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

[JulieAlbright]

I wish you luck Gaiai but like others I'm wondering what your goal for joining a financial advice board is. It's fine if you simply want to browse around and read …. and really it is even fine to ask for advice and then completely reject every single suggestion that comes your way.

But it just doesn't seem like this thread is very productive or motivating.

I'll just add that I think all these things that you want are reasonable things want. The problem is that they cost money. So eventually you are just going to have to determine for yourself if you want all these things badly enough that you do whatever it is you decide will get you the money to do them.

Just out of curiosity. Has even one thing posted on this thread struck a chord or motivated you in any fashion? Did you at least go look at your Social Security statement to see what your benefits will be?

[GaiaGoddess]

So I went to that SS site and did the estimation thing, it was only going by what i'm making now, though. I'm not going to be at my job forever, maybe not even another year. But it said if I was there for another 20 years I'd get $1250 a month if I retire later (not the earliest you can retire). But this information is useless when I know I won't be there much longer. Even if it lasts another 5 years like some are saying, that's only 1/4 of the next 20 years.

So it says nothing on here about my previous jobs, so does it add to the amount you were getting from those jobs? Or does this replace that amount? Because when I was getting my statements from the factory job, it was around $600 a month but I understood that was a fixed amount, it wasn't contingent on if I stayed at that job until retirement, because even a few years after getting laid off, they were still coming to me saying $600.

[GaiaGoddess]

I wish you luck Gaiai but like others I'm wondering what your goal for joining a financial advice board is. It's fine if you simply want to browse around and read …. and really it is even fine to ask for advice and then completely reject every single suggestion that comes your way.

I joined this board to see if there were any other options other than the ones I have already thought of. I wanted to know the best way to utilize the $12,000 I have now. I was just wondering if there was some way some how that I hadn't thought of yet that would allow me to own a home right now as my situation stands.

But it just doesn't seem like this thread is very productive or motivating.

Well maybe there are no other options, in which case I can rest assured that whatever I choose to do is the best I can do with what I have and i'm not missing out on something I didn't know about just because i didn't ask.

I'll just add that I think all these things that you want are reasonable things want. The problem is that they cost money. So eventually you are just going to have to determine for yourself if you want all these things badly enough that you do whatever it is you decide will get you the money to do them.

At this point it's just whether or not i can hold out mentally. My relationships with my parents is already getting affected though, which is why I feel it's more urgent to do something sooner rather than later.

Just out of curiosity. Has even one thing posted on this thread struck a chord or motivated you in any fashion? Did you at least go look at your Social Security statement to see what your benefits will be?

I haven't had time to check out those other links yet (that someone posted a few days ago), but I did just now do the SS thing, but I still don't know what i'll be getting since that only tells you what you'll get if you stay at your current job for 20 more years but how can anyone know that for sure, with ANY job? I know for a fact my job will not last 20 more years and if by some miracle they find more oil and it never runs out, I doubt i'll be able to keep up the 84 hour work weeks for 20 years, 2 is really taking a toll on me.

[Petunia 100]

Did you register for the site and use the "my Social Security" tool? That is what you have to do if you want it to access your actual work history, rather than just make an estimate based on what you type in.

http://ssa.gov/myaccount/materials.html

[GaiaGoddess]

Did you register for the site and use the "my Social Security" tool? That is what you have to do if you want it to access your actual work history, rather than just make an estimate based on what you type in.

http://ssa.gov/myaccount/materials.html

I didn't know you had to create an account, lol

Ok...just created an account and looked at my information, and I dont know where they're getting these numbers from. They have my yearly income at 47,000. I only make about 25,000 a year! That's more than double! It's still only showing my current job though, I see nothing on here about past jobs. Is there anywhere on here that breaks it down and shows you how much you have earned at EACH job? What good is this "estimate" when I know I won't be working at the same job in 20 years? They don't even have my income right.

[JulieAlbright]

Are you downloading and viewing the actual PDF file of your Social Security statement? This is the statement that used to be sent in the mail and is now viewable online.

There is a section called your Earnings Record that shows for every year you've worked the amount of wages that is reported to them by your Employers. It sounds like nearly all of your income has been through wages, so it should be about equal to what you have reported on your income tax returns for each year. If the amounts you show do not match your records, then you need to contact your old Employers and eventually the IRS to get the discrepancies corrected.

A few other things to check. Make sure the section that indicates qualification for Disability payments should you become disabled today is correct. Also, make sure you have a record adequate to qualify for Medicare at age 65. If you worked a factory job for 18 years, you should have enough credits.

[hamchan]

I would try seeing someone professional but like i've said already, I am only home for a few days every other month, when you see a therapist they want you there at least once a week.

No, you can see a therapist on a schedule that works for you. They may recommend once a week, but if you can't go that often they will still work with you.

[GaiaGoddess]

There is a section called your Earnings Record that shows for every year you've worked the amount of wages that is reported to them by your Employers. It sounds like nearly all of your income has been through wages, so it should be about equal to what you have reported on your income tax returns for each year. If the amounts you show do not match your records, then you need to contact your old Employers and eventually the IRS to get the discrepancies corrected.

I did eventually find that section, but a lot of the years seemed wrong to me. Not only is it saying this year my income doubled compared to last year, but it also had one year when I was working at the factory that says $10,000 less than the other years. It was in the middle too, not near the end when they were sending us home a lot. There is no explanation for that one. I guess I will have to find out what is going on.

A few other things to check. Make sure the section that indicates qualification for Disability payments should you become disabled today is correct. Also, make sure you have a record adequate to qualify for Medicare at age 65. If you worked a factory job for 18 years, you should have enough credits.

According to the part I read, you only need 4 credits per year in order to qualify for medicare and SS, so i'm good, even for the year I was unemployed. I got $7000 that year from unemployment, the minimum you need in a year is $4000. But that was only one year, the other years I definately made enough, except for when I only made $1000 the first year of working, when I was part time at McDonalds, lol But I imagine most people's first year is never that much!

[GaiaGoddess]

No, you can see a therapist on a schedule that works for you. They may recommend once a week, but if you can't go that often they will still work with you.

Once every 8 weeks though? Would they even remember me? lol

I did look for online counselors a few times, so I could do it through email, that way i could do it from work, but they only accepted online if they were able to call you and I can't do it over the phone since i'm sleeping during the hours they are open.

[Gailete]

I got $7000 that year from unemployment, the minimum you need in a year is $4000.

Unemployment benefits don't count anything towards SS if that is what you meant in the above sentence. Even if you received $20,000 from unemployment. Only earned wages count. the 'errors' you are finding is why everyone should be checking their benefits on a yearly basis so mistakes can be caught and fixed before businesses go out of business and the records disappear.

[Petunia 100]

There is a three year time limit to correct SS records. This is why it is important to check your earnings record annually. Every March 15th, another calendar year scrolls off and can no longer be corrected. At this moment, you can correct errors for 2011, 2012, and 2013. That's all. Older records can no longer be corrected.

http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.14/handbook-1423.html

It only takes 40 credits to draw SS benefits. For 2014, one credit is earned for every $1200 of gross wages. In a single year, you can earn no more than 4 credits. So basically, 10 years of working 10 - 12 hrs per week at minimum wage will qualify you for benefits.

[hamchan]

Once every 8 weeks though? Would they even remember me? lol

I did look for online counselors a few times, so I could do it through email, that way i could do it from work, but they only accepted online if they were able to call you and I can't do it over the phone since i'm sleeping during the hours they are open.

Yes, that's their job. They do take notes too.

If you are interested in email or chat based counseling there are lots of places that do it without requiring any phone calls.

[GaiaGoddess]

Unemployment benefits don't count anything towards SS if that is what you meant in the above sentence. Even if you received $20,000 from unemployment. Only earned wages count. the 'errors' you are finding is why everyone should be checking their benefits on a yearly basis so mistakes can be caught and fixed before businesses go out of business and the records disappear.

They don't? Why does it list it as income then? Hmm.

[GaiaGoddess]

There is a three year time limit to correct SS records. This is why it is important to check your earnings record annually. Every March 15th, another calendar year scrolls off and can no longer be corrected. At this moment, you can correct errors for 2011, 2012, and 2013. That's all. Older records can no longer be corrected.

Wow that's stupid. I guess i'm screwed then, since I didn't know you were supposed to check that.

It only takes 40 credits to draw SS benefits. For 2014, one credit is earned for every $1200 of gross wages. In a single year, you can earn no more than 4 credits. So basically, 10 years of working 10 - 12 hrs per week at minimum wage will qualify you for benefits.

Wow, that's so low, lol It wouldn't take much I guess. But i'm sure that person would only earn maybe $50 a month, lol

[GaiaGoddess]

If you are interested in email or chat based counseling there are lots of places that do it without requiring any phone calls.

Yeah that's what I was looking for and couldn't find any.