“Where
DOES The Money Go ?”
(
A never-ending, monthly lament! )
09/05/12
To my very, very dearest friends, and ever constant,
loyal readers,
I think I most recently set a new land-speed record
for getting rid of my monthly, S.S.D.I. income; my checks are usually deposited
the 3rd, but because the 3rd of September happened to
fall on a Monday, which was as observed Holiday, my little check arrived to me
on August, the 31st,
I always try—after five or six revisions—to have in
place some kind of practical budget for the new month. I telephone—early, just after the meter has
been read—to find out what my electric bill will be (which is usually due sometime
around the 16th of each month).
I also anticipate my cable bill (computer and telephone ONLY, as I gave
away my television sets for want of anything interesting to watch! And call my other, regular utilities billers
for their take on the amount soon to be due.
Suffice it to say, this past Friday, after the dust
had cleared, the dead moths flushed from my wallet, and with many a lamentation
and sigh sent Heavenward, I found that—for all purposes—I, in the space of a
single morning, had spent 55% of my income, with another 10% not-as-yet
accounted for, missing, presumed dead; so that by yesterday, the 4th,
I was effectively broke!
But how can this be?
The house I inherited is paid for.
I have no car, nor can I drive one.
I rarely go anywhere. So where
does the rest seemingly vanish to?
First, while my S.S.D.I (disability income), is a
regular, guaranteed source of income, depending upon what index you may choose
to apply, it is an amount presently some $5,000.00 below the State, and nearly
$13,000.00 beneath the Federal guidelines for poverty!
Now, my most dear friends, please do not mistake me;
I am most grateful for what I DO receive, as I have no other income, and thus
without it, would surely perish.
And even though I do not have to pay a mortgage, or
car payments, or car insurance, or car maintenance, or gasoline, other,
consequent charges sneak up to bite me in the ass.
Big and little, these other ‘bills’ siphon the cash
right out of my checkbook, and when added up, represent quite a sizeable
percentage of my monthly S.S.D.I.
In no particular order, or amount:
1)
A charge to have my garbage taken away.
2)
A minimum+ payment to my credit card.
3)
Three doctor’s bills, and one ambulance
charge I am paying off as I only have Medicare, and if I cannot get Medicaid to
contribute (which is so often the case), I am still responsible for the
remaining 20%.
4)
Even though I have a Medicare, Part D
prescription plan, besides my drug co-pays, other prescriptions are simply not
covered, and these must be paid in full, or at whatever slight discount can be
applied. Roughly—then—take away another
10% of my income.
5)
Now, my dear canine companion—Daisy—also
needs medications, and these must be paid in full each month. There now goes another 12.5%.
6)
Since I cannot always rely upon the
kindnesses of a neighbor to go grocery shopping for me, any time I have an
order ready, I have to pay a $30.00 delivery charge to have it brought to my
home. So, figure that, plus food, to be
about 35% of my check.
7)
Any time I have to have my lawn mowed,
the hedges trimmed, the house cleaned, I have to pay for this out of my own
pocket.
8)
To have my C.N.A. help me with three
showers a week (during which visits she also washes the dishes leftover, and
straightens-up the house a little, and takes the garbage out, there goes
another 12.5% of my income. Presently,
she take my laundry to wash and dry it; that costs me about $45.00 a month.
9)
I mention this only because I actually
budget it every month, but—dearest friends—PLEASE do not fuss at me for
it: I smoke about 2+ packs of cigarettes
a day. Granted, I know it is a foul
habit, one not good for me, but…nonetheless, there it is. In fact, for some time, now, I no longer
smoke name brand, or even generic cigarettes, but have gotten used to smoking “Remington’s”,
a cigarette-sized, bland cigar, as they cost me about $9.90/carton. And I go through about 8+cartons a
month. It—too—results in some
considerable math.
So, my dearest friends, if everything I’ve listed
above (plus, those costs that vary, are transient, or ‘one time’ expenses),
adds up to greater than 100% of my income, you will see how (like so many other
of you, dear friends) close I come to the edge; why worries about finances
plague me all the time; and why all this surely adds to my feelings of deep depression,
panic, and dire thoughts of the future.
None of this is helped by a disability entitlement
that has seen only two, small cost of living raises in seven years, while
consumer prices only continue to rise. A
very good example of this would be my electric bill. The bill that I just paid (due on September
16th) is the highest—almost—that I’ve ever had to pay. Blame it on TWO, added-on fuel surcharges,
AND a blistering summer quite without equal.
And I live in a double-wide, mobile home, halfway
down the Florida peninsula, where the heat and humidity raise the daytime
temperatures to well over 110 degrees.
For me, having and using my central A/C is a
necessity, almost made a luxury by just how much it does cost each month…to be
able to breathe. I have tried—dear friends—to
raise the thermostat to 82 degrees, but—at that temperature, inside the house—I
sweat buckets, and cannot draw a decent breath.
So…how DO I try to ‘save’ money? First of all, please let us be candid; in
verity, my S.S.D.I. is simply not enough to go around, or—really—to have any
left over for ‘extras’.
With the exception of my having gone out for lunch
to a restaurant, last month, more and more my income—fully as much as my
illnesses, and agoraphobia—keep me inside the house, what I refer to as
something akin to voluntary ‘house arrest’!
And, while I do get food stamps, I actually get the
lordly sum of $16.00 a month from the wonderful folks at Medicaid. Once a month, the ‘Volunteer Way’ will
deliver a small case of food to me. All
too often—though—the canned goods are dented, rusty, or the products very, very
much past the ‘sell by’ date. Last year,
for instance, I was given four, small cans of tuna…dated 2003! And sometimes other packaged items that have
been crushed, are open, or have had the cellophane bag inside compromised (or,
bitten through, please use your imagination!).
Of course I have to throw away anything suspect; the
real tragedy are those who are elderly, ill, or with compromised immune systems,
or, who are just too G.D. poverty-ridden who have no choice, but to consume
these things.
As a speculative, albeit grim aside, in the past
twenty years of the ‘Volunteer Way’, or, the County Food Bank, just how many
recipients died from subsequent food poisoning?
A figure no one will ever know, as whenever one of these societal groups
dies, they are merely carted off to the County version of ‘Boot Hill’, with
never a peep of inquiry, or autopsy.
I realize that I cannot possibly be the only person
who is disabled, on tons of medications, unable to work, and dependent upon an
entitlement that just isn’t enough these days.
My questions to you, my very, very dear friends are:
1)
How do you manage, financially?
2)
What do you do to save on expenses like electric
bills, or food costs?
3)
Do you find yourself having to survive
on a ‘standard of living’ that is deficient?
4)
What advice do you have on how to pay
bills?
5)
Are you able to put-aside any money in
savings? (don’t worry…you need not give a specific figure)
6)
Do you make a budget, or budgets every
month? Do you pretty much adhere to them?
7)
What tricks of survival do you employ
that you would kindly share?
8)
Do you ever ‘barter’ for goods, or ‘work-for-work
trading services?
9)
And while I know everyone dreams of
hitting the Lottery, meanwhile, about what percentage of your current income,
added, again, as a raise, would allow you more freedom and comfort. For example, a 50% increase in my current
income would add immeasurably to my ‘comfort level’; a 100% increase would—in fact—allow
me to save money.
10) About how much—approximately, or translated as
a percentage of your income, would you honestly say gets wasted, or ‘imprudently’
spent?
And while it is not necessary to give exact monetary
amounts (as that is a most private issue), still, any suggestions or hints, or
tricks you might have to stretch your available income would be most welcome!
And to avoid a possible firestorm of criticism, I
would most respectfully ask that you please refrain from castigating me for
having to pay Daisy’s vet bills and grooming bills, and her medicine…and…my
smoking, any advice or guidelines would be ever so most appreciated!
As
always, please, please know that I love you dearly!
‘Zahc’/Charles
