One person's poverty-level lifestyle
I was at a meetup yesterday and met a lady who is living a very full and active life. Somewhere in our conversation, she said, "I'm poverty-level".
She's in her mid-60s, grew up in Michigan, and got married in the 70s here and had a daughter...moved to California as a hippie...and did odd jobs here and there....including being a cook in a nudist colony for 2 years (yes, she wore an apron.
). She never made much money, and with her scattered work history, has no pension. I'm not sure about SS, but if she gets any, I'm certain it's at the low end of the scale. She still owns the former marital home here (2BR built in the 1930's in a popular upscale suburb which she rents it out for $1400/mo, while she lives 20 miles away in a $30K apartment-style condo, ~800 sq. ft., with $300/mo fees (I didn't press for details..but she sounded thrilled that it is so "cheap"...so I'm guessing this covers all her utilities, water, exterior upkeep, etc.)
She's very active, goes on hikes, bikes, does yoga, volunteers as usher at local theaters, etc. She's a certified house sitter...and is traveling to New Hampshire (a 900-mile drive) to house sit (and cat sit) for 3 weeks in August. She mentioned several other house-sitting gigs she's done in interesting places.
At the moment, she's here in MI to be close to her granddaughter, and is planning on moving back to CA in a few years when said g-d. gets a bit older. I said, "Wow, California can be pricey," to which she responded, "I have a friend in CA with an open spot in their home for me to live there indefinitely". She says they'll split expenses...as they have in the past. With her cooking skills, I'm sure she'll be helping out in the kitchen, too.
She's in great shape with beautiful teeth. She did mention that a crown was giving her trouble and someone in the group suggested going to the Univ. of Michigan dental clinic for good care at a reasonable cost.
So, she's crafted a low-income/rich-experience lifestyle for herself. I'd guess she's figured out LBYM....even when her M is rather low by many standards.
omni