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Welcome to...The Low-Income Way of Life

This web site is for:

* Single parents, moms and dads alike.

* Welfare recipients.

* Two parent families with low incomes.

* Teen moms.

* And anyone else who needs advice on how to live more frugally.

It is my goal to help as many people as I can live better lives. I understand what it feels like to have to wonder where your next meal will come from, and whether or not you will have a home next month.

Dear Reader,

My name is Shannon. I have a very, very low income. I am, however, doing better than I was just a few years ago.

It all started when was 17 and found out that I was pregnant with my first daughter. I was not married, and hadn't even finished high school. The father didn't stick around, so I was on my own. My mother let me stay at her place. I shared a room with my sister, her rabbit, and my daughter when she was born. It was pretty cramped. I stayed there until my daughter was six months old. I was on welfare: Aid to Families with Dependant Children (AFDC), Food Stamps and Medicaid. I also received WIC.

When Skye was six months old we moved into our first apartment, and six months later we moved into a more affordable apartment. This second apartment was a low-income apartment. This move could not have come at a better time, as winter was just around the corner.

When I was 20 I had another daughter. Her father passed away when she was only eight months old.

When my daughters were in the third and first grades we moved next door to a three bedroom low-income apartment. This is where we began our homeschool adventures.

During this time I had babysat, worked at a daycare center, worked in a blueberry factory and then as a housekeeper at the Comfort Inn. I had also hurt my back , and was told that I had to quit my job. I did and began my own little daycare in my home. I started out with my two nephews at $4.00 an hour, then added two little girls and was making $8.00 an hour. Since then I have made anywhere from $2.85 to $10.00 an hour providing childcare. This is not a lot, I know.

I only receive Food Stamps and MaineCare from the government now. Obviously, I've had to supplement my income by doing things like typing and cat sitting. This still does not make for a very large income, I know. I do what I can. I work from home because I believe that I should be home with my children.

A few years ago my father did something for me. He bought us a trailer (manufactured home). I paid him back so much a month until he passed away. The trailer is mine. I own it. It feels good. It is a 1988, and it needs a lot of work. The work is getting done as I can afford to pay for it. We just replaced the old oil tank, and covered the new one with what my brother calls a "dog house". We also replaced the old porch. I bought the materials and my stepfather built the new porch.

Right now we have our home, rent a lot, have DirecTV and Internet access. I am going on my second vacation since becoming a mom. I make $171.00 a week during summer and vacations, and usually less than $50.00 a week during the school year. Zowie receives survivor benefits of just over $600.00 a month. Of this, I pay for 1/3 of the lot rent, electric, oil, water and sewer and food, as well as items she needs. The rest she saves for her move to New York to become a journalist. We all receive MaineCare. We also receive $175.00 in Food Stamps, and $9.00 a week in child support. Our bills are the electricity, oil, phone, Internet access, DirecTV, water, sewer and lot rent. I also pay for extra food and other necessary items, as well as buy homeschool materials and supplies.

I admit to having moments where I have wondered if I would be homeless the next month. I admit to practically starving myself to feed my kids. I admit to having the electricity and phone disconnected more than once, and being kicked off welfare for "not looking for work when I was supposed to", even though I had been looking for work like I was supposed to be, and DHS had made me quit two other jobs to look for another job that would pay me more. I admit to having no other income than the twenty dollars a week that I was making for cleaning at my fathers during that time.

Life has never been very easy, but it does not have to be a bad life.

This site is set up to help other low income families. I hope that everyone finds some tips to help. Happy reading!

Shannon