My mother passed away about 10 years ago. She lived for decades after my father passed away. Her only income was Social Security. She was paying a couple hundred a month for long term care insurance and she was not depleting the money my father had saved before he died. She did own a house that was paid off.

Owning you domicile is a big deal. If nothing else before you retire pay off your house. Soon after my father died she did downsize her house. Sold the big family home and bought a smaller two bedroom house.

Another thing how much you get from Social Security does not change depending on where you live. You can live in Belize and you will get the same check as if you lived in NYC. The cost of living where my mom lived was reasonable.

TEK