This is a continuation of the last post, The Poor Middle Class Housing Crisis. In this post, poor middle-class housing alternatives are presented. This can involve some ‘out of the box thinking’ solutions. These tools can include:
1. Downsize possessions
2. Buy or rent a smaller home
3. Rent subsidized or senior housing
4. Find Ways To Live Rent Free
5. Invest In A Tiny House
6. Relocate to a cheaper area, state or country
7. Live off the grid
8. Embrace an RV Lifestyle
Downsizing
Have you ever noticed how many storage facilities there are? This has become a booming industry. We have too much stuff and we don’t know how to part with it. So we rent space to horde it. My rule of thumb is this. If you feel the need to rent a storage space for your overflow of belongings, don’t. Downsize instead.
1. Donate possessions to the Salvation Army or other charity
2. Give things to your children or someone you know who wants and needs them
3. Have a garage sale
4. Sell things online
5. Buy or rent to a smaller, less expensive residence
Buy Or Rent A Smaller Home
It is much easier to go bigger than smaller. But for the poor middle class, the latter may be a necessity. It may be difficult emotionally to let go of a treasured home. But would you rather be in debt in a home you adore or be solvent in a house you can afford? For those in crisis as part of the poor middle class in the US, when it comes to housing selling and downsizing may be the only way to go. Even for those not in crisis, more modest living can open more doors than it closes, financially.
Subsidized Housing
I have found this to be the most challenging, time-consuming and confusing of all the tools for the poor middle-class financial survival toolkit. Because of this, I feel that an entire blog post needs to be dedicated to this issue. In addition, the other tools will also be on an additional post. ‘Out of the box,’ alternative housing is for the poor middle class of all ages, not only seniors.
1. Live Rent Free
2. Invest in a Tiny House
3. Relocate to another area, cheaper state or another country
4. Live Off The Grid
Safe, affordable housing is the foundation for poor middle class survival. How to find and create safe, affordable housing is the focus of this and several additional post in this series. But first, let’s look at housing from both a traditional, indigenous perspective and the modern, industrialized crisis it has become today.
TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS HOUSING
There was a time, and still is a time when indigenous cultures build their own shelters. They use the materials at hand. To us ‘civilized’ folks, their homes may pale in comparison what the poor middle class have in the US. But when looked at from a different perspective, who is the poorer and who is the richer? The above photos display what I consider rustic but magnificent shelters. They are clean, dignified, well constructed and proudly held by their makers.
THE CRISIS IN HOUSING
But ‘civilization’ brought about by our industrial age has changed all that in some place. Detroit, for example is a casualty of the demise of the auto manufacturing industry in that city. The working class, once gainfully employed as auto workers have been replaced by the poor middle class. They have fled the city. Anyone who can has left that city. It was left in ruins.
A TWO-FOLD CRISIS
But the crisis is two-fold. It is about foreclosure on the homes of the poor middle class due to the inability to pay their mortgages. It then also becomes about finding housing that is affordable, safe and decent. This brings us to the next part of the crisis. It is the need for alternative housing for the poor middle class due to a change in lifestyle affordability.
THE DOWNWARD LIFESTYLE JOURNEY
One of the most difficult parts of becoming a member of the poor middle class is that it is a downward lifestyle journey. This process involves letting go of new, even luxurious material things that we could once provide for ourselves. Then there needs to be an admission of needing help and an acceptance of getting that help from others. This is not glamourous. I have found that it can feel very humiliating. Then it becomes humbling because it is about survival.
ALTERNATIVE HOUSING
Alternative housing can involve pursuing traditional means of seeking less expensive housing. It can also involve some ‘out of the box thinking’ solutions. Either way all are potential and important tools to have in our Poor Middle Class Financial Survival ToolKit. They can include:
• Downsizing to a smaller residence
• Subsidized and senior housing
• Tiny Houses
• Living off the grid
• Moving to a cheaper area, state or country
I continue to refine and gather more financial survival tools for my middle class poor financial survival toolkit. I have to. Financial survival continues to be more challenging. Social Security will go up $5 for us on January 1, 2017. Our cable bill went up $6. So we will start 2017 with a dollar less. Situations like this require continual accumulation of new financial survival tools.
MAJOR CATEGORIES AND FINANCIAL SURVIVAL RESOURCES
First I would like to mention some general tools. Then I will get into major expense categories and tools that are specific to them. Here are some general tips:
• save change in as large a bottle as you can find
• avoid monthly fee checking accounts
• avoid credit card fees
• join groups that offer discounts to members
• make use of discounts you are entitled to for being a member for a particular organization such as AARP, the military and many more
• buy in bulk, only when things are on sale and always look for discounts
• make a purchase with a no fee promotion credit card that requires set payments over time
• use EBATES, GROUPON, etc.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
BOTTLE REFUNDS This is probably one of the most important resources for not only the poor middle class but everyone. Redemption of bottles and cans is probably one of the best known tools for creating income through recycling. People in all kinds of circumstances do it. You paid for the bottle. You deserve to get the fee back whenever you can. Those nickels will add up. This is not income and it is not taxable. You are just getting back money you already paid out.
CLOTHES, FURNITURE AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Depending upon your financial status, you can make use of food pantries. They often have clothes in addition to food. For people who can afford to pay, thrift stores are a great resource for finding furniture and all kinds of household items.
Clipped paper coupons, online coupons and text discounts proliferate. Get into the habit of only buying things on sale for a discount.
HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS EXPENSES
I learned to make my own laundry detergent. It is amazing how much money it saves. The guideline is to make your own whenever you can instead of buying prepared products. It is easier than you think and saves so much money.
SHELTER, FOOD AND HEALTHCARE
These are three categories that can be the major areas of expenses in the budget of a member of the poor middle class. They are so important that a separate blog posts will be devoted to them.
Creating and sticking to a budget is the poor middle class financial survival tool that allows for clarity and transparency. It is crucial. The best way to start is with pencil and paper. Determine your major budget categories. Transferring them to a computerized bookkeeping program is simple. We have actually set up our computerized bookkeeping system based on the following categories plus additional subcategories. It works very well for us. But you can stay with a manual spreadsheet if you prefer.
Setting Up Expense Categories
This is how we have been able to come up with a budget. We set up a bookkeeping system. First, we add up our income. From there, we have a clear picture of how much there is available to spend. Then we set up our expense categories. Everyone has their own profile based on their life, family and needs. These are the major categories we use: • HOME
• FOOD
• TRANSPORTATION
• PERSONAL
• FUN, ENTERTAINMENT & VACATION
Within each of these major categories, we have set of subcategories that reflect our expenses:
HOME • Rent
• Household
• Utilities
FOOD • Groceries
• Breakfast/Lunch/Snacks
TRANSPORTATION
• Auto Insurance
• Gas
• Maintenance
• Public transit
PERSONAL-HUSBAND & WIFE (EACH HAS THEIR OWN LISTING BUT WITH THE SAME CATEGORIES)
• Personal items/hobby
• Rx copay
• Medical
• Dental Care
• Supplements
• Life Insurance
FUN
• Eat Out/Celebrate
• Entertainment/Culture
• Vacation
What’s Next?
You may find, as we have, that your expenses exceed your income. As seniors on fixed incomes, as young people working more hours but earning little money, as breadwinners who has lost their livelihood, this may be your challenge too. The additional posts in this blog series will be devoted to a solution. That solution is building and implementing your financial survival toolkit.
The Poor Middle Class Crisis is the story of The Poor Middle Class. It is designed to be a resources guide for the Financial Survival of the Poor Middle Class. This guide is an instruction manual for building resources known as a ‘financial survival toolkit’. It also encourages readers to start or find and participate in a ‘financial survival support group or community’.
The Poor Middle Class, itself, is a relatively new phenomenon. Our personal membership was precipitated by the 2008 stock market crash the same week as a primary income earners job layoff. For others families, becoming affected by the poor middle class crisis may have been due to the subprime mortgage scandal. It cost many families their homes. The Poor Middle Class are composed of people who were once middle class, who likely have college degrees or advanced degrees, had careers and good jobs, had homes with equity in them, had pensions, had good health insurance and savings.
The Challenge for The Poor Middle Class
Financial survival has become a critical issue for the Poor Middle Class. This is a crisis that has led to the growing need for new, resourceful financial survival tools. These tools are not exclusive to one demographic, one age group, a particular sex, or one location. But because I am a ‘senior’ living in New York State, some of the tools and resources may apply specifically to people in this demographic.
As a result, I especially welcome your comments and additional suggestions to expand the resources for anyone’s financial survival toolkit. Therefore, I invite you to visit and participate in my companion Facebook page, The Poor Middle Class Crisis & Resources.
Financial Survival
Now, we have almost nothing left of that life. But we are not technically poor. Therefore we do not qualify for the level of government benefits reserved for those living in poverty. But we are no longer middle class, either. We are in a place where we cannot meet the obligations of a middle class lifestyle. But we are not poor enough to get enough assistance to survive, either. We also are unable to find or maintain jobs like we had before the financial crisis began. The result is that we need to become very resourceful to survive. Therefore, I needed to gather new financial survival resources. I have created a ‘Financial Survival ToolKit’ in my mind to transform this crisis into an adventure rather than a place of fear.
My Financial Survival Toolkit
It has taken me years to compile the resources, tips and suggestions I have in my financial survival toolkit. In addition, I continue to add to it. I am a visual person so I find it helpful to choose visual tools to help me implement concepts and ideas. I love the cabinets and tool boxes created by the The Viper Tool Storage Company. Therefore I chose one of their set ups to be my virtual financial survival toolkit. Many of my real tools are based on my own experience. Some are based on ideas and tips I have gathered on my financial survival journey. There may be resources that you already use. Other tips and tools may be new, hopefully useful suggestions. I also welcome any input and suggestions you may have. Please enter them in the comments section.
Financial Overview
I keep an overview of my monthly finances at all times. This means that I monitor my income and expenses with the benefit of online banking, automatic bill paying and computerized bookkeeping. It includes payment of most of my bills by autopay after my monthly income becomes available. There is a flow to all of this. It has taken me some time to create a system to coordinate the ins and outs of it. Sometimes I feel like a juggler. At other times, I still feel like a beginner.
Hello Kitty and her new role: a farmer. But not just any kind of farmer, an organic farmer. Source: modernfarmer.com
Hello Kitty is one of the most popular brands for young people and the young at heart around the globe. It is a great way to introduce organic farming. Their motto and story title are, ‘Farm. Food. Hello Kitty. See on Scoop.itThe Food rEvolution
Here are some photos and text from the accompanying article, “Hello Kitty Hui organic carbon Farm Go Green Organic Farm. Into the pastoral experience green living organic carbon reduction. In recent years, green living tide sweeping the world, want to enjoy carbon reduction, they were green organic life are numerous. Your favorite green “organic Hui” has provided you with a good opportunity. Hui is an advocate of organic green, organic, carbon and grow organic crops based organization, with a total area of about 50,000 square feet. Aim through organic farming, training and related activities, so participants can experience communion and harmony of nature, relaxing life.”
So far no one has come up with a wool soup recipe for me. Why do I need one? you may ask. Well, it involves a story. So I hope you don’t mind. Have a seat and make yourself at home.
In 2008, when the stock market crashed . . . . Let’s stop right there and go to a shorter version of my story. We are part of The Middle Class Poor. We get food stamps, go to food pantries and get assistance for living. I am not sure how much living one can call this when food stamps is $17 per month (it went up from $15!). Food pantries have no food we can eat. That is where the wool soup recipe comes into the story.
One of the food pantries we go to is in a church that has a wealthy congregation. I get clothes from Talbot, Lord & Taylor and lots of other prestigious names. It is fun to get new clothes each month. But I need food. I need real food not peanut butter and jelly or mac ‘n cheese. So therein lies my problem. I had become clothes rich and food poor. If I could only find a wool soup recipe, then I could be both food and clothes rich. No wool soup recipe has appeared or is likely to do so in the near future. It became apparent to me that I would have to find another solution to our hunger/nutrition crisis. I decided to call it The Food Project.
The first idea was something called, Donate It Local. I started my research by going around to local restaurants and supermarkets to see if they would like to donate food that was not used up by the end of the day or was about to expire. The answer was the same everywhere. ‘Sorry, but we can’t risk the liability if someone gets sick’. ‘If someone gets sick’, I thought. Hah, I’ll risk it. It’s better than going hungry. But not as far as the powers that be saw it. They could only respond in terms of their potential legal situation instead of the real food/nutrition crisis.
My next effort was part of the Global Food rEvolution. The focus was on fighting for healthier, non-gmo food. I participated in that for a while by posting about everything to do with GMOs and their danger. I also announced all the marches and activities I could for Occupy Monsanto and other such rallies. But we were still hungry and the amount of money we had available for food when our food stamps were cut from $367/month to $15/month was a shocking wake-up call that we had to do some thing more immediate and personal.
Back to Basics and Millenial Food Freedom felt more personal and hands on for us than ‘occupying’ a global corporation. I began to make my own laundry detergent and thought about other ways to save money.
When we were receiving $367/month in food stamps, I was able to food shop in our local health food supermarket and get the kind of foods we needed to stay healthy. One of my favorites had become Kombucha. It is a fermented tea that is high in probiotics, energy boosting and very healthy. But at $3.50 a bottle and $15/month in food stamps, a disparity existed-no more store bought Kombucha. So I started to make my own. I became more involved in making other fermented foods and drinks too. For fun, I named my efforts, Ali’s Kombucha Kitchen.
I now spend most of my time in Ali’s Kombucha Kitchen as A Food Fermentation Farmer doing what I call, Fermented Food Farming. I have no land. I have no garden. I do not have a single flower pot. But I have managed to learn how to cook, prepare and preserve fermented and cultured food stuffs that are nutrient rich and delicious.
One of my traditional nutrition favorites is bone broth. It is as old as the hills as are many of the other culturally indigenous foods and beverages I am learning to make. Many of these traditions have Facebook groups where I can meet other like-minded folks and discuss our experiences.
We still have a ways to go. But I already feel as warm and nourished inside like when I have a wool sweater or skirt on the outside. I may not have found my wool soup recipe. But wool has led me in the right direction. I will not rest until I have found The 100 Percent Solution for the hunger/nutrition crisis for everyone.
‘Hunger’ is no longer a politically correct term to describe people who do not have enough to eat. The official term is now, ‘food insecurity’. Do you suffer from food insecurity. We do. Both physically and emotionally. We do not have the funds to eat healthfully and we are afraid that we will continue to not have the funds to eat healthfully.
“Earlier this month, billionaire siblings Charles and David Koch made it publicly clear that they hate subsidies of all kinds — even the ones they benefit from as oil producers. Although it is refreshing to hear that even oilmen are now against oil subsidies, it would be even more refreshing if the Kochs were willing to lead by example — that is, if the Kochs were willing to return their share of the billions that fossil fuel companies receive every year in government largesse”.
Did you hear the one about the Koch Brothers putting on the pressure for public TV to not air ‘Citizen Koch’, a less than flattering documentary about them? Since they are large contributors to public TV, there was no choice but to give in to their demand. So much for ‘freedom of the press’.
“The end of the big-box store era may soon be upon us.
That’s the message of a research note published by Goldman Sachs analysts on Tuesday cutting their investment rating on shares of Walmart. Shoppers are increasingly turning to the web or to smaller, more conveniently located stores, cutting into the market share of big-box retailers like Walmart and Target, the analysts wrote.”