We have been deemed by the state as financially responsible enough to purchase our own food.
I mentioned a while back that we could not find room in our $13,000/yr salary for food, leading to our acceptance of foodstamps.
After nine months of intense budgeting, Josh won a $15,000 scholarship of which, approximately $9,000 goes toward his salary. $21,000/year? What will we do with it all? Well, after rent increases and insurance premiums, there’s not much to splurge with. In fact, when we called to inform the Department of Family Resources of our salary change, they told us we still qualify for food stamps.
So nothing really changed about our budget except we were able to put a little bit more in savings every month. See, we hope to live in an actual house someday, and we hear down payments are a “good thing”.
Then, about a week ago, I submitted the paperwork needed to renew our foodstamps.
And we were denied.
The reason? We’ve managed to accrue enough savings that we no longer qualify.
I understand where they’re coming from. If we have the money, we should be able to use it to feed ourselves.
But then the little voice in my head wages a pretty convincing arguement.
All we would have to do to qualify to foodstamps again is buy a plasma TV.
I can’t help but feel that we’re being punished for being such good stewards of our money. And anyone else making the same the same amount, but spending the extra money instead of saving it, is rewarded with food stamps.
And there are so many ways we could cheat the system.
We could withdrawal our savings and put it under our mattress. We could go on a cruise (or at least to Seattle for a friend’s wedding). We could get faster internet. We could get a more expensive apartment with a washer/dryer hookup.
But we won’t. We’ll follow the rules.
I know we will not be in such a financially tight situation forever. I know (at least I’m pretty sure) my husband will graduate and get a good-paying job in just a few short years.
But what about the people who are in financially tight situations permanently? How can they be expected to make down payments on houses? If they manage to save more than $2,000, they will lose their foodstamp privileges and will have to start using their savings to feed themselves. How will they be able to better their situations?
What do you think? Should government aid be based on income? Or should it be based on savings?
This is seriously what is wrong with our country! The system is not set up to keep people upwardly mobile.
Your honesty just makes me happy. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just refreshing to read words that are so open and from the heart.
Jesus will sooo bless you for not cheating the system and He always provides, as I’m sure you’re well aware.
Thank you for sharing.
I agree with you- this is unfair. My mom has made the same argument about financial aid. While she recognizes there are those who have been wise with their money and still need the aid, but my mom feels the same as you- cheated somehow for being good stewards of their money.
You don’t need a downpayment to buy a house. We had a “Neimeiah”.
I was on the phone with one of my favorite people last weekend, a dear friend from high school, and I thought of you. She is in a wheelchair from a degenerative disease, and has been on Medicare for quite some time. Her dad died when she was nine, and she still had money in a trust from his death that she recently put in a savings account, with the plan to have it help pay for a surgery & new wheelchair. Well, she got word that the money in the savings account is disqualifying her from Medicare, and, in her words “It won’t buy half a wheelchair! So we have to spend it somehow.”
Her story, along with what you have talked about, does make me think that these forms of welfare encourage poor financial responsibility. She, too, had the same thought: she needs to go out & buy a plasma TV or something.
I agree about the financial aid. My mom says that you should only save for your kids’ college if you’re going to be able to save for their ENTIRE tuition – otherwise, the savings the parents have disqualify the kid from getting financial aid, and that will limit if the kid will be able to go to college.
Thanks so much for your sweet comment!! I actually have to have a c-section. I had one with my son. I could have tried for a VBAC if I went into labor naturally, but since i didnt and because of the issues with my son (he is totally fine now, just problems at the delivery), I have to have that. I feel a peace about it, even though its not my first choice. Induction was not an option this time, but I would not have done that anyway! It was a bad experience last time!
Well isn’t THAT frustrating! Sounds to me like another no-mans-land brought to you by our government. Even so, it’s cool that Josh won a scholarship. Go Josh!
I know where you are at Beth. I have been there before. After my husband died I went to human services in Portland, ME for some help. I needed to afford some housing and I needed some help in general. I had been a stay at home mom and also helped my husband , who was a pastor. I had not worked outside the home and was trying to go to college to get some skills.
I sat in the waiting room feeling humiliated that I had to be there, and listened to the others in the waiting room. Young single mothers seemed to dominate the room. They were talking among themselves about ways to stay on the system. One said get caught shoplifting, another said she was having another baby (had no idea who the father was) and such talk.
I was called in. I was a widow, trying to better myself and was told that I needed to be on a 3 year waiting list for housing… if I was one of them out there it was considered an emergency and they could be housed right away. I could not get help financially, could get some food stamps, but that was it. I told the woman what I was hearing out there and she said I fell in the cracks, they did not. If I was older, younger, got pregnant etc, they could help.
To top that off, I was working part time while going to school and could not take any more hours than 20, even on vacation times. If I did I would lose the food stamps and medical help I was getting. It was a trap.
Scary what is happening in our country , isn’t it?
I think all the “cracks” need to be filled in with something other than people.
When i got pregnant this last time I was on Medicaid, when I lost the baby I was told I had 2 months of postpartum coverage. Because I had the Molar pregnancy I am having to go to the Dr.’s once a month to get blood work done, and every other month to meet with my Dr. We moved in the middle of the 2 months so I had to fight with the Social Service office here to get them to give me the 2 months.
But they only gave me 2 months, despite the fact that my “condition” is because of my pregnancy. I would think it would be covered until I no longer have to go, but it’s not.
We aren’t sure if my husband’s insurance through his work will cover my Dr. appointments or not since they might consider it “preexisting”. I don’t really see how they could since it is a pregnancy related issue and pregnancy is not allowed to be considered preexisting. The other thing about preexisting conditions is that if they have been covered by insurance for a year then the new insurance will cover it. Well my molar pregnancy didn’t happen over a year ago, so it hasn’t been covered for a year, but it has been covered by Medicaid since it occurred. Oh the cracks. isn’t it nice to be wedged in one?