This is a misleadingly titled blog post because it is more about getting kicked off food stamps and at the same time feeling forced to stay on food stamps. I'm getting ahead of myself.
There are 12 people in my family, we are all included on one food stamps case (which is awesome btw cause you know we're poly). Both men in our family work full time at higher than minimum wage. All together we earn a net income of $52,000. Hell Yeah right... well sort of. It spreads thin fast. According to the government we live just below the poverty line. The problem is, Brian got a raise. This means we live in fear each month of making too much money.
Each month we spend about $1000 on groceries. That means budgeting and hardcore planning just to keep it that low. Food stamps covers about 2/3 of that amount and we cover the rest.
Don't misunderstand, I so badly want to be off food stamps. I just don't want to be constantly struggling for food. I want to be able to get out of poverty without wanting to get back on food stamps because living on that much less food money sucks the life out of us.
Not including food,the breakdown of our bills for a year goes like this:
Rent= $10,500
Electric= $4,800
Water= $1,800
Car Payment= $4,320
Insurance= $1,800
Phones= $1,200
Internet= 1,500
Gas= $4,700
Then, after all that, there is medicine, field trips, school clothes, school supplies, birthdays, holidays, clothes that fit the season, shoes, diapers, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent... the list of necessities goes on and we will calculate that list to be $10,000
Total for bills not including food: $40,620
Wow that leaves plenty for food right? 52,000 - 40,620 = 11,380 divide that by 12 months:
$950 a month for FOOD! That is only $50 short of the current budget!
wait, wait, wait... Our daughter has visits with her dad that I didn't account for. The jeep is broken down and needs fixed. The toilet won't flush and the AC stopped working in 100 degree weather. A family member passed in another state. Life in general happened.
At this point, off food stamps, money is so tight that I wish Brian never got the promotion to mechanic that he always wanted.
So, we are on the verge of getting kicked off food stamps, but even if that doesn't happen... I want to get off food stamps and actually live a quality life with my family. Did I mention you aren't allowed to save money or they will kick you off for having too much money? That means no saving for a better future like we're supposed to.
This blog post went in a very ranty direction, but if you are still reading this, I'd like to get to the point that made me want to write it in the first place.
I googled "how to get off food stamps" and found literally nothing but other rants. Not helpful
I've added to my first quarter goals for 2017 to get off food stamps.
Here's what I'm thinking, I'll grow food and get chickens and maybe some other animals and try to spend as little actual money as possible. I wean us off food stamps by spending less of what they give us each month. So, if they give us 100 then in January I'll only spend 66. In February I'll spend 33 and March I'll spend none. If I can accomplish that then I'll be off food stamps and on our own feet.
I just thought of another problem though... If we don't qualify for foo stamps then we don't qualify for insurance either... poverty sucks. My thought process is probably flawed idk.
