Reviewing my Options

Those of you who know me, either in real life or in cyber-life, know I am not a stranger to adversity. You also know that my style is not to whine, but to look at the problems, identify them and work on every angle possible to resolve them. Some things take longer than others. And some things are options but ones we really are not fond of considering.

My financial mess got worse when my live-in middle-aged nephew died on Feb. 1, suddenly. We had just gone through many months, last year, living on just my SS, waiting for his disability to go through. It did. And the retro paid off existing debts.

However, other, newer debts appeared, as they will in life. We did not expect him to suddenly die after less than six months on disability. It left me going into each month already in a hole.

My options are somewhat limited. I cannot take a roomie at present because the mobile home is not set up with a private area although, in about six months, I could rearrange things to allow that. Also, I badly need those crusted and corroded galvanized pipes under the house all replaced, ASAP. That’s something that I need to do, before they burst. A friend, a plumber, patched a few feet for me last month, but it needs a complete re-pipe.

Options for that kind of money are limited. I do not gamble. Well, I’ve been going once a week, for an hour, since November, and spending $14, on Bingo, with a friend. There’s always that possibility - but I keep thinking of what I can do with the $50 I’m spending on that each month. It would cover the house insurance.

I could sell the home to the Park, and talk them into letting me put part of the money into a few month’s space rent to give me time to find, and move to, a senior apartment. But truthfully, as cluttered as my home is, that would stress me out so badly that it would be worse than worrying about the bills.

The car is a mess - needs tie rods and that problem is going to ruin the tires, still unpaid for, that I had to get two months ago when the tread was showing through the other ones. So, getting a title loan is out of the question for this 13-year-old car. And I really can’t sell it because I really need it to get around.

The State has approved me to cover my Medicare premiums which would add $100 to my income each month. That was effective May 1. However, the State has me in their records for that, but they still have not notified the Feds - when I called SS, they didn’t see word-one on the matter. I’ve got to make some copies and get them to SS, to see if I can get that going.

Anyhow, it is not impossible. I’ll just keep whittling away at the options until I end up with the right one. It’s just in the timing.

 
Heavenly Father, I love the way you give me ideas on what to do. I have had to cross off several, and need to keep my eyes open for others. Meanwhile, I only ask that you send me wisdom and peace and patience while I wait for you to work this all out. You led me to this home back in ’01 very carefully and persistently.  I’m older now and move more slowly, but I will try hard to keep it in shape and up to par, with your help.