The news outlet shared the stories of several seniors. Here are some of the highlights:
- Donna Lyons of Fort Collins, Colorado relies on a food bank truck and worries about having enough to eat each month. The impending $200 rent increase (a 14% raise) has her worried. Once that happens, she expects to have just $150 a month for food and incidentals. "I didn't expect the level of stress financially. I truly didn't. I worked for 50 years. And I was a single parent, so savings weren't exactly easy. I'm slowly eating through them just to survive."
- Marisa Flynn, 73, lives in Morgan Hill, California in a mobile home park. She thought she would be okay in retirement between Social Security and her teacher’s pension. But the increase in utility and gas prices have her driving less, reducing her heat and air conditioning usage, skipping meals out, living without internet in her home and delaying repairs. She’s returned to substitute teaching and sometimes relies on Meals on Wheels or even free lunch at the senior center. "This is not the retirement I envisioned. It is disheartening. The government always talks about helping families with children. Middle class elders feel forgotten and invisible," she said, according to the article.
- Richard Thomas, 73, lives in Arkansas City, Kansas, with his wife Peggy. They’re getting by but their monthly surplus is shrinking and that’s forced them to make some changes, like delaying plans to buy a new car.
- Jane Tanaka, 60, and Greg Chick, 67, live in Tehachapi, California. The married couple said they paid off their mortgage and were well prepared for retirement. Yet, inflation has them cooking more rather than eating out and traveling less, including curtailing road trips in their RV due to gas prices. They’ve decided to live on $2,000 less each month than they had previously planned. "We are not touching our retirement savings because we don't want to sell our investments at a loss," they said, according to the article. While these are “first world problems,” the couple is still making adjustments due to market conditions.