both my man & i work 40 hours a week, i make $12.00 an hour, my man makes $9.25, between the 2 of us i dont think that we make alot of money. we make it but we are NOT living lavishly. im 10 weeks preg and i have looked into Wic and help with paying for child care when i go back to work, apparently we make too much money to qualify for either aide. what is a hard working couple like us supposed to do? should we both quit our jobs and look for a shitty job that would allow us to qualify for gov aide? that is just stupid! but seriously what are we to do? it seems like the only people that can get any help are the ones that dont aspire to be anything, or to do anything more with their lives, that dont have good jobs, maybe thats why soo many people stay in low paying jobs so that they can get the help to feed their kids or to pay for child care. it seems like the gov gives too much help to ppl that abuse the system, and not enough to everyone else. any advise on what we could do for help?
2006-09-21 05:50:11 · 14 answers · asked by miss me! 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
im not saying that im owed help, it would just be nice to have help when it would be needed for a family to NOT live off of check to check.
2006-09-21 06:05:14 · update #1
sweeney---- just because we are making it now (BEFORE baby) does not mean that it will be easy to do it when baby is born, and why shouldnt someone be able to get a job that pays above minimum wage??
2006-09-21 06:24:46 · update #2
$900.00 for a two bedroom??? where the hell do you live?? here it is about $1,800, btw we do not have our own home we live with his parents, we will all have to live in one room. and if you actually try to get a better job then im 100% positive it can be done, unless of course the person does not even have the smarts for a better job...
2006-09-21 09:34:49 · update #3
When my daughter was a baby, I worked full time and lived in substidized housing. My rent was substidized by $40. I made too much ($8.00 an hour about $1100 a month) to get day care assistance or any other assistance. I lived near women, men and families who lived by working the system, while I was working and could barely afford diapers. I do know people who will refuse a raise or work at a minimum wage job just to keep their benefits. Why not? They get food stamps, rent substities, utility grants, nearly free day care and charity drive clothes and toys at Christmas. All of their money goes to what ever they want.
I made too much for daycare assistance by $30 a year. So I went from paying $300.00 in daycare to $500.00 ($400.00 for rent) because I made $30 too much. That left me about $200 for food, gas, diapers, insurance and utilities. The programs seem to encourage people to stay in mediocre possitions just to survive. I could have gotten a lower paying job, but I refused. You have to really really want to get out of the system to get out of the system. Otherwise it is too hard. How many of you would take a $30 annual pay cut to save $200.00 in child care, have medical benefits for your baby, and have enough money left over to eat?
I'm not saying that everyone using the system is abusing the system. I'm saying the programs themselves make it difficult to get off the programs. Those of you who have been lucky enough not to need the system don't understand what it takes.
So as a whole I agree with you on your point that the system is poorly designed and designed to keep the poor poor. On the other hand, you have a two income family and a place to live. you will be able to make it without assistance if you budget wisely. there will be no money for extras but the good new is with a baby, there is no time for extras either. Be glad you don't have to raise your baby on your own. There are many who do through accident, divorce, or choice.
2006-09-21 10:28:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
This is always a hard subject for people to answer, especially when they themselves dont have kids. People will tell you not to have kids until you're financially secure, which, in perfect world, everyone would do, but since this world is far from a Utopia, some people have kids when they're not ready financially. You make more than I do, and you have a second income from your man. Together, you make over 21 bucks an hour. That's a pretty damn good income. Therefore, you don't qualify for WIC. WIC is generally for people who don't make more than minimum wage. You probably won't be able to get much help from the government. I was on WIC while I was pregnant, and for the first year of my daughter's life. It helped immensely because back then, I only made about 7.50 an hour. Now, I make a little over 10.00, and I still need help. I get childcare assistance from the Department of Social/Health Services, and it pays like 80% of my monthly child care costs. I live on my own, and after all the bills are paid, I only have about 200 a month left over. It's hard...but you should be grateful for the fact that you also have your man's income. Start eliminating some extra expenses that you don't need to spend money on...cook meals at home, don't buy coffee from Starbucks, start buying groceries from Walmart...I buy my groceries there and spend half of what I'd spend ANYWHERE else. It's amazing. There are so many ways you can try to cut your spending, and reserve it for your child. Open a new bank account solely for the costs of raising your child. Put a little into the account every time you BOTH get paid. You still have 7 months to save up. If I can do it alone on only 10 bucks an hour, I can guarantee you will make it on a combined income of 22 bucks an hour. Good luck to the both of you!
2006-09-21 08:27:53 · answer #2 · answered by SassySours 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why is it that anyone who does qualify doesn't "aspire to be anything" and don't have "good jobs". I resent that. My husband makes $11.00 an hour as an automotive technician. We've been stuck living with my in-laws for over a year because we can't even afford rent in our area ($900+ for two-bedroom). I currently get WIC for my son (he's 9 1/2 months), but don't qualify for Medicaid or any kind of child care, which is why my husband is the only one working. Be glad you even have a home and make more than $1500 a month instead of complaining that you can't get more for free. These government programs are for people that REALLY need it.
My mother made $9.25 an hour and managed to raise three kids all on her own.
And I've never met someone who intentionally found/kept a low-paying job for the sole purpose of recieving government funding. I think it's incredibly shortsighted of you to claim that everyone that makes less money than you is either a) stupid, b) lazy or c) "abusing the system." Why can't you just accept that some people CAN'T find better jobs?
2006-09-21 08:17:03 · answer #3 · answered by seventy_6ix 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I had wic with my children and guess what, my husband has a good career. He's in the military. Just because you don't qualify for it doesn't give you the right to put down those who do. You want advice, breast feed your baby and pump it when you go to work, then you wont need wic right away. Sorry you don't have the money to pay for child care, a lot of people that make money can't afford it either. Guess they should go out and get a 2nd job? You need to stop being angry at people who do get it and be mad at those who denied you. Wic isn't like welfare, it's not the typical program to be able to abuse. It's about children's nutrition not money. Wait I guess people do abuse it, they buy a name brand milk.
2006-09-21 06:54:03 · answer #4 · answered by ~*~frankie~*~ 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you are "making It " , then why are you complaining ??? You are very selfish. You should be happy that you can make it with out assistance. I know I am. My husband makes enough to get by and we are satisfied with that. Some people can not get jobs that pay 9.95 and 12.00 an hour. Stop complaining.
Jobs that pay higher then minimum wage are not always available to everyone. Some people do not have a college education and therefore can not do any better. And before you say that , that is their fault that they do not have a college education - Some people can not afford to go to school. If you can not afford to have a child, you shouldn't be pregnant. I would never get pregnant unless I could completely afford to have another child. Maybe you should have considered this before you became pregnant. IF the child was a surprise , then that just shows your lack of repsonsibility toward your family. Who is going to watch your child while both of you work ? Are you just going to dump your child in a daycare and have strangers raising your child ? Thats not fair to the child. Atleast one of the parents should stay at home with the child. My husband works, and I stay home with our daughter. Thats the way it should be. I really do not understand why people choose to have children when they will not spend any time with them. Its so sad. Its also not fair to the child to have one parent working while the other stays home and then they switch places. Children need to see their parents getting along and spending time together. I am also 10 weeks pregnant. You and your husband really should have planned everything better , like my husband and myself did. I am guessing that your income before taxes ( guessing that your husband works 40 hrs also ) is about 3400. Okay. My husband makes less then that and we are doing fine. Maybe there are things that you need to give up.
You are living with his parents and you are still complaining ?!!!! You and your husband must have really exspensive car payments - get rid of them !!!!! There is no way that you should be having any type of problems making that much AND living with his family !!!! If you want to move out on your own and can not afford it , then move somewhere else !!!!
Speaking of "smarts" - do you see an e before the y in my name ?
2006-09-21 06:17:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
I agree with you. My husband and I both worked before our daughter was born. I am a teacher making a Master's level salary and my husband did private contracting. He quit his job when our baby was born because in our area, his whole paycheck would have gone into daycare, and we figured hell, why not let her stay home where she is safe and we know what is happening with her.
Anyway, now we are three people (technically four becacuse my mother lives with us, but she can't care for the baby, and she only has social security so that counts against us as well as far as WIC) living on one income, roughly half of that income goes to pay a debt consolidation, another third goes to bills, utilities, car payment, insurance, phone company and whatnot, more to college fund for daughter, and what little is left we eat on and barely scrape by until the next month. We truly live paycheck to paycheck.
Here, the income for a family of three to qualify for WIC is $19,000. How can anyone live on that kind of money?
What I'd like to see is some kind of subsidization for those of us who work the grind day in and day out, and kill ourselves helping people who don't want to be helped.
Personal soapbox I guess...
2006-09-21 06:13:59 · answer #6 · answered by ♥♥♥ Mommy to Two ♥♥♥ 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It is really unfair to hard working parents. I am a single parent of 2 who brings home about $4000 a month. But after rent ($1200), childcare ($800), student loans ($500), food, pampers and utilities ($800) and a car payment ($400) I am left with $300 a month - half of which goes into a college savings account. And I want to save for a house. It seems like you can never get ahead and the government doesn't want you to. The more people rely on government programs, the better the justification for raising tax rates and prices.
2006-09-21 06:05:16 · answer #7 · answered by Marmek1210 1 · 2⤊ 2⤋
You really are kind of stuck at this point. My husband works with people receiving TANIF and the system really is bad. Once people are making just enough money to almost get on their feet, aid is cut off. There should be more aid so that people can really get onto their feet before being cut off, but there isn't. I also hear it's getting even harder to qualify. Good luck with it!
2006-09-21 07:24:32 · answer #8 · answered by caitlinerika 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's called the working poor. You don't make a low enought amount to qualify for any help and you don't make enough to do it on your own. My husband and I are at the level where we just barely make too much to get subsidy for childcare and we just can't afford it on our own with our debt load. I ended up staying home to do home daycare. I make more doing that then I would have at my job and paying for childcare. Plus as an added bonus, I get more time with my daughter.
2006-09-21 06:15:01 · answer #9 · answered by lynnca1972 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
get married. even the military e-7 and below qualify for wic. with both of you working full time. they dont see where you would need it. when there are so many others who really need it. . you dont really qualify for gov. assistance making 830 a week before taxes. 830 is both incomes combined. thats over 3000 a month. you guys dont need it.
2006-09-21 06:22:35 · answer #10 · answered by kleighs mommy 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋