Low Income Single Mom. Need ideas for places like the YMCA that give discounts.

[disalways]

I am a newly single mom of three children. My kids are dd 14 and 9 year old twin boys. I just filed my taxes alone for the first time. I get to claim head of household and all three children on the taxes. My income is fairly low for a family of 4. I think I am about $10,000 above the U.S. poverty level for a family of 4. I was looking into camp for my boys, and discovered that not only does the YMCA offer a Single Parent rate to join, but also offers scholarships as long as you provide your Income Tax return. So, I got to wondering if there are other things that offer dicounts/rate cuts/scholarships for Low Income Single Moms.

Any ideas would be wonderful.

 

[unbroken chain]

You may well qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, in case you did not already know that.

Also, your kids may qualify for a free/reduced school lunch (here the cutoff is 150% of the federal poverty line), if you are interested in signing up for it.

 

[DVCLiz]

You may well qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, in case you did not already know that.

Also, your kids may qualify for a free/reduced school lunch (here the cutoff is 150% of the federal poverty line), if you are interested in signing up for it.

Two that come to mind immediately are Scouting and your (or any) church. Scouting is not restricted to only those who can pay - there are council-level programs designed to make sure each child has the chance to participate regardless of cost.

Churches can be wonderful resources. If your child gets involved in a youth group, there are often activities and I know a chuch would not turn kids away because of parent's inability to pay. They often have lots of opportunities to fund raise for activities, so your kids would be right in there with everybody else raising the money for a ski trip, mission trip, etc.

I wouldn't tell them about those two WDW trips this year, though - people might think you were trying to take advantage of them if you asked them to pay for your kid's Scout uniform and still went to Disney World twice in one year. Just a thought...

 

[disalways]

Two that come to mind immediately are Scouting and your (or any) church. Scouting is not restricted to only those who can pay - there are council-level programs designed to make sure each child has the chance to participate regardless of cost.

Churches can be wonderful resources. If your child gets involved in a youth group, there are often activities and I know a chuch would not turn kids away because of parent's inability to pay. They often have lots of opportunities to fund raise for activities, so your kids would be right in there with everybody else raising the money for a ski trip, mission trip, etc.

I wouldn't tell them about those two WDW trips this year, though - people might think you were trying to take advantage of them if you asked them to pay for your kid's Scout uniform and still went to Disney World twice in one year. Just a thought...

Thank you for your ideas...

About the past two Disney trips, I did not pay for them... And for the upcoming trip, a friend is giving me day tickets, so that is a huge part paid for. And I am hoping for free dining... I currently have a 30% discount code for the rooms now, but I will happily trade that for the Free Dining if it should fall on our vacation. What I am hoping for is to pay for air, and room only. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one. But I do understand how it can look bad to be taking trips with such a low income, and I appreciate your input.

 

[disalways]

You may well qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, in case you did not already know that.

Also, your kids may qualify for a free/reduced school lunch (here the cutoff is 150% of the federal poverty line), if you are interested in signing up for it.

No, I didn't know about the earned income tax credit, I will look into that for 2008. My income was so low for 2007 that I didn't even have to pay Federal Income tax... That is how low it is. So weird for me to realize that. I don't feel like we are in that kind of a situation, but we are.

 

[punkin]

No, I didn't know about the earned income tax credit, I will look into that for 2008. My income was so low for 2007 that I didn't even have to pay Federal Income tax... That is how low it is. So weird for me to realize that. I don't feel like we are in that kind of a situation, but we are.

You do not have to pay any income taxes to receive an EIC. If you did not claim it on your return, you can file an amended return. It is a nice hunk of change if you make very little money.

 

[a_sailor's_wife]

What about your local church? Many offer some type of summer program. Also, you will more than likely qualify for the free and reduced lunch program at the local school. I am the coordinator here for ours. It's simple to apply for and only takes a few minutes. I encourage you to apply for that this year and next year. It will benefit you in many ways.

 

[ama4889]

It's not so much a discount, but do your kids still have health insurance? I know here in PA all kids under a certain line can get coverage.

 

[unbroken chain]

You can get an advance refund of the EIC in your paycheck if you qualify going forward, I believe. Child support does not count in the EIC calculation. So you can have money coming in for child support, but only your actual earned income counts for the EIC. As the above poster said, it would definitely be worth your while to check and file an amended return if you qualify.

 

[happily single]

My local Boys/Girls Club offers a session (2 week) summer camp for free to residents of the City if their income falls within the low range.

Also I've just applied to a Catholic program which assists in paying for daycare. the children do not have to go to catholic daycare. The income limits for that are pretty high.

let's see, what else is there for "low income" single parents??? N-O-T-H-I-N-G in my State (Thanks Gov. Carceri)

 

[disalways]

let's see, what else is there for "low income" single parents??? N-O-T-H-I-N-G in my State (Thanks Gov. Carceri)

You know what I found very interesting, certain states offer scholarships for single moms to return to school and get their degrees. CT doesn't of course (CT doesn't offer much), but there were several states that offered a good deal of help for women to get their feet back on the ground again... which is nice.

 

[AnninIowa]

Be sure to check out your local Convention & Visitors Bureau. They will have brochures on every thing your town has to offer, and the staffs are usually very friendly and will help steer you towards things for you and your family!

 

[LisaNJ25]

My daughter goes to gs camp and I apply for aide and get 175 off the weekly tuition.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I would call the office at your child's school. They would probably have a list of things like that for children.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I know this isn't quite the same but I'd spend some time and call around to local restaurants -- like pizza buffets and things. Many have kids eat free night.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I just remembered -- our local public library has huge bulletin boards of information posted outside of the children's section. You might try your library.

 

[disalways]

You all are the Best! Thank you for all of your ideas. Your posts have given me an idea... Now that I have actually filed my taxes alone, without EX, I am going to go in to the town Social Services office and ask them what they might suggest. They were a huge help when Ex and I first separated... with luck they can point me in the right direction now.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Isn't there a stipulation in your support or divorce papers that states what percentage your ex needs to pay of these type of expenses?

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

Just remember that free dining frequently requires you to stay onsite and purchase tickets for 3 nites or more... so your free tickets may not allow you to free dining....

 

[tasha99]

You should go down to your local Adult and Family Services and ask this question. The one near me has a huge list of resources for things like child care, health insurance, etc. Where I live, the city parks and recreation department has need based scholarships that can be used for things like summer camp, after school programs, and after school sports. It's $150 or so per kid per year, which really only pays for one week, but it's a real blessing when school is out.

And don't let anyone make you feel guilty for going to WDW on a low income. It's your money; spend it how you want. We went the last 2 years, are skipping this year to save, and plan to go on a cruise next year! All on my super low income.

DO check into the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit, even for this year. The EIC and Child Tax Credit together can be huge--I usually get a refund of $5-6000, and I pay no income tax so it's more of a gift than a refund. With three kids instead of two, yours could be even bigger. If you aren't divorced yet, ask your lawyer to try to make it so YOU claim the kids on your tax return. If you are going to split who claims the kids, go for being the one to claim the younger ones as they will be under 17 longer--something that will mater for the child tax credit.