Cordelia's Mom, Still

Call Out to An Old Friend

Posted on June 12, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Hopefully, you know I mean you, and you’re actually reading this post.

You recently joined Branded Surveys, most likely through the link in my last post. I was so surprised, and pleased, to see your name pop up in the notifications on that site. I wanted to send you a message to thank you and to catch up since it’s been so many years, but was unable to find you on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Send me an email (cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com) – we simply have to reminisce about that old grouch we both knew!

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So, everyone else is asking, how are things going with you, CM?

Pretty much same old, same old. Still some pain in my right leg, and I’ve now decided to use a cane whenever I’m walking in public to, hopefully, avoid any embarrassing falls. Plus, a cane can come in handy for other uses, like pulling something off the top shelf at the grocery store, or knocking someone else out of the way who might reach for the very last one of an item I want (not that I would ever actually do that, but the thought does cross my mind occasionally).

Most of my day is spent doing those paid surveys I spoke about previously. It’s not a lot of money, and it’s somewhat sporadic – some days there are a lot of surveys and some days there are few, if any. But all in all, I’ve managed to pay for several Amazon orders using points I’ve earned from the surveys. Heck, I can either sit around playing videogames all day, or I can sit around earning a few dollars answering silly questions. Easy decision, right?

Some of the surveys are actually fun. Considering the current political climate, there have been a lot of political ads to review and rate. I can’t give specifics, of course, but I must say some of the ads are downright amusing. And I get a bit of a thrill when a news station reports that the “most recent polls say …,” knowing I was part of those polls.

I get booted off a lot of the surveys due to age, or the fact that I don’t shop much and never travel, but then again, some of the polls actually want the opinions of us senior citizens. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

It’s a bit of a crap shoot. I say that because I don’t want friends who have joined me to become discouraged if they don’t suddenly become rich doing paid surveys. Don’t forget: I literally can sit at the computer all day and catch every questionnaire that comes my way. Even then, the payoffs are only enough to provide pin money, for books or other small items. I’m ok with that; it’s money that I don’t have to take out of my very limited monthly budget.

Which budget is strained to the max at the moment.

I managed to bring the auto insurance premium back down by uploading the defensive driving certificates, increasing the deductible, and submitting a form attesting to my significantly reduced mileage now that I no longer work – but the premium will still be higher this coming year than it was last year. As will pretty much every other bill I pay, while my income is fixed.

I don’t know how young families with children are surviving in today’s economy. Housing costs, health care expenses, and food prices are horrendous. To those of you who are living paycheck to paycheck and barely managing to feed and clothe yourself and your kids: you have my total sympathy. I wish I could help you, but I’m struggling, too.

Of course, it could be much, much worse. I just keep reminding myself of those years, long ago, when I was happy to have $5 left at the end of the month, or if I didn’t have $5 cash, at least there was that much room left on one of the credit cards. It was no way to live then, and I hope to not have to start living that way again now. I never was much of a fan of Ramen noodles …

But I do keep canned goods and household essentials stocked up, just in case.

May life wherever you are be treating you kindly.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged budget, making ends meet, paid surveys | 5 Comments

Pennies Earned Are Pennies Saved

Posted on May 20, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

When I was in my 20s, I envisioned a retirement filled with leisure activities and without financial concerns. I would somehow make my mark on the world and become, if not wealthy, at least a solid member of the upper middle class.

Life does like to throw monkey wrenches into the works, doesn’t it?

My early jobs were before the creation of 401-Ks, IRAs and the like, and my later career was for an employer who did not offer such benefits. We were living paycheck to paycheck, and there was seldom any money left to put into savings.

So, like many other folks in my generation, I’m now faced with a retirement based solely on Social Security. Fortunately, having worked for so many years, my monthly benefits are slightly higher than average, but still not enough for anyone to actually live on comfortably.

Sure, I can manage to meet the monthly mortgage and utility payments, my car payment and gas to put in the car, but there’s very little left for extras. And that “very little” is constantly declining due to increases in property taxes and insurance.

The budget got totally blown out of the water recently when I recived a notice that the auto insurance policy would increase by $100 a month in June.

Once my heart stopped palpitating, I called the insurance company to find out why. Happily, it’s an easy fix – it turns out that hubby’s and my defensive driving courses need to be renewed. I’ve completed mine and hubby is halfway through his (and that’s a story for another time), so the premiums will eventually go back down to where they were, or at least close to it (naturally, there’s an increase every year regardless of the status of the defensive driving course).

I’m assuming the mortgage and homeowner insurance expenses will also rise again this year. Hubby may be forced to retire soon, and we will have to purchase our own health insurance. The premiums and out-of pocket expenses on Medicare Part B will be more than half of what hubby will collect from Social Security, which means we’ll have to cut our grocery bill significantly. At that point we maybe could get rid of one vehicle, but that really won’t make a lot of difference in the amount going out the door every month.

So I’m stressing out a bit over finances. I even considered going back to work, but physically I just can’t do it. Even if I could, who would hire a 72-year-old senior citizen who’s not in very good shape?

Searching online for freelance jobs that could be done from home, I came across an article outlining ways for people to get a little extra cash. One of the ways is taking paid surveys. I’ve done that in the past and made very little money, but needs must. Out of curiosity (and to be truthful, perhaps a bit of desperation), I went onto the Branded Surveys site and enrolled. If nothing else, taking surveys can be fun – and it’s nice to be the respondent instead of the surveyor for a change.

Really, I didn’t expect much. But I was pleasantly surprised. I made enough last week to put in a very nice Amazon order.

Since I’m sitting at the computer all day anyway, it’s easy to take surveys rather than play videogames and it’s enticing to know that, even though payment is minimal, I maybe can earn enough to keep me in books and yarn. Well, at least for now. My Social Security benefits will never change (except for the annual cost-of-living increase), but my monthly expenses (like the mortgage) will continue to rise until it gets to the point where hubby and I can no longer stay in this house. Hopefully that won’t be for a few more years.

I try not to worry too much about what’s going to happen when I can no longer afford my home and food. No one seems to care about old white folks, so there really aren’t a lot of programs to help us. I checked and it seems that our combined Social Security benefits, although lower than most people earn in their first jobs, are still too high for us to qualify for food stamps or other government programs. Hubby and I will qualify for income-based senior housing, but the required rent of 30% of our combined Social Security income is still a lot more than we are paying now, which of course means (again) cutting back on groceries and forgoing any extras.

I try not to bring politics into my posts, but it seems to me that if the federal and/or state governments can spend $2400 a month, plus housing, plus medical expenses, plus food, for each of the “asylum seekers” who have flooded into this area, that there should be something in the coffers for senior citizens who have worked their entire lives and contributed into those programs. I’d love to have free housing, free medical, free food, and an extra $2400 a month, wouldn’t you?

But enough of that. By now some of you are thinking less of sweet old Cordelia’s Mom. I can handle losing my income, but I surely don’t want to lose my readers.

Hugs, all.

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Posted in Health, That's Life | Tagged finances, making ends meet, Medicare, paid surveys, retirement, Social Security | 23 Comments

Hands Across the Border

Posted on April 24, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Bloggers are the best!

I’ve made so many friends here on WordPress – from all over the world. The support I’ve received in response to my recent “learning to fly” event was overwhelming.

Teddy Rosalie and I were both thrilled when a package arrived in the mail from our friend, Ladyryl (her blogging name), who lives in Canada. Enclosed was this note:

How awesome is that?! In her recent post, Ladyryl related the back story – I am honored that another blogger would spend so much of her own time (and materials) to make me (and Teddy Rosalie) feel so special.

The package included a beautiful, extremely soft and warm shawl for me to wrap up in:

Close -up of the card, with contact information.

Teddy Rosalie couldn’t wait to try on her new outfits:

Now that she has so many new duds, Teddy Rosalie has been begging me to take her out. Which I will do once fully recovered from my accident. While the ribs have healed nicely, the right leg is still painful, and I have some trouble maneuvering and driving. Hopefully within the next few weeks that will resolve.

One of the places I had planned to take Teddy Rosalie was The Buffalo Zoo. She so enjoyed her last visit, and there have been many renovations over the least few years that I was looking forward to seeing. Unfortunately, the zoo recently announced it is raising admission prices to a level that makes it impossible for me to visit ($23 for senior admission! Regular admission is $26, and children’s admission is $16 – what family can afford that these days? If I have to make a decision between paying for my medication or going to the zoo, the zoo is not going to win.)

Like they say, poor Teddy Rosalie is all dressed up with nowhere to go.

So, unless someone out there is willing to subsidize Teddy Rosalie’s sightseeing tours (hint-hint to all you publishers – email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com), I guess we’ll be limited to free parks and the homes of friends and relatives. I suspect those friends and relatives may get tired of me really soon.

Although no one could ever get tired of Teddy Rosalie. She’s just too cute.

Hugs, all.

__________

I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Health, Teddy Rosalie, That's Life | Tagged blogging, Buffalo NY Zoo, teddy bear | 14 Comments

Old Bones

Posted on April 2, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

The healing process has been steady, thank heavens.

It’s been just over two weeks since I fell and broke those two ribs, and at the same time wrenched my right leg/knee (the good leg, unfortunately) and right arm. I still can’t sleep lying down flat, although I’ve managed, finally, to get onto the bed so as to sit and do my crocheting while watching DVDs. Of course, I can also do that in my comfy new recliner, but being able to climb onto that mattress all by myself was the high point of my week.

Puppy Cody doesn’t seem to mind that I currently sleep sitting up in the recliner, right next to where she sleeps on the couch. She snores, I snore. She dreams, I dream. Last night, I heard thumping and looked over to discover that Cody was wagging her tail in her sleep. Hopefully, I don’t do anything like that, but at least I know the dog is having happy dreams.

Going up and down steps is still a bit of a no-no because that right knee isn’t behaving yet, so hubby (bless his heart) has taken over making sure Puppy Cody goes outside when she needs to. I don’t think any of us would be too happy if I tried to take her out after hubby left for work and then face-planted again, thereby becoming one of those old ladies in the television commercials who have “fallen and can’t get up.”

The good news is: Prior to my most recent incident, I had been having trouble with my left knee. I wrenched that leg when I fell off the porch steps a couple of winters ago (again while taking the dog out, and again having to drag myself up by clinging to the fence and the porch railing). But now that leg seems to be ok; perhaps wrenching the right leg somehow straightened out the left one? Who knows.

In any event, each day seems a little less painful and I steadily become a wee bit more mobile. I even managed to stop the [very nice] pain meds a few days ago, now relying merely on acetaminophen before bedtime. I kinda enjoyed the narcotics – and that’s exactly why I stopped taking them. Wouldn’t want Cordelia’s Mom to become a druggie, now would we?

Hopefully soon I can return to the occasional glass of wine in the evening. But only if I’m not planning to go up and down steps or to take the dog out. When Cordelia’s Mom drinks, she does so responsibly.

And I’m still not driving yet, so for now hubby (again, bless his heart) will be taking me for any upcoming medical appointments. I hate having to depend on someone else, but at least it’s a temporary situation.

Needless to say, I will be enjoying the upcoming total eclipse in the comfort of my own home, safely ensconced in my comfy recliner for those 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Anyone else who wants to stumble around in the darkness among thousands of total strangers is welcome to do so. Have at it, adventurous tourists! (I hear Niagara Falls will be packed – good luck maneuvering through those crowds.)