This is part of NBC News’ Checkbook Chronicles, a series of profiles highlighting the financial realities of everyday Americans. On a hot Georgia afternoon this spring, Nancy Breland was in her yard clearing branches and debris, trying to ward off any potential damage to her home from a large storm heading toward her coastal town. At 72, Breland has been doing much of the upkeep around her home after her husband fell ill several years ago. She’d like to hire some help but worries about the impact on her budget. Breland feels she should be able to retire comfortably after her husband spent his career working as a union pipe fitter and she worked for decades as a hospital medical technologist. Instead, she said, she feels under increasing financial pressure and has been looking to cut her monthly expenses in the face of rising prices for groceries, utilities, insurance and…
