Retired woman pays just $500 for monthly bills and Social Security covers the rest, says ‘I’m living a great life on limited expenditures’

Social Security coverage: She was doing well in the US with her then-husband. After working her entire life—most recently as a director of retail sales—she felt she was ready to take tours around the world, even though they were making good money, owned a house, and had a couple of automobiles.

She sold her house, automobiles, and most other valuables, retired a few years early, and started receiving Social Security early to make it happen. Crockett was able to dwell in local homes in her favourite travel locations without having to pay for housing by using the housesitting website Trusted Housesitters.

Crockett headed for Turkey when her 90-day visa in Europe ran out, and she hasn’t left.

“I live here for next to nothing,” Crockett told Business Insider.

BI looked over paperwork proving Crockett’s outlays. Her rent is $463 per month, her electricity is $25 per month, her water bill is little over $1, and her internet is little over $11 per month when converted to US currency.

Her Social Security cheque is $2,929 a month, confirmed by BI, more than enough to support her basic expenses, even with the almost $200 it costs to renew her residency in Turkey every year.

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“It’s ridiculous to think that you have to have millions or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank to survive. I live totally on my Social Security,” she said. “I have other funds, but I use those mainly for travelling expenses; I don’t have any bills, I paid everything off when I left the US, and I keep a daily report of everything I spend.”

According to Business Insider, crockett may quickly see whether she goes over her budget one month by making daily records of her expenditures, which enables her to modify her spending for the following month. One of her largest US expenses, she added, was her healthcare, which she has discovered is also far less expensive in Turkey.

Crockett is one of the numerous Americans who, in the last several years, have moved abroad in search of better, more affordable living. Particularly older Americans are gaining from more reasonable costs as the US is facing a retirement crisis and many boomers believe they do not have enough resources to retire on time, if at all.

Naturally, relocating overseas presents certain difficulties; one must have the money to get there and be able to say goodbye to friends and family. But Crockett added that she valued not working for the whole second half of her life because it has enabled her to maximize her retirement.

“We work all our lives from high-powered jobs to blue-collar jobs. It doesn’t matter. We all work hard and we get maybe a few years of retirement,” Crockett said. “That just doesn’t seem like it’s worth it. So if you can, just sell it all. It’s only things, and you can replace it with beautiful memories in the future.”

‘On little money, I’m having a fantastic life.’

Though she intends to stay in Turkey for the time being, Crockett leases her apartment, so she has the flexibility to travel if she so chooses. Interestingly, the Turkish economy is in trouble; in March, the nation raised interest rates to 50% to combat “higher than expected” inflation that has affected Turkish citizens.

Because the Turkish Lira has depreciated against the US dollar, American expats are not as financially burdened. American money can go much farther.

On little money, Crockett added, “I’m living a great life on limited expenditures,”

“There is a huge expat community here, so there’s never a language issue at all,” she continued. “You can go down to the beach and just sit with a glass of wine and look at the beautiful scenery, or you can be more adventurous. There’s walking groups, there’s jogging groups, there’s knitting groups, there’s yoga, there’s something for everyone here.”

BI has previously spoken with financially distressed US seniors. The pandemic’s residual effects, which led her to lose her job and deplete her savings, have left one 63-year-old saying that she doesn’t see her Social Security keeping her afloat.

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“I know so many people my age that just don’t know what they’re going to do,” she said. “Other countries take care of their older people, and we should be able to do it, too.”

Living in Turkey has provided Crockett with such financial comfort that she doesn’t envision money being a problem for her as long as she stays there. She said she’s appreciative of the kind environment that welcomed her when she arrived and makes financial contributions to the community as often as possible.

“It’s eye-opening,” she said.  “It’s an amazing, fulfilling experience to wake up in a country where you know absolutely no one, and you have to rely on your skills of communication, intuition, and just being able to survive. And it’s so fulfilling and so rewarding.”