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~~~~2013 Low Income Support Thread~~~~

90K views 1K replies 77 participants last post by  zebra15 
#1 ·
Starting a new thread for a NEW YEAR!!! Everyone is welcome!!

Low income support thread, for those living with a low income or struggling.

Support ONLY... no flaming!
 
#1,302 ·
Mylie, I'm so sorry. That would stress ANYONE out. I hope the help you need comes through for you. I was in a similar position with my vehicle not too long ago and I was just sobbing over how to pay the bill and put MORE money into this moneypit of mine AND still pay the bills that needed to be paid.

Rainbow, I'm so glad the van is running. Hopefully you can get everything settled with it so it's more reliable. Nothing worse than NOT knowing if your vehicle will get you from Point A to Point B and back.

Congrats on Holiday Helper frugalmama! I've never done it but I hear so much about it here on MDC. I'm not really sure what it entails anymore since I'e been here so long. It's really changed over the years.

Gratefuls:

-got a GREAT check yesterday from this past week at work. It was very exciting to open that.

-not too many expenses this coming week I believe so we SHOULD be okay to put some money into the small savings acct I started. Gotta invest in the future ya know?

-I was thinking of doing some Christmas shopping on Black Friday. I work later in the evening that day so i thought even if I could get to the mall an hour or two early I might be able to get a deal or two for the girls. I just gotta find care for them but I'm so glad I have a little money put aside so I can actually shop that day for the first time.

-My mom and I are getting out mine and my sister's old dollhouses for kids and repainting and cleaning them and getting them all spruced up. I think it's going to be for their 6th and 9th birthdays the first week of January. Really exciting stuff. I hope they love them and play with them as much as we did. They were all made back in the 80's from those wooden kits by my parents so it will be great to see them out and getting use again.

-I got my garden completely cleaned up for the winter, garlic planted and tucked in for the winter, and the compost turned for the last time yesterday. I continue to be ama*ed at just how well a garden can do even when you ignore it for months. For my carrots I literally threw some organic seeds into a few rows one day and walked away and haven't looked at them for 3 months and I pulled up several pounds of beautiful carrots yesterday. No effort. I didn't do a damn thing with them. It's like free organic food. I can't argue with that!!!
 
#1,303 ·
Micah Mae just wanted to make sure you know about the Breast and Cervical Cancer Medicaid program just in case your ex drops you from insurance. I had pre-cancerous cervical cells with baby number one and after she was born I was on BCCP Medicaid for a year.

So how do you guys deal with relatives on facebook who post crap about "freeloaders" who get government assistance? I normally unfriend people for that but not if they are relatives. My Dad is one of the worst offenders and he knows we receive assistance so it really hurts when he posts that crap :( I've posted various articles, like that recent one about "those people" who receive SNAP but it never makes a difference.

But in happier news I had my baby! She is 2 1/2 weeks old and her name is Sienna.
:stillheart
I had a great (but painful) midwife assisted waterbirth at a birthing center. I so grateful to have such a loving birth center 10 minutes away from my house that accepts Medicaid.
 
#1,304 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by EarthyMamaofDaisy View Post

Micah Mae just wanted to make sure you know about the Breast and Cervical Cancer Medicaid program just in case your ex drops you from insurance. I had pre-cancerous cervical cells with baby number one and after she was born I was on BCCP Medicaid for a year.

So how do you guys deal with relatives on facebook who post crap about "freeloaders" who get government assistance? I normally unfriend people for that but not if they are relatives. My Dad is one of the worst offenders and he knows we receive assistance so it really hurts when he posts that crap :( I've posted various articles, like that recent one about "those people" who receive SNAP but it never makes a difference.

But in happier news I had my baby! She is 2 1/2 weeks old and her name is Sienna.
:stillheart
I had a great (but painful) midwife assisted waterbirth at a birthing center. I so grateful to have such a loving birth center 10 minutes away from my house that accepts Medicaid.
Congrats on the baby!!! I love the name Sienna. <3

I have heard of BCCP but no one can tell me how to apply for it! Do you have any links?
 
#1,305 ·
When I was on it about 8 years ago (in NH) it was just a very small program so it was run by a nurse up in Concord. The social worker at the low income clinic helped me apply. You had to fill out an application and she sent you your card in the mail. It wasn't a regular plastic Medicaid card, it was a laminated piece of paper. Any doctor or pharmacist had to bill the program directly and not the regular Medicaid program. I had it 6 months at a time and then had to recert. The nurse would ask about my health and decide if I should stay on the program. I had the pre-cancer cells frozen off right after getting on the program but for some reason got to keep BCCP Medicaid for a full year after that. Not sure if I would have gotten to stay on it longer but ended up pregnant with baby #2 so she told me I had to transfer to pregnant Medicaid. My MIL is currently on BCCP Medicaid for having breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and was told she can stay on it for at least 5 years because that's how long her oncologist needs to see her before she can be declared in remission.
 
#1,307 ·
Congratulations on baby Sienna.
:throb


I do have to listen to those things on facebook and in real life all the time. You are right, it does hurt. But there's nothing I can do. II try not to hang out with people who think like that because you can't change them and honestly, I don't want to be friends with someone so closed-minded. When it's family, it sucks harder. But that doesn't mean you have to listen to it. I've been known to unfriend people or just block that certain status and refuse to engage. Try not to let it get to you.
 
#1,308 ·
Hi everyone, I was on here a long time ago. Still been broke, but I was working full time and didn't do much online activity for a while. I was in a horrible car wreck about a month ago. Totaled my car and broke my right hand. Have not been able to work and my husband was told he was for sure getting a job that he didn't get and now we're screwed. I have health insurance through my parents but no money for the copays.

Now my husband has not slept in 4 nights due to leg cramps, pain in his steel femur, headaches, restless legs, etc. It came on very suddenly and severely. We're going to a free clinic on Thursday and I'm trying to get him on county insurance while we qualify for it but gas and minimum fees plus getting new copies of documents he'll need adds up. We've all but tapped out our family.

I remember seeing on here a website where you could post a need and someone could see it and offer to cover it. Does anyone remember what it was? Or know of one?

Thanks for any help
 
#1,309 ·
STOOPID problem of the day: I got paid on Saturday. And went out to the produce market. Happily spent $20 for a mess of veggies. So far, so good, eh? At the checkout the girl accidentally entered $520 instead of $20. "Oh, no problem. I will refund it right away", sez she. We'll the charge went through on my debit card, but not the refund. So today my payment on the water bill is due, and I can't pay it, and I am already on a payment plan that they cancel if you are late. Sheesh! I thought the overcharge thing was funny until all this caught up with me. It will get straightened out, but what a headache for a silly mistake! Wouldn't have happened if it wasn't payday. I never have $500 to accidentally charge!
 
#1,310 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchymonkey View Post

Hi everyone, I was on here a long time ago. Still been broke, but I was working full time and didn't do much online activity for a while. I was in a horrible car wreck about a month ago. Totaled my car and broke my right hand. Have not been able to work and my husband was told he was for sure getting a job that he didn't get and now we're screwed. I have health insurance through my parents but no money for the copays.

Now my husband has not slept in 4 nights due to leg cramps, pain in his steel femur, headaches, restless legs, etc. It came on very suddenly and severely. We're going to a free clinic on Thursday and I'm trying to get him on county insurance while we qualify for it but gas and minimum fees plus getting new copies of documents he'll need adds up. We've all but tapped out our family.

I remember seeing on here a website where you could post a need and someone could see it and offer to cover it. Does anyone remember what it was? Or know of one?

Thanks for any help
*hugs* I remember you crunchymonkey! Your daughter just had her first birthday a few months back right? How did that go? I wonder if the website you are talking about is Modest Needs? www.modestneeds.org Hopefully that helps. If his pain and symptoms are bad enough that you are REALLY concerned, just go to the ER. They will bill you later and then you can worry about paying for it later. But I mean, if it's an emergency, I wouldn't hesitate.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mamarhu View Post

STOOPID problem of the day: I got paid on Saturday. And went out to the produce market. Happily spent $20 for a mess of veggies. So far, so good, eh? At the checkout the girl accidentally entered $520 instead of $20. "Oh, no problem. I will refund it right away", sez she. We'll the charge went through on my debit card, but not the refund. So today my payment on the water bill is due, and I can't pay it, and I am already on a payment plan that they cancel if you are late. Sheesh! I thought the overcharge thing was funny until all this caught up with me. It will get straightened out, but what a headache for a silly mistake! Wouldn't have happened if it wasn't payday. I never have $500 to accidentally charge!
How long until it gets fixed? Refunds at my store sometimes take up to 10 business days, which really sucks for customers who need them. But it's whoever holds their card(the bank, the credit card company) and not our store. Our store processes it immediately but the bank takes forever to add the funds to the customers acct.

Gotta go grocery shopping today. *panics* I hate that. Been getting a lot done at home lately with cleaning out the basement and getting laundry tackled finally. It's incredible how quickly the laundry pile backs up to epic heights when there's 4 people in the house. It's FREE*ING here today so all the winter stuff has been dragged out and the heat is on and I'm making a pot of chicken soup to eat. Yesterday I made two loaves of bread to go with it. I got all my yard work finished up, dragging all the toys to the shed. Been thinking ahead to Christmas and I'm hoping to keep it small this year but I have no ideas on what to do for my kids. Anyone know what they are getting their kids this year???
 
#1,311 ·
I can't imagine what could cause his symptoms that is an emergency situation. But he mentioned kidney failure and while he does fit some of the big signs, he doesn't fit the main ones (the ones having to do with urination)

We're just so tired. I can't even think straight about the situation because of it. before his 4 days of no sleep my daughter didn't sleep the two days before. So we're on nearly a week of almost no sleep. His mama has today and tomorrow off and she lives very close so we'll probably let her take our daughter as much as she wants.

Her birthday was April and it went well. She didn't like when daddy got her hand messy with the cake. She had fun seeing all her family. Thanks for asking =)
 
#1,313 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchymonkey View Post

Hi everyone, I was on here a long time ago. Still been broke, but I was working full time and didn't do much online activity for a while. I was in a horrible car wreck about a month ago. Totaled my car and broke my right hand. Have not been able to work and my husband was told he was for sure getting a job that he didn't get and now we're screwed. I have health insurance through my parents but no money for the copays.

Now my husband has not slept in 4 nights due to leg cramps, pain in his steel femur, headaches, restless legs, etc. It came on very suddenly and severely. We're going to a free clinic on Thursday and I'm trying to get him on county insurance while we qualify for it but gas and minimum fees plus getting new copies of documents he'll need adds up. We've all but tapped out our family.

I remember seeing on here a website where you could post a need and someone could see it and offer to cover it. Does anyone remember what it was? Or know of one?

Thanks for any help
I remember you too - good to see you again! I agree, I'd go to the ER too - there simply are too many things it could be. On your hand - can you get SSI at least temporarily while it's healing?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mamarhu View Post

STOOPID problem of the day: I got paid on Saturday. And went out to the produce market. Happily spent $20 for a mess of veggies. So far, so good, eh? At the checkout the girl accidentally entered $520 instead of $20. "Oh, no problem. I will refund it right away", sez she. We'll the charge went through on my debit card, but not the refund. So today my payment on the water bill is due, and I can't pay it, and I am already on a payment plan that they cancel if you are late. Sheesh! I thought the overcharge thing was funny until all this caught up with me. It will get straightened out, but what a headache for a silly mistake! Wouldn't have happened if it wasn't payday. I never have $500 to accidentally charge!
Oh mama! OUCH! I've had that happen to me a few times but never that large of amount. Just keep the paperwork for the refund just in case. Maybe call the water co & explain what happened & see if they can give you a few days?

Quote:
Originally Posted by justmama View Post

Gotta go grocery shopping today. *panics* I hate that. Been getting a lot done at home lately with cleaning out the basement and getting laundry tackled finally. It's incredible how quickly the laundry pile backs up to epic heights when there's 4 people in the house. It's FREE*ING here today so all the winter stuff has been dragged out and the heat is on and I'm making a pot of chicken soup to eat. Yesterday I made two loaves of bread to go with it. I got all my yard work finished up, dragging all the toys to the shed. Been thinking ahead to Christmas and I'm hoping to keep it small this year but I have no ideas on what to do for my kids. Anyone know what they are getting their kids this year???
Justmama - what stores do you have? Might can help you find some freebie or nearly freebie grocery deals for stuff if you can coupon a little. Slickdeals has posts for most stores deals, and a lot of the time you can get free or nearly free stuff. Like for instance there is a bunch of food stuff free after store bucks at CVS next week, and then you can use those store bucks buy more stuff that is free after store bucks in the same sale, like paper towels & laundry soap. So pretty much you can just keep rolling it for more free stuff if you want. Not sure here on x-mas either. Have a few books I picked up free thanks to buying eggo waffles with reward codes, and HOPEFULLY will have the 2 games I won in sweepstakes but other than that IDK. Dd is signed up for toys for tots so will see what we get there, and I'm going to try to scrape up enough to buy a little something to go with if I can.

Staying home today to clean, do laundry, list ebay stuff and wait for packages. Really trying to make an effort to do a load of laundry in the morning and another at night - anything more than that risks flooding the house again from that water leak :( But I have a mountain of laundry to catch up on, and then another batch to take to the laundry as it's too big for our washer {winter blankets & pillows}.

Greatfuls:

~The early cold snap we had last week is making the leaves change color! It's so rare here to really see fall leaf colors - normally we just get brown.

~The county electric program. It is a HUGE load off to be able to run the heat & not worry about how high the bill will be.
 
#1,314 ·
Well we went to the hospital because we came to the conclusion that it was probably severe high blood pressure since we know his is high to begin with.

16 hours later and a BP check, EKG, xray, CT, three blood draws and an ultrasound later....his heart is perfectly fine! He was admitted and right before he was going to be discharged they gave him some oxygen and it gave him so much relief that they said "Lets run more tests!" So they're observing him tonight. His BP is the highest right now that it's been all day. (was 144/78 when we arrived, is now 171/78) his oxygen level is slightly lower too. Odd. Tomorrow he'll see the pulmonologist and they'll probably do all this over again with his lungs.

Also, his temp is 96. Who has a temp of 96??

Our daughter is with my mom. I miss her =(

The financial dept is apply for medicaid for him since we're both unemployed right now (yeah, life is real good) but I lost two birth certificates in the car wreck I was in last month so I have to order those and that's $44. But if he does get medicaid I'm dragging him to every dr and dentist I can until he loses it. This man needs so much medical help.

Sorry to just jump back in without reading what everyones up to. I feel like the bad friend who only talks when it's about her lol I'm just so tired and don't feel like sharing my mess of day on facebook but need to vent. =(

Going to pathetically try and cuddle in the hospital bed now.
 
#1,316 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchymonkey View Post

Now my husband has not slept in 4 nights due to leg cramps, pain in his steel femur, headaches, restless legs, etc. It came on very suddenly and severely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchymonkey View Post

Well we went to the hospital because we came to the conclusion that it was probably severe high blood pressure since we know his is high to begin with.

16 hours later and a BP check, EKG, xray, CT, three blood draws and an ultrasound later....his heart is perfectly fine! He was admitted and right before he was going to be discharged they gave him some oxygen and it gave him so much relief that they said "Lets run more tests!" So they're observing him tonight. His BP is the highest right now that it's been all day. (was 144/78 when we arrived, is now 171/78) his oxygen level is slightly lower too. Odd. Tomorrow he'll see the pulmonologist and they'll probably do all this over again with his lungs.

Also, his temp is 96. Who has a temp of 96??
Any news? To me, his symptoms say possible low thyroid. When mine goes low I get terrible leg cramps at night, and my body temp drops like a rock. Thyroid can mess with a lot of stuff, including your heart & lungs IME.

Hope he is doing much better!
 
#1,319 ·
I got some wonderfully exciting news yesterday.

I got a scholarship.....for $3,000!

Which completely covers a full semester in the Spring and 2 classes in the summer!

And also means I get all of my grants and loans refunded to me, so yeah $3000 more to spend on living this coming up semester. Which is fantastic, because I am in DIRE need of a different car. Mine is falling to pieces. I just put $700 into it two weeks ago (thankfully I got a state voucher) and it is still falling apart.
 
#1,320 ·
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind. I thought I had updated here. The doctor came in the morning and told us it's severe sleep apnea. It's occuring while he's awake and causes the chest pains and could also cause the leg cramps. They discharged him but want him to do a follow up with a sleep study to determine which kind of sleep apnea and to test for/rule out restless leg syndrome.They said he needs to lose weight for it to get better and that his lungs can't support his size. (350lbs at 6ft)

We're working on getting him on medicaid (which he'll only qualify for until he gets a job. So, that's an awkward situation) We've got rain here today and he says its making it harder to breath again.

As for me, I definitely came into contact with some germs at the hospital so I'm chugging some elderberry.
 
#1,322 ·
Congrats on the scholarship thatgirliknew!

The foodstamp gods are smiling on me this month. It's the 23rd and I still have $69 left! Normally they are all gone at this point. And that's even with the reduction this month. And the town welfare officer gave me a $75 giftcard to the grocery store for Thanksgiving so I still have that left to use. She also ordered me a fresh turkey to pick up on Wed. I've never had a fresh turkey before! I'm feeling very rich this month.

I have an appointment to see about getting a tooth pulled before my Medicaid ends. I'm wicked nervous but I know I'll feel better once it's pulled.
 
#1,323 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchymonkey View Post

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind. I thought I had updated here. The doctor came in the morning and told us it's severe sleep apnea. It's occuring while he's awake and causes the chest pains and could also cause the leg cramps. They discharged him but want him to do a follow up with a sleep study to determine which kind of sleep apnea and to test for/rule out restless leg syndrome.They said he needs to lose weight for it to get better and that his lungs can't support his size. (350lbs at 6ft)

We're working on getting him on medicaid (which he'll only qualify for until he gets a job. So, that's an awkward situation) We've got rain here today and he says its making it harder to breath again.

As for me, I definitely came into contact with some germs at the hospital so I'm chugging some elderberry.
I agree with justmama on the getting him on medicaid. It's possible depending on your state that medicaid might pay for some type of weight loss program or even medical weight loss since they've said it's medically needed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thatgirliknew View Post

I got some wonderfully exciting news yesterday.

I got a scholarship.....for $3,000!

Which completely covers a full semester in the Spring and 2 classes in the summer!

And also means I get all of my grants and loans refunded to me, so yeah $3000 more to spend on living this coming up semester. Which is fantastic, because I am in DIRE need of a different car. Mine is falling to pieces. I just put $700 into it two weeks ago (thankfully I got a state voucher) and it is still falling apart.
That's great!
 
#1,324 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by EarthyMamaofDaisy View Post

Congrats on the scholarship thatgirliknew!

The foodstamp gods are smiling on me this month. It's the 23rd and I still have $69 left! Normally they are all gone at this point. And that's even with the reduction this month. And the town welfare officer gave me a $75 giftcard to the grocery store for Thanksgiving so I still have that left to use. She also ordered me a fresh turkey to pick up on Wed. I've never had a fresh turkey before! I'm feeling very rich this month.

I have an appointment to see about getting a tooth pulled before my Medicaid ends. I'm wicked nervous but I know I'll feel better once it's pulled.
Don't you love it when the FS gods help you out? Ours are nearly gone - I think I have $3 left on the card. And WTG on the $75 GC & the fresh turkey. I was hoping to get a fresh turkey this year but they didn't have butterball fresh ones, only frozen. We do ours with the Alton Brown good eats recipe and it is sooo yummy. Only thing I change is I rub with real butter instead of canola oil - we don't use canola at all. I still need to pick up a few things for t-day dinner, hoping I can make it work.

And Do dental while you can! I wish our medicaid covered dental for adults :( It doesn't, and the free clinic has a 4+ year long wait list right now. The low-income clinic quoted me $4k to do everything at the lowest rate.

Got the electric bill, and just using our space heater & oven to heat the house for 2 days made the bill go up $30 :( I hate to see what it's going to be like the next time - we are in the middle of a cold snap again and not supposed to get above 40 for the next 3 days. And of course wet rainy too. Trying really hard to keep the bill right around what the CO office is paying on it if I can. But hey we are baking lovely bread & having lots of hot tea to drink! And once again I am so glad I got a bunch of sweats on clearance 2 years ago after halloween & x-mas - they are getting lots of use!

AND FYI for anyone who requested a Scarymommy Thanksgiving GC - Got this in my email today:

Quote:
Hi, it's me again. The whole point of this project was to TAKE AWAY Thanksgiving stress from you, not add to it, and I'm so sorry to have many of you concerned about the whereabouts of your card. While I would like to assure you that the cards will definitely arrive early next week, I'm afraid I can't control how long the US Post Office takes, especially to the west coast (much as I would like to control everything.) The bad news is that the cards don't have individual tracking, so I can't see where each and every one currently is, but the good news is that I can void them and get the money to you another way, if necessary. You will ALL have your Thanksgiving dinners, one way or another.

So... In case your card doesn't arrive today or Monday...

• If you are able to accept payments via paypal, please let me know if you haven't gotten your card with mail delivery on TUESDAY. I will then paypal you the money and cancel the money on the card, so you can discard it once it arrives.

• If you can't accept money via paypal, please let me know if the card is not there by MONDAY'S delivery and I will overnight you a card for delivery on Tuesday. (Obviously this isn't ideal as there is a hefty fee to ship this way, and I would love to allow one more day to see if it arrives, but will do this for as many people as I have to.)

Sound like a plan? I'm optimistic that most will be there today and Monday, but reach out to me either Monday or Tuesday, depending on the above, if they have not. Again, I'm so sorry for the unnecessary stress on you!!!!
 
#1,325 ·
For people without dental insurance, there are discount plans you can sign up for through Dentalplans.com. It runs about $150 a year for a family plan which gets you discounts if your dentist takes the plan (check before you sign up.) This might not be cost effective if you have good teeth and just need check-ups. But if you discover you need a root canal and crown, you can sign up before getting the work done and it's active within a day or two.
 
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