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Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,267 times
Reputation: 307
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A few questions come to mind living at or below, the Federal poverty level.
Do you have medical care?
How many hrs do you work a week?
How do you cover housing and food?
How long has your circumstances been this way?
Do you see it changing and/or do you want it to change?
I'll go first
I work for a National package delivery company in the warehouse 4 hrs a day, 5 days a wk.
Hours increase during Xmas time.
Vested in my pension next year.
Hourly rate is $15
Excellent health and dental And very inexpensive.
- 95% of the time, we live in a Forest Service Cabin we own.
1550 sq ft, 3bdrm/2 bath w/garage below.
Forest Service likes we are there so much and encourages it due to extreme temps.
pipes burst, forest fires, nice to have eyes on the entire tract.
-Fostered then adopted 2 boys. Otherwise we could not afford to have kids.
Each boy each receive $125 into their savings accounts per mo from the subsidy.
-Community College will be free to our kids. NextUp program gives them a leg up. We'll pay nothing.
Beyond an AA, it will be on their dime though we will help with obtaining scholarships (writing and such)
-My employer offers assistance to employees who want to attend College while working.
This is how my wife became a phlebotomist though she's currently working as a Waitress, better pay
-Wife and kids are paid, every other weekend, to clean a restaurant in town
Kids are paid $8 per hour which is generous. My wife is given $4 more per hr in the form of a gift certificate.
People sometimes get govt assistance. In fact some working poor get more in givt benefits than in getting another $3/hr in pay.
I have an other half (OH). My OH works two part time jobs to approximate one. Sometimes more than 40 hours, often less.
I draw SSDI, but dont get anything as my OH s income knocks me out of govt programs.
But, id have help if i didn't.
Eveb without help, you live below your means, dont buy expensive anything, especially a car, buy used cars, shop thrift stores , discount or dollar stores.
Its easy to save money even at a poverty level if you live below your means.
Living below your means, taking advantage of programs, it CAN be done.
Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,267 times
Reputation: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by galaxyhi
I think you answered your question.
People sometimes get govt assistance. In fact some working poor get more in givt benefits than in getting another $3/hr in pay.
I have an other half (OH). My OH works two part time jobs to approximate one. Sometimes more than 40 hours, often less.
I draw SSDI, but dont get anything as my OH s income knocks me out of govt programs.
But, id have help if i didn't.
Eveb without help, you live below your means, dont buy expensive anything, especially a car, buy used cars, shop thrift stores , discount or dollar stores.
Its easy to save money even at a poverty level if you live below your means.
Living below your means, taking advantage of programs, it CAN be done.
This was more geared towards those who do not receive got't assistance.
Foster care is very low pay as $900 a month is less than 50% of min wage.
Most regular folks understand fostering kids is closer to volunteering.
If more folks stepped up to foster, the tax burden on the working would be much less. The state homes are awfully expensive to house children who have the right to live in a real home, with a real family.
Glad your wife is doing so well though it's discouraging she needs to work so many hours a week. Doesn't seem fair, likely more to you who receives free SSDI. It's there for a reason, we all need disability of course . Thanks for chiming in
and- are deemed poor by the Federal poverty level, how do you get by?
If it is determined that one is at or below the poverty level, whether single, a couple or a family and working or not, then it only makes sense that they apply for every possible assistance available to them. Housing, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and medical/dental benefits as well.
That is how people get by if they qualify and to the extent of which programs they are eligible for. Depending on where they live there may even be programs for free/reduced fares for transportation on buses and/or trains.
Glad your wife is doing so well though it's discouraging she needs to work so many hours a week. Doesn't seem fair, likely more to you who receives free SSDI. It's there for a reason, we all need disability of course . Thanks for chiming in
My SSDI is NOT "FREE". It is based on my earnings while i worked, and i was no slouch. I ALWAYS worked more than one job.
Then, i began to have serious chronic continuous medical issues. Ive had 20 surgeries to try to fix this body. My spinal discs are degenerating. I have avascular necrosis in my hips. ( necrosis means dying or dead, in this case, bones), and i have two bad knees. I walk with a cane...from age 45. Sometimes with my knees, i need two canes or crutches to walk. I live woth massive amounts of pain every day. I have scripts for morphine and codeine, continuously. I get injections, nerve blocks and radio frequency ablation to try to control and moderate the pain, all done in an Operating room.
Its hard to keep a job when you spend 8 out of 12 months in the hospital!
I had savings and investments for retirement, but had to go through all of that to survive. Id be a multi millionaire now if i had been able to leave it invested.
Instead, i ended up HOMELESS living under a bridge next to the RR tracks. No family would help. I was the proverbial red headed stepchild then. I ended up on welfare and getting re- homed to a drafty old cottage barely legal to rent, with NO HEAT. ONLY a little electric heater for heat. It kept it at about 52°.
My SSDI is the same as getting SS at retirement age, except its for people who cant work, but worked and earned at least 20 credits during their working time( i had more than enough).
It isn't "Free " any more than SS is.
Just like my handicapped plates and hang tag, I EARNED my SSDI, the HARD way.
Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,267 times
Reputation: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by galaxyhi
My SSDI is NOT "FREE". It is based on my earnings while i worked, and i was no slouch. I ALWAYS worked more than one job.
Then, i began to have serious chronic continuous medical issues. Ive had 20 surgeries to try to fix this body. My spinal discs are degenerating. I have avascular necrosis in my hips. ( necrosis means dying or dead, in this case, bones), and i have two bad knees. I walk with a cane...from age 45. Sometimes with my knees, i need two canes or crutches to walk. I live woth massive amounts of pain every day. I have scripts for morphine and codeine, continuously. I get injections, nerve blocks and radio frequency ablation to try to control and moderate the pain, all done in an Operating room.
Its hard to keep a job when you spend 8 out of 12 months in the hospital!
I had savings and investments for retirement, but had to go through all of that to survive. Id be a multi millionaire now if i had been able to leave it invested.
Instead, i ended up HOMELESS living under a bridge next to the RR tracks. No family would help. I was the proverbial red headed stepchild then. I ended up on welfare and getting re- homed to a drafty old cottage barely legal to rent, with NO HEAT. ONLY a little electric heater for heat. It kept it at about 52°.
My SSDI is the same as getting SS at retirement age, except its for people who cant work, but worked and earned at least 20 credits during their working time( i had more than enough).
It isn't "Free " any more than SS is.
Just like my handicapped plates and hang tag, I EARNED my SSDI, the HARD way.
No doubt you earned it the hard way. Sorry to hear about your health issues, that's rough. SS may be free to me, depends upon how much I pay into it. Remember that I only work 20 hrs a week. Some folks get back more than they put in, to me, that is FREE. Same as our Earned Income Tax Credit for the kids which equates to about $400 a month, that is FREE to me. I did not earn the $$ IRS is giving back to me.
The kids get a subsidy of almost $900 a month. Do I consider it free? Not really. It felt like we worked hard caring for those kids for some time in the beginning. Until we got smart and weaned them off the pyshcotropic meds, serving only organic whole foods. What a difference. The recreation we do as a family means they are kids in pretty good shape. We do recreation they enjoy, and luckily, we also enjoy cycling and long hikes.
About $200 a month is free, after we contribute $125-$150 each to their savings accounts. Well maybe not if you add in our vacations. Who else is paid to have their own children? Great deal for us, wow. And the state will even cover their medical though I've added them onto my employers policy for $50 per month.
So trust me, if I receive SS after all of this, I'll likely get back more than I put in. Working full time is NOT my goal. The kids run me ragged enough, though we love them to death. Being gone isn't good for them. Homeschooling is.
SSDI is an insurance policy. Anytime someone wins by paying into the system yet getting more out, maybe it's just me, but it equates to being FREE. That is how it should be, it's how it was set up to be. If I am hurt at the warehouse, I may be joining you on SSDi and appreciate it being available
Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,267 times
Reputation: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeIsWhere...
and- are deemed poor by the Federal poverty level, how do you get by?
If it is determined that one is at or below the poverty level, whether single, a couple or a family and working or not, then it only makes sense that they apply for every possible assistance available to them. Housing, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and medical/dental benefits as well.
That is how people get by if they qualify and to the extent of which programs they are eligible for. Depending on where they live there may even be programs for free/reduced fares for transportation on buses and/or trains.
Yes but that isn't the only route nor necessarily the best, if avoidable.
welfare services are great but they are at the expense of others.
We were lucky to inherit a Forest Service Cabin
And knowing plenty of kids need foster homes
That was our plan
Yet when they got booted from school, my wife started homeschooling
Then they thrived
Social Worker wasn't happy we moved without notification
This Cabin didn't cut the muster but she ignored it.
Despite it being almost 1500 sq feet, 3 bdrms/2 ba w/garage
She didn't like we stayed at the inn for part of the winter either due to snow
Kids loved it even though it was just 1o min away in our little town
When you divide up living expenses with even one foster child,
It cuts household expenses dramatically.
We won't ever be wealthy but we will have a pension, healthcare, dental, through my work for the next 10 yrs.
After that, I'll may become a phlebotomist. Something very non-physical and easy which can provide health and dental care. By then I;'ll have a small pension built up before my body is wore out working in a warehouse.
Yes but that isn't the only route nor necessarily the best, if avoidable. Welfare services are great but they are at the expense of others.
And knowing plenty of kids need foster homes. That was our plan.
Yet when they got booted from school, my wife started homeschooling. Then they thrived.
Social Worker wasn't happy we moved without notification. This Cabin didn't cut the muster but she ignored it. Despite it being almost 1500 sq feet, 3 bdrms/2 ba w/garage. She didn't like we stayed at the inn for part of the winter either due to snow. Kids loved it even though it was just 1o min away in our little town.
When you divide up living expenses with even one foster child. It cuts household expenses dramatically.
We won't ever be wealthy but we will have a pension, healthcare, dental, through my work for the next 10 yrs. After that, I'll may become a phlebotomist. Something very non-physical and easy which can provide health and dental care. By then I'll have a small pension built up before my body is wore out working in a warehouse.
In the end Frugal Fox and with all due respect, I will only say, six of one, half a dozen of the other. In other words you are being financially compensated for fostering children in the State of California as well as any financial compensation you may receive for homeschooling your foster children. While I applaud your noble efforts and commitment to fostering children, one may also view it as it's own type of welfare service. And that's all well and good just acknowledge that there is a monetary component to this as well.
In the end I wish you and you family joy and happiness with bright futures and smooth sailing, sincerely.
Getting Paid to Be a Foster Parent: State-by-State Monthly Guide
Parents who choose either of these options frequently do so because of the economic advantage of having the state pay for curriculum, supplies, and classes outside of the home.
Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,267 times
Reputation: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeIsWhere...
In the end Frugal Fox and with all due respect, I will only say, six of one, half a dozen of the other. In other words you are being financially compensated for fostering children in the State of California as well as any financial compensation you may receive for homeschooling your foster children.
No one is compensated for Homeschooling that I know of. In fact, it's discouraged.
Our County Foster parent classes, the instructor, made that clear.
YET...I learned what we do isn't homeschooling but we are considered "Teachers Aides" to the Teacher. Thank you for those links, I didn't know this.
Likely why the Worker laid off us so easily when she understood the situation.
They attend the Charter school a few days a wk
We might be making $50 a month. No normal person considers that "compensation". If that's compensation, we need a UNION really bad! Before the kids came, we had two roommates who shared in their portion of the housing, utilities, internet and landline. Now we have two kids who do it!
Also you forget. Once they turn 18, there is no subsidy. Normal parents still pay for their children after they turn 18. Why do I have a funny feeling the $50 we make, is not going to be for long?
Quote:
While I applaud your noble efforts and commitment to fostering children, one may also view it as it's own type of welfare service. And that's all well and good just acknowledge that there is a monetary component to this as well.
There is compensation if you want to neglect the children, that's the hard truth. Ever live in our area of California? It's not cheap. Food is even worse when you live in a Tourist town needing to drive 1-2 hrs to go shopping. Hence why half my wife's paycheck is in Trades for food at the Restaurant.
Quote:
In the end I wish you and you family joy and happiness with bright futures and smooth sailing, sincerely.
Thank you for the well wishes, I appreciate it. We are paid the basic amount, the lowest amount a foster parent can get. Yet it sustains them so that is what is important. For years, Foster parents paid out of pocket in California and likely still do, depending upon the area they live.
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. Thanks for chiming in
