70-Year-Old Foster Grandma’s Retirement Plan: Never Stop Parenting or Working

KEY POINTS

•Ruth Olinger, 70, raised 51 foster children and now independently parents her 7-year-old grandson, Atlas, in Florida.
•She pays $10,400 yearly for daycare and struggles financially on her $1,500 Social Security, covering property taxes and insurance.
•Working three jobs simultaneously and managing international mission work, Olinger remains committed to giving her family stability.

Ruth Olinger, age 70, is blazing a trail through that enviable retirement goal of 'never retire' by parenting her 7-year-old grandson Atlas in Lakeland, Florida, while juggling a job as a car dealership officer manager and mission work from Kenya done remotely during baby naps. She’s paid over $10,400 a year in daycare—more than her entire week's grocery bill of $150 used to cover milk and dinner. Olinger fostered a whopping 51 kids through her single years, raised five children including an 18-year-old son born after her divorce remarriage, and managed to adopt her grandson. With $1,500 a month Social Security barely covering $4,500 property tax and $3,800 insurance yearly, this grandmother knows firsthand that adulting is exhausting and expensive even after 70. She even mowed lawns for $10 with a kid on her lap. Retirement? Hah. More like life’s toughest job with senior perks that just don’t include naps or lobster.