Government assistance - Basically I'm giving up and need help.

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Where do you live (give the average rent for a one bedroom and general population size if your not comfortable with an actual location), what jobs are you looking for/qualified for, and what expenses are you paying for every month?

If you want any kind of help you have to be willing to answer these questions because a lot of people in deep financial trouble usually bring it on themselves by living outside their own means and we need to know if your one of those people.

Government gibs are not a reliable or good way to keep afloat as they, at best, keep you at the poverty line if you even qualify for them.
 
Are you a veteran? You could use the GI bill, it has a pretty quick turnaround. Just do some online college work and you get a decent housing stipend.
 
Are the any financial counselling services where you live? Search for free ones, such as those offered by not-for-profits, churches, local governments etc. These services will help you assess your income and spending habits, along with whatever gibs are available in your jurisdiction and circumstances.

Who knows, you may not even need gibs if it turns out you just make a lot of shitty financial decisions. Not a judgement, more an observation on how easy it is to sleepwalk into expensive convenience and/or commitments because (((marketing))) and (((consoomerism))).
 
Chilson said:
Where do you live (give the average rent for a one bedroom and general population size if your not comfortable with an actual location), what jobs are you looking for/qualified for, and what expenses are you paying for every month?

If you want any kind of help you have to be willing to answer these questions because a lot of people in deep financial trouble usually bring it on themselves by living outside their own means and we need to know if your one of those people.

Government gibs are not a reliable or good way to keep afloat as they, at best, keep you at the poverty line if you even qualify for them.
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I live in Oklahoma. Currently paying mortgage on a small house $1700~. Then about another $500 on bills & pet food. Already drastically going to cut down on food hopefully get it from 780$ a month to $100. Just had our first kid. My spouse also works. I make around $2400 a month. Spouse makes about the same, but daycare & diapers & incidentals are going to run us dry in about 6 months.
I'm currently serving as a nasty girl. But don't qualify for veteran Benny's from what I've seen.
 
Mandals said:
I live in Oklahoma. Currently paying mortgage on a small house $1700~. Then about another $500 on bills & pet food. Already drastically going to cut down on food hopefully get it from 780$ a month to $100. Just had our first kid. My spouse also works. I make around $2400 a month. Spouse makes about the same, but daycare & diapers & incidentals are going to run us dry in about 6 months.
I'm currently serving as a nasty girl. But don't qualify for veteran Benny's from what I've seen.
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Is this active duty, married with dependent? Did you use a VA loan on the house? Reach out to your Command Financial Planner about this kind of stuff. I know it sounds gay but they're extremely useful. You should also be getting childcare services through a local CDC or authorized substitute.

Where the fuck is your chain of command? Are they aware of your situation?
 
No it's national guard. Did not use a VA loan to get the house. I'll have to see who the Command Financial Planner is, never heard of it till just now.
 
Mandals said:
I live in Oklahoma. Currently paying mortgage on a small house $1700~. Then about another $500 on bills & pet food. Already drastically going to cut down on food hopefully get it from 780$ a month to $100. Just had our first kid. My spouse also works. I make around $2400 a month. Spouse makes about the same, but daycare & diapers & incidentals are going to run us dry in about 6 months.
I'm currently serving as a nasty girl. But don't qualify for veteran Benny's from what I've seen.
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You really need to get a comprehensive breakout of your expenses as this isn't that helpful as is.

Based on what I am seeing here, spending 800$ a month on food isn't terrible for, what I assume, is a three person household with one of them being a baby. You can do better if your willing to buy ingredients in bulk and cook your own meals, but your major killer is your mortgage.

Your only bringing in a little under 60K (not factoring in taxes) on a house that's costing you 20K a year. You can't really expect anything to get you out of that hole when a third of your income is being eaten by your house. As much as it sucks, unless you can't recoup the mortgage on a resale, downsizing to a smaller place is probably the only way to get yourself into a better position long term.

I have no idea what a "nasty girl" is, but it doesn't pay well from what your telling us. You can try an apprenticeship in a blue collar job, which admittedly also isn't that great but if you get past the apprenticeship you can make a shit load of money. Which is better than toiling in a dead end job. That or government which you would have an advantage applying in being a former National guard (I believe you can apply through USAjobs if my memory serves correctly based on what my family who works for the government told me), but with the hiring freeze and general downsizing of departments under Trump those jobs are not gonna come easy for at least a few months.
 
Chilson said:
You can try an apprenticeship in a blue collar job, which admittedly also isn't that great but if you get past the apprenticeship you can make a shit load of money.
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I tried to contact several union trades but none have responded.
Fascist Kirk said:
get off your ass and get a job
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I really am not sure how else to go about getting another job. I've applied to over 100+ and have only gotten about 2 interviews. I'm just getting kinda desperate, hence asking the farms.
 
I don't think you'll qualify for gibs if you're collectively making $4800. You usually need to have ridiculously low income. Churches, especially the Catholic church, tends to have really good resources. Sometimes even childcare but I bet they'd help you get supplies at least and help you find a food bank. A lot of food banks don't have an income cap.
Does it cost more for the mom to work? If yes, she should stay home.
I would lean on your community as hard as you can. It's never too late to start. The nextdoor app often has people willing to help with all kinds of stuff.
 
wifi.pigeon said:
I don't think you'll qualify for gibs if you're collectively making $4800. You usually need to have ridiculously low income. Churches, especially the Catholic church, tends to have really good resources. Sometimes even childcare but I bet they'd help you get supplies at least and help you find a food bank. A lot of food banks don't have an income cap.
Does it cost more for the mom to work? If yes, she should stay home.
I would lean on your community as hard as you can. It's never too late to start. The nextdoor app often has people willing to help with all kinds of stuff.
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Yeah we will definitely stop by the food bank. And see about church help
 
I don't know what benefits Oklahoma offers guardsmen, but there are probably a few. Some things to look for:

- EANGUS has the relief foundation (https://eangus.org/national-guard-relief-foundation/).
Assistance can be provided to currently serving, retired, and former Enlisted personnel and Officers/WOs who have experienced a financial emergency related to events such as mobilization, natural disasters, fires, catastrophic losses, or other hardships. Funds are intended to assist with rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, medical expenses, relocation/moving expenses, shelter due to loss of residence, and funeral expenses. EANGUS membership is not required.
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- Some states have property tax discounts.
- Offer to work extra days on RMA orders.
- If your job isn't cutting it you could try to go on state active duty (E6 pay) or ADOS orders. This is not a long term solution!
- You could hunt for a mobilization or deployment. Also not a long term solution!
- You could go active duty (big decision there). Honestly, I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't have a plan but does have some flexibility in their life. It will sure beat $2400 a month.

Let your Readiness NCO know that you're in a tight spot. They should make an effort to help you out. Dealing with broke-ass soldiers is part of being a senior leader; you don't need to be shy asking for help/advice. Also, keep your ear to the ground at your unit, there are dudes from all walks and they can give you tips and connections (they may be drug connections, but hey).

Edit: Also look into Military One Source (https://www.militaryonesource.mil/r...f-organizations-and-emergency-financial-help/)

Edit 2: The OK NG has a page for full-time careers here https://ok.ng.mil/careers/
 
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Mandals said:
Not Chinese.
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Look around at your local church they have food pantries for people going hungry. Also pasta is dirt cheap along with rice. Cut out any subscription services you have on your phone. Switch services from whatever you have to Mint Mobile or Helium I guarantee it's cheaper than Verizon/AT&T.

Work overtime as much you can and figure out a schedule to minimize how long the kid is at daycare. You might not see the spouse as often but you'll have a roof over your head.

Don't eat out at all, meal prep everything. Stop smoking and drinking/buying lotto tickets, and energy drinks at convenience stores as they mark up everything compared to a grocery store.

Coupon everything you can at your local grocery chain. Most of them have mobile apps that let you clip coupons instead of finding physical ones.

Renegotiate your car insurance or switch to a different provider. Cash back on credit cards is great but if you suck at paying them down then don't bother.

Avoid debt as best you can and pay it down to avoid compounding interest from bankers.

Refinance any car loans, mortgages or personal loans you can. Might not work but doesn't hurt to look into it.

Unplug any unused appliances in the house and get a clothes rack to dry your shit instead of a dryer to bring down the energy bill.

At least in my area using electricity during off peak hours is a lot cheaper than during the day. Usually like 11pm to 6am.

Hope that helps.

I might also add that you can find work in areas you may not think of. Most likely grueling manual labor but if it keeps the lights on it's worth it. I don't know much about government assistance as when I struggled to get out of a shit filled ditch I just did a lot of what I posted above because I was very proud and it was just me and didn't have a family. You on the other hand have dependants so do whatever you need to do to keep the household up and running.
 
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