Could you live on $1000/month?

When I was in my ealry 20's I had a cobra plan rom my parent's insurance. I forget what it cost me a month. I paid a monthly fee and had a different copay rate. I could only keep the plan for three years though. it was sort of a grace period and I think it is a good idea.

Knowing how hard it is for graduates to get a job, I think it's great to have the ability to buy insurance through your parent's insurance. It at least will help until you get a job with coverage!

Hi CB, glad to see you around. I hope you are doing ok, I think of you often and wonder if you are alright since the storms. Let me know if you need anything, I will be glad to send you what ever I can. Maybe seeds for your garden?

__________________
Be yourself - no one can tell you that you're doing it wrong!

I believe in the 60's seniors who had not been receiving SS were able to get it. My grandma had been a self employed dressmaker and she was able to get a small amount. I think they were able to" borrow quarters" from people like my dad who had been paying into it. My great uncle who had been tenant farmer also received a small amount under this plan,but my aunt was not elgible as she had been born in Germany, right before her family came over. I do remember hearing how people had to prove documentation they had been born in the US. Baptismal records were often used, and I believe they also took the word of someone who remembered their birth. My dad remembered the old days when indigent seniors went to the poor farm and always said SS was never intended to be lived on, it just gave people a little to keep them from having to go to the poor farm. Our county did have a poor farm and it even had a little cemetery.

hi seed. i am doing ok. just swamped in repairs rom the lood. I do not need anything. i am good. thank you

Just found this one. 1k a month?!!! Pffft, I couldn't cover the house with that. On 1k a month I would have to live in a van...

__________________
Know why the middle class is screwed? 3 classes, 2 parties...

To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself. ~ Einstein

I did not say I was against parents helping their kids out. My parents have helped us, loaned us money that we had to pay back. Dad did the labor when we remodeled the house. Never said they didn't help. However, they would NEVER pay for my cell phone because it is a want, not a need. They would not allow us to move back in once we were on our own unless our house burned down or a tornado hit it. My parents are wonderful & helped all of their kids when they need it, but that did not include paying their bills. A loan to help us pay one, but not picking up the tab themselves. Too many kids now, EXPECT their parents to pay their bills. That is the difference. Not directing that at anyone here, but I have seen it enough in my own family.


The insurance law was forced upon companies, it wasn't something they chose to do.

__________________
I can't believe I deleted it!

There is a big difference between helping out our children and enabling them. I worked with a lady whose daughter 21 at the time, the lady's husband worked two jobs at the time and she worked. The daughter went to college 12 hrs a week and worked a part-time job another 12 hrs a week....total of 24 hrs in 7 days. The rest of the time she did as she pleased with her boyfriend. Mom and dad washed her clothes etc, did nothing around the house unless told to. Her college was paid for, she did provide her own entertainment expense, gas money and bought her clothes---but parents paid for her iphone. She socked her money into savings. At the time she had 5,000.00 in her account according to the mom. 3 yr in college and still hadn't picked a major, nor had no idea what she wanted a career in.

I ask her why she was still doing all the things she was doing..all she could say was I dont know....I also ask her what was her daughter going to do when she and her husband could no longer work etc etc. My point to her that she was hurting her daughter more than she was helping her....and yes her daughter was a good child and never got into to trouble---otoh her daughter knew a good thing when she saw and continued the lifestyle since mom and dad would let it go on....I dont consider that helping a child, I consider that enabling a child to have no responsibility. Actually it is a form of abuse imo~

I work with elders that live on an average of $700.00 a month including rent (subsidized). And of course, living in an apartment and very old with arthritis, etc, it's difficult to grow your own food.

When you have to make a choice between going blind (getting macular degeneration shots) and getting dentures life is not fun anymore.

__________________
Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible

I must of missed the part of a student with a part-time job getting Health Insurance..I did however read about two young adult children(nothing said about going to school) working full time jobs living on their own and the parents still paying insurances and cellphones.

And yes it is possible to pay your own way by working through school...My daughter(single) at 30 just did it, while having a house payment(not rental), car payment etc. Working 8 to 12 hr days sometimes 7 days a week and then spending 5 hrs in class a couple of nights a week....she got her bachelor's in 3 yrs instead of 4 by taking accelerated class and testing out of some courses. She graduated with honors. She is 34 now. I didn't pay a dime of it

Don't know where you get this idea? Cell phones are no longer an option for most kids, or young adults. Both of my kids live at their schools. Land lines are no longer an option, and being unreachable isn't either. As parents I expect to be able to reach my kids in the event of an emergency. Employers expect to be able to reach them quickly also. ( my daughter picks up dozens of hours a month by being reliable and available at a moments notice, when her employer needs a quick replacement for a flake who failed to show up for their shift, Tough to do without a cell phone, eh?) As my son finishes his engineering degree, I can't imagine him telling interviewers from multi-national companies that he doesn't have a cell phone because it isn't necessary in today's world. In an era where a lot of 20 YO kids have never sent or recieved a FAX, find Email to be a slow, irritating way for the elderly to communicate, and typically send thousands of text messages a month, calling cell phones a "want" is a decade or two behind the curve.

cell phones are a need now days....but iphones or smartphones arent...big difference. And most kids have the latest fad in phones

My son just did a summer of physics classes. Two classes, $4K in tuition. Spent 45-60 hrs/wk on it. He also works nearly full time repairing heavy equipment. In his case, he is making about 40%-50% of what he would need to met his financial needs including tuition, and he has a job that pays far more than most of his classmates. I'm sure it's possible for some, but for most it just isn't reality. There is a big difference between a few night classes, and having a full 18 credit, five day a week schedule of classes and labs, while trying to find a way to make $30K gross. per year to pay for it. Bottom line is that it just doesn't pencil out.

You can unlock an I-phone, set it up with a pay as you go provider, and it cost the same per month as my $9 piece of junk flip phone. My kids have done it for years. So, assuming that a smart phone is a waste is incorrect. My kid spend $30 a month of her own money to keep her I-phone going. Her roomate's parents spend $120 month to keep their little princess happy. Same phone, big difference.

yes there is... accelerated classes are harder because you don't have as much time as if you attended a traditional college. Accelerated college semester is only 6 to 8 weeks versus 12 weeks. So what your son did in 18 hrs, my daughter did in less including labs.

i'm not going argue over it..you earn your money and however you see fit to spend it is your peragative(?)....in the grand scheme of things is has no effect on my life..will respectfully agree to disagree..

Have a good day~

Our daughter went to school full time and got her degree and is teaching now, she is 27. Son is 24 living on his own, working and taking some classes to get his degree. Both doing the same job, his is 1/2 time and also subs for others as needed. They both were on our insurance until 23, and we supported them the same as when they were going to high school, basic food, clothes, etc until they moved out. They got jobs at 16, paid for the extras (yes a cell phone is an extra, I don't have one) and saved money to become independent. We helped with gas as needed.

We worked as a team, they did their own laundry and kept their rooms, helped with housecleaning and meals since they were 8. We looked at all aspects and if it was cheaper for us to help, we did. They were responsible to make their own decisions on what they wanted to do, they never took advantage. We haven't helped pay for their edcucations, they didn't ask. Daughter moved out at 20, Son just got his cabin finished but he lived in his Grandmothers basement for 2 years to help her be able to live in her own home until her stroke. He pays his own way now....James

That's funny. I know quite a few people without cell phones & they manage to have a job & get along just fine. They are not a need. A need is something you can't live without. That would be shelter, food, water, & clothes. Everything besides those are wants, not needs. People think they can't live without them, but you can.

As far as getting ahold of someone in an emergency, that makes me laugh. That is usually the excuse people give for getting a cell phone. Yeah, really helped my niece to have hers when her car broke down. She had used all of her minutes texting & there she sat with no way to call. They are more for people who can't stand to know where & what their kids are doing 24/7. Shoot, I don't even know my son's cell phone off hand. I'd have to look up the number.

Just because people can think of a million reasons to have a cell phone does not make them a necessity. That's why a lot of people can't live on a lower income. They can't do without all of those new fangled necessities.

__________________
I can't believe I deleted it!

Sort of. To be competitive in college and fresh out of college, having a decent cell phone and a good laptop computer are basically a need, not a want. Land lines seem to be going the way of pay phones.

Are there people that survive without them? Of course. 15 years ago hardly anyone even carried a cell phone and we all got along fine. This isn't 15 years ago though and you would be hard pressed to find a student without a smart phone on a college campus, let alone a flip phone.

As to your niece, we have unlimited texting and minutes.

__________________
Idleness is leisure gone to seed

The "need" for a cell phone depends on where you live. If you live in a very rural area and drive roads that are not well traveled they certainly are a very good idea. If you hunt, cut wood, ride a horse, hike or a other outdoor activities they are very good to have. When I am here alone and I go down to the barn, I carry my phone. I would certainly want my child to have one, especially a daughter, if she was in school and working at night or driving alone. It's just safer. There are very few pay phones now and people don't stop to help very often as they assume you have a phone.