Can you do this on $1,000/mo.?

[Day Dreamer]

Do any of you get statements from SS that shows how much you will get? I get them at random it seems.

 

[B and C]

I used to before I retired. I have no idea what triggered them. Probably because I was over 62 is my guess.

 

[ckelly78z]

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/

This will give you a rough idea of what to expect for SS benefits.

 

[Day Dreamer]

I used to before I retired.  I have no idea what triggered them.  Probably because I was over 62 is my guess.

I'm in my fifties but have been getting them for over 20 years, about every 3-4  years or so.

 

[Elbear1]

Assuming you have a way to pay for breakdowns, emergency health visits, no expensive health costs, etc. Food, gas, insurance, phone/internet doesnt (have) to cost even half that, even a quarter of that month to month. You just sit longer, cook your own food more.

 

[Cammalu]

Pretty cool tool Kaylee.

 

[Elbear1]

Word.

DirectTV....with unlimited data plan ($65-75) you can get everything and then some through apps. I know beside the point but tweeks like this let you have more $$ to do other stuff.

I would also add that this life actually demands a ton of planning and menial tasks you take for granted otherwise. Laundry by hand, doing dishes immediately, staying organized. With good internet it makes staying longer in beautiful places easier. $.02

So even on half that budget just trading directTV for hulu and youtube you can eat sit down restaurants once a week....little things.

Then there are all sorts of free activities. Hiking, foraging, fishing, photography (especially night photography), knitting, researching, making videos, volunteering, etc. A big point of this life is that money/consumerism doesn't have to equal "living."

Point is if you wanted or had to, like myself, its certainly possible.

 

[jeanmarie]

If I had to, I would figure out a way to survive. But that is what I would feel like I was doing. Surviving. I would not like it. Even tho I own minimal material goods, I like the kind of life a comfortable income provides. If my income was down to $1000 a month and I had a choice, I would go back to work.

 

[IGBT]

The hard part for me would be getting bored.   I have two choices to combat boredom.  I either start a new project, which involves having space, tools, and buying parts, all of which end up costing a lot of money.  The other choice is to fall back into a rpg like World of Warcraft, which does relieve the boredom but is unhealthy (I can play for 10 hours a day 7 days a week if I really get into it...kind of a drug).

Right now I have chosen project...a sailboat...and it eats up $1,000 a day sometimes.

 

[Dingfelder]

Save all the money you can save NOW. You might be able to do it at 63 or 65 if you save enough. Revisit medicare online and READ. A lot of people I know have plan A and plan C. That's enough if you don't doctor yourself all the time. That's about $38 a month.
My estimate (for myself) about $750 a month to survive, including $300/mo for gas. It could be different for you and everybody else.
You will need money for:
gas
vehicle insurance
maintenance
food
cell/ internet
water/propane
AAA
misc/unexpected/entertainment

Now, put your numbers next to each category, and you will have a pretty good idea.
Keep in mind that before you set tires on the road, you MUST have an emergency fund stashed away in the bank, that will be used ONLY for emergencies. 5,000 seems a decent number, but the more the better.
Money is not everything in life, but it makes you sleep better.

Good points, also ... you have to have money to replenish that emergency fund.  Emergencies often happen in a row.  So you must be constantly adding more, be ready to add more, and not be ready to take anything out of your savings unless absolutely necessary.  

God forbid you have a pet ... that could be a thousand or two, easily, every few years at the cost of your heart if you don't fork over the moolah to the vet.  And it doesn't get any cheaper or easier as you love them more and more over the years that keep getting them older and more easy to injure and in need.

At any rate, have an emergency fund for yourself AND your pet.  And perhaps even separately, one for your vehicle(s) completely outside the ordinary fund, which should be for things like dental work, breaking a bone, minor repairs and replacements, etc.  Life goes on whether you have money or not!

 

[Dingfelder]

Thanks again, guys. I would also like to tell everyone that flipping a few things on ebay is pretty easy and can be a not-so-hard couple hundred a month income from just a few things if anyone needs an idea.

Unfortunately this is so vague that at least a dope like me can make no use of it whatsoever.  It's like "buy low, sell high."  Umm ... indeed, thanks.

Not being as sarcastic as that probably comes off.  It's just that I've seen this response endlessly and I don't think it's specific enough to make an impact on all but perhaps the chosen few.

 

[Dingfelder]

Work until you are 70 if you can. It absolutely will have a serious effect on your SS. SS is calculated on a formula that weights your last year's of work.

Last I read, this is not true.  

Even at minimum wage, you can have at least $100,000 at the end of 10 years if you save your wages and keep your lifestyle at the level it is, now.

This is not coherent unless you know the level of expenses versus income, and even then it is at a bizarre extreme. Living at minimum wage means praying to avoid the ordinary obstacles in life that others shrug off, like car repairs or dental problems or having to buy your kid a lot of clothes in a very short period of time.  It's not that those things sometimes show up, it's that the ALWAYS show up, taken in aggregate and spread out over the course of years.  And even if they don't, minimum wage versus living expenses in many places makes for catastrophic poverty.  You would have been more on point if you said to supplement minimum wage with signing up for food stamps, senior citizen's help with power and phone lines (it exists), and the like.  Or even welfare.

I think you are trying to be helpful, and some of what you say is okay, but are very outdated in your understanding of the world and possibly very old, either literally or socially simply out of touch.

 

[Cammalu]

Some people aren’t good at saving. I’m certainly not. My income is very good and I spend. For those of us who are in the same boat as I am I just use a credit card for emergencies then pay it back over a few months.

I know it’s not the very best way to live but I’m 60 years old now and I just can’t seem to change. I am at the point of just recognizing my weakness and not stressing myself about it.

 

[Riverman]

SS takes about $130 a month out of my check for medical whatever, but I then get free doctor visits and almost free RX thru an Advantage Plan. You have to be 65 to get the two plans.

The big expense for me is traveling.... gas, truck repairs, maintenance, tires, insurance, etc. It all adds up real fast.

I suggest to keep a receipt of every penny you spend and watch it weekly and monthly to see where you need to cut back or improve.

I enjoy adding up my receipts every night to see what I spend, it's like a hobby to improve your financial well being.

 

[WanderingRose]

If you are able to work extra to boost your income between now and retirement, do so.

It will increase your SS payout, and you can save the money for the nest egg you will need.

You don’t have to try to live only on SS, you can work camp or have other seasonal employment to supplement, which many people do.

The thing about waiting til 70 to retire is there are no guarantees you will live that long, or remain in good health.

When you die, your SS disappears, you know, or a spouse can get the difference between yours and theirs if yours is higher.

You don’t get to leave it to a friend or relative, it’s gone. That’s the way SS works.

If you’ve been a worker bee since your teens, and paid into SS basically all your life, and you can retire early to play some and enjoy life, you should do it and draw your SS at 62 if you can.

 

[Jimmyflorida]

It is reasonable to think you could make $200-$500 selling on ebay I have been doing it for about 2 years working appox 15-20 hours a week my sales monthly are $4000-$5000 on average (profit around $2500) but you have to go on ebay and find what people are buying you look through the sold listings and see what sells

Everything I sell comes from garage sales and thrift stores it's not hard but does take work In The beginning to learn what people will buy

One of easier ways to learn is watch Youtubers that make videos on what to sell on. Ebay

 

[highdesertranger]

civil people, lets keep it civil. highdesertranger

 

[mert3957]

I just looked at my future SS payout and it's telling me as of today, at age 67 (less than a decade away) they'll be sending me about $1,000/mo. That sounds doable. Do you all think it's realistic to vanlife on $1,000 a month?

I just did a one year budget for vandwelling on a little more than you will have and it is comfortably doable, at least for me. I'd definitely have to change my ways, though. No more eating out. I was shocked how much of a bite that takes out of my income! My budget was figured mostly shopping at discount stores. Yesterday I went to one of the "dollar" stores and purchased dry and canned goods. I have enough to last me about two weeks for $26. Good luck!

 

[rvwandering]

I've deleted the posts that amounted to back and forth arguing. Please keep your answers relevant to the original question - "Do you all think it's realistic to vanlife on $1,000 a month?" .

 

[INTJohn]

1000$/ mo is very doable..........
.........but 10 years from now and not knowing ones life situation at that time?
But every dayz a gamble.

Me: I spent a documented smidjin over 12,000$ from July '18 to 'July '19.
Now this does not include my cash expenditures that I keep no track on but I estimate to be 3000$ absolute max and prolly more like 2000$.

So lets figure the absolute max of 15000$/ yr or 1250/mo..........

Now I live very extravagantly - literally like a king; party like a rock star at beachs & beach bars all over Murahka: year referenced; from Lake Michigan to North Carolina; down the coast to GA; across the continent to San Diego; back & forth over the mountains a bunch of times to the desert, Indio, Salton Sea area........
Then I left Diego, stayed in the desert for a week, left for Big Bend park, 1 week, Amistad for a week, Falcon for a week, then hit SPI for 10 days and partied with all the spring breakers, left SPI and bounced & partied from 1 beach to the next to Key West; then headed North along the Atlantic coast bouncing from 1 beach bar/ beach to the next back to NC & then back to Lake Michigan.......

All this on 15,000$ MAX........
Conclusion: IF I wanted to be stationary, sedentary and not drive much; and IF I cut out the partyin - hell my gin party bill & gas is most of all the $$$; and IF I wanted to eat oatmeal everyday; you get the drill?
I could get by easily on 5000$/yr...........
10 years from now? You might wanna scoot that amount up some...........INTJohn