Hey, y'all.  As you know, from 2011-2021 I was a professor at a community college where I taught nurses how to care for terminal patients from my own 10 years before that as a hospital chaplain in charge of such patients and care for their families and loved ones.  Then my own Chronic Kidney Disease from that bad doc's PTSD meds overdose you know all about caused me to pass out for the 5th time in class while teaching.  Since I was 63 years old at the time, I could take early retirement, though to afford to retire I had to leave the USA to live in Mexico where the cost of living is half of what it is in the States.

I had paid into TIAA for my private pension all 40 years I'd been a teacher and a hospital chaplain in the States, so from 2021-2023 I was able to live on that along with my Social Security, though since I wasn't yet full retirement age my Social Security wasn't the full amount.  Money was tight.  By that I mean that there was enough to get by, but for example this month at the end of the month what I had in the bank in both savings and checking was USD$3.45.  When money's that tight, money matters.

That's three dollars and forty five cents in US dollars that was all there was to my name--no other investments, no other assets, no other income.  I rent here and I sold my car to scale down to a motorscooter, and then when money was still tight I sold the motorscooter, too.  All I have now is a guitar that's worth about 150 US dollars.  So I looked forward to my 65th birthday when I would also be age eligible for the state pension I'd worked for, too.

On July 1st I turned 65 and applied for my state pension, but then a nightmare began.  The office overseeing that pension was extremely picky as to documentation.  I had applied in person in the USA for my TIAA and my Social Securirty retirements before retiring to Mexico.  It turned out to be a really hard and different process, though, to get this third state pension paperwork done from a distance here in Mexico.

I thought I had it all done in August, and I was right all but for one thing.  The state pension office DID try to pay me my first monthly pension payment, but they ignored my Direct Deposit banking paperwork I supplied them.  Instead of autodepositing my check into my checking account like TIAA and Social Security do, on August 9th they mailed a paper check for my monthly state pension amount to my USA home address where I have not lived for two years.  Needless to say, I did not get it.  Argh!!!!!!

I worked with the office long distance by phone repeatedly from August 9th until last Thursday at the end of August to their mistake would not be repeated.  Then as September came today I held my breath with fingers crossed.

IT CAME!!  HOLY COW!! This morning when I checked with my bank online I found that my TIAA private pension check had autodeposited, my Social Security check had autodeposited, and for the first time ever this state pension check had autodeposited, too.  YAY!!

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  I am so happy and feel so blessed.  I won't be rich by any means, but at the last week of the month of September I will have more that USD$3.45 in my bank account this time.  Money will not be tight like it was any more.  

I am so relieved.  I am so blessed.  I went grocery shopping big time this afternoon today.  I am truly grateful.