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How do you live a fulfilling life when you’re not allowed to earn money or volunteer too much?
Our guest today concludes our Tales from Camp Mustache series with a heartbreaking tale about being disabled in America. She has asked us to remain anonymous for fear of someone figuring out who she is and taking her healthcare benefits away. It costs over 6 figures to keep her alive each year, so the penalty of being caught is steep.
She went on disability at the age of 24. 24!! That is crazy young. Because she is on disability, she is not allowed to earn over $1,000 a month, have more than $1,000 in cash on hand at any one time, volunteer too much or get a part-time job. If she volunteers for 10 hours a month, someone could see that and decide she’s capable of working 160 hours a month and take away her benefits. It’s not that she doesn’t want to work, it’s that she literally can’t afford to look like she’s doing too much.
It sounds crazy, but that is her every day reality.
We also chat about…
- how to get your expenses super low
- crazy times from Goodwill store hunting
- tips on how to hack Target clearance items
December 2018 update: Tami decided to live a fuller life, one not full of fear. She claimed her additional income and lost her disability benefits. She has since started a blog (link below!) on what life is like for someone to face medical problems but live a rich and full life. We are here to support her in her endeavors!
We hope you learn a ton from our guest today – we know we did! If you like what you heard today, please subscribe to us in Apple Podcasts.
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- OfferUp
- Mavis Butterfield – Wool Artist
- Disabled Girl on FIRE (Tami’s NOT ANONYMOUS BLOG!)
- Her Twitter
- Her Instagram
Key takeaways from our chat with our guest today:
1 – She cannot have over $1,000 on hand at any time
The rules for disability state she cannot have over $1,000 to her name at any time.
If she volunteers too much, or makes too much money, she can lose her healthcare benefits.
Even volunteering 20 hours a week is grounds for termination of her benefits.
This is something J and Gwen didn’t even know and definitely think this whole situation sucks a ton. If universal healthcare came to America, she wouldn’t have to worry about losing her healthcare and could work as she is able.
2 – Expenses need to be hacked as low as possible
Since she can’t have any money on hand, her expenses need to be as low as possible. This means….
No cable.
No new clothes or fancy electronics.
….No garbage service?
She takes care to produce as little waste as possible, but does end up with a few grocery bags here or there that she disposes of at friend’s place or in public garbage cans. It might sound extreme, but it’s the same concept as cleaning out your car at the gas station. Just with a bit more dog poo.
3 – Goodwill Hacks
Some Goodwill regions offer 30% off coupons when you drop off an item and get a tax receipt. Those coupons are stackable with the colored sticker discount days for an even better price!
Buy small appliances in the off-season. Ice cream makers in the winter, bread makers in the summer, the list goes on. Hold on to them until the right season comes around and then there will be a pool of buyers eager to snatch them up.
Goodwill Outlets sell clothes by the pound. A hand-made sweater could cost over $100 in yarn and supplies from a yarn store. If you buy sweaters by the pound from a Goodwill Outlet store, the net price of a woolen sweater could be under $1! Disassemble the sweater and bam! Tons of yarn for a new sweater for a super low price.
4 – Target Hacks
If Target has too much clearance stuff, they send the excess to Goodwill. (Varies upon region, of course). Then you can get brand new Target items still in the box for $.99 or $1.99! Wipe off the permanent marker with rubbing alcohol and you can flip it in no time flat.
If you buy clearance items from Target itself, sign up and use their Red Card. Not only do you get 5% off, you also get an extended window of time to return items. If you can’t flip it in 60 days, you can simply return it to Target and get your money back. When you’re dealing with small amounts of money, every item and every dollar matters.
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