My name is Shannon. My daughters and I live alone in a small town in Maine. We have been living the low-income way of life for 17 years. I do not receive full benefits from DHHS. We receive only some foodstamps and MaineCare. We would receive MaineCare no matter what, because there is no way that I could afford insurance otherwise. I am working to get off foodstamps as well. Not easy with my back injury.
I homeschool both of my daughters. They are both high school age. Skye is graduating in the spring, and then Zowie will graduate the next spring. Skye loves softball, and Zowie loves to read. Both are doing well with their studies.
I provide childcare in my home, and do other small jobs for extra money. I am also embarking on a journey of (trying) to sell pre-made scrapbooks an other items. I just love scrapbooking.
I am also trying to launch a writing career. this takes a lot of time, which I do not always have right now.
We are in the (very long) process of fixing up our trailer as well.
We also have 3 male cats, as well as a female kitten: Rowan, Zander, Tigerr (Yes, with 2 r’s) and Pixie. They are very spoiled, and are family - not just pets.
Warmest Wishes,
Shannon
Hi, Shannon,
I read your story on another website (after doing a google search) that led me here & I just want to say that I truly admire you. You appear to have a spirit of generousity from the stories you’ve shared about helping others to sharing advice with others “living the low income life” on the web through your blog.
I noticed that you mentioned that you had a back injury. While I know that you want to become independent as possible, I was wondering if you’d applied for disability? It could be a source of additional income for as long as you need/want.
I, too am a “grown up” teen mother. I became pregnant at 17, gave birth at 18. With the support (not financially) of my family I went to college immediately after high school. I just graduated with a degree in social work and am looking for a job. I missed the time that I could have had with my daughter but the services in my state (AL) are meager and I was the product of an unwed mother who recieved foodstamps, etc. so I felt that I had to do something different. Obvisiously social work will not make me wealthy but I do hope to be an advocate one day for welfare reform to create services that allow mothers to spend more time at home when their children are small & empowers them to become independent by financially supporting their education so that they can secure good paying jobs. Most federal grants will cover tuition for community/2 yr. colleges but for those that want to go to university getting loans are almost mandatory. Just my $0.02! Sorry for rambling! Thanks again for creating this website! Great information here!
LaTonya brings up a good point. I am still able to do a lot of things. I can provide childcare as long as I am careful about not picking the children up. I like to be as self-sufficient as possible.
Considering that I can do some things to earn a living, even if I can’t do as much as many others, I am going to leave the disability for now.
Here in Maine, it would take me years of fighting and stress to get disability any way. I would rather enjoy my time on Earth, rather than fight and stress out all of the time.
Thank you for your concern,
Shannon
Hi Shannon,
My husband & I have always tried to use our resources wisely and frugally. We have lived in Alaska, Port Angeles Washington and California, & always worked at finding the best buys and the places to find them. No matter where we have been we have been able to cut corners somehow. We now live in Sacramento, CA. and have found that the oriental stores (which we have many of here) are a great place to find less expensive fresh meat, fresh vegetables, & rice, as well as many spices and tastes that add flavor to our food. We also love to try any ethnic market-Indian, Hispanic, etc. They all seem to have items that are fresh for less. We love to experiment with all of the new flavors, too. You can find so many great recipes for everything on-line! You can also eat very healthy food when you look at the ethnic recipes. We eat a lot of fresh fruit, veggies, moderate amounts of meat. We also like to grow our own fruit and veggies-which helps the pocket book. Since you can dry, freeze, & can when things are in season, you can eat them all year. We find that eating on a budget is fun and exciting. Mari
the blogroll for “Spending Simply” (Lyn) is a by invitation only blog. Or else I am just not clued in to how to log in with my acct as asked. I thought this would be useful maybe not, I am a single disabled older adult that lives in an apt more urban than rural. I have lived my whole live on the “fridges”financially and find it harder to manage now that I just have my self to care for.