living cheaply

Brainstormed living on the stipend resources

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This list was brainstormed by DASCorps members during the 2010 PSO.

Health and Wellness

  • Get a bike
    • Bikes not Bombs: http://bikesnotbombs.org/
    • Boulder, CO has a community bicycle webpage with a comprehensive list of local bike shops
  • walk to work
  • ask about reduced rates at local YMCA
  • Peoples’ acupuncture

Inexpensive Food Resource

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Since living cheaply is a concern for us, I thought I would share this resource that was shared with me. Since there appear to be a few of you that, for many different reasons, don't qualify for food stamps, there is a group called Angel Food Ministries that has no income verification and anyone can purchase their boxes of food. If you read the About Us page, it tells how they got started and what the boxes of groceries typically contain.

It looks as though there are locations all over the U.S. so take a look and see if there is something in your area. The menu is posted for October and changes every month. The only catch is that you have to pay for your groceries approximately 2 weeks before you can pick them up, but for $25, who cares about the wait!! There are add on packs for $18 each month that change as well.

vista life stuff...

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i really hope we all keep up with our blogs, because i want to be able to keep up with all of you! ok, now for some "vista life" type stuff i've been thinking about / looking into:

 

*** food stamps ***

according to stuff online, i don't think i am eligible for food stamps since i have too much savings (too much being more than the limit of $2,000). savings in an ira must be included toward this limit, even though according to wikipedia "a debtor in bankruptcy can exempt his or her IRA from the bankruptcy estate" and this seems like it should be a similar situation.


Comment from Richard T. Anderson on September 13, 2006 - 8:04am

Wow, "how much unnecessary stuff must one have/buy before it is wrong?," that's a deep philosophical question. I'm not sure how to answer that. Who decides what is unnecessary? Are things that are unnecessary for one necessary for another? Or is there a hard and fast rule?

Technically all one 'needs' is shelter, food, and water. But I believe everyone's lives should be richer than merely having those needs met. Though I don't believe anyone deserves to live in mansions, have five cars, and gold plated socks. But I have a lot of unnecessary souvenirs that I'd be quite upset if someone decided that I wasn't allowed to keep them.

It's an interesting debate.

I'd also like to say that I agree that there are a lot of strange things about our "health benefits" plan. Preventative care is so much smarter and saves much more money in the long run. Like so many businesses these days, the people that decided on this are not looking beyond the short term. Short sightedness has a strangle hold on our society just as much as material possessions do.

But I got the impression that we shouldn't complain too much. At least not til the end of our service. ;D

Peace

 

Comment from Corey Funderburk on September 16, 2006 - 7:56pm

Hey Cheryl,

I was thinking about your question about the moralism of food stamps and in case you wanted them, these are my thoughts: I think you should do it, because....

1-  you are on a budget and could be making a lot more money for the work that you are doing, so there is no reason you should feel bad about it.

2- By you receiving food stamps, others who need them are not hindered from getting them, so you are not taking anyone's means of eating away. You are merely costing the gov't a little more money which brings me to #3...

3- The gov't is taxing us on our stipend (and our education award at the end, pshaw!) so just consider it taxing them back :)

Corey