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Gasoline ($60 monthly) and car insurance ($100 monthly) cost the Reids about the same as in New York. They drive a 16-year-old Chrysler with 195,000 miles.
The couple's biggest savings: rent. In New York, they'd be paying $1,450 month. While their Florida rent has increased nearly 10%, from $800 to $870, they're still saving a bundle.
Meantime, they have managed to pay down some debt and now owe $1,580, down substantially from $4,000. To do that, they managed to get some of their credit card interest and fees removed by contacting creditors directly.
The Reids have saved a bit, too. Currently, they have $2,400 in rainy-day funds.
Get a Job?
In the 2019 article, the Reids mentioned plans to get part-time jobs ("less than 10 hours per week for each of us, at minimum wage"). They've given up on that idea.
"We looked initially, when we arrived," Joan explains. "But both of us quickly realized we were square pegs trying to fit into round holes."
Instead, she says, "What we're doing to help ourselves is getting Steve's art into the public eye, and I'm writing."
Steve had two solo art exhibits this year and was featured in a local magazine. "The exposure has catapulted his art career in the region," Joan says.
Even with her editing job until this spring, Joan says she and her husband "needed assistance with food and were helped by a Salvation Army food pantry several times."
To keep food bills down, they don't order takeout or go out to eat and have been eating more vegetarian meals this year.
For entertainment, they borrow books and films from the library. The Reids have no TV service. "We watch shows on YouTube connected from a personal hotspot on my iPhone," Joan explains.
They also shop at Goodwill for kitchenware and clothing and frequent dollar stores for basics.
Is there is anything they would have done differently in hindsight?
"Our situation has turned out the way it was supposed to, and our plan is to live the best we can on what we have," Joan says, "and continue to pursue our passions of visual art and writing.
Read “Retiring on a Shoestring” by Debbie L. Miller and similar stories on NextAvenue.org
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