I live better on Welfare then I ever did working!

a reply to: seeker1963

That's definitely a mind boggler seeker, pal.

I didn't really think about that.


Aside from the financial advisor being a close friend or family it does throw up a red flag.

I have just tried to read your thread and am I must admit in complete agreement with you and your choices.

I will have to re read the thread in its entirety but am absolutley disgusted at the majority of the posts by many of the members of Ats regarding this issue.

After 4 attempts to express my opinion I feel I must walk away from this and re think my opinion on the average American and there views.

a reply to: PaladinRoden

That is a shocking statement in my own opinion. Who are these Poor people you choose to capitialise and what gives you the right to segragate them?

Why do you have the right to determine an idiot and make these choices? really? well done for choosing those that are the problems with your society.

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric

I think amongst many of the middle class there is this complacency for their condition, despite having to give your entire life away and working yourselves to death.

Many will even express pride for enduring these conditions.

Sometimes I think you are dumb asses.

I call complete BS.

A single income of $40k would be more than enough in FL where we were living, and we were paying $900 a month for a 2 bed/1 bath unit with 3 adults and 2 kids. Any larger, and no, it wasn't doable at all, too expensive. I understand that you need to live in an area with access to transit, we used public transit ourselves, but for god's sake, had you considered walking a few extra blocks to the stop if that's what it took? Anything within a 20 minute walk to a stop for us was acceptable, and that left a good sized area open to us to consider moving around in if we needed to. Did you have bicycles? We did, for the days when the transit system didn't operate.

Did you bother trying to negotiate down your student loans? I know that takes effort, but I know several people who whittled their monthly loan payment amount down to $400 - $500 with having a similar cost of eduction.

And finally, you need to learn to shop for your groceries better. The 5 of us managed just fine with $125 a week allotted to food, and we weren't eating THAT unhealthy. Fresh fruit & veggies were a priority indeed. For a time, we were on EBT, but no longer are.

If you're for real, you're making excuses and making the entire system look bad by cheating it. It's not for you to slack off with, it's for folks like us that needed help for a while. Basically, you suck

a reply to: Nyiah

And finally, you need to learn to shop for your groceries better.

That was the first thing that came to my mind when I read that they were spending 800dollars a month on food & drink...


Also 100 dollars a month for 2 phones was a bit wierd... Find a better provider...


My phone bill is £21 a month which is about 32 dollars...
That's unlimited minutes, unlimited 3G & 1000 free texts...

My missus pays about £30 a month which is about 45 dollars...
Good 4G data with unlimited calls & texts...

That's 25 dollars less than the OP a month.



Sorry to rant off on you Nyiah, you just brought it to mind.

a reply to: Nyiah

I know it seems hard to believe, however if you are not aware or educated in such areas it seems hard to believe. What makes my case unique is that my student loans are above average and by being on IRB it pushes my subsity rate higher. However, if you need to more proof from a university study and published data, here is a good article. Being on welfare today is the equivalent of having a 60k plus a year job. watchdog.org...

I don't know about this.

I make half the money you and your wife do. I am the sole earner for a family of five. Granted I have no student loans but I pay a mortgage, bills, etc. We live fine. No big wants.

How on Earth can I swing that and two earners with similar outflow cannot?

I fully understand you have the right not to put it all out there for examination. I respect that. I just don't understand it.

originally posted by: PaladinRoden
a reply to: Nyiah

I know it seems hard to believe, however if you are not aware or educated in such areas it seems hard to believe. What makes my case unique is that my student loans are above average and by being on IRB it pushes my subsity rate higher. However, if you need to more proof from a university study and published data, here is a good article. Being on welfare today is the equivalent of having a 60k plus a year job. watchdog.org...

So is this a roundabout way of saying you never tried to negotiate lower repayments? Because that's certainly how it reads, beating around the bush.

originally posted by: PaladinRoden
a reply to: Nyiah

I know it seems hard to believe, however if you are not aware or educated in such areas it seems hard to believe. What makes my case unique is that my student loans are above average and by being on IRB it pushes my subsity rate higher. However, if you need to more proof from a university study and published data, here is a good article. Being on welfare today is the equivalent of having a 60k plus a year job. watchdog.org...

Exactly as I expected. You simply read a fear article in a right wing blog that specializes in making conservatives hate poor people. Then you though it might make an interesting story so you make one up based on the obviously incorrect data in the "article" thinking you would somehow be factually correct.

It all makes sense now. You have no idea how implausible your story is. You can't try to write a fiction based on fictional data and expect it to be believable.

If you are going to make up a story to peddle your bias, at least base it on accurate information that you fact checked ahead of time. Otherwise, it's only fooling people who were already fooled. I know you can do it. Go make an alternate account and come back to tell us a story about how you buy crack with food stamps or something.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
a reply to: Nyiah

Also 100 dollars a month for 2 phones was a bit wierd... Find a better provider...


My phone bill is £21 a month which is about 32 dollars...
That's unlimited minutes, unlimited 3G & 1000 free texts...

My missus pays about £30 a month which is about 45 dollars...
Good 4G data with unlimited calls & texts...

That's 25 dollars less than the OP a month.

Yeah, it seems odd to me too, but I'm a penny-pincher by nature and only go pre-paid. We have 2 pre-paid cells between us. One acts as a house phone and the other acts as a out-of-home phone. The goal is for whomever's home to have a phone available, and whomever's out of the house to have a phone on hand. We put about $30 on each every other month. That makes our cost through T-Mobile about $15 per phone per month. Sometimes we load more minutes less frequently, the rule is important calls or texts only, no frivolous BS. We also don't use the internet on them, so we don't need to pay for data, either. $50 a month seems outrageous to me for a simple cell phone.

a reply to: Nyiah

One acts as a house phone and the other acts as a out-of-home phone.

That's a great regimen to have too... Great advice for anyone reading.


We only went for my deal with EE because unlimited data for £21 was a bargain...
I don't have a PC, Laptop or Broadband supplier so all my netsurfing is done via the phone.

$50 a month seems outrageous to me for a simple cell phone.

Outrageous is the only word to describe it.

originally posted by: ladyinwaiting
a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

They get their taxes back in other ways Charlie, just like the rest of us. Public services, highways, streetlights.........
Taxes don't entitle you to make your entire life living off money unlawfully.

What's unlawful about it? Are you saying that because they have master's degrees, they HAVE to work in their chosen fields now?

a reply to: opethPA

I dont do anything like this. I've never liked hand outs and have always felt like its better to work than to sit in doors and do nothing. My mind goes to strange places when I'm doing nothing but that doesn't mean I attack people who are doing whatever they can to survive the day to day lives. You might not condone, you might not like to think that it is being done but do you really think that the OP is the only person doing this? I'm not just talking about people using the system or cheating the system as some people are calling it, You do know the loop holes that large businesses are using to not pay income tax. I mean if the taxman went after them, the debts all the countries owe would probably be done with in a matter of years.

To act like someone doing what they can to survive and bring up their children is the worst crime in the world is ridiculous when you take into account all the loopholes and broken laws that the rich are doing to keep their vast fortunes and ignoring the plight of the poor.

I'd do the same thing but knowing my luck I'd get caught. Like I said to the OP, do what you can to prepare for yours and your childrens future and good luck to you. but remember, dont go over board, dont get greedy because that's how things go belly up.

a reply to: PaladinRoden

Not sure I'm buying it, maybe where you live is different. Aside from healthcare and food stamps it takes months to receive cash benefits and years to get housing assistance unless you are homeless and in a shelter which even then can take up to two to three years. That was my experience in Massachusetts after fleeing a domestic abuse situation with my infant son anyway... which luckily I need none of now.

a reply to: MagesticEsoteric

Oh I know your kind...

You're jealous about his way of life and can't admit it.
You can't admit it because it would be against your values to live this way of life, I understand this.
Yet, deep inside there a part of you that would wish that being so independent wasn't part of your values. That's where you emotional response of anger comes from.

I mean, what's wrong about wanting more bang for your bucks? The MAIN problem with society isn't people like him, he didn't make the rules, he only adjusted to the rules and "won", from his point of view. The problem comes from the people up there making bad decisions and robbing the middle class.

What goes around goes around, people on wealth-fare keep the economy rolling...and the OP is still working! He's still contributing to the system. Yeah it's considered entry level jobs, but that's the economy of today!

Investing more time in our personal and family life isn't something that's lost or something that's worth less than more money. Free time isn't worth less than working time to some people and we should consider that we are entering more and more in an information age where working long painful hours should be something of the past if we are looking towards "evolving" as a civilization.

A civilization where everyone would have to work 40 hours to individually survive and prosper seems pretty backwards to me. I'm not saying no one should do that, I'm saying no one should be forced or SOCIALLY pressure people to go work, EXACTLY what you are doing and the people that like your comments.

Only because yoooou think this way doesn't mean you are more right. It's just an opinion, it's your opinion about how life should be. He decided that his life wouldn't live by YOUR values, duh.

So leave people their free will, stop the social pressure and the holier than thou rhetoric.

I am currently homeless. And this just #ing infuriates me.

a reply to: PaladinRoden

How long does the program last?

a reply to: PaladinRoden

I can see the point your trying to make on how living off the government can be easier than what you were doing before. But it sounds like your cheating the government. Why do you and your wife have a $160,000 worth of school loans, with so many grants, scholarships and work Study programs out there your loans shouldn't be that high. I assume you took out more loans than you actually needed or lived a lifestyle you couldn't be responsible for.