f stop wrote:
my mother proudly (!) lives on $800 a month. I have no idea how she does it. Granted, her house and car are all paid for, but the bills like insurance, electric, gas, water, must be at least $500/month.
electric, gas and water, in an avg sized house, is nowhere near $500/month. that would be crazy.
i have 120 sq meters and I pay under $200 a month for electric and water, no gas bill. also, for someone living alone, it would be even cheaper (less showers, less laundry, etc.).
regarding medical insurance, I'd have to ask how old your mother is. if she's 65 or over, she's completely covered by Medicare.
assuming your mother doesn't drive a sports car, her car insurance is minimal. again, i don't know how old she is but if she doesn't commute to work every day, she's probably registered as a part time driver. if i knew what state she lived in, i could probably take a good guess at how much she's paying. northeast, maybe $800-$900 a year, midwest/down south, maybe $400 a year.