How many paychecks are you away from homelessness?

[jayavarman]

I was reading a posting here tonight where someone made the comment that "most Americans are 2 paychecks away from homelessness" & it got me thinking. . . .

If you add up all of your cash, savings, IRAs, 401k, . . . everything- And had no income at all . . . How many months would it take before you were homeless with your current bills?

How many months if you didn't pay anything but mortgage/rent? (I was thinking that I would probably not pay credit cards & give up things like cell phones & cable before I became homeless!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that most of us could make it a good while before we were out on the street.

[Fovea]

1. 1

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Living hand-to-mouth here

Don't have much in savings, zero cash, and I am not sure what IRAs and 401Ks are but I am pretty sure we don't have either.

Went through bankruptcy but got to keep the trailer.

Probably not a paycheck away from hitting the street because our folks would pitch in to keep a roof over our heads in an emergency, but the electricity could get shut off.

[Sugarbleus]

8. Same here.

We are two disabled adults. We are one paycheck away from homelessness.

[mopaul]

26. same here

disabled, denied ssi, i now owe THEM over a thousand because my wife makes 'too much' money.

[Sugarbleus]

38. OMG, I know that scenario very well... it totally sux

My husband is physically handicapped, 23 years now. He has been on SSI all that time, but I didn't understand the program. I went to work...la la la la la la then WHAM! SSI starts taking money out of his allotment because I was working!! They took one dollar for every two I made in the begining.

I was floored! I kept a file over the years until I could get a grip on "their formula on repayments". It wasn't that I had a problem with working, it was that my work wasn't high end enough to support both of us and he needed a lot of attention. I ended up working part time and temp jobs and sometimes got paid 'under the table' for all those years, just so I could stay under the allowed amount before they started to deduct from his payments. Often I worked places where the amount I made just couldn't be helped (weird to have to say that) so over the years, we paid back THOUSANDSSSSSSSSSSSSS (S) to social security for MY work.

Eventually, I became disgusted and demoralized. I went without healthcare all that time too. We divorced (which meant I could work and it wouldn't affect his income but they didn't believe us at first so we had to make it firmly clear to them that we were not a couple anymore) but I continued to care for him under the In-home care service for which I get paid. Now, I'm disabled and drawing SSDI/ssi AND I continue to work for in home care. Ex spouse is getting weaker and sicker and needs someone to help him more than ever. NOW, the housing section 8 voucher program that he was able to get into a few years back is trying to mess with him/us. It never ends.

You just have to KEEP RECORDS and protest/appeal stupid decisions.
Good luck............

[teach1st]

3. I'm two paychecks away...

One month. Luckily, as a veteran teacher, future paychecks are relatively safe.

[walldude]

4. Live paycheck to paycheck here

But I doubt I'd ever be homeless. I'm sure friends and family would help out if I really needed it. I have 3 kids so I'm careful about keeping my job... plus I have some pretty good skills and could find another job pretty quickly...

[Yupster]

16. Couldn't you retire and live on your TRS pension?

at some subsistence level?

Or if you don't have enough years n to retire, couldn't you take your pension out as a lump and live off of it?

[teach1st]

27. I don't have enough years

I'm 16 years in, which gives very little in the way of retirement. Teaching is a second career. I could take what retirement I am entitled to and get a service job and live. The only way I'd stop teaching (except for a health problem) would be if I was fired - and it that case, I'd lose retirement.

[Yupster]

42. Your state system much work a lot

different than the Texas state defined benefit system.

Were you in Texas, with 16 years, you'd be able to take your contributions out with interest once you separated from service. Over 16 years, that would be something like $40k - $ 70 k depending on salary and interest rates.

Then you could buy back the years if you ever wanted to qualify for a pension.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. Do negative numbers count?

[MadChatter]

6. Thank Heaven

I would be OK for at least 5 years.

[IrishBloodEngHeart]

7. about 6 months worth

without tapping retirement money.

[Lisa0825]

9. I got to the 3 month point about 2.5 years ago... and then finally landed

a good job. I was honestly about 2 weeks from losing the house at that point, and it took me about a year to catch up on the mortgage, utilities, and money I had borrowed. I have a best friend who would do anything for me, so I can't say I would totally be homeless, but some people aren;t lucky enough to have a support system.

Right now, I think I could last 2 months. I am not eligible for unemployment pay, because the non-profit I work for opts out of the system. So I (and my coworkers) have to be sure we put some aside in case we get let go. Ironically, we are a contractor for the Texas Workforce Commission.... you know, the folks who process unemployment claims.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

10. Quite a few

but we have a lot in savings and retirement accounts, fairly wealthy in-laws and parents who would never let us hit the streets.

It frees me up to help people who aren't so fortunate. And I'm thankful for that.

[blackcat77]

11. I inherited some money when my father died

And it's our safety net. We don't touch that money at all, and other than that, we pretty much break even every month, so if we didn't have that money, we'd be about three months away, which is how long it takes to start foreclosure.

[mike_c]

12. two sounds about right....

Maybe I could stretch it to three, at least in America-- and you're right-- you can't eat satisfied creditors.

This is actually something I've given some serious thought to during late night moments of weakness. I'm pretty frustrated with my life at the moment, and it's tempting to think-- especially at the beginning of summer when I have three paychecks coming for work already performed and relatively few commitments-- that although I live pretty much month-to-month in the U.S., I could probably make it for nearly a year on that same 3 mos residual salary in, say, Guatemala. Of course, there's always the ever present "then what?"

[NewEmanuelGoldstein]

15. Fight the system

The creditors, the corrupt government, the politicos in both parties who aid our being in these situations. Call for the system to be put on the stand.

EDIT: I have a car I could live in though. Wouldn't be able to afford gas to keep it running, but it's shelter.


INVESTIGATE 9/11.

[teach1st]

13. I did notice that some us poor folk do have yellow stars...

Please remember to help support Democratic Underground if you can.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/donate.html

[Kanary]

18. You're the one who's "relatively safe", right?

Many of those "yellow stars" have been donated by others.

Many just *can't* donate.

I hope you can find room in your heart for those of us who not only aren't "relatively safe", but have many, many worries.

Kanary

[teach1st]

24. Sheesh!

That's why I said "if you can." I understand many can't.

[NewEmanuelGoldstein]

14. If I lose my job

and can't find another right away, that's it.

1 month.


INVESTIGATE 9/11

[Yupster]

17. We're okay

If I lost my paycheck, we have plenty so that we could live off our investment income, though at a reduced lifestyle for sure.

[Djinn]

19. no savings at all

that's kinda my own fault - I could live more cheaply than I do and save more but I don't live particularly frivolously either.

Without a paycheck I'd be out in about 3 months (the amount of time the landlord would have to wait before starting eviction proceedings) but I have survived for 6 weeks without a job and without skipping rent payments thanks to my folks and my other half covering costs - even that was tight though.

Thankfully I'm pretty sure for me to be properly homeless my sisters/brother and parents would have to be homeless too - doesn't stop me wondering how some other people manage though. Grace of God and all that

[AbbeyRoad]

20. 1

I'd probably have 1 month if I had no income. I think I could find someplace to stay if it came to that.

[seabeyond]

21. i could willingly and easily downsize significantly

i would do ok for quite a while. also wouldnt be a problem me going to work and earning a much lower income than husband and he getting a lower income. would put us about to present income.

husband owns a business and barely holding on, so i have thought what i would do if we needed to do something. not afraid

not afraid of loss or to let go of stuff or do without either. have been poor a lot in life, have had nothing in life, was ok then

[Egalitarian]

22. I figure I could last about a year, but

so many intangibles in a question like this. On the other hand, one major medical problem and I could be in debt until I die. Who knows?

[democrank]

23. Living on the edge here

thanks to a couple of back to back tragedies, but I`ll be fine. I grew up in extreme poverty which turned out to be a blessing because I learned what`s really important and developed a lot of survival skills.

I make everything from scratch, can fix almost anything that breaks and I get great satisfaction out of reusing, redoing.... old fashioned `making do.` I`m poor, but very content.

[mopaul]

25. I have enough money to last me the rest of my life

as long as i don't go anywhere or buy anything. 20 years ago, i was homeless with a wife and 3 kids. been just fighting it off all these years.

[porphyrian]

28. Two, But With Big Family Safety Net - n/t

[doni_georgia]

29. We spent our savings years ago when I was unemployed

We could get by one month, maybe, with no income. If one of us lost our jobs, we could keep the house and one car, but we'd most likely endup bankrupt.

[SCDem]

30. Quite some time

We are steadily building our savings... it is not that big yet but a big plus on our side is that my husband paid for the house while he was building it so we have no mortgage or rent. They could turn off the power and the phone (we have well water/and magically do not have to pay for cable) but we would still have a roof over our heads (of course we would need to collect cans or cell plasma to pay our property taxes but they are not that bad). We don't have the newest house on the block or probably in the shiekest neighborhood but its OURS. I tell you it takes a lot of stress off your back. It's hard to go against the grain and not buy everything that the TV throws out at you but you sleep much better at night knowing that you own what you have and that is more than you need.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

31. 1

[thinkingwoman]

32. 2, and I own my own biz

seriously I don't know too many people that aren't living hand to mouth in my neck of the woods--especially those faking middle class life.

[Boomer]

33. Good for a few years

As a freelancer working in New York City, I always kept a buffer of at least 6-months income in the bank and also started a modest investment portfolio. The cash cushion eventually evaporated to finance a move out of the city, but I never touched the long-term investments, even when my new (and much lower) full-time salary barely covered my monthly expenses.

Thanks to a modest inheritance from my mother's estate, I'm even more comfortable now. It provided just the cushion I needed to get good terms for a 15-year mortgage and to cover emergency car or medical expenses.

Of course, my bank qualified me for a mortgage amount that I thought was ridiculously high, so I made a point of buying a house that was half the amount they claimed I could afford. I have no debt beyond the mortgage and credit card charges that I can pay off in 2-3 months. I have a free-lance job in addition to my full-time work, we clip coupons, have a vegetable garden, and just basically try to keep our consumer urges in check. Just last night I requested that my Visa limit be cut in half. I don't need a $15,000 line of credit, thank you very much.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

34. If I'm not A TOTAL MORAN, three or four. Just because I'm in Brazil.

That's because Brazil has a thing called FGTS (Service Time Insurance Fund in Portuguese). Every month, every employer has to deposit 8% of each person's salary in a government-administered fund. If the employer (a) is dismissed without just cause, or (b) stays 3 years without lawful employment, s/he may withdraw the FGTS. Plus: in case (a), the company pays an additional 40% of the FGTS balance (only its own deposits, not previous employers') as a penalty to the employee.

The down side is: if you quit or are dismissed WITH just cause (which just happens on provable near-criminal behavior), the FGTS gets stuck in there (accumulating some interest, sure) until you retire or stay 3 years unemployed (or informally employed). Hence the "total moran" observation in the title.

Ah, I forgot: if your FGTS is enough to buy a residence, you may withdraw it for that purpose. But you have to live in that residence or else you'll get busted for fraud.

Also, there's a few other quirks in Brazilian labor law:

The 13th salary: we get paid monthly, and twice at December. If you get out (quit or dismissed) in the middle of the year, you get a correspondent fraction of the 13th. You may say that, each month that passes, you earn the right to 1/12th of it.

Paid vacations. One month, each year. If you have 11 months or more in the company, you get paid unused vacations when you quit / are dismissed. Fractions are counted too.

All in all, after you stay in the job for a year, you'll almost certainly have at least 3 months of buffer in front of you.

And lastly: all of that was in effect WAY before the Lefties took over here. Most of that legislation is from the 50s and 60s; the most recent pieces are from 1988.

[TransitJohn]

35. One unemployment check

And they only last for 2 more months.

[Kong]

36. Indefinite

I could go to the grave I suppose, but I would not eat well and I certainly would have to give up traveling at all - and I mean just day to day car driving, not international travel.

I am 57 years old and I have saved at a considerable rate (at least 10% of gross) since I was a young newlywed. We didn't have any money then and so having just a little bit less really didn't make it any more painful. As income grew I just increased savings proportionately. Currently I save 14% of my gross it took me decades to move up to that rate of savings. I do not have a ton of money in savings but my home - way out in the country - is paid for and tax rates in rural West Virginia are about as low as anywhere in the country. I could live on savings until the end of my natural life. I could not live well but we would not be homeless. What a hell of an accomplishment for a lifetime of work, I could make it a few years, no more.

[Maestro]

37. My wife and I are teachers

It's steady income, but not the highest paying. We live paycheck to paycheck with little in savings. It's scary, but we manage quite well. I have whatever I want. Heck I even had a cancer scare that caused me to miss 6 weeks worth of work and I now owe thousands to a hospital, but we manage. If I were to lose my job we would be hurting. It's time to start building up savings!

[Yupster]

43. Average teacher pay is about $ 43 k

If you are both average teachers, that's $ 86 k.

Where I live that's pretty good money. More than I'm making now that I've changed companies.

[Deja Q]

39. Minus one hundred four.

One, actually, but being in debt does not help.

Assuming peak oil happens, only the 1% will have few worries.

Nothing is eternal.

[myvotedidntcount]

40. Pretty darn close...

Not too far away here. No health insurance, unpaid medical bills, no house -just an apartment, plus all the monthly bills - electric, telphone, etc. And a part-time job to support it all. Oh yeah, and any other jobs around here have hundreds of people applying for them and they top out at about $7.00/hour. Luckily, my part-time job pays a bit more (because I know the owner) so it would just about even out. I could get state assistance (food stamps, Medicaid), but I'd have to get rid of my car to do that because they look at that as a major asset. Question is, how would I drive to my job if I sold my car? I never had enough money to save so there's nothing there.

[Tracer]

41. About 6 years.

My home is paid for and I've always followed Mom's maxim:

"There's no friend like money in the bank".

[BiggJawn]

44. "Months"?

If I lost my job today, I'd have one partial check coming, and the rent's due on the first, so lets say MAYBE 2 WEEKS before I'm out on my ass.....

[Butterflies]

45. However long foreclosure takes

I have no savings, so I'd be in trouble right away.

[redqueen]

46. savings... 401k... *sigh*

Those are gone... used up after hubby was laid off years ago. We're living hand to mouth now and have been for too long.