NOTE: For those of you who think people like me are "gaming the system," live a year in my body and you'll know I'm not. I have lupus, and am in pain most of the time and have brain fog so badly some days I cannot even concentrate enough to do anything but watch videos on t.v., not even read. For anyone in my situation, this is valuable information.
I found out today that being technically "homeless" does not keep you from getting food stamps. Plus, you can use them in ways other people can't, such as to buy meals at homeless shelters or soup kitchens. You can also use them to buy veggie/herb seeds and edible plants, so if you're staying in one place for awhile, and want to grow some herbs or veggies, you can buy them with that. Some places don't recognize this, so I get all my stuff at WalMart. I just got an eggplant plant that will more than pay for itself in a very short time.
Here's some info on that.
From what I was told, they will count your phone bill and your propane as utilities, if you use your propane only to heat, cool or cook. I'm checking into solar expenses to see if maybe batteries and solar panels can be deducted also, since it's used to generate electricity, but nobody knows yet. Campground fees count as rent, as far as the person I talked to knows, but again, not sure about that or paying for showers. If you work online, you can put in your wifi as a utility expense, and they will count part of it as a business expense.
The government is still playing catchup with vehicle dwellers. They still tend to think of RVers as rich people who just want to travel around, but they are having to change their mindset on that. The main consideration for them right now is income, so if you're a rich RVers who has a big bank account and a nice retirement income, they should be able to tell you from someone like me who gets less than $700 a month in SS.
Speaking of SS, I checked into SSI, and I can qualify for that too, but it's a little more difficult to get into. You can have one vehicle of any value, so your van doesn't count as an resource. If you buy land to park your van on, that doesn't count either, because you are allowed to have a home w/land and a vehicle.
Here is a Handy SSI Calculator for Earned and Unearned Income.
I'm collecting widow's benefits right now, but next year, when I hit full retirement age, I can switch it over to my account and get about $50 more a month, plus the $82 from SSI, plus full Medicare and Medicaid benefits with subsidized Medicare and Drug premium payments. I can also earn $85 a month while getting this, because they do not count the first $20 of unearned income, or the first $65 of earned income.
So with my SS, food stamps & SSI, I would have about $900 to live on. If I forego SSI, I can earn up to $1410 (probably a bit more by next year) a month with no penalty from SS. Honestly, that's probably what I'm going to do, because I can't see myself just sitting around doing nothing 24/7. Plus, that extra money would go a long ways towards saving up for the time when I have to leave van living and go back into brick and mortar housing.
Anyway, I hope some of you can get some good out of this.
I found out today that being technically "homeless" does not keep you from getting food stamps. Plus, you can use them in ways other people can't, such as to buy meals at homeless shelters or soup kitchens. You can also use them to buy veggie/herb seeds and edible plants, so if you're staying in one place for awhile, and want to grow some herbs or veggies, you can buy them with that. Some places don't recognize this, so I get all my stuff at WalMart. I just got an eggplant plant that will more than pay for itself in a very short time.
Here's some info on that.
From what I was told, they will count your phone bill and your propane as utilities, if you use your propane only to heat, cool or cook. I'm checking into solar expenses to see if maybe batteries and solar panels can be deducted also, since it's used to generate electricity, but nobody knows yet. Campground fees count as rent, as far as the person I talked to knows, but again, not sure about that or paying for showers. If you work online, you can put in your wifi as a utility expense, and they will count part of it as a business expense.
The government is still playing catchup with vehicle dwellers. They still tend to think of RVers as rich people who just want to travel around, but they are having to change their mindset on that. The main consideration for them right now is income, so if you're a rich RVers who has a big bank account and a nice retirement income, they should be able to tell you from someone like me who gets less than $700 a month in SS.
Speaking of SS, I checked into SSI, and I can qualify for that too, but it's a little more difficult to get into. You can have one vehicle of any value, so your van doesn't count as an resource. If you buy land to park your van on, that doesn't count either, because you are allowed to have a home w/land and a vehicle.
Here is a Handy SSI Calculator for Earned and Unearned Income.
I'm collecting widow's benefits right now, but next year, when I hit full retirement age, I can switch it over to my account and get about $50 more a month, plus the $82 from SSI, plus full Medicare and Medicaid benefits with subsidized Medicare and Drug premium payments. I can also earn $85 a month while getting this, because they do not count the first $20 of unearned income, or the first $65 of earned income.
So with my SS, food stamps & SSI, I would have about $900 to live on. If I forego SSI, I can earn up to $1410 (probably a bit more by next year) a month with no penalty from SS. Honestly, that's probably what I'm going to do, because I can't see myself just sitting around doing nothing 24/7. Plus, that extra money would go a long ways towards saving up for the time when I have to leave van living and go back into brick and mortar housing.
Anyway, I hope some of you can get some good out of this.
