|
|
 |
| |
| Below,
are three scenarios taken from actual cases. |
 |
| Read over the three
scenarios. |
|
 |
| Sole-support mother
with one child aged 7. Her rent is $600.00 per month for a two bedroom
apartment. The apartment is in an area of the City that isn't close to stores (she
had little choice because these are where the lowest rents are) so she has to pay for bus
fare to the store and back. Her heat is included but she has to pay her own hydro,
which is $45.00 per month. She attended college some time ago and is require to pay
back $115 per month on student loans. The family has a dog who needs a $350.00
operation, this dog has been with them since the child was born. The child is expressing
an interest in sports and the school has advised that he must have non-marking shoes which
cost $55.00. The mother receives $200 in child support from the father of the child but
this is deducted dollar for dollar. Recently social assistance discovered that an
administrative error had produced an overpayment to her of $400.00 and she is required to
pay this back through an automatic 5% claw back from each monthly cheque. |
| |
 |
| Sole support
father with two children, a girl age 6, and a boy aged 9. He was attending a
Computer Programming Course at college but was forced to drop out in his third year when
Ontario Works was implemented and he was told that Ontario Works participants are only
allowed to attend school up to grade 12. He owes $13,000 in student loans and is
required to pay back $140 per month. The six year old is lactose intolerant (dairy
products allergy) and the 9 year old is diagnosed with a learning disorder and attends
school 14 kilometers from their home. They have one cat, and a hamster. The
rent is $640 per month plus heat and hydro for a two bedroom unit. He takes one
night class a week for three house and has to pay a babysitter $4.00 per hour for the
three hour course plus one hour of travel time. He also has to perform 70 hours a
month in workfare placements and is provided half the cost of a $55.00 bus pass each month
in order to get to his placement. |
| |
 |
| Two parent
family with three children ages 7, 10 and 13. The mother was employed part time as a
bank teller to supplement family income but was recently laid off due to corporate
downsizing (she was allowed to keep a percentage of her earnings under the STEP program
which amounted to an extra $150 per month but this is now gone). She didn't qualify
for Employment Insurance. The rent for a three bedroom town house is a $755 per
month. In the winter they pay $100 per month for heat, Hydro is $60 per month.
The drive an old car that costs about $30.00 per week to run. Recently the husband
was told that he needed to have dental work to remove his molars which are abscessed and
have them replaced with dentures. He can get emergency dental coverage through
General Welfare for two teeth but only for the relief of pain. He can get half the
cost of dentures covered through special assistance at the City of London but will have to
find $1200 to make up the difference for the best estimate he has been able to get from a
dentist (for the extraction and dentures.) The husband has other health problems,
(severe asthma and arthritis) which exempts him from the mandatory job search that all
welfare recipients perform. He applied for a disability allowance which would mean
more money for the family but was turned down by the Ministry. The decision is
presently under appeal to the Social Benefits Tribunal. The children, all boys, are
interested in sports and its a constant battle to provide them with proper footwear as
they go through running shoes at a fast rate. |
| |
 |
| |
| Print out the Budget Calculation Form and try to determine how much it would cost
to survive using one of the above scenarios. (once it's printed out, use your
"back" button
to return to this page to get the numbers you need to fill it out.) |
| |
| When you have filled
in the budget calculation form, move on to STEP THREE |
| |
