Planing for the future

I see. Maybe I misread. You mentioned not getting good social services in your state. Social services don’t even call you back. And government not helping. And section 8 housing is infested with rats. Maybe I misunderstood.

I don’t suggest LCL area. Maybe medium. I am in Midwest. Section 8 housing isn’t infested with rats. Life is more affordable. And the region I am at is mostly liberal.

Listen I, and likely others, would love to be proven wrong and see you living in expensive houses, qualifying for high mortgages and live in pricey areas and work high income jobs. I’d be happy to be wrong. But we also don’t want to not warn you of danger out there. We’ve been around the block and then some. We want you to be prepared

I'm not getting the services I need, they won't call me back, this apartment is almost as bad as the one we lived in in Ohio but the services are better than any other place we've lived. Seriously. I can even get a house or condo on section 8 it just takes time. 275k is not an expensive home here, it's in a low income area with lots of homeless programs around it. Resale will be **** but that's not the point. I'm not planning for a high income I'm planning for
20% less than what one person makes. Yes the potential to earn a quarter million a year is there but it's not what we are talking about.

Oh and if the high poverty area scares you currently we live a block away from a very large encampment. To the point our McDonald's doesn't allow anyone in side to eat.

I live in Wisconsin. I don't know what state you live in, but the services I receive here through the county are fantastic. They're almost annoying with making sure I have what I need. I mean, my therapist is through the county and she picks me up every Friday and we go out for coffee for our appointment! She's also my case manager and if I ever need anything (ride, food, clothes, health insurance, stuff for my kid, housing etc.) all I have to do is call her and they'll help me.

Of course, I'm also under a court ordered commitment, so I don't know if that makes my situation different. Also, we have medicaid in my state if you make below a certain income bracket (our daughter has been on it ever since I lost my job when she was four). Right now my husband is on it too since as a family, with me on disability, we don't make that much (I have Medicare too though).

I don't know how section 8 housing works though. Never needed to use it.

So my point is that I live in a great area if you're disabled.

I don't know where you live but services sound like they suck. I refuse to believe it's one of the best areas.

I mean, rat infested apartments? Case managers that don't call you back? What the hell.

I have no mental health case manager. I had no therapist until about 2 months ago and my psychiatrist was going to leave me to emergency care until they found a replacement, while psychotic but yes this is the best state so far. NY, WV, OH and FL in several spots in each state left us without housing, food, medical or a combination of them.

I'm not saying I'm not grateful for what I do have. I am saying the level of support I need can not be accessed at our income level and we need to do everything in our power to change that.

I would say you would be hard-pressed to live in a state with worse social services than Texas which is run by insane the most right-wing Trumpie Republicans, and even here social services are accessible if you work hard enough. Cost of living is much lower than places like California and the Northeast especially if you live on the outskirts of large cities (and even then, I live 20 miles or so from Houston, granted it is chemical plant heaven with lax regulations, but still housing is much more affordable).

The other factor you have to consider is that if your age is beyond your mid-20s it is very hard to get a job if you do not have a work history. Employers are not supposed to discriminate based on age, but the fact is that they do. They often want a fresh college graduate (preferably with some experience interning at the university or another business while taking classes). They can pay fresh graduates less because they are not tied down by family and often don't have a mortgage to pay. Just reality.

You also have to face the fact that if community college was too much for you, the stress of a high-paying job will be too much for you. Employers will look at a GED and feel high school was too much for you. Even a lower paying job. For example when my H was a high school teacher (which definitely does not pay much), he was extremely stressed. Now that he is a college professor, he has even more stress with trying to navigate the politics of the university. For a high paying job, you will likely have to work at a large business, and you will be hard-pressed not to find cutthroat co-workers & politics there and stress plays a big number on mental health. And for such a salary, it would be extremely hard to find a remote high paying part-time job. Also, employers will be leery of hiring on an online degree from an international school they have never heard of, endorsed by a state university or not. In addition, I have seen you struggle not that long ago on this forum which does mean you are not in the best place emotionally to take all of this on.

Taking all this in account and with your current income, I'd hate to see you go into debt getting a degree that you cannot use. If you cannot pay for your education WITHOUT taking ANY sort of student loan and going into debt, then go for it. If an education is going to put you into debt and stress you out affecting your mental health (which deadlines ARE very stressful) I very much doubt it is worth it. And do NOT count on scholarships. They are very subjective and rely heavily on your grades (which you cannot know your grades in advance of taking the classes) and other factors such as the difficulty of the program you are in, not just low income & disability.

It's just that no one here wants to see you lose your SSI (I think that is the right term), housing situation, and medical services. We don't want you to struggle emotionally and end up in the psych hospital. No one wants to see you go into debt over an education and not be able to find work. We are taking your best interests at heart, believe it or not.

I am in a better situation than you are, and I have to say I would NOT be able to complete an online education or work a job, even a low paying job. I don't even know if I could volunteer anywhere. Believe it or not, I am very smart. I graduated valedictorian of my high school class. I got only 1 B at a very, VERY good, strong & extremely LARGE prestigous university and all A's otherwise in Microbiology (a major a lot of pre-med students took) and graduated summa cum laude (which means "with highest honors" ) from a well-known traditional 4 year university. I very easily would have gotten into med or vet school which are both VERY hard to get accepted to. I have an M.S. (Master of Science) degree in Cell & Molecular Biology. Every time I have tried to work, I end up quitting within a month and nearly hospitalized, and I don't want that for you. There are limitations to having bipolar and depending on severity, it is very hard but you have to accept them.

How about looking for a part time remote job which I think Unaluna mentioned are like mini project managing.

Apply and see what happens.

Customer service type but where you don’t need to talk to people but just solve their issue via chat?. Ask SSI how much you could make without losing benefits, and work for a few days/months few hours a day. If it seems ok then you’ll have a good idea what to do next.

You also have to remember that interview process could be brutal if you go for high pay job (I know you keep saying it’s not high, but 121k a very well paid job anywhere in the state). More you want to make, more brutal your interview will be. Likely more than one for each job position if you pass the first round. But the interview process for lower level jobs (not talking about minimum wages) is much easier so you’ll have a good practice with those

And blueberry is right, it will be very hard to compete with regular college graduates with job experiences if you went to somewhat obscure online schools with strange combination of classes and international MBA for less than 1k and have no or little work experience.

But do talk to ssi first. You said you lose ssi if your husband makes as little as 20k

I understand my severity.
I understand it'll be hard picking up projects.
My GED is over 22 years old. If I have 2 masters that'll outshine the GED and it's the portfolio that matters.

If I'm in school by July there's several co ops that pay $32+ an hour but they are full time for 6 months. That would be a great trial for me while on SSI trial work period. With FSS program too. I would still be eligible for housing and medical.

I legally can't go into debt for this. I'm ineligible for student loans and have 1 semester of Pell left which equals 4 months. As far as scholarships go I would only be eligible for the one for my master's.
Phase 1 is being paid by the local library.
Phase 2 is being paid monthly by me or my parents
Phase 3: is being paid by Pell
Phase 4: is being paid for by savings

There are no deadlines in this program it's asynchronous. The only deadline is 2 classes a session if you are using Pell. 10 classes for residency. It's a state university.

I'm not saying I won't be stressed and stress increases my symptoms. That's what I worry about but I've been out of the hospital for 6 years. I have a better team and services now. Like a walk in psych urgent care.

I feel I should at least try before giving up. If anything it gives me something to do during the day. Honestly I don't know any other ways to meet my needs. I will not be 40 and in assisted living if my husband passes.

I know the risks:
Insanity + psychosis
Homelessness (again) this time without a car
Lack of treatment both psych and medical
Loss of income for 25 years
Starvation

But there are things I need, like teeth, that are unattainable without a decent income. Fact is all my disabilities get worse with age. I need income to support them. Even if the income is temporary.

I won't loose housing until I make $115,000 a year
There's no waiting time for state disability, food stamps or Medicaid. There home owners assistants but it's only $583 a month if we make over the $115k after the first 5 years.

I loose $943/month after 8 months if I do this but I'm fast tracked back on it if I can't make $1,550 each month the first 5 years. After that I have to depend on state disability until approval.

I can't get the things I need without income. My husband is doing this plan too. I will not leave him with the burden to care for me physically, mentally, and financially. If he does this which he's planning to. ( Faster than me because he's been more successful at community college) I loose SSI anyway.

As self employed we'll pay our own insurance anyway whether working full-time or part-time.


Acting like this is a choice isn't taking into the gravity of my needs. The government can't/won't help.

If all goes to **** at least I tried, at least I have money in the bank, at least I have teeth (our first purchase. If all else fails and the government won't step in before we lose our home we have a backup plan but even that we need money for.

Yes I loose SSI if either of us make over $1550 a month. Jobs that don't require college degrees won't pay high enough. There's a certain income we have to make higher than to afford loosing benefits. You can't get to that number without a degree.

I think the monthly limit you can make working while on social security is around $800. Heck, you might not even LIKE having a PCA.

Also, high level interviews are often with groups, not just one person.

How are you getting masters degrees without a bachelors degree first? Is that the lifetime competency thing?

It is awfully hard to be self-employed. My parents are self-employed, and we lived paycheck to paycheck on the edge of poverty (clothes & shoes that came from garage sales ONLY for the ENTIRE family including both my parents) and if my grandmother hadn't stepped in with money and meat (they lived on a farm had fresh eggs and vegetables & fruit trees such as peaches, plums, pears, & figs, also lots of pecans & butchered cattle & shared the meatvegetables & fruilt with us, we ate beef all the time and ALL of the cow including liver & tongue) and gave us (I have 2 younger sisters) bras & panties every Christmas for the new year I don't know what my parents would have done. We would have had to live with my grandmother in a very tiny house (less than 800 sq feet). My parents also did not have a mortgage to pay because my dad built the house when he was employed for a good company and had actual regular paychecks and only 1 child (me); he got downsized when there was a company merger (which happens in business ALL the time) which is why he then became self-employed. And if you're starving & have to use a food bank for food, often they do not have fresh meat, fresh fruit & vegetables, eggs, cooking ingredients such as milk, butter, oil, flour, sugar, etc. (At least that was the case in all the food banks I used.)

And that was living at a VERY LOW cost of living in the country.

The bachelor degree is from a state school. It's not obscure and the classes are the same as other degrees it's just fully on your timeline. So most college classes require 135 hours this one that can take as little as 10 days if you're focused and dedicated or as little as 85 days. I have 91 days before I have to pay out of pocket.

I may not like having a PCA but I need one. I have no choice. I understand most interviews are in groups. I'm really good at faking it. Most importantly I need teeth which is unavailable without 10+k and a trip out of the country.

I'm doing a competency based bachelor's first, step 1-3. Then I'm doing the masters.

91 days for a full degree is really not do-able. I had to take 5 semesters of college to graduate with around 90 credits. I had to take EXTREMELY hard classes such as calculus, organic chemistry, biochemistry, virology, etc. to graduate with my undergraduate degree, and graduate classes for my masters were even harder. I worked as an undergrad too first in the university documents section and later in a microbiology lab. I had to work in a laboratory, write papers that were accepted & published in esteemed journals in the field & work as a TA teaching undergraduate microbiology lab & supervisoring & grading tests & papers for the university microbiology & chemistry professors all while taking graduate courses. And it was still HARD for me to get jobs (at which I didn't last but a week to a month). AND having a masters OVER-QUALIFED me for menial jobs such as grocery store cashiers & fast food places if I wanted to supplement my husband's income; they wouldn't hire me, wouldn't even interview me. Menial entry level jobs wanted no more than a high school degree. So I had work experience trying to get a job in my field & it STILL wasn't easy. Probably I submitted over 100 resumes before being hired after grad school. And the Houston medical center & NASA are both near where I live and all have research labs which hired in my speciality. There are also chemical plants that hire in my speciality. Lots of potential jobs out there, and that's what it's like getting a high paying job even where you live even if you don't think $120,000 is high paying.

Its 10K+, not 10+k.

Why not just get dentures?

Also, no offense, but these conversations really do not sound like the you that has posted over the past ten years. Maybe victoria is really good at faking it.

Buying your own health insurance isn’t affordable. Maybe just a few months in emergency and it will only cover small percentage.

You need a proper health insurance that company contributes to. Some still are very expensive but cheaper than buying private.

Dental insurance will not cover all those big dental needs. Most dental insurances only cover 1k to 1.5k a year. But they never cover 100%, so you still pay out of your pocket. More cavities or crowns or root canals or implants or dentures. You’ll pay for it yourself

The most that dental insurance covers in one year is two cleanings a year (with you adding some percentage out of pocket), one set of X-ray and something like one cavity. If a cavity is complicated you might not have money left for second cleaning. Everything beyond that if you have high needs will be out of your pocket. You’ll max out dental insurance very quick after one maximum two visits.

I had a lot of extreme dental needs. All came out of my pocket because my insurance only cover those basics I listed. And I have a good insurance!

Unfortunately due to not having national health care we have to think ahead how we will afford and manage health care

I am in support of education 100%. If it is legit, leads to something of substance or if one can afford it just for self fulfillment if they already have everything they need

I have no options if I want teeth. Which is a need.
I have no options if I want to use the kitchen, which is a want.
I have no options if I want to shower alone. A want
I have no options if my husband gets sick.
I have no options if I want an SDit.
I have no options if I need a PCA.

There's no options. We moved where they have the best services, on paper and it still falls short. This isn't a want it's a need.

Wouldn’t dentures cost a lot too?

State insurances like Medicaid cover dentures in some fashion in all 50 states though. I’d go for that instead of planning to get a private dental health care or travel out of the country (where?)