Flat Broke? Find Help for Rent, Food, Heat & More

by PATRICIA HolmesPersonal Finance

What do you do when you max out your unemployment? Is there anything worse than not knowing where your next meal is going to come from? We don’t think so; this is why we’ve put together a list of places that you can find help when you really need it.

$1000 Grants

Modest Needs is a fantastic charity. They help low-income workers from falling into poverty and/or homelessness. If you can’t pay your rent or your heating bill you can apply for a Modest Needs grant (a grant means you don’t have to pay it back) that can help you get through a rough patch.
If you want to help a family in trouble it is easy to donate to Modest Needs; you can help families receive the emergency money they need.

*Clarification: Modest Needs can only assist people who are employed.

Rent or Mortgage

The site NeedHelpPayingBills.com offers loads of information on state, federal and private organizations and charities that can help you pay your rent or your mortgage. The site also has links for help paying heat, electric or water bills.

Most state’s have rental assistance programs. Call your state’s Department of Social Services or Department of Human Resources and ask them. Or, dial 211. You can visit 211.org, enter your zip code, and download a booklet of all the places in your area that can provide help.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can provide help for homeowners and for renters.

USDA Rural Development Program can help people in rural areas with their mortgage or rent.

Food

The Federal Food Stamp program is now called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This program provides monthly funds so you can buy food.

Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Family Investment Program (FIP) provides cash payments and Medicaid health care coverage to families with dependant children and limited income and resources. The amount of your monthly cash payment is determined by the number of members in your family and your current income and resources. Do a search for “Family Investment Program” and the name of your state.

Emergency Assistance to Families with Children (EAFC) is a program in most states. Family with dependent children under the age of 21 facing an immediate crisis including, but not limited to, eviction notices, mortgage foreclosures, gas and electric turn-off notices and delinquent water bills. Do a search for ” Emergency Assistance to Families with Children” and the name of your state.

SHARE (Self Help and Resource Exchange) is a great program that lets you trade volunteer work for less expensive groceries. Search for food co-ops in your area.

Soup Kitchens can provide a hot meal.

Food Pantries provide emergency food packages.
Feeding America is a terrific program. If you need help, Feeding America will help you. It just released a new study Hunger America 2010. Here are some key findings from their study:
• The 37 million Americans served annually by Feeding America include nearly 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.
• Each week, approximately 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance from an agency served by a Feeding America member. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
• These numbers are based on surveys conducted at emergency feeding centers, such as soup kitchens and food pantries, but do not factor in many individuals also served at non-emergency locations, such as Kids Cafe programs and senior centers.
You can donate to Feeding America to help feed people in our country.

Can’t pay your heating bill?

Call you heating company and ask what help they offer. Most have services or organizations that they can refer you to

Each state has its own chapter of HEAP, the federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program.

Save Money on Health Care

by PATRICIA HolmesPersonal Finance

It would be hard to find someone in this country who hasn’t heard of the healthcare reform. If it passes and everyone receives health coverage it will still take time to be finalized and put into practice. If it doesn’t, then we’re stuck in the same place we are now. Either way, everyone should know some basic tricks for cutting down on health costs.

Cheap Drugs

Bring your own medication. If you are in the hospital and you have medication that you take every day you can bring your own (or have a family member or friend bring them to you). These are called “self administered medications” and can save you a ton of money. Hospitals often charge three or four times as much for the exact  same medication.

Go generic. Not every drug has a generic counterpart but those that do often run 30 to 50 percent cheaper.  According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the 2008 average retail price of a generic prescription drug was $35.22. The average retail price of a brand name prescription drug was $137.90. That’s a big difference.

Ask for free samples. Doctors often get sent free samples of all kinds of medication. It never hurts to ask.

Drugstore clubs. Some stores, like BJs, Wal-mart and Sam’s Club have prescription savings clubs. Ask your drugstore or pharmacist about this. However, do not sign up for random “prescription drug clubs” online. Many of these are scams.

Free vaccines. The CDC often has lists of where you can get free vaccines for your children. Vist the CDC’s Vaccines for Children page.

Pharmaceutical Patient Assistance Programs. Many pharmaceutical companies offer patient assistance programs. Here are a few:

  • RxAssist provides access to some of these programs, including online medications, it claims to be the “web’s most current and comprehensive directory of Patient Assistance Programs”
  • NeedyMeds can find help with the cost of your medicine, info about pharmaceutical company assistance programs, disease-specific assistance programs, free clinics, discount drug cards, government medication programs and programs for children
  • Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPARx) helps qualifying patients without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need through the program that is right for them. Many will get their medications free or nearly free. Sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, physician organizations and patient advocacy groups.
  • CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation helps pay for medication used to treat cancer
  • Together Rx Access helps those with no prescription coverage and who aren’t eligible for Medicare and satisfy the income requirements; the website claims most cardholders save 25-40 percent on over 300 brand name medications. It is sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.

General Savings

Avoid emergency rooms. The ER can be very pricey, if you don’t have a life threatening emergency make an appointment at your family doctor instead.

Shop around for lab work. Lab work can be really expensive. If you don’t have health insurance you should call the lab and ask how much something is going to cost, check online at  mymedlab.com and bloodworksusa.com

Dental schools. Going to the dentist can be very painful, both for your mouth and your wallet. Try your local dental school, they often need people to practice on.

Dollar store. Dollar stores often has really cheap exercise equipment including yoga blocks, mats, jump ropes and exercise videos.

Prevention

Of course the best way to save money on healthcare is not to get sick. Prevention is so much cheaper than treatment. This list is easy to write and I’m sure it sounds easy to follow but there may actually be nothing more difficult to do. Here a few basic ways to stay healthy:

  • Don’t do illegal drugs
  • Don’t drink too much alcohol
  • Don’t smoke cigarettes
  • Eat a healthy low-fat diet (even better: eat a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables)
  • Exercise
  • Reduce stress
  • Stay out of the sun and don’t visit tanning booths

Many health problems come from eating too much fat and food that isn’t good for you and from things like smoking cigarettes, drinking too much, and other bad-for-you behavior.

Remember: It’s much cheaper to prevent illness than to treat it.

U.S. States Requiring Personal Finance Education for High School Students

by PATRICIA HolmesPersonal Finance

The state of Virginia recently announced that it would begin adding personal finance and economics classes to the overall high school curriculum. Several U.S. states already have similar requirements or are aiming to include them, including Maryland, Missouri, Utah and Tennessee, according to USA Today.

This announcement is part of a recent trend promoting financial literacy among children in the elementary, secondary and college education levels in the U.S. In some states, such as Virginia, Missouri, Utah and Tennessee, specific classes are required, while others add financial lessons into existing curricula. Post-secondary institutions including Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont are also mandating money management coursework.

To help these initiatives, the news source reports that U.S. teachers are requesting instruction on how to properly teach these subjects, as many claim that they feel unprepared to do so.

Charles Schwab Foundation president Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz explained her organization’s emphasis of such subject matter.

“We feel that if you can get kids on the right track at an early age, they’re more likely going to be financially successful adults,” Schwab-Pomerantz told the news source.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the results of a Charles Schwab survey reveal that 77 percent of teenagers consider themselves to be fairly adept at saving money.