Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lowincome

Low-cost eyeglasses in East Bay, CA?

ClaudiaCenter — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:49:40 -0800

Asking for a client -- free or low-cost eyeglasses in the East Bay/Alameda County? Client without money, job, or health insurance needs free or low-cost glasses in the East Bay to get his next job. Any suggestions?

How can we make our low-income year a little easier?

ORthey — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:45:13 -0800

My girlfriend and I are making very little money this year. What are some services/discounts/aid we can qualify for? This is in Berkeley, CA, USA, and we live together. The gal & I make less than $35K combined this year (pre-tax) - she is a student getting a teaching credential and works part-time as a teaching assistant (no benefits), and already has large debts from college and so is trying to take out only enough loans to pay for tuition. I have a part-time job that luckily provides full medical benefits for me, but doesn't pay a ton. The Bay Area is an expensive place and it's proven challenging to make it work.

We are lucky enough to have low rent, and neither of us needs to drive to work very often so we don't spend much on gas. We can definitely survive the year as is, but are wondering what type of financial help there is out there - so far, we have qualified for a reduced gas & electric bill (20% discount for low income). We've thought about joining the YMCA, which offers very good financial aid, but that may end up being frivolous even with the discount. I also have a free Costco card through work, which helps.

Regular expenses include cell phone, internet, car insurance, basic health care (for her), BART (the subway), food... the usual, really.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have! Oh, and this is hopefully temporary - next (academic) year she should get a full-time job, and I will hopefully start supplementing my hours with more income fairly soon.

$$$$ 4 Government

Phalene — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:26:43 -0800

Canadian Taxes Filter: I'm a bad citizen who wants to make sure she's paying her taxes if she owes any. Problem is, I haven't the foggiest idea where to start. Someone once told me that under a certain amount I don't have to file taxes. I'm starting to doubt this. I've never made over $9,600 in a year, since I'm a full time student, so I probably don't owe anything big. However I need to figure out how A) get missing T4s, B) Send in my taxes for the time I lived in New Brunswick despite living in Quebec now and C) make sure I file for Quebec next year, where I intend to live for the next couple of years (and I hope, work).

I'm pretty certain I can figure out the paperwork if I have everything I need, I'm just not sure where I get it and where it goes.

How can I obtain depression meds on the cheap?

GS1977 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:49:12 -0800

I need to get back on meds for my depression; however, I am uninsured at the moment and can't afford them. What options if any are available for obtaining discounted prescription medication? I have been on and off prescription meds for the treatment of depression in the last several years. Most recently, I was taking a moderate dosage of generic Zoloft as prescribed by my former GP. It was working well. At the end of the last year, I lost my job and the insurance it was providing and had to stop taking the meds and stop going to therapy.

Since then, things have gotten progressively worse and I feel that I need to be back on medication (at least). The trouble is that I don't think I can even afford generic Zoloft at the moment. I'm in a heap of debt and trying desperately to catch up.

I live in Seattle, WA. Can anyone recommend any resources for someone such as myself? How can I obtain a prescription without paying to see a doctor? Are there community resources for sad, broke guys like me? I really need help.

Importance, and cost, of braces for an adult?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:07:02 -0800

How important is it for me to get braces as an adult? If it's critical, how much would they cost, and how could I afford them? As a kid I was told I needed braces, but it was completely out of the question for us financially (this was transient/subsistence living). Now I'm in my 20s, still struggling a lot financially but wondering again how critical it is to get braces. I don't care about any cosmetic aspect, only about whether braces are needed to help my teeth last a long time. (I'm hoping to live at least 60 more years.)

Here's a pic of me showing as much of my teeth as I can. If you have an opinion about the pic please express yourself in factual terms (like "You have problems X and Y," rather than "Yuck, that looks bad").

Clearly my teeth have some crowding, but they're not crowded enough to interfere with flossing, which I know is a big factor in tooth longevity. The top teeth overlap, resting slightly more forward than the bottom teeth. (Also, I don't know if this affects braces, but in the middle of the lower teeth, you might see I have one artificial tooth, which I've had since childhood; it never developed correctly so they filed down the real tooth to a narrow pillar and put the cap over it.)

If I need braces, is there such a thing anywhere as low-cost braces for low-income patients? Is there such a thing as dental insurance I could get that would cover braces? (I assume not, since "a need for braces" is practically the definition of pre-existing condition.) Currently I don't have dental or medical insurance. I exceed Medicaid qualifiying income but not by much.

How do I go about finding an affordable dentist in San Diego to fix this tooth?

Stunt — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:57:41 -0800

How much would a dentist charge to remove a mostly collapsed wisdom tooth (in San Diego), and how do I go about even finding the proper one? A year ago or so (possibly longer) a wisdom tooth that a dentist had previously decided to fill a cavity in rather than pull decided that it was sick of life and collapsed. At the time I could deal with it and pain was only present if I got exteme temperature liquids on it, and before too long I assume that the whiny nerve died or something because it became not much of a problem at all.

I've been making sure I kept it mostly clean and that things didn't lodge there and whatnot and things were all dandy until last night when brushing my teeth...now things suck, badly (sometimes? in bursts? not constant, but it seems like an unexpected mouth movement will put me in agony for an hour or more).

Getting to the point, I think that this might need to be finally dealt with. I still can't really afford to have it done and just started a new job a couple of weeks ago. Can a normal dentist even still pull this? would I need to see an oral surgeon of sort since it seems that it might be difficult to extract? How do I even go about finding somewhere to have this done?

Sorry for the confusion and lack of conciseness; I just seem to find myself in a rather unfortunate situation and am uncertain how to even start with fixing it.

Social Security Reform

NorthCoastCafe — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:17:15 -0800

I notice that conspicuously absent from public discussions about reform of the Social Security is imposition of a reasonable system of means testing. The idea whereby wealthy seniors, who don't need social security payments to keep themselves in a comfortable lifestyle, don't collect from the general fund which was created to protect the poor and disabled, seems reasonable to me.

Given the alternative solutions of payroll tax increases, elimination of benefits, and/or huge budget deficits, means testing along with Bush's proposed private investment accounts could lead to a win-win social security reform-- one that maintains the traditional safety net for low income seniors and disabled while encouraging savings and investment. What's wrong with this idea? Why is no one making this argument?