The question before us today is....

....can Kitty live on social security alone. I think I can, and I think I'm about to find out.  I spent a lot of time with my friend Quicken yesterday, looking at my total average monthly expenses and income, and I was surprised to see just how close I am to being 'financially independent', if poor.  You'd never know it -- it's not as if I have gobs of money left over every month -- but I've been spending in a fairly profligate manner for awhile and still managing to add a bit to savings. 

I'll have to cut back spending on unnecessary stuff, and even on food, but I knowingly 'waste' a lot of money every month on food that my body really shouldn't consume, things I 'want' rather than 'need' to eat. That can change. I'm giving myself a month or two to see if I can actually live on what's leftover from my SS check after basic expenses come out. I can't do much about the extra gas cost for commuting, but I can factor that into how well I do at the end of the month.

I'd also have to payoff my car, but I could do that easily enough. The payment isn't large, but it's too large for my SS income alone.  And we're  headed into summer, where utilities won't be such an issue. I'll have to plan for that in colder seasons, of course. I have no idea what I'll do about getting a roof on the house, but I'll deal with that when the time comes.  I'm going to work another couple of months, at least, to put away a few more $$.

The job stresses me terribly. I'm tense and anxious almost all the time, particularly when I'm at work but also when I'm home theoretically relaxing. I'm depressed, too, and it mostly comes back to the job. I can and will apply Buddhist tactics to the issue, but I think that as long as I have to actually show up three days per week, it won't change much. I can make it easier, but let's face it. I'm not a young woman and I've worked since I was around 21 --- about 48 years. I'm tired. Physically tired (tension and stress will do that to you) and tired of working. I want to stay home, work in my garden, and meditate. And not a whole lot more.

I think it's time.