No more SNAP | Imamother

amother

Sat, Nov 25 2023, 10:11 pm

Klei Kodesh family in NY (not NYC) and just found out this year that unlike the state we previously lived in, SNAP here is not based on taxable income, but total income (I.e. you can't claim parsonage for SNAP - other NY residents if I'm wrong please correct me!!!!!! Wishful thinking probably...). We weren't getting a ton from SNAP, but it was enough to take the edge off grocery expenses. I deal with the finances in our family and I'm feeling the pressure. I used to be able to put a few hundred away monthly to be able to at least feel like we had extras for saving for emergencies, extras etc. That is definitely not happening now.
I talked to my husband about it and we started learning Chovos Halevavos. I know I should be working on my emunah and bitachon that Hashem will provide for us. But it's hard. I know I did the right thing by not reapplying for SNAP with our parsonage numbers, but money is not raining down on us and the cushion we used to have just isn't there. There isn't money for extras and I feel like I'm suddenly really pinching pennies. I used to love making meals when people had babies, and now I feel like I can't do that anymore. I'll contribute to a shabbos, but not the whole thing.
I know we have things that need to be fixed in our house and it's not an option to just let it go (there are plenty of things that we are just letting go because the money isn't there...) and I hate pulling out of savings when I know that nothing is going into savings.
And maybe this is just being dumb, but it used to give me so much joy to go grocery shopping and bring home yummy treats that I know my family would enjoy. Now I feel like I can't do that anymore. The grocery bills are high enough with the food that I need to buy.
Would love some support, encouragement from anyone who has been here.

amother

Sat, Nov 25 2023, 10:52 pm

Ah got it. That wouldn't apply to us - part of our school benefits package is free tuition and they can't do anything to help with preschool/babysitting fees. We have an FSA account which has a max on it so that's pretax for part of the tuition/babysitting, but nowhere near close enough to qualify us for snap.

I don't think there's anything to do except thank Hashem for the years we were able to legally get the extra assistance and move on. It's just hard feeling strapped for cash when we B"H were comfortable and able to afford extras/more saving and now we just need to be more thrifty. And have more bitachon that Hashem will provide exactly what we need when we need it.

amother

Bronze

Sat, Nov 25 2023, 11:05 pm

amother Ruby wrote:

Where did you move from? NJ not only counts parsonage as income, they count it is as unearned income so it reduces SNAP even more than regular salary.

I don't know about NY but NJ sometimes does not count QTR as income, depending on how the school gives it to you. Can you make such an arrangement in NY?

Nj doesn’t count QTR as income for SNAP?

amother

Ruby

Sat, Nov 25 2023, 11:10 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

Nj doesn’t count QTR as income for SNAP?

Not always. This is a copy and paste from the LRRC website:

Tuition benefits (QTR):
Tuition benefit (QTR) is a great perk available to teachers. There are various rules to ensure that this benefit is administered properly. These include (but are not limited to) ensuring that the benefit is not in lieu of salary, writing a contract that clearly states which part of the teacher's compensation is salary and which part is benefit, and offering the same benefit amount across the board to each member of a class of employees. If properly set up by the school, QTR is not counted as part of one's gross income and is not considered income by NJ FamilyCare, CHS or HEAP. SNAP also does not count tuition benefits as income. However, if you work in a school setting, the SNAP office will ask whether your employer pays your tuition. If your school does pay your tuition as part of your salary, your employer will need to write a letter stating the amount they pay and where they pay it to. If it is not part of your salary, the employer can write that the tuition payments are made directly to the school and are not part of your salary. Section 8 counts tuition benefits as income.