Journal: 06/05/06

I was up at 7:30 AM and by eight o’clock, Bill and I were winging our way to Salinas and my appointment with Social Security. Originally, I had planned to make the Salinas jaunt and the other errands in Monterey as a single trip. Bill decided, and wisely so, to break the trip into two parts, with some time at home for a bit of lunch. When we finished everything late in the afternoon, I took a well-deserved nap before dinner. All in all, I completed everything I wanted to do and also set the main task for next Monday.

A Lot of Joann-Related Things Accomplished

Dealing with Social Security was the big task of the day. I filed for Joann’s death benefit and for my own disability income. Joann’s death benefit wasn’t a problem and it should appear in my bank in a week. As far as my own disability status is concerned, and as far as the government knows, I’ve been "disabled" since June 1997. That was when I first took disability for my back surgeries and I’ve been in that status ever since. This is good news, because it also let’s me become eligible for Joann’s survivor insurance, or my own Social Security, whichever is higher.

Achieving my own Social Security income isn’t a "quick fix" for my current financial problems and I never thought it would be. The whole process will take about six months, including visits to doctors and other evaluations. Meanwhile, I now have enough documentation from the federal government to apply for services, such as food stamps, at the local level. Apparently, applying for Social Security, coupled with my disabled status, opens some otherwise closed doors. This could give me some relief in the area of groceries and personal expenses. Applying to the county is a project for next Monday when I’m not so rushed, as that process could eat up a half day.

On the way back from Salinas, Bill and I stopped by Grocery Outlet for a bit of shopping. Grocery Outlet is the area’s super-low price grocery store, but because it is in Marina, it doesn’t make much sense to shop there for only a few things. Bill watches local grocery stores for sales and we eat well, but Grocery Outlet just doesn’t offer the selection of other, closer stores. This was why Bill wanted to take a break before going on the remaining errands—we bought some frozen things and they would all have melted.

After a quick lunch Bill and I headed downtown for more errands. I needed to stop by our mailbox and reassure them that even though I’m late paying my quarterly bill, that I would pay it soon, or at least part of it. It is imperative that the mailbox keeps collecting mail as I need to keep receiving any mail for Joann, and Bill’s pension checks are sent there every month. The mailbox people have always worked with us in the past, but I thought I should put in a personal appearance as a matter of diplomacy.

My jeweler, Gaspar, was next on the list, also because I’m behind on payments. For the jeweler though, I took along Joann’s wedding ring from her second husband (the one before me) to offer up as collateral. I don’t know that he will actually buy the ring, or that its worth much more than I owe him, but as a sign of collateral, I thought it a good move. I don’t owe more than $250.00 on Joann’s and my wedding rings, but I don’t want to have to give them up, or lose my good relationship with my jeweler. Gaspar was the only person who was willing to give me credit to purchase an expensive watch six years ago, and has done so several times since.

I felt it was a satisfying day. I accomplished what I needed to and these all represented large steps in consolidating my financial future for the next few months while I try to figure out where to get the next dollar from.