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The humiliation of poverty

I need a vent! I hope no-one minds!

I've just been at our benefit office to review my entitlements of assistance from the government due to only being able to work part-time and havign extra costs associated with having Crohn's (meds and supplements etc) and basically they expect you to not eat!!!

What they are expecting me to survive on is $166.00 per week (that's about $80-something US) after my 'disability' expenses and mortgage payments.

To give you an idea as things cost different amounts in different countries:

My weekly food budget is $80.00. Remember I am a tiny/skinny Crohnie and so don't even eat very much!
My bills (power, phone, car insurance, internet - though they probably see that as unneccessary) come to around $70 a week.

That leaves me with $16.00 a week to cover petrol (I use around $25 a week), any car costs like registration ($250 a year), warrants ($90 a year plus any car repairs) - (Dad just paid a car bill of $220 for me as Xmas pressie), clothing, dentist, vet bill (I think Muppet is sick), and any other life costs like maybe a haircut, things around the home like my microwave just died and had to get another one, lawnmower needs fixed....

The govt would say a car is not a necessity. But when you are sick and exhausted it becomes quite important. I dont have the energy to walk everywhere (not least because I live on a BIG hill). our public transport here is a joke. Am I supposed to just sit at home and fester away on my own for the rest of my life!

The list goes on.

I don't need much. I don't expect to go on spending sprees. But I do like the occasional movie (Dad always pays) and was wanting to start yoga classes for health reasons (cheapest is $6.00). I am supposed to be getting some exercise and Dad had to get me some new walking shoes as my old/ancient ones were hurting my feet (they are about 7 years old!)

So, you can see there is quite a deficit there! How the hell do people cope! I mean I DO work but it almost seesm like I may as well not bother because then I'd get more on a benefit and be in about the same position. If I increase my hours to try and get ahead, they take it all off the benefit.

Perhaps I am ungrateful. I just can't gte used to the idea of not being able to support myself financially and having to get help from my 70 year old Dad when I am nearly 40!

The thing is, unless I get full-time work with much better pay than I am on now, I feel completely STUCK! But I know I cannot manage that right now and worry that I never will.

We don't choose to get sick and even when we try to help ourselves by working as much as we can we are still on the poverty line. There is no incentive to work here if you can only do part-time.

Any suggestions on spreading my meagre income further besides not eating and getting the power cut off!!!??????
I already do the odd 'illegal' income with some photo jobs and a wee cleaning job, but even that is having me barely scraping by.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Vent over, that feels better :)
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
Sorry Shaza...That really stinks!!! I often wonder how the government comes up with the pay scales it uses...I can think of many ways you can earn money, but they are very cheeky and I expect you are not in the mood for my humor....I do really feel bad for you. We are all here to listen.
 
Yes well i COULD sell my body if that is what you were going to suggest ;) Though I can't imagine there would be much demand for someone with the face of a near 40-year old woman and the body of a 12 year old boy!
 
Aw Shaz, I'm sorry buddy!! When do you think you are going to feel like going back to work? I just have no idea what to have you do to make up the end that is missing. My husband and I were just talking about this very thing 2 nights ago. We just don't know how on earth people make it who are on disability here in the states. He said you have to be all but destitute to go on Medicaid. I just don't know how people like yourselves do it! I'm sorry - I'm not helping you am I? I'm just commiserating - I wish I could give you some other advice (babysitting, pet sitting?) - but the mind is empty.
 
shazamataz said:
Yes well i COULD sell my body if that is what you were going to suggest ;) Though I can't imagine there would be much demand for someone with the face of a near 40-year old woman and the body of a 12 year old boy!
Oh....you'd be surprised!! ;)
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Awe, so sorry you have to go through this. I remember a time when I had to get assisstance and the only good thing about it was they paid for all my meds.... my car was paid for and on its way out. I had a small child and on my own, but when I got better I went back to work. I can't imagine having that little to survive on. Is this a standard assisstance amount?
 
Thanks peaches, basically my Dad helps and, as I said, I do illegal earning sometimes. The thing abotu that is it is not regular so healthwise it is okay. I haven't worked more that parttime for years now due to Chronic fatigue so have been on govt assistance for a long while as well, but previously I shared my house with my nrother, so mortgage costs were half, and then had a flatmate for a while. I just coulnd't handle sharing my house when I feel so crap all the time. Having the one loo in the bathroom doesn't help either!
I'm in an awkward position job-wise. My current job pays rubbish, but it is relatively easy. I do 15 hours at the moment. Sad thing is that with the wages I calculated that If I went to 40 hours I would only be about $20 a week better off!
So, I need to find something else I can do. Ideal job would be one I could do the hours whenever i was up to it with wages about double my current one. I just don;t know what that would be.
I've kinda screwed up in that regard, mostly from being unwell. I have a first class honours degree and a masters and feel unable to use it productively.
I'm qualified as a massage therapist but find just one client is enough for a day - it's very physical.
If I wanted to support myself in my own business doing massage I would need to do a minimum of 20 clients a week. Not only is that physically too hard, I have to FIND those clients with expensive advertising etc and there is never any guarantee from week to week how many I would get.
I feel so stuck and so useless at the moment - why didn't I manage to hang on to my millionaire boyfriend! ;)
 
Jettalady said:
Awe, so sorry you have to go through this. I remember a time when I had to get assisstance and the only good thing about it was they paid for all my meds.... my car was paid for and on its way out. I had a small child and on my own, but when I got better I went back to work. I can't imagine having that little to survive on. Is this a standard assisstance amount?
Yup, that's the standard. What happens here is they give you an accommodation supplement which is supposed to cover rent etc. The thing is there is a MAXIMUM for this, regardless of what you pay. The MAX is $65 where you'd be lucky to rent anything here (that didnt involve sharing) for under about $160. My mortgage, rates etc are $220 a week and that is only for a tiny house that is way below the average in house values here.


I feel bad for whinging when some countries don;t even have such assistance, but it seems they have no idea what basic living costs are. I don;t mind not having the extras but not even being able to pay bills is a bit extreme.
 
Hey - can't remember if your degrees you have would cover it - but don't you have your masters in like psych or something? What if you did *some* massage therapy - and *some* therapy therapy? I mean - I have NO idea if you could license for that or if you even have an interest in it or not. The BEST therapist I have ever had did it out of the basement of her home and she was a clinical social worker - but very very good at what she does. It could be a balance between the physical part of giving a massage (which I'm guessing you enjoy doing yes?) and the mental part of doing therapy. And I don't know what you guys get paid for stuff like that over there - but we pay between $65-$85 (or more) for an hour long massage here - and over $100 an hour for therapy. Sounds like good money to me with the exchange rate :O)
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
What about substitute teaching....You can work when you want/ can....
Also, I'm looking for that Millionaire boyfriend dating web site......:)
 

mwb3779

Kitchenhawk
I'm sorry Shaz. I wish I could help in some way. It got so bad for me, I have no job right now and I live with the parents. It sucks sometimes for sure. The one positive is you are getting some help from the gov't which is better than no help. :( I like Peaches idea of some massages and some therapy. It does pay pretty well here in the states. Maybe you could use the tickets Farm got for you and move here. :) Money might be better. Its probably not Kiwi good, but we have some pretty good fruit here too. I'm originally from Washington state. Our apples are the best in the world! :) I hope things work out for you for the best. You had a millionaire boyfriend?? Wish I was still working sometimes. I did alright for myself. I sure miss the insurance, it was fantastic!!

You know we did talk about the ebay thing.... :):)
 
Peaches said:
Hey - can't remember if your degrees you have would cover it - but don't you have your masters in like psych or something? What if you did *some* massage therapy - and *some* therapy therapy? I mean - I have NO idea if you could license for that or if you even have an interest in it or not. The BEST therapist I have ever had did it out of the basement of her home and she was a clinical social worker - but very very good at what she does. It could be a balance between the physical part of giving a massage (which I'm guessing you enjoy doing yes?) and the mental part of doing therapy. And I don't know what you guys get paid for stuff like that over there - but we pay between $65-$85 (or more) for an hour long massage here - and over $100 an hour for therapy. Sounds like good money to me with the exchange rate :O)
Good suggestions Peaches :) I do do the odd massage and am still studying to become a counsellor. The main issue is that I worry about getting 'caught' and so can't really advertise to get clients. It's a bit of a Catch 22 situation!
Gosh you guys pay a lot for these things! Here I would charge about $80 ($40USD) for a counselling session and currently charge $50 ($25 USD) for a massage. In a proper spa type place i think it would be about $100, but I am doing it from home so my overheads aren't so high.

So I shall plod along doing my wee 'secret' jobs to get by and hope i don;t get caught!
 
imisspopcorn said:
What about substitute teaching....You can work when you want/ can....
Also, I'm looking for that Millionaire boyfriend dating web site......:)
Ha ha Carrie, I actually got the LAST millionair boyfriend off a dating site and look how that turned out! (it was just an ordinary site tho, not a sugardaddy one!;))

Even the substitute thing is a good idea thanks but you have to be a qualified teacher here and doing sporadic work is difficult when you don;t know how much you will have from week to week. I'd have to go full time, otherwise wouldn't be any better off!

I already checked that even if I went from 15 to 25 hours at my work I wouldnl;t be a cent better off - silly huh?
 
mwb3779 said:
I'm sorry Shaz. I wish I could help in some way. It got so bad for me, I have no job right now and I live with the parents. It sucks sometimes for sure. The one positive is you are getting some help from the gov't which is better than no help. :( I like Peaches idea of some massages and some therapy. It does pay pretty well here in the states. Maybe you could use the tickets Farm got for you and move here. :) Money might be better. Its probably not Kiwi good, but we have some pretty good fruit here too. I'm originally from Washington state. Our apples are the best in the world! :) I hope things work out for you for the best. You had a millionaire boyfriend?? Wish I was still working sometimes. I did alright for myself. I sure miss the insurance, it was fantastic!!

You know we did talk about the ebay thing.... :):)
Thanks Mike, yes I could still put my fancy/streaky poo up for an internet auction but even that hs let me down! Normal looking poo the last 2 days!

Yes, some help is better than none, certainly. I guess its just that it is impossible to have any type of life at all. I think they expect people to spend all their time sitting at home and not living at all!

Oh well, at least I'm not homeless! I just have to make my extra $16 dollars magically multiply by ten and then I could just about pay for everything!
 
mwb3779 said:
You had a millionaire boyfriend??
Yup. Love of my life too (and the money had nothing to do with it BTW). Unfortunately he was/is extremely messed up as far as relationships go. Abandonment issues from being adopted. It's been ages and I still feel sad but trying to get past it!
 
Now that Ive me own ship, let say we all take a sail and go visit our favorite Kiwi. We could firgure out a way to get her outa puberty i mean poverty. (sorry shaz)

Course I only have one rule on me ship. STAY OFF ME POOP DECK!
 

mwb3779

Kitchenhawk
Pirate said:
Now that Ive me own ship, let say we all take a sail and go visit our favorite Kiwi. We could firgure out a way to get her outa puberty i mean poverty. (sorry shaz)

Course I only have one rule on me ship. STAY OFF ME POOP DECK!
I'm down. I will of course stay your poop deck. Maybe if she comes to the states she can make some real money with her talents and skills.
 
Shaz, ye be careful pooing overboard. Little bitty lass like you might be blown overboard in a steady tail wind. We be raiding ships on the way, maties. All our booty goes to those that can't be affordin treatments and meds.

Brown eye Mike, ye be me firstmate! I'll be letten ye be in charge of the wenches. And Kiwi Shaz will be in charge of all the rich single male prisoners. Do what ever ye have to to keep them in line. Looey Lishy, ye be in charge of rightten the ransom notes. (I be needen someone that will put the fear of bejeezes in them.)

Hurry on board , mates. we've a wee lass to be savin.
 
shazamataz said:
I need a vent! I hope no-one minds!

I've just been at our benefit office to review my entitlements of assistance from the government due to only being able to work part-time and havign extra costs associated with having Crohn's (meds and supplements etc) and basically they expect you to not eat!!!

What they are expecting me to survive on is $166.00 per week (that's about $80-something US) after my 'disability' expenses and mortgage payments.

To give you an idea as things cost different amounts in different countries:

My weekly food budget is $80.00. Remember I am a tiny/skinny Crohnie and so don't even eat very much!
My bills (power, phone, car insurance, internet - though they probably see that as unneccessary) come to around $70 a week.

That leaves me with $16.00 a week to cover petrol (I use around $25 a week), any car costs like registration ($250 a year), warrants ($90 a year plus any car repairs) - (Dad just paid a car bill of $220 for me as Xmas pressie), clothing, dentist, vet bill (I think Muppet is sick), and any other life costs like maybe a haircut, things around the home like my microwave just died and had to get another one, lawnmower needs fixed....

The govt would say a car is not a necessity. But when you are sick and exhausted it becomes quite important. I dont have the energy to walk everywhere (not least because I live on a BIG hill). our public transport here is a joke. Am I supposed to just sit at home and fester away on my own for the rest of my life!

The list goes on.

I don't need much. I don't expect to go on spending sprees. But I do like the occasional movie (Dad always pays) and was wanting to start yoga classes for health reasons (cheapest is $6.00). I am supposed to be getting some exercise and Dad had to get me some new walking shoes as my old/ancient ones were hurting my feet (they are about 7 years old!)

So, you can see there is quite a deficit there! How the hell do people cope! I mean I DO work but it almost seesm like I may as well not bother because then I'd get more on a benefit and be in about the same position. If I increase my hours to try and get ahead, they take it all off the benefit.

Perhaps I am ungrateful. I just can't gte used to the idea of not being able to support myself financially and having to get help from my 70 year old Dad when I am nearly 40!

The thing is, unless I get full-time work with much better pay than I am on now, I feel completely STUCK! But I know I cannot manage that right now and worry that I never will.

We don't choose to get sick and even when we try to help ourselves by working as much as we can we are still on the poverty line. There is no incentive to work here if you can only do part-time.

Any suggestions on spreading my meagre income further besides not eating and getting the power cut off!!!??????
I already do the odd 'illegal' income with some photo jobs and a wee cleaning job, but even that is having me barely scraping by.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Vent over, that feels better :)

Sorry Shaz, I just found this thread. It really stinks that you are going through this struggle right now, I hope Something Big comes through for you soon dear. I know how hard this is as you know from voicing your supports for my struggles. I also understand how humiliating it can be to have to borrow money from parents, it can make one feel very small. I wish the very best for you in the upcoming year, here's hoping for a better 2010! You sure deserve it.:)
 
I know how you feel Shaz about the struggles financially. When I was working I tried to help my mom whenever I could. It is great that you have a father with a big heart that is able to help you. My mother would help me if she could and the other day when she was in need I just wanted to cry. She broke her only pair of glasses that were so old. We went to different stores to try to find her a pair and I felt so bad for her when we had to leave each place to look for a less expensive pair or to sit down and try to figure out where to find more money for something that was so necessary. No glasses were purchased yesterday and my mother said that we will try again after the blizzard and she will just have to make due till monday. If I was working I would of had a lot of extra money. Since September things have been really tight. I cannot even hardly pay my bills. My mother dropped me home and then when she left to go home I just couldnt help but cry of how horrible things have become that I couldnt even help my mother out with getting a pair of glasses. I just hope that soon my work disabilty goes through because living off SSD disability through the government is not enough.
 
Hi Jen, sorry to hear about your mum not being able to get glasses :( It is all very frustrating isn't it?
I am lucky that I do have my Dad to help out, but he is nearly 70 years old and retired and I can't rely on him forever. I hate asking him for help!
I guess I just don't know how to psychologically accept being rather poor. It is not something I ever grew up with or expected to be a part of my life. I was brought up in a double-income home, not rich but very comfortable. Worked for a few years out of school, then went to university, and always thought I'd be 'middle class'. Unfortunately I may have to adjust my expectations! :(
 
Yes its hard to adjust to a lifestyle that your not used to. I am having great difficulty also. I just feel like I cannot accept it either and that it is disapointing to work and work and work to be able to enjoy life to just feel like you are losing everything when you become ill. It just does not seem fair. To be down because your not feeling well and then to have added stress of seeing your whole lifestyle having to change. I dont think I will ever accept this.
 
Jennjenn, check around for your mom, there are organizations that have good used glasses for people in need. Try local VFW's, Eagles clubs, Knights of columbus, Elks, etc.

Good luck with everything. I've,my wife and I have been in you guys shoes. If not for my parents back when I was first DX we would have had a lot harder time surviving. I feel bad cause they used a bit of thier retirement funds to help us. We were able to pay them back once we got back on our feet so things have a way of working out.
 
Pirate said:
Jennjenn, check around for your mom, there are organizations that have good used glasses for people in need. Try local VFW's, Eagles clubs, Knights of columbus, Elks, etc.
Thanks for the information :)
 

fenway1971

Sports Crohnie
Hiya Shaz. Hugs!!!

I just saw this thread. A solid pirate crew should have a superhero on board. So count me in!

Your photos are amazing...have you looked into freelance work for a news organization or publishing company?

Don't sell yourself short. You are a great catch! Your soulmate is out there. He'll show up when you least expect it.
 
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