July 2010 Low Income Support Thread - Page 5

[confustication]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

I've been posting everything I can on craigslist to try to make some cash - we're still about $1100 short {after skipping some of the bills} on the deductible for the house insurance for fixing the roof. I've also been going through all our books and checking to see if cash4books is buying them.

Haven't called the insurance company yet - I'm scared they will say they won't cover it because the tree should have been trimmed or the roof was already bad.

The roof is worse than we thought - we ended up with 5 limbs down on the roof {one is still on it}, a 4ft square section that is down to just tar paper with the sheathing broken, the gutter ripped off and the board behind it as well. That's just the damage on the edge we can see. We're pretty sure from the way the limbs broke that we had tornado-like winds {we saw them too} so it could have been much much worse.

Do you, or someone you know have the skill to repair the roof? If you do, you shouldn't need to worry about the deductible so much as the companies should issue a check based on the estimates. You may be able to do the work after buying the materials- and not have to come up with anything out of pocket- though it would be subject to a later inspection.

Was the roof inspected when the insurance was purchased initially- if so- how long ago was that inspection?

What kind of coverage do you have- replacement cost or ACV?

Have you contacted any companies for estimates yet? If not, please do that asap- it should be free. Also, speak with them about paying the deductible in installments- many companies will work with you when they know the insurance will be paying most of the repair.

What was the condition of the roof before the storm? Was it already damaged/in need of repair?

(I used to work in insurance, but left because my state is an 'agent only' state meaning you have to work for the company, not always the client.)

[confustication]

I'm in a funk today. I'm totally broke and down to scavenging the back of the cupboards for meals for a couple days. Blah.

My husband was nice and got up with the baby last night, but I'm paying dearly for those couple hours of sleep today. He declared himself 'tired' and went to take a nap three and a half hours ago. I realize there has to be some give and take, but I really hate that he can't simply deal with feeling tired- if he does not get uninterrupted sleep from 9pm to 7 or 8 am he is always miserable and tired and needs a nap the next day. However, a nap, for him, is a MINIMUM of 4 hours- and that, too, has to be uninterrupted and he wants the house quiet.

Ok, I needed that vent. I love him, and generally we are really good at the give and take, but the stress of being short money and having to job search and and and... I am just not feeling very tolerant today.

Also the 10 month old is crabby because my milk production is low- my cycle is trying to return, which would be ok if it would just get on with it already- I always run into milk production decrease for couple days before and the first day or so of... it stinks to be stuck in the 'just before' state while my body sorts itself out.

The 2 year old is reacting to something he ate- as soon as he has a bowel movement his bum is blistered and inflamed and even bleeding. Naturally, he's a little less than chipper (I would be too!) Not helped by my washing machine giving out on me- so I am taking laundry to my parents' place, but they have a different water source and a different machine, so I'm feeling out diaper laundry routines and having major irritation/residue problems there as well.

*sigh*

We have a roof over our heads, and enough food to get by for the moment if we are careful for a few days. This too shall pass.

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by confustication

Do you, or someone you know have the skill to repair the roof? If you do, you shouldn't need to worry about the deductible so much as the companies should issue a check based on the estimates. You may be able to do the work after buying the materials- and not have to come up with anything out of pocket- though it would be subject to a later inspection.

Was the roof inspected when the insurance was purchased initially- if so- how long ago was that inspection?

What kind of coverage do you have- replacement cost or ACV?

Have you contacted any companies for estimates yet? If not, please do that asap- it should be free. Also, speak with them about paying the deductible in installments- many companies will work with you when they know the insurance will be paying most of the repair.

What was the condition of the roof before the storm? Was it already damaged/in need of repair?

(I used to work in insurance, but left because my state is an 'agent only' state meaning you have to work for the company, not always the client.)

The only person I know who has the skill is my brother in MI - I'm in TX. He's already said he's too busy working to come down. He, with his $30 an hour job, who complains he's too broke to be able to come down. No one else in the family is in good health or capable of roofing right now.

I think the roof might have been a very quick look-over when we insured 5 years ago. It was not done by a roofer that much I know.

I don't know what type of coverage yet.

Haven't gotten any estimates yet - called a few places but none seem to do free estimates and I'm broke.

The roof needed replaced prior, but we were in decent shape. A little curling on the edges, and a few problem spots but no real leaks visible, etc. We knew it needed replaced, and were about to start saving up the funds to put a metal roof on it after cutting down all 4 of our large trees which are not in good condition. We had figured that we'd get another year or so out of the roof, which was long enough to come up with the money to replace it.

[surrogate]

I agree with PP who said call around. What usually happens is the ins company sends someone out to estimate what the cost for repair is. Then you negotiate (dont take the first offer-ever!) what they want to give. They cut you a check for that amount minus your deductible and you find someone to do the work hopefully for the amount you have on the check. At least that is how it works where I live... So theoretically you may not have to "come up with" the deductible...if that makes sense

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by surrogate

I agree with PP who said call around. What usually happens is the ins company sends someone out to estimate what the cost for repair is. Then you negotiate (dont take the first offer-ever!) what they want to give. They cut you a check for that amount minus your deductible and you find someone to do the work hopefully for the amount you have on the check. At least that is how it works where I live... So theoretically you may not have to "come up with" the deductible...if that makes sense

It sounds like I should try to get a high estimate, is that right? In hopes of being able to cover it all with another company at a lower cost?

[surrogate]

yep!

It all depends on how your ins works though...they will be the ones who do the estimate on your roof to determine how much they will pay out, you will need to find a company to repair it at a lower cost than that. But I would go ahead and put a call in to your agent since it has already been a few days

[belchers1]

DH went for an interview last Tuesday, and they called back the same day to offer him the job! He started the next morning. Only two weeks of unemployment! Good luck to everyone!

[frugalmama]

Claim is finally filed on the roof. I'm to start getting calls about the claims


I did find out it's replacement cost, and the gal at the office said I'd have to pay for it and then they reimburse. I have no idea how we're supposed to do that!


Off to DHS today to file for food stamps and medicaid - crossing fingers I manage to get medicaid for myself under one of the programs as I can't afford to go see my doc and really need to.

[AngelBee]

Congrats Erica!

Good luck frugalmama on everything today. it all goes smoothly!

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by frugalmama

Claim is finally filed on the roof. I'm to start getting calls about the claims


I did find out it's replacement cost, and the gal at the office said I'd have to pay for it and then they reimburse. I have no idea how we're supposed to do that!


Off to DHS today to file for food stamps and medicaid - crossing fingers I manage to get medicaid for myself under one of the programs as I can't afford to go see my doc and really need to.

sometimes i feel like i'm in the twilight zone. how many people - in this economy - have wads of cash lying around?

[crazyeight]

we aren't making it. the bills are more than the income. so i am asking you ladies how do you pay bills? do you just pay whatever is late notice and save the leftover for the next late notice? i actually should be able to get them all caught up after i get my pell grant but it will certainly be after several more late notices. its mostly the electric bill that is killing us. $400!!! its not really that WE are excessive its the setup of the house, the vaulted ceilings, the older a/c. i'm pretty sure another bill is on the way soon (last meter check was the 12th and it's a 3 wk cycle i think weird huh?) and i have only paid $80 towards that $400 bill. i was going to put another $80 towards it but needed gas and a few things so its down to $30.

[rlandnl]

we pay the bills in order of priority. Mortgage first, then DHs gas money because without that he doesn't get to work, then groceries and my gas money to get DS to appts and to get me to my appts, then the rest of it. The electric is usually always one month behind or on a payment plan, i haven't paid our sewer in 3 quarters, because it's outrageously high, we have no money to pay it, and they don't do anything if you don't except put a lein on the house... eventually we will get caught up on that. I don't know what we are going to do about heat this winter. We have a little over a ton of pellets left from last year. We had our oil tank filled in may, i am sure they will come again in Oct. we shouldn't have used much since we didn't use the furnace in may, june etc, and for hot water the past month or close to it we have turned the furnace completely off and only turned it on right before showers and then turned it right back off. So laundry and dishes are cold water, though once I start washing diapers I will have to turn it on for them.... i have my Heating oil assistance meeting at the end of the month I am hoping we can get more help than last year since our income is lower and we have another mouth to feed by then

[confustication]

Originally Posted by dhinderliter

not to mention that bf hasn't been able to pay child support in quite some time b/c MY ex's won't pay their child support! grrr!

Ok, while I completely empathize, I think it's pretty crappy that your children are paying his kids' child support. He needs to be paying that, and it absolutely should not hinge on whether your children receive their support or not.

Outside of that, contact the electric companies and see if you qualify for any assistance anywhere. With a large family and small income, you should be eligible for food stamps, LIEAP, medical assistance for the kids etc, and you need to look into those if you haven't already.

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by confustication

Ok, while I completely empathize, I think it's pretty crappy that your children are paying his kids' child support. He needs to be paying that, and it absolutely should not hinge on whether your children receive their support or not.

Outside of that, contact the electric companies and see if you qualify for any assistance anywhere. With a large family and small income, you should be eligible for food stamps, LIEAP, medical assistance for the kids etc, and you need to look into those if you haven't already.

I think she is in AZ and when I was paying my own electric I got a whopping $17/month assistance and I had ZERO income. So yes over the course of a year it added up but monthly it was a nice big slap in the face.

OP your rent may be cheap but your electic is a killer. See if you can up the temp setting, I dont know who your electric carrier is but up in PHX we have APS and if you fall behind they will not work with you on a payment plan or equal payments etc.

For me I go in order of priority (kinda like dave ramsey)
Rent
Food
Utilities (electic, water, gas)
Then other 'stuff'

However your partner NEEDS to make his child support payments, if those are not made he will eventually be facing an arrest warrant, as well as wage garnishments and a whole slew of problems.

Other than more income I dont know what to tell you. This is AZ and jobs are few and far between.

[frugalmama]

Originally Posted by Usually Curious

sometimes i feel like i'm in the twilight zone. how many people - in this economy - have wads of cash lying around?

Exactly! I'm sure everyone has $10k lying around right now to re-roof a house and cut down a damaged tree.


I'm back from DHS - Got our full food stamps, DD's medicaid, hopefully my medicaid which will be a big help and and let me get back in to my doctor to get my meds adjusted which I really need terribly.

Found out I can get TANF without participating in the CHOICES program here {TX thing} by having my doc certify me as not employable - she's already in agreement. I'm just waiting until we really really really need the money as I can only draw a year of TANF due to my education level, which is so stupid - I can't work so it's not like I can use the education anyways!

[CherryBomb]

Moncia, great news, congrats!

Danielle, our bills exceed our income right now, too. I really need to get better about prioritzing. Having a bunch of over due bills freaks me out, so I end up not getting the house payment paid paying everything else, which is really a bad idea. As soon as we get caught up (which should be next month) I really need to reprioritize. House payment, gas for work, electric, internet and phone (priority because I work from home and need both) and gas...we have debt consolidation that comes out once a month. IDK what to do long term, we really need to get balances paid off so we can pay all our bills.

Our electric bill due for this month is almost $200! Our house is only 1K sq ft and we have double pane windows, idk why it's so high. Well dh was keeping the air on 70, I made him bump it up to 72. I can't really stand any higher than that.

Dh is at the unemployment office right now seeing about getting paid retroactively for the 2 weeks his UI lapse and he didn't have a job. I really hope that goes through because I could use it to pay last month's mortgage. We talked to the mortgage company yesterday and they're sending us some packet of paperwork to see if they have any programs we qualify for.

Dh is also part of a class action lawsuit against his former employer, they're wanting to settle and today it goes to a judge to determine if the settlement offered is enough. If he okays it they'll start cutting checks in a month, though idk how much he'll get, it's based off how many file and how long they worked (he worked for 9 years so he could end up with a few thousand).

Our transmission needed work and that was $325, thanksfully dh's aunt and uncle gave us the money to get it fixed.

[crazyeight]

cherry~ it sounds like you could have a small amount of windfall coming in and i really hope it works out for you and relieves some stress. GOOD LUCK and

our electric "assistence" is $8 and i think they lower the KWH cost a teeny bit. i do need to apply for it as it is something but yeah thats just...insulting? i recieved LIHEAP in a different district last october so i'm not sure i qualify again until then or not.

anyways my a/c is set to 78-80 (its the old turn dial) so really it's up there as far as it can comfortably go. we have all ceiling fans and a table fan on all day long, curtains closed and i am vigilent going around making sure lights are off all day long.

we do have food stamps. we have more than enough so i don't have to worry one bit about that! my kids all have state health insurance but his boys don't live here all the time so i don't know how that would work? plus we don't have their SS cards, birth certs or anything like that.
i get my c/s in 3 days. it'll pay the rent and the electric and nothing else. that leaves hundreds of dollars unpaid with no idea how to pay them. i also need to buy clothes for the kids and school supplies.