🔺 r/personalfinanceuloveshercoffee·73 days ago
(57F) Working class, raising a grandchild and trying to play retirement catch-up
I am 57. I make about $25,000 a year as an elementary school lunchlady. I am raising a 12 year old granddaughter. My estimated social security payments will be about $1800 if I delay taking them to age 70. If I work at my current job until I'm 73, my pension will be about $1500. I have about $20,000 total saved; about $5000 in a ROTH IRA and the rest in HYSAs and CDs. I refer to the IRA as my retirement savings, my HYSAs as sinking and emergency funds and the CDs that mature annually in July, August and September as a little supplement if I need a boost over the summer since I work fewer hours when school is not in session. A couple of other rather big positives: my home will be paid for in 35 months so my housing costs are not going to be a problem. I have a big garden, fruit trees and I hunt and fish - which I plan to do until I absolutely can't. That may seem like a silly asset to some, but it's $200-$300/month in groceries I don't have to buy. As it stands now, I also have an adoption subsidy for my granddaughter that helps with expenses for her, so we're not just surviving on my income. Being at this income level also qualifies us for EIC and the Child Tax Credit which I have…