Topic of the Month Feb 2019 What IF...

I'd have to steal or stand on the corner and give BJ's
I'm to old and fat to run very fast so that only leaves one option.

 

Your knees probably aren't that great either.

 

That is it? Never think it could not happen to you. One natural disaster, one major illness and everything could be wiped out. No fault of your own, just life happens and everything lost. A few years back I read of peoples pensions being paid pennies on the dollar. I know two people older then me who faced homelessness. Life happened to them. Lets hope it never happens to you all.

 

$1,200 to $1,400 a month? Beats my pension of $982 a month. I do have a savings account laid back, but not that much. I own my vehicle, and two properties. No major debt. One CC, kept paid up.
It's possible to get by on less than a grand a month.

 

I hear more people are getting into tiny homes. literally.
Some KOA camps provide camper cabins one can only sleep and keep their stuff in securely ,cooking and laundry ,toilet and baths are in separate structures .
Years ago my parents bought the remaining cabins from what they called then was an Auto Court , basically a fisherman's camp.
Same thing, secure cabins to sleep in and have a refrigerator and all other things were done in other shared structures.
Something similar could be implemented that could accommodate several folks on an acre of land . Using simple insulated small structures the size of garden sheds may be a bit taller . long as a person pays their rent on time and does not annoy the neighbors, it could be a sweet deal for the homeless and down trodden .
Every situation can have the potential of growth or failure, at least people that want to make things better for the selves can, those that do not wish to better them self ,so long as they do not become problem are free to be them self.
With my luck I'd wind up with a bunch of survivalists ,and we know what kind of problem that might develop .

 

What if...... I ran into some old friends last weekend. Long story short, a family we used to dirt bike with had their lives change in a blink. A successful self-employed man now wheelchair bound. They never lived beyond their means. People prepare and buy life insurance but does anyone ever really prepare for the major bread-winner losing their earning capacity?

 

Didn't mean to be a downer with that post but it really shocked our family. But it also made me think that it is important if the main bread winner is removed from the earning, the others in the household have to be able to provide or they could end up like the opening What if.. scenario.

 

Great topic. No matter how you prepare, fate, accident or God intervenes and your plans can change in a hot minute.

A cop friend of mine got a traumatic brain injury on the job. Took her years to recover and to this day flashing lights or a rainy day can mess with her cognitive function. She can't hold down a regular 9-5 job because of it. She owns her own business but she had years of therapy just to walk, talk and feed herself again. I don't think anyone can prep for that either.

 

I would keep the car. If I downsized enough I would be able to live out of it with my cat. Then that -600$/month is more like rent AND since it is fairly new it might even be covered under warranty if something breaks. Gyms have showers and so do truck stops, gym memberships are around 20$/month where I live.

Depending on the area and how big the house is I would rent it out. If the house has at least two bedrooms and a couch I could rent it out for 500~700$ a room (this is how much bedroom rentals go for in my area) plus the airbnb 40$/night couch. Plus the renters would split the utilities since they are the only ones living there. Going by average it would be 1200$ for two rooms and then I only need to rent the airbnb out for 8 days or I could pay the difference. This might not be entirely legal.

First priority would be to get a job that pays more than 10/hr OR I would look into two jobs, preferably one at a restaurant/fast food chain so I could get a discount or free lunch. In my current area we have lots of call centers hiring for around 12/hr...I would work at one of these and then part time at McDonald's/olive garden/red lobster.

So far this is
-600 car
-300 house (depends on airbnb)
-60 gas (since newer cars have better gas mileage)
-120 food (discounted meal or free meal from the part time gig)
-20 showers
So total spent a month would be -$1100/month

Then income
+$1600 from 12/hr job
+$300 from part time minimum wage job

1900-1100= +800$ a month
I would pay off the house first and then once the house is paid off I would pay off the car. House first because once you have it paid off renting it becomes almost entirely income.

Yes I might get 1200$ from unemployment plus I get snap benefits but you can still apply for snap when you have a low paying job...and unemployment gets paid worse then the call centers so I'd rather work at the call centers.


Oh and I would spend initially to get a portable stove for the car and maybe a cooler...besides that I wouldn't touch the savings money unless I need to. That's emergency money.

 

a great plan for a single guy. Not sure it would work for a female still having a period. Of if you had a family might be a bit confining

 

Yeah it sucks being a female, however now a days they got a cup you can stick up there that you only have to empty every 8hrs. It is reusable too. Just got to boil it once your period is over. And you can't lose a limb or die from using it compared to tampons. Never have tried one but it would be useful to get one in that situation to cut down on feminine hygiene costs.
I'm not sure how relevant the above is to anyone on the forums.


I live currently off of 1600 a month and I live comfortably too. Since I am also a female I could find a sugar daddy to take care of my expenses in that situation.