In addition to having to try to find work in this job forsaken city we got another surprise...this time in the mail. My husband's tuition costs went up 21% or basically a $1300 hike in fees, and WE are on the hook for the extra. Second career will ONLY cover up to their set maximum and no further. Better yet, we have to come up with this $640 by July 4th or else we have to pay 6.25% non refundable fee based on the balance that is owing or about $40, and that is just for term 3. It would be an additional $640 for next term as well (assuming they don't ramp the fees up again.) This doesn't include any textbooks that he "might" have to buy.
Where exactly is a family on assistance supposed to come up with this money?? How can the colleges get away with hijacking students in the middle of their course? To me it is the same as renting an apartment for $800 bucks a month and then getting told "oh by the way we decided that in this month our rates are going up to $900, that isn't a problem for you is it?" Well guess what, landlords in our province are not permitted to do that, so why can the school system?
Where on Earth is the justice for students who are trying their best to make ends meet? Where is the fairness for the 2nd career students who are trapped in their program. IF my spouse fails to complete the course, we'd owe ALL the money back. But we also can't afford for him to continue unless we give up certain luxuries like food. We are literally trapped and captive to the program, and as I said before, the last time he applied for bursaries we were turned down because he wasn't a student with financial need BECAUSE he was getting 2nd career.
Does the government care at all about the people that they gave this "help" to? Why do they not have something in place to cover these tuition hike ups? Why are they not covering the lab fees for programs?
Something seems very wrong with a system where they say they will help you, but in fact they won't. Where they pretend to care, but they really don't. To be fair my husband did expect a tuition increase...just not a 21% tuition hike. We figured out some of it, and the expense they were originally not going to give to 2nd year students (lab fees) has actually been applied to the 2nd year students.
Our Province has the highest tuition in the country, and yet the worst problems with employment. How are students supposed to make ends meet when there are very few jobs and a lot of people who need them? An article I read said that students accessing food banks is on the rise, I can understand that fully and I sympathize with them. Just too bad our own government does not.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Last Night I learned something (things) new
Last night was a really interesting experience for me. Thanks to the London Community Resource Center. http://lcrc.on.ca/ I got the chance to go to a session about creating your own dressings. I even got to take 3 dressings I made home with me. They were easy to make, and I know for a fact they will be cheaper to keep making than to buy another bottle of overpriced, glucose laden, not so great tasting dressings I've been using to date.
They even taught us to make a very interesting Avacado Dressing (to try in place of Caesar Dressing). It was my first time trying avacado and I didn't mind the flavor at all. I love it when I get to try something new and have the added bonus of liking it. :)
They also showed us how to make three different types of salad and I can't wait until they post the recipes!! I'll try to remember to share the link for it when it does get posted. :).
The other salads were very tasty and one of them featured quinoa, another food I had never tried until then. Happy to report I liked that too and intend to get my spouse to see what the cost of it is. Quinoa from what I was told has a good protein content etc, IF it is cheaper than meat then I may actually consider making the switch for a couple meals a week, since we usually have to watch the costs with groceries anyway.
Hopefully I will be able to take more of their sessions and learn some more new things as well as get a refresher course in some others.
By the way....the hubby loved my olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
4 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice with zest
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp maple syrup
shake and serve
If you don't like sour as much as sweet you can opt to switch the lemon juice and syrup numbers around. The garlic can also be "scaled back" if you aren't a big garlic lover. (my husband LOVES garlic so I usually try to give him more kick in the garlic department whenever I can).
That recipe is also a "basic starter block" for any vinegrette. Take oil + something tart like lemon juice or vinegar + a sweet and then add other items as you wish. We were offered the chance to use dijon mustard and some used jam and / or herbs as well.
Well that's it for today...cya later!
They even taught us to make a very interesting Avacado Dressing (to try in place of Caesar Dressing). It was my first time trying avacado and I didn't mind the flavor at all. I love it when I get to try something new and have the added bonus of liking it. :)
They also showed us how to make three different types of salad and I can't wait until they post the recipes!! I'll try to remember to share the link for it when it does get posted. :).
The other salads were very tasty and one of them featured quinoa, another food I had never tried until then. Happy to report I liked that too and intend to get my spouse to see what the cost of it is. Quinoa from what I was told has a good protein content etc, IF it is cheaper than meat then I may actually consider making the switch for a couple meals a week, since we usually have to watch the costs with groceries anyway.
Hopefully I will be able to take more of their sessions and learn some more new things as well as get a refresher course in some others.
By the way....the hubby loved my olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
4 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice with zest
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp maple syrup
shake and serve
If you don't like sour as much as sweet you can opt to switch the lemon juice and syrup numbers around. The garlic can also be "scaled back" if you aren't a big garlic lover. (my husband LOVES garlic so I usually try to give him more kick in the garlic department whenever I can).
That recipe is also a "basic starter block" for any vinegrette. Take oil + something tart like lemon juice or vinegar + a sweet and then add other items as you wish. We were offered the chance to use dijon mustard and some used jam and / or herbs as well.
Well that's it for today...cya later!
Monday, 10 June 2013
Allergy season and staying busy
Well I think I can confirm that allergy season is pretty bad this year. Waking up with a sore throat and being unable to speak is pretty much the high point of my morning. Anyway I finally managed to get things somewhat under control and decided to see what kind of things I could find to do.
Being on assistance means coming up with creative ways to enjoy life without spending money. I have craft supplies and will likely begin to teach myself to crochet soon, since I already know how to knit, and I figured it was time to learn something new.
The courses I am taking are another way to stay busy, as well as my music but there are other things I can add. I'm going to learn how to meditate. I figure this lifestyle is pretty stressful and that might be just the thing to learn and pass on to the family so they can get relaxed as well.
One of the other things I do to stay busy is to try to go to the local festivals that come up. Our local market has has some interesting ones. Last month it was Turkish festival. It's first year so there wasn't too much, I'm sure that as they get more years under their belt things will start to grow.
Yesterday it was the Mexican Fiesta. Lots of music, lots of dancing including a group that shows traditional dancing from around Mexico etc. They also had authentic food vendors. I couldn't afford to buy food but my husband and I brought a lunch and stayed for the fun. He even entered a couple of contests. It was too warm and we haven't been able to eat much with our current finances so the eating contests didn't go so well. Oh well, we didn't need downtown dollars or a stay at a hotel anyway LOL.
These were just some of the many dances this group did. They are called Nadxieli and if you look them up(they are based out of Montreal) you can find out more about them. They even have a couple videos on YouTube you can check out.
I have to admit that I've always liked going to cultural events, but since going on assistance, I seem to try harder to get to more of them. It beats being stuck in the house all the time and gets me out where there are more people than just those in my family. Costs 2 bus tickets each time, but I think it is well worth the saving up of money for. It doesn't take long for the leftover change that isn't 1 and 2 dollar coins to add up.
Sometimes you just have to try to squeeze your pennies (oops the penny has been phased out now) Nickels for those things that are important.
Being on assistance means coming up with creative ways to enjoy life without spending money. I have craft supplies and will likely begin to teach myself to crochet soon, since I already know how to knit, and I figured it was time to learn something new.
The courses I am taking are another way to stay busy, as well as my music but there are other things I can add. I'm going to learn how to meditate. I figure this lifestyle is pretty stressful and that might be just the thing to learn and pass on to the family so they can get relaxed as well.
One of the other things I do to stay busy is to try to go to the local festivals that come up. Our local market has has some interesting ones. Last month it was Turkish festival. It's first year so there wasn't too much, I'm sure that as they get more years under their belt things will start to grow.
Yesterday it was the Mexican Fiesta. Lots of music, lots of dancing including a group that shows traditional dancing from around Mexico etc. They also had authentic food vendors. I couldn't afford to buy food but my husband and I brought a lunch and stayed for the fun. He even entered a couple of contests. It was too warm and we haven't been able to eat much with our current finances so the eating contests didn't go so well. Oh well, we didn't need downtown dollars or a stay at a hotel anyway LOL.
I have to admit that I've always liked going to cultural events, but since going on assistance, I seem to try harder to get to more of them. It beats being stuck in the house all the time and gets me out where there are more people than just those in my family. Costs 2 bus tickets each time, but I think it is well worth the saving up of money for. It doesn't take long for the leftover change that isn't 1 and 2 dollar coins to add up.
Sometimes you just have to try to squeeze your pennies (oops the penny has been phased out now) Nickels for those things that are important.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
The things I do to stay busy
Today I was feeling a bit ill, not sure what it is just know that it has settled into my throat. Perhaps its just my allergies...perhaps not. I guess I'll know more as it goes on over the next few days. Anyway, in the interest of keeping busy I decided to get all my homework done.
I don't attend school as most would, instead I am enrolled in a bunch of different online courses offered by Coursera. There are more programs but this is the one I started in and for those of you who are not familiar with Coursera I can give you a link and a quick rundown on how it works.
You go to their site and you sign up. Once you do there are tons and tons of courses there for you to choose from. They are offered by various Universities all over the world and they feature students from all over the world. Some of the most interesting people I've met to date, I met through a coursera course.
While most of the courses don't offer you an actual diploma at the very least if you participate actively you can earn a certificate in something you just finished studying. There is even a chance to sometimes earn a certificate with "distinction" for either having high marks and/or participating in the class fully.
Right now I am taking an Art Class, a Music History Class and a Class about Archeology. Weekly lessons and weekly/bi weekly quizzes and projects keep you on your toes.
It makes me feel good just to think that I am taking higher level courses. They might not count for graduations from school, but they are much cheaper than trying to go back to college at this point. For me the subject of education has always been a bit "touchy".
When I was 18 I felt this desperate need to get away from an over-bearing parent, so I got married. The marriage ended a year later, after I had started school. Since I had already put my money into an emergency surgery to extract all my wisdom teeth, I had nothing left to move out and start all over with. When I went to the welfare agency at that time, I got told to quit school and get their help, or stay in school without it. I guess we all know which "option" I took. I ended up with owed monies and to this day do not know if applying to school would result in a place for me or just a waste of $100 bucks to find out.
The way the system is set up right now, you pay one place to register you. Then you pick the schools you'd like to register for. Then once you are accepted you can apply for student loans. The money is NON refundable UNLESS your course is cancelled. So I can't even find out if I can get a loan because I can't apply because I don't have the money. IF I ask for workfare's help (which they might give). I still won't know until I've paid up and registered. So I guess you can see how much I really want to play the lottery.
So here I am in Coursera land, enjoying the courses and seeing where my interests are. Perhaps when I'm finished I'll even know which way I'd like to go "IF" I ever decide to stick college back into my options list.
I don't attend school as most would, instead I am enrolled in a bunch of different online courses offered by Coursera. There are more programs but this is the one I started in and for those of you who are not familiar with Coursera I can give you a link and a quick rundown on how it works.
You go to their site and you sign up. Once you do there are tons and tons of courses there for you to choose from. They are offered by various Universities all over the world and they feature students from all over the world. Some of the most interesting people I've met to date, I met through a coursera course.
While most of the courses don't offer you an actual diploma at the very least if you participate actively you can earn a certificate in something you just finished studying. There is even a chance to sometimes earn a certificate with "distinction" for either having high marks and/or participating in the class fully.
Right now I am taking an Art Class, a Music History Class and a Class about Archeology. Weekly lessons and weekly/bi weekly quizzes and projects keep you on your toes.
It makes me feel good just to think that I am taking higher level courses. They might not count for graduations from school, but they are much cheaper than trying to go back to college at this point. For me the subject of education has always been a bit "touchy".
When I was 18 I felt this desperate need to get away from an over-bearing parent, so I got married. The marriage ended a year later, after I had started school. Since I had already put my money into an emergency surgery to extract all my wisdom teeth, I had nothing left to move out and start all over with. When I went to the welfare agency at that time, I got told to quit school and get their help, or stay in school without it. I guess we all know which "option" I took. I ended up with owed monies and to this day do not know if applying to school would result in a place for me or just a waste of $100 bucks to find out.
The way the system is set up right now, you pay one place to register you. Then you pick the schools you'd like to register for. Then once you are accepted you can apply for student loans. The money is NON refundable UNLESS your course is cancelled. So I can't even find out if I can get a loan because I can't apply because I don't have the money. IF I ask for workfare's help (which they might give). I still won't know until I've paid up and registered. So I guess you can see how much I really want to play the lottery.
So here I am in Coursera land, enjoying the courses and seeing where my interests are. Perhaps when I'm finished I'll even know which way I'd like to go "IF" I ever decide to stick college back into my options list.
Friday, 7 June 2013
Frying pan and fire
One of the hazards of living on the income we do, is that one tiny mistake in the paperwork and you are left holding the rope waiting for the trap door to drop beneath your feet.
Take today for instance. My husband awoke and seemed a bit upset. When I asked what was wrong he told me that he had made a mistake in the budget and that we were now short money. Nothing more coming until the 10th and then the 20th would be the next source.
At first I felt unsettled about it, I mean after all that means no more groceries or anything until the 20th. The 10th money is already spoken for by another bill. I was all set to get upset but then I realized...we'd had just as hard a time before when we were cut off for a month in December of last year...and we somehow managed to make it through. It took some creativity on our part to have a Winter Solstice, but celebrate we did with homemade gifts.
It is amazing to me just how bad my husband can feel when he feels like he has let us down. I appreciate that he doesn't feel right about the mistake, but it IS just that....a mistake. Getting upset won't magically make more money appear. Besides...it is true that we have had more difficult times than this, at least this time we managed to buy a few groceries first. We won't starve in the time it takes for more money to come, we've already visited the food bank and figured out how to make the food we have last. Sure there isn't as much meat in the freezer as we'd normally like, but we have plenty of other things to eat, and I can get pretty creative at times.
Perhaps sometime I will share some of these creative things with you. For now, let us just say that unless you are prepared to get creative...you won't survive. If you aren't prepared to deal with the downside of things, you might let despair take you and make you into something you are not.
The key to living like we do....is to wait and do what we can while we wait.
Take today for instance. My husband awoke and seemed a bit upset. When I asked what was wrong he told me that he had made a mistake in the budget and that we were now short money. Nothing more coming until the 10th and then the 20th would be the next source.
At first I felt unsettled about it, I mean after all that means no more groceries or anything until the 20th. The 10th money is already spoken for by another bill. I was all set to get upset but then I realized...we'd had just as hard a time before when we were cut off for a month in December of last year...and we somehow managed to make it through. It took some creativity on our part to have a Winter Solstice, but celebrate we did with homemade gifts.
It is amazing to me just how bad my husband can feel when he feels like he has let us down. I appreciate that he doesn't feel right about the mistake, but it IS just that....a mistake. Getting upset won't magically make more money appear. Besides...it is true that we have had more difficult times than this, at least this time we managed to buy a few groceries first. We won't starve in the time it takes for more money to come, we've already visited the food bank and figured out how to make the food we have last. Sure there isn't as much meat in the freezer as we'd normally like, but we have plenty of other things to eat, and I can get pretty creative at times.
Perhaps sometime I will share some of these creative things with you. For now, let us just say that unless you are prepared to get creative...you won't survive. If you aren't prepared to deal with the downside of things, you might let despair take you and make you into something you are not.
The key to living like we do....is to wait and do what we can while we wait.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Downtown......why are "we" there.
One set of comments that seems to come up all the time, especially in my city are..."Why are they (welfare recipients) always hanging around downtown?" I guess my first question would be: How do you know they are actually welfare recipients? Did you follow them inside the building and up to the 2nd floor? Ahh then you have no idea if they are just random people or actual clients.
Lets assume for the sake of argument that you are in fact looking at a person on welfare. First of all it is hard to tell us apart from the rest of the population (unless we've been on the system too long in which case I suppose our clothing "could" be starting to fade, tear or wear down) otherwise good luck identifying the species "homo workfareous". Now what?
Well lets see....I'll give you a list of the reasons a member of my club might be "hanging out" downtown.
1. Our worker called or most likely wrote and said that TODAY was the big day of our appointment to make sure we still qualify.
2. We called the IVR line (a line that lets us see how much we are (or are not) going to get for assistance this month based on potential work income etc) and we found out we got cut off. You call and they say you didn't submit your monthly income statement. For those who have been on EI you "might" be familiar with this reporting process, for those of you fortunate enough not to have experienced either program here is a quick explanation.
When you are on assistance from the government, they like to know how much you are making if you manage to find work. They do this to ensure that if you do not deserve benefits...you no longer get them. I am more familiar with workfare so it is that I will explain. When you get your check stub which has your amount that you received with the .10 added to allow you to pick up a buspass from the transit office, there are other papers attached. One is a drug card listing all family members that qualify for medication coverage. (unless you are on EI the workfare program has to cover some medications).
The last paper on this strip is a reporting card. On it you list the income of ANY person in your home. There are spaces for the type of income and you have to report the AMOUNT before and after taxes. They deduct from your check based on your before tax income. So yeah you can get left a bit short since you haven't had taxes deducted yet but they are taking your money earned based on the higher numbers. IF you fail to turn in this paper on time small rodents will be set loose in your pants. (Just seeing if you were paying attention). Actually they will simply not give you a check for the next month. You have to come down and turn these papers in by the 16th of the month. So technically the system puts you a bit "behind" in what you are actually have in funds. Oh well, nothings perfect right?
Well it turns out nothing is indeed perfect. Many times you can turn in the report ONLY to have it go missing in the mysterious place where all socks go. If that happens, you have to go down get another card, report the income have all people who earned the money sign it saying that they are telling the truth so help them and they really did earn that much/little that month. It doesn't solve the mystery of where the first report went but that isn't important now is it?
3. As I said before we MUST turn in a report even if the report says 0.00 on it. If we don't turn it in, we don't get assistance the next month.
4. We are there because the computer forgot to put that .10 on the stub so you can go get your buspass and now you need to get a pass at the counter. This happens more often than you'd like to think and when it does it means having to go down and grab a number and wait. Oh but don't go there in the morning, you can't pick up ANYTHING in the morning, only after 1pm.
5. They goofed and didn't issue a check and now you have to go in to get a new check. Well this one isn't happening as often anymore thanks to the direct deposit form. They now just drop things straight into your bank account.
6. There is a "job search" office there where you can get photocopies of your resume done, use a computer to check for work and so forth. You can't make anymore phone calls to potential employers nor return any either since that ship has sailed. (read here they took the telephone line out for us to do that). Explains that whole cell phone thing sometimes doesn't it?
So that is the "usual" list of Why oh why we don't just stay away from the central part of the city. There is talk about putting hubs around the city but I for one live nearer to the center so I hope they always have a place there. I'd hate to have to waste an hour riding on a bus to the middle of nowhere so that no one will have to see that POOR PEOPLE LIVE HERE in our city.
Oh on a related note. That same building also houses the office where we need to go if we are going to try for child support from ex spouses male or female who don't do their part. (It's sort of a must with workfare). The office where you can get free swim passes to the public pools are also there. You can qualify for one for free if you can show that your famiily experiences hardship. This covers workfare, disability and in some cases hourly waged employees who simply don't make enough money. It allows you to access SPECTRUM programing for less. Check it out sometime.
I am sure there are MANY other reasons as well, but those are the ones I could come up with. Perhaps others who live on these systems could come up with more. For my part I am going to bed now. Cya tomorrow.
Lets assume for the sake of argument that you are in fact looking at a person on welfare. First of all it is hard to tell us apart from the rest of the population (unless we've been on the system too long in which case I suppose our clothing "could" be starting to fade, tear or wear down) otherwise good luck identifying the species "homo workfareous". Now what?
Well lets see....I'll give you a list of the reasons a member of my club might be "hanging out" downtown.
1. Our worker called or most likely wrote and said that TODAY was the big day of our appointment to make sure we still qualify.
2. We called the IVR line (a line that lets us see how much we are (or are not) going to get for assistance this month based on potential work income etc) and we found out we got cut off. You call and they say you didn't submit your monthly income statement. For those who have been on EI you "might" be familiar with this reporting process, for those of you fortunate enough not to have experienced either program here is a quick explanation.
When you are on assistance from the government, they like to know how much you are making if you manage to find work. They do this to ensure that if you do not deserve benefits...you no longer get them. I am more familiar with workfare so it is that I will explain. When you get your check stub which has your amount that you received with the .10 added to allow you to pick up a buspass from the transit office, there are other papers attached. One is a drug card listing all family members that qualify for medication coverage. (unless you are on EI the workfare program has to cover some medications).
The last paper on this strip is a reporting card. On it you list the income of ANY person in your home. There are spaces for the type of income and you have to report the AMOUNT before and after taxes. They deduct from your check based on your before tax income. So yeah you can get left a bit short since you haven't had taxes deducted yet but they are taking your money earned based on the higher numbers. IF you fail to turn in this paper on time small rodents will be set loose in your pants. (Just seeing if you were paying attention). Actually they will simply not give you a check for the next month. You have to come down and turn these papers in by the 16th of the month. So technically the system puts you a bit "behind" in what you are actually have in funds. Oh well, nothings perfect right?
Well it turns out nothing is indeed perfect. Many times you can turn in the report ONLY to have it go missing in the mysterious place where all socks go. If that happens, you have to go down get another card, report the income have all people who earned the money sign it saying that they are telling the truth so help them and they really did earn that much/little that month. It doesn't solve the mystery of where the first report went but that isn't important now is it?
3. As I said before we MUST turn in a report even if the report says 0.00 on it. If we don't turn it in, we don't get assistance the next month.
4. We are there because the computer forgot to put that .10 on the stub so you can go get your buspass and now you need to get a pass at the counter. This happens more often than you'd like to think and when it does it means having to go down and grab a number and wait. Oh but don't go there in the morning, you can't pick up ANYTHING in the morning, only after 1pm.
5. They goofed and didn't issue a check and now you have to go in to get a new check. Well this one isn't happening as often anymore thanks to the direct deposit form. They now just drop things straight into your bank account.
6. There is a "job search" office there where you can get photocopies of your resume done, use a computer to check for work and so forth. You can't make anymore phone calls to potential employers nor return any either since that ship has sailed. (read here they took the telephone line out for us to do that). Explains that whole cell phone thing sometimes doesn't it?
So that is the "usual" list of Why oh why we don't just stay away from the central part of the city. There is talk about putting hubs around the city but I for one live nearer to the center so I hope they always have a place there. I'd hate to have to waste an hour riding on a bus to the middle of nowhere so that no one will have to see that POOR PEOPLE LIVE HERE in our city.
Oh on a related note. That same building also houses the office where we need to go if we are going to try for child support from ex spouses male or female who don't do their part. (It's sort of a must with workfare). The office where you can get free swim passes to the public pools are also there. You can qualify for one for free if you can show that your famiily experiences hardship. This covers workfare, disability and in some cases hourly waged employees who simply don't make enough money. It allows you to access SPECTRUM programing for less. Check it out sometime.
I am sure there are MANY other reasons as well, but those are the ones I could come up with. Perhaps others who live on these systems could come up with more. For my part I am going to bed now. Cya tomorrow.
How did we do that?
Well here I am again...this time I thought I'd talk to all those who have always wondered about where us "poor" folk get our "nice stuff". For the record nice stuff is anything that other people think we shouldn't have because there is NO WAY we could ever in our lifetimes have afforded it. Please note unlike in the USA where they have a "cell phone" loaner program, we don't here so I am going to just simply use logic and previous experience to try to help clear up the mystery. It is a shame that we have to justify ourselves at all to be honest with you, after all we already have to justify ourselves to welfare every single month. But for all those who don't feel comfortable sharing, I thought I'd help as much as I can.
First of all you have to remember that most people who end up on welfare, didn't start there in the first place. Just like anyone else they were working or engaging in life as usual before whatever event put them out of work and onto assistance. When they were engaged in life as everyone knows it, they earned money and some of the nice things they have may have in fact come from actually earning money and paying for the items they have. Yes yes I know, there are some people (likely less than 10% who have abused the system and worked under the table and spent the money on "stuff"), but I am talking about the 90% of the rest of us okay?
Cars, televisions, game systems and computers are things one can earn while they are working. They are also likely to be things you'd have when the money dries up. It isn't like you just say "hmm well I am no longer working I best sell off or give away all my nice stuff now". Sometimes there might be a program (like some in the USA for cell phones) that gives away free computers (refurbished) or other items. There is also a program called my.freecycle.org where people actually GIVE AWAY what they no longer want. We got a nice HD tv that way. The woman who gave it to us upgraded to a flat screen wall mount, and gave us her big huge HD just for coming and picking it up. Stand and all!.
Sometimes...it will be a gift from a family member that gets you the "pretty item". Sometimes in the case of a cell phone it is simply a contract that you can't escape from (I'm sure many would be familiar with that one). The company gives you a "free" cellphone, in exchange for signing a contract for x number of years. After x number of years you can upgrade if you choose to sign another contract, and on and on it goes.
Sometimes in the case of clothing it is a matter of finding things at the thrift shop. You'd be surprised how many "big name " clothes can be found at a thrift store. Oh and finally, with regards to that car you have seen people driving in....that just might belong to a friend or family member. It could also be their own car or it could be someone doing them a favor and picking something up. I have heard that there are some who are hired to help disabled adults take care of shopping, and they are certainly entitled to use whatever car they please.
Then there are those who work, but don't earn enough to break free of welfare, when they work they pay taxes. When they get a tax return...perhaps they buy something nice. My husband bought a bodhran for himself and a whistle for me when the money came. We also bought shoes and clothes for the kids. Were we irresponsible with our money? I don't think so. Remember what I said about saving money, we aren't allowed to. Also...remember this...if someone with no money who can't really go anywhere to say a movie or out to dinner doesn't have anything to do for a hobby...they will snap from the stress. Playing an instrument is a nice way to deal with stress and I'm all for it. It beats the whole drugs and alcohol thing and it lasts longer than a bottle of beer. They didn't cost much and yet give us so much pleasure, and joy is a rare commodity in a home where struggles to survive are a daily thing. So call it cheap therapy if you want to.
It is not polite nor is it accurate to ASSUME that anyone who has nice things is abusing the system. It is wrong to accuse someone of something they haven't done, simply because you think it is so. It's like assuming that because a person is on welfare that means they automatically spend all their money on drugs or alcohol or gamble it away. Yes there are a few people who do, just like there are a few very rich people who do the same while working. Addictions can happen to ANYONE, you don't have to have a specific income to qualify for that.
Perhaps instead of getting mad at all those low income people who have barely any money for food because of government cutbacks and such....you should spend more time educating yourself about corporations and wealthy business owners who not only evade taxes and put money into offshore havens, but who also seem to get a LOT more money to keep their businesses going and to bail them out of trouble they get themselves into. They also seem to get more than their fair share of tax breaks in the name of "creating jobs" which we all know by now is a fiction story since if that was the case there would be NO unemployed people.
Don't take the easy route, and for pity's sake don't listen to politicians. It doesn't matter who is in charge, they all seem to be owned by the same companies. They all seem to have a "blame the poor" strategy in place to deal with their spending issues. They also seem to think it is a good idea to have to spend more money on medical care than to just feed and house people properly so that they can spend less on all that care in the end.
So that's the back story of my family. You can choose to believe whatever you like, you can choose to blame us if you want. I am TIRED of hiding, and tired of feeling ashamed for needing help to feed my family and keep them alive while we reassemble the pieces of our lives once more. Believe me you can't make us feel any worse than we already do. Robbing people of their dignity doesn't seem to be the answer. Making someone else feel small won't make you stand any taller, and it would be nice to remember that someday, you could also be in the same situation. Life isn't as certain as it once was, profits and the wealth of those at the top mean that none of us is truly safe. I would never wish this on anyone, but I also know that I would never blame anyone if the situation was reversed.
Thanks for reading...cya tomorrow.
First of all you have to remember that most people who end up on welfare, didn't start there in the first place. Just like anyone else they were working or engaging in life as usual before whatever event put them out of work and onto assistance. When they were engaged in life as everyone knows it, they earned money and some of the nice things they have may have in fact come from actually earning money and paying for the items they have. Yes yes I know, there are some people (likely less than 10% who have abused the system and worked under the table and spent the money on "stuff"), but I am talking about the 90% of the rest of us okay?
Cars, televisions, game systems and computers are things one can earn while they are working. They are also likely to be things you'd have when the money dries up. It isn't like you just say "hmm well I am no longer working I best sell off or give away all my nice stuff now". Sometimes there might be a program (like some in the USA for cell phones) that gives away free computers (refurbished) or other items. There is also a program called my.freecycle.org where people actually GIVE AWAY what they no longer want. We got a nice HD tv that way. The woman who gave it to us upgraded to a flat screen wall mount, and gave us her big huge HD just for coming and picking it up. Stand and all!.
Sometimes...it will be a gift from a family member that gets you the "pretty item". Sometimes in the case of a cell phone it is simply a contract that you can't escape from (I'm sure many would be familiar with that one). The company gives you a "free" cellphone, in exchange for signing a contract for x number of years. After x number of years you can upgrade if you choose to sign another contract, and on and on it goes.
Sometimes in the case of clothing it is a matter of finding things at the thrift shop. You'd be surprised how many "big name " clothes can be found at a thrift store. Oh and finally, with regards to that car you have seen people driving in....that just might belong to a friend or family member. It could also be their own car or it could be someone doing them a favor and picking something up. I have heard that there are some who are hired to help disabled adults take care of shopping, and they are certainly entitled to use whatever car they please.
Then there are those who work, but don't earn enough to break free of welfare, when they work they pay taxes. When they get a tax return...perhaps they buy something nice. My husband bought a bodhran for himself and a whistle for me when the money came. We also bought shoes and clothes for the kids. Were we irresponsible with our money? I don't think so. Remember what I said about saving money, we aren't allowed to. Also...remember this...if someone with no money who can't really go anywhere to say a movie or out to dinner doesn't have anything to do for a hobby...they will snap from the stress. Playing an instrument is a nice way to deal with stress and I'm all for it. It beats the whole drugs and alcohol thing and it lasts longer than a bottle of beer. They didn't cost much and yet give us so much pleasure, and joy is a rare commodity in a home where struggles to survive are a daily thing. So call it cheap therapy if you want to.
It is not polite nor is it accurate to ASSUME that anyone who has nice things is abusing the system. It is wrong to accuse someone of something they haven't done, simply because you think it is so. It's like assuming that because a person is on welfare that means they automatically spend all their money on drugs or alcohol or gamble it away. Yes there are a few people who do, just like there are a few very rich people who do the same while working. Addictions can happen to ANYONE, you don't have to have a specific income to qualify for that.
Perhaps instead of getting mad at all those low income people who have barely any money for food because of government cutbacks and such....you should spend more time educating yourself about corporations and wealthy business owners who not only evade taxes and put money into offshore havens, but who also seem to get a LOT more money to keep their businesses going and to bail them out of trouble they get themselves into. They also seem to get more than their fair share of tax breaks in the name of "creating jobs" which we all know by now is a fiction story since if that was the case there would be NO unemployed people.
Don't take the easy route, and for pity's sake don't listen to politicians. It doesn't matter who is in charge, they all seem to be owned by the same companies. They all seem to have a "blame the poor" strategy in place to deal with their spending issues. They also seem to think it is a good idea to have to spend more money on medical care than to just feed and house people properly so that they can spend less on all that care in the end.
So that's the back story of my family. You can choose to believe whatever you like, you can choose to blame us if you want. I am TIRED of hiding, and tired of feeling ashamed for needing help to feed my family and keep them alive while we reassemble the pieces of our lives once more. Believe me you can't make us feel any worse than we already do. Robbing people of their dignity doesn't seem to be the answer. Making someone else feel small won't make you stand any taller, and it would be nice to remember that someday, you could also be in the same situation. Life isn't as certain as it once was, profits and the wealth of those at the top mean that none of us is truly safe. I would never wish this on anyone, but I also know that I would never blame anyone if the situation was reversed.
Thanks for reading...cya tomorrow.
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