Mothering Forum banner

October 2010 Low Income Support Thread

8K views 89 replies 26 participants last post by  145176 
#1 ·
Let's help each other out, mamas!
 
#53 ·
Is anyone following this thread??
I feel like I'm talking to myself this month..
Anyway my apt was approved and I decided to wait a bit longer for a 1st floor unit. (Kid and dog dont equate to happiness on the 2nd floor) so my tenative move in date is November 7th. Im excited but nervous. My monthly expenses just went up about $300.00-$400.00 but hopefully I can save $$ in other areas to make up for that. Happiness *should* mean less therapy appts and a clean kitchen should mean less eating out.

I really need to start declutting here and packing. I am freaking out at how my current roommate is going to take to the news. Today I found and rinsed out the rubbermaid storage containers and they are air-drying in the driveway. Maybe she will notice them and 'connect the dots' when she gets home??

DS is so excited, I am excited, but I am nervous too...
 
#54 ·
finding a place to live is such a mind-easer. i'm pretty sure i'll get the house in the divorce, but no way to fix my credit and get a mortgage in the short time period xh wants. fortunately we were low income before the split, so it is a tiny 4 room house i can theoretically afford the monthly payment on with a waitressing job.

i think that the best food source of vitamin c is dried orange peel or citrus peel at the health food store. some hfs actuallly carry bulk acerola powder, too- mine doesn't.
 
#55 ·
It has been a crappy few weeks. Hubby was laid off work a week (this is his unemployment waiting week) and he went back to work Monday. In the mean time we have no money,no food,no gas,everything is getting shut off. We were suppose to have our FA checks on Monday they haven't shown up yet so I am praying they come tomorrow. Anyways, that is all going on here.
 
#56 ·
I am joining in here...I have a phone interview for Medicaid (state assistance) this week. Can anyone share what I should expect from this? I have hopes that not having to pay for private insurance (I am self-employed) will really help my monthly budget and help us get back on track to where we CAN afford private insurance again!
 
#57 ·
Zebra - I hope the new apartment works out for you. I know what it is like to have a crazy rm. It happened to me once, and she was throwing spagetti at me, instead of cleaning it up, because I asked her once, to please clean up the spagetti from 3 days before. I was dodging spagetti, ran into my room and shut the door about 2 seconds too late, and some of it landed on my bed and wall. I had alot of scrubbing to do before I left that apartment, even though she should have done it. I didn't want to lose my deposit though. I locked my door and climbed out my window to get away from her, and avoid the confrontational behaviour.

Sending good energy.

Provacativa, I don't think there is much you can buy from the herbs and such section for vit c.

Averysmomma - So sorry to hear about your husbands lose of job. Can you approach a church (I've always heard the Mormons can help with alot but haven't taken them up on it). Sending prayers for everything for you.

For Me:

I'm still looking for a house. I could cry for missing out on the last house, as it was where I wanted to be. I need to have my deposit with me at all times.
I'm getting alot of calls from potential clients, but many of them are not really wanting a doula, maybe want a midwife, or want to do unassisted, and I drove all the way to another city (1 1/2 hours from here), and didn't get to sign up a client. It's so frustrating.

I think winter is especially hard for me because I have arthritis and while I can function pretty good, I have alot of pain. I stay cold, never completely warm, maybe due to the room I am sleeping in, and it is very bad. We need some money. So I am planning on taking in some kids for childcare very soon, to make the difference. Otherwise, I'm wondering how I am going to make ends meet.

My sweet girls are planning to knit gifts this year, and I will sew gifts, but they will be very simple. I'm already worried about the holidays.

As for my car, yes, there is a vibration and it is due to the balance of the tires and also due to the need for an alignment. But there are other problems with it too, and it is starting to burn more oil than it should. Sadly, when you don't have enough money, it's hard to keep up with all the usual repairs and mantain things.
 
#59 ·
This month has been tight and exhausting, but we're getting by. I'm a full time student and it's taking a lot more effort to get my work done now that I have kids! I'm doing well and am pushing through so I can graduate in 2 years, but it's an intense schedule.

I am having a hard time with Medi-Cal. They sent me a letter of termination for the kids because they think we have too much in assets, because I have a tiny 401k from an old job and my husband's mom has whole life insurance on him, she pays for it and she's the beneficiary, but it has a cash value. We can't actually use that money and it doesn't benefit us even if she dies, but it shows up as an asset. Our income is really low and we don't make enough to pay for health insurance so this sucks a lot. My son has surgery scheduled for next month and I may have to cancel it because of the money issue. I want to cry.
 
#60 ·
jyotsna- really, dried orange peel or lemon peel is an awesome source of vitamin C. So is acerola berry powder, and thyme, parsley, and purslane herb iirc, and cayenne. when i take citrus peel by the teaspoon, i feel better than taking the synthetic vitamin. but the kids won't take it.
too bad you can't get a free balancing job on the tires. my arthritis mostly went away when i quit eating wheat. i have raynaud's syndrome, which makes one cold all the time. things that help this are ginger powder (strong tea made from or by the spoonful) and kelp powder (1 tsp in the am), and going dairy free. put an old fleece or wool blanket under your fitted sheet, to block drafts coming up through the floor- it really helps.
 
#62 ·
Rose hips are the best source of vitamin C. 10 x the C of an orange. They sell it bulk in my HFS like the herbs, and so they consider it food, not supplement, so FS covers it. Tea, too. So, I add rose hips to my tea. HTH

TheSavedQuarter - Make MIL convert to term life! Seriously, if it's messing with your finances she needs to help on something so simple. And if your 401k is very tiny (couple hundred bucks or something) maybe cash it in? I did. I had maybe 2Gs. I had bills I had to pay anyway, and taking the tiny tax hit on such a tiny amount was negligible when taking into consideration that I could 1. pay the bills and 2. get the medicaid... No brainer.
 
#63 ·
My mother in law will not budge. It's her money that's maintaining it and she's the beneficiary, so she doesn't really get the problem. (She's also unwilling to put me on as beneficiary even though I'm his wife and mother of his children, and I'm the one who will struggle even more financially if he dies, but whatever.)

I am cashing out my 401(k). It's under $1500 so not a substantial amount, but it was nice to have. I contacted the company and it's in the works.

Does anyone know if student loans count as income?
 
#64 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSavedQuarter View Post
My mother in law will not budge. It's her money that's maintaining it and she's the beneficiary, so she doesn't really get the problem. (She's also unwilling to put me on as beneficiary even though I'm his wife and mother of his children, and I'm the one who will struggle even more financially if he dies, but whatever.)

I am cashing out my 401(k). It's under $1500 so not a substantial amount, but it was nice to have. I contacted the company and it's in the works.

Does anyone know if student loans count as income?
Nope! You do not claim them as income, do not pay taxes on them, etc.

You could claim the interest you pay back on them as a deduction if you itemize, if I recall correctly. But I am 110% sure that it is not counted as income.
 
#65 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSavedQuarter View Post
I am cashing out my 401(k). It's under $1500 so not a substantial amount, but it was nice to have. I contacted the company and it's in the works.
Does anyone know exactly what the penalties are on cashing out a 401K? I know it is bad but I think we may have to cash DH's in the next few months.
 
#66 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by maciascl View Post
Does anyone know exactly what the penalties are on cashing out a 401K? I know it is bad but I think we may have to cash DH's in the next few months.

It depends on who the company is (that is holding the money). Expect to pay around a 30-40% penalty, sometimes an additional 10% as well.

We withdrew DH's a few years ago for 15k. We paid around 5k in penalties.
 
#67 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by UberMama View Post
It depends on who the company is (that is holding the money). Expect to pay around a 30-40% penalty, sometimes an additional 10% as well.

We withdrew DH's a few years ago for 15k. We paid around 5k in penalties.
Thanks! DH's is about 14k so that is very helpful to hear your experience.
 
#68 ·
FYI, you are also able to take loans against your 401k for certain things. I don't know if it would count as an asset anymore if the value was all out in the form of a loan...? Just thought it might be something to look into. You can only take 50%, though, and I think it has to be a certain amount high before you can... Just a thought.
 
#70 ·
Ok ladies, if you haven't recently checked for cheaper car insurance online. Do it. Do it *NOW*! Seriously! Ours jumped up to ~$800 after buying the jeep for dh and getting rid of one of our other cars. I checked about online... and I just bought *MUCH BETTER!!* car insurance for $326!!! Thats nearly $500 I just saved!! INSANITY!! SO! Do it! Go check Geico and Progressive and All state! Just do it!!
 
#71 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque View Post
Ok ladies, if you haven't recently checked for cheaper car insurance online. Do it. Do it *NOW*! Seriously! Ours jumped up to ~$800 after buying the jeep for dh and getting rid of one of our other cars. I checked about online... and I just bought *MUCH BETTER!!* car insurance for $326!!! Thats nearly $500 I just saved!! INSANITY!! SO! Do it! Go check Geico and Progressive and All state! Just do it!!
If they service the area you live in try Wawanesa too! They are always by far the lowest when I've searched.
 
#72 ·
I some how have missed this thread, but I'm jumping in now. I'm going to go back and read the whole thread
 
#73 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by maciascl View Post
If they service the area you live in try Wawanesa too! They are always by far the lowest when I've searched.
I had Wawanesa until I was rear-ended in march and the customer service was TERRIBLE. I switched to State farm and actually saved money!
 
#74 ·
So I think our annual income is somewhere near 16K.

It boggles my mind...I mean we are a family of 5!!

also-does anyone else feel like the whole dave ramsey thing is not for low income peeps?

i cant even begin to figure out where we can save more(any)
money-we are as low/no spend as possible without me resorting to stealing toilet paper from the dr/'s office.
 
#75 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by inkedmamajama View Post
So I think our annual income is somewhere near 16K.

It boggles my mind...I mean we are a family of 5!!

also-does anyone else feel like the whole dave ramsey thing is not for low income peeps?

i cant even begin to figure out where we can save more(any)
money-we are as low/no spend as possible without me resorting to stealing toilet paper from the dr/'s office.

It really isn't for low-income peeps - I tried it a few years back and it only made things worse.
 
#76 ·
I need a hug.
My new apt was approved and DS and I are moving the around 11/7/10 and we both are sooooo excited
. I splurged a bit and ordered a new sofa.
I am currently looking for a full time job. Subbing just isnt going to cut it.
Right now our living situation is just so sad. The house is chaos, my roommate is just 'wierd' and the house is messy (to be nice). Im convinced the state of the house is what is making DS so sick.

However I refused to called 'the princess' and I will not take on the role of the maid and clean up after my roommate anymore. I will not take care of her dog and I will not tolerate her hissy fits over HER dog.

But now since I've decided to get an apt I need to find a job other than subbing to make sure my income is enough to cover rent, utilites, and other expenses.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top