"And in that list there are no new shoes, no new underwear (not possible, really), no new clothes."
Couple pairs of shoes will last years
Under wear, $15 pack of 7 will last a couple of years
Clothes, couple pairs of jeans and a heap of tee shirts.
Don't' need much else, why do women complicate it?
On a serious note, interesting how some people not only manage quite well on the pension but are also able to put some money aside. Mean while others struggle to make ends meet.
Owning your own home is a big advantage but a big factor is discretionary spending and more to the point, what is discretionary spending? I put it down to spending on stuff that you could live without, Red wine doesn't meet that criteria for me.
People on a pension and renting get rent assistance but if they don't have a nest egg of some sort it would not be difficalt (ie sickness, accident ect) to find themselves in a position where the bills have mounted up and they can't keep up.
The pension was never meant to fund your retirement on it's own
