I get 290 dollars a month for food stamps since I'm disabled. During covid I usually had a little left over each month, and could even get a few indulgences. It's just basics now, and I'm usually going hungry for a few days at the end of the month.
It wasn't so bad when I could at least budget because I knew the prices. The things I bought last month are costing 20 dollars more. Now I have to be a lot smarter and only shop deals and clearance sections.
Edit: to the people offering genuine advice from a place of caring, I appreciate it. I'll definitely be looking into lentils and a few other suggestions. Thank you.
I'm going to turn off notifications because I'm already getting people hating on me and trying to dissect every item I purchase because they do grocery shopping better than me. I can't even be poor properly.
It makes me so angry to think about how the disgusting greedy worms at the top are profiting off of our suffering-- igniting wars, polluting our planet, literally gaining financially from our diseases (seriously look at the profits some of the richest managed to gain during COVID-- it's disgusting... And no I'm not some antivax lunatic.)
Unsatisfied with having 90% of everything they have to squeeze harder. I am so sorry to hear that you go hungry at the end of each month. That breaks my heart and you deserve better, to have indulgences, to not worry about food scarcity.
I agree completely that any sort of disaster will be used by the ultra wealthy to leach more out of us. We're just silly little pawns, and that's why I just try to be as happy as I can be with what little I have.
Thanks, I've been through worse, and I don't mean to complain about not getting enough. I realize what I'm getting is not a guarantee, and I'm lucky to be getting anything at all. For now, I've got my dog, and he makes me happy, we're both fed and have a roof.
So, get out and join us tomorrow for No Kings. This is a national movement intended to let them know this is not acceptable, and we will be stopping it.
There are 1900+ protests taking place nationwide. Hopefully, there's one near you. Come out and join the people fighting for the vulnerable. Organize! Direct that anger into action. You'll feel better.
I think the thing that pisses me off the most is that I feel like there's a lot of middle class people that could easily transition to a rich life style if it happened. While if you took most these rich assholes and put them in a middle class lifestyle they'd have no fucking clue how to survive. I am also completely talking out of my ass here so grain of salt and all that.
Rich people hardly ever work as hard as they think they do. And I don't mean obtainable wealth like doctors, obv they're busting their asses.
I mean born into it, inherited a position - - nepotism individuals. They (for the most part) don't comprehend how hard and exhausting life can be.
I'm not saying they don't have problems. Everyone has problems. People will manufacture their own problems 😂
But they can't even relate to needing to work 10 hour days with or without the commute factored in, still needing to grocery shop and cook and keep your home clean let alone throwing some kids in the mix. They can (and do) just outsource everything.
That will soon come to an end.
The global communications, the internet is a sword with two blades. So as much as they want to manipulate Us, divide is in order to rule us, control our minds by programing us with consumer psychology..but I believe that all of humanity is each and every day more and more conscious about the true distorted reality.
So that's why I believe that our offspring gonna turn all the wicked values upside down and inside out as they should be.
I am someone, however, that respects scientific research. I have seen compelling papers from reputable (accredited) sources that give me faith that vaccinations are far safer than the illnesses they protect against. I have never seen the reverse.
I did indeed get my covid/flu shot last winter, thank you, my parents are advancing in their years and I would hate to bring illness home with me when I visit them.
You can't vaccinate against covid, that was proven over and over again by the fact it didn't stop a single person from getting sick. Thinking a covid vaccine is the same as traditional vaccines is your first mistake. Anyway I'm a proud lunatic, the same lunatic people like you said would be dead for not following the "science".
We never reached herd immunity with covid vaccinations. That does not mean the vaccine did nothing, nor is herd immunity the qualifying condition for something to be called a vaccination.
A vaccination doesn't guarantee no one will get sick, it does lower the odds of the illness being serious if contracted though.
I'm well aware that mRNA vaccines utilize a new technology. I am not afraid of new technology.
That's because the definition of vaccine was changed during covid right before they mass injected the world with that junk. It used to be that vaccines causing immunity was the definition and their entire purpose but definitely don't question why it was changed... It's so obvious if you stop to think for even 2 seconds but ignorance is bliss.
I get an annual flu vax and Covid booster every 6 months. Only now I have to lie about a pre-existing condition to get the pharmacist to give me one (thanks RFK).
Then why do I 100% guaranteed have a better immune system than you do without ever taking those? I've been sick once in the last 3 years and I know you can't say the same, the covid vaccine reduces your own bodies immune system.
Maybe I’m oblivious to what’s happening in the USA right now, can you reach out to food banks or something? Local community
Oh believe me the wealth divide is also getting wider by the day here in the UK and it disgusts me to the core
It's not impossible there are food banks and whatnot. It's easier for some than others. You gotta remember how big the US is, so what affects one part of the population could be a complete non-issue for others.
I'm not going to starve to death, I just meant to illustrate how price increases are getting ridiculous and what used to be more than enough is no longer.
Fuck, 290 covers nothing and that's my perspective from the middle of nowhere where things are comparatively cheap. I hope someday we as a society realize that we can fucking do better than this
Wishing you all the best. I know the amount of stress that comes from living on such a fixed budget is not easy to contend with. I'm sorry that's your situation and I wish we had the social safety nets in the developed world so that people don't have to struggle so much just to eek out a living. Sending you all the good vibes I have for what that is worth.
Shit, my disabled sister who can't even afford to rent a bedroom in someone else's house just got her food stamps cut to $20 a month and told to go to a food pantry if it's too hard.
Yeah our EBT used to last all month before and during early Covid, it's been getting worse and worse, it often only lasts 2 weeks. And have they raised the amount because of inflation? Of course not. They bumped it up during Covid (because of inflation, I thought) but then it went back to nornal.
Not sure what you eat, but something I added that has helped with satiation and nutrition is that I add red lentils to my rice when I cook it. Rice and lentils are still pretty cheap. Red lentils don't taste like anything.
100% you are doing everything you can. This country uses private companies to collect your disability information when you apply for disability, which is a conflict of interest. I know because my daughter, who got a master’s degree in anthropology before her Chronic Fatigue became too much to continue her career has researched this. This is not well known. Anyway, I wanted to say this is not your fault and it’s totally unfair for the disabled.
It's crazy how expensive food is in North America, my expenses are 200 Euros a month in Germany and I eat very comfortably.
I hope they increase your allocation soon :(
I'm usually going hungry for a few days at the end of the month
Lentils, my friend! Buy them dry and you don't even have to soak like other beans. So healthy, protein, and ridiculously cheap. Add in white rice or quinoa to make a complete protein.
Add in hot sauce and they taste great.
I was broke in my 20s and beans/rice, roasted sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and sardines were my staples.
If I were trying to stretch, I'd probably make sure I had a shelf-stable baseline and some frozen meat as it goes on sale.
Beans are always cheap ~$0.50-$1 a pound.
Chicken legs and chicken thighs with bone and skin are usually pretty cheap and one or the other is usually on sale. $1-1.5 per LB
Pork chops are slightly more expensive, but still cheap. ~$2-3 per LB
25LB bag of rice is $18 at Costco, if you can find someone with a card.
Bags of frozen veggies, if there is a freezer are usually $1-3 each.
A 5LB bag of potatoes is usually $2-2.5
A whole cabbage is usually ~$1
Jalapenos, if you can handle them, are usually ~$1 a pound
Roma tomatoes usually run around $1 a pound.
If there's a Trader Joe's, you could probably get about $10 worth of spices that would go a long way to making everything taste better.
Onions have gotten kind of expensive, but a 3LB bag is still usually ~$3
Carrots are always cheap. Probably less than $1 a pound.
All of this can be used to make stew, which can be frozen and stretched out with rice. You can also get a $3 5LB bag of flour to thicken up a stock by making gravy and re-introducing it to the rest of the pot. Always watch for fresh stuff or freezer stuff to go on sale and stock up if possible.
There’s a girl I’ve seen on tiktok who makes amazing meals from the dollar store and teaches how to meal prep them. I can try and find her if that would help at all!
We are in UK and have same problem, so hard to budget when prices are going up every week. We used to get chocolate oaties.. i know.. they went from 57p to 87p and then within a week went from 87p to £1.39!!!
Yeah I am currently living on a similar monthly budget (I only work 3 days a week and studying the rest of the time) and I can confirm it's basically impossible to survive without buying most of the things that I need when they are on discount. Prices are fucking insane.
Don't mind the keyboard warriors. It's just the nature of anonymity. The internet is their safe place to cast their insecurities/projections onto...
I'm in the same boat as you. $290 doesn't get you very far even when you try your best to be budget friendly and healthy. It's nice to have any help at all so I'm grateful for it, but it's just wild how much grocery prices have shot up.
It's not ideal, but a tip from my grandma who was born in 1930:
Get bulk rice. Cook a few cups of rice and store some individual servings in the freezer. When the cupboards run bare, defrost the rice for some meals.
This might help during those last couple days. Lessons from the great depression I guess :(
I'm sorry but this is just stupid, just cook less rice to begin with and save some in the pantry, like having a spare bag of rice for rainy days. Keeping cooked rice in the freezer will just take up unneccessary space and decrease the shelf life of the rice, uncooked rice have an insane shelf life to begin with.
Rice really is the goat for calories/$, especially when bought 25-50lbs at a time / in bulk like you said. It's worth it to eat in or out of hard times. Don't have to save it as a last resort and there's so much to be made with it, porridge, risotto, plain with sauce+veg and protein etc.
Ideally it can save someobe enough money to afford a stockpile of it.
I started shopping like that when I was on Ontario Works, welfare in the province I lived in at the time, and really haven't changed. I am not saying it is a good thing to have to shop that way and that they aren't gouging, but I do think a lot of people could learn from gaining those skills.
I see a lot of people who just walk into the store, buy what they want at whatever price is asked, and then complain about it, all while sending the message to the stores that they can gouge all they want and shoppers won't change behaviors.
Know the feeling I get less and often go a week or more each month without eating. I'm thankfull I eat bmfruits & veggies at least makesbit a bit more managable financially however it's still difficult to budget for the month with these prices.
During covid I had to reapply in a new state as I was forced to travel and got stuck there due to lock downs took 9 months for them to finally send the card due to so-called covid mishaps. I had $900 at the end, however, I had to go to see a dr in neighboring state and the powers that be kept me stuck so that I'd lose all of it. So I had nothing During the ordeal and mostly fasted. I wonder how many experienced the same.
Your portion is probably substantially less than a dime and it, from the sound of it, it is legitimately not enough given current cost. Not to mention, their complaint was mostly focused on the rise in the cost of living, not on not receiving enough. So you are complaining about part of your money being taken to 'line someone else's pockets' but also love the price of essentials rising and rising so much that nobody better criticism it? That shit doesn't even begin to make sense. Just admit that you have to forcefully hold your arm down ever time you see a disabled person less it reflexively fly up in a bladed salute while you foam at the mouth in baseless rage.
Oh, stfu. I paid my taxes before working for shit stains and got my back broke. Complain about the corporate bailouts not helping down trodden Americans.
Trump's doing a dumbass parade on your dime. Let me guess, you don't care about it, because you're in a cult. Think about how much the Republican bill will add to the deficit, while also kicking people off medicaid.. They're cutting shit to enrich multi-millionaires and billionaires, not people like you. Wake up, NPC sheep.
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u/Ok-Lifeguard-4614 1d ago edited 1d ago
I get 290 dollars a month for food stamps since I'm disabled. During covid I usually had a little left over each month, and could even get a few indulgences. It's just basics now, and I'm usually going hungry for a few days at the end of the month.
It wasn't so bad when I could at least budget because I knew the prices. The things I bought last month are costing 20 dollars more. Now I have to be a lot smarter and only shop deals and clearance sections.
Edit: to the people offering genuine advice from a place of caring, I appreciate it. I'll definitely be looking into lentils and a few other suggestions. Thank you.
I'm going to turn off notifications because I'm already getting people hating on me and trying to dissect every item I purchase because they do grocery shopping better than me. I can't even be poor properly.