Anyone feel you'll need A LOT to survive?

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Am a female with Autism Spectrum Disorder, single, no kids. Not much family left. Current special interest is how to save.

Part of this is borne out of a feeling of insecurity, that I will always be alone and that in order to get help, I will have to pay A LOT for it.

There are almost no services for adults with autism in the U.S. (I am painfully aware of this and feel that it will only get worse in the future)

My communication skills are nil in more than the barest superficial exchanges with other ppl. While I am thankful for the net, I do not feel that it will be enough to make up for the loneliness and despair + fear that I have for the future.

I was wondering if any of you have felt the same way .... I truly feel that my only hope is to be frugal to a fault, so that I will have enough to pay for the services that most people get from a friend or an acquaintance.

Being frugal is a virtue in itself, whether you have a lot or a little, so yes, it's definitely a good thing to be. Many people who are rich are also frugal -- it's how they got and stay that way.

Housing is the most expensive thing for most people, unfortunately. If you don't have to pay rent/mortgage, then it's possible to live very cheaply. (I'm pleased that I've got my electric bill down to $12 the past few months. And if I didn't stay up half the night it would probably be even lower.

Wow, $12 for an electric bill is pretty awesome! In the winter, my monthly bill is more than $200, and this winter is quite mild!

^ You must have electric heat then. My heat is included in the rent, which is convenient in some ways, but it also means there's no way to turn it up if I'm cold. (Like right now.)

I don't follow it, but I'm pretty sure there's a big "frugal living" subculture online. I bet you could plug into it and get lots of good ideas if you haven't already.

I do have electric, but it does come with a lot of hidden costs. Wow that must be hard not being able to control the temperature during the winter!

my DD Services Coordinator says that I require a lot more support than my diagnosis will allow... :/

And, I'm blacksheep, I don't have any family... most of my allies over the years have been those who dominate, control, manipulate and exploit me for whatever they can get... typically not money but someone that can be easily manipulated as if there is a remote control to them seems to be what the predators I'm used to making "allies" with are after. Sad story really, I'm about ready to go postal on humanity. :/

I'm also without family. I've followed Voluntary Simplicity for most of my life, but I've never thought in terms of hiring help for old age. Over half the professionals I've had to hire have turned out to be incompetent, with high price as no guarantee. I have some social insurance, but see no point in dying slowly and expensively when there are so many children with more potential going to waste. Stephen Hawking is still publishing, but I've never seen a paper from a regular extended-care facility.

Yes, same here. I'm not ashamed to admit I still live with my parents. I don't have a job but study full time, and try to help out as much as possible to take some burden away from them. They are happy to have me with them as I am indeed much improved after many years of chronic depression. Now they see me working towards a greater goal they are extremely supportive.
But they're not getting any younger, and both have had past health scares. I can't quite rid myself of the idea that full independence makes for a titanic and horrible change for the worse. I look at society, work, communities and people who lead 'normal' lives and feel an intense kind of sadness. The whole picture is by merit of it's importance a bit too much to take in without being overwhelmed, so I try to take small steps in the right direction instead of thinking about how far I have yet to come. Believe me - believe yourself - when I say we will both get there one day.

From where I live, people here NEED A LOT to survive.

Not because they're needy, because they cannot meet their own needs alone.
And I'm not talking about demanding people with laziness who lives off with someone, I'm talking about poverty and messed up economy.


Lowest salary/wages, higher cost of living rates. To the point that some cannot even afford BASIC like food.

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