When I’m 70 my Social Security figure will cover my modest expenses and way of life. I’m 68 and a half now. My sister and brothers never made as much as I did, so I can’t fall back on them. I just want to be able to continue my intensive volunteering at a nearby garden.
I always planned to work until I was 70. The museum where I was a constant freelancer always kept older people as long as they wanted to work, and I was counting on that. Unfortunately, museum cut-backs from huge losses during the Covid pandemic have been extreme, and this has essentially forced me to retire early. There will not be a turn-around there any time soon. I’ve been very careful about spending and I’ve looked hard for work, but I’ve run through all my savings now. No one is hiring 68-year-olds, no matter what the news says.
For the past 30 years, I’ve been a constant volunteer at a large community garden, caring for a collection of rare trees, training young people, and keeping the garden open to the public. In the spring, we often have over 500 visitors a day, a bit less when the bulbs have finished blooming and people start going away for the weekend. We have a constant dog parade from our neighbors who walk through. Our 90 large and small trees are famous locally, and their care is my main project, along with teaching new members and high-school kids how to prune them. Recently, I had the parent of twins I’ve watched grow up ask if they could do their senior community-service project with me. Of course the answer was yes.
Every week while I was working at the museum I often also spent from 10 to 20 hours at the garden, except during rush times at the end of a project. Since I stopped getting any freelance work, I usually spend 30 hours a week as group head and primary gardener. All I want to do is to continue volunteering there.
My monthly expense is $1,800 and I’m 20 months away from 70, so I need $26,000 to reach my best Social Security figure. Without help now, I’ll only have $200 a month after very basic bills. If I can make 70, I’ll have $400 a month over rent and utilities, plenty enough for me. With that, I could volunteer in peace at the garden for all the years ahead. I just need to bridge the gap to 70.
Paypal.me/gardener70