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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!
 
#1,327 ·
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 was thinking that it sounded like sleep apnea when I read the other post. If you need any advice or have questions about sleep apnea when you do not have insurance, feel free to PM me. Been there, done that. :hug:
 
#1,328 ·
I have just been working and dealing with a massive toothache. Finally got a appt to get it pulled on Tuesday coming up. Of course the tooth stopped hurting but it has a dull throb right now. It will cost me $90 so I keep hoping it will get better and I can put it off but I dunno. I don't want to miss work that day since I barely am getting hours right now. Who knows.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I keep trying to update more but I never log on the computer usually just my cell which makes it hard to reply.
 
#1,329 ·
My son (7) is pretty stoked because a local survey company invited him to participate in a toy study yesterday. He walked out with this really neat Hotwheels track that goes on your wall. Of course, this is just the "starter kit" and there are five more add ons that can go with it, which he wants. I told him that we would look it up online. I figured that they would be super expensive, but each add on is between $6 and $15, so I told him we could buy them a little bit at a time when I earn Swagbuck Amazon cards. I already had a credit on there so we got one add on that's going toward Christmas.
 
#1,331 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by happyhats View Post

Averysmom, do you think you have an absess or just an exposed nerve? Have you tried clove oil and/or garlic?
It is a exposed nerve. I tried putting garlic, clove oil, using the dentemp stuff to cover the nerve, and it helped for a bit but pain came right back. It comes and goes now.
 
#1,332 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by averysmomma05 View Post

It is a exposed nerve. I tried putting garlic, clove oil, using the dentemp stuff to cover the nerve, and it helped for a bit but pain came right back. It comes and goes now.
If you can find it, Orajel Tooth DESENSITIZER {not the regular orajel} will work. I've used it on exposed nerves before. It will kill the nerve / tooth though eventually, but if you're going to have it pulled anyway it would buy you time.
 
#1,334 ·
Never heard of the desensitizer, something else for my arsenal lol! So we decorated for Christmas today. My mother gave me her old artifical tree since I bought her a tabletop one. She also gave me her old treetopper, some garland, some bows, and a few ornaments. We have a vague gold and white theme this year. I had some pretty gold ribbon I used as garland along with the pearl garland from my mom. I let the kiddos go crazy putting the ornaments up. Then we topped it with gold bows. We dont have a lot of christmas decor but we cut out tons of coffee filter snowflakes and I cut out some sandpaper shapes, plus we used some pinecones. So its very festive and cozy. Made a super healthy and yummy chicken noodle soup that was mostly leftovers. I wish my period would arrive before holiday craziness. I feel bloated and irritable but nothing is happening yet. And my "poor" sil is once again getting on my nerves. She can never afford to pitch in for family dinners, etc, but was just given an expensive coach purse. So she is tooling around in a fancy new car, with theblatest smartphon and designer purses, and I have to worry about everything. I know its irrational and the purse was a gift, and pms isnt helping but grrr. My birthday is sunday, I expect to be spoiled by dh after this holiday craziness lol.
 
#1,335 ·
Gratefuls:

-heat. It's 18 degrees today. BRRRRRR! Gonna be baking and cooking all day.

-my company just gifted each of us employees a pair of Armani sunglasses of our choice as a Christmas gift. Mine retailed for $190. There are some benefits to working for this company for sure!

-after a very busy weekend working and shipping my kids off to whomever would take them, I have two days off in a row to catch up on the rest of my life.

-online streaming of shows that I normally can't watch without having cable.

-a new someone special

-I had the highest sales this week in the store again.

-somehow all the bills are being paid and I still have a few bucks leftover for shopping. I'm going to go into work at the mall an hour or two early in hopes of snagging a Black Friday deal or two since I have to work anyway. And by evening, all the cra*iness should start to die down a little.

-gonna use today to knit on the couch with a blanket on my lap watching some junk tv and do some baking. I may even take a nap! The luxury!
 
#1,336 ·
Justmama, sounds like things are going great for you this week .

:)


I'm thankful for all that we have but stressing a little how financially we're going to afford things next month. Trying not to think about it and just take one day at a time.
 
#1,337 ·
its so dang cold here (AZ) this is the first time in YEARS that i've had to turn the heat on. We literally went from a/c to heat in a week. - wasn't planning on heat, didnt budget for heat. this is going to be crazy expensive.

yesterday was crock pot day... made bread pudding with all the ends ive been saving of GF bread and made soup.

today I need to get to the PO box. I want to finish working on ds blanket and try to get a sweater done for my neice - not sure if its gonna work up correctly or not.

skipped grocery shopping this week, wasn't in the mood.

got invited to a friends for thursday yeah!!
 
#1,338 ·
HUGE GRATEFUL THIS MORNING!!!! Landlord called me last night and said, "hey are you home? I wanted to stop by in about an hour." Sure, no problem. He and his wife brought us a huge amt of food for a thanksgiving basket. His church hands out baskets every year for the congregation to "pay it forward" and he chose us. A MASSIVE turkey, a fro*en apple pie, tons of canned good, fresh apples, onions, oranges, and a butternut squash, canned gravy, fresh potatoes, brown and serve rolls, jello, pudding, sugar, canned pumpkin, a pie crust mix, etc. Oh my gosh. Tons of food. SO grateful. My younger two girls literally stood there on the chairs at the dining room table "sorting" and playing with everything for a good 30 minutes going, "wow! mom look! Look at this! Look what we got!" I need to figure out how to cook this turkey. I plan on cooking it and free*ing most of the meat and making stock to free*e as well and we are gonna eat like kings for a long time! I took pictures of the girls and we will be getting them printed and making thank you cards. They are such great people. Really good hearts.

:joy
That's a huge weight off my shoulders this morning. We can save the ScaryMommy gift card for a safety net for groceries another month. I have never done a thanksgiving dinner with my girls so this is really special. I was just telling NewGuy how "bah humbug" I felt about the holidays this year already and now this bit of generosity has helped pull up my mood so much.

Hope you all are well. Hope everyone can enjoy the season. I'm thinking the kids and I might look for a Christmas tree this coming weekend after the Black Friday cra*e. NewGuy and I have a date planned for chinese food and beer in our jammies after we get out of work at night on Black Friday. Since we both work sales, it's going to take everything in both of us to keep our numbers up and I think we both need to blow off some steam when my kids are with their dad. Looking forward to it.
 
#1,339 ·
So after days and days of pain i went to my appt at the dentist this morning. $170 later my tooth ache and the 2 teeth causin it is gone. mouth is really sore and he had trouble getting roots out so perscribed me a pain killer. i am sorta sad i wont get to eat a bunch for thanksgiving but so glad my mouth will be better.
 
#1,340 ·
averysmom, Im sorry about the expense but Im glad you are feeling better. Enjoy the mashed potatoes and other soft foods! Justmama. Im so happy for yoy! Maybe use the windfall for christmas dinner? As for here just prepping for the holiday madness that begins tomorrow. We are supposed to make cinnamon ornaments tonight, I need to pick up the house a little, disaster proof the playroom and make the gooey butter cake. I may also cut and peel potatoes. As for dinner I may just see if my sis wants to go in on a pizza and we can pop in a movie.. I did my first black friday shopping.. I was able to get three pairs of shoes for sixty dollars but get fifteen back in kohl dollars. Yes please.
 
#1,341 ·
Averysmom - Sorry you had to get it pulled, but glad it isn't hurting anymore!

Justmama - That is AWESOME about the food basket! I know you and your girls will enjoy it. I agree - maybe use the windfall for holiday dinner or gifts maybe.

Happyhats - We are planning on making cinnamon ornaments too. Need to go to the bulk section & get the cinnamon though.

Zebra15 - I hear you on the cold - we've dipped right to freezing here the last 2 nights :( Very very cold for us this time of year. I hate to think what our electric bill will be like. I found a bunch of GF baking recipes yesterday over on the King Arthur Flour blog & thought of you.

Just got done putting the turkey in the oven - trying the Alton Brown good Eats recipe this year. Hope it turns out good - I tweaked it a bit to use what we had. Just need to do the easy stuff now - stuffing from a box, instant mashed potatoes, canned cranberry sauce & steamer green beans. Pie is already done just need to set it out to warm :) Still waiting on the scarymommy GC, so I pulled from bill money to buy the last of what we needed.

Only BF shopping I'm doing this year is CVS for the freebies & one of the thrift shops is doing 50% off everything. Gotta go find sweaters for my buyer, stuff to list on ebay, and books to sell at the homeschool used book sales this summer.

It's super cold here, but it's supposed to warm up starting today thankfully. We've been bundled up in double layer sweats to stay warm, even with the heater on.
 
#1,343 ·
I cooked that giant turkey. And I didn't burn the house down.
:rotflmao
It came out well I think. The kids said it was delicious. And they went with daddy to his side of the family to celebrate and the little ones got 2 garbage bags full of clothing from their cousins and there's two winter jackets too. It truly was a day for giving thanks. Between the clothing and all the free groceries, it was awesome.

So I have a few hours this morning to clean the disaster that I call home sweet home after Thanksgiving swept through like a tornado. And then I have to go to work. I'm leaving an hour early to drop off my kids and make a 20 minute drive. Sometimes there are drawbacks to working at the mall. It's gonna be nuts. But I'm hoping to crush my sales goal of $800 for the day. And then I have plans with New Guy after work since we are both closing our stores. Should be a good day. Busy and stressful but good. Good money at least. Productive. I have a 12lb turkey to clean and make stock from but I probably won't get to it today. There's always tomorrow. Gotta pay rent too but fortunately we are in a good place to pay that right now. All these extra hours are paying off.
 
#1,344 ·
Justmama - that's ama*ing!!!

We traditionally visit friends for Thanksgiving, and yesterday she sent us home with enough turkey and bones for a huge, fine pot of soup. Honestly, I like the soup better than the overeating of the holiday itself. I think I will start it in the crockpot tonight and wake to the warm simmering smell - ahhhh!

I am looking for a second job. I have several ideas for home businesses, but none that will pay well enough or dependably enough to make the difference for me. For example, I make really cool up cycled baby clothes. But I would have to sell about 300 items a month to make the money I need. I already work full time and there are only so many hours in a day. I use professional production techniques and can be pretty efficient but I can't average 10 a day, plus shopping for materials (used tshirts) shipping and email correspondence through Etsy. Sigh. Same with tutoring - I would have to have a student every evening plus a few on weekends. Just can't face it. So I have found a part time job to apply for in my field (Social work) that the hourly wage is about double what I am making now. For the state rather than a non-profit. Not so much fun, but maybe I could get my head above water for once. I have applied and I imagine I will find more now that I am looking.
 
#1,345 ·
How is everyone doing? I have been MIA a lot but I have been sick with Bronchial Pneumonia and a sinus infection,...still very tierd and don't feel that great...Missed 2 classes :( Now I am trying to play catch up with all the papers and reports that are due...ugg...Had a very quiet low key Thanksgiving which was nice because I just didn't feel well at all..Tommorow I promised L(6) that we would put up the tree...I have to dig it out of my trunk :) I hope I have enough ornaments to make it look nice..Most got left when we moved out of state last year..But I have all the ones the kids have made at school and some I got as teacher gifts...I have to go back to work Monday but only for a week and half...Teaching where I do we get a nice long winter/holiday break which I am truely thankful for right now with me being so worn out and tierd from the pneuemonia...I get the 13th of December thru the 6th of Janurary off...I got my car fixed...It was bad but I got through it..Very thankful to have good car hear again...here in the North we have been getting blasted with tons of snow and freezing temperatures...Brrrr.... I haven't read all the posts yet so I really hope everyone is doing okay..I pray for everyone every night <3

Thankful for...

Heat in my car and home because it is super cold outside....

My dad's bonemarrow transplant has been scheduled for the 1st of the year...

Plenty of food in my house right now because I know what it is like to have none..

And I am so very thankful for this group that I can come to when I need a listening ear... <3
 
#1,346 ·
Mylie, you should make some salt dough ornaments with L. I was gonna say cinnamon ornaments because they smell so ama*ing but the cinnamon isn't cheap so maybe that's not a good choice. But salt dough ornaments are really cheap. And fun. Maybe some origami ornaments. Look up directions on youtube.
 
#1,347 ·
Justmama...I acutally have that planned...L is gluten free so we have to make them with rice flour instead of wheat flour...I am going to do the cinnamon ones..they last forever...My son is 24 and he made several in 1st grade..I still have them and they still smell AMAZING!!!!

Today is going to be a fun day for L ...We have to go to Walmart to pick up her new EpiPens so we are stopping at the Santa House in the Park to see Santa...I just have to remember to take one of her safe candy canes and slip it too him before she sees...She is amazed every year that he remembers she has bad food allergies and gives her a "safe" candy cane...Makes her feel so special
:love
Then we are going to put up our tree...My cousin is going sledding and will stop and pick her up later this evening....I can't go and be out in the cold that long but L will love it ....It will give me a couple hours of rest too....She is really getting into the fun of Christmas this year... :)
 
#1,348 ·
That sounds awesome. You are obviously doing an ama*ing job raising L. She's so lucky to have you. I'm trying to get into the spirit this year. Really really trying. I think this coming weekend we'll have to get a tree. My paycheck will have to go towards that.

I am picking up two more before-school-care kids so that's a little more money. I had a productive weekend. I did lots of cooking-related things and got the last two pumpkins cooked, pureed, and fro*en. I got granola bars made. I got the turkey picked and fro*en and the carcass cooked down for stock and fro*en. I made cookies for the guys at work. I got turkey pot pie made for the kids for dinner with all the leftovers from Thanksgiving(carrots, peas, corn, turkey, gravy all mixed together and topped with buttered halved biscuits). They loved it. And I got the week's worth of lunches planned out in my fridge. I think it's pumpkin muffins for breakfast tomorrow. Cooking for 7 every morning takes a little forethought. Just found this too and want to try it: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chickpea-avocado-feta-salad/ Mmmmmmmm.

Gratefuls:

-my new cowl is almost finished. Hopefully tonight.

-my mom let me borrow two new pink scarves for work since pink is a holiday color for us so I'm feeling festive there.

-got a TON done this weekend. Thankfully. I needed that little ego boost.

-2 garbage bags of clothing from family on Thanksgiving.

-Christmas shopping is going slowly but well. Thank you Old Navy and H&M for being so cheap.

-Bills are somehow getting paid. Without too much trouble. I'm impressed and flabbergasted. But grateful.
 
#1,350 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by zebra15 View Post

Has anyone recieved teh 'scarry mommy' GC yet? I know she was having issuses getting them out. I don't mind that its coming late, I can always use a PP card, I just am wondering if its' due this week or not...
Got ours Friday evening.

Dealing with a lot of personal stuff here lately. Trying to scramble & earn enough for the house taxes. Been pretty busy listing stuff on ebay & thrift shopping for my sweater buyer. Oh and I gotta renew our SNAP & medicaid again - oh joy. Self-employment & assistance is a nightmare.
 
#1,351 ·
got our scary mommy card on Friday. it activated with no issues and I'll be using it probably tomorrow for a few things we are running low on. it was good timing so that we can use that part of my personal funds for a Christmas tree. we always get the Charlie Brown type Christmas tree. cute but a little rinky dink. lol. got a full week ahead again. hours are picking up at the store for the holiday season so my sales are up thankfully and becoming more competitive. it's hard to keep on top of the Christmas covers for the kids plus three jobs and work parties and a social life. thankfully new guy is a very involved single dad so he gets it. I'm feeling like I'm barely hanging on to my sanity some days. I've gotta get back in to my therapist. I self sabotage as soon as I start getting control of things and I hate that. had a little meltdown at work on black Friday but fortunately I made it to at least the parking lot and no one was around to see me. what a mess. I'll get out under control and be fine but that shouldn't happen. I should know better after this many years of dealing with mental illness so I'm kicking myself.

hope everyone is well. been quiet here the last few weeks. thinking about you ladies.
 
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