“We had two of the kids with moderate to severe asthma. That’s…a lot of money. If you know, you fucking know.
The kids qualified for Medicaid for exactly one year, and it helped us so, SO much. (Spouse was between jobs and lost healthcare, the kids qualified, and they only recertify yearly. So awesome. Saved us HUNDREDS a month in prescriptions alone). One of the little guys qualified for WIC on his own, but we made a few dollars too much to qualify for anything as a family. So, no free/reduced lunch at school.
However, since we were on the cusp, our tax refunds were high since we fell under Earned Income Tax Credit. That was when we would pay off our medical debt that would accrue over the year and get car maintenance like tires and brakes. We could keep up with small stuff, but the tax refund helped with the rest.
We were super strict on the budget. Garage sales, secondhand, Kohl’s 80% clearance. I’d set aside clothes money and buy huge lots of boys’ clothes already, as coordinated outfits (at about $1 per piece). Those two kids were the same age, so it made sense.
20 out of 21 meals were cooked from scratch. Most of the food was from Aldi (love Aldi!), and the kids packed their lunches. We had a weekly pizza night. When the dishwasher broke, we washed by hand. When the dryer broke, we hung clothes out until we could buy the part to fix the dryer (thanks, YouTube!).
We would go to the free museum/zoo days and pack lunches when we went. Take the Metra downtown when kids ride free.
Library — lots of library time.”
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