Planing for the future

It sounds like where you are living is part of the problem. Everything is expensive. Voc rehab isn't helpful. Could you move somewhere cheaper?

No I don't think a part time, remote job even at $120k is unreasonable. It's not my intelligence that makes school difficult. Just like ISS and GED I made a plan around my disabilities and I will continue to plan around them.

If we leave we leave behind Victoria and $400 a month plus there's very few mobility units. There is a unit in the middle of nowhere for $185k but then I'm limited to where my husband can drive. It's also 3 hrs away from Victoria to be able to get to Dr appt and other errands on my own I need to stay within an hour from where I'm at.

Please do talk to someone in social security before moving ahead. It would be terrible if there is something somewhere that makes all the numbers you estimate seem wrong.

I am telling you honestly in an area with a LOW cost of living, we barely stay afloat on a yearly income of $100K.

We all just don't want to see you go into debt and/or lose your benefits.

I'm a little confused on the timing too. When are you looking to move into the condo now or once you were working?

Does Medicaid not covering dental? Would section 8 not provide suitable place for you to live?

I don’t believe you’d qualify to purchase a condo for almost 200k with no income. And you’d not be able to pay mortgage

We would be moving in after working.

Medicaid won't pay for what I need dental wise. I'm on section 8. It's a rat infested, unaccesable unit where the bathroom ceiling falls in regularly.. We've been trying to move for 2 years but there's no fmv apartments that at least have this level of accessibility. Then there's the case worker that we call and email daily that doesn't get back to us and when she did months ago she said she couldn't help.

So I'm done relying on other people. I have to do this.

I'm worried about loosing assistance too. If that happens before I'm working I can get state disability while appealing.

I never said or implied that you are lacking intelligence. But whatever makes schooling difficult is likely to make working high demand high paid jobs difficult too.

120k is a high salary job which will require fast pace high demands difficult job tasks.

My husband and i work very difficult jobs that require college degrees and yet we don’t each make 120k. We’d not qualify for over 200k house unless we put a lot down. Your expectation of high level salary jobs and expensive housing isn’t realistic. I’d talk to your care team and see what they find reasonable for you

I understand life is harder in high cost of living states. Maybe not just you but also your daughter can move to a low cost of living states? Personally I cannot afford to live in expensive states.

How did you end up in such expensive state. I know it’s not easy. My daughter lives in one of the most expensive cities in the world. And I know what things cost in those places. Pretty brutal. If it’s not affordable, it’s time to look into a move

We can afford 275k mortgage on HUD. So as long as we don't make 115k or higher a year we can get it. It's just a waiting game. Just because it's high paying doesn't mean it's a difficult task. I refuse to believe I'm somehow incapable of a high paying job. It's knowing your worth, getting your education and proper planning. Again this is a years long plan. It'll take years to see our hard work pay off but it doesn't mean it's not worth it. I'm vaguely offended that you say it's not realistic for me when you don't know the area I live in or the field.

My t knows I'm taking classes, knows I'm studying 4 hours a day. But she's only known me for less than 2 months. My pdoc has only known me for 2 weeks. So they can't speak to my capabilities. I can not get the services I need in a LOC. I've lived in LOC before and best case scenario I'd be institutionalized before I had services for a productive life.

We fled bigotry. For more social services. I've lived in 5 states and this is the best for programs and help for all incomes.

I don't question my ability to pull this off. I know a lot of things have to go right. I'm worried about my symptoms, not that I won't be able to do the job because I'm fantastic at hiding it, but being miserable while doing it.

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.