I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 28 years, disabled daughter, adult son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!I transferred the money from savings that I saved for January and paid out the following:
$300.00 to Mom for her utilities
39.53 Life Insurance DH
32.70 Life Insurance Me
59.89 Car Insurance
45.63 House Insurance for Old House
41.16 ADT Security System for Old House
153.00 Storage
570.00 Mortgage
29.80 Electricity Old House
100.00 Chase VISA
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$1371.71
I have $227.43 left in checking and $28 of my allowance left in cash to get by on until the 11th. No problem.
I transferred $2000 from ING and it should arrive on Thursday and I will then send that to BoA VISA, my first of four $2000 payments to be made to it this month. I am so excited about putting this card to rest by month's end.
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I have decided that I will be sending my $100 January allowance to a friend of mine in New Hampshire who is in dire straights right now medically. She and her husband are in fear of losing their medical insurance and they both have numerous ailments. She has to take like 12 different medications a day just to stay alive and her husband has to take some too and is in need of surgery.
They have both been unemployed for a while, no more benefits, he's now got a seasonal job that bounces between 10 and 20 hours a week and could end at any time. They have been desperately looking for work and are down to eating one meal a day and were out of heating oil. I also asked her if she wanted me to ship her a 50 pound bag of rice. I have enough gift cards at Amazon to do that. Waiting to hear back from her on that.
They can't get food stamps or Medicaid because of the face value of a life insurance policy, their only asset, despite the fact that they are well below the poverty level at this point. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. What sort of state denies someone food stamps and healthcare because if the wife dies they will then have $750,000? New Hampshire!
If she dies they won't need food stamps or the Medicaid, obviously. Basically she's been told she can either die or move to Vermont where they have different rules. Your tax payer dollars at work, people. If I lived in NH, I would seriously be yapping at the heels of my congressmen and my governor and any news channel or paper that would listen right about now.
Paying the Bills and Why I am Mad at the State of New Hampshire
January 2nd, 2013 at 01:17 am
January 2nd, 2013 at 01:28 am 1357090116
January 2nd, 2013 at 01:51 am 1357091501
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:07 am 1357092468
Joan--I don't know. She had a hard time asking us in her online community to help and only did after exhausting all her local options. It sounds like she's been turned down everywhere she's gone (most charities are just coming off Christmas and have used their surplus for that). We are all trying to send her a little something via paypal, but I don't know if it will be enough. I'm really worried about her.
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:25 am 1357093524
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:35 am 1357094135
January 2nd, 2013 at 02:41 am 1357094493
Can you email me at beachgirlky@gmail.com? I can help her, too.
January 2nd, 2013 at 03:17 am 1357096652
January 2nd, 2013 at 05:40 am 1357105259
January 2nd, 2013 at 08:15 am 1357114548
I would certainly be investigating further if I were her!
January 2nd, 2013 at 10:09 am 1357121342
January 2nd, 2013 at 10:16 pm 1357165004
I'm wondering .. did they include the life insurance policy as an investment? i.e. a whole life policy?? If so, they really should clarify if that counts as an investment or not.
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:22 pm 1357168944
When my mother qualified for medicaid in Ohio we had to remove her as beneficiary of my father's life insurance policy.
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:40 pm 1357170009
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:54 pm 1357170886
Rice is heavy; shipping costs would be such that it would make more sense to mail her a check rather than a big bag of rice.
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:58 pm 1357171114
Financial Requirements
Financial requirements are broken into two components: income and resources. You are considered financially eligible for the Food Stamp Program if both income and resource requirements are met.
Household Income: All available income for all members of your household is counted when we determine your eligibility for food stamps. However, we subtract certain expenses from that total. If, after subtracting your expenses, your total net income equals or falls below the monthly net income limits for the number of people in your household, you are considered income-eligible.
Household Resources: All resources you and members of your household own are considered when determining eligibility. Examples of resources are cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, permanently unoccupied real estate, and some trusts. We do not count certain resources, such as the home you are living in, your furniture, and certain vehicles. If, after counting or excluding your household's resources, your total countable resources equal or fall below $2,000, or $3,500 if at least one member in your household is age 60 or older, you are considered resource-eligible.
Household Expenses: Certain household expenses can be subtracted from income that is available or considered to be available to the assistance group.
Shelter & Utilities - Deductions for shelter costs including rent, mortgage, property tax, and condo fees may be subtracted from your income. Utility costs such as costs for heat, water and sewer, well, septic system, phones, electricity, and trash collection may also be deducted, if the costs are incurred separately from rent or mortgage.
Child Care - The actual verified un-reimbursed cost of care for a dependent child or incapacitated parent may also be subtracted from the individual's adjusted gross income. Unreimbursed costs are total costs minus any reimbursements made by non-assistance group members. The maximum allowable childcare deduction limits are $200 for care for a child under 2 years old and $175 for over 2 years old.
Legally binding child support payments - are also allowed as a deduction in net income computations if the applicant is paying them to a non-household member, including repayment of arrearages.
Self-Employment Expenses - Actual costs of doing business may be subtracted from self-employment income to arrive at countable self-employment income, which is then added to other household income.
Medical Expenses for Elders and Disabled - Verified un-reimbursed medical expenses in excess of $35 per month and incurred by household members who are elderly or disabled, may be subtracted.
January 4th, 2013 at 03:40 am 1357270853
As for shipping, the rice qualifies for free shipping, so not a worry.
Yes, she has gone to the food bank but they are very short of donations in the county where she lives. There is more demand than supply.
They are putting the life insurance policy into a trust and trying again, but she says the process takes 2 months or it did the first time they applied.
No, she's not a church member. She's agnostic. No help there. They have no children and their parents are dead, so no family help either.
January 5th, 2013 at 03:50 pm 1357401044