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Post by ducksunlimited on Mar 5, 2014 12:28:24 GMT -5
New to the whole food stamp situation and im looking for anything I can use to make my money dilemma more rosey lol. Ive only been on stamps for about a month but I have learned a lot about the system in that time. What a process to get on food stamps for me on my end. it took almost 2 months
my name is Connie, husband is gary. and yes I love birding as per my handle.
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Post by 1965ri on Mar 5, 2014 16:09:15 GMT -5
new here too and looking for ways to budget out my food money
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Post by newjerseyarea on Mar 5, 2014 17:58:03 GMT -5
New to the whole food stamp situation and im looking for anything I can use to make my money dilemma more rosey lol. Ive only been on stamps for about a month but I have learned a lot about the system in that time. What a process to get on food stamps for me on my end. it took almost 2 months
my name is Connie, husband is gary. and yes I love birding as per my handle. Hi. Your experience sounds awfully similar to mine. It took 6 weeks for them to issue me my benefits. Social service isn't very uniform for everyone is it. I guess people are getting expedited benefits when they say it only took a week or two for their debit card to come in the mailbox. Personally I am embarrassed to be on welfare but I paid into these things for years and now this is my roi.
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Post by gourmet1 on Aug 8, 2014 14:45:57 GMT -5
There is actually a form that either you or they fill out when you first apply. (The first day, it was, when I was still working.) The answers to that determine if your benefits are expedited or not. At the time we had to have them in your hands in 24 hours (although computer problems could mess that up) --but we also had to open cases within 30 days, and I know they have longer than that now. (because so many people get them that the agencies "can't afford" to hire enough more staff to do it in the shorter time. Workers do usually have LARGE numbers of cases to work with, can tell you that first hand. But not everyone moves as quickly as they could, either.) That's been my experience.
Even though I'm no longer on food stamps, I still spend my money carefully. I do not use a whole pound of ground beef for just two people--I freeze my meat in 3/4 lb packages when I buy it. Depending on what your family prefers, you can stretch it farther than that if you need to, or add things like beans (cheap and nutritious) to your dishes to give them more nutrition and more food for less money. Since I'm older than most people on here, probably, we eat smaller portions than we once did. I use salads and breads to "fill out" a meal too. Cornbread, biscuits, muffins (home made are easy and cheap to make)make the meal seem a little more special and different, and don't take long to fix. Salads don't always have to be lettuce either--lettuce is the expensive part at times, but cabbage (cold slaw) is cheaper and you can use it for a vegetable too. Shredded carrots/raisins makes a good salad too. I have a sweet/sour dressing I use on mine which is sugar, salt and vinegar. I'll look up the amounts if anyone is interested.
Since meat is usually the most expensive part of a meal, I try to stretch it with casseroles, stews, etc. My personal goal is $3 per meal for meat--I have a Sam's Club membership which helps because their meat is cheaper and GOOD. Lately vegetables are almost as expensive. I have a small garden but that only helps for a short time. Sometimes I buy things in season at farm markets and freezer them for later. Having a freezer is a big help, or a dehydrator, or canning.
I do find that cooking from scratch, and using up leftovers are enormously important towards saving money. If you hate to cook, or your family likes convenience foods, it may take a while to change them over to things that are more affordable. When we got married, my husband only liked peas, beans, and corn. Now he eats lots more vegetables but not brussels sprouts!! So I work with that.
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