90% perfect for me but there's always that 10% that makes it a dealbreaker.

My mom is 62 and she cleans bathrooms at a theme park 50+ hours a week. She is in excellent physical condition, but it's very hard for her. And at some point her age will not allow her to keep doing that kind of work. She owns her own land, but has no house.

Where does she live then? What is she doing with the land?

At least she has kids who will support her if the need arises. You don't. You may want to eally think that over.

Well of course I am aware I have no kids to help me, there's nothing I can do about that, lol I'm doing the best I can. I have no husband to help support me either, that's why I struggle more than most women.

[hamchan]

Oh I know there are a lot of options, i'm sure if someone were to add up all the different jobs in the entire world it would be like a million. But for someone who has certain problems, that eliminates a lot of the jobs. My perfect job might exist but it might be a morning job, well, i guess then it wouldn't be my perfect job, lol But some jobs are 90% perfect for me but there's always that 10% that makes it a dealbreaker.

I think you might be expecting too much. There are certainly things about my job I don't like, but overall I really enjoy my work and I realize that there will always be something you don't like about what you do. There is no such thing as a perfect job. I also have some learning disabilities and functional disabilities that made my education harder, and make my job a bit more challenging, but I have found ways to make things a little easier on me. I have moderate prosopagnosia (face blindness) and moderate dyscalculia (like dyslexia but with numbers, directions, etc.) I also have pretty bad social anxiety, but by forcing myself to work with people from a pretty young age, I now feel comfortable doing that, even though I still have extreme difficulty in other environments.

Where does she live then? What is she doing with the land?

There is a small heated garage on the property. She has a tiny leaky camper parked inside and she lives in that. She gardens a lot goes fishing, and gleans fallen fruit from her neighbors' trees. She wants to build a house on the land, but there is no money or time for that.

[Gailete]

I've jumped ahead so haven't seen quite ALL the posts, but is there a reason that you HAVE to go home to your mom during those 2 weeks you are off? Can you stay in your housing for those two weeks and find fun things to do locally or just play on the computer or read bookks. I'm just thinking that is the lesser of two evils if it is doable and then you won't have the stress of living with your mom during those two weeks.

Incidently your mention of the sleep problem had me have hubby check that out and it is pretty much his problem and mine to milder degree. I went back to school to become a nurse in my 30's because I knew that my first marriage was severely on the rocks. I became an RN and choose to work second shift so I could sleep during my normal sleep time. The problem would be my mom calling at 8-9AM and wondering why I was still asleep. Let's see I got off at 11:30PM took half hour to drive home, get something to eat, destress out a bit before going to bed. She could never get it that people who work first shift don't come home and jump in bed at 5PM for the night, but for some reason, for the years I worked that shift she always thought it was entirely reasonable to call at that hour and I should have been up showered and had breakfast already and into my day already . Only sharing that so you know that I know what it is like. My husband is worse, he went to shool every day sick to his stomach from having to get up so early. So when he was done with college, he started his own business on his time schedule. First it was giving piano lessons, then he learned tunings and did that, and then he taught himself how to restore pianos and does that now along with the tuning. Having a sleep disorder such as you do would make you a good candidate for trying self employment and there are many ways on line to earn a living. Since I'm too disabled to go out to work anymore I sell things on line and that helps bridge the gap from what SS pays me.

By the way, if you took the time to look up what your potential SS benefits might be, I think at this point you might be pleasantly surprised, because the work you are doing now also counts towards benefits eventually. You keep mentioning that they are based on the factory work you did years ago. No it is based on your entire work history including now and you are getting a decent income now. that might give you some impetus to stick out this job longer if possible.

As to cheap housing, since you apparently aren't a people person so it doesn't sound like you would miss friends or family much, I would recommend studying on the computer to find areas with the cheapest cost of living and think about moving there when you are done with this job. In my area you could buy a NICE used mobile home for the money you have and lot rent is maybe around $300/month depending on the park, but that usually includes, water, sewer, and garbage. Mobile homes made in the last 10-20 years are much better than they used to be. I lived in a new double wide back in 1995 and even with a super cold winter, I don't think my gas heat bill ever went above $40. Obviously rates for everything has gone up since then, but if you can pay outright for the home and then come up with the other monthly expenses your could do it on a not high paying job. When I see some of the awful cost of living that people talk about on this board, I know that there are cheaper places to live, but you will have to investigate them thoroughly. And before paying a penny for a mobile home on a lot, be sure that it can stay on the lot. Some parks won't allow older homes to stay if they get sold. I've even seen mobile homes around here being given away for hunting camps, etc. just move it and it is yours.

[cardtrick]

There are way more cons than pros to taking the train. Sure it sounds easy in theory. The main problem with that is it isn't good for a vehicle to sit without being driven. I actually start my car once a week when i'm at work to keep it lubricated and running smoothly. Another big problem is when you take the train, you can only carry so much. I have a fully furnished bedroom at work, I wouldn't have been able to bring that stuff on a train. Even the amount of stuff I bring back and forth is way too much. Another reason is that the train is late every time, I know this sounds silly but other people have had their vacations ruined because of this. You need to arrange for a ride to the train station and if it's late, it's sometimes 4 hours late, so you need to have someone pick you back up and then bring you back again, and if you're lucky you won't miss it. One of my coworkers missed it and got stuck there until someone could go get him and then he ended up having to buy a last minute plane ticket to fly home so he had to spend $1000 plus he was late getting back for something important. Other people complain it's a pain in the ass riding the train too, it isn't just that one guy who has had issues. And every time someone complains, I always say "I am SO glad I drive to work!". Also remember I stay in hotels because it's the only time I can be alone (therefore, happy and peaceful). I can really tell mentally when I haven't stayed in a hotel long enough, I get more depressed & withdrawn than usual. I NEED that time to myself.



The only thing that has ever helped me with social anxiety is alcohol, and i'm not drinking on the job, lol

I guess you don't want to change. People here have offered numerous suggestions to improve your situation but you have excuses for every single one of them. All I can say is, financial security and a house are earned. No one has any "rights" to them. If you don't want to change your situation by doing things outside your comfort zone, then start embracing the idea of being poor and on the brink of bankruptcy for the rest of your life.

There is no need to be surprised that anyone is able to survive and thrive on min wage jobs. The reason they can and you can't is simple. You are spending too much money by convincing yourself that all the outrageous expenses are justified and to top it all off, you don't want to put in any real effort towards earning a higher income. The math behind your budget doesn't care that you're only spending the money on what you perceive to be "bare essentials".

Since you came here seeking advice, I will give you my opinion and acknowledge the elephant in the room that the other members here see but are choosing to not vocalize. You can't afford to spend $500 on hotels and another $200 on gas when there are at least a couple of options available. Granted they might be inconvenient at times, but it's not like you have a lot of options. You are 41, have almost no savings and your "issues" and physical state probably don't make you a very eligible bachelorette. Bluntly put, the odds are you'll have to figure out your own financial future with no one to help and it's very obvious that you're doing a horrible job with it.

Your whole approach towards secondary and higher education and life in general is deeply flawed. We live in a world filled with uncertainties. You can't be 100% sure that you won't get hit by a truck tomorrow. Same goes for college. Whether or not college teaches any real skills is debatable. But employment statistics clearly show that you are much better off with a college education. And if you're convinced that the only thing that helps social anxiety is alcohol and hence countering your social anxiety is off the table, then I'm glad you're not contaminating the gene pool by reproducing. It's almost like you've subconsciously given up on life. Then why even bother wasting everyone's time here? If you truly wanted to change, you'd use your time off from work and the savings you have to go see a shrink or join a social anxiety meetup group or try anything else that might help which would lead to more job opportunities.

Compromise is something grown-ups do. A 7 year old will throw a fit and demand exactly what he or she desires. I'm surprised that you got this far behaving like a 7 year old. I have a friend who also refuses to compromise. But the key difference is that he is sensible enough to understand the realities of life. He won't work a crappy job but at the same time he has no illusions that he can one day own a house. And if you're only doing the things you want to do, why exactly are you depressed?

And as far as your sleep disorder goes, have you tried leading a more healthy lifestyle? Probably try working out in the evening before heading to bed? But I'm sure you have a very good reason why you cannot work out or that working out is not going to help. So, I'll just stop with the suggestions.

Go buy a house or an RV or piss it all away in hotel stays. It doesn't matter anyway. Sooner or later, you will either get foreclosed on or won't be able to afford lot rent. Your attitude won't get you anywhere in life.

[Eagle]

@ GaiaGoddess
Let me try to explain this again. In an 8 week period you work 6 weeks and are off 2 weeks. You bring home about $4500 in that 6 week period of work. But you can look it as you make roughly $2100 a month I guess.

So since you have access online to your account add up what you spent during those 3 pay periods of $1535, $1478, and $1478. You made $4491. You say you can see in your statement where all your money is going. What were your total expenses during that time?

You are spending a lot more than you need to IMO. You cannot afford the hotel stays. You can’t afford $500 on Christmas gifts, birthday, mothers day, fathers days, or siblings birthdays. You should be spending about $800 or less a month on expenses and saving a whole lot more.

The link from the U.S. Census Bureau is only considering American Adults from the ages of 18-80. Still the point is that there’s a lot of people (1/3 of Americans) who rent. The other 1/3 are buying homes but don’t have them paid off yet.

Buying a house, RV, etc. doesn’t mean a person actually owns it until that note is paid off. The same thing goes with your friends. They may live in houses but they don’t own them unless the houses are paid off. Do you see?

By making sacrifices I meant stepping out of your comfort zone for work and education. But enough with beating a dead horse.

You said: Just the sentence "your job isn't supposed to make you happy" is a sign of how far off the world is from what it should be.

Unfortunately we can’t change the world. But we can try to better ourselves and our situation. A philosophy of life that doesn’t match reality will mean you end up as Cardtrick described.

[GaiaGoddess]

I think you might be expecting too much. There are certainly things about my job I don't like, but overall I really enjoy my work and I realize that there will always be something you don't like about what you do. There is no such thing as a perfect job. I also have some learning disabilities and functional disabilities that made my education harder, and make my job a bit more challenging, but I have found ways to make things a little easier on me. I have moderate prosopagnosia (face blindness) and moderate dyscalculia (like dyslexia but with numbers, directions, etc.) I also have pretty bad social anxiety, but by forcing myself to work with people from a pretty young age, I now feel comfortable doing that, even though I still have extreme difficulty in other environments.

I've never even heard of those disabilities, wow they must be rare! Sounds pretty crappy. Well at least you can relate to having something that affects your ability to get any job you want.

There is a small heated garage on the property. She has a tiny leaky camper parked inside and she lives in that. She gardens a lot goes fishing, and gleans fallen fruit from her neighbors' trees. She wants to build a house on the land, but there is no money or time for that.

I would be fine living in a camper even without the garage (would be nice to look out the window and actually see nature, lol). I wish there weren't laws against that sort of thing.

[GaiaGoddess]

I've jumped ahead so haven't seen quite ALL the posts, but is there a reason that you HAVE to go home to your mom during those 2 weeks you are off? Can you stay in your housing for those two weeks and find fun things to do locally or just play on the computer or read bookks. I'm just thinking that is the lesser of two evils if it is doable and then you won't have the stress of living with your mom during those two weeks.

We aren't allowed to stay at work if we're not working, so I have to leave. It's because of legal reasons, insurance reasons I think. If we were to get hurt while there, they'd be liable. But I wouldn't want to stay there all the time though, it's still where I work and it isn't a place I want to stay if I dont have to. It's kinda like a prison, there are security guards walking around doing checks and there's cameras filming at every turn, there's even a barbed wire fence running along the entire perimeter of the place, it really looks like a prison LOL There's no trees there, only small rocks all over the ground. It's 10 minutes to the town and the traffic is insane, there are so many people working there now the roads can't handle the traffic and even in the middle of the night there are trucks going and people pull out in front of you to get on the road since they know they can't wait for an opening or they'll be waiting forever. There's hardly any trees, it's just flat and brown and dirty and loud and fast moving and I hate it. That's why when I stay in hotels I find the ones near nature so I can actually be outside and enjoy the scenery. 6 weeks without seeing the sun and trees and water really gets to you.

Incidently your mention of the sleep problem had me have hubby check that out and it is pretty much his problem and mine to milder degree. I went back to school to become a nurse in my 30's because I knew that my first marriage was severely on the rocks. I became an RN and choose to work second shift so I could sleep during my normal sleep time. The problem would be my mom calling at 8-9AM and wondering why I was still asleep. Let's see I got off at 11:30PM took half hour to drive home, get something to eat, destress out a bit before going to bed. She could never get it that people who work first shift don't come home and jump in bed at 5PM for the night, but for some reason, for the years I worked that shift she always thought it was entirely reasonable to call at that hour and I should have been up showered and had breakfast already and into my day already . Only sharing that so you know that I know what it is like. My husband is worse, he went to shool every day sick to his stomach from having to get up so early. So when he was done with college, he started his own business on his time schedule. First it was giving piano lessons, then he learned tunings and did that, and then he taught himself how to restore pianos and does that now along with the tuning. Having a sleep disorder such as you do would make you a good candidate for trying self employment and there are many ways on line to earn a living. Since I'm too disabled to go out to work anymore I sell things on line and that helps bridge the gap from what SS pays me.

A lot of people probably have this and don't know it, because they just assume it's insomnia or that they are just night owls. I'm glad someone understands, lol I know self employment would help with the hours, selling things online would be nice too. I have never been crafty or creative as far as making things but maybe I just haven't looked hard enough. I love taking pictures but I talked to someone online who sells her pictures and she said she doesn't make enough to live off of, she needs a full time job too.

By the way, if you took the time to look up what your potential SS benefits might be, I think at this point you might be pleasantly surprised, because the work you are doing now also counts towards benefits eventually. You keep mentioning that they are based on the factory work you did years ago. No it is based on your entire work history including now and you are getting a decent income now. that might give you some impetus to stick out this job longer if possible.

I didnt know that! I have never gotten anything from any of my other jobs referring to SS, only the factory! I guess I thought minimum wage/part time jobs didn't put money towards SS for you. Or maybe that isn't how it works, I don't know, but every time I get a statement in the mail, the amount never changes. Is there a way you can look it up online somehow?

As to cheap housing, since you apparently aren't a people person so it doesn't sound like you would miss friends or family much, I would recommend studying on the computer to find areas with the cheapest cost of living and think about moving there when you are done with this job.

That's what i've been doing. I dont want to live too far away from my family and friends though, I have friends here that i've had for 20 years and I dont want to lose touch with them (FB isn't the same as doing things in person). I have 2 young nephews too so I dont want to miss out on their lives, it's already sad enough right now, i'll come home and my 10 month old nephew doesn't even know me, and my 8 year old nephew is clearly hurt that I'm never around to play with him. So I think the farthest I could live and still be able to visit once a week or so would be about an hour away. I have found some trailer parks with $300 lot rent, but after driving through there I would rather spend more on a place that doesn't make me feel like i'm going to get shot, lol Plus there is no privacy in those parks, in one all the trailers were arranged in a circle, like they all literally shared the same backyard, and there were no trees so everyone was all up in everyone else's business, they even stop what they're doing and stare at you when you're just driving by! I'd hate to see how it would be if I lived there, eyes peering out from windows spying on you, lol I need distance and privacy between me and my neighbors and i'll pay extra money for that. There are some things in life money CAN buy, lol