As someone who just started on SS this year, I have a few questions for those who are smarted than

[LiberalArkie]

me.

I own my own home with no loans on it at all, but have a lot of credit card debt. I live very cheaply but about 70% of my money goes to the banks.

I get my SS check, luckily on the 16th. I do not believe that the Republicans will avoid the default, and I am an optimist. I used to think that that would be avoided, but now since they are saying that defaulting would not not have any dire effects, I am not getting worried.

I am the type person who always looks ahead at risks and try to avoid problems, Like I put new tires on my old car before I go on a trip, I even keep a parka in the truck in case I am trapped in a large snowfall.

I am not a doomsday preparer but what should a 65 year old single male with nothing but SS income do?

What should I do to prepare. I have several jars of peanut butter, as I keep it in stock in case I get snowed in. Yea it does happen in Arkansas, last year for 2 weeks.

This place has more intelligent people in 1 place than I have ever know, I did a 1580 on my SAT way back in my 30's but now I can't even spell SAT ;<

I know that a lot of people would really appreciate any advice that the smart ones can offer.

[1-Old-Man]

1. Every Republican in Office knows what will happen if those checks don't go out on time.

Old people vote, lots of them vote Republican. If those checks aren't deposited exactly where and when they should be every elected Republican in the country knows exactly who will be blamed and what the result will be - the demise of the Republican Party. So I would't be too worried about the brouhaha in Washington. They are going to trade off the medical equipment tax for the CR and call it a victory for everyone. Next month comes the big problem.

[former9thward]

4. Deleted. Posted in wrong spot.

[elleng]

6. Right, and great point you raise.

'We seniors' may end up being the ones who 'save' us all from the repugs, and that would be a delightful irony.

[pangaia]

10. I am afraid I do not agree that most, or even many, retired republicans

will blame republicans for this disaster. I suspect a great majority of them get their news from fox, broadcast news and cable news, newspapers... where they will not find such information that we do here at DU - where so many people take the time to search out, as close as it is possible to know, what is really going on.

[tweeternik]

12. Sadly yes. This is too often the case. n/t

[doc03]

2. One thing on your side being in Arkansas you can probably catch enough fish an

shoot enough game to survive. I am on SS too, I have a nice pension and an IRA but that my even be gone if these
nuts don't wake up.

[LiberalArkie]

8. The one thing that concerns me now is that an awful lot of the tea party people do get all that aid

and when they don't get it, they will be prone to break and enter. But since I am home most of the time, I don't think they will break into my little house and there are bigger ones around. I am not a paranoid person, I just like to think through all possible outcomes and prevent them.

As a young pup I was trained to think thins way when I was a contractor for the DOD... The ability to pick out the needle from the haystack of data.

[doc03]

11. Teabaggers wouldn't break in after all they are Christians. Gawd will provide for them

of course in their mind breaking and entering may be Gawd's will.

[elleng]

3. Good concerns you raise, Arkie.

Wish I knew what's coming down the pike for us.

I received my regular monthly SS on the 9th of this month, last month's came in on the 11th. I'm also due a SS survivor's annuity, which came in last month on the 18th, so I'm wondering what will happen with that this month.

I guess the best we can do may be to cross our fingers.

[former9thward]

5. SS checks will go out as normal no matter what.

1) It is physically impossible to stop them from going out. No end of computers would have to be re-programmed and that would take weeks at best. 2) Both the House and the Senate would pass veto proof laws ordering the checks be sent. They will be sent.

[RebelOne]

14. Mine is also due on the 16th.

I am hoping it will be in my bank account then. But I am worried that it may be the last one for a while.

[Buns_of_Fire]

16. I think you'll both be okay -- this month, anyway.

Payments due on the 16th (the 3rd Wednesday) are usually memo-posted the day before. Not that what the government depositeth it can't withdraweth away (believe me, I know that for a fact!), but the funds are in transit at that point.

That said, I don't think (I don't THINK) there'll be a problem. Remember, Teabaggers get SS deposits, too, and if the US defaults on the 17th, all hell is going to break loose on the 18th -- the kind of hell that's going to keep congresscritters from showing their faces in public until the situation is rectified.

[kestrel91316]

9. 20 lb beans, 20 lb rice, 1 gal vegetable oil, 1 big bottle of multivitamins.

That's for starters. Then branch out into other dry legumes and grains, pasta, canned tomatoes, big bag of flour. Oh, and 20 lb sugar.

You want to have basic survival food to get you through a rough spot. I make sure to have that sort of thing on hand always, because my income is way down and can be quite irregular.

I stretch my dollars as far as I can even when I have some to spare. Most mof my fresh produce comes from the 99C Store or the little Persian market.

[SheilaT]

13. If 70% of your money goes to the banks,

I'm thinking you should have a lot of money saved. Unless what you mean is that 70% goes to pay credit card debt. If that's what you mean, I can only hope that you are paying more than the mandated minimum. In that case, if the SS check doesn't arrive next month, only pay the minimum if you can do that, otherwise look very quickly into declaring bankruptcy.

I am not a financial adviser, and nothing I say should be construed as financial advice.

[RebelOne]

15. I have declared bankruptcy twice.

One was a Chapter 7 back in 1989 and that cost me $700. Than I declared a Chapter 13 in 2007 and that cost me $3900. And I had to make monthly payments through the court to pay all my creditors. Even declaring bankruptcy is not cheap.

[SheilaT]

17. I know very little about bankruptcy, except that one form requires

repayment, the other doesn't. What I especially don't know is if you get to choose which you do, or if there are legal requirements. At the risk of sounding very cynical, I'm thinking you might be able to declare bankruptcy again, and perhaps should do it.