Widows & Widowers Support Group
This community is dedicated to those who have lost a husband, wife, or partner. Anything is open for discussion here, with the hope that we can focus on grief, bereavement, life after loss, and continuing on after a great loss.
I'm 76 and my husband died in January of this years, after many years of being sick.
I'm sure many of you had your husband die without leaving you help in the form of life insurance. In my case instead of having a cushion I lost 3/4 of my income. Besides his Social Security and annuity vanished as did the help we always got from his side of the family. The wish for a bump in my Social Security didn't happen because there was little difference between the amounts we drew. So I now feel up the creek without a paddle!
All those other things made it possible to make ends meet. Now, in order to do so, I have to draw on my only asset, a small savings account. At the rate it is dwindling, it will be gone in ten months. Then I won't be able to meet the lot rent and utilities in this mobile home park. I own my double-wide, but it is a 1979. I's in good shape, but if I did sell it, what could I get for it? And where would I go?
I'm working on a mountain of paperwork for HUD senior housing. A friend lives there. But she was on "the list" for 2 1/2 years before getting in.
To add to my problems in trying to economise I switched from cable to Dish Network & AT&T for my TV & Internet. Both advertised $19.95 per month specials. Well, I just received bills from both for hundreds!!! Sadly when I signed up I let them do the billing through my American Express credit card. Now I'm stuck there, with the balance just going up and up.
Am I alone in this poverty and scams, or are there others out there who have been through this stuff. Anyone who can give me any suggestions. Besides dealing with my grief I'm dealing with panic and fear.
And, no before you ask, I don't have any family that will help me. I am alone, just me and two cats!
Jan
I'm sure many of you had your husband die without leaving you help in the form of life insurance. In my case instead of having a cushion I lost 3/4 of my income. Besides his Social Security and annuity vanished as did the help we always got from his side of the family. The wish for a bump in my Social Security didn't happen because there was little difference between the amounts we drew. So I now feel up the creek without a paddle!
All those other things made it possible to make ends meet. Now, in order to do so, I have to draw on my only asset, a small savings account. At the rate it is dwindling, it will be gone in ten months. Then I won't be able to meet the lot rent and utilities in this mobile home park. I own my double-wide, but it is a 1979. I's in good shape, but if I did sell it, what could I get for it? And where would I go?
I'm working on a mountain of paperwork for HUD senior housing. A friend lives there. But she was on "the list" for 2 1/2 years before getting in.
To add to my problems in trying to economise I switched from cable to Dish Network & AT&T for my TV & Internet. Both advertised $19.95 per month specials. Well, I just received bills from both for hundreds!!! Sadly when I signed up I let them do the billing through my American Express credit card. Now I'm stuck there, with the balance just going up and up.
Am I alone in this poverty and scams, or are there others out there who have been through this stuff. Anyone who can give me any suggestions. Besides dealing with my grief I'm dealing with panic and fear.
And, no before you ask, I don't have any family that will help me. I am alone, just me and two cats!
Jan
When I got to Eldersource I found the info was the same as that I'd already explored. I'm familiar with our local Council on Aging, as I'd signed my aunt up for meals on wheels and van transit through them years ago. More recently I'd signed my husband up for van transit through them. When I just went there looking for an advocate for the elderly they told me they had none. But the man did give me phone numbers for the State Attorney, Consumer Counselling and The Better Business Bureau.
It seems every time I turn around there is another stumbling block put in front of me. I was almost finished filling out the HUD paperwork when it asked for six months of bank statements. As I had posted before my checkbook vanished (lost or stolen, who knows) and I'd closed the account and opened a new one last month. Now I went to my file cabinet to get the statements and the whole file folder was missing! So yesterday turned into a trip to the bank to get them to print out copies for me. I can't tell you how frustrated I'm becoming!
Today's trip is to the car dealership, because I got a letter that there is a brake recall. Really looking forward to spending hours in their waiting room, hours that could be used more productively on other stuff.
Jan
I know all these stumbling blocks are getting frustrating but just take a step at a time and hang in there. They can't keep you down and before long you will find the key and hopfully your life will be easier.
Take care Hon, Lucy
I have cheap telephone by not getting a fancy cell. Instead I have a plan that costs only 100 dollars a year and gives me 1000 minutes for the entire year. I have a landline that costs only 19 dollars a month. I then use google voice which you can setup on your computer. I have google voice forwarded to my landline which means anyone calling me will have a crystal clear connection. If I want to call out, I dial the number using google voice and it calls me. I then pick up my own phone which immediately dials the person I want to speak to. I can call people in all 50 states without paying a dime over the cost of my landline which as I said is only 19 dollars a month.
I have caller Id, texting, and voicemail all for that low cost. I save a ton of money just doing this.