Mama Carol

I used to feed a family of five on $60 a week. Now I can't walk out of the store with groceries for half a week for two people for $60. I actually used to buy more meat than I do now. I can't afford it now. Hamburger is 3 or 4 times what it cost back then. I used to stock up when it was 89 cents a pound. It's over $2.50 a pound now, I guess because I haven't bought any in so long I can't remember! We live on a little more than $1200 a month but not much more. If it weren't for savings, which I refuse to touch unless absolutely necessary, we wouldn't be able to pay our bills some m

To an extent I agree with you. However, there is this thing called life that sometimes throws you curve balls that you COULD not have planned for. A sudden death of a child or a spouse. The long term illness of a child or a spouse. Crime. Illness. Unemployment. Accidents. I am thankful we had lived frugally through the years because our lives changed dramatically on one particular day in March 2010 when my husband realized, and his doctor confirmed, that he would NOT be able to return to work. EVER. He was 59 years old. Had we lived like most people with car payments and a mort

Not like the one we had. He loved to PLAY with mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, snakes. He loved to BRING them to you. Kill them? He preferred not to. Wimpy cat. Gosh I miss that little guy, too.

Two things you definitely don't want in your house. #1--a dead squirrel in your attic. #2--six LIVE baby possums in your kitchen drawers.

My mom walked out to her front porch one day to see a snake curled up in one of her rockers. She NEVER again sat in that rocker! Never. She had a secret weapon she used against snakes. Raid. Worked every time. I'm with you, I would have set an Olympic record. And I can't run anymore. Only good snake is a dead snake. Outside.

All of the temp agencies I contacted had posted jobs that I was qualified for and I responded to those ads. I followed up with the agencies as well. The ONLY job I refused was one doing telemarketing. The whole thing sounded fishy, at best. You weren't an employee, got paid barely minimum wage, they LIED about what the job involved and then they changed the hours they wanted me to work. Those were the least fishy things, too! Like I said, SOOO happy not to be looking for a job here anymore.

I'm not the person you responded to but I'll answer. Yes, I have tried temp agencies. Several different ones. I was ready, willing and able to work and the BEST response I got from any of them was "call us at least twice a week to see if we have anything for you". After two months of that, I stopped calling them. Thank goodness I'm no longer looking for a job here. I agree 100%. Just let me have the job and you won't be sorry. Thought it was funny when several of the places I interviewed and was the "second choice" have once again had the job listed. Some of them h

We actually had an employee who tried to tell us what we would do for him. He was not to be expected to work every day if he wasn't on the road traveling. Nooooo. That was his free time to do with as he pleased. He was not to be expected to bring a lunch if necessary during the work day (never mind he lived next door!). He wasn't to be expected to write reports even though that was discussed prior to hiring him. I'd actually forgotten some of the stuff he tried to pull until earlier today when I started shredding information regarding his employment with us. Let's just say

They still get lumped into the group of abusers of the system because they receive assistance.

From the ads I saw that required Excel skills it did not state whether you needed beginner, intermediate or advanced skills. Just "knowledge". I certainly don't qualify as having advanced skills in it. I can't tell you how many ads I have seen that are vague. Some to the point that you're not sure what they want, what they expect, what the pay would be, what the hours would be or where it's located. And yes, it is a waste of their time and mine. I responded to one ad that was actually quite detailed except for one minor omission--the location. Considering the place I saw the ad, I

It also seems that if you have more than limited experience (more than one or two years) they don't want to look at you. Got 15 years experience in a particular field? Forget getting a job in it. Employers figure 1) you're too old and 2) you cost too much. I even saw an ad yesterday in the AJC that said MAXIMUM three years experience. WTF??

One possum maybe. Try six.

But you can't have it both ways--people aren't trying to get a job but they are applying for jobs they aren't qualified for in hopes of getting a job. Work hard and get a job but have all the skills required before you apply? I have submitted my resume a few times when I was not sure my skills would measure up to what they were asking for. I have used Excel for years but I'm far from an expert. So do I submit a resume for a job requiring knowledge of Excel? I have also NOT submitted my resume when the ad stated they wanted specific skills and to not respond if you didn't have such-an

We actually got a small animal trap and trapped it. Then we stuffed paper and plastic into the hole. Pressure washed around the foundation to remove any scent trail. Our problem wasn't rats or mice but possums.

There are jobs out there. It's just that for every job out there, about 600 applicants are looking for a job. And most of the jobs available don't pay nearly what they did five years ago. I went to several interviews and was told that they had over 400 resumes submitted. One place said they picked the 10 most qualified to interview. Another said they picked about a half dozen. One told me they lost count how many resumes were submitted. I agree 1000% with your last statement.

My son in law was walking 7 miles one way to work because they didn't have a car. They still didn't qualify for assistance other than Food Stamps because he made too much money, cooking at Waffle House. They had no home phone, no cable, no satellite, no Internet. If it wasn't available under Food Stamps or I didn't buy it for them, they did not have treats like a hamburger or fries at Burger King. They sold virtually everything they had of value before they asked me to help them out for anything. It took 2 years to get approved for Medicaid for the youngest, after she was born. F

That sounds like my daughter. She found out she was pregnant with Dru the same month her husband went to pick up his paycheck and found the doors locked and a sign in the window saying they were closed until further notice. And he worked the night before! I took my daughter to the DFCS office a few months ago for a face-to-face review. I was amazed at some of the vehicles in the parking lot! And also amazed at the pricey strollers some of those moms had. YIKES! I hope they got them at a discount because they weren't cheap ones for sure! But I always told my daughter that just becaus

Hopefully the new E-Verify system will at least help cut down on some of the reported wages that can't be matched up to workers. That said, even though I haven't received my Social Security statement yet this year, one year was missing from my statement. I can't remember if it was 2006 or 2007. My employer sent the W2s and W3 (I know because I printed them and packaged them up). He sent them a second time. Perhaps even a third time. He even sent proof that he sent them! Why couldn't the SSA do a better job of tracking what they already had? I know from personal experience that

There are certain things I prefer to buy there. Some canned goods in particular.

I LOVE their beef roast. And ALWAYS $3.54 a pound, plus the 10%. I used to get it at Ingles but they don't seem to have it on sale any longer. I don't care for the chicken at Food Depot though. Love their beef!

When my daughter was on WIC she had to do that. The cashiers have to compare the items you got with the vouchers to make sure they match. For instance, you might get a voucher for an 8 oz block of cheese. I can't remember but I think it restricts the brands you can buy. The cashier has to make sure you're getting what the voucher is for and not something that the voucher does not cover. WIC differs from food stamps in that the type of item is specified, and often to specific brand and form.

I don't stare while they pay for their groceries. I DO notice a difference in the demographics of that particular store on days the cards load. PERIOD. There is a difference. It's no more "staring" at them than it is to see so many seniors at Kroger on Wednesday or families with children on a night a restaurant does a "kids eat free" night. It's just you do notice the difference in the people and what they buy. You can't help but notice a different pattern. I mean really, a whole buggy of meat? You won't catch me looking down my nose at ANYONE. I've been there. Owned too much to

I rarely notice what form of payment but do notice a difference in the crowd near the times the cards load. That goes double for that particular Food Depot. The shoppers change in demographics and buying habits.

Considering a lot of people wait until everything is scanned and bagged before they get out their method of payment, you do watch. Like they couldn't scan the card BEFORE everything is bagged!! I was behind a woman about a month ago at Walmart. She waited until EVERYTHING was scanned and bagged and in the cart before she opened her purse. Took her FOUR different methods of payment before she found one she could use! I actually paid attention to that one pretty close because she mentioned Bank of America. I had just had my BOA credit card declined as invalid the day before at Kroger.

We were going to help our daughter and son in law get a car so he could widen his search for a job. REALLY difficult to get a job when you don't have a car to even go put in an application. Thankfully, he got a job slightly more than a half mile from their house. Even when they do get a car, he will continue to walk to work unless it's pouring down rain. If you don't have a car to get to the job or to the interview, you have to have some kind of transportation. Taxis are quite expensive, too.