[USER]

My mom recently went blind, 6 months later she shattered her leg and is still healing. Prior to losing her vision, she worked in child care.

She’s no longer comfortable working with children, with her limited mobility and vision loss… understandably.

She’s 60 years old. She cannot drive. She can see some light, fuzzy shapes and outlines only.

There is a non-profit that is offering her courses and training to find a job that fits her needs.

They also told her they would help her start a small business, of her choosing.

They told her to do some research and see where her interests fall and what she thinks she could handle, realistically.

I’ve been helping her brainstorm but we’re not coming up with many great ideas. She would need something that would be semi-passive.

Most days, I could take her to work but I do live 45 mins away and have 2 school aged children, so it would be difficult.

It would be optimal if she could have 1-2 employees, so that she wouldn’t need to be present each day… or in an emergency.

She’s also in a rural community with 5-8K people. She’s 45 mins away from a city with 600,000. She’s minutes from a lake with summer water sports.

She doesn’t like the idea of a restaurant (she’s a notoriously terrible cook).

We’ve been throwing around the idea of a laundromat…. Possibly even a folding service and pickup/drop off service if she had an employee that could drive.

We also thought about a booth farmers market, but there are already a few in our area. They’re usually packed but there are several.

I make cottage/baked goods occasionally, which I could provide for her here and there but I don’t think I could consistently provide enough to run a small business.
This is all so new to us.

We have no idea what direction she should go. We would be so thankful for any advice.

I’m sure there are hundreds of ideas that we just aren’t thinking of.

[Michele]

If she is blind she is entitled to Social Security Disability benefits, regardless of her age

[Liz]

The group that is offering to train her is likely a state run vocational rehab organization/center for vision impairment.

They are generally full of ideas as well as support and they have placement around the city in lots of cases.

Consider running some of these ideas by them- they may think one of your ideas really speaks to what they’re able to offer.

JAWs technology allows visually impaired at any age to use computers with good function in most cases.

Maybe a work from home computer job is possible with this technology so she doesn’t have to worry about transportation.

Orientation and mobility specialists in your area can help with route planning and public transportation options also- although rural is always tougher in these situations.

Remember there are limitations to income if she’s receiving SSD but if she wants to work, I’ve seen our local division of vocational rehab find placement and training for a lot of our visually impaired community.

[Korey]

There’s a woman I follow who is blind and she uses glasses that can read for her and see things and even recognize faces for her.

It’s done wonders for her independence. I’ll try to find her page.

[M Gabi]

Podcast? About living with disabilities where she can interview others about how their life has changed or overcame?

[Cara]

Could she take some classes by audio that could teach her how to be like a financial planner or something where she gives advice or can talk to people instead of doing something physical.

[AD]

Life coach? Therapist? Mediator? Something where she listens and advises?

[Rebecca]

Ideas:
Crisis hotline call answering (there’s training)
alumni caller for a college for fundraising campaigns
political campaign worker

recreation aid/assistant in LTC if a place is looking for someone to work part time for companion visits

product tester for products made for people with visual impairment, especially if she it tech-savvy to be able to use social media and post reviews

any hobbies, arts, exercises, or scholastic expertises etc she can instruct?

my dear friend and yoga student who is legally blind became a yoga teacher (likely not a lot of money in this but a lot of community and purpose)

teach a class for parents or children within a homeschooling collective in your area using her background

I’ll add more when my brain wakes up. Not sure your location (US? State?) but if she qualifies to see a recreation therapist (that’s what I am), she should!

[Jay]

There’s lots of assistive devices and newer tech out there that can help a lot.

Pretty much every computer and phone can read screens these days too, so maybe an online job.

Or maybe come up with a SAAS that would be utilized by the childcare industry.

Good place to start is making a list of problems that need solving in which to base your business on, even the most minute challenge that people experience can inspire an innovative product or service to sell.

Check You Tube for ideas too.

[Jenny]

Is there anyway to treat her eyes? Medicine has made major improvements the last few years.

Get her to a major medical center for evaluation if you haven’t already or sign up for new drugs trials.

If she can’t see, it’s hard to run a business. She can collect disability.

[Tarah]

Not related to blindness, but my husband has a brain injury that makes reading difficult for him.

He uses a program on his laptop for work that reads to him so he doesn’t have to waste time trying to read.

You can even speed it up and get through information quickly!

This could potentially help her with any computer work her future business would need of her!

[Jayme]

You said she lives near a lake with summer water sports… can she get water activities for people to rent? Kayaks?

Paddle boards? Chairs (pending that there are people who vacation there that may want to rent instead of bring chairs)?

Fishing supplies? Etc.

[Crystal]

Chat GPT can give you a grocery list based on what you want to spend and the number of meals you need.

[Renna]

We are a family of 6 in MN. 2 varsity athlete teens who eat like adults+++, and two competitive athletes 9 and 11 who also eat a lot, we definitely spend $350 a week. Sometimes more.

I think we average $1600.mo on food alone. And that doesn’t include all the random household purchases that come up.

Food is expensive! And to be real we end up buying a few convenience foods and snacks because our kids are always on the go with sports so we pack tons of food and protein stuff for them daily.

I would not split hairs or worry about this too much. It’s a small financial lever in the scheme of things to save a few bucks on groceries.

I do try to throw in some low cost meals to cut costs (tonight we were all home- rare- and I made an Indian rice and red dal meal that probably cost less than $5, and we have leftovers!)

[Shalanda]

$800 or so monthly here roughly. Family of 4. Active parents & 2 kids in sports. We’re in WV. Does not include eating out. We buy very limited processed food.

We don’t buy paper products except tp.

Zero meat from the store unless we want seafood on a rare occasion. Have a whole beef in the freezer that’s about $1k a year from a family member. Raise our own hogs, chickens.

Have a garden & can. I plan meals & cook daily unless we’re on the go.

Groceries, especially healthier foods, are way over priced.

[Amanda]

Around $800 and we give our college daughter $300 a month but she hasn’t spent that much yet this year

[Bo]

$150 per month average for 2024. Yes, per month. 1 man household. I don’t buy any processed foods and only buy what’s on sale.

I also have a garden and harvested a deer.

Normally it’s been about $175 per month since I began keeping track of all expenses in 2021.

I also rarely go out to eat, only on special occasions.

[Grounded]

$300 per week actually sounds like it’s on the lower side in California compared to what I’ve seen other people spend

[Cecily]

Family of 3 in the Bay Area here and we spend about $200/wk on groceries and probably about the same amount on a couple meals out each week.

Pre-2020, I used to spend $50/wk on groceries but my kid was younger and I worked really hard at stretching our dollars then.

I don’t put as much energy into it now but we still are very mindful of not wasting food, even if it means some weird meals.

All that to say, your budget sounds reasonable to me for a family of 4. Grocery inflation has been serious the last few years.

[Heidi]

Family of 4 in PA – we spend the same $300/wk plus dog food- $50/wk (Newfoundland).

[Melissa]

Three teenagers, 5 people total touches $3500 a month.
We eat almost all meals in and pack schools lunches.

I should note I don’t shop deals (I don’t have time) and we but a LOT of meats, eggs, fresh fruit.

That total includes toiletries as I don’t break that out of grocieries.

[Colin]

It is interesting in these responses how much variance there is in people’s monthly food expenditure. I don’t see many responses of folks who spend a comparable amount to me.

I see many responses for folks who spend significantly more or significantly less than me.

There are so many factors (geographical region, proximity to budget or bulk grocers, food tastes/preferences, household size which can affect buying and/or cooking in bulk, food storage methods, meal prepping ability/willingness, probably other factors I’m missing…). No two households seem alike.

Ultimately I find optimizing for grocery costs to be such an arduous and consuming process. It does not come naturally to me.

Everything else with money and budget I feel like I am doing a great job. But with groceries I’m just like, Eh, buy the healthy stuff so I can eat well and feel great.

Don’t worry about it. Nice eggs, nice salmon, nice steak, nice cream, great fruits and veggies, fancy purple potatoes, overpriced pickled beets, overpriced but convenient already-peeled hard-boiled eggs, etc.

Like…what’s the point in buying subpar foods and feeling meh about it? I want to eat well and feel good and work hard and run fast and lift heavy and sleep easy.

I don’t eat out much, and I never, like never ever, order food for delivery or takeout. So, all in all I feel like I’m doing well.

I spend seemingly a lot on groceries.

I also have great food and energy and sleep. So, I’m fine with it. This question is interesting

[Julie]

Family of 2 in CT – including household supplies (cleaning/papergoods) $600-$700 a month. Not including take out or eating out.

That’s another $100-$500 depending on the month.

[Colin]

Family of two in Baltimore. Spend about $700/month. I don’t do Costco or similar (which would require me to drive a long distance; I walk and bike everywhere).

It could probably be lower if I was really focused on it. But, we eat well, I buy all healthy foods, and I don’t worry too much about the cost.

I don’t eat any added sugar, processed carbs, or seed oils. I don’t order food or eat out much, and I save other ways and invest consistently.

I looked for ways in the past to really dial in my food budget and bring down my expenditure, but it was such a hassle and not worth my time or mental or physical energy.

I prefer to just buy the damn grapes, eat well and sleep easy.

[Author]

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