Mary, 53, lives in Orange County and asked that only her middle name be used to protect her privacy. This transcript is based on a conversation with Mary and has been edited for clarity and length.
Mary: I pictured my retirement as just chilling and not even having a part-time job. I thought I would just volunteer everywhere.
I retired from the county two years ago. I worked for the (Orange County) Department of Social Services for 31 years. I had my career, but I retired young. I mean, in my eyes, I’m still young – I’m 53.
I have now taken on two jobs as a caregiver, one for an Alzheimer’s patient and one for an elderly lady. This part-time job earns me an extra $500 a month.
With all the retirement savings and anticipation, I had some health issues and then life got in the way and I had to go through a divorce. So it was like everything was turned upside down all at once. And so you have to plan a little bit better for these things.
As a county employee, I have a pension. I pay into my insurance and then I pay rent. When I go to the doctor, which I do a lot lately, my deductible, my medications, gas… (and) groceries are ridiculously expensive right now. And because I get paid once a month, I’m usually short on cash at the end of the month.
Maybe that’s how it is for everyone lately – before, you really could say, “Oh, I’m going to lunch with my friends,” right? And it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But now it’s something you really have to think about, and it’s sometimes embarrassing to say, “I can’t go.”
I feel like for me now it’s about surviving and saving money because it’s so hard to save.
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