Living it up on the tax payers dime a weeks worth of food stamps

reply to post by daryllyn


Well here you can buy bread for 98 cents and the three dough balls you can buy are 3.79...averaged out that's $1.26 a loaf, it's actually only slightly above what the premade costs actually I guess but it's moot here because you can't even buy it in the stores in FL or NJ for some odd reason it isn't in the places where I used to get it. And also to add it goes bad very quickly after it's baked, I easily bought 3+ of those 3.79 dough balls in one month and still ran out so I'm guessing a lot of people discovered it didn't save them much money and demand went down. So they stopped stocking it.

ldyserenity
reply to post by mtnshredder

 

I would posit that he just say screw the dumb dr's and throw the meds down the drain ....

NO NO NO NO NO .... oh don't go there.
Sometimes meds are making things worse.
But don't mess with a schizophrentics medicine online like that.
no no no no no

reply to post by ldyserenity


If every person receiving handouts quit cold turkey at this very second, it wouldn't solve anything. If anything, there would be a national crisis. Welfare programs are one of the reasons hell hasn't broken loose yet.

Pasta wheat or gluten allergy?

I notice quite a few recommendations regarding bread and pasta as a staple item. What if one is ALLERGIC to those items?
What happened to me was that for awhile there was a shortage of food money and I had to resort to the aforementioned. I noticed my feet started to crack and it was Very painful indeed. I was unsure what was wrong and went the doctor for blood work. no sign of diabetes.
He suggested I omit the bread/wheat from the diet. I asked if it was either a gluten or other wheat allergy, he said "not really", in an odd kind of way. I got curious. my feet were in bad shape and quite painful with these deep cracks in the heels and outer little and big toe mounds.

Within 2 weeks of not eating the stuff my feet where HEALED. now, when I make a big pile of spaghetti, I can eat it maybe twice in a row and have to leave it be for 10 days, or else my feet go in the grinder again.

look into this before you "go heavy" on the stuff,
www.naturalnews.com...

and then this,
metabolichealing.com...

Wow. My last meal out with the girlfriend was more than some of you spend in a month on food.

elouina

ldyserenity
reply to post by mtnshredder

 

I would posit that he just say screw the dumb dr's and throw the meds down the drain cause they're probably increasing the frigging problem anyway, and just go to work. Psychiatry is the biggest panderers. The fact that a mental disorder can stop anyone from working is totally preposterous. Most of them are made up ailments anyway by people who wish to get a free ride. When they can't get diagnosed schizo or some other mental disorder an lot of them turn to saying they're addicted to drugs or alcohol to collect the handouts....mental and addictive disorders account for 95% of SSDI requests it's totally f'ing balls.

Holding my tongue as much as possible, I will say that that is the most stupid suggestion that I have ever heard at ATS. This is definitely one disorder that requires meds to be taken faithfully every day. I had a neighbor with this, and she would slip sometimes. Oh my.... And even under treatment, she was dependent upon her family. It is an organic brain disorder, there no wishing it away with happy thoughts.

edit on 17-11-2013 by elouina because: (no reason given)

I meant that mostly everyone that uses the excuse of a mental disorder is scamming the system. Not that it doesn't exist but that if you check out how many people actually have it as compared to how many say they have it to receive benefits you'll find that it's outrageously conflicting like 5% of people are clinically truly diagnosed but yet 35% on the system claim to have the disorder and are backed up by pandering psychologists. I know this to be true. Plus with the meds they still about half of them can work. There are gradient degrees of it too. SO there's that factor to consider. There's probably like 1% of people diagnosed that are actually as bad as your friend's family member with it. But yeah he should probably go to more dr's who just want to meet some pharmacy quota to get whatever they give dr's who constantly prescribe the certain meds they want them to. You'll know who these dr's are because 1) they won't give you generic replacements they won't authorize it and 2) they won't prescribe something else even if it's been shown to be more effective if they have a deal with a certain pharmaceutical company.

my recomendation is marmite, I know it never really caught on in the US but it is pretty good for you and a little bit goes a long-long-long way not to mention the fact it has a very long shelf life and doesn't need refrigeration. I found a link to a recipee for it here

marmitelover.blogspot.co.uk...

its a bit involved especially if you need to sleep that much it might take a couple of days but you can add it to most food to give it a meatier taste, use it as a base for soup, spread it on bread or toast or my personal favorite is marmite broth.

Just put a spoonful in a mug, pour in hot water stir it and you have a simple and healthy broth, that with a few slices of bread or toast on the side makes a suprisingly filling meal.

Also if you have a garden you can pick up seeds pretty cheap, even if you don't you can grow a few things on the window sills. once your set up it only takes 5 min a day to water it and you end up with alot more than it costs.

I come from a poor family and I have spent most of my adult life on one form of benefit or another (through a combination of poor life choices, mental health issues and living in an area with very high unemployment.) and I have come to realize that people can live well on virtually nothing but they need to reasses their lifestyle. Self sufficency and self improvement and a desire for indiependance are the drives you need and in our society epecially when your sitting home on your arse (so to speak) finding the self confidence to change your life is hard and I can only imagine how much harder it is with such horrific side effects to your medication but that striving no matter how small the victories is vital.

as for the side effects of your medicine I'm not going to tell you what to do but I have had schitzophrenic friends who have managed to find other less destructive methods of control that psychiatric drugs.

good luck.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

If every person receiving handouts quit cold turkey at this very second, it wouldn't solve anything. If anything, there would be a national crisis. Welfare programs are one of the reasons hell hasn't broken loose yet.

edit on 17-11-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

How can a nation take away the manufacturing and jobs in an overnight fashion?

Simple, have a welfare system setup to be a safety valve for the riots. Then slowly, like a python, put the SQUEEZE on. Then out of the "rats in a cage" mentality people will turn against another in QUICK ORDER.

that way, with half the EMPLOYED IDIOTS blaming the already destitute, the ELites can CONTINUE to SQUEEZE the LIFE out of our nation. most of the people with high level jobs are so arrogant that they pompously feel they are deserving of what they have, and when they see that is more than most others, they are in a WIN situation. And when all the decision makers are feeling the WINNING, and think they could have EVEN MORE< where do they look to get it from?
those they have offshored the means of supporting oneself.

and all the butt kissers who work for them that think THEY TOO are special, deserving, and they TOO want MORE! and where do they ALSO put BLAME for not having more?

HanzHenry
I notice quite a few recommendations regarding bread and pasta as a staple item. What if one is ALLERGIC to those items?

I have autoimmune issues that are made worse by bread and pasta. I can't have them.
I get fairly inexpensively- Rice (in bags), potatoes, hamburger, chicken, cukes, bags of beans.
Nothing 'pre-made'.
For those who don't have autoimmune issues ... loaves of bread and boxes of pasta are inexpensive.

reply to post by FlyersFan


You sound angry and are VERY judgmental of someone you don't even know. You are making all your assumptions based on a picture.

Why not give some suggestions instead of putting this person down and grouping them in with everyone else. All I have seen you do is gripe about them spending your money and how they shouldn't have this or that because you can't. Maybe you should take your own advice and budget the things you want into your diet and not blame others who are less fortunate because you feel they are spending your money. Like many members have stated food assistance isn't even that much of the US budget. I care more about our country helping other countries and wasting money on war and stupid military budgets than what someone with EBT chooses to buy or put in their body.

Also the system has changed A LOT from when I was a kid. When my mom had food stamps they came in a paper book and looked like money. It was VERY limited as to what you could buy. Half the stuff on the shelves today you could not buy back then so if you want to complain do it to the govt and the system they put in place that allows people to buy "crap" or whatever you deem they shouldn't be buying. IMO it's the govts fault people abuse the system. They don't check applications like they use to and they allow you to use these cards in places that 15yrs ago was unheard of, heck even 10 yrs ago. The flawed system really makes me wonder who is truly benefitting from people being on assistance. I mean why is a place like 7-11 (convenience store) even allowed on the list. There is NOTHING in 7-11 that is needed for survival that isn't at a grocery store for probably half the price. Think about that....

I get assistance too and this will be the last month I do. It's not a lot and it's half of what I use to budget for food when I worked BUT I am a bargain shopper. I am thankful for the $240 I get and i have made it last because of how I shop and I also cook. When I was working I made maybe $100 a week sometimes a little more and my money went to food but I lost my job last year and so I have a little help right now. I don't need it after this month and hopefully it can help someone else out there. It will be tight but we have budgeted our money the right way and I no longer need help. I am 35 and in my entire life I have NEVER had any kind of assistance or help from anyone. I have always been very independent so it wasn't easy for me to even apply but it was either that or go hungry!


Try not to be so judgmental of someones situation. They didn't post here to be talked down to and I"m sure they didn't expect to get so many rude comments. It is clear this person is not a cook and is buying what they think and know how to cook and what they think is cheap. Everyone budgets differently, whether you agree with it or not. I want to help this person and I will instead of putting them down because he chose to buy soda or some pie.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

If every person receiving handouts quit cold turkey at this very second, it wouldn't solve anything. If anything, there would be a national crisis. Welfare programs are one of the reasons hell hasn't broken loose yet.

edit on 17-11-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

I posited a solution to this, a government run program wherein they have to fill out the same forms and then they go to a nearby soup kitchen where HEALTHY foods are prepared for them and they could even work in rotation to be able to give back. These places could be at schools and homeless shelters nearby so that not only those with no homes would be fed and those with homes and cars would be fed. Three meals and their ticket gets punched when they go so they don't hop from one to another for extras. It would be able to save thousands because the bulk prices of these foods are cheaper and service could be counted towards employment plus getting homeless people involved in society once again. I imagine the tickets would have every day of the month and three spots on every day where they could punch so as they know that they had been there for each meal and couldn't go to another and get another meal or they could electronically do this like an EBT card they have to swipe it and it would show the time place and date and meal and they would all be connected to a central system so that if they went to try and get another say, breakfast at a different place the card would show they're not able to cause they already received thier meal. Plus this would cause some jobs like setting up the electronic system. No jobs would be lost at the application center cause they'd still have to do their claims exactly how they do it now, except they would have to eat at a location where they are served whatever is prepared for that meal that day, meeting health standards and that kind of thing so there'd be added jobs of shoppers and nutritionists. This is a good idea. I honestly don't know why it never was thought up before this.

reply to post by wantsome


i wish that U.S. would take care of our own first. all the money that is spent on foreign aid, and anything else in the world should come after we take care of our own people.

that being said. seeing how your on disability, and you know that your gonna be there, it's your fault, you are not making it. well let me say it's partly your fault. i know there are things beyond your control. you just have to learn how to get around that. no matter how tuff get gets.

you have to make some tough decisions, and your gonna have to give up things. things you may have grown accustomed to when you weren't on disability. sucks i know, been there, still doing some of it.

one of the things most of the posters have pointed out. is your gonna have to learn to shop better.
instead of buying name brands, buy store brands. or off brands. generic brands, off brands, or store brands are just as good as name brands, sure you might have to try a few to find some, that are acceptable to you, but they are out there. buy a 10lb bag of chicken, one week, and then the next week buy a 10lb package of hamburger the next. split it up, freeze it.that's 10 1lb packs of hamburger, or chicken. all you need to make a meal for a family of 4 with hambuger helper is 1lb.
you can find canned veggies as low as .45 a can . granted they are not del-monte, dole , green giant, but the are still edible. bags of rice, beans, pasta, and so many different things can be bought in large quantities or in bulk, and you can plan meals for a week or month. once you get enough stocked up that way you can start to buy, the extras, the finer, the goodies, the treats.

1.00 for a 2 liter bottle of soda, i don't have a problem with, it's when that's all you buy that is problem. you can buy packets of kool aid or any other powdered drink sweetened and unsweetened, or tea and a bag of sugar, and that will last you at least 4 times longer than a bottle of soda.

and one thing your gonna have to do is learn to cook, that's plain and simple.

now as far as the other stuff, whats more important,food in your belly, being warm in the winter, half way cool in the summer, clothed year round, able to go to and fro all the things that are needed to sustain your life, or your entertainment. your extra comfort.

look i get it i like the finer things that make life better to. but some times people have to go with out. like i said it sucks if it's you, but you can live pretty good if you don't try to have all the best of things.

and for the little miss that says.

Some of these comments are out of line, IMO.
So what if OP has a computer? Or internet access?
Or buys 2 bucks worth of soda a week? Since when are the disadvantaged not allowed to have anything extra?

it's not that they are not allowed to have those things. it's when they put those things ahead of necessitates, that is the problem. it's when they buy the best when they can't afford it that's the problem.

i don't have all the best and the extra's, and i wait until i can afford them. sometimes i never get them.
i don't feel i deserve them, just because i'm alive, or want them, all i need is what keeps me alive. and what helps me make until the next day. soda pop, ice cream, cake, computers, internet access, is not necessary to survive, people with or without money, people do it every day and get by just fine.

i can live without a computer or internet access, i can't live with out food. sometimes that 2 dollars might keep you from having your lights cut off or put a half a gallon of gas in your car so your can go and get something that might help you make another month.

priorities first, extra's second, no matter how long it is in between.

wantsome
reply to post by StallionDuck

 

I get $45 a week the picture is $38. I needed to save enough for milk and bread.

First I must say that when a person has no help from family or friends and all they have is Government subsidies then you need to understand that the Government doesn't care about you in the least, they do not even know who you are outside of a statistic. This is a perfect example of what to expect when the Government provides.


With that said, what do you do with your time? Are you a part of any group? (religious/nonreligious). You need to branch out, does you town/city have free meals? I can tell you if I was disabled I would move to the state that offers the best service, just like I do now with taxes to maximize my income. States are not equal when it comes to all of this and many people live like you do in the worst state possible for your situation.

Now lets talk food. You need to get back to basic foods. Not processed, canned, bagged etc. Real chicken is not expensive, and chicken and rice is great.

Speaking of rice... Did you know that you can eat well on 1 cup of raw rice per day? My family of 4 eats a lot of rice and that comes out to about 2 cups of uncooked rice per day, so one cup for you should be quite a bit.

One cup of rice is about 1/2 pound and rice in bulk is about .35 per pound so you would be eating on about 20 cents per day for rice. You can do this with just about everything....stay away from anything processed and your money will buy a lot more and be healthier in the end.

reply to post by mblahnikluver

It is clear this person is not a cook and is buying what they think and know how to cook and what they think is cheap. Everyone budgets differently, whether you agree with it or not. I want to help this person and I will instead of putting them down because he chose to buy soda or some pie.

If someone has a limit on food expenses they need to learn how to cook. It's quite simple. No matter how much they bitch or complain it is not going to improve their situation. Cooking will.

Years ago, I was living off very little for food. I would say the equivalent of $40/week today. When I first moved out from the 'rents living off min wage, and most of it going to bills.

So I learned how to cook. It sucked at first. But after awhile, you learn how to make things out of flour, you build up your spice collection, and in a few weeks you are eating pizza, bread, buns, schnitzel, tarts, eclairs… heck, whatever you want. Find a few cheap staples and make lunches bland and boring so you can go all out on dinners.

The will to persevere when you are in that kind of situation is what gets you out of it. If you choose to simply accept it, be angry at it (without doing anything about it), there is little anything anyone can offer you to fix your problems.

Feeling sorry for oneself is a very long road to a miserable existence.

I know it's cliche but if life hands you lemons…

DO NOT stop taking your meds cold turkey as others have suggested. Don't ask me how I know, it was the worst experience I've ever had in my life. I was lucky to get 1 hr a night sleep and this went on for over two months but eventually got thru it.

You may need to be on some form of a med the rest of your life but it's well worth exploring your options. There are many different types and some people need to change the type of meds as life goes on. The quantity could also be an issue for you especially with the damage you say they are currently causing you. I don't know how severe your disorder is, but if you were able to work not to long ago with the proper treatment you should be able to do so again. I strongly suggest seeing some other doc's and being 100% up front and honest with them as to what's going on with you mentally and discussing medication options. You may find with the right treatment that you may eventually develop the coping skills needed to live a normal life without meds. Right now going without meds is not the priority, it's getting your life back to somewhat normal.

reply to post by boncho


No need to tell me about cooking or budgeting I KNOW BOTH.

Not everyone cooks and not everyone knows how and for some it's not easy to teach or learn.

People are so quick to jump on this member without even giving any advice.

I lived off of $40 a week and it was like $80 because of how i shop and I also make a lot of my own foods. I also don't always assume everyone else does the same when it comes to cooking. What you find easy may be hard to someone who has never cooked before. Trust me i know people who can't even make eggs or spaghetti and those are a no brainer!

I am going to help this member if they want my help. I can help with a meal plan and recipes to accommodate their restrictions. So far they stated no pork which is fine i don't eat that either. lol

I just think people shouldn't be so quick to jump on someones back.

mblahnikluver
You sound angry and are VERY judgmental of someone you don't even know. You are making all your assumptions based on a picture.

Hey .. I grew up with the 'free lunches' and the welfare checks. So don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about . I stated facts. Pure facts. Don't go buying a pre-made frozen SaraLee pie when that money could instead buy an entire loaf of bread and some peanut butter and honey. Common sense. Don't buy soda when you can drink water (which is better for you anyways). Common sense. Don't buy pre-packaged instant flavored rice packages which last one meal when you could instead buy an entire box of minute rice that will last MANY. Common sense.

HE posted the pictures on a chat forum and complained.
That invites comments.
And believe it or not, my comments were spot on helpful.

I want to help this person and I will instead of putting them down because he chose to buy soda or some pie.

If you REALLY want to help someone in this situation then it's simple - be honest and tell them not to buy soda or pre-made frozen Sara Lee pumpkin pies. Tell them how to spend the money they have been handed WISELY.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Who do you people think you are telling this person how to shop with their food stamps? Get off your high horse it sickens me. No 225 is not enough for a month when's the last time you bought your own food?

reply to post by mtnshredder


I still don't see how a person could not work on the proper prescribed medication with a mental disorder (Short of mentally challenged). Maybe to me who would have to be physically on my deathbed to stop working I guess I just don't understand the mentality of it. Because there are jobs you can do from home even with your own hours like others have mentioned. I guess I'm also touchy about the subject of mental disorders as I know a person who's been scamming the system for years with that pretense who absolutely has no disorder whatsoever except a loathing for honest hard work. I've seen down's syndrome workers at the McDonald's and working (Also they're most likely getting paid less than minimum wage I read recently which is loathsome practice of the US) so I can't understand how many of these people could possibly think they have it worse than some of the people I see working with their disabilities. I can understand not being able to find work. But I never give up. And I have worked some crappy jobs just to get my crap in order. I'm still looking for work and having a hard time, that I understand. I also understand that if a lot of those people were looking for work it's going to actually make it harder for me to find something even more. That's why I still think we need the help there should be something else offered but something more easily monitored and where it can't be defrauded out the whazoo. I just think that DR's that lie outright on the applications for their "Patients" should be forever banned from practicing again. And being the food would be bought and prepared by the government they may tend to get a little more picky and scrutinize every single application and really investigate whether the diagnoses is really correct or if it's just a lazy doc helping a lazy person. However with the system I posited, it may be a moot point because it may be something that they won't bother with because it won't be expendable money and they wouldn't be able to trade it for cash to buy drugs so, they'll surely see a drop in applications when the people realize they won't get free money anymore.

Taissa
reply to post by g146541

 

When I was younger, it was bologna. Mom used to get a pack of it, and fry part of it for breakfast and the other for lunch. Each would get a slice or two of fried bologna and a piece of toast. I can't even stand the smell of bologna now.

When I was a kid we called bologna "round steak".