I agree, they need to take more than just income into consideration. My husband and I make to much to qualify as well. But by the time you figure in a mortgage, a car payment, plus utilities and groceries...there's not much left out of each paycheck. Oh well, that's the government at it's finest. Not much help for the middle class people out there...

I know it sucks.
Heather

sorry but this is just my opinion.
the wic program is for people who need the help. we use to have to pay 700 a month for our house but we found a smaller one to save money for thing such as formula. we traded one of our cars in and got a car with a car payment not as high. i dont think wic should take in account how much peoples rent and stuff is . if you choose to live in an expense house then thats your choice.why should they goverment have to pay for stuff you could afford if you you would not have to have expensive things.?

i'm sorry, but i have to agree with chase.

also, generic formula is just as good as the name brand. we only spend $40 a month on formula, we just buy the generic enfamil lipil instead of the real deal. i've compared the labels and they are *exactly* the same.

or, if you must buy the name brand, sign up on their mailing list. i originally thought we'd be using enfamil so i signed up on their website, i get loads of coupons every month and some of them are for as much as $8 off.

I'm not saying that they should help every well off person that comes through the door. But some of us middle class citizens, honestly, could really use a little bit of assistance. My husband has a couple of bills from his past that we are still paying on and his child support for his daughter.
But sometimes, moving and trading vehicles to get smaller payments aren't always an option. We had a smaller mortgage payment, but absolutely no room for a baby and everything that comes along with having one. Plus, we were in an older mobile home...not the safest environment to raise a child in...even though I grew up in one. I just want a better living environment for my child than what I or my husband had. So, we do have a higher mortgage payment now, but we found the cheapest house we could find that met our needs. And if our baby is able, we will use everything generic.

It's not just the wic program though. Middle class citizens have very little if any assistance available to them. When I was going to college, my parents made too much money for me to qualify for any grants but not enough to out right pay for my tuition. I got a couple of scholarships, but not enough to pay for 4 years of college. So I had to take out student loans, that I am still paying on 4 years later, and will continue to be paying on for the next several years. I just wish there was a little bit more concern for the middle class population; it seems that we are overlooked alot.

I agree with you guys that if you choose to live in an expensive house and such that you shouldn't get it but I feel like WIC treated me unfairly. I am a full time student and currently unemployed. I had to move in with my parents because I am not able to pay rent (at any cost! becacuse I don't have money)! I pay for my schooling and all my bills and baby stuff but because I live at my parents they won't give me WIC. Maybe its just me but I feel like I overly qualified but was turned down because they expect my parents to pay my bills.

down here, after .katrina, there is no such thing as a "cheaper house". Because of insurance/liability issues, the rent is no less than 1300...for 2 bedrooms. Sometimes 3.

We got approved for .w.i.c, but only because I don't work. ANd haven't since I was 6 months pregnant.

I plan on working the week following the wedding, and know that we'll no longer be applicable for .w.i.c. Which is fine, because I'll be making more money.

You're right though, bookoo people abuse the system. They don't approve the really needy people, and do approve the people who "lie" to them about their income.

Sarah

I have wic but my husband just got a new job where he makes way too much money for us to qualify so I am not going to get more coupons printed. I feel bad taking them when we really don't need them anymore.

I feel for you guys that need them and can't get them. I wish there was some way to fix the system but I think that it is near impossible.

How do you know that people can find some place cheaper to go? I thought that was an option for me. But I just checked rents in the area and they have gone steeply up in the past four years (since I moved into the house I'm in now). A one bedroom apartment in this area is now $640 . It wasn't this way before. But now it is. I can't fit my furniture into an apartment. So what would I do with it? Throw it away? A two bedroom house is now $800 with $800 being in the seedier neighborhoods. So should someone sacrifice their safety to save a hundred dollars a month? Plus utilities are crazy here. My water bill is $100 a month, electricity is $100 a month now, And the gas bill was $585 and I didn't turn it above 68 or fiddle with the thermostat. I think those are things that wic should definitely take into account just like i believe there should be set income limits nationwide. Supposedly I make far too much money to qualify for any assistance but where the h*ll is it? Oh, I remember, I gave it to the utility companies. I'm glad our rent is only $430 and that our landlord will never raise it. That helps us a lot. If it was more, then we wouldn't be able to live. I guess I'd have to quit and move into public housing.

sorry girl i totally agree with chase4.. a car, cell phone, nice apartment etc are luxouries! your babies health should be number one.. If it is get a cheaper apartment or get rid of a phone or sell your car! Dont expect that the government should compensate for what you have spent instead of what you dont have!


im very sorry i know it can be fustrating when the bills take your last money.. I feel ya! We got our car and apartment etc before we found out we were having a baby.. ,but because we are commited to leases and loan we are stuck paying them so trust me finding the extra dough or making it spread out is hard!

Try to make things cost less.. spend less money going out or just in general.. for the baby try cloth diapers and breastfeeding.. the two are way better for your baby anyway and that way you save money.. look it up on the internet and see how beneficial it is! and see how much freaking money you save.. trust me... its like 20 a week on diapers with the disposables.. but with the cloth ones you save a ton.. and as far as breastfeeding.. man when i look at the prices of formula wow! but if you are still intrested in diapers at teh store or formula. get coupons. ive applied online for pampers and similac organic and i get like TWO dollars off diapers and FIVE off the similac organic(which is amazing).. i know its not alot but man it helps when you have that extra SEVEN dollars toward food for myself

i bet your a smart girl and you'll be able to make it work.. just use your head and think hard when you spend. see if you can also lower some of your bills and go from there.. ''hope it works out take care

I guess my situation is different. Because I don't have a car, or a cell phone, or anything extra and we never go out because we can't afford to. i shop for groceries in aldi's for christs sake. and we're still broke. my only luxury is internet and i can't turn that off because i need it for work. i already live in the slums. it's the effing utilities that are killing us. i suppose i could shut off my gas but then i couldn't cook or shower and plus my baby would be cold. If I lived anywhere else, I'd be considered low income. but for this area in pa, my salary is considered good.

ps. i'm not b*tching at anyone, i'm just b*tching in general about being poor....

I think that if we are paying taxes we should be eligable for government assistance. Why should people be punished for making money while those who dont pay taxes and dont work get rewarded?
My husband is in the military so we are eligable for wic (thats how little money we make and hes been in for 8 years) errrrrrrr dont get me started on that. I think the system is corrupt. they make it so you have to not work to be eligable for help. Welfare, medicare, wic..

I honestly wouldn't care if they didn't charge so much for utilities. $585 dollars for a one month gas bill? Come on! $100 a month for water? We don't use that much water, we don't have a dishwasher and all shower have to be 6 minutes or less. We never let the water run while brushing our teeth and I don't wash clothes every day. I'm calling the landlord tomorrow to find out if there's a leak... I'm planting a veggie garden this year so that should help with the food bill...

what?!?!

how is that even possible? our gas bill last month was $60 and we live in one of the most expensive areas in the country.

Yeah, western pa has some of the most expensive utilities in the country apparently... That was my gas bill because they can get away with it. My mother's was $479 and her house is twice the size of mine. She has a different gas company though.

I feel ya. I used to live in the Pittsburgh area and even though my rent was low compared to elsewhere that I have lived, the utilities were through the roof. I don't understand how they can get away with it.

I know. Everyone is always like, you make too much money to qualify for any help. In 2005 we spent $5160 on rent, $1020 on water, $960 on electricity, $4574 on gas, $780 on phone (basic service on landline this year for the same price we get long distance for free!!), $2400 on food, $2716 on transportation (our car died and we couldn't afford a new one), $2124 on health insurance (not including oop medical expenses), $180 on renters insurance, $636 on student loans, $8788 on dh child support. That kind of ate up all of the money. We had a couple of bucks socked away at the end of the year, but that all went to buying chu's stuff in 2006 and a little bit while i was out on leave. I really don't see anything we can cut. I suppose we could all eat less. *sigh*

Wow, it doesn't look like you can really cut back on anything. Hey you could always go to the "O" for dinner everynight... It's cheap!!! just kidding. Dh and I make way to much money for wic... We don't have kids yet, we are ttc. But I have looked into it and my income alone is over the level for a family of 4. It doesn't make sence how they work that number, because if we had to survive on my income alone, we wouldn't be able to survive. Even if we did like in an appartment instead of our house.
My brother is in the same situation. He works and his wife doesn't. He makes about the same as me and he has 2 kids. So even with a family of 4 he is strugling to make ends meet. We really wouldn't need wic, but they do and it's sad that they can't get it.

My point exactly. There are truely, middle class citizens that could use just a little bit of assistance. I know we will be fine without any assistance, but things will be much, much tighter. It would just be nice to know that was a little help out there for us, if we were to get into a bind financially.