@Gloria Mitchell You may be "in the same boat" my Mother was. She never worked after my folks married, which was way before S/S was passed, thus received only 1/2 of my Dad's benefit after he died. They had a small nest egg put away which she pilfered as needed, not to often. Frank
Ina, you went through a lot. But unlike you I didn't think of the future and retirement when I was younger. I've stayed out of debt but made some choices I shouldn't have. I've managed to save money just renting. That house I had took a lot of my money. That's something I worry about if I buy a mobile. Side note: I heard a radio advertisement for over age 55 condos in the San Francisco Bay Area starting in the 900,000's. No joke. The pricing in these kinds of areas has gone too far in my opinion. Who has this freaking money? People invested in pharmaceutical companies?! Then I watch YouTube videos of people living in little trailers etc. Wouldn't work with the cats, they need indoor room. There is a mobile home park I looked at that has some travel trailers in the park. I asked the managers if the were temporary or permanent and she stated permanent. Seriously I'd never look down on someone living like that. At least it's their own place, they can have pets, a little yard and feel secure. Maybe it beats an apartment for some people. And it's what they can afford.
@Kitty Carmel , I'm not sure where your located, but for 60 to 80 thousand you can get a good sized piece of land, and a new trailer here in Texas. Less than that if you can catch foreclosure. A friend of mine got a 1/2 acre with a five year old two bedroom trailer for $20,000 from an IRS foreclosure. I think today's trailer make nice home. Several of my friends live quite comfortably in them.
I never worried about it because I planned for it by living within my means/ saving & later investing. I retired in 1990 and have had a fantastic retirement with much travel and fun activities, and now that I am 82 and single I am happy that I have more resources than I really need to live well and can gift to my great grand kids.
I believe there's a couple of members of this forum who live very comfortably in trailer homes. @Kitty Carmel , I do hope you can find something to suit you soon, it must be a huge worry for you..
Ina, I'm in Northern California. With my step dad here, it seems moving is not an option. If I did move, I'd like to move some place with more rain. Moving is expensive on its own and I don't seem to have the ability to do that at this time. Feeling kind of trapped.
I'm now more comfortable then when I retired in 1998, mainly because I have no Mortgage, no Car Payments, and enjoy a nice 37-year Pension from Boeing, as well as Socialized Security! I'm also in great health for being almost 82, because my Wife keeps me properly fed and cared for! Cheers, Hal
Fortunately, we're both still working online, but if all we had were our Social Security payments, we could get by. We'd have to cut back on some things but we don't have a mortgage and taxes aren't so very high here. Either one of us would have a tough time living on just one of our SS checks though.
The amount I get though my pensions if I were back in Canada I would have to find a job as my pensions are not enough. Here in the DR i lived on my pensions and built a house with a two bedroom apartment on to also built a house out the back with two bedrooms and a bath. I live well with no debt.
It could well be the pit and peak of our lives. "On the positive side, I lived a long time. On the other hand, I'm broke."
I've read several times that financial retirement planners say that a retiree should have $500,000 in savings to be "comfortable" in retirement. Hal