byebye hard earned money

My water bill is $195 per month
Electricity (not for heating, I have gas heat) - $165 per month

Even though I make under the poverty level because of my age I don't qualify for their programs...

Bummer for me.. looks like I will be going without water or power some time this year..

That's a high water bill! Have you checked for leaks?

When I'm in a financial pinch, I have to spend less as I can't work because I'm disabled and a single mom. So, I find ways to spend less as I can't earn more. Perhaps there are ways to reduce your water and gas consumption.

I subscribe to a free, online newsletter called "The Dollar Stretcher" - perhaps check it out!

I love clean dishes and my dishwasher. I make myself wait until I have a full load of dishes in the dishwasher. Otherwise, I'd fire it up every day, lol. Same with the washing machine...full loads, no partial loads. You can even find out which appliances suck up the most energy, water, etc.

One way to cut back spending is to examine your grocery purchases. I love my ice cream, but I always wait for a sale. If I am really financially strapped then I don't buy it. I don't NEED ice cream, I WANT it. Analyzing wants versus needs can be a huge help.

I like going to a particular grocery store. I can get the same food items for less if I shop at Wal-Mart, which I don't like. But I can go during off-hours and avoid crowds. There are many products where generic suits me fine.

Research online for local food pantries, some aren't based on income. I used Google.

When money was very tight, I kept a spreadsheet that broke down the price per ounce for food and personal care items I regularly bought. I'd note what store had the best prices.

I imagine there are great message boards on frugality on the Internet. Get some ideas. Do you have cable tv? That's a want, not a need. A landline and a cellphone? Maybe you DO need both or maybe not. Things like auto insurance - a need can be researched and there may be a better price/competitor.

Understandably, you sound a bit resigned, but try to be proactive and find ways to earn more, or, in my case...spend less. I hope this is helpful. Get creative, stay positive.

Good luck! xo

Most people are carrying a good deal more auto insurance than the law requires. If you own no real estate and survive on a low income, there's probably no reason for anyone to carry a dime more than legally mandated. People carry more to protect themselves, if they get sued. No one's going to sue you, if you have nothing. If you finished paying for your vehicle and owe no money on it to a bank, then it's time to dump that "comprehensive" coverage. Get rid of the "medical" and the "uninsured motorist," also. All you need is liability. Find out the minimum your state requires and pare down to exactly that. It'll most likely be less than what you now have. That will get your premiums down to the bare bones of what your state requires you to have. I pay $35/month. AAA offers one of the best rates around. (You have to join Triple A to get their auto insurance. Just take their cheapest membership option.)

Go to your Income Support office (the place that gives out food stamps) and apply for LIHEAP. That is a federal program that will give you an energy cost subsidy once per fiscal year. Since it's federal, I don't think what state you live in matters. The fiscal year ends September 31. Get your application in right away, and you can get a check for this current fuscal year. Then put another application in right after October 1rst, and you can get the annual subsidy again. That's what I did last year. I wasn't behind in my utility bills. You don't have to be in crisis to get the basic annual subsidy. They will send the subsidy to your utility company (pick either gas or electric - whoever is your bigger annual expense.) It will appear as a credit on your bill. Then you'll go a few months getting bills that say you owe nothing.

Also, go after the TAP subsidy. (Telephone Assistance Program.) That's federal too, so where you live doesn't matter. Call your phone company to send you the application. It can go for either a land line, or a cell phone, but not both. Thanks to that subsidy, my "no frills" landline phone only costs me a little over $10/month. I also get the subsidy for high speed Internet access (12 mgs) through the phone company. For my Internet access, I pay slightly over $20/month.

Food stamps are federal (with some states kicking in extra.) So apply for that. I get the lowest, which is $25/month. That's $300 a year added to my income. Get on the waiting list for a housing subsidy. That is federal, as well, so living in Florida makes no difference.

You've gotten poor advice from organizations you've contacted. That's typical. These days, you have to be your own social worker. There is no "case manager" to walk you through, unless you are a refugee who speaks no English. Go to Income Support at your local office of Human Services. Fill out the basic application. That will be fir LIHEAP and SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program - better known as "Food Stamps.") Go to ypur local "Housing Authority" and apply for a "Section 8" subsidy. That gets you on a waiting list, unless the list is currently closed in your city. Then call the phone company. (Or ask at the public library how you apply for a subsidized cell phone plan.)

I just thought of something. Being a student might disqualify you from some of this. But go to your local Division of Vicational Rehab. Being hooked up with them (for having a psych/physical impediment to employment might help you get around that.) They offered to pay for me having $8000 worth of dialectical behavioral therapy.

I was once put on psych meds that were going to cost me $300/month, once the free samples ran out. I decided to use older psych meds that had gone generic. Those actually worked better.

I went to food banks in the past that were church operated. None of them required church membership, or even asked me if I believed in God. I once got very caring counseling from a center that offered help to substance abusers. When I said I didn't have a substance abuse problem, they asked me if I had ever been drunk in my life. When I said yes to that, I was told that was good enough for them. Some of these insurmountable barriers you are seeing everywhere are not as impenetrable as you imagine. You've gotten in the habit of rigid thinking, and it's not working for you.

How are you, Zafara?

I was thinking the same thing and remembered my water and sewer bill for my house was only quarterly, not monthly.