This is a guest post from B.P and her personal experience and thoughts as she obtained food stamp assistance.
What can I say about food stamps? At 65 years old, no job, and a disabling physical condition, THANK GOD for my receiving food stamps.
But I do have to tell you that I was not feeling that way about getting food stamps early on, even with the conditions and situation I was in. As a matter of fact, friends and relatives kept telling me to apply for food stamps and other services, but I was stubborn and did not want to have to go to my county social services.
I was bound and determined to go it alone because I felt that food stamps and other services were degrading, humiliating, embarrassing, and shaming me because, I would have to admit that at 65 I needed help from the social services offered by the county.
I felt terrible that someone else would be giving me a food stamp card and in essence feeding me instead of me feeding myself. I guess you could call it ego, pride, I don’t know. I guess it was one of those things. I finally gave in and started the process, which I might add was not too bad of a one after all.
Anyway, through the coaxing and talking to me from a very close friend, I filled out an initial application for food stamps and OAP (Old Age Pension) on line, printed it out and took it into the Social Services office.
They looked it over, help me correct errors that I had made, made an appointment for me to see a Social Services Specialist the following week.
In the following week an appointment was made to see a Social Services Specialist and, I filled out more paperwork and answered questions about my “home” expenses and the like. She then stated that I actually could be out on the street given my present circumstance at the time, if it weren’t for the kindness of friends.
So, she authorized food stamps of $192 a month and which was a surprise to me, she also authorized OAP for me to receive to help out with the home bills to keep a roof over my head. I received the EBT Quest card the same day which was also a surprise to me, and it was activated within 7 days, which was unusual because it can take up to 30 days for the card to get activated. However I was expedited under the federal guidelines of “SNAP” due to my living situation.
I still felt a bit ashamed about all this, not being able to fend for myself quite anymore, and I still let her know about it. But she said to me to not feel humiliated because Social Services were just giving back some of my own money that I had earned over the 47 years that I had worked, and I had a right to it.
We talked a bit in length about me feeling down about receiving this kind of help, but she did start convincing me that was why these programs were in place and why someone at my age should have done it earlier. I guess she was right.
The first time I went to the supermarket with the EBT card, I was a little embarrassed about using it but the grocery checker was very nice and did not look down on me at all.
So now, I am starting to get over that shame, especially being told by the Social Services Specialist that it was in a way still after all, my money.
I will be using the EBT card for the second time come the first of the month. AND, even though to me, $192 seems like a lot of money for one or two mouths. Since I view having the food assistance as a gift, I am learning to be even more frugal than usual in my shopping.
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Dawn's Note: I received a wonderful note from Katherine of the Relishing Life blog, that I wanted to pass along her experience with buying from Angel Food Ministries (in pictures). AFM also accepts SNAP (food stamps).
I had read a question a while ago that asked if anyone had tried many of the debt reduction services that are sold via radio, tv and online.
Over the years I find that most gurus end up advocating the following debt reduction steps:
1. Stop using credit cards
2. Write down your debt, what you owe and what you bring in
3. Live below your means
4. Sell stuff to make extra money and help pay down debt
5. Get a second job if you have run out of things to sell
6. Save money for emergencies
The thing about this debt reduction plan is that it is provided out there in the library (in the 332.0 section) or online for free. Not only that, to get out of debt and move into a wealthier life is mostly about common sense and turning what we already know into action.
One thing I don’t like about debt reduction seminars are that what they sell for 80-300 dollars can be learned for free over time; the same amount of time you would put into reading the programs you purchased. It isn’t about some quick-fix pill, but about your own drive to get debt paid off. Inspiration is out there if you are lacking, there are radio and tv shows by Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman and Clark Howard.
I ordered John Cummuta’s Transforming Debt into Wealth free promo that I heard on the radio and this is my personal experience.
First I was a bit disgusted that when I called to get the free promo I was grilled ab
out how much debt I had, how soon I wanted to pay debt off and so on. All I wanted was the free promo. The reason they ask you questions is to get you to buy the system straight up because, as I learned later, the promo CD is simply a repeat of what is said in the advertising material that comes along with it and on the radio.
Again, you can save your money and borrow his books at the library in the personal finance section (332.xx). Even the items that I could buy through this promotion were available at the library for free when I looked it up. So save that money and apply it toward your debt.
One of the inserts gave teasers for items you will learn through his system and I have put my own 2¢ in and you can have this debt reduction information for free.
How to save thousands of dollars when you buy insurance - First, not everyone is going to save thousands, but it does add up. The main way to save money on your insurance is to call around or check online sites like insurance.com. You would want to do this every 6-12 months to make sure you are getting the best deal and sometimes, you can also mention that some other insurance company is offering a lower amount and find out if they will beat it - also find out if they bundle services to get discounts.
How to stop car dealers from picking your pocket - This is about picking out a car and getting as close to the book price as possible. The best way to stay out of debt is to buy a car after you have saved for it, one that is second-hand and preferably has one owner. I would also suggest that you get your loan approved first with a bank or credit union and then find the car. But there are many other support networks through Bankrate, American Consumer News, eHow and MSN Money.
How to calculate exactly when you will be completely out of debt - This is the art of a debt snowball, in which you take one debt and pay it off, then roll that payment into the next one. There is a handy Snowball calculator that allows you to figure this out. You can pay off either the smaller debt first or the the one with the highest interest.
Specific ways to cut daily shopping expenses without sacrificing - The many ways to cut back are out there and the information is free. Basically, plan ahead and don’t impulse buy. Reheat your left-overs. Cut down on the amount of food you eat and when possible, grow it yourself.Why mortgage interest deductibles are the ‘tax shelter’ lie - This goes along the idea that if you owe anyone (bank included) then they own you. It is about whether the tax deduction for a house payment has a value that is better than holding onto the debt of the house. There are two different viewpoints on this: Free Money Matters vs. Becoming and Staying Debt Free
As you can see by just a few of the teasers above, there is a flood of information online (not counting the library) that is free and doesn’t require that you plunk down any money to learn all it takes is a desire and time to learn and understand. If you want more to read online, Mint has a great list of 30 free ebooks on personal finance.
I was reading over The Simple Dollar's post about 50 side businesses you can start on your own and it reminded me of one of the hobbies I had that I thought was going to be my ticket into wealth or at least comfortable living.
I was shortly out of high school and was making my own money but I didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do with all the money, plus I had recently taken an interest in some new independent comics books that had come out. This was all shortly before the death of Superman; but thanks to Superman's death I had decided go beyond being a reader but instead to become an investor in comic books because it was going to pay for college!
To this day I still love comics however I don’t buy them anymore. Back in the day I used to have old X-men, Captain America and Batman from the 60's. And though I loved to read comic books, to actually own them as an investment was a different mentality.
Reading involved only a moment of my time which brought enjoyment and escape for me and I would picture myself in amongst the characters, but owning comic books as an investment was a whole different story. You see, I expected all the comic books to go up in value and I didn’t have the patience to wait the 15-20 years necessary to make any money. I eventually sold them for a loss due to my impatience and stuck to the enjoyment of reading them from the library in graphic novel form.
For example, I once owned the first Captain America comic book. I bought it for about $40 dollars and sold it for about the same price a few years later. At the time it was valued around $100 for the condition it was in. Based on the prices now, it would fetch about $250, if I had the patience and kept it.
Collecting comics did teach me a few things about getting involved in hobbies that cost money.
1. Am I involved in this hobby because of personal value or monetary value?
2. Am I willing to show this hobby or will I hide it in a box for 'safe keeping'?
3. Is my hobby too broad and expensive or can I narrow it down?
4. Am I paying too much for my hobby?
And then the process of selling my collection of comic has also taught me a few things. And you can relate this to anything you may collect - cigar boxes, elephants or Barbie dolls.
Organize your collection
Pull out the comics and look up the prices - a good one in my estimate is, ComicsPriceGuide.com, as they pull from sales on EBay and from an annual called Overstreet (which pulls from auctions online and Sotherby’s, etc). Of course, don't pay for these books if you don't have to, libraries usually have the most recent one to check out.
Don’t be upset - There will be some comics books that are worth less than the cover price on the book as they were over printed (like the death of superman) or people just aren't interested in them. Anyone want an Archie meets the Punisher?
Don’t get over excited - The prices listed are for the books that are in top condition (no creases on the spine, no writing on the book, no corners bent) So don’t expect that price for your book - go through the information on grading the item to determine the best value.
Organize them by series - Put all the Superman Adventures together and the Action Comics together as the two are not the same. If you have old comics, say Lassie, separate the ones published by Dell or Disney and don’t mix them up. People are picky.
Hits and Misses - If you picked up issues 122-133 and then didn’t get another one until 147, that’s ok as well. Grouping them together can still get you a decent price.
Key Comics - Even though you may have Showcase #1 (worth 8k) the greatest key comic is Showcase #4 (worth 20K), which has the introduction of Flash. Characters that were introduced may not have made a big splash initially, but then made it big in their own books, later making the ‘introduction’ of a character worth more. Hope that makes sense.
Sell key comics separately if the value is there, say around $20 on up. Otherwise sell them as a bulk set for that series. Remember that the more you put together, the less per comic dollar amount you will get. I know, I sold over 100 comics for about 230 dollars and the condition value was more like 700-800 dollars at the time if I had sold them in a wiser way.
Where to sell comicsEbay - is good, but many people are looking for good deals or books in mint condition. So check prices on items that have completed that look about the quality of what you have. Fees are a biggie.
Craigslist - No fee to sell. Local only unless you state you will ship, make sure that you use Paypal or have them show in person with cash. People may want to buy and not show, so make a list of who has responded to your information.
Garage sale/yard sale - Remember that people come to these place looking for the lowest price possible, they may even barter with you and people will man-handle the comics, so if you are picky about condition, don’t sell at a yard sale.
Comic book stores - Right off the bat, whatever price you find in a price guide based on your condition means you are at most going to get at most 50% of that, if it is a highly sought after book. Otherwise consider 20-30% of value, good. They have to turn a profit, so they will consider what they can sell it for and buy it from you for much less than that.
Pawn shops are a bad place to sell unless you want some really quick money, comic book shops are better as they know the value.
Ultimately, what sells, depends on who is out there buying. If you have a comic book that is valued at 500 dollars and no one is interested it is worth ZERO. But if you have a series of 5 books that total $20 and it is highly sought after, you might get much more than the $20. So take your time and don’t be impatient like I was.
