You have to jump through some hoops in my state to get one. I looked into it in rehab. Also you can't get foodstamps if you still live at home, even if your parents can't provide money.
absolutely cursed as expected. the latter is also how tuition assistance is last I checked. parents can't or won't help pay? too bad, their income still counts against you by default until age 26
No, if you file your taxes as an independent that isnt true. Basically your folks have to stop claiming you for a tiny morsel of money. My parents didnt want to do that and we both didnt do enough research so i got fucked hard for student loans.
Having been recently orphaned/put into foster care/emancipated
being homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless
*If you don’t answer “yes” to any of the questions above, you’re still considered a dependent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid even if you don’t live with your parents, are not claimed by your parents on their tax forms, or are paying for your own bills and educational expenses.
Maybe tax filing status affects how much money you get even if it doesn't change your dependent status, but you aren't considered actually independent at all unless one of the above applies
On food stamp applications, if you say that you live with other people but that you don't share resources, then they don't include the other people's income. I wouldn't be surprised if that has changed somehow though? Are you a minor?
An Obamaphone is typically an old refurbished android phone. It’s provided by private companies who require you to fill out the paperwork that allows them to qualify for the subsidy to make the phone free. The max income threshold is super low. You get a predetermined number of free calling minutes each month for a year and then you have to recertify.
As your income rises, it quickly becomes cheaper to spend less than $50 on a Tracfone from Walmart and load the minutes as needed. If you are unemployed, don’t have an phone, are looking for a job, and taking calls from employers is the only thing you’ll use it for, it is indeed free and can be a pretty nice thing.
But the people who designed the program made damn sure people weren’t gonna be “abusing” the program to make a bunch of personal calls for free. The phones are capable of running WhatsApp and Messenger, though, so I do know people who have them, didn’t recertify, but will bum people’s WiFi to keep in touch with people. I’ve had several people stay at my house overnight because they didn’t have a place to go for the night and on two separate occasions people have booted up my PS4 and installed Messenger on it to talk to people. It’s definitely a thing.