Food Stamp Recipients: Convert Food Stamps to Cash - Legally!

Many food stamp recipients live in very tight, if not exceedingly tight budgets. For the average food stamp/welfare recipient, simple household items such as laundry detergent, may seem like massive expenses. The problem is that welfare does not allow Food Stamps to cover any other household expenses besides food, so those who receive assistance often look for other ways to cover the additional needs of the household. For some, this means illegally trading their food stamps for money, which is considered welfare fraud! Despite the possible consequences, many feel it's do or die and choose to illegally sell their food stamps for about 50% of their worth. The family then struggles to buy food for the rest of the month, but shopping wisely the manage and are relived to find they have all the essentials such as toilet paper and dish soap while surviving on Ramen noodles and hitting up local food banks on a regular basis.

I am certainly not condoning illegal food stamp trading and welfare fraud, but I do want to help food stamp recipient learn little loop holes that can convert food stamps to cash - Legally!

This will require a little bit of investigation on your behalf, as all grocery stores vary by city and state. However, being a food stamp recipient, you are still a shopper and are entitled to all the same perks as someone who is paying cash for their food. What this means is you typically have to sign up for store rewards card, which is 99.9% of the time completely free. This will not only entitle you to savings on every item in the store, BUT will also give you perks of another kind!

Many grocery stores have more to offer than just the savings on food! As a matter of fact you will find that because each grocery chain competes with the next, they also develop rewards to keep you as a customer. These rewards can help you buy everything from gas to diapers! But like I said, you have to do the shopping around for the best grocery store in your area to find out the best reward programs.

Here in my area, our local Giant Super Market offers $0.10 cents off per gallon of gas for every $100.00 you spend. Now if you are a food stamp recipient, it doesn't matter- your still entitled to the ten cents off discount, which could save you some cash at the gas pump! This same store also has little signs (that you have to keep your eyes peeled just to see) that will offer $0.20 cents off per gallon, per $100.00 dollars spend if you buy certain brands and items! And they also have coupons that generate with your recipient after buying certain items that will save you anywhere from $1.00-$6.00 dollars off of your next shopping visit. And if your wise, you won't use that on food, but rather toilet paper, paper towels and laundry detergent. Plus if you have a coupon, they will double it - and you could walk out spending under a buck on all those items combined!

Other grocery stores have other programs as well. Acme, for example, give parents rewards they can redeem for free baby items such as wipes, diapers and even lotions and soaps for every dollar they "spend" (remember you're using food stamps - so essentially you didn't spend anything out of pocket!)

The list goes on, some stores offer points for items that you can save up for and redeem for a set of kitchen knives, a bath and body set, or even a new grill (probably small charcoal- but you get the idea) Finding the grocery store that gives you the best useful perks can add to legally converting your food stamps to cash! And the best thing is you didn't have to give up anything - you bought your food, and you also got rewarded by the store for shopping there!

Another way to legally convert your food stamps to cash to is to look out for manufacturers specials and special coupons. Occasionally you will see a coupon from your store (that you signed up for their rewards card) Free 32 oz. Palmolive Dish soap with a minimum $75.00 purchase. Again, use your food stamps and score the free dish soap...I mean why not? And once you are signed up for your stores bonus card program, you may notice special mailings from them that you never received before...and that's where you will find those "secret" coupons!

Don't b afraid to shop around for the best grocery store, especially when it can help you purchase things you need for your house. There is another GREAT article written by a Source on AC that tells you how to MAKE everything from laundry detergent to deodorant using products you can BUY with your food stamps, so between these two articles you should be able to provide the most essential things in your home and for your family!

This amazing, seven page article can be found by clicking this link : How to Buy Household Products with only Foodstamps in your Budget by Lyn Lomasi.