Mamas and Papas who use FS - Page 2

[Mommabean]

I get harassed about coupon use with my FS!
I'm so tired of it, I get the you don't really need to use those because it doesn't matter anyways every so often.

I'm sorry but YES I will coupon always have and always will, plus it helps us stretch the FS money even further month to month. I'm tired of it but I won't feel guilty buying organic.

I feel that in this hard time that at the very least I can still feed my family the VERY best of foods, even better than when we were doing semi ok. That even though things are horrible I have that one bright spot to look at in the dark dark cave.

Hugs to you momma!

[leavemealone]

I have never used food stamps in the past, but we are close to qualifying now and if we do, I will apply for them. I don't think you should feel guilty about buying organics with food FS. Organic doesn't always cost all the much more than conventional foods. I'd rather someone purchase organic produce than purchase a lot of soda and chips. Not that all FS recipients eat soda and chips, but general concept of buying healthy food with FS is better than buying a lot of junk. I also don't think that people should be giving anyone crap about using coupons and FS. That's just smart to do that b/c your dollar stretches more.

[GreenGranolaMama]

Originally Posted by Mommabean

I get harassed about coupon use with my FS!
I'm so tired of it, I get the you don't really need to use those because it doesn't matter anyways every so often.

I'm sorry but YES I will coupon always have and always will, plus it helps us stretch the FS money even further month to month. I'm tired of it but I won't feel guilty buying organic.

I feel that in this hard time that at the very least I can still feed my family the VERY best of foods, even better than when we were doing semi ok. That even though things are horrible I have that one bright spot to look at in the dark dark cave.

Hugs to you momma!

There are some cashiers at our supermarket that are very put off by coupons (whether you are using FS or not!)! I try not to let it bug me, because I love them. When I was in college I worked at a small retail shop and one of the first things I would teach new employees is that if something bugs you about a promotion the business is doing, or something is a complete pain the butt, you NEVER let the customer know or make them feel like they are inconveniencing you...ever... because it is poor customer service and bad business practice. Duh. So some of these nasty cashiers need to brush up on their people skills, IMHO!

[zebra15]

We get FS but I dont get organic with them. I use coupons on almost everything and regularly save 50-80%. I take that back, DS just discovered "Honest Ade" its a fruit punch type of drink and its usually $1.79 a bottle but this week with the sale and coupons its 50cents a bottle. We stocked up and have 40 of them (20 coupons for $1 off 2 and they were $1 each) He loves the Mango drink as well as the super Gojo? flavor.

But I have to make our FS last, I usually end up buying store brand and stocking up on sale items. We dont eat red meat so its alot of chicken and pork and the occassional tuna salad makings. I dont feel guilty about what we buy, im in the middle of a career change and hopefully the light is at the end of the tunnel.

DS was on WIC as a baby and while I had issues with certain stores knowing the process for ringing up the transactions etc I learned where to go etc.

I think its more of an 'Im older and wiser and I really dont care what other people think' type of mentality that I have.

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by GreenGranolaMama

I LOVE LOVE LOVE coupons!!! Do you have any good internet sources or other tips for clipping them???

Well lots of people buy og ones on ebay, I order from couponclippers or coupons by dede, not all my stuff I buy is og, but if I get a chance to buy organic milk qs or anything we use I'll buy them up. Right now I have a stack of Organic valley qs and Seattle's best coffee which I buy the organic at Walmart and get it for much cheaper. The way I shop now is so different than 2 years ago when I first came to MDC, I am a stockpiler now. A few years ago I wouldn't have done any of the stuff I do now-coupon, buy only on sale and stock up to save. I have learned so much from here and hotcouponworld. There is also organicgrocerydeals.com that could help you.

[feminist~mama]

Not only did I buy all organic when I had food stamps- I also shopped at the local co-op exclusively (and it is more expensive!)!

I figured I was doing something GREAT for the earth and hence my child- and I was doing something GREAT for the local economy and local farmers- which was also good for my kiddo!

No guilt mama- buy good stuff for your family!

(I was so sad when I stopped getting food stamps, lol! Likely because it was guilt-free shopping at a time when I couldn't afford to buy ANYTHING!)

[goldfishkate]

I used to hate using WIC checks because of what the cashier must think of me, but then one day the cashier started telling me how she loves the new WIC package. Then I realized they probably get WIC too! The same with food stamps.

[KatWrangler]

Originally Posted by Mommabean

I get harassed about coupon use with my FS!
I'm so tired of it, I get the you don't really need to use those because it doesn't matter anyways every so often.

I'm sorry but YES I will coupon always have and always will, plus it helps us stretch the FS money even further month to month. I'm tired of it but I won't feel guilty buying organic.

I feel that in this hard time that at the very least I can still feed my family the VERY best of foods, even better than when we were doing semi ok. That even though things are horrible I have that one bright spot to look at in the dark dark cave.

Hugs to you momma!

Seriously?! You are harrassed for using coupons? I would turn around and tell the person, they don't know what they are talking about. So they can keep their comments to themselves.

[Ruthla]

I wonder if the coupons are just more work for the cashier, and it's more of an "Oh, no, now I have to ring up all those coupons" and she'd have the same negative reaction if you were paying in cash or with your Gold Mastercard.

I've never had a cashier be rude to me about what I was buying, no matter how I was paying for my purchases. I have, however, had clueless cashiers who didn't know how to ring up the WIC stuff, and were inadvertantly "indiscreet" when asking for assistance from the manager. I was embarrassed by it, but I could tell it wasn't intentional. I quickly learned which cashiers knew what they were doing and I got on their lines, even if the line was longer.

[UberMama]

I do think most cashiers that complain about coupons are doing it based on having to take time to scan or key in the coupons, not because it's coupons + FS.

I coupon quite a bit and about 1/4 of the time I get heck for it. I just ignore them and smile. What really burns them up is when I have ten or so free item coupons, so they have to go back through and find the price for each item. Hey, I tell them before they begin scanning that I have coupons, so they can do it the easiest way possible for them. But they still complain.. I used to cashier as well, but I never ever complained about coupons.. how silly. :/

[APmomSoCal]

Originally Posted by UberMama

I do think most cashiers that complain about coupons are doing it based on having to take time to scan or key in the coupons, not because it's coupons + FS.

I coupon quite a bit and about 1/4 of the time I get heck for it. I just ignore them and smile. What really burns them up is when I have ten or so free item coupons, so they have to go back through and find the price for each item. Hey, I tell them before they begin scanning that I have coupons, so they can do it the easiest way possible for them. But they still complain.. I used to cashier as well, but I never ever complained about coupons.. how silly. :/

It is really silly, since they are most likely getting paid by the hour!

[justmama]

we get food stamps and because they give us $403 for one adult and 3 children AND we are on wic, it's quite easy to buy organics. so i do. i see nothing wrong with it. if we weren't on food stamps, we wouldn't have the money to eat. we would be visiting the food pantry. they don't give me MORE because i prefer to eat organically. they tell me i qualify for $403 and because i am thrifty with it, i am able to feed us mostly organics. so i feel no guilt. i work at cutting costs so that we are able to do that by coupons and sale shopping and watching prices. they wouldn't give me less if i said i didn't eat organically and we do qualify to recieve them, so why not get the best that my children are entitled to? just because we are poor does not mean we should be any less entitled to safe healthy foods without scary dyes and chemicals.

[fruitful womb]

I worked at a grocery store in High School. I loved ringing up the coupons! the more the better because it was always such a joy to see the customer make the most of their money. They'd be happy, I was happy. Joy can be contagious. So, this attitude you speak of baffles me.

I applied for emergency fs today. Was denied.

They said they do not take into account: car insurance (which if you're caught driving w/o car ins. your car will be towed and impounded) and they can care less if your pay check is garnished by the government because your going through bankruptcy. All they consider is, rent, and utilities and "since you have enough to cover your rent and your utilities, you don't qualify for emergency fs". But, they're mailing me an appointment date to review my case to see if I qualify for fs and it may take several weeks..

well... thats that. I'm going to search for a budget calculator now. be back soon.

[Theia]

Heck yeah I buy organic! I didn't read all of the other posts.... but it is no ones business how I choose to spend my FS, and what I choose to feed my family. And, I also figure I spent many years paying into the system, so it's mine to spend anyway. I've never noticed if a clerk is looking at my food purchases and judging what I'm buying with my food stamps. Maybe they do and I don't notice cuz I'm a little embarrassed about using them in the first place. But even that's not a huge deal. I get over it.

[MissinNYC]

Originally Posted by fruitful womb

I worked at a grocery store in High School. I loved ringing up the coupons! the more the better because it was always such a joy to see the customer make the most of their money. They'd be happy, I was happy. Joy can be contagious. So, this attitude you speak of baffles me.

I applied for emergency fs today. Was denied.

They said they do not take into account: car insurance (which if you're caught driving w/o car ins. your car will be towed and impounded) and they can care less if your pay check is garnished by the government because your going through bankruptcy. All they consider is, rent, and utilities and "since you have enough to cover your rent and your utilities, you don't qualify for emergency fs". But, they're mailing me an appointment date to review my case to see if I qualify for fs and it may take several weeks..

well... thats that. I'm going to search for a budget calculator now. be back soon.

That sucks! Fight hard at that appointment.

[GreenGranolaMama]

Originally Posted by fruitful womb

I worked at a grocery store in High School. I loved ringing up the coupons! the more the better because it was always such a joy to see the customer make the most of their money. They'd be happy, I was happy. Joy can be contagious. So, this attitude you speak of baffles me.

I applied for emergency fs today. Was denied.

They said they do not take into account: car insurance (which if you're caught driving w/o car ins. your car will be towed and impounded) and they can care less if your pay check is garnished by the government because your going through bankruptcy. All they consider is, rent, and utilities and "since you have enough to cover your rent and your utilities, you don't qualify for emergency fs". But, they're mailing me an appointment date to review my case to see if I qualify for fs and it may take several weeks..

well... thats that. I'm going to search for a budget calculator now. be back soon.

We are kind of in the same boat... we pay more in student loan repayments each month than we do in rent, but they are not taken into account. And while I realize my student loan debt is my problem, I could face even bigger problems if I chose not to pay them.

[Ianthe]

We get FS and I have no guilt buying organic.

Two words: Self Checkout

Also, our farmers markets also take FS

[calpurnia]

We get "healthy start vouchers" which we can only spend on fruit, vegetables, milk or formula. We spend it on organic fruit & veg from our local box delivery scheme. I have no qualms at all about it!

[Mama~Love]

Originally Posted by fruitful womb

I worked at a grocery store in High School. I loved ringing up the coupons! the more the better because it was always such a joy to see the customer make the most of their money. They'd be happy, I was happy. Joy can be contagious. So, this attitude you speak of baffles me.

I applied for emergency fs today. Was denied.

They said they do not take into account: car insurance (which if you're caught driving w/o car ins. your car will be towed and impounded) and they can care less if your pay check is garnished by the government because your going through bankruptcy. All they consider is, rent, and utilities and "since you have enough to cover your rent and your utilities, you don't qualify for emergency fs". But, they're mailing me an appointment date to review my case to see if I qualify for fs and it may take several weeks..

well... thats that. I'm going to search for a budget calculator now. be back soon.

I am so sorry! We were denied too, even though we can't even pay or mortgage. I started a job Monday, so we're over the income limits now for sure. It sucks.

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl

They will comment endlessly on the high number of fruits and veggies in my cart. Tofu? Oi!

We're not on FS, but we get these comments about what we buy anyway. I once had a cashier ask what tahini was, and the explanation sent her into hysterics about why we would buy it, who would eat hummus, and by the way what *is* hummus. So while I'm sure there's more judgment there b/c of the FS, rest assured they'd probably just think you were a weirdo otherwise.