December Low Income Thread - Page 5

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

Someone also suggested a church.. I am not religious, but my MIL attends the LDS (Mormon) church, and they have a food pantry. They have offered to help us with non-food stuffs since we get FS, but if you can't get FS they would probably help you with that too. I am not sure how to go about it.. maybe just call the local church and ask if they can give you food assistance? Or, you can go to the food bank again and ask for another food box. If you lived in the SLC area I would bring you some!

Do you keep a change jar that you can buy day-old bread? I often find loaves for .50-1.00 - Have you heard of supercook.com? List the ingredients in your house and it will help you come up with meals with it.

I have never heard of supercook.com . I'll check it out, it sounds neat. thank you. I don't have a change jar. My son does. I hate stealing from him. I'll make it an effort this evening to find a jar to put all my loose change into it. That is a good idea. Why didn't I think of that? One must be creative when pinching pennies. I can find duck bread (this is what they call it at the bread store), a bag of it for a dollar! I completely forgot about this.

the churches around here require every SS# living in the house. & you can only go 4 times a year.

The last church I went to did not do this. Which was great. They organize an Angels Food Ministry. Its too late to place my order in for this month. I had to get it in on the 12 but we don't get paid till the 15th. I'll try it next month.

made the WIC appointment!

Dec. 29
10:10 am

[shoefairy3]

I know atleast one of the Salvation Army stores here has a big bin of free bread. and Catholic charities often have food pantries.

[mommaof3boz]

the churches around here require every SS# living in the house. & you can only go 4 times a year

As a Christian, that attitude is what makes me boil!!!! Why in the heck do they need your ss#? Four times a year? It is so sad that the original intent/beliefs of Christianity have become so off. No wonder I don't go to church anymore.

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by mommaof3boz

As a Christian, that attitude is what makes me boil!!!! Why in the heck do they need your ss#? Four times a year? It is so sad that the original intent/beliefs of Christianity have become so off. No wonder I don't go to church anymore.

Some of ours are just twice a year.


Thankfully we have one locally that we can go to weekly, that has an abundance of fresh fruits & veggies & bread.

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

Some of ours are just twice a year.


Thankfully we have one locally that we can go to weekly, that has an abundance of fresh fruits & veggies & bread.

wow you're lucky to have a place that provides fruits and veggies! my kids would go nuts! They're all salad lovers.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

Do you keep a change jar that you can buy day-old bread? I often find loaves for .50-1.00 -.

This and check out thrift stores that support some kind of charity, I know at least 2 here always have free bread to who ever needs it. It always looks really good too, makes me wish we were not GF sometimes.

Originally Posted by fruitful womb

I have never heard of supercook.com . I'll check it out, it sounds neat. thank you. I don't have a change jar. My son does. I hate stealing from him. I'll make it an effort this evening to find a jar to put all my loose change into it. That is a good idea. Why didn't I think of that? One must be creative when pinching pennies. I can find duck bread (this is what they call it at the bread store), a bag of it for a dollar! I completely forgot about this.

the churches around here require every SS# living in the house. & you can only go 4 times a year.

The last church I went to did not do this. Which was great. They organize an Angels Food Ministry. Its too late to place my order in for this month. I had to get it in on the 12 but we don't get paid till the 15th. I'll try it next month.

made the WIC appointment!

Dec. 29
10:10 am

Start that change jar! Ours never has more then $5 at most in it but it really helps when I'm literally down to my last dollar. I had to dig into it today but I'm glad I have it. I keep it by the washer and just empty my jeans pockets into it on wash day. Check out any local ethnic markets, Angel Food is wayyy over priced when you have access to those places.

Originally Posted by mommaof3boz

As a Christian, that attitude is what makes me boil!!!! Why in the heck do they need your ss#? Four times a year? It is so sad that the original intent/beliefs of Christianity have become so off. No wonder I don't go to church anymore.

Its because so many people have abused it over the years, there are literally some people who don't bother buying food because they can just go to the pantry. I know of families who sell there FS for cash then hit the pantries. (I only know this because a friend of mine was buying her neighbors FS for 1/2 there value.)

[Satori]

Well mama's I'm happy to report today was a much better day The nurse kept both kids happy and I got a break which I desperately needed and she got a chance to see younger dd in meltdown mode. She had no idea she could act like that I got a 48 hour notice on the electric today but for some reason it just didn't really phase me. I'm letting the good of today overshadow the bad I got an unexpected $5 GC from the Kmart rewards program (I almost didn't open it, looked like it was from a bill collector). I found this awesome huge and pretty playsilk thing (I think its actually a wrap skirt) the kids are going to love for xmas for .50 cents at the thrift store when I dropped off donations today which got us all out of the house which really helped everyone's mood. My mom decided that yes they can help with the bills like they promised last week so the shut off notice will be taken care of I also got some great ideas for xmas gifts I can make for the kids from stuff around the house which really took a lot of stress off me

Best of all, I got one kid asleep on my lap and the other is about out, I'm going to spend the next 4 hours either reading or watching chick flicks and RELAXING! oh yes, and I'm going to eat a HOT dinner, can't remember the last time I did that!

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by Satori

Well mama's I'm happy to report today was a much better day The nurse kept both kids happy and I got a break which I desperately needed and she got a chance to see younger dd in meltdown mode. She had no idea she could act like that I got a 48 hour notice on the electric today but for some reason it just didn't really phase me. I'm letting the good of today overshadow the bad I got an unexpected $5 GC from the Kmart rewards program (I almost didn't open it, looked like it was from a bill collector). I found this awesome huge and pretty playsilk thing (I think its actually a wrap skirt) the kids are going to love for xmas for .50 cents at the thrift store when I dropped off donations today which got us all out of the house which really helped everyone's mood. My mom decided that yes they can help with the bills like they promised last week so the shut off notice will be taken care of I also got some great ideas for xmas gifts I can make for the kids from stuff around the house which really took a lot of stress off me

Best of all, I got one kid asleep on my lap and the other is about out, I'm going to spend the next 4 hours either reading or watching chick flicks and RELAXING! oh yes, and I'm going to eat a HOT dinner, can't remember the last time I did that!

I'm so inspired by your enthusiasm! Enjoy that hot meal mama!

[Ianthe]

I know that the LDS church does not require SS#s, and you can order from them as often as you need. They also have non-food items like TP, light bulbs, and diapers. They would absolutely help you even if you are not a member of the church (like us).

We have a change jar that is an American Spirit tobacco container, lol.

[Satori]

ALL HAIL THE CHANGE JAR!

I dug into it and counted out all the change and got a major shock, it had $6 in it! It was mostly quarters, the jar is painted and usually gets pennies in it so that was a major surprise Then I found $5 in my jacket pocket I forgot about So I put the $6 in the gas tank since I've been driving on empty for 3 days then I hit every thrift shop in town I scored 2 NWT regular sized xmas stockings for .25 each (no idea where the girls stockings went) and 7 playsilk type scarves for .25 cents each (I've been looking for months and nada until today!) The girls are going to love these for xmas! Then at our favorite thrift shop I scored a box of 12 small mason jars for $1 that I'm going to fill with home made pumpkin butter and give as gifts

best of all, I ran into an old friend and got the most awesome hug from him He's like my favorite person in the world to hug

Then we headed to the plant nursery just to smell the xmas trees and oh they smelled wonderful and I swear they were all totally perfect xmas trees, not an ugly one in the bunch. Of course not a one would fit in my house there so big but I love the smell

It felt good to get outside even if it is freezing

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day as me!

[Ianthe]

Satori- What a great day!!!

Today is FS day for me!!! I am loving that Costco takes FS now! I can't wait to re-stock up on hummus, olive oil and chips! (DS could eat tortilla chips all day if I let him, we go through a lot)

Change jar- we also keep a small jar next to the W/D to keep the change that falls out of pockets during a wash

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

Today is FS day for me!!! I am loving that Costco takes FS now! I can't wait to re-stock up on hummus, olive oil and chips! (DS could eat tortilla chips all day if I let him, we go through a lot)

We used FS at our Costco for the 1st time today! I was so excited!!!

[happyhats]

I found a local toy drive that supports hiv/aids affected children, so I will be giving away toys and such to them if I am unable to get my package out for MDC mamas.

I got most of my packages wrapped yesterday. Thankfully I was able to do most of my Christmas shopping via yardsales this summer.

My husband is in need of some winter clothes, and he's in an odd size so that makes things hard. I hate spending at least twenty, twenty five dollars on a single pair of jeans, but finding him anything used is almost impossible. I found a pair for less through amazon, but it would require hemming them. At least that would be good for work. So I'm not sure if I'll be waiting until after the holidays for that or not. I hope to be able to pay more on my credit card this month. When thngs went downhill this summer we weren't able to keep up. Ugh. We're on a payment plan but we weren't able to pay last month because of the car breaking down. Luckily we'll be able to pay it off completely come income taxes, since so little is owed on it. We'll also be able to start a bank account because hubby can go to a class and they'll allow him an account even with bad checks in his past. Geesh, our credit sounds horrible, lol. We're slowly pulling ourselves out though. Luckily very few rentals require more than income/job verification around here.



I'm glad so many are doing better than they were, and I hope that things continue to look up as we head into 2010.

[Krystal323]

just wanted to stop in and say Hi i've been lurking cause there's not a lot to say on my end, but i am thinking about you mamas

xmas wrappings--this isn't a new idea, but we never buy wrapping paper anymore because I have cloth gift bags. Several holidays ago, I hit Hobby Lobby after-sales and bought an assortment of holiday fabric for $1/yard, and sewed it into various sizes of bags. I tie them with yarn and use them every year. For my kids, instead of having seperately wrapped things, i throw their 2 or 3 gifts all in the same bag--makes for harder-to-guess presents, and soooo much less cleanup when they're opened!

DH's last overnite-job shift is tonite! Thanks to financial aid money, we will be able to float on just his pizza job til i go back to work (grumble grumble--*trying* to be glad that i have a nice job to go back to ), so things are ok right now. i am so thankful that we can pay our own rent for the forseeable future

My mother's in the hospital, which is kinda throwing a damper on the holidays. She broke her hip, but then had multiple strokes from the surgery, and so at the moment she can't speak or eat and doesnt' seem to recognize me or my dad. I don't think it's really hit me yet, emotionally, yk? I'm the only child of only children, so things are hard for my dad right now, too. I invited him to eat dinner with us for the Solstice, but he might have too much pride to show up....sigh.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

just wanted to stop in and say Hi i've been lurking cause there's not a lot to say on my end, but i am thinking about you mamas

xmas wrappings--this isn't a new idea, but we never buy wrapping paper anymore because I have cloth gift bags. Several holidays ago, I hit Hobby Lobby after-sales and bought an assortment of holiday fabric for $1/yard, and sewed it into various sizes of bags. I tie them with yarn and use them every year. For my kids, instead of having seperately wrapped things, i throw their 2 or 3 gifts all in the same bag--makes for harder-to-guess presents, and soooo much less cleanup when they're opened!

DH's last overnite-job shift is tonite! Thanks to financial aid money, we will be able to float on just his pizza job til i go back to work (grumble grumble--*trying* to be glad that i have a nice job to go back to ), so things are ok right now. i am so thankful that we can pay our own rent for the forseeable future

My mother's in the hospital, which is kinda throwing a damper on the holidays. She broke her hip, but then had multiple strokes from the surgery, and so at the moment she can't speak or eat and doesnt' seem to recognize me or my dad. I don't think it's really hit me yet, emotionally, yk? I'm the only child of only children, so things are hard for my dad right now, too. I invited him to eat dinner with us for the Solstice, but he might have too much pride to show up....sigh.

I love the cloth wrapping idea.. maybe we'll get some fabric after xmas too! I can't sew though...

Hugs for your mom and your family

[Leta]

For ideas on cloth wrapping, google "furoshiki". Fun, easy, beautiful, awesome.

[Ianthe]

We just did our order through the lds church for food, sposies, TP, and even brand new clothes! I am very grateful they are helping us, even though we don't go to their church.

I'm going to go to whole foods tomorrow and get some organic chocolate for stocking stuffers too.. I'm glad we are able to!

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

We just did our order through the lds church for food, sposies, TP, and even brand new clothes! I am very grateful they are helping us, even though we don't go to their church.

I'm going to go to whole foods tomorrow and get some organic chocolate for stocking stuffers too.. I'm glad we are able to!

Can you elaborate more on the LDS thing? We have an LDS church just a few blocks from us, but I don't know anything about how they take applications for help, etc.

And NEW clothing? My 3yo has only had a handful of new items since she was born, and they were all clearance with coupons. I assume since it's from the LDS it would be modest clothing, no? That's our biggest issue here - finding modest clothing in larger sizes at thrifts.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

Can you elaborate more on the LDS thing? We have an LDS church just a few blocks from us, but I don't know anything about how they take applications for help, etc.

And NEW clothing? My 3yo has only had a handful of new items since she was born, and they were all clearance with coupons. I assume since it's from the LDS it would be modest clothing, no? That's our biggest issue here - finding modest clothing in larger sizes at thrifts.

My MIL is lds so she was able to talk to them for us.. but, you can just look up the church's number and call the bishop and tell him you heard they help families with food and ask if you can get info about it. I've had to do this several times, even without mil's help (before dh and i were married).

the new clothing is on the same order form as the food. they have infant, child, men and women: pants, shirts, socks, undies, sweatshirts and jackets. I've not looked at them yet but we'll be going there tomorrow so I'll let you know how they are.

[ediesmom]

hi mamas!

just over a week before christmas.........

i need to go grocery shopping. badly. its between christmas gifts or food. there's the food pantry on friday. i'll wait til after that to go.

i DO have a square of tofu. and rice and beans.

its really hard to read some of the other threads in this forum. i've needed to not really pop in very often. its hard.

hope you all are doing okay.

ill swing back before christmas....