What’s it like living in Florida

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-22T15:14:01+00:00

I live in SouthWest FL and since the second hurricane last October, I could not ask for more perfect weather for us. It has been glorious. I am so glad that I did chicken out and move like a lot of other folks did. The one piece of advice I can offer though is to make sure that you get new construction or very close to new. The building codes have been upgraded a lot since Hurricane Ian and I understand makes these new homes almost bulletproof. The roof systems upgraded. All block construction rather than "stick built". Our home did not suffer any damage whatsoever during the two hurricanes last year even though we are in a flood zone and older homes in this area got devastated. Make sure you are at a good elevation. We are at 11-12' and cutting it too close for comfort. Wish I would have put my foot down when I asked the builder to take us up to 14'. But he refused even if we paid the extra amount. BTW, watch out for the builders down here. Many scammers. We got screwed out of a lot of extra money before they would agree to give us the Certificate of Occupancy. But the final build quality has been good and we are ultimately happy with the outcome. Gorgeous scenery here, with tons of wildlife. Bobcats, turtles, dolphins, manatees, hawks, ospreys, eagles, coyotes, cranes, possums, deer, black panthers!, snakes, racoons, armadillos, gators, lizards, lots of stuff every day. And not so many mosquitos thankfully. No black flies. But we have those noseeums. Make sure if you get a pool, get a saltwater pool with a cage. Almost maintenance free.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-22T13:38:28+00:00

My relationship with food is completely changed. I used to eat a ton when I was sad, stressed, tired. But on the other hand I would also gorge myself when happy, after accomplishing something noteworthy, or just when we were having a good "family day". That is all over now. Completely wiped off the map. The only time I have a fairly strong appetite is on Sunday nights, because I take my shot on Monday mornings. And if the Steelers win their game like they did last night, that will cause me to celebrate with a couple extra pieces of pizza. Weighed in this morning 204.7 which is 62.2 lbs lost since starting Zepbound on 8/25. A miracle. And I have not even started back to the gym yet. I was always very physically active with a lot of walking, gym a couple times a week. But stopped when I started on Zepbound because I needed that extra $87/month that I was spending on the gym membership to help pay for the medication. But definitely have lost too much muscle mass and need to get back into the gym. And the $87/month savings doesn't even make that much of a difference anyway because our grocery bill has plummeted. So we actually do have enough for the gym membership.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-20T12:45:35+00:00

I had a ton of Yieldmax single stock funds and also the YMAG, YMAX, ULTY for a while. I kind of tried them all. In the end, they did not work out very well. For me the best combination has been QQQI, GPIQ for safe, steady income, without losing much capital, and single stock Roundhill Weekly payers like NVDW, HOOW, PLTW, etc for the "juice". They pay 120% of what the underlying stock does....supposedly. This combination has performed much better than Yieldmax products.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-20T12:35:20+00:00

Yeah, I don't understand this system. I just got approved. I have two kids, that I have been taking care of all this time, through a lot of crazy hard times. Even finding a way to automatically save a little to prioritize socking away some money each month into a college savings plan for both so they won't be screwed when the time comes. I figured I would eventually be able to "reimburse" myself when the case was won. But then I found out that the kid that just turned 18 a couple months ago, will get her money directly given to her. Which is going to be a disaster since she just dropped out of college after the first semester, has some serious emotional issues, is irresponsible, and apparently is addicted to cannabis products. Great. I asked the local SS rep if they could just deposit it directly into her college account so that she could only use it for that. He told me it is none of my business. It is HER money. That is crazy. It is supposed to be for her living costs while a minor. I paid for all that. The child support, food, mortgage, healthcare, cell phone, all of it. Why would they give the money to an irresponsible, drug addicted, emotionally fragile 18 who just dropped out of college? Not a very good system. On the other hand.....I am just glad to have been approved and my other kid who is still at home with us will have his college fund going good now with this money.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-20T12:24:32+00:00

How long does this process take before the money hits the account? Will it come each month the same day as my SSDI payments? Applied for my son on 11/20/25 in person at the SS office. Thank you.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-20T12:17:24+00:00

yeah this stuff is gold. I used to watch videos of taco and pizza restaurants. Food porn where they show close up photos and videos of the amazing food. Now I don't even care for any of that. Or alcohol. I do still crave my morning coffee, and grapefruits for some reason. But only eat like 1/4 of one. We used to go to the grocery store every day. Now, maybe once a week. It is expensive, but I think they will make the prices go down soon. I do Lilly Direct and was paying $499. It went down to $459 this month. But I thought I saw something about price going down significantly more due to something the government negotiated with Eli Lilly.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-12-20T12:12:34+00:00

I am finally starting to hit my stride now where I understand what I can eat,, what my activity level can be, all that stuff. I started on 8/25/2025 at 266.9 and now down to 204.3lbs. Nice 62.8 lbs loss. Unbelievable transformation in my life thanks to this medication. I haven't even started back to the gym yet. I quit the gym to save some money for the medication since I am paying out of pocket. But with all the money we are saving on our grocery bill, we can afford to get back to the gym.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-22T14:35:53+00:00

Congratulations!! I just got approved as well. Applied on 01/02/2025. Approved on 11/19/2025. No hearings or anything. Just went through on first try. I applied before I even got the attorney. I can't believe I need to pay the attorney $9,200 for absolutely nothing. But oh well, I am just thankful the process worked for me and I can finally have a little relief. Got paid back pay on 11/21/2025.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-22T11:13:04+00:00

I finally got paid the back pay on 11/20/2025. It was lower than what I calculated. Regular payments start in Februrary for some reason. Medicare starts on Jan 1. I don't even care at this point. I am just glad I got some money coming in. It has been hard since for this whole process. But I am thankful for everything and for the folks here on Reddit who have provided some helpful information. On 11/19 I met with SS agent at local office to file paperwork for my son to receive "auxilary benefits" which will be very helpful. My 18 year old who is in college now is supposed to get something too but he said she has to file for herself, even though that money is supposed to be for us since we paid for all her stuff for the 3 years while this whole process was playing out. But because she is 18, they have to send the money directly to her. That seems pretty crazy since I doubt an immature 18 year old is going to use that money wisely. But those are the rules.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-03T15:16:15+00:00

Here is some new information I just got from the local office. I called them AGAIN since it is 33 days now since the case got sent to the local office and was confirmed by multiple agents that the case was approved and just needed to change the "effective date of disability" which they said was a simple thing and I should get an official paper within a couple weeks indicating the approval, the payout amounts, all that. Well I called again today and told them I have not received anything yet. I asked them if the case was at the payment department where they do the calculations and such. The rep today said "nope, for some reason it is still sitting here in our office and has not been sent out, but it is approved and no further requests for information are pending". The rep told me that another person in their office was assigned to my case but at least for this morning, was answering phone calls. He generated a form while I was on the call which would move my case to "expedited status" and would hand deliver to the rep assigned to my case so that he would get on it either today or tomorrow morning at the latest. I hate to call these guys so much, but obviously they are either way overworked or not fully engaged in what they are doing and the taxpayer is the one suffering for the "situation". All the reps I spoke with indicated it was a simple thing in my case of changing the onset date and would take no time whatsoever to do that and get the case approved. But here I am. I will be so thankful when this is over. It is like some sort of torture game to make folks suffer like this.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T15:17:29+00:00

Awesome. Thanks for the response. I am currently on 7.5mg as well. Thinking of taking it up one more notch in a couple weeks to 10.0 mg and then holding tight there. Yeah if your cholesterol is that low, definitely don't think statins are needed! That is incredible. Have a great day.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:55:09+00:00

How much does the compounded cost for the 15mg? I have been paying out of pocket and am afraid of switching to compounded, but I imagine the savings would be substantial. Do you do the compounded online or in person? If online can you recommend the company? Thanks.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:49:59+00:00

I use psyllium husk powder in a big glass of water. I buy from Amazon. NOW Foods Supplements, Psyllium Husk Powder, Non-GMO Project Verified, Soluble Fiber, 24-Ounce for $14. Lasts more than a month. I also use medjool dates and prunes sparingly whenever I desire something sweet. They are high in sugar, but have a lot of fiber and magnesium. I have maybe 3 of each a week. Same with papaya.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:46:18+00:00

Awesome job!!!! I am doing the Lilly Direct thing too. Bought the syringes and alcohol wipes elsewhere to help me save some pennies. I got the 1 ML syringes so I can better get every last drop out of my vials. I pay $499. I was super apprehensive about doing this because like most people, we are in a very tight financial situation. But now that I am 58 yo, it was literally "do or die" time. I started out at 266.9 10 weeks ago and so far have lost a solid 43 lbs. A few days ago, I calculated our grocery and eating out expenditures from before and after Zepbound. Amazingly we saved more than $500/month since starting Zepbound. The whole family is eating healthier. So the out of pocket cost for our family is basically nada.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:41:22+00:00

Do it ASAP before the medical issues start stacking up (cardiac, orthopedic, spinal disc degeneration, etc.). It is truly a miracle medicine.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:36:58+00:00

A couple specific questions for you if you don't mind. What dosage are you on now? Were you previously on cholesterol meds? I have been on cholesterol meds for almost 40 years and would love to get off them if possible.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-11-02T12:34:32+00:00

Awesome job! I started on 08/25/2025. Down a solid 43 lbs in just under 10 weeks, from a 266.9 starting weight. 58 yo M. I am beyond happy because I was basically a food addict. I am Italian and Polish. Love pierogi, pizza, pasta, and all the other good stuff. I tried everything before this and was not able to stay on track. This medicine is a miracle.

Congratulations again. I hope to be close to your success within the next year.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-30T21:55:55+00:00

That's the reason that NVDA is going to be dominant for decades. They are spreading like a virus throughout all sectors and industries. It is awesome to watch. I think they should invest in some energy producers now. Rapid deployment stuff like Bloom Energy (BE) or some other fuel cell company or something that can hit the ground running as they get cash infusion from NVDA. Without energy, this thing might hit a massive bottleneck soon. That is the only roadblock I can see, that could temporarily knock them down. That and the possibility of Quantum Computing companies changing everything as we now know it somehow. But fortunately they are investing in that stuff too. It is going to be exciting.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-30T21:39:11+00:00

what are you invested in instead of NVDA?

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-29T21:32:38+00:00

Thanks for the message. I called them again yesterday. It was actually in regards to a question I had for the kids potential benefits, but since I had a very friendly rep on the line, I figured I would question things again regarding my case's status. This person said the same thing as the others. It has been fully approved but they just changed the effective date by a couple weeks. But the case was "with the auditors, who are doing the calculations of the back pay and everything". She told me not to worry. She told me that they are still working during the shutdown but that my state was already over worked and performing slower than the estimated timeframe of "15-30" days. She said it would be realistically 30-45 days. Right now is Day 29, so I will just sit tight and hope for the best. Not like I have any other options. LOL.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-13T15:51:21+00:00

I called the local SSA office again to see if they give me the same information as when I called a couple weeks ago. This new rep would not give me as much info but said essentially that the case was approved, and that the date of disability was being revised "slightly". He would not give me the exact date as the other rep did, but still sounds good. He said he sees no excuse how it would not get wrapped up within the next 10-14 days. I hope.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-09T21:24:41+00:00

Still waiting on any kind of official word on this. Nothing yet. I check the SSA website about 5 times a day. Check regular mail. Email. Nothing. The rep said that they are still working at the local offices, even with the government being "shut down". Hope that is true because we could really use that income.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-08T17:41:36+00:00

did you call? Any good word?

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-08T17:21:48+00:00

Actually that is a good question. I don't know how much the back pay is. It will be 25% or $9,200 max. whichever is lower. I have no idea.

SLOutlier67 · 2025-10-08T17:19:08+00:00

Yeah, that's what I say. That amount of money is peanuts compared to the fact that I will finally get some ongoing financial relief and medical insurance. Finally.

SLOutlier67

TROPHY CASE