In a word: My own stupidity. (Ok, that's 3 words.) Multiple Stupidity. Let me list what I remember.
From 1977 to 1997 I took every legitimate deduction from my self-employment earning so my taxes were very low. I didn't know this would affect my future pension.
From 1981 to 1985 I let my then-husband declare me as a dependent thus reducing his taxes, but not realizing this, too, would reduce my future pension.
1996 I rented a semi-detached house in Toronto where I opened Authors Bed and Breakfast. It was filled to capacity - 3 bedrooms - a week before I opened and the income allowed me to break even on my expenses. Six months later I had a home invasion. I was upstairs asleep as were my guests. I ran downstairs and found a strange man halfway through the window and managed to scare him away. The landlord refused to fix the broken window or provide a security light or security system. So, feeling unsafe to host guests, I moved to another house on the street. Bad decision.
1997 That landlord started threatening me, deciding I was running a brothel, not a B & B. I learned he was calling me from jail where he was imprisoned for savagely beating two women who worked nearby. When he was about to be released because the two women were terrified to appear in court, I got a call from an officer on the sexual assault squad who made sure he could not bother me, but his girlfriend was stealing my mail. The death threats continued and one officer confided to me that he likely would try to kill me so I should disappear.
1998-2005 I did disappear, for 8 years, with no income.
2006 I returned to Canada to start over, and was able to buy a condo where I discovered I did not belong because I was a single woman,
with US citizenship and a degree, who owned a consulting practice. The board of directors forbid me to operate a business from my home even though I used a US address for mail and didn't see clients in my home.
2006-2008 After twice having a knife at my throat and a loaded gun pointed at me by neighbors, I stopped all work and incurred more than $25,000 worth of debt in order to continue paying my mortgage, taxes and utilities. I didn't have income to declare for 2005 to 2008.
2008-2011 I sold my condo at a loss and became homeless for the next 4 months until I got a call from my father's facility in Erie that he was falling and injuring himself. I left Canada and returned to Erie to look after him, staying in parking lots, campgrounds, and hotels. I earned no income during this time.
2011-2015 When my father died I inherited enough money to buy a house. I felt guilty having enough money so I started helping other people less fortunate than I, by buying stuff they were selling that I didn't need and hiring people who needed jobs. I honestly believed I would automatically be eligible for Social Security. Nope. I was shocked to know I needed 30 more credits of 40 to be eligible.
2017 I sold that house at a loss, and bought another for $99. I put all my savings into repairing house #2, then two months later I met my current beau, so I made plans to move to Florida.
2019 I sold everything and sold the house at a huge loss. I had to use the money from that house to buy this sad little condo near Tampa and start over, rebuying things I had sold or given away.
Today I haven't been able to find paying work since I've been here. At age 72, I've had offers to clean people's houses but after two hours I'm worn out and in pain. I can't do work that requires standing for long because of the blood clots in my leg; and I can't hear well on the telephone so customer relations is not possible, so I'm trying to sell as much as I can from my home, for as much as I can.
I'll claim all income on my income tax in order to get another credit toward Social Security. I've estimated by age 83, I'll be eligible for about $230 a month.
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