Looking for Advice

Hello,

im just looking for a little advice on what i can do. I am a young woman living in an apartment in dartmouth with my fiance and my 2 cats a 3 year old and a 3 month old. My partner has a mental disability which he has had since his teens which caused him to not complete high school and to not work in 6 years. Last summer i ended up in the hospital after suffering panic attacks and just before christmas i was told i was not aloud to return to my place of work. My Partner is currently on Social Assistance and i am on EI both of us looking for work but not having luck at all. Between the both of them we get $1205 a month to pay all of our bills which is equal to $1400 a month. We rob petter to pay paul every month and fall behind on everything frequantly but our biggest issue is food. After bills are payed i maybe get $20 for food for the month (depending on how i juggle the bills) and that is not feeding us we eat maybe 1 meal a day sometimes nothing at all but water all day long we really do unintentionaly starve ourselves though our bodys wouldnt show it weight wise. I do coupon and we have been to food banks, the coupons helped me get all the laundry and hygene stuff we needed to last a few months but food wise it hasnt helped much for us though we are not picky eaters or allergic to any food its just i guess maybe i dont know how to shop well enough with coupons or maybe not im not sure. The food banks well i remember being 15 having to move in with a friend who was a single mom of 2 children we had to go there to get food as she didnt work and when we went we got full boxes of stuff, i full box of cereal, a full box of rice, canned soups and many other things. Now going to the food bank and i know beggers cant be chosers and there are alot more people going to the food bank with no increase in donations but now you get a small ziploc bag of rice, a medium ziplock bag of cereal, 1 can or box of juice, 1 or 2 granola bars, basically enough food for 2 people to last 2 maybe 3 days. Thanks to mykitten.ca and the wiskas coupons that came out last year my cats have been well fed but me and my hubby are starving, have bairly any energy to get up in the morning let alone try to keep struggling daily try to find work and figure out how we are going to keep our home. Really i guess i just wanted to tell me story and here peoples opinions on what we could do maybe theres something im not thinking of or i dont know. I just know we cant keep living like this it is making us physically ill and very depressed. Thanks

Wow, that's really a tight financial situation. Sorry you are having to go through this.
If I can make a suggestion, I don't know if it will help or not but for what it's worth here it is:

I just looked at your wishlist for coupons and noticed that you were looking for KD boxed coupons.
Instead of using KD boxes try buying the 900g bags of pasta when they are on sale for $1.
You could get 2 of those for the same price as 4 boxes of KD when they are on for .50 a box. This gives you double the amount of pasta for the same price.

Look for Carnation Milk coupons $1 on 1, there have been many sales on that for $1 or less making it free. Use that in your homemade KD instead of milk.
You won't notice any taste difference and you can buy the powdered cheese flavour at Bulk Barn.
Carnation Milk is also good in Coffee instead of cream and can be used in baking and making soups.

Watch for great sales on Cereal. NF had Raisin Bran (small boxes) on for $1.68 about a month ago and I used the $3 wub 3 Kelloggs coupons to get it for .68 a box.
There were also $2 coupons for All Bran making it Free when it was on for $1.99

Also, Egg Creations - get the $1 coupon and wait for them to go on sale for $1.50. They can be frozen and are equivalent to 9 large eggs, which works out to be cheaper than buying a dozen eggs.
They're great in omlettes, baking etc, I don't think I would try making egg salad sandwiches with them.

Toothpaste & Toothbrushes are Free except for tax right now at NF with the $1 Crest Coupons.
Watch for the Pink Stickers on Fruit & Veggies. If you can luck out and get these items when they are on sale and with a pink sticker you can get some great prices. I have actually gotten Mushrooms for .50 because of sales combined with pink stickers.

You can also get the large bags of Rice 8 kgs which are about $12 at SS or NF. This lasts a long time and though there aren't coupons for it, I believe it is cheaper than buying the name brand with a coupon & sale.

$20 a month for food is not much to go on, I spend that much on Milk alone in a week.
Can you not get any kind of social assistance to help you out?
Best of luck.

I'm so sorry you're in such a tough situation. I don't have a lot of tips for the couponing side of things (I've sort of fallen off the wagon there), but I have some other finance suggestions/things to consider. These aren't consistent boosts to your budget, but they might give you a bit of extra cash to try to stock up on a few things.

On Social Assistance, there is an extra cheque four times a year for $50-60, at the same time as GST. Is your fiance receiving that? Are you both getting GST cheques?

If heat is not included in your rent (if you rent), then you can apply for a Nova Scotia home heating rebate (http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/access/in...te-program.asp) - this would be up to $200 for you.

If you do own your home (I see you're in the HRM) there is a rebate for property taxes if your income is under $30000, or thereabouts (http://www.halifax.ca/revenue/exempt...DefAppForm.pdf). That would be a rebate of up to $800 I believe on your annual bill.

If your fiancé has medical prescriptions (that are then covered by the provincial drug plan), go somewhere that gives you an incentive of shopping there. For example, if you transfer the prescriptions to Atlantic Superstore, the first 15 filled prescriptions will give you a $10 gift card to the store. Plus, they have the SuperBucks on the prescriptions. Since the dispensing fee is fairly low there you should be coming out ahead.

If there are medications you need, there are SOOO many samples at doctor's offices that generally go to waste. I know multiple medical receptionists that have stashes of everything Advil/Tylenol/Birth Control/Asthma medicine etc, that most are willing to give you if you ask/explain. I was digging through someones samples and it even included sample Viagra.

Can you rent out a room in your apartment/home to a roommate? I know it isn't ideal as a couple, but if you can get at least an additional $400/month or more if you have an extra room... that would help your budget a lot.

Do you have any points you can cash in or somethings to sell? I am sure you'd have already done this, but if you had AirMiles, Aeroplan, Shoppers Drug Mart, or something of a little value, it might be able to get you a little extra at the store. Even if you could get a gift card to the movies, you could trade it on here for coupons/gift cards maybe.

I really feel for you... it is so hard to survive on the money you mentioned. I hope things can turn around, and you can find work. I do agree with the above comment though to buy the staples rather than the "cheap" pre-packaged foods. It will be bland food, but if there is a Bulk Barn nearby you can get spices very cheaply to spice up some boring noodles/rice. Not that you can subsist on carbs alone, but it will fill your stomach more than one meal a day.

I've been there... really, I have. I just don't want to share it publicly. PM me if you'd like to chat sometime.

Such a tough situation!

Are you getting housing subsidy?

Wow heartwrenching situation. Some thoughts...:love: Do your best to match up weekly sales with your coupon. A definite go to for me is http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/350996-...ay-2nd-canada/ (Thanks annedougherty!) Making your own baby food can be a big savings and you know what they're eating! My little ones were always thirsty so I bought real juice and cut it with water (Frozen concentrate is usually best dollar value). Get some basic recipes- Things like canned tomatoes, pasta, frozen veggies, soups and hamburger can be amazingly versatile. When I was in a similar situation I learned to use the freezer always stretching and freezing for a meal ahead. Bulk Barn is a definite dollar stretcher -check out your local one. If you don't have a blender Value Village is a great source for that sort of thing. All the best to you and yours.

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Originally Posted by mimzy71

Wow heartwrenching situation. Some thoughts...:love: Do your best to match up weekly sales with your coupon. A definite go to for me is http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/350996-...ay-2nd-canada/ (Thanks annedougherty!) Making your own baby food can be a big savings and you know what they're eating! My little ones were always thirsty so I bought real juice and cut it with water (Frozen concentrate is usually best dollar value). Get some basic recipes- Things like canned tomatoes, pasta, frozen veggies, soups and hamburger can be amazingly versatile. When I was in a similar situation I learned to use the freezer always stretching and freezing for a meal ahead. Bulk Barn is a definite dollar stretcher -check out your local one. If you don't have a blender Value Village is a great source for that sort of thing. All the best to you and yours.

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All very good advice on baby food, mimzy, but I think her "3 year old and 3 month old" are kitties :) (When I first read it I started mentioning whether she was getting UCCB etc, but then I realize it was furbabies and deleted it).

I just noticed that Giant Tiger has those 900g bags of Primo Pasta on for .99
Now is the time to buy them.
Superstore has Aylmer Accents on for $1 so with the $1 wub 2 coupon they're only .50 each.

I also noticed in at Superstore today that those 8 kg bags of rice that I mentioned in my earlier post are on sale for $10.99
You can make a really good meat free pasta sauce with only a can of tomatoes and some spices.
I made it last night and used it for pizza sauce. If you want the recipe let me know and I will send it to you.

My advice is to move. I know that can be tough to do but it sounds to me like staying here is about as tough as it can get already for you.

I was just looking at rents in Windsor Ontario and apartments can be had for about half of the monthly price compared to Dartmouth Nova Scotia. That difference would already be enough money to put food on the table. There are more and better paying jobs outside The Maritimes as well so you might have better luck finding work.

It might be a hard thing to do but like I said it sounds like you already have it harder here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JerryBrian

My advice is to move. I know that can be tough to do but it sounds to me like staying here is about as tough as it can get already for you.

I was just looking at rents in Windsor Ontario and apartments can be had for about half of the monthly price compared to Dartmouth Nova Scotia. That difference would already be enough money to put food on the table. There are more and better paying jobs outside The Maritimes as well so you might have better luck finding work.

It might be a hard thing to do but like I said it sounds like you already have it harder here.

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I am not sure I agree with this. Moving isn't cheap - and establishing yourself in a new city when your partner is on provincial government assistance is essentially taking a huge cut in your monthly money, likely close to half. Using your example of Windsor ON, unemployment is around 9% whereas HRM is around 6%. Depending on the skills set of the OP and her fiance, it might not be any better in another region of Canada. And if the goal is employment, no one is going to hire her via distance for a $10/hr job, so it would be a leap of faith to a new region without a roof over their head, and no money coming in.

I hear what you're saying Alicia but the OP is describing a situation where they are literally in danger of starving and almost certain to soon suffer ill health from malnutrition if they already aren't. They need out of that situation above all else. If I were in those circumstances I would get everything I couldn't sell or pawn into a backpack and try to find something better. There are shelters and there are day labor places and soup kitchens to at least keep them dry and fed while they try to improve the situation. This is not normally what I suggest people do but this sounds like an emergency.

Don't forget that Nova Scotia has a new 211 system. Might be worth a call to 211 to see if there are any local groups out there who can help.

http://www.ns.211.ca/faq

Also, I assume you both have prescription drug coverage. If you don't you might want to check out Family Pharmacare:

http://novascotia.ca/health/Pharmaca...pharmacare.asp

I just had another thought. What about looking into a housing co-op? Rent can be based on your monthly income. I see the Central Dartmouth Co-op has vacancies:

http://www.chfcanada.coop/eng/pages2...=NS&Region=NS1

And, apply for low-rental housing. Yes, there are lists, but in a year you could be at the top of the list. If you have another solution before then, good, but if you don't then you have a solution. A year will go by and might as well have the option rather than not have the option.

You didn't mention child tax credit...are you not getting that? You would get $200 /month for 2 kids under 5 ( universal child care benefit) plus the Canada child tax credit, that would certainly be a few hundred dollars a month as well...

I don't think that giving advice is really going to help because we are not where you are and it would be like shooting in the dark. I would ask around about counselling to help you figure it all out.

:-)