I have no money....What to do?

[Ima saver]

I know how you feel. We have building inspections for the first time. The inspectors are 20 year old kids, whose last job was working on cars. He now tells my husband, who is a licensed builder, how to build a house. None of these people are qualified builders, plumbers, etc.

[mom-from-missouri]

I just ran into town to get the brochures he said he had. "Farmers are exempt from inspections if produce is sold directly to grocery stores and food warehouses". These inspections only apply if you sell from an ad in the paper or at the farmers market. I asked the kid who made up the guidelines. He did. By the way, this is an elected position-his daddy is a bigwig in town....
I also don't think it is fair that employees for resturants take these classes prior to being hired. What if you take the classes and don't get hired? Then you have lost more money! Classes are only offered every 6 weeks or so, and at weird times such as from 9-11 or 3-5. Each are 2 hours. If one is a student, you'd have to miss class to go. I could understand if it was something you read thru than took a test in front of them, such as a drivers icense.
Anyhow, back on track, one thing the orginal poster may try is to sell things at a consignment auction. Usually in the local paper you can find auctions almost daily or weekly, and most auctioneers will take additional items on consignment. Items such as furniture, auto, housewares, tools--not clothing though. You can usually get money within 3 days following the auction.

[creditcardfree]

So, what are the qualifications to get food stamps? Seems like some people could have qualified or at least had a need and were turned down. That is too sad in my opinion. Are food banks different in the terms of qualifications? Just curious.

Mom from Missouri, I hope your daughter is doing better now. What a blessing it is to be able to give back to your other cousin, too.

[cicy33]

I have a new idea. Go back to school. You can actually get a grant to go to school that pays for the education and some left over to get you through. You might even consider a student loan to help you. The loans do have to be paid back but sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to get back on track. By going back to school you are learning a new skill and gaining real possibilities in finding a great job! and if you have kids there are grants that will help with daycare.

[tabbycat31]

If you want cheap food options, pasta and rice are the way to go. Also use dried beans.

As for the job thing......... I was down on my luck last fall and went to a collection agency (NEVER AGAIN). My last day there is tomorrow. I also have a seasonal job, but that ends in a month.

I have no idea what will happen to me next...... it's frustrating. However having worked in retail for years, I feel that it's more a liability on my resume than an asset. People just assumed because I worked at a store, that that's what I want to do my entire life. They don't see by the resume dates that state that I worked retail while in school. And I HATE the fact that Career Builder sends me emails for P/t dead end jobs that are 50 miles away. If I wanted to work pt at a grocery store, I'd at least do it locally.

[fairy74]

I've already worked in the food industry five years. It's really not all its cracked up to be. .

To be honest no industry or job is...good luck with your interviews....

[GreyhoundLoner]

I have no money...

I am sorry, I did no mean to make anyone mad. I don't know anything about food stamps. I do know about being hungry. I just assumed that anyone down on their luck could get food stamps. I was certainly wrong. I do think that no one in this country should go hungry. If I had known you at that time, I certainly would have helped you.(I am talking to mom from missouri and th tan, I didn't mean to upset you)

I'm new here, but I assumed that you just didn't know when you said that. I think many of us have known hungry, for sure. My story is long & I won't bore ya'll with the details, but I can affirm that it's the applying for those services that is almost often demeaning and amounts to nothing. I've had a state govt. employee show me to the door because it was quittin' time, knowing that I was hungry and broke. Another time (same poverty-stricken time period) I stood in line from 0439 to 0830 to apply for help with my winter power bill. They took the first 40 in line, and by 6am the line was around the building. The lady who took my application noted that I had a college education, I was clean and looked okay, and said that I obviously hadn't adjusted to living "this way" (meaning, on a fixed disability income)that I made 3x what most applicants made, and I should be ashamed of myself for being there. Food stamps are the same. In my state you have to be indigent or make less than the Medicaid cutoff (apporx $743/mo) to qualify. On the flip side, today at the grocery store, I was in line behind a woman who was buying 2 suitcases of beer with her little green EBT card. ::sigh:: I thought you couldn't buy that stuff with food stamps??

Back to topic: A job is a job. I waited tables to pay for my college education. It pays. I agree that internet piracy is at worst a crime and at best, on the moral lowground.

[Duchesse]

Go give some plasma
Sell something
Collect aluminum cans
take the food service job
Don't be too proud to take assistance from the government if you need it.
Ask yourself if you would rather be too proud or too hungry.

All of the above except the job and the gov't, will get you some money TODAY.

Take advantage of the local food banks, churches, and referrals from the Dept of Social Services and you will have food for two weeks starting TODAY.

Both you and your boyfriend should take the food service jobs until you both can find better jobs that you like.

[story3girl]

So recently I had the unfortunate event of losing my job. I've been searching for a new one but i dont have much experience and I dont want to be stuck back into the food industry. My boyfriend also does not have a job and we ran out of money and food this past week. We have exhausted all resources to get money for food. I also do not want to rely on the government to pay for my food via foodstamps. I also dont think I could get them even if I tried. Is there a way that I could get some money?

I know you said above that you are actively searching and have had several interviews this week. Is boyfriend searching too? You are both adults in the household and you both need to be working and contributing in a positive way. You should both be out knocking down doors and asking everyone in town to hire you.

Try going to temp agencies in your area and applying. My brother went through a temp agency and they had placed him in a job the next day. You need work right now to put food on the table.

Sell things. Ebay is great, but not always the best way if you need money fast. Take your books and CDs to used book/music stores and you will walk back out the door with cash. Find a consignment store that will sell some of your extra clothes for you.

See if your landlord could use someone to do some maintenance work. He might given you a break on rent.

Do you have skills? Put up signs in your apartment building or nearby offering to tutor, clean, do odd jobs. You can schedule your work hours around your interview.

Someone already said give plasma. Just do a search and you should find stuff about this. Again, you'll walk out the door with cash in your hand.

Once you have money, don't waste it! Go to the grocery store and buy rice, dry beans, and some canned vegetables. You have plenty of time to cook right now, so make things from scratch. You will feel much better with a complete protein and some greens in your system than you do eating pancake batter.

And once you have a "for now" job, don't be content with the fact that you're eating again. Keep looking for that perfect job and developing your skills so that you don't end up back in this place again.

[Ima saver]

Greyhound, what is an EBT card? I didn't think you could buy beer with food stamps. Actually, they dont use stamps anymore do they?

[story3girl]

I just had another thought. Volunteer. If you don't feel comfortable asking for assistance, or don't want to take away from people who need it more, go down to the food bank or soup kitchen and volunteer for several hours. Again, if you're not working, you have time.

Usually soup kitchens will give you a free meal while you are volunteering, and then you would not need to deplete your own supplies at home, and a food bank or pantry would probably be glad to trade your time for a basket or bag of food - and that would assuage your feelings of accepting charity.

When I have volunteered at conferences, judging events at schools, or other such events, there is usually a hospitality room or table for volunteers that has amazing food. Fruit, cheese, and muffins all day t the very least.

In addition to feeding you for the day and helping you to give back and help others, these things will give you contacts and experience which will help you get a career type job more easily.

[Duchesse]

Greyhound, what is an EBT card? I didn't think you could buy beer with food stamps. Actually, they dont use stamps anymore do they?

An EBT card is a card issued to people who receive food stamps and medicaid. It is used like a credit card. It pays for their food, medicine, and health care visits.

When you go to the doctor you present it and it is swiped through a machine like those used for credit cards to pay for your office visit, hosiptal stay, or medications at the pharmacy.

If you are eligible for food stamps, once a month the alloted amount is added to the card and you can spend it like money on a credit/debit card.

You are only supposed to buy food items but, unscrupulous grocery store owners let people buy beer and cigarettes and other non food items, at a premium of course.

If they get caught they lose their license to accept food stamps , this cuts their business in half . LOL

[GreyhoundLoner]

EBT Cards

Greyhound, what is an EBT card? I didn't think you could buy beer with food stamps. Actually, they dont use stamps anymore do they?

I can't remember what EBT stands for to save my life! LOLL It will come to me(I hope). Food Stamp recipients get a little green card here in SC that looks like a credit card, with the allotted amount on it. They swipe it and pay that way. It's very distinctive, you can't miss it...thus my surprise when I saw the lady buying alcohol with it.

I feel bad saying this. I remember someone recently expressing their feelings about a person with an overflowing grocery cart paying with food stamps, while she stood there with beans and rice. I have felt that way myself. It happened a long time ago, but I remember just burning up with frustration watching all that food slide on by, while I had 5 pkgs of Ramen noodles, saltines and that nasty Potted Meat Food Product. I was in the process of being officially "disabled" and hadn't gotten paid in what felt like forever. I am happy that time has passed.

[mellie]

EBT i THINK means, Electronic Balance Transfer..but I'm not 100%. We were on temporary Food assistance once. We qualified because we both didn't have jobs and we had a baby. We lived with his mother (my husband's) and she had to fill out paper work saying she sheltered us and we didn't have the money to help with bills. We only were given about 300 bucks but at the time that was like a million dollars!

To the original poster TAKE THE FOOD SERVICE JOB! But while you are working there keep going on interviews but get that job and make the money. Don't think of it as settling think of it as survival. I worked in fast food while looking for other positions. It wasn't much but it helped a LOT. Ramen noodles are cheap and easy to make, get the essentials at dollar stores and shop for good interview clothes and a thrift store (when you get money for this) Churches help a lot like others have said. You have to do what you have to do to make it!

[Ima saver]

Thank you all for explaining that to me. I have never seen the green card, mostly cause I don't stand close to anyone in the grocery store line. I think everyone should have enough to eat.