Appalachian American Joining in

[Violets]

TLDR;
Female, 36, Schizophrenic, low income, fairly frugal. Have been reading ERE and the forums intermittently for years.

Hello! I am Violets. I am 36 and from the Appalachian area of the United States. I am excited to have been approved. I first found ERE years ago, but my intent at the time wasn’t to retire early but to slow travel and live in many states in the united states…Although I wasn’t saving for retirement, many of the Ere tenets came in handy–I took the 200-300 a month rent to heart and lived in Colorado for 100$ a month by renting space in a garage and access to a kitchen and bathroom, in hawaii for no money by caretaking an offgrid residence and WOOfing, in Utah for 200$ a month by renting a three bedroom apartment with 6 roommates, in arizona by a combination of hostels for showers and living out of the back of my truck, and in florida and oregon through job provided housing. I often lived walking distance to groceries and, although I always had a car, I always paid cash for it. So for my twenties, I was able to work and live in multiple states that I wanted to visit on very little money, because of ere. I often returned to read the blog or forum for inspiration on living cheaply and well–high quality reading content, always thought provoking and inspiring.

In my early thirties I experienced a Traumatic event and afterwards developed either schizophrenia or PTSD, the psychiatrists didn’t agree. As it progressed I was unable to work for a couple of years and was eventually hospitalized due to the severity of the symptoms. With Treatment I experienced no symptoms, but it changed my goals in life. Due to a strong network of friends and family, during my progression into disease I wasn’t homeless, was fed, and had intermittent odd jobs for cash. I developed alcoholism during the time my symptoms were present, drinking to escape the fear and delusions that accompany the disease. I still struggle with that. My financial goals, as such, are not foremost for early retirement but to buy a house and invest enough to pay property taxes in a walkable/bikeable area. I want to have a place to live, legally, as I cannot ask my friends and family to support me again if the symptoms return as often do and being homeless in the United states, which I have high odds of experiencing, is a less than appealing proposition.. When I achieve that goal, of having a place to legally exist, I will probably pursue financial independence, but it will probably be in stages of investments funding utilities, then food, and so on, securing safety should I be unable to work again. (I did qualify for disability after being hospitalized but did not pursue it, as after treatment I did not have symptoms. If they return however, that may be an option. It would be easier to live on with a paid off house. In my area it is roughly 800 a month and would be a challenge to live on.)

Luckily, I currently have a job that provides housing, utilities and wifi as part of the compensation package. While I do not make a lot, barely above poverty level, I am able to save close 50% of my income when paying attention. The last 6 months I’ve backslid on my savings rate, so I thought I might come here, make a journal, and seek friendship with people that inspire sticking to a good savings rate. (I am pursuing higher paid employment, but time will tell how that pans out.)

I’m sort of intending to use this post to start my journal.

Anyway–I hope that wasn’t TMI and I look forward to interacting with all of you in the future!

[Jean]

Welcome Violets,
Nice to have you here.
Making a journal is a great idea. You might get support and good ideas from other members.
Also, the proportion of really great people among those i met from this forum is incredibly high, so absolutely do seek friendship with them.
I hope you'll manage to avoid homelessness in the future.

[Violets]

@jean
Thank you for the welcome.

While I truly hope to make friends, I'm also hoping the journal will help keep me focused on my goals as I've slacked in the past few months and failed to meet my financial goals. I have always enjoyed reading posts on this forum as a lurker because of the high level of thought displayed--There are always so many intelligent people making astute observations about life and living.

And hahaha Avoiding future homelessness is definitely the main goal.

[blink2ce]

Does it matter to you if you have roommates or not? There are walkable/bikeable areas that you can live in with roommates where you could pay significantly less than 800/mo. Buffalo, NY comes to mind. If you rent a room in a house you may be able to pay less in rent than you do now. Then, if you save enough money you can buy your own home in the area and then rent out a room to pay for the property taxes. Property taxes for a single family home in Buffalo and other Great Lakes cities can be quite high.

[Violets]

@blink2ce

I may not have been clear, I am not on disability currently. At the time I was approved I was a few months past beginning treatment and some desperate desire for independence kicked in and I picked up the first job I could find and turned down disability. Prior to treatment I wasn't functional enough for a job. Disability is a backup in case the symptoms become treatment resistant or worsen.

I live in one of the most impoverished states in the country so housing is much cheaper than most states...My goal to buy a house isn't impossible--a functional, livable but not nice house in a walkable location can be had for 30 to 40k, and I have half of that saved so far. I actually hope to have roommates but I have to keep in mind that a schizophrenic experiencing symptoms often makes other people uncomfortable. That might make finding room mates less easy, so I'm planning for not having them as a worst case. Property taxes on small homes here are less than 1000 a year from what I've researched. With my current job housing is provided as part of compensation, as is common in an industry that is usually located in rural areas. As long as I remain functional, I can focus on just saving to buy a house and secure it in the advent I become non functional.

I could probably live on 800 a month fine, but I want to do what I can to ensure that I can, while I can.

Thank you for your thoughts! It is so kind of you.