How do you cope with the cost of living crisis?

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it was [aside from uncle sam's army] the only "real" job i've ever had.

you're welcome

That all sounds rather stressful.

it prematurely aged me, yes.

Being in the army sounds like an Autistic nightmare if a person has slow processing speed. But I guess it might be okay in terms of routine?

in retrospect there were many auties in the army with me, mostly they were my bosses. very much enslaved to routine and order and orthodoxy. very rule-bound, vociferously hidebound. i didn't belong in their company. i was totally dislike them. they were the highest of high-functioning.

I am very, very lucky to be where I'm at and have what I have right now. I live in subsidized housing and only pay for rent and internet. my electric bill has been entirely covered by assistance I receive specifically for my electric bill this year, I have not gone over and used up all of that money. I do not pay for heat here. I don't pay a phone bill, because I have SafeLink service.
I get food stamps and actually have a lot of extra because they've given me more since Covid and I eat really cheaply. I also only usually eat one real meal a day... but that's just my ADHD self. not a tip.
so, so far, I haven't had to do any real coping. but as I said, I'm incredibly lucky.
in the summer, I keep the blinds closed and use fans as much as possible instead of the air conditioner, because that's what's made my electric assistance run out quickly in the past. I don't mind the heat as much as most others do.
I also do not spend money on going out, at least not usually.

Me & my girlfriend are both disabled & have various gov benefits. The benefits overall do not keep up with inflation but it will be a lot worse when Social Security gets cut. I've been cutting down on buying snacks for us & we eat out a lot less than we used to. I've also cut down on personal spending which was not a lot before. I went into default on a couple credit-cards & just pay $25 a month to both of em. I'll still be in debt when I die at that rate but I don't own any property or have any income they can really take from me. There's various things we kinda need that I keep putting off buying because they can wait a tad longer. I need to start looking for a part time job but I have health issues I'm trying to afdress 1st.

You sound like you have a good thing going, MOONTRIPS.

You should put your health first before forcing yourself to work. I am glad to hear that you have successfully claimed benefits whilst being disabled - that can sometimes be hard.

When do you expect social security to be cut? Isn't social security a lifetime thing?

I have not tried to cut heating or anything. Our thermostat is set to 18.5 C and my family would not be happy if it's any lower. There are many ways to stay warm cheaply, though. I use several layers of pure wool blankets (all thrifted) on my bed. They're toasty and heavy as hell and can be adjusted easily. If I'm going to sit down for a while I put on a warm fleece bathrobe. I also wear wool socks and shearling slippers. Honestly I'm too warm most of the time and wish winter would never end.

Some other ways of keeping warm are growing your hair (and beard) out during winter, or put on a beanie if you don't have much hair. And did you know that eating spicy food can boost your metabolism? I found that a hot peppered dish would make me extra warm for a couple days. Putting lotion or oil on your skin generally keep you warmer as well. In my experience it's probably easiest to stay warm by being active and keeping your metabolism high. I understand that probably requires eating more food, but it's a healthier way to be warm.

In a lot of places seniors can get free gym membership. I know people who would go everyday to socialize, relax and have hot showers. It's the warmest place they go and it's free. You can also sit in a public library or community center for hours if they're accessible. I used to go to a senior center for classes and cheap food. Shockingly you don't have to be a senior, everyone was welcome, but people didn't know that. Just saying if your home is dark and cold you don't have to spend a lot of time there.

where i live, things like public YMCAs and such are almost an hour drive away. so not practical.

I don't think US social security will get cut as long as the Dems are in power. Hopefully Labour will get in next election here so that will also be the case.

Fed up of the Tories..

as long as the dems are in power, that is the key phrase here. i can't take that for granted. in just 4 years the previous party in power succeeded in costing me money in terms of what they did to wreck my health care and pension. i fear what damage a future GOP administration will further do

Here in the UK the ongoing inflation in food prices shows no sign of abating. Even at Aldi, which I visit on almost a daily basis, I see a new price rise every time I go in there. Six eggs, which were £0.89 pence a year ago, are now £1.29 pence (+45%), and a 4 pint bottle of milk has gone from £1.10 to £1.65 (+50%).

Basic ready meals in Tesco have gone up from £0.90 to £1.70 (+89%).

Some of this stuff even makes the mid-1970s look tame.

Overtime is probably the reason I'm on Social Security Disability instead of SSI. The 3 jobs I had were federal minimum-wage type things & I only worked about 38 months total. I had my 2nd job for 25 months & I worked overtime every week I was allowed to despite technically being scheduled as part-time for my 1st year. I really wanted to be full-time thou. I was on SSI at the time & when I worked too much I just didn't qualify for any SSI for that month. I was also living with my parents & the only time I could really afford to give my parents any rent money was when I was working. Otherwise I just paid for our cable & internet, my cellphone, my medical expenses, & my personal stuff. I wasn't working because I needed the money. I was dealing with depression, HATED being single, & my parents were on my back aLOT when I was unemployed. I was working because I was trying to better myself, be out the house & around people more, & increase my chances of getting a romantic partner.

I quit my 2nd job because our department kept getting more & more shorthanded & I had been working aLOT of overtime for months trying to help. We had a contract crew that was supposed to be helping us but they were making mistakes that we had to correct. I got in trouble for something that really was not my fault & I could not deal with the stress anymore. A couple months after I quit the few left in my department were dissolved into other departments & the contract crew fully took over. I guess I kinda saw the writing on the wall so to speak. I woulda had problems working in other departments so I feel I was kinda forced into quitting. I left my 3rd(last) job after 3 months because I was having a couple problems due to a tremor disorder. I was trying to treat it but the meds made me feel ill & I was officially fired after being out two weeks due to company policy. I was told they woulda taken me back if I reapplied but I decided not to since I was having problems with a couple aspects of the job.


I was born with most of my disabilities but I wasn't able to get a bit of them diagnosed till I turned 18; docs wouldn't take me seriously & lacked the knowledge. I did have some problems getting on SSI when I became an adult due to my dad setting up a mutual funds account with my name on it when I was a kid. SSI considered it a resource. I couldn't get my name removed without closing the accounts. I wanted to withdraw everything but my dad did not want due to the recession having recently started & stocks dropping(better the buy when they're low). Plus I wanted to find a job & work instead of going to college(I struggled majorly in school due to dyslexia, ADD, & other learning issues) & my parents figured I would lose SSI 1ce I started working anyway. I had a mental breakdown at 20 due to my 1st relationship falling apart, no luck with finding a job & my mom majorly on my back about me being unemployed & not trying. My dad let me withdraw the funds then & close the account(at a major lose due to stocks continuing to fall) & I wrote my parents checks with that money to pay them back for various expenses they've paid for me after I graduated high-school. Then I reapplied for SSI & qualified from when I applied. I would had a couple more years of SSI if my dad had allowed me to close the mutual founds when I 1st applied. My SSI switched to Social Security Disability when I quit working after having worked at my 3 jobs. I'm not sure when Social Security will be cut but the GOP keeps trying to sabotage the program & Trump succeeded in reducing it's funding by using Covid as an excuse to cut the payroll tax.

I think going back to work could be good for my physical & mental health. My girlfriend changes her routine a lot depending on what's going on & it affects my routine as well. We could both stick to a routine better if I had more of a need to. It would be good for me to be more physically active & go out on my own more. It would probably be good for me & Cass to have more small breaks from each other. The extra food stamps she's been getting due to Covid are ending this month & worrying about money is very stressful for the both of us. Cass is being quilt-tripped by a very controlling family member to move closer to him. Cass does not want to move but she's feeling a lot of pressure & has an extremely hard time setting boundaries & saying No to family. She even said that if we move I would have to run interference with her family. She often says I'm more level headed & logical about making decisions but she wants to make this decision herself either way. If I was working I could pay on some of her credit-card debt & use that as leverage for why we cant move. It seems kinda dirty to me & I generally avoid dirty but under certain circumstances I feel it's warranted. She's confused & unsure about what to do, she's gonna be unhappy either way, it's a major decision that will affect the both of us, & she's expecting me to manage the fallout but not allowing me to decide so I would be dirty in this situation. Starting a job search seems overwhelming to me & it would be great if I had someone knowledgeable guiding me but it feels like I need help to get assistance in the 1st place The stress of various things is really getting to me lately & working might could be an escape/break or might help reduce stress. which I know is counterintuitive.

ok, is SSD better than SSI? which one is better to have?