s/o - Poverty and low income: Is anyone here familiar with the United Way Thrive program? How about NACA homebuying?

[Joanne]

Thrive:

 

 

https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/our-work/family-stability/

 

This link has an interesting "challenge" interactive of trying to manage $41,000 for a family of 4.

 

NACA:

 

https://www.naca.com/nacaWeb/index_main.aspx

[MomtoCandJ]

Ummm dh supports our family of 4 on 33,000 a year. We have a house payment, truck payment and all that stuff.

[Joanne]

Ummm dh supports our family of 4 on 33,000 a year. We have a house payment, truck payment and all that stuff.

My rent for a modest 3 bedroom (2 of my kids live with me and are teens - one male, one female) is $1235 per month. That is the lowest I can go and still be relatively safe. I can't move, do not have family nearby, and all 3 of my jobs are here. That is nearly $15000 a year.

 

My dd needs to get her driver's license. That is going to bump my insurance back up to $300 a month like it was when her brother stills de with us. Her younger brother will soon be there, too. $3600 per year.

 

We need electricity. $200 a month is $2400 a. year.

 

We need to eat. Let's use a conservative and unrealistic $400 a month for food only. $ 4800 per year.

 

Gas for my old car is $200 per month, so another $2400 per year.

 

That modest car, purchased at a buy here pay here lot because my car was totaled and I didn't have good credit and needed to work: $360 per month. $4320 pet year.

 

At this point, $33000 is gone. We have not showered, flushed a toilet, wiped after using the toilet, cleaned anything, gotten medical care, used a phone of any kind, wore clothing or brushes our teeth.

[Ravin]

Joanne's point (maybe): cost of living and particularly access to safe housing when you don't have the good credit and income history to buy (and in many places even when you do) varies a great deal from one place to another.

[Joanne]

Joanne's point (maybe): cost of living and particularly access to safe housing when you don't have the good credit and income history to buy (and in many places even when you do) varies a great deal from one place to another.

.

 

True fact. But my OP really was posted for feedback on the programs. :)

[MomtoCandJ]

I'm sorry, I saw the challenge part and was like we already do that :). We live in a safe area (rural) and purchased our home on land contract (371 including homeowners insurance). Dh's job is about 9 miles away and in nice weather he rides his motorcycle (a lot better on gas). He also has a truck (with payments that are 209 a month). I know we are really lucky to have the opportunities that we have had especially with our house. We don't have good credit ourselves, we declared bankruptcy (wage earners) 9 years ago. We paid that off 3 yrs ago.

[maize]

My rent for a modest 3 bedroom (2 of my kids live with me and are teens - one male, one female) is $1235 per month. That is the lowest I can go and still be relatively safe. I can't move, do not have family nearby, and all 3 of my jobs are here. That is nearly $15000 a year.

 

My dd needs to get her driver's license. That is going to bump my insurance back up to $300 a month like it was when her brother stills de with us. Her younger brother will soon be there, too. $3600 per year.

 

We need electricity. $200 a month is $2400 a. year.

 

We need to eat. Let's use a conservative and unrealistic $400 a month for food only. $ 4800 per year.

 

Gas for my old car is $200 per month, so another $2400 per year.

 

That modest car, purchased at a buy here pay here lot because my car was totaled and I didn't have good credit and needed to work: $360 per month. $4320 pet year.

 

At this point, $33000 is gone. We have not showered, flushed a toilet, wiped after using the toilet, cleaned anything, gotten medical care, used a phone of any kind, wore clothing or brushes our teeth.

 

We survived on around 40,000 a year, with four people, in a two bedroom apartment that cost over 1300 per month and a very high cost of living area. More than half of our take-home pay each month went to rent, and it was not a nice place--peeling paint all over the outside that tested positive for lead, did not make me happy with toddlers and babies. It was a reasonably safe area, though near a major road.

 

 

It was not fun. But we got by. We did not pay for internet, cable, cell phones, managed with one older car, wore hand-me-down and thrift store clothes. My grocer budget was ridiculous, I remember making pancakes with nothing but flour, water, and salt for myself and the kids. I cried over medical bills.

 

I don't know how many years I could have kept that up. Fortunately things have gotten better over time.

[maize]

I looked at the programs but have not explored the details. I do think there needs to be some outside help to get people on their feet, especially where education and career progression prospects are not good.

[Guest]

I could buy a lot of new and shiny toys with $41,000 a year, but I certainly don't need it and it wouldn't be worth what I'd have to give up as far as time with ds and control of my own life to get it.

[prairiewindmomma]

At $40,000/yr in my neck of the woods, you still qualify for food stamps, discounted health insurance and prescriptions, childcare assistance, reduced price school meals, and section 8 housing.  Also, no hospital (because I am assuming he went to the ER for his wreck) demands $1500 upfront. Under the given facts, if the family didn't have insurance (or even if they had catastrophic only), a charity discount would've been given and a payment plan set up. You are still dealing lost income, which bites.

 

I am not discounting the challenges of living on a low income. In fact, in my neck of the woods it's darn near impossible to make it with an income under $75K/year without outside assistance.....  I think the website does a good job at helping people understand the challenges involved.

 

Job training and affordable childcare makes for higher productivity which helps everyone. Matched savings also gives a leg up.

 

I did bankruptcy/secured transactions work. Every petition that came across my desk had outstanding medical bills. 80% also had Fingerhut bills or payday loans.

Access to credit to cover necessities is a challenge.  The fact that THRIVE offers low interest loans is interesting.

[Ravin]

I took a look at NACA, and just for the heck of it, their job listings.

 

Something rubs me the wrong way about an organization that's supposedly a nonprofit there to help people using a commission pay structure for its employees who bring people into their program and sign them up for loans. That's just a first impression, though.

[regentrude]

I took a look at NACA, and just for the heck of it, their job listings.

 

Something rubs me the wrong way about an organization that's supposedly a nonprofit there to help people using a commission pay structure for its employees who bring people into their program and sign them up for loans. That's just a first impression, though.

 

there are quite a  few sites with comments from people with very bad experiences with this organization:

 

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/neighborhood%20assistance

http://www.trulia.com/voices/General_Area/Can_anyone_comment_on_NACA_The_Neighborhood_Assis-40784

http://naca.pissedconsumer.com

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/2009/10/naca%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Csave-the-dream-tour%E2%80%9D-now-disappointing-thousands-in-phoenix/

 

 

The program seems fraught with issues in the practical implementation. The words "scam" and "fraud" have been mentioned not just once.

[Scarlett]

Thrive:

 

 

https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/our-work/family-stability/

 

This link has an interesting "challenge" interactive of trying to manage $41,000 for a family of 4.

 

NACA:

 

https://www.naca.com/nacaWeb/index_main.aspx

That was fun ...but not realistic...I got to the page where there was $1500 in unpaid medical bills....the only options they offered was to take out a payday loan or default on the bills. Um how about making payments on the medical bills.

[Scarlett]

That was fun ...but not realistic...I got to the page where there was $1500 in unpaid medical bills....the only options they offered was to take out a payday loan or default on the bills. Um how about making payments on the medical bills.

And $300 to prepare taxes!? No way.

[vonfirmath]

That was fun ...but not realistic...I got to the page where there was $1500 in unpaid medical bills....the only options they offered was to take out a payday loan or default on the bills. Um how about making payments on the medical bills.

 

I had the same issue. Went on and saw there was no option NOT to spend $300 to file your taxes. And I walked away from the challenge. There is no need to spend $300 to file your taxes. There are many freebies IF you can't figure out how to do it yourself. If I was that tight on money I wouldn't be going to H&R Block to do my taxes. the only years I have not filed my taxes myself (by reading the documentation and filling it out) was when someone I loved worked for H&R Block and did it for me. But it is not that difficult to do it yourself. So I wouldn't make the choice to pay to do it, even if all the money I was "paying" was just credit stuff.)

[Scarlett]

I had the same issue. Went on and saw there was no option NOT to spend $300 to file your taxes. And I walked away from the challenge. There is no need to spend $300 to file your taxes. There are many freebies IF you can't figure out how to do it yourself. If I was that tight on money I wouldn't be going to H&R Block to do my taxes. the only years I have not filed my taxes myself (by reading the documentation and filling it out) was when someone I loved worked for H&R Block and did it for me. But it is not that difficult to do it yourself. So I wouldn't make the choice to pay to do it, even if all the money I was "paying" was just credit stuff.)

I only paid about $60 to do H&R block on line state and federal. I just looked on the IRS page and it said free filing for income under $58000. The one year dh and I had very complicated taxes we only paid $180.00

 

I will say ruining ones credit can have have huge ramifications. Dh is the executor of his grandmothers estate out of state and is having trouble getting bonded because his credit score is too low. I wasn't in his life when he let his credit got destroyed.

[Carrie12345]

These types of "quizzes" frustrate me. I didn't finish it.

We had a little less than that when we only had 1 child.  Even without a car payment, discounted daycare, no cell phones, no internet, and inexpensive health insurance (plus cheaper groceries at the very beginning of the century) we were living on the edge of the inner city and going into debt to pay bills.  It sucked, plain and simple.