15 Things You Can Afford on the Average Social Security Check

2 Rounds of golf at Pebble Beach

If you’re a fan of playing golf in your retirement, you could take advantage of your Social Security benefit to pay for two rounds of golf at the beautiful Pebble Beach, California.

One round is $495 or more depending on the period of the year you choose to go there, plus $46.25 for a forecaddie, which means $541 per round — or $1,082 for two rounds. Regarding the tip for the caddie, you’ll most likely need to use a part of your next month’s benefit.

6 Credit hours at Florida State University

If you want to go back to school or simply pay for college on behalf of a family member, opt for Florida State University’s main campus. That’s because you could pay for almost six credit hours each month or $215.55 per credit.

If you want to contribute to your family members’ college savings, think about putting money aside in a 529 plan during your working years. Everything you save in the 529 plan grows tax-free. Even better, as long as you end up spending the money on qualifying college education costs, the distributions are tax-exempt as well.

One-third of a month at an assisted-living facility

According to a study conducted by Genworth Financial, the average cost of living in an assisted-living facility is $3,750 per month in the U.S. The cost is lower in the case of adult day care, somewhere between $433 and a little over $2,000.

A stair lift

We might not like it, but the older we get, the more difficult to perform certain day-to-day activities like climbing the stairs. If your home has a stairway, rather than put yourself at risk, consider installing a stair lift. The starting price of such a facility is around $1,000, for a basic and uncomplicated setup. At any rate, the average Social Security check should cover a large part of the overall cost.