Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

[catherine]

I fear he feels he is set.

Not really. Maybe for a little while, but once we sell the house, he has to leave.
And the guy isn't all that "set"--he has some cognitive issues, no job skills, a part time minimum wage seasonal job, a very limited amount of money from the sale off the house, and virtually no Social Security credits at 55.

If I were him, I wouldn't feel "set" at all. Hopefully he can get some affordable housing somewhere, or if he were truly smart, he'd move to Florida and get a very inexpensive condo or mobile home (while he still has a few bucks left) near a golf course where he can continue to work in his field. But he's not truly smart.

[Teacher Terry]

How can someone have no SS credits at that age? From working under the table?

[catherine]

Well, he has few. He worked maybe 10 years in a full-time job total, and most were minimum-wage retail jobs. He spent a number of years not working at all, supported by his mother, and then he moved into seasonal minimum-wage jobs and collected unemployment during the winters. So whatever the minimum benefit for SS will be for him, that's what he'll probably get--I think it's about $10k a year. Not sure who can live on that. He'll need to keep working at these low-wage jobs. Plus he's fussy and spoiled. He has a serious rude awakening coming.

[Teacher Terry]

The sheriffs will probably be dragging him out of your house once it sells. He definitely needs low income housing but can’t probably get it while he has money and since he is not a planner there are often lengthy waiting lists. Ugh!

[Ultralight]

Since I got paid today (last weekday of the month) I created/updated my budget for the month. I also set up my envelope system for the month.

And since I started spending mostly cash I have noticed an increased feeling of tight wad-ness. haha

Like I begrudgingly handover my greenbacks...

[iris lilies]

The sheriffs will probably be dragging him out of your house once it sells. He definitely needs low income housing but can’t probably get it while he has money and since he is not a planner there are often lengthy waiting lists. Ugh!

This is what I am afraid of for catherine—an ugly scene getting him out of the house.

But given the fact that he has a little money,
I suppose he could rent an apartment and spend it all there. By then, catherine and hisband will be rid of him.

catherine, what was the outcome of him visitng San
Diego recently and wanting to move there?

[catherine]

This is what I am afraid of for catherine—an ugly scene getting him out of the house.

But given the fact that he has a little money,
I suppose he could rent an apartment and spend it all there. By then, catherine and hisband will be rid of him.

catherine, what was the outcome of him visitng San
Diego recently and wanting to move there?

First of all, good for you, UL! Going real gash definitely makes you think differently about spending.

Now, re BIL, he has no intention of going out there permanently. I really think he's incapable of putting one foot in front of the other. When he came back I showed him nice mobile homes that could have been affordable for him, even for SoCal, but he never bit. He just has a really difficult time with independent thought.

I don't think we'll need a sheriff. He's not that wily or bold. He just knows how to find the path of least resistance.

I'm not worrying about I right now. My son the lawyer told him he'd help him find affordable housing.

[SteveinMN]

Like I begrudgingly handover my greenbacks...

Exactly the point! It's easy to lose track of what money means when it's just numbers on a check or math you do when the plastic-card bill shows up at the end of the month.

[Ultralight]

The envelope method is definitely making me more conscious and more apprehensive about spending. So it seems to be working, even though it is a bit tedious.

[catherine]

The envelope method is definitely making me more conscious and more apprehensive about spending. So it seems to be working, even though it is a bit tedious.

Agreed. You definitely spend more mindfully with cash. Or at least I'll speak for myself.

Interestingly, DH feels that he is less mindful, and he does have a strange habit he's had for as long as I've known him. He can leave the house with $10 or $100, and he'll always come home with $1. He'll never spend every penny--that dollar is always in his pocket at the end of the day, but it's almost like he's on a game show to prove he can spend any amount of cash he has. Talk about tedious: when we did the envelope system, I had to add money to his "personal" money envelope on a daily basis--otherwise he would spend the whole week's money in one day. Some may say, who cares if he blows it all in one day--but he's a smoker, and if there's no money for a smoker to buy smokes, they tend to get a little cranky. So I would be sure a new allotment of smoking money was in his envelope every day. It was way too controlling of a routine for me, and I think that's why we finally just quit the system.

I love DH but I did not marry him for his financial prowess, that's for sure.