Dad (68yo, Vietnam vet and disabled machinist) and mom (67yo, ill waitress) both receive social security directly deposited into their checking account on the second Wednesday of every month. Dad gets $2005.00 and mom gets $659.00. They live in Pennsylvania.
Until May, this income was supplemented by mom's part time serving job which pulled in $540/mo on average, not including cash tips. This was keeping their heads above water, but now she's hospitalized with acute myeloid leukemia and it's gone, probably permanently.
The current balance in their checking account is $1509.97, which is the remainder of a very generous $2250 grant I was able to procure for them with the help of a social worker. It's a buffer, but it won't last long. September's bills are on the horizon.
I know that I need to reduce their expenses, but I don't know the 'best' way how, or what helpful options are even available to me, if any. I would be so grateful for any experienced guidance. I'm willing to work hard.
Here's the arithmetic:
- Total combined monthly income: $2664.00
- Total combined monthly expenses: $2843.55 [dropping to $2395.72 in November]
Housing [$1430.70/mo]
- Mortgage: $1230.94/mo [Balance: $103,381.42 @ 5.375%]
- Home Equity: $199.76/mo [Balance: $16,201.60 @ 7.39%] -- Past due $1,195.44 as of 2019/07/24
Utilities [$392.85/mo avg]
- Oil: $212.00/mo avg
- Electric: $140.39/mo avg
- Water: $40.46/mo
Auto [$600.54/mo, dropping to $152.71/mo in November]
- Car payment: $447.83/mo [Balance: $1306.90 @ 17.59%]
- Car Insurance: $142.71/mo
- AAA Roadside Assistance: $10.00/mo
Credit [$143/mo minimum]
- Capital One Platinum Mastercard: $115.00/mo minimum [Balance: $3606.11 @ 25.15%]
- CareCredit: $28/mo minimum [Balance: $371.44 @ 26.99%]
Data/Entertainment [$276.46/mo avg]
- Verizon FiOS TV/Internet/Phone Triple Play: $236.46/mo avg [$320 early term. fee if canceled before 05/06/2021]
- MetroPCS Cellphone: $40/mo
How can I be the most effective here? Dad is home alone on the couch most of the time, so canceling his internet and cable television seems so cruel at a time like this, but I acknowledge that might be the first thing that has to go even with that $350 termination fee. After that, I'm just lost.
The car is finally paid off in November, so at least their second highest expense will be eliminated soon, but it still doesn't seem like enough relief. I mean, I haven't even mentioned food yet. Do I need to call a realtor to sell their house and find them a different place to live? Is it as simple (i.e. overwhelmingly complicated) as that?
Submitted July 24, 2019 at 05:06PM by mattjh https://ift.tt/2ybN0yI
