Griffiths Family: Planning to feed 2 kids, stay healthy and organize my driving so I don't run out of money by the end of the week.

This challenge is asking families to attempt to stay within a social assistance budget for five days. Ontario Works benefits provide a maximum basic needs for a couple with any amount of children is $458.00; this sets the challenge budget at $75.00 per family, or $15 per day. A single parent would receive $344.00 per month, therefore, their challenge budget will be $60.00 or $12.00 per day.

The budget includes all food and drink, entertainment, some personal supplies and transportation costs. Each family will be given daily challenge cards which will reveal additional challenges to be completed before the end of each day. As the family completes the challenge, they will blog about their experience.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Planning to feed 2 kids, stay healthy and organize my driving so I don't run out of money by the end of the week.

My kids and I have been getting ready for the challenge this week and the challenges we will face over the 5 days. Our personal needs budget will be scaled back 50% and my daughter seems very concerned about having enough food in our house. I've spent time organizing a meal plan so we can get the best out of our money (I'll post my plan and budget separately).

Part of the directives of this challenge is to be conscious of our energy usage, heating and other variable housing costs. So far I've planned out my laundry days as well as cutting my heat back while I am away from home. Housing costs in this area are so high, people who are on OW and exceed the shlelter allowance of $816/month have to use their personal needs to cover the difference. I challenge people to find a house for a family over 3 for under $816/month which includes all utilities. I've seen bachelor apartments over that. I know there are quite a few housing programs available that families on OW could participate in but from what I understand there are long waiting lists.

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Amber Griffiths
Anaiya 8
Jackson 4

Occupation: Finance Administrator / Assistant ED

My kids and I live in our own home, my son is attending JK 2 days per week and my daughter is now in grade 3. We try and stay active and participate in extracurricular activities as often as possible.

Average weekly budget for “basic needs”: $120

Family “splurge”:We like to splurge on skiing, it’s a very expensive sport and I can’t afford to go often.

The one item or service you purchase that you can’t live without: Gas, we are very active and our house, the kids school and my work are on 3 corners of town. Other than that it would probably be the phone, I’ve opted out of having a house phone to save money and have headsets in our house that run off of the Bluetooth from the cell phone.

What do you anticipate being the most difficult in the challenge? Gas, I have informed my work that I will probably work from home a day or two throughout the week of the challenge. My children have swimming lessons during the week and I generally run from Keewatin to Jaffrey Mellick to pick them up off the bus instead of the School (because it’s closer) and then pick up another child before heading to the pool from 4-7 with supper 2 times a week.

What do your children anticipate being most difficult?My children are worried that there won’t be enough groceries for them, my family and friends donate their grocery vouchers from the gas station to me and with mine I usually get between $40-$60 in groceries for $20. I won’t be spending as much on gas so that means I will have less grocery vouchers which will affect what I can buy.

Why did you decide to take the challenge? I decided to take the challenge because I thought it is a great way to raise awareness in our community of the challenges people face day to day. There are challenges that everyone faces every day, I struggle with my current budget and often have to opt out of opportunities because of the financial barrier. My life is all about my children, I would hope this challenge helps them along their journey of becoming humble adults, the gift of seeing people for who they are not what they have.