February Low Income Support Thread - Page 3

[Satori]

Originally Posted by Sweetmama26

He didn't make it up to me and was a complete jerk the rest of the day, we only ended up fighting all day so my VDAY was a complete bust and one of the worst I've ever had!

[waiting2bemommy]

Originally Posted by Satori

Would it help to post your expenses/budget and we can help you figure it out? It may be cheaper in the end for one of you not to work.

Ok....well, let's see...expenses first
we pay $1100/month rent but we try to do it weekly so it's more manageable, so $275/wk
car insurance $130/month
preschool/childcare $115/wk
cell phone $50/month....we have two (prepaid unlimited) but usually only keep one on.

one time expenses that we need paid asap are:
preschool registration $135
birth kit $60
car seat and a few other small items for dd about $75 total if we buy used
midwives' fee $500 due at the time of birth (in about 8 weeks)

finally the things I am putting money aside for
public (Head Start) summer camp for ds--$100 to hold his spot
car repairs (it actually needs repairs now but is driveable for awhile) $200
I'd like to start putting some money in an emergency savings fund as well but we are so far off from that right now I can't even begin to tackle it.

Our incidental expenses each week/month include gas, toiletries, and the occasional meal out because of our work (BF sometimes eats at work which is 1/2 price, I sometimes eat in the food court since I work 10 hour days in the mall)

I make $8/hr and work 40ish hrs a week. My paycheck is every Friday, about $285 after taxes.
BF works 4-5 days a week but some of those are doubles and he makes between $25-40 a shift. It is really variable but if he works a double he can come home with $80 in one day. He also gets a paycheck the 1st and 15th, where he gets paid for about 35 hours/week at $2.13/hr. It's probably "safe" to count on about $200 in tips every week.

Are you totally confused yet?

What I would like to do is get to the point where ds is in 5x/wk morning preschool (same price) while I clean houses in the mornings. I can make about $40-60 a day doing that which equals around $250/wk.

Then there is a job that pays $9.50/hr, S-Th 5-10 PM that I will hopefully be getting hired for this week. So my BF could work day shift during the week, and still be home in time to be with ds at night while I work. That would be another $200 or so a week. I already have childcare lined up for dd after she is born, between my mom and a friend, and it will probably only total out to about $60/week.

So....yeah. If anyone got through reading all that, thank you!

[Satori]

Not confusing at all, are those your only expenses? What about utilities? Car gas? Food? Just a quick run down if what you listed is your only expenses then you should have around $1000 extra a month just going off your $285 week then your BF making $25 day 4 days a week plus $200 tips a week. Thats a lot of money missing every month, I would seriously crack down on spending and track every penny of expenses. I'm willing to bet with effort you would not need to work, its fine it you WANT to work (heaven knows I would love to work, I go insane at home) but you don't need to kill yourselves when on paper it looks like you should have more then enough money. I was wondering, that rent looks crazy high to me but it could be normal in your city. Any chance of moving?

Of course I could be totally wrong with my math, someone is trying to get my attention now that the kids are asleep and its kinda hard to focus lol

[waiting2bemommy]

ok gas and food we have been paying for out of the "cash jar" that gets refilled every time BF comes home from work. A lot of petty purchases (bf's cigarettes, random bottle of soda, impulse buys at the thrift store....I admit to having a thrift store "problem") get made from there. It doesn't seem like much but $5-10 here and there adds up. Also we haven't been living here very long so we have had to buy a lot of things that should be one-time expenses, like basic furniture/household type stuff. We rent two rooms in a house and while all the guys are happy to live in relative filth lol, I am not, so it was on me to go out and buy cleaning supplies (they didn't even own a mop before I moved in) and other household items that you take for granted. for example, no one seemed to think it was strange that they iron their clothes on a towel on the floor. . So we bought an ironing board. Stuff like that.

Also in the last two weeks I have been totally freaking out about having nothing for dd so I spent probably $150 total stocking up on clothing and other things we needed for her. I'm done now though, except for the car seat.

Lastly, I just took this job a few weeks ago, and checks are held for two weeks, so this past Friday was my first full paycheck. We also just bought this car and the registration, initial insurance etc pretty much wiped out the rest of my income tax return, and then it broke down a few days later and we had to pay for a diagnostic on it, and THEN ds suddenly outgrew all of his shoes and needed new ones THAT DAY, all in the space of one week, so we took a pretty hard hit last week as far as finances.

Glad you're having a fun evening!

[Satori]

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy

ok gas and food we have been paying for out of the "cash jar" that gets refilled every time BF comes home from work. STOP THAT RIGHT NOW, your spending way more then you think you are, track every penny of it, your losing around $800-1200mo right here. A lot of petty purchases (bf's cigarettes, random bottle of soda, impulse buys at the thrift store....I admit to having a thrift store "problem") get made from there. It doesn't seem like much but $5-10 here and there adds up. Yes it does all up, especially soda. You can easily spend over $100 mo buying those little soda bottles when you can buy the 2 liter ones for less and the same brand too. Allot ex amount of money for your fix and thats it. I set a limit of $5 tops if we can afford it for the entire day ( we hit several thrift stores but its mostly to get out of the house) but usually less then $1, just enough to get the kids a trinket to make them happy. Usually costs about 50 cents between the two. Also we haven't been living here very long so we have had to buy a lot of things that should be one-time expenses, like basic furniture/household type stuff. Dumb question but what happened to the stuff you had before? We rent two rooms in a house and while all the guys are happy to live in relative filth lol, I am not, so it was on me to go out and buy cleaning supplies (they didn't even own a mop before I moved in) and other household items that you take for granted. for example, no one seemed to think it was strange that they iron their clothes on a towel on the floor. . So we bought an ironing board. Stuff like that. At least they had an iron, I haven't used an iron for clothes in years.

Also in the last two weeks I have been totally freaking out about having nothing for dd so I spent probably $150 total stocking up on clothing and other things we needed for her. I'm done now though, except for the car seat.

Lastly, I just took this job a few weeks ago, and checks are held for two weeks, so this past Friday was my first full paycheck. We also just bought this car and the registration, initial insurance etc pretty much wiped out the rest of my income tax return, and then it broke down a few days later and we had to pay for a diagnostic on it, and THEN ds suddenly outgrew all of his shoes and needed new ones THAT DAY, all in the space of one week, so we took a pretty hard hit last week as far as finances. I've had those weeks, actually been having one of those months, umm, for awhile... sucks.

Glad you're having a fun evening! , fun doesn't even begin to describe last night The last few nights have been amazing funny, the night before he showed up I was complaining to someone about lack of relationships and out of no where I get a call he's in town and wants to crash here for a couple nights (hadn't seen each other in ages). Its always a fun time when he's around Hope to see him again when I visit family next month (he lives out there). For anyone who feels like judging, he doesn't show up until the kids are asleep and left before they wake up but to them it would simply be "mommy's friend stayed the night and slept on the couch. They wouldn't really think anything of it beyond HEY! Someone to play with us!.

So, all that said, you have a lot of untracked expenses, just based on the numbers above you have $945 to $1345 unaccounted for every month, thats a lot of money not accounted for even if its just starting to come in.

[mommy2maya]

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy

We rent two rooms in a house and

Wow, where do you live? I can't imagine $1100/month for two rooms in a house! That would be a nice 2br apt here, and we live in a high COL area (phila metro)

[s_kristina]

This last week stunk. I got a nasty stomach bug that ended up with me in L&D for monitoring. Thanks to all that I missed about 20 hours of work that was supposed to go towards rent when dh has to take time off work when baby comes so he can deal with the big kids. It's bad enough to be so sick you end up in the hospital, but stressing about losing money because of being sick just makes it that much worse. For Valentine's Day dh went out and got me jello, popsicles and saltines. What a romantic day.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by s_kristina

This last week stunk. I got a nasty stomach bug that ended up with me in L&D for monitoring. Thanks to all that I missed about 20 hours of work that was supposed to go towards rent when dh has to take time off work when baby comes so he can deal with the big kids. It's bad enough to be so sick you end up in the hospital, but stressing about losing money because of being sick just makes it that much worse. For Valentine's Day dh went out and got me jello, popsicles and saltines. What a romantic day.

It was kinda sweet for him to do that Can't say I've ever had anyone do that for me

[Satori]

Originally Posted by mommy2maya

Wow, where do you live? I can't imagine $1100/month for two rooms in a house! That would be a nice 2br apt here, and we live in a high COL area (phila metro)

I wondered that too but I can see it if its a large home in a nice area. I know its not uncommon for peoples mtg's to be over $2k mo around here.

[Ianthe]

HI everyone.. I guess I forgot to subscribe to the Feb thread!

[Sweetmama26]

I have just spent this entire day editing pictures from a photoshoot I did this weekend

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by mommy2maya

Wow, where do you live? I can't imagine $1100/month for two rooms in a house! That would be a nice 2br apt here, and we live in a high COL area (phila metro)

I was thinking they had regular house useage as well... kitchen, living room, laundry etc...

[zebra15]

Right now $$ just isnt happening.... Im about 1/2 way done with the worst student teaching experience on the planet. I have no idea whats going on with my unemployement payments, I file every week but havent been paid since the week of Christmas.... Everytime I call I get the runaround and I know I need to be more on top of things but I dont need another mental breakdown in the middle of teaching...

My living situation is nuts... sharing a house isnt my thing anymore, DS and I really need our own space...

At least today was a 'holiday' and Im home alone so I did a bit of cleaning, laundry etc and maybe just maybe I feel a bit better about things....

Saturday I took a huge crate of books to half price books and got enough $$ for 4 books for DS for his v-day present
Today I took the same size crate of outgrown DS clothes to the kiddie resale shoppe and got enough $$ to go to Joanns for x-stitch thread and 4 storage boxes for DS lego's. So I decluttered and got things we needed for basically no $. That makes me feel better but still...

I also went thru some of my files and cleaned them out.... can you say SHREDDING was happening... But I still feel so blah... I need out of here.. I need my own space and I sooo need a teaching contract in the fall...

[Satori]

Ding dong the car is DEAD. As in tow it home its ready for the grave yard according to the garage. Thats not whats got me bummed though (I knew it would happen, EVERY TIME I get a chunk of money SOMETHING major happens that eats it up, figured it would be the car) My mom called to inform me that she will not be giving me rides anywhere because she doesn't want to put mileage on her car. That includes around town cause that 5 miles round trip adds up ya know (This is her passive/aggressive way of saying I broke the POS because obviously I was driving the 16 yr old POS to hard which is not true and she's pissed about it) So, tomorrow were outta tooth paste, only have a couple days worth of TP, need to pick up prescriptions at 2 different places (insurance issues) and I need to go to the PO which is on the other side of town a 10 min drive away, I need to make sure there's no shut off notices and my new drivers license should be waiting. (current one expired 2 weeks ago) and I had to cancel 2 Dr appts since we have no transportation. (we have no public transportation).

So tomorrow I'm having the nurse pick up my preschooler and take her to daycare and older dd and I are gonna get some exercise and build some bike muscle and hope I have the stamina to do that much biking. Know I won't make it to the PO but I can try the other places. Man, when I was 18 I wouldn't think twice about it, rode my mountain bike 30 miles a day and LOVED it. Now I get winded going around the block and my legs burn. Guess I better get used to it for a while, as soon as the back pay from dd's SSI claim shows up I'm getting a new car though. One thats not a POS although my moms pissy about my choice of new car and thinks I should get what she picked out. Yeah, you picked out the POS and 6 months and $3000 in repairs later its DEAD.

I'm looking forward to getting a car that will get us to the childrens hospital on $20 instead of $60 The gas savings alone will balance out the higher car cost within 2 years I'm guessing. Plus it means I can visit family every month if I want!

Just gotta suck it up for a couple of weeks Maybe I can bribe the neighbor to spend 2 hours driving us around to run errands once a week or something


hmm.. just occurred to me.. biking to town isn't to big a deal, its flat or down hill, its coming back I worry about. There's the inter city bus! It stops a couple blocks from my house then heads over to kmart area (last stop before heading to the city 40 miles away) by where we need to go then reverses the trip when its coming back into town. We can just catch the bus back home! All those buses have bike racks too ok, I feel much much better now Now to figure out where I put the bike chain and find out if dd's smaller bike will fit the rack.

[maciascl]

Zebra: Shareing a living space must be rough. We might be doing that in a few months if things don't work out. It is a very scary prospect. Just remember that it is temporary. There will be a time when you can leave for you own place.

Satori: I am sorry! That really sucks about the car. You seem to have a pretty good outlook about it though.

[Sweetmama26]

Satori : I'm having the same issues with my car its a 1997 outback and its about to die, I'm just hoping it holds out till I can save up for a newer one. Which at this rate will be a year from now.

[frugalmama]

does anyone have any ideas for things that sell quickly on craigslist?

We're $4500 behind on our mortgage, and it has got to be caught up within 20 days. I have all but $1200 of it on the 1st, but coming up with the $1200 is tricky.

[waiting2bemommy]

oh man satori, I'm so sorry. I know how much it sucks to be without a car. I hope you find a good car soon. And don't hesitate to ask your neighbors for rides if you have to!

I passed out at work yesterday, hit my head pretty hard and had to go to the ER....lost 4 hours pay and now my job is on the line. I know legally they can't fire me for being pregnant but because I feel so rotten I'm not doing so great on my commissions either so I could potentially get let go for that. I haven't been there long enough to qualify for unemployment.

I hate to put all the pressure on my dBF although he has no problem working 2 jobs, he is ahving a hard time finding something that will work with his existing work schedule.

So I'm home today, couldn't go in to work today, so I'm home looking for another job just in case and not having much luck. always something.

oh yeah and i'm pissed because after the ER I made dbf drive me all the way to this expensive 24hr grocery store that we never shop at, to get some sushi because I was craving it. I haven't had sushi in months because we really can't afford it. I stuck it in the fridge when we got home and woke up this morning to go get it out and eat it, and all but two pieces were GONE. one of the roommates apparently had the munchies last ngiht. . You do NOT mess with a pregnant woman's cravings! plus that sushi cost TEN dollars in foodstamps out of my grocery budget that I shouldn't have spent in the first place.

frugalmama, I have had really good success selling baby items pretty fast. I don't know if you have enough baby/kid stuff to equal $1200 though...

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

does anyone have any ideas for things that sell quickly on craigslist?

We're $4500 behind on our mortgage, and it has got to be caught up within 20 days. I have all but $1200 of it on the 1st, but coming up with the $1200 is tricky.

Call them & see if you can make arraingments to pay it in portions. Most banks are actually pretty willing to work with people right now. Depending on what caused you to fall behind you could look into a modification to bring the payment down a bit & current. Good luck!

[maciascl]

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy

oh yeah and i'm pissed because after the ER I made dbf drive me all the way to this expensive 24hr grocery store that we never shop at, to get some sushi because I was craving it. I haven't had sushi in months because we really can't afford it. I stuck it in the fridge when we got home and woke up this morning to go get it out and eat it, and all but two pieces were GONE. one of the roommates apparently had the munchies last ngiht. . You do NOT mess with a pregnant woman's cravings! plus that sushi cost TEN dollars in foodstamps out of my grocery budget that I shouldn't have spent in the first place.

Oh no! That roomate would SOOOO be replacing that or giving up the $10. That is just not right! I hope you are feeling better soon.