Living on next to nothing is what I do on a daily basis, so when I get 21 dollars from a paycheck, you can believe I am frugal with it. This is my tip for you on what to do with 21 dollars. Go to the grocery store with a list of NEEDS in your pocket or purse written in non-erasable ink, then shop non-name brand only from off this list.
What you can get is this: toilet paper that is under a dollar, shampoo that is a dollar even (you don't need conditioner since this lasts a long time for some people), hamburger for one half pound on the cheap end with a sticker coupon on it, milk for a week and two days, cat food on sale or pet food, light bulbs (the cheap kind), and with the remaining money, go to the dollar store for chips and 2-liters of pop. While at the dollar store, pick up beans, pasta, and pasta sauce for the hamburger. This stretch should end your spending with change to save for another day.
The reason I am this frugal with it is I only get $525 a month from SSI. It was cut back to that from $603 a month, since I got an extremely part-time job to cure my boring lifestyle. It is where I get the 21 dollars extra a month. The work is all my disabled body can do. I am happy with it too. This is not a trick article. It is true. Hope you too live within your means. :o)
My mom lives on very little Social Security also I was amazed to find out that they take medicare out of her nothing check! She is the most creative person to get items she needs. A couple of summers ago I went by her house and she had hampers and hamers of peas. What she did was work out a deal to shell all of them and she kept 1/2. She picked up pecans - she is disabled also. She got a towel and sat down on the ground, picked up the pecans and put them in a mop bucket. When she had picked up what she thought she could carry she would put them in her car. She would crack these free pecans and sell them at the farmers market and she traded for other stuff. She even traded for a 10 pound bag of chicken one time. She gets food stamps $35 mo but always has extra she buys up goodies for the kids and she gives them for holidays & Christmas. It is the darnest thing to watch her. She picks up clothes from a yard sale resale place once a month that they are throwing away. She washes, irons and replaces buttons. She dresses every child she knows out of these bags for free. Everyone is amazed at the name brand items that she comes up with. It does get to be a mess sometimes because she get so clothes before she finds them a home. All of this keeps her very busy and she gets a lot of joy out of getting school clothes ready.
i hope my tips will help with the food bills also, u could try getting some containers and filling with soil , even digging up local soil instead of buying compost and growing vegetables indoors or outdoors from seeds or even planting fruit bushes , even a little balcony or window box can be good and tomatos can be grown in hanging baskets , if i had very little money i would recommend tinned baked beans which have the same protein as steak and also eggs, sardines, milk and bananas or oranges, you could even grow vegetables and sell, swap or can the excess, i fed a family of five this summer from my garden with all their fruit and vegetables for a few pounds worth of seeds which are reduced to 10pence a packet by autumn ( dollars ) outlay, i also agree about the babysitting/housesitting/dogwalking/cleaning/barwork fro a cash in hand payments, even a disabled person can babysit
Hi Tanya, thanks for your tip I am amazed that you get paid monthly from SSI as I too am on disability support and struggle on the same amount but we have fortnightly payments here in Australia, but after all outgoing bills and food are paid i'm left with around $5-$10 in my purse, it is hard to have fun like going on trips or out to the movies etc unless we do jobs on the side for cash in hand it's the only way to keep our minds active other then volunteering which you don't get paid for.The price of living keeps going up but our payments dont. It's ashame those who can't work get punished but the rich gets richer!! It's not our fault we can nolonger work full or part time. Anyway all the best for the future and remember to keep smiling and the world will smile on you.
I AGREE WITH EVEYONE ELSE. MANY IN SOCIETY TODAY TEND TO THINK ONLY ABOUT THEMSLEVES.WHEN I WAS DIVORCED,I RECEIVED NO SUPPORT. I HAD TO BABYSIT TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD DIAPERS AND THINGS LIKE TOILET PAPER AND DISHSOAP SO I UNDERSTAND GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOU
I really understand your dilema, Tanya. I am disabled also and receive SS Disability benefits of less than $425 a month. It makes no sense to me that we are punished if we earn any money at all. The only way it can be done w/o penalty is to be paid in cash so there is no paper trail for SSI. If you can babysit or tutor or type for those who cannot, you may be able to get a few dollars more than the $21. I admire your spunk and determination. Good Luck!
Hi Tanya, I too am on SSI, I only get $623.00 for myself and my son. We get $16.00 a month Food Stamps too. Not much to live on is it? Its very hard to make ends meet. I pinch every penny I get and I am a very frugal shopper too. Everyone says how can you live on that? Well I don't really live I just skimp from month to month. I have had two back surgeries and two knee surgeries and most of the time I can't even get my medicine. So where theres a will theres a way right? Well good luck Tanya, I am right there with you all of the way.
You have my admiration and respect. I don't know how you do it. I am ashamed of our society. We should not have anyone in this country trying to live off of that small amount of money. I will keep you in my prayers. I wish there was something I could do to help you.
You're smart and clever, and I admire your lifestyle. I, too, do a lot of shopping at the dollar stores in my area, and am always looking for meat bargains. Best of luck to you, and thanks for sharing the tips!
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