How to Avoid Becoming Homeless
- Adam Garrett
- Jun 15, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 15
The main ways to avoid the need for a shelter or transitional housing are:
Most are unaware that one of the biggest reasons for homelessness is poor time management. In the article above I include writing on advanced planning, the importance of diligence to stick to it, etc.
Go here for a video of me sharing a faith-based perspective on the subject.
Gain Income.
Which Requires Time Management & Planning
Gaining income, whether via work &/or assistance &/or side jobs is critical for most to avoid homelessness who are over 18. From childhood to adulthood, whether in school or at work, seek excellence diligently. The more you do, the more irreplaceable you'll be and the more opportunities you'll have.
Budgeting
One of the top ways to stay off the streets is good budgeting practices & being in control of your finances. Free assistance with budgeting is available with many non-profits, and I offer it freely as well for those looking to purchase a home in the future in SE VA as well as to the homeless even if no home purchase is in sight. Good budgeting also includes avoiding "bad debt" i.e. avoiding a depreciating asset like furniture or a boat you're not going to live on purchased with credit.
Related:
Homeownership
Homeownership for those who will be in the same geographical location for 5+ years and who otherwise are good candidates for homeownership is perhaps one of the top ways to limit the likelihood of homelessness as long as you play your cards right with the home you purchase, purchasing young and paying the home off where in retirement you can live without a mortgage payment or rent payment. Rent payments tend to go up much faster than mortgage payments when you have a fixed-rate mortgage. Since housing is one of the biggest expenses one has (often the biggest for those not in business), and since homeownership is one of the top ways to reduce housing expenses over time, it's one of the reasons why those who are homeowners have on average a 40x higher net worth than renters in the US, per multiple sources (i.e. CNBC, Keeping Current Matters).
Related:
Don't be Car Poor
One's vehicle is often the 2nd biggest expense one has. Many who have 1 or more vehicles overspend on their transportation, especially those with poor credit & a bad driving record who also have difficulty saving enough money to buy vehicles in cash and who purchase new vehicles and other used vehicles with high depreciation rates. Many also replace their car too frequently. I've purchased a $600 car before and it suited me well in a time when that was the bottom 5% of car purchase prices & my reputation was of little consequence because I wasn't in business.
Take the Opportunities Available for Free Items.
I met a man who had a job who said he never bought food because he preferred spending his money on things he couldn't get freely. Lots of food is wasted in America every day because people don't come to pick it up once it is still good but not good enough to sell. In either my last year at college or the year after I graduated college, I put on a bit too much weight because I was eating so much food that would have otherwise been wasted while spending very little on food. One of the best options for free food is where no one is currently collecting the food and you collect it yourself via a non-profit after going to a number of locations (especially bakeries). I single-handedly secured around a dozen locations for free food in that fashion while president of the Orphan Helpers Club of Wheaton College. In addition, food is freely available in places like food pantries, and one of the fastest ways to homelessness, when you're on a low income, is frivolous overspending on food.
Free YMCA memberships are available for those of very low income (i.e. on the VA Peninsulas), with options for free showers and more.
Get Discounts & Assistance
Taking the Opportunities Available for Heavy Discounts (i.e. subsidized rent, discounted food). Related:
Keep Clean of Substances
Stay off drugs that haven't been proscribed to you, alcohol, & cigarettes (even if it's not "a problem", they are each costly financially immediately & otherwise; those nowhere close to homelessness may be able to maintain some alcohol & cigarettes despite the risks still present, but if you're close to homelessness, or if they ever have been "a problem", you shouldn't touch them)
Maintain Good Relationships
Maintain good relationships with your family and close friends. I've personally been offered free places to stay when I was a bachelor in college & fresh out of college by friends because of friendships with good people, even if none of them were rich. If you maintain good relationships with your friends, you're also more likely to create good relationships at work.
Have the Right Insurance
Having the right insurance is also key, whether health (in some cases freely available, i.e. via Medicaid or a relatively low-cost benefit of work) or auto. While I am not a financial expert, I do not recommend whole life insurance, only a term life insurance policy if your financial situation could use it due to your net worth not being sufficient to cover your expenses at death otherwise.
Keep Good Credit
Acquire & keep good credit so that when you need funds, i.e. for a home purchase or if not paying for a vehicle in $, you can get it at a low amount.
Related:
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