Disability Can Come at Any Age
by David B
It has been two years since the last time that I worked. Due to degenerative spinal conditions I have been forced to file for Social Security Disability.
If I ever manage to get well enough to sit up for more than four hours at a time I intend to find some type of sustainable work. I just celebrated my thirty sixth birthday.
At the time my disability stopped me from doing pretty much everything, I was working as a home manager for a community home for the mentally handicapped. I had also returned to college to get an alternative certification to become a secondary school history teacher.
You can make plans for many things, but life has a way of sneaking up on you.
Thankfully I have a good relationship with my mother. She allowed me to move in with her since I was no longer able to financially support myself. In a way I have been lucky. I do not have an exwife to whom I pay alimony. I also do not have children to support. What looked to be a regrettable family life has turned into a mixed blessing.
As much as my situation is annoying, I cannot imagine not being able to support my own family or be able to participate fully in the lives of my children. The money that I get from disability, combined with my mothers social security check are barely enough to pay the bills.
We have both had to look at our finances and decide what really is a necessity and what is a luxury. Saving ten dollars a month by cancelling a movie rental membership may not sound like much, but if you manage to find half a dozen or more minor luxuries to do without, it can add up.
Anything is manageable as long as you really take the time to evaluate the important things in life.
