Living (Almost) Large on $1,500 a Month – Part 1

Kraig Bohot

50plus Magazine

Part 1 in a 3-part series

If you’re living on a limited income like I am, you might be doing more penny pinching than you’d like. If your spending (or lack thereof due to insufficient funds) is becoming like Chinese water torture, break free from the stress with some sustainable strategies that help relieve the pressure of being a pauper.  As a result, you may just have the opportunity to live (almost) large.

I’ve been living on $1452 a month since March 2024, and now $1,499 monthly thanks to the annual cost of living increase to my Social Security benefit. Following are tips and tricks I’ve learned to maximize my relatively meager income.

Bend the Budget 

At any income level, you need to budget. I try to look at what I spend each month to get a handle on specific categories like groceries, transportation, and sundries like soap, shampoo and toothbrushes.

The main factor driving my budget, however, is my daily spending limit. I calculate mine simply by dividing my monthly income by the number of days in the month and then subtracting my fixed expenses.

For example, for January 2025, from my $1499 income I subtracted $425 in rent, a $77.56 loan payment, and a $4 monthly digital subscription to The New York Times. This left me with $992.44. I divided that figure by 31, which calculates to exactly $32.01 a day. That $30 and change can be eaten up quickly if you dine out (or order in), buy expensive grocery items, or if an unexpected expense pops up.

While it’s key to be ever aware of your daily spending limit, don’t be totally beholden to it. For example, say you’re on empty and really need gas one day. If it exceeds your daily spending limit (easy to do at this income level) just recalculate it by dividing available funds by the remaining number of days that month.

 Search for Shelter

I can’t stress this enough: if your housing situation is too expensive, apply now for subsidized housing.

I was previously paying a little over $1,000 monthly for a studio apartment. While it featured a nice view of the State Capitol Building, the cost eventually left me in this dire situation: pay my back rent or head directly to the Union Gospel Mission.

My original exposure to Section 8 was not promising. In my initial intake at a local human services organization, I was given a small slip of wrinkled paper with the organization’s phone number and told it would be years before I would be considered for an available apartment. With back rent starting to pile up, I leafed through a local senior publication (50plus as it happens), which featured an advertisement for affordable, Section 8 housing overseen by a national nonprofit (in this case, St Vincent de Paul).

I placed myself on waiting lists of multiple apartment complexes owned and operated by St V in Salem, where I live, then crossed my fingers and held my breath.

Lo and behold, about four months later I received a voicemail saying I had reached the top of the waiting list. The screening process went smoothly, and now I pay only 30% of my income for rent. Plus, I don’t have to pay utilities, which is huge, particularly with increasingly high utility rates.

Part 2 next issue: Save on Shopping, Count on Cooking, and Don’t Be Insecure.