Dear God, I can't believe what I'm reading. You're not living man, you're subsisting. If you are to be believed with the total of your monthly income, you should not be living at such a minimal level.

Dec 2020 is 21.5 months away, what will be the case should another interruption occur before then?

The electrical is being fixed and this includes all the old outlets, the water is good, and the car I generally do a good job of taking care of.

So what is left?

Natural Gas?

Well only if I needed a new range, water heater, or clothes dryer, I have whirlpool appliances throughout My kitchen and laundry and that includes the Microwave oven, My washing machine is from the 1980's and it shows no signs of of wearing out. The gas water heater was new in 2006 as were the water pipes.

Phone?

I'd just get a new free phone since I have lifeline service in My state.

Property taxes?

Don't make Me laugh, they'll never go up as long as I live here.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

All I can say is: Good luck.

All I can say is: Good luck.

Fair enough.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I wish it was raining here. Cats, dog, or pigs for that matter.
It is -50F (-46C) here with the Wind chill.

---

Over time we have all come to the conclusion that Vic lives rather like a bohemian. Many people over the years have offered to stop by and have a chat and a cup of tea, he has refused and put them all off. He refuses to have anyone round there. Judging by the pictures he has posted, his place looks like a second hand junk yard full of empty boxes, No wonder he is embarrassed about the thought of visitors.

-[ garbage snipped ]-

Someone here, I cannot remember who, has a quote in their signature that states: "You are entitled to you own opinions but not to your own facts." or something to that effect. I would quit including the world at large in your facts as you see them. I for one do not believe that Vic lives like a Bohemian. For one thing:

Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary or spiritual pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may or may not be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.

That is from Wikipedia and I highly doubt, from what I have been reading over the years, that Vic lives like a Bohemian. I believe your posturing needs to cease.

You keep spewing the same ol' rhetoric. Stop already. I'm tired of you constantly sniping at Vic just because you do not like him. Take a cue from Sirius, he is being constructive. You are being destructive. Get over yourself already.

---

CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr - L L & P _\\//
Winders 11 OS? "What a piece of junk!" - L. Skywalker
"Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide." - T'Plana-hath

A question about SNAP and CalFresh - I see lot's of stuff about CalFresh being active, and also stuff about SNAP being available in CA (scehdules of payment dates, how to apply, where to apply, etc.).
So what is going on over there?

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

A question about SNAP and CalFresh - I see lot's of stuff about CalFresh being active, and also stuff about SNAP being available in CA (schedules of payment dates, how to apply, where to apply, etc.).
So what is going on over there?

From what I know Calfresh is the CA version of SNAP, both use an EBT card, and one can buy almost anything in a market or a super market or a store as long as they support EBT Cards, what can't one buy?

So far Heated Foods is not allowed, purchases do not include any sales taxes, some may object to that, though I don't know why.

Eligibility is here, I'm within the amount shown for1 person which is per month.

There are special rules for households that have people who are over 60, disabled and immigrants. See Seniors & Disabled People and Immigrants for more information.

You can own your car, home, and retirement plan and still qualify for CalFresh.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Thanks for clearing up that for me.

So have you actually applied - it is active.

And looking at the CalFresh site you should be active in about 45 days - that's April, not June or August, and you need to free up some cash now not in few months time.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Thanks for clearing up that for me.

So have you actually applied - it is active.

And looking at the CalFresh site you should be active in about 45 days - that's April, not June or August, and you need to free up some cash now not in few months time.

Until it's ready for those who get the same money as I do, it's June or August, so all I can do is wait as it says Here(pdf).

I.POLICY OVERVIEW
Policy Change

Effective June 1, 2019, individuals receiving SSI/SSP are eligible for CalFresh,
provided all other eligibility criteria are met. Per AB 1811, an alternate implementation
date no later than August 1, 2019, may be established if the California Department of
Social Services(CDSS) notifies the Department of Finance that automation necessary to
implement this policy change will not be complete by June 1, 2019. If an alternate
implementation date is selected, this date will be communicated to CWDs and

[snip]

stakeholders as soon as possible.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

OK, I see where my confusion arose from - I'd forgotten you were on SSI, and thus aren't currently eligible for SNAP, but will be in the future.

Can you do "pre-emptive" application, so you into the queue ahead of the rush, or must you wait until the doors open? (I hope you can do a pre-emptive one)

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

A big kittywave to those who have the patience to communicate with Vic in a constructive manner.
I do not possess such patience.

But a bravo to those who do.

Best of luck, Vic. I certainly wish you well.

Mark

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

I know I did quite a bit of LSD when I was younger. But am I having a flashback? I`ve been absent for a year now, with some major health issues and a big operation. It`s like nothing has changed. Vic(Joker) buying more computer parts, some major financial expense(this time car engine), still not fixed electrical issues that members donated for(suckers). Asking inlaws for money(again). Setting up a donate for poor me page again. Lol. I wish I just had your medical issues that you post daily. Look I`m just posting to let Vic know, you need to get it together. Carrying $6,000+ in debt, buying computer parts, and not having a backup plan for these kinds of unforeseen life expenses. You had inherited a very large sum of money from your aunts passing, but blew it all(in time) on computer parts, Mustang Gt, etc. If it wasn`t for empathy from ppl. here. You probally have to grow up and deal with the consequences of your bad decisions(priorities). I see you convinced a few ppl. already, with $245.00 so far. I wish you luck with your fund raising. I can`t wait to see what next year brings.

---

A question about SNAP and CalFresh - I see lot's of stuff about CalFresh being active, and also stuff about SNAP being available in CA (schedules of payment dates, how to apply, where to apply, etc.).
So what is going on over there?

From what I know Calfresh is the CA version of SNAP, both use an EBT card, and one can buy almost anything in a market or a super market or a store as long as they support EBT Cards, what can't one buy?

So far Heated Foods is not allowed, purchases do not include any sales taxes, some may object to that, though I don't know why.

Eligibility is here, I'm within the amount shown for1 person which is per month.

There are special rules for households that have people who are over 60, disabled and immigrants. See Seniors & Disabled People and Immigrants for more information.

You can own your car, home, and retirement plan and still qualify for CalFresh.

@Vic, and @Rob,

Alcohol, (obviously), IS NOT permitted on CalFresh/SNAP... That's not to say one cannot buy alcohol, BUT, one MUST PAY out of pocket for it. All regular food items ARE covered. MOST grocery stores in CA now charge a "Bag Fee" for paper bags, HOWEVER; when a CalFresh/SNAP card is used the cashier backs out/voids the Bag Fee. (This is how it's been for me for years.) At my limited income level, (modest as it is, it is slightly larger than Vic's), BUT being on SSDI, I am graded differently than Vic. I was just reduced to $65 a month for CalFresh. So, I ask people here, CAN YOU SURVIVE on just $65 a month for food allowance??? I believe the resounding answer is "NO"...


TL

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

A question about SNAP and CalFresh - I see lot's of stuff about CalFresh being active, and also stuff about SNAP being available in CA (schedules of payment dates, how to apply, where to apply, etc.).
So what is going on over there?

From what I know Calfresh is the CA version of SNAP, both use an EBT card, and one can buy almost anything in a market or a super market or a store as long as they support EBT Cards, what can't one buy?

So far Heated Foods is not allowed, purchases do not include any sales taxes, some may object to that, though I don't know why.

Eligibility is here, I'm within the amount shown for1 person which is per month.

There are special rules for households that have people who are over 60, disabled and immigrants. See Seniors & Disabled People and Immigrants for more information.

You can own your car, home, and retirement plan and still qualify for CalFresh.

@Vic, and @Rob,

Alcohol, (obviously), IS NOT permitted on CalFresh/SNAP... That's not to say one cannot buy alcohol, BUT, one MUST PAY out of pocket for it. All regular food items ARE covered. MOST grocery stores in CA now charge a "Bag Fee" for paper bags, HOWEVER; when a CalFresh/SNAP card is used the cashier backs out/voids the Bag Fee. (This is how it's been for me for years.) At my limited income level, (modest as it is, it is slightly larger than Vic's), BUT being on SSDI, I am graded differently than Vic. I was just reduced to $65 a month for CalFresh. So, I ask people here, CAN YOU SURVIVE on just $65 a month for food allowance??? I believe the resounding answer is "NO"...


TL

I was told in an email that it would be $140-$170 a month cause I live alone and not in a household with someone else, until I see an official letter saying otherwise, I will stick to that. Oh and I don't buy Cigarettes or Alcohol like just My grandpa did not do, He had the money, He just did not want those, it was said He was as healthy as a horse when He died at 82yrs old, He is also remembered by the Historical Society, but I digress.

@ Some here(not those like TL or Sirius, etc, etc, etc), who I won't name called good people suckers, they know what you know and aren't judgemental, and no one is forcing them they can if they want to, some here don't like it, some elsewhere would ignore it. It reminds Me of the Nike burning protests and such, people that are opened minded don't care if you burn your own property and neither do I, which is why it's not happening anymore.

So, I ask people here, CAN YOU SURVIVE on just $65 a month for food allowance??? I believe the resounding answer is "NO"...

Sorry, I believe that to be a "trick" question. I'm not aware of the Welfare system in the US, but from what is being seen on this thread, it seems there are many various programs. As Asda here says, every little helps, so to answer such a question truthfully, one has to look at one's total income.

It's similar to what we have here. With the short time I spent on our system, once the initial issues got resolved (which cropped up shy of 6 months later & led to the disaster I've already mentioned).

At the time:
Disability Living Allowance (Partner) £224.xx (every 4 weeks)
Carer's Allowance (Me) £202.xx (every 4 weeks)
Income Support (for both) £133.xx (every 2 weeks) This we never asked for, but was "fobbed" off on us shortly after receipt of benefits commenced)
Housing (for both) £395.xx (every 4 weeks)

.xx is the pence as can't recall exactly what they were but can scan through 14 years worth of bank statements.

At 1st, I was gobsmacked, but after sitting down after receiving the 1st total in 28 days, I was dismayed. pro-rata it, it worked out at £1,178 approx. per month.
I'm thinking WTH was I doing driving a truck doing multi-drop deliveries in London for "only" another £130 approx. a week after stoppages?

To make matters worse (depending on what angle it is looked at), I was informed by an official that as I was the main & only carer, I would be able to earn £95.00 per week before any benefit was affected. WTF?

I would have been better off sitting on my ass.

As for your question? Try £00.00 income for 4 months!

Edit: I got curious so checked statements, just shows that one's memory is not that exact as one gets older.
Total calendar monthly income was in fact £1,375.44.
Edit 2: Just remembered something else, the revised figure is NET of £55.00 per week of the total benefits because my partner was working (full time employee, but only part time hours.) So add another £350 per calendar month to the total.

Today I got some bad news, My rent is going up by $25.00 a month, just like I feared.
New owners pay $390.00 a month, My and a few other residents in here will be
about $100.00 less per month than what the New Residents pay,
I have no idea how much more the existing tenants rent is going up.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

So, I ask people here, CAN YOU SURVIVE on just $65 a month for food allowance??? I believe the resounding answer is "NO"...

Sorry, I believe that to be a "trick" question.

I would agree with you.

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Note the work SUPPLEMENTAL. As I understand it this program is designed to provide EXTRA money over and above what people are already paying for their food bills. The reason is that many people are living on unhealthy junk food because it is all they can afford on their income. This is designed to help or provide ASSISTANCE to purchase higher quality more NUTRITIOUS food, hence the name of the program.

I would have been better off sitting on my ass.

That is one of the problems with the UK benefits system. Sometimes it pays people NOT to get a job, allowing them to do the odd casual work for cash-in-hand, straight in pocket, no questions asked, extra bunce. Fraud? of course it it is, but how do you stop it?

One answer is to make the National minimum Wage the same as the Living Wage, then people wouldn't be tempted to abuse the system. Or have more people with principles like you, who would rather work for a living than scrounge off the tax payer.

One of the main problems of having "National" payments is that the cost of living and the wages paid varies a lot throughout the country. In fact more than that it varies in areas within a region, and I know that even when you come down to quite small areas there can be quite big variations.

One example is Pension Credit, Where I live in the Ribble Valley it not only has the lowest number of beneficiaries (9%), they also, on average, receive the smallest amounts in Lancashire.

Or look at the table in https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/lancashire-insight/economy/income-earnings-and-benefits/gross-disposable-household-income/, for GDHI (Gross Disposable Household Income) per head.
1st, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham - £58,816
...
179st,Nottingham - £12,232

P.S. Reading that page and all the others is quite educational even if it is only for Lancashire.

edit] Something else I remembered, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19643303

Part of the research will be led by Donald Hirsch, from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

He told BBC Radio Shetland: "Government and others are taking decisions about benefit levels, or about supporting people and supporting communities."

"(But) up until recently they really didn't have any idea what sort of income people would need as a minimum. It was very arbitrary, how you could set things like wages, or benefit levels.

No offense, but this is an observation and may have an opinion or two.

I've found in the past some simply do not like the fact that someone who is unable to work and who is not able bodied anymore has an income cause they've had it drilled into them that one must earn a living thru hard work, this has been what I have been told by some people and what I've read.

My late maternal uncle said to work smarter, not harder, harder gets one no where.

I don't need someones permission to use the money that I get, I or anyone is to use it as they or I see fit I was told by the SSA, it's a personal decision where there is no right or wrong.

I can legally buy something like anyone else can and I can have and use credit cards too. Anyone thinks they do have a say, I simply don't care. Your opinion would be noted, but I am not bound by someones opinion nor are you, I have the same rights as anyone else in the US, no more, no less.

If someone burns their Nike shoes cause of a person thinking it would bother Liberals, Liberals don't care, the person burning their shoes spent the money to get those shoes, the Liberal is not bothered by the act, is the act of burning something one bought stupid? Yes it is, the only person this will bother is the person who burned the shoes, it's not impressive and would be seen as a childish temper tantrum by adults.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Vic, agree 100%. I was fit & healthy enough to work & in fact wanted to work. Unfortunately, I was advised by a consulting neurologist that I should stop work as my partner required supervision. He was so concerned for her health that we had to attend Addenbrookes every month. He informed me that after completing the benefit claim, to pass it to him. He attached a medical report to it. Job done.

It took 3 years using various medications with various dosages before it was controlled enough for me & the neurologist to even consider returning to work. Unfortunately by then it was too late. The damage had already been done by useless bureaucrats & worsening.

I for one will never question anyone on disability. Crap happens & we're not machines. However, I will be blunt: Seeing you waste your income, because that is what you are doing, & your subsequent actions, pisses off people like me.

Well fixing My income will not happen overnight, I need to get the car done, then the electrical, plus in June deal with a rent increase, for Residents the increase is $25 a month, of the 21 who were here before the current owners started to refurbish and sell homes off, there are 7 places in here that would qualify as old residents, the other 14 are tenant or renters, not as bad as before on the space rent increase when I had to absorb a $50 raise, a person elsewhere thought the rent may continue to go up until the old residents are charged the same space rent as the new residents are, which is My guess as to what might happen, which is $390, but then most residents are a captive audience here for the moment, this should change when the last of the tenants are gone.

I think I discovered why My right arm was hurting when I get up in the morning, the window above My bed was unlatched, it's now latched with both latches, I do need to take the vacuum over to the windows, My bedroom window looked like it needs it, but at least it's sealed and I can't feel a breeze now near the cardboard, the cardboard is there to keep most of the light out since I have blinds on the windows that came with the home.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's