So, it's been my understanding that the welfare system and programs that stem from it (foodstamps, heating bill assistance etc) are a major source of controversy. so, with my recent unemployment and being laid off, i thought i'd bring the topic back up again. a little background for those who don't know me..... i'm a 27 year old married father of 3 little girls. worked full time as a cnc machinist until i was laid off recently "due to the economy". now, i was making enough money to foot my bills but not to save. so, with no job, i've no money. except my unemployment. which is next to nothing as you all know. so we filled for foodstamp benefits and medicaid and anything else we can to get some assistance from the state. i've got an appointment on the 9th to have an orientation/skills assessment test. the purpose of the test is for career placement. apparently there are programs that will pay for me to get a degree to better myself. i don't know all the courses/fields that are offered but i'm going to do the test and see what the tell me. i need to get my ass off the shop floor anyhow. i allready wear hearing aids and being on a shop floor the rest of my life isnt' going to help my hearing.
so, point blank, would you guys classify me in my situation as "one of those lazy fucks trying to live off the state"??
No , because u dont enjoy being unemployed and ur trying hard to find another job , id consider you a Victim of a Recession
If you are activly seeking a job whenever time allows, every day to provide for your family then i would never consider you to scrounge of the state. Even if you don't get a job, looking for one all the time is what matters. You can only find a job when your looking and any job will do. Thers nothing to stop you taking a part time store job and still job hunting.
Its the people who choose to make a living of their benefits. They have no intention of putting the effort in to get a job for whatever reason.
Im sure Kasumi will agree that in England , benifits are a joke , with enough kids , u can get a 6/7 bedroom house rented for almost free , they will pay most of the rent , then child benifit ,family tax credits, Dole money etc , its a joke here
Quote from: Jay_wolf on January 18, 2009, 12:02:11 PM
No , because u dont enjoy being unemployed and ur trying hard to find another job , id consider you a Victim of a Recession
AGREED. your a dad looking out for the family :thumb:
i wonder how far my family is away from that situation daily. we have some savings, but with current economic stuff going on, the dollar is worth less every day.
no, you're not a sorry schmuck. not much you can do to prevent a shop closing.
i feel for you and the fam with all the added stress you have right now. enjoy the simple times at home you can with the kids until you have something productive again.
money ain't a problem honey, we ain't got any !
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: true, i've contacted the bank that has our mortgage they said they'll work with us. car place has allowed me to keep the car and they gave me an extension on my next payment. the credit card people are useless to deal with, they said stuff like, "can you send us 5 bucks?" and i'm like uh, i just said i have no money, what part of no money do you understand? LOL. i'll also admit i did blow $20 bucks from my last check on a case of beer. hey, it's a health issue, i've been told beer is good for ya. :icon_mrgreen: we'll see what the future brings. i'm trying to keep an open mind and be positive ya know, but it's not easy. i'm also a proud person, so in a way it's hard not to feel a bit upset about the assistance i have to get. but i suppose it happens, its what part of my tax money went for right? :cheers:
Quote from: Jay_wolf on January 18, 2009, 12:05:33 PM
Im sure Kasumi will agree that in England , benifits are a joke , with enough kids , u can get a 6/7 bedroom house rented for almost free , they will pay most of the rent , then child benifit ,family tax credits, Dole money etc , its a joke here
Your not wrong Jay.
We've been in a terrible financial situation up till recently. My farther has worked since he was a boy, worked for IBM for 35years almost and then left due to a crap boss. Hes been unlucky in having a few jobs in companies that have shut the projects down or sold them off and hes been made redundant. This last time he was redundant for almost 6 months, he made over 390 job applications and only got invited to about 5 job interviews, of that it came down to 2 and then 1 dropped out. He finally got a job and starts 2nd of Feb. Hes a guy who is on a 100k a year package paid 40% tax for the best part of 30 years. We were really struggling, him and my mum had just invested in a new house so that he could sell it off when he retires. They had put alot of cash into restoring it and thats what he and my mum love doing, restoring houses so did it all by themselves. When he was made redundant it was tough times, they were living of the savings and back to shopping at Aldi. The cars had to go, couldn't sell the house due to the downturn in the economy. I loaned them money. Thankfully he has a job now.
But in terms of the benfits we received, nadda, or next to nothing, despite paying 40% tax which is going to low lifes who are not even interested in working he got nothing but 30 quid a week jobseekers allowance, and for that he had to go sit for 2 hours and 'sign on' in the job centre. Be spoken to like they could advise him on how to get a job, they didnt have a clue, he was more qualified than any of the people in the job centre to give job seekers advice. Yet he had to go and be advised on his interview techniques and all sorts of crap for 30 quid. He couldn't get any more than that because apparnatly we owned too much in terms of having 2 houses, despite pointing out we cant sell, were trying but no ones buying, we've sold the cars down to one they're sharing. It makes me mad that people can live off benefits if they play the system, never pay tax and live a life far better than many honest people can. Yet the honest guy who pays his taxes works hard everyday when he comes to hard times they say well you shouldnt have bought yourself a car and things its like WHAT?!
Grrr Benefits system in this country is screwed up. Especially when theyre building brand new houses and giving them away to asylum seekers!
Meh...it's hard to do anything different in your situation. The only instant-paycheck guaranteed to you is if you enlist, which really is an option to most people but seldom sought.
The burdens to the system are the ones who live off the system. The hard times benefits stuff were meant for people who've fallen on hard times. You've fallen on hard times. You only become a burden to the system after you've decided that your "hard times" are good enough and just keep floating along with someone else footing the bill.
You've got nothing to be ashamed of. You are experiencing rough times through no fault of your own. Your situation is exactly why those benefits were concieved. I went through the same thing at 27 (laid off machinist, 2 kids, mortgage, etc.) and it was gut wrenching. Keep busy, spend time with your kids and hold your head up. Despite the media onslaught of gloom and doom, this too shall pass.
Man I wish I could find all the money that everyone says the government gives you. I was one of those hardworking individuals as well wasn't unusual for a 100 hr week workaholic could best describe me. But, at 21 was diagnosed with heart failure amazing how one day your great the next getting outta bed is as hard as a 100hr week. Was a very proud person been on my own at 16 and didn't need anybody's help now was faced with mortality and bills. I had a descent savings account cause all I did was work but doctors and medication ate it up quickly. Within six months found myself not able to take care of myself. Friends said go apply for benefits went to the Department of Children and Families and was told in short order that they did not help single people that if I had a child I could get medicaid and food stamps! WTF I can't take care of myself but you encourage me to bring another life in this world that would probably kill me anyway. I applied for disability but while I was at the heart transplant center was told I was not qualified because I was educated and could talk on a phone. It took a lawyer and three years to finally get disability the judge was like why weren't you immediately approved.
So while I am very fortunate I get what I get it's not enough to cover my bills. I still have to work part-time although I want to work usually three weeks work means a week stay at the hospital. Many times I feel like a burden to everyone and constantly get those looks when I park my bike in a handicapped spot. I guess they don't understand heck at times I don't understand all of this. So, if $900 minus $100 for medicare is alot of money I guess I'm rolling in the dough! Oh yeah rent is $700 for a one bedroom who needs to eat right? So JSERIO I'm with ya do I fit this description?
Mary
Hell No Jserio.That is what those Programs are for.You paid in and you deserve it Along with 95% of Others.There is just that 5% that in my mind aren't worthy of the Air they Breath.
Right now I know of Someone that Could really Benefit from Food Stamps,Health Insurance and Unemployment but they are like me they Don't have that choice in Their Life.A Part time job that doesn't pay into unemployment,Mom takes off with the Food Stamps Every month and Can't get Health insurance Because they aren't Pregnant.
Justin you're not wrong for trying to get the assistance you have paid for. One of the things you need to consider though is cutting back on everything though. Pay TV, cell phones, broadband internet if you have a land line you need to ask for the lowest tarrif rate available it all needs to go my friend. Your priorities become surviving. Unfortunately as you said you don't have any savings, getting rid of the car payment and getting a vehicle cheap for cash would be better for you. Unfortunately you may be filing bankruptcy for relief if your situation lasts too long.
That's the way my wife and I are, BP. I don't really make a lot of money...in fact, we barely manage to save at the end of the month but we do get at least a few bucks into the savings account. We keep being asked why we haven't signed up for WIC and why I haven't dropped Kalee from my insurance so she could get medicaid (which I've been tempted to do because my insurance really really sucks), but the two of us can't justify any of it. Why? We have internet, satellite TV, we both have cars and I have a motorcycle, we both have world of warcraft accounts, etc etc etc. There's a lot of things that could go before we resort to public assistance, but we're in a bit of a different situation that the OP's. If I lost my job, I'd be in line for every bit I've been paying for since I was 16, but we'd also be weeding out our paid services and such.
yup you can always whore up on the twin , and a local library internet pc :thumb:
For what it's worth, I agree with all the posts so far. That's what you've been paying taxes for.
As far as the Credit card companies go, pay them last if at all.
Shelter, food, and transportation first. All the rest of the bills somewhere down the list.
One of the best people I've heard in a long time on financial advice, is a man named Dave Ramsey.
I wish you the best thru this time.
BeSafe
PJ
I remember the 70's and what my Mom and stepdad did to survive. The house I grew up in they bought for $3500 in 1974, barely got the loan and it had a 17% interest rate, It sold 3 years ago for $15,000 btw, ough to tell you something about the neighborhood I was from. Anyway we had a 13" B&W television, electricity, water and gas. We did'nt have any AC either. Back then there were no laws telling utility companies they couldn't disconnect your service in winter time because you failed to pay your bill. I can remeber lots of nights huddled around a kerosene heater because they were waiting on my stepdads paycheck to come in so they could pay the bill. We used to stand in line for commmodity cheese, canned meat and bread, because my stepdad had a job and they had a mortgage they couldn't get food stamps. To this day I can't stand the sight of dinty moore beef stew. It reminds me of the fact that we were so poor at one time that the cheapest meat to be had was canned dog food, mixed with rice vegetabls and water cooked and served as stew.
I very rarely got new clothes, I was the kid who was always picked on because I wore hand me downs.
My grandparents gave my mom an old maverick and my stepdad had an old truck, those 2 cars were worked on and held together with luck and bailing wire.
Anyway justin if this looks to be long term you need to get out from under the car, The fiance company isn't being nice out of the goodness of their heart the want you further in debt to them, they don't care about helping and will trash your credit either way. Try to sell it for payoff if you can.
Even i fit's not regular work clean out gutters paint houses, mow grass, clean up peoples yards do whatever you can to make a few extra dollars cash under the table.
Quote from: PuddleJumper on January 19, 2009, 06:34:14 AM
For what it's worth, I agree with all the posts so far. That's what you've been paying taxes for.
As far as the Credit card companies go, pay them last if at all.
Shelter, food, and transportation first. All the rest of the bills somewhere down the list.
One of the best people I've heard in a long time on financial advice, is a man named Dave Ramsey.
I wish you the best thru this time.
Well said and the same here.
I am sort of in the same boat right now with you.
I've not worked in 7 months and countingdue to my car wreck and when I do get back I don't
know if I will have a job waiting for me to return to.
My pregnant wife just started working to help with our bills and I am bairly getting anything from my STDI
wich is about to run out and I still have not had my back surgery yet.
I wish you and your family the best and hope things start looking up.
cafeboy
thanks for the posts guys. one of my wifes uncles may have some work for me at the company he works for. they install wall beds in motels/hotels. her uncle said they did "lay-off" some people but still actually need the help. i'm guessing the company can pay someone to work, just can't pay for all the nice benefits like unemployment, ins etc. they travel alot. he said they got 2 big jobs coming up in february. one in maryland somewhere and one in orlando. so that may be an option for me to get a bit of cash. all the major companies in ohio are laying off. at least in my field. and the ones that are hiring machinist all want either a degree of some sort or more experience than i've got. i'll know more after the 9th on what kinda stuff the state is willing to send me to school for. all my bills for this month are paid, sans credit cards. and my unemployment and our food stamps should kick in by the end of this week if not next, so i think my credit cards may be the only bills i don't pay. we'll see. kinda gotta play it by ear. :thumb:
do your cred cards have som e type of benefit like un employment? most do. if not explain to htem whassup and most will put you on some type of hardhsip program
i know for a fact that one of them does, they emailed me today. said the paperwork is in the mail
cool check that wiht EVERY creditor you have. worst tehy can say is no
Be careful dealing with the card companies. They will try to get you to give them access to your bank accounts.
DO NOT DO THAT!!!
They will clean you out. They did that to my brother last year. They will promise that they will only take their payment, but they will take all they can get.
BeSafe
PJ