How do people run out of food stamps?

[MaryMary]

Originally Posted by loaslaen As a government program paid for by taxpayer money, EVERY American pays into it in some form and is therefore able to receive it in case of hardship provided they are eligible.

We buy insurance so it will pay if something happened. That's not the reason why we pay taxes.

how do you learn to manage a food budget if you're given just food?

learning cooking and food nurtrition will stretch the foods given to you, i.e. make your grocery budget.

People on food stamps learn more about budgeting because most of the time the money on their card is ALL they have for food. If they end up short, then they have to learn how to budget and come out better the next month, or they suffer. If you give someone just the food, they don't learn anything, they just eat, if they like or can eat the food.

No they do not. Rolling RR and ECB on FS is a perfect example how to waste it.

If someone has rent, power, water and phone, and no money for anything else, then what do they sacrifice? Some people just don't make livable wages. So sometimes the thing they have to sacrifice is their pride...and seek assistance.

First, "managing" is not always sacrifice, but rather get creative.
So should they:
Look for lower rent?
Setting up your phone over the internent for $40/year and pay $10/mo for internet?
Learning new skills so eventually they can make livable wages? at least livable for them?
Tell to themselves: "I should have accepted that cleaning/cooking/babysitting/petwalking gig from that lady across the street, let me call her again".

[NIGHTB1022]

oy vey! Can we beat the dead horse a little more?

[latte]

hey mary-----do you come across as " i know better then you therefore im better then you " in person too? or just in print?






not very nice i know....BUT some of your posts havent been very nice either



for some there IS NO OPTION to make better wages, or a better job.....have you TRIED to get a job recently? me personally i have spent the last NINE months looking for ANYTHING---childcare, food service, janatorial, dog walker, pet sitter, cleaner.....and NOTHING-----i have applications in at ALL of the restaraunts (sit down, drive threw, fast food, beverage) applications in at ALL of the grocery stores, applications in at ALL of the janitorial places


ive been told to "go get a night job" yeah thats great i would LOVE to get a night job.....but when my roommate works 12 hour days, 4 days a week, that leaves me with 3 days to work any hours of the day(i *barter* watching his son since he cant afford childcare, and i cant afford rent-----i also do all of the shopping for him, pay the bills, house cleaning, teaching, potty training,cooking) so since i barter childcare for my portion of rent all day long......when am i supposed to SLEEP if i have a child to care for all day long? night jobs are typically from 10pm to 6am.....i have NO problems working a night shift but that just is not feasable

[VANILLAGRRL]

Originally Posted by MaryMary It's not a windfall because that's you who paid premiums for that insurance. If you think about how the insurance system is set up, it is pretty much the same thing. You just don't see it that way because it is something that you benefit from that you wouldn't want to be without. I is a windfall because you (program recipient) didn't make previous arrangements to receive it in case of hardship. Have you read the post about vouchers? According to southsider people who receive vouchers for clothing still complain that it came not from the stores of their choice. If people would have a month worth of food we'll have earfull of whining that recipients do not like what they've got, cannot cook, have medical limitations, etc. etc. I really get such a kick out of how you twist things Mary. Southsider never said that those people were complaining about which store they had to use, but was simply pointing out that people who are in these programs don't have the ability to shop around for the best price so they can use the money in the most efficient way. I am not saying that every person on a voucher program thinks that way, but whether you believe it or not, many do. Plenty of people who get assistance are intelligent and responsible people who have just hit hard times. Like it or not. Some people will have better benefit not from more money, but from lessons how to manage what they have already. Yes, it often means sacrificing of some choices.

That was exactly the point that was being made. The system is set up in a way that makes it harder for people to do just that. Having choices is what makes it possible to get the most for your money.

[VANILLAGRRL]

Originally Posted by MaryMary It's not a windfall because that's you who paid premiums for that insurance. I is a windfall because you (program recipient) didn't make previous arrangements to receive it in case of hardship. Have you read the post about vouchers? According to southsider people who receive vouchers for clothing still complain that it came not from the stores of their choice. If people would have a month worth of food we'll have earfull of whining that recipients do not like what they've got, cannot cook, have medical limitations, etc. etc. I almost forgot. Just because YOU don't have medical limitations doesn't mean others do not. Should these people be forced to eat something that may be dangerous for them? I suppose they should just shutup and be grateful. Some people will have better benefit not from more money, but from lessons how to manage what they have already. Yes, it often means sacrificing of some choices.

.

[VANILLAGRRL]

Originally Posted by MaryMary We buy insurance so it will pay if something happened. That's not the reason why we pay taxes. learning cooking and food nurtrition will stretch the foods given to you, i.e. make your grocery budget. No they do not. Rolling RR and ECB on FS is a perfect example how to waste it. First, "managing" is not always sacrifice, but rather get creative. So should they: Look for lower rent? Setting up your phone over the internent for $40/year and pay $10/mo for internet? Learning new skills so eventually they can make livable wages? at least livable for them? Tell to themselves: "I should have accepted that cleaning/cooking/babysitting/petwalking gig from that lady across the street, let me call her again".

Yeah Mary, that makes perfect sense. Someone who has no money should move to a place with lower rent (how do you know that they can find anything cheaper?) Last I checked moving costs $$$. Even if you have a friend with a truck, that truck will still need gas to move belongings to their new home. How are people who have no extra money supposed to pay for that gas, not to mention reconnection fees for utilities? Great plan!

[loaslaen]

Originally Posted by MaryMary We buy insurance so it will pay if something happened. That's not the reason why we pay taxes.

Yeah, security. That's why we pay taxes, to provide security for our country.

learning cooking and food nurtrition will stretch the foods given to you, i.e. make your grocery budget.

Most foods given to people are canned goods which usually end up being heated and eaten as is. Cooking...actually preparing something from scratch usually requires a mixture of many ingredients and most people don't receive those types of foods. IE: Receiving a loaf of bread has limited options. Receiving flour, yeast, salt, sugar, eggs, and milk can result in someone being able to make a loaf of bread, pizza crust, dinner rolls, English Muffins, sweet rolls, cake, pancakes, etc....

No they do not. Rolling RR and ECB on FS is a perfect example how to waste it.

No it's not. Does the average couponer separate their food and nonfood items and only buy nonfood items that generate RRs and ECBs? A FS recipient that uses FS to generate those rewards use the FS like they would their own money. It helps them learn the ways of couponing without restrictions. If someone can use their FS to buy their food and earn rewards to buy other items and stay within their FS budget, then they are doing QUITE WELL at budgeting their money wouldn't you say?

First, "managing" is not always sacrifice, but rather get creative. So should they: Look for lower rent? Setting up your phone over the internent for $40/year and pay $10/mo for internet? Learning new skills so eventually they can make livable wages? at least livable for them? Tell to themselves: "I should have accepted that cleaning/cooking/babysitting/petwalking gig from that lady across the street, let me call her again".

When someone who rents moves, they usually have to come up with MORE money than what their monthly rent would have been. So moving from somewhere that costs $600/mth to $500/mth could require first/last/deposit of $750-1250, plus any other moving related costs. Someone that's just barely able to pay $600 probably won't be able to afford that. Also, the downgrade in living conditions might not be costworthy either. It's not like they downgrade from a nice 3 BR home to a nice 2 BR home. A downgrade could be from a 2 BR single wide in a nice trailer park, to a crappy 2 BR single wide in a horrible crime-ridden trailer park. If you're raising a family, you might choose the better location. Some sacrifices include paying more for better quality of life, than settling for worst-case to save money.

[loaslaen]

Originally Posted by MaryMary Setting up your phone over the internent for $40/year and pay $10/mo for internet?

You assume that EVERYONE has a computer? Getting magicjack could require a startup cost of $300+ for those who don't already have a computer.
[/QUOTE]

Like VANILLAGRRL said, it's all about choices. You seem to be all about choices up until someone chooses how to spend money they are given. Some people's choices might not be YOUR choices, but they are entitled to make their own choices when given the option. The best choice does not always involve saving money. One can buy the cheapest food possible or find the cheapest home possible, or apply for the cheapest phone service possible, but it's not always the BEST option. Cheapest food can result in health problems, cheapest home could have more structural problems that cost more (lots of repairs, poor insulation resulting in higher electric bills, etc)
And cheapest phone service, particularly magicjack, have problems such as, if you lose internet, you lose phone service, if you lose power you lose phone service. Bundling services can save money, but when you have problems paying that ONE bill due to difficult circumstances, you risk losing ALL.

[NIGHTB1022]

Originally Posted by southsider Windfall my. Somehow people seem to forget that if you get food stamps it means you have little or now money. If all you are getting is food stamps then that means that you do not have ANY cash available to pay for the tax. Where do you think the money for the sales tax comes from? Do you think it grows on trees and you can just go pick it? If you do not have the cash you can not use manufacturer coupons with your food stamps because the food stamps can not be used to pay for the tax. Pure and simple. It does not take a genius to figure it out. For the umpteenth time there is way a person who only gets food stamps can use manufacturer coupons in states that charge tax on manufacturer coupon. For the people who do have cash it is very hard. The system is supposed to go by people using 1/3 of their income for food. The problem is that the income levels that qualify for food stamps are so low that the food stamps is often source people have for buying food and many of those still have to rely on food pantries on top of that. Take off money for shelter, utilities and travel expense and you may not even have money left. This has be explained time and time again. It means that people who do not receive cash can not use manufacturer coupons with food stamps. It means that the system is rigged to actually not allow people to get the most for their food stamps. Then there are the voucher programs around here. You have only certain stores that these can be used at. You also have pick out how much is going to be spent ahead of time. How are you supposed to know ahead of time what is on sale so you can decide where to shop. By the way CVS and Walgreens are not on the list of stores. It's only discount department stores and grocery stores. So this means you can not get the great breaks on personal care items. You may or may not be able to get vouchers for gas or bus fare. Since this is given out only if you have not income whatsoever you can not travel to the stores that are further away even if the deals are better. It means you can only go to the stores that are within walking distance. It also means that this can not be spent at thrift stores, dollar stores, rummage sales or at garage sales. So if you need a new coat you can not get a used one that would be cheaper. It means that you may have to pass on the store that has a coat at a terrific clearance price because you had made out your vouchers three weeks ago and did not do one for that store or that store with the great clearance may not be one of the stores on your list. So who benefits? It is not the people who need the help because if they got cash they could have stretched that money by buying used or being able to purchase something at a great clearance price. Instead they have a restrictive system that insures they have to pay higher prices and get less for the amount that they are allotted. So who benefits? Sounds to me like it's the stores that are in the voucher program that can charge up the wazzoo for items because they know that the people in the voucher system have no choice but to spend their money at their store becuase they are stuck and that they have to buy something or loose the vouchers that they don't use even if they can't get the things that they need and have choices of things that they don't need. Some people do not have a clue as to how bad things are out there right now and they have no idea how little help is available. There are actually lists that people have to go on that can take years to get for something that they qualify for. The reason is that bankers and military contractors can get money coming out of the wazoo to pay for whatever they want. And the can rob the government blind and send the money unchecked. When it comes to people with lower incomes more money is spent on system checks than what is actually given to people. One fine day we are going to wake up to a pheasant's revolt. People are getting sick and tired of the same old conservative scam and the same old conservative lines. People are sick and tired of the rich getting richer while they have to work harder for less. You can only stretch a rubber band so far and then it is going to snap. If you think that what that the laws that were enacted after the Great Depression were going to far to the left then I think after this financial crash you are going to be in for one heck of a rude awakening. I think this time heads are going to need to roll. You are actually going to have people with their put in prison for some of the get quick rich scams that have been going on and ripping off those with little income.

Originally Posted by loaslaen You assume that EVERYONE has a computer? Getting magicjack could require a startup cost of $300+ for those who don't already have a computer.

Like VANILLAGRRL said, it's all about choices. You seem to be all about choices up until someone chooses how to spend money they are given. Some people's choices might not be YOUR choices, but they are entitled to make their own choices when given the option. The best choice does not always involve saving money. One can buy the cheapest food possible or find the cheapest home possible, or apply for the cheapest phone service possible, but it's not always the BEST option. Cheapest food can result in health problems, cheapest home could have more structural problems that cost more (lots of repairs, poor insulation resulting in higher electric bills, etc)
And cheapest phone service, particularly magicjack, have problems such as, if you lose internet, you lose phone service, if you lose power you lose phone service. Bundling services can save money, but when you have problems paying that ONE bill due to difficult circumstances, you risk losing ALL.[/quote]


Yeah, magic jack is the answer all right, read this:
6abc.com and Action News: The catch to Magic Jack - 7/30/09 - Philadelphia News - 6abc.com

Just what someone with no money needs, getting totally raked over by magic jack!

[Lev8mysoul]

Originally Posted by VANILLAGRRL Yeah Mary, that makes perfect sense. Someone who has no money should move to a place with lower rent (how do you know that they can find anything cheaper?) Last I checked moving costs $$$. Even if you have a friend with a truck, that truck will still need gas to move belongings to their new home. How are people who have no extra money supposed to pay for that gas, not to mention reconnection fees for utilities? Great plan!

Don't forget that that same person with little to no money would have to come up with a Security deposit AND usually first AND last months rent on top of that. Where would they get THAT if they have no money? :shrug7:Plus, sorry but rent is NO CHEAPER than what I'm already paying. Believe me, I looked.

I also need to point out to Mary that in order to have phone over the internet, you NEED a high speed internet connection in most cases if not all, which usually costs a little more than the $10 you recommend for internet.

Basically, it's tough out there. Many who have never been in this situation are suddenly finding themselves in need of state or federal assistance. It's not necessarily lack of skills either. I know plenty of white collar workers who are now stuck in the unemployment line and are taking whatever they can find, INCLUDING ODD JOBS, in order to try to keep their homes paid for and food on the table. One of my neighbors, who runs his own handyman business, had a TOTAL profit last year of $2000. He's on the verge of losing his business because he's lost so much of it due to the economy. He was able to redo his mortgage but the people that own his truck loan won't work with him on that. If he sells the truck, he has to use that money to pay off the loan. If he hands over the truck to the creditors, he has to pay the difference between what THEY get for the truck when they sell it, and what he owes. He loses either way. What do you suggest in HIS case Mary?