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Unlike a fixed monthly cost such as your mortgage or car payment, the amount you spend on groceries each month is somewhat flexible. While the common advice of clipping coupons and buying generic brands to save money while shopping is sound, by far the best way to truly keep your grocery shopping expenses under control is by understanding how grocery stores entice you to spend more than you really want. By fully understanding the ways grocery stores encourage you to spend, many of which you probably never even noticed before, you can combat their strategies and spend money only on the merchandise you really need.

Although a grocery store may appear to be simply a place to purchase food and other household necessities, in reality it’s a cutting edge example of “how to sell more than consumers really need.” Since you are the consumer, it’s important that you realize these sales tactics so that you walk into a grocery store to get only what you need while avoiding everything else that the grocery store wants to sell you. Here are some ways that grocery stores manipulate you into spending more than you had planned and some simple steps you can take to counter them:

Smell: One of the first things you’ll notice when you enter a grocery store is the mouth-watering smell. There is a specific reason why grocery stores smell of freshly baked goods, and also why the bakery is almost always found near the store entrance. The reason is that a bakery making bread and desserts gives off an enticing smell, and that smell is likely to make you hungry. The grocery store also knows that if you feel hungry while you shop, you are likely to spend more money – a lot more – than if you are not hungry.

A simple way that you can combat this is by going grocery shopping only after you have had a meal and are full. If timing doesn’t allow for you to do this, at least drink a couple of glasses of water before leaving to make you feel full before shopping. Shopping while you’re full makes it much easier to resist the great smelling temptations that the grocery store will flaunt in front of you.

Overall Store Layout: Did you ever notice that when you only need to buy a few staple items, you have to travel the entire grocery store floor in order to get them? While one might assume that the convenience of putting basic staple items in the same general area would make happier customers, grocery stores know that the longer that they can keep you in the store, the more money you are likely to spend. They also know that making you walk as far as they can inside the store will make it more likely that you’ll pick up impulse items. Stores are specifically designed in such a way as to make you spend as much time as possible inside them and walk the entire store floor to get the basic staples that everyone needs.

Although there is no way around going to the far corners of the store to get the groceries you need, you can avoid the trap of impulse purchases on the store floor by taking the time to make a list of the items you need and sticking to it when shopping. Getting into the habit of making a single trip once a week to take care of all your grocery shopping needs instead of several smaller trips throughout the week will also greatly reduce your time in the store and the chances that you’ll buy items you don’t really need.

Item Display Layout: Manufactures of brand named products pay hefty stocking fees to stores to have their merchandise placed on the shelves at adult eye level (and child eye level in the case of products aimed at children such as cereal). Manufactures are willing to pay these prices because they know that you are much more likely to purchase something that you can easily see as you are walking down the aisle than something you have to stop and search for. The result is that the products placed at eye level are usually the most expensive.

Before grabbing the first item you see, take a few seconds to look at the upper and lower shelves. Similar products are placed together and simply looking will often reveal the same product at a much better price.

“Sale” Merchandise: Grocery stores will advertise a certain number of items at rock bottom prices (called “loss leaders”) to get you to come to the store. While these can be genuine bargains, don’t get fooled into thinking that everything that has the words “sale” or “bargain” above it is really that. While aisle ends are reserved for these “bargains,” they aren’t always the deals they seem to be and the discounted products are often displayed along side higher price products. You can sometimes even find similar products in the regular aisle section that are less than the end of aisle “sale” merchandise.

The important thing to remember when grocery shopping is to focus on the price of the product and not all the fancy advertising and slogans promoting the product. Take the time to check the other brands and see if there is a better deal. Also, remember that if you weren’t planning to buy the item and you don’t really need it, then it really isn’t a bargain for you no matter what the price. Only consider those items that you regularly use and you have a need for.

Product Appearance: Product packaging at grocery stores is bright, usually in red and yellows since these colors attract the eye. Just because something grabs your attention, however, doesn’t mean that you have to buy it. Keep focused on your shopping list and don’t get distracted by products you don’t really need.

Packaging will also be much larger than the actual product for many food items. Manufacturers know that shoppers assume that larger sized packaging equals a better deal. It would make sense since bulking items together saves the manufacturer on packaging, shipping and stocking which they can pass along to you. With a mantra “buy in bulk” now firmly grounded in most people’s minds as a way to save money, manufacturers are taking advantage of this. While still not the norm, more and more larger sized packages are less of a deal than their smaller sized counterparts since manufacturers know you will make the above assumptions and probably not compare the per unit cost.

Before grabbing the largest box of a product, take the time to calculate the per unit or per weight cost. More often than you would expect, smaller packages of an item are actually a better deal than buying the same item in a larger package.

Check-Out Layout: The check out aisle of a store is like a mini mart in itself. This is because grocery stores know that they have a captive audience while you wait in line to pay for your groceries. They squeeze in every little thing that might remotely peak your interest to rack up a large amount on impulse sales.

The best way to avoid these temptations to is plan your shopping during off peak hours. Avoid the weekend if at all possible since this is when grocery stores are most crowded, as well as the evening when everyone has just gotten off work. With many grocery stores now staying open 24 hours a day, late night and early morning trips when the aisle and check out lanes are practically bare are the perfect time to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible.

By taking the time to understand how the grocery stores try to influence your shopping and spending habits, you have now put yourself in control. Utilize the suggestions about how to counter the grocery store’s selling techniques and you will be able to control your grocery spending to a much greater extent and should have a much easier time keeping to your monthly food budget.

Copyright (c) by Jeffrey Strain

The holiday season seems to lure us into overindulgence. Eating too much stuffing or drinking too much eggnog is one thing. Charging too many gifts on your credit cards is another. Although the holiday season may entice you to spend more than you can afford, a little self-discipline can help you keep your purchases to a manageable limit.

Why You Should Limit Your Holiday Card Purchases
Credit cards are only an illusion that can buy more gifts than you actually can afford. Here’s why you should limit your credit cards purchases this holiday season.

• Gifts bought on credit end up costing more. Add in months of finance charges and you’ll ultimately pay more for your gifts than you would if you’d used cash.
• Credit scores fall from high balances. Spending more than 30% of your credit limit will cause your credit score to drop.
• The best laid plans…. Unexpected post-holiday expenses might postpone your credit card payment plan, lengthening your credit card debt.

By sticking to a few spending principles, you can keep your holiday spending to a minimum and avoid paying for holiday gifts until the next holiday season.

How To Avoid Holiday Debt
When you’ve made the decision to keep your credit card purchases within a reasonable limit, here’s how to put it into practice.

• Save up. Spending cash instead of using credit for your holiday purchases allows you to avoid holiday debt all together. If you haven’t started saving, put aside something each paycheck starting now and use that to finance your holiday purchases.
• Set a budget before you shop. Setting a spending limit and sticking to it will keep you from overspending. Be disciplined and don’t go over your budget, no matter what.
• Make a list. Santa makes a list and checks it twice, so should you. Even though you might feel compelled to splurge on everyone in your life, you don’t have to. People appreciate simple and meaningful over expensive and useless.
• Don’t shop for yourself. Avoid the “one for you, one for me” shopping mindset. You’ll end up spending double what you would had you shopped only for the loved ones in your life.
• Ignore “big” sales. More often than not, they’re not really sales at all. Those “Buy 2, Get 1 Half Off” deals only trick you into buying more than you would otherwise. Remember, stick to your list.
• Shop online first. The internet makes it easy to shop around. It also makes it harder to buy on impulse. Since most retailers have inventory on their websites, you can decide exactly what you want to buy before going to the mall.
• Leave your credit cards at home. Without your credit cards, you’ll have a hard time charging them up. If you must use credit for your purchases, pick one credit card and stick to your spending budget.
• Don’t buy if you can’t afford to pay. Keep in mind that when you use credit, you’re borrowing from your future income. You know your finances better than anyone. Only charge what you can afford and you’ll avoid paying on your holiday debt until the next holiday season.

SOURCE: About.com

Paying down your debt can be a great tool to help you stay on track financially, especially when the economy slows. But how do you know which debts you should tackle first? Where do you put your extra money each month so that it will make the most difference? Below we’ve provided a few tips to help you prioritize your debt pay-off strategy.

Priority #1: High-interest-rates

No matter if you have a little or a lot of debt, you’d probably rather spend your money on something besides huge interest fees every month. That’s why most financial experts agree: face those balances with the highest annual percentage rate (APR) first. This tactic can save you money in both the short- and long-term.

The strategy is simple: Pinpoint one high-interest account until it’s paid off, then move onto the debt with the next-highest interest rate. And repeat.

Priority #2: Small balances

Removing a bill or two from the monthly pile can free up at least a few more dollars a month fairly quickly. So if you have several balances that are small, consider paying those off at the same time you are paying down the high-interest-rate accounts.1 Taking care of those easy-to-address, lower balances can give you additional encouragement because you’ll see results right away.

Priority #3: Secured debts

Secured debts are those that are backed by some sort of asset, such as your home or automobile. Unsecured debts, such as credit cards, are not tied to any asset as a basis for the loan. Secured debts tend to be for larger sums of money than unsecured debts, meaning you likely will be paying interest on these types of loans for a longer period of time than smaller, unsecured debt amounts.

That’s why making extra payments on a secured debt like your mortgage has the potential to really work in your favor. By making additional principal payments, you may be able to pay off your loan faster — shaving years off your loan term — and helping you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on interest payments down the road. Plus, if you pay off your mortgage early, that gives you more money by the end to invest in things like retirement or other savings accounts.

During these tough economic conditions, many of us are looking for the quick fix for our money problems. We often short cut our nutrition by buying cheaper, non-healthy food items. Now, more than ever, it is important to keep your body healthy to avoid costly medical bills or missed work.

MyPyramid.gov is an excellent resource when looking to improve your diet. The website is maintained by The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans.

Here are a few of their healthy eating tips -

• Buy vegetables that are easy to prepare. Pick up pre-washed bags of salad greens and add baby carrots or grape tomatoes for a salad in minutes. Buy packages of veggies such as baby carrots or celery sticks for quick snacks.
• Use a microwave to quickly “zap” vegetables. White or sweet potatoes can be baked quickly this way.
• Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the table, counter, or in the refrigerator.
• Popcorn, a whole grain, can be a healthy snack with little or no added salt and butter
• Freeze leftover cooked brown rice, bulgur, or barley. Heat and serve it later as a quick side dish
• Consider convenience when shopping. Buy pre-cut packages of fruit (such as melon or pineapple chunks) for a healthy snack in seconds. Choose packaged fruits that do not have added sugars.
• Dried fruits also make a great snack. They are easy to carry and store well. Because they are dried, ¼ cup is equivalent to ½ cup of other fruits.
• Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in water or juice) as well as fresh, so that you always have a supply on hand.
• Set a good example for children by eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with meals or as snacks.

The “miracle” of Christmas is repeated over and over again through the joy of caring and sharing. The traditional red kettle of the Salvation Army is an integral part of the Christmas scene, with millions of dollars donated each year to aid needy families, seniors, and the homeless, in keeping with the spirit of the season.

Donations provide Christmas dinners, clothing, and toys for families in need. Financial assistance also helps with basic necessities, along with seasonal aid. Families of prisoners often are included.

Volunteers distribute gifts to shut-ins in hospitals and nursing homes, and shelters are open for sit-down dinners. The Salvation Army endeavors to bring spiritual light and love to those it serves at Christmas so that the real meaning of the season is not forgotten.

Many families receive aid over a period of months after the Christmas season as well, people struggling with difficult family, emotional, or employment problems.

The History of the Red Kettle

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome — funding the project.

Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city’s poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee’s kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

How We Help

Your faith in our efforts and your commitment to your community make it possible for us to achieve our mission. Your gifts of prayer and financial support are an investment-an investment that will be repaid many times over by the thousands of lives changed each day.

Donate TODAY!

The following is a brief summary of certain federal income tax laws for informational purposes only. We suggest you consult with your tax adviser for the federal, state, and local tax consequences of a charitable contribution.

• A gift to a charity may entitle you to a charitable contribution deduction against your income tax if you itemize deductions.
  If the gifts are deductible, the actual cost of the donation is reduced by your tax savings. For example, if you are in the 33% tax bracket, the actual cost of a $100 donation is only $67 ($100 less the $33 tax savings). As your income tax bracket increases, the real cost of your charitable gift decreases, making contributions more attractive for those in higher brackets. The actual cost to a person in the lowest bracket, 15%, for a $100 contribution is $85. For a person in the highest bracket, 35%, the actual cost is only $65. Not only can the wealthy afford to give more, but they receive a larger reward for giving.
• A contribution to charity is deductible in the year in which it is paid.
  Putting the check in the mail to the charity constitutes payment. A contribution made on a credit card is deductible in the year it is charged to your credit card, even if payment to the credit card company is made in a later year.
• How to qualify for a charitable contribution deduction.
  You can deduct contributions only if they are made to or for the use of a qualified recipient. No charitable contribution deduction is allowed for gifts to certain other kinds of organizations, even if those organizations are exempt from income tax. Contributions to foreign governments, foreign charities, and certain private foundations similarly are not deductible.
• There are limits to how much you can deduct, but they’re very high.
  For most people, the limits on charitable contributions don’t apply. Only if you contribute more than 20% of your adjusted gross income to charity is it necessary to be concerned about donation limits. If the contribution is made to a public charity, the deduction is limited to 50% of your contribution base. For example, if you have an adjusted gross income of $100,000, your deduction limit for that year is $50,000. The rules on 20% limits and 30% limits are way too complicated to delve into in this space. If you are giving to organizations other than those mentioned above, first consult with your tax adviser to determine whether these other ceilings will apply. If you give an amount in excess of the applicable limitation to charity in one year, the excess is carried over for the next five years.
• Rules exist for non-cash donations.
  If you contribute property owned for more than one year, the value of the deduction is normally equal to the property’s fair market value. You have an advantage when you contribute appreciated property because you get a deduction for the full fair market value of the property. You are not taxed on any of the appreciation, so, in effect, you receive a deduction for an amount that you never reported as income. You should clearly contribute, rather than throw out, old clothes, furniture and equipment that you no longer use. However, bear in mind the condition of your donated goods. The IRS only permits deductions for donations of clothing and household items that are in “good condition or better.”
• Remember to document.
  No deduction is allowed for a separate contribution of $250 or more unless you have a written confirmation. A canceled check alone is not enough. Starting in 2007, the IRS requires written documentation to substantiate deductions for all monetary donations – including cash. In case of an audit, you must have a canceled check, credit card statement or a written acknowledgment showing their name, the date of the donation and the amount given. You will no longer be able to deduct those few dollars you dropped in a charity’s collection bucket without a receipt from the charity to back up your claim.

Remember, it’s always better to give than receive. The glory of a charitable donation is that you give and receive at the same time.

SNAP helps put food on the table for some 18 million people per month . It provides low-income households with  electronic benefits they can use like cash at most grocery stores. SNAP is the cornerstone of the Federal food assistance programs, and provides crucial support to needy households and to those making the transition from welfare to work.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers SNAP at the Federal level through its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). State agencies administer the program at State and local levels, including determination of eligibility and allotments, and distribution of benefits.

Households must meet eligibility requirements and provide information – and verification — about their household circumstances. U.S. citizens and some aliens who are admitted for permanent residency may qualify. The welfare reform act of 1996 ended eligibility for many legal immigrants, though Congress later restored benefits to many children and elderly immigrants, as well as some specific groups. The welfare reform act also placed time limits on benefits for unemployed, able-bodied, childless adults.

Local SNAP offices can provide information about eligibility, and USDA operates a toll-free number (800-221-5689) for people to receive information about SNAP. Most states also have a toll free information/hotline number.

To participate in SNAP:

• Households may have no more than $2,000 in countable resources, such as a bank account ($3,000 if at least one person in the household is age 60 or older, or is disabled). Certain resources are not counted, such as a home and lot. Special rules are used to determine the resource value of vehicles owned by household members.
• The gross monthly income of most households must be 130 percent or less of the Federal poverty guidelines ($1,907 per month for a family of three in most places, effective Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009). Gross income includes all cash payments to the household, with a few exceptions specified in the law or the program regulations.
• Net monthly income must be 100 percent or less of Federal poverty guidelines ($1,467 per month for a household of three in most places, effective Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009). Net income is figured by adding all of a household’s gross income, and then taking a number of approved deductions for child care, some shelter costs and other expenses. Households with an elderly or disabled member are subject only to the net income test.
• Most able-bodied adult applicants must meet certain work requirements.
• All household members must provide a Social Security number or apply for one.

Federal poverty guidelines are established by the Office of Management and Budget, and are updated annually by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Get all the details and apply for help by going here.

If you’re like most Americans, you have debt. If you’re like many Americans, you try not to think about just how much debt you have and what it’s really costing you. If you did think about it, you might not sleep well.

But ignorance never was bliss, and in order to get out from under the burden of debt, you need to face the uncomfortable (and perhaps downright ugly) truth: it may take you 30 years to pay off that credit card balance.

How can this be, you ask? You may have balances totaling less than $5000. Surely this will be paid off in no more than a couple of years. The credit card company wouldn’t let you take so long to repay them, would it?

The answer is: yes, it would. In fact, if you took 30 years to pay off your balance, you would be the ideal customer.

It’s important to understand that the credit card companies don’t allow you to pay back your debt in small amounts out of the kindness of their hearts. This is how they make their money. Paying the minimum payment (usually around 2% of your balance) each month, guarantees that you will be filling the credit card company’s cash coffers with your hard-earned money for many years to come.

You should be absolutely unwilling to pay only the minimum balance on your credit cards each month. If you can’t afford to pay more than the minimum balance, you can’t afford whatever it was you charged to the card in the first place.

Your payments include both interest and principal (the amount you borrowed). When you pay only the minimum payment, most of it goes towards interest, which is why it takes so long to pay off the original debt. You wouldn’t pay $7,000 for an item that is clearly marked with a $2,000 price tag, would you? Yet that is exactly what you’re doing when you buy it using a credit card with an 18% interest rate and then only pay the minimum balance each month. No wonder you feel like you just can’t get ahead!

If you need to buy on credit, at least do it with your eyes wide open. If you’re already in debt, use these tips to get out and get ahead:

• Don’t get any deeper into debt. Save the credit card with the most favorable terms and cut the rest up. Put the one you saved in a safe place (not in your wallet) and use it only for emergencies (not to include a big sale at Macy’s!)
• Pay more than the minimum balance. Much more.
• Shop around for cards with low interest rates, but beware of come-ons that offer a low introductory rate and then take a big jump. The Internet makes choosing a credit card easy, but be sure to read ALL the fine print.
• Move balances on cards with high interest rates to cards with lower interest rates.
• Use your savings to pay down debt. It makes no sense to earn 1 to 3% interest on your savings account while paying 12 or 15 or 18% interest on credit cards.
• Come up with a written plan for reducing your debt systematically.
• Add up all the money you spend each month on credit card payments, and think about what you could do with this money if you weren’t paying it to the credit card company.

One of the best methods of systematically paying off your debts is what I refer to as the Credit Crunch. List your debts, including the balance and the interest rate for each one. Each month, pay the minimum balance on all credit cards except the one with the highest interest rate. Pay as much as you possibly can on this card each month until it is paid off. Then start paying as much as you possibly can on the card with the next highest rate, while continuing to pay the minimum balance on the others. Keep doing this until they’re all paid off. This is the only time you should ever pay the minimum balance on any card.

SOURCE: About.com

Americans are struggling with stagnant wages, rising debts and increased expenses during these tough economic times. What happens when a corporate executive loses a job or a family simply can’t make ends meet to put food on the table? What about the refugee who needs to learn English to get a job or the homeless man who wants to get off the streets before winter sets in?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ extensive welfare program is a system unlike any other because it provides temporary relief while at the same time helping people help themselves. The fine-tuned program has been in operation for decades and is run almost entirely by volunteer labor. Although it was primarily established for members of the Church, the program also assists others who are struggling.

Based on the principle of self-reliance, the Church welfare system includes canneries, farms and factories throughout the United States that provide food and commodities for those in need.

In addition, thousands find jobs annually through its employment centers and on-the-job training at Deseret Industries stores. Thousands more add to their own home food storage to prepare for a rainy day.

Charlene Cummings from Leonardtown, Maryland, learned firsthand how the Church welfare system can change lives. Charlene dealt with abuse as a child and struggles with a diagnosed mental illness, but she recently moved from a supervised living group to her own apartment. Charlene credits much of her newly discovered ability to function independently to the watchful care she receives from her friends at church.

In Charlene’s situation, local members of the Church taught her financial management skills, including budgeting and savings. Because she’s diabetic, members assisted Charlene with menu planning, shopping and other areas involved in managing her illness. When times were really challenging in her life, the Church provided both financial and food assistance to help Charlene bridge the gaps in her personal income. “The Church has become the family I’ve never had; they’ve taught me things I’d never learned,” Charlene explained.

Mormons are counseled, as a part of Church practice, to develop such independence and self-reliance.

“We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs,” suggested late Church leader Gordon B. Hinckley. “And so we encourage our people to have something, to plan ahead, keep a little food on hand, to establish a savings account, if possible, against a rainy day. Catastrophes come to people sometimes when least expected: unemployment, sickness, and things of this kind. The individual, as we teach, ought to do for himself all that he can do for himself.”

Another aspect of these teachings is the need to stock basic foodstuffs in case of any type of emergency. The Church operates over a hundred regionally located storehouses and home storage centers to help members gather their food storage. Other plants process specific food items, such as the peanut butter plant in Houston, Texas.

In addition, many Mormons grow and can some of their own food supplies. Paula Henderson of Raleigh, North Carolina, cultivates an urban garden of about 625 square feet in her yard. From the harvest of fruits and vegetables her garden produces, Paula makes pesto and pickles, cans or dries tomatoes and roasts peppers. “Last fall, after the freeze,” Henderson explained, “I gathered all the green tomatoes, put them in the garage and used them as they ripened all winter. I didn’t buy any tomatoes until March.”

Paula’s experience illustrates one of the practical concepts of the welfare plan: utilize all available resources many ways, adopting a lifestyle of economy or provident living.

The concepts of provident living and caring for the less fortunate have been primary objectives of the Church from the very beginning. Based on the Christian principles taught in the scriptures, Church founder Joseph Smith reached out to immigrants, widows and orphans, providing them with sustenance in their stretched circumstances. Brigham Young, another early Church leader, established a Perpetual Emigration Fund to assist newly converted Mormons in their travels to the Utah territory. The fund, repaid to the Church when the recipients were financially able, circulated to help other traveling families.

Such hand-to-hand concern for others continued during the settling of the frontier lands, but gained additional attention during the Great Depression years of the 1930s. Strained financial situations, unemployment and overall discouragement led Church leaders to implement a more formal application of the self-reliance concepts.

In 1936, then-Church President Heber J. Grant announced “that the gospel plan not only takes care of our spiritual needs, but our temporal needs as well. Our primary purpose is to set up a system … under which the curse of idleness will be done away with, the evils of the dole abolished, and independence, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help people help themselves.” A system of work projects and storehouses was then set up that bridged the unemployment gaps of the time and provided for the immediate needs of Church families.

Such a system endures today, a two-way system where one helps another in need and they both benefit. “If you build self-reliance in people,” noted Dennis Lifferth, managing director of the Church’s welfare program, “everybody grows; it is the essence of the welfare plan. Lives can be changed by personal interest and attention.”

SOURCE: LDS.org

North Porch Women and Infant Centers might best be described as a special kind of emergency room. The waiting area is full of comfortable couches and chairs, and in the storage room the shelves are stocked with baby supplies.

The “patients,” mothers who have got to the end of the week or month and have no money for diapers or baby food for their infants and toddlers, get immediate help. Since 1984, North Porch has provided the emergency assistance to thousands.

It seems fitting that an emergency center for mothers and children was founded by women. Ten years ago, a group of Episcopal women began looking around for ways to help the poor here.

When they decided to establish a drop-in center, the Episcopal Diocese provided space in the form of several storage rooms on the lower floor of Cathedral House, its administrative headquarters. The founders, some of them with their husbands in tow, spent hours making the room habitable.

After the cleaning and painting were finished, they brought used furniture from their own homes and toys for a children’s play area. From the beginning, North Porch’s board aimed for a “homey” atmosphere. The upholstered furniture is worn but comfortable, and the floor is carpeted.

“We didn’t want this place to have a gypsy look,” said Marie Obermann, who is the current board president and one of North Porch’s founders. Only by Referral

Because of limits on financing and supplies, the original board decided that the center’s emergency packages would be distributed on a referral basis only. To spread the word about the new venture, the founders held an open house for the social service workers who would be making those referrals.

Clients began arriving almost immediately. Florence Bustamante, past president of North Porch’s board, said that instead of the teen-age mothers the volunteers had expected, most were in their 20’s. Many brought their infants and older children to the center.

North Porch has had a paid manager since the beginning. For the last seven years, Oleeta Randleman has held the job. Ms. Randleman has a special empathy for her clients. “I sat in that chair once,” she said, pointing to the client’s chair beside her desk.

While the majority of the clients are mothers, grandmothers also visit North Porch, often to get supplies for the grandchildren they are raising alone. Ms. Randleman noted that occasionally even a father will come through the doors. She remembered one father who arrived on a bicycle. “I’ll take anything I can carry on my bike,” Ms. Randleman said he told her.

Sometimes caseworkers from the Division of Youth and Family Services visit the center to take away supplies for newborns who have been left abandoned in Newark hospitals. The North Porch newborn package, which sometimes includes a complete layette, accompanies the infant to a foster home where he or she will spend the first few months of life.

“As far as I know, we are unique,” Mrs. Obermann said.

When the center was first opened, the demand for food and diapers was so great that North Porch almost became a victim of its own success. At the end of each month, and especially in summer, supplies will be completely exhausted. Rather than turning people away, the board instituted a monthly quota system for referrals.

Now, North Porch operates at maximum capacity, serving 50 full-service clients a month, each of whom receives a package containing diapers, baby food and formula. An additional 10 to 15 people receive only diapers. A Limit on Help

The center is open Tuesday through Thursday afternoons, and the flow of visitors varies. Sometimes, Ms. Randleman and the volunteer on duty have the space to themselves. On other days, the main waiting area teems with mothers and children who arrive early, fearing that supplies will be gone before the end of the afternoon.

In keeping with the center’s role as an emergency provider, clients are limited to one package a child per year.

The packages do not come cheap. Though most of the baby clothes and layette items are donated, baby food, formula and diapers must be purchased. The center saves money by buying formula in bulk.

Baby food is purchased at stores in Paterson, where North Porch has established a successful satellite operation in cooperation with the food bank at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. St. Paul’s buyers get better prices from stores, Mrs. Bustamante said, and the Newark center reaps the benefits.

If money is in short supply at the center, so are volunteers. Over the years, the original corps of volunteers has been diminished, and new ones have not replaced them.

Part of the problem, Mrs. Obermann said, is that many suburbanites do not like to drive into Newark. Volunteers willing to make the trip find that parking is difficult and costly. To rectify the situation, the center’s board is offering to pay for parking for its volunteer workers. Determined to Survive

Though the center suffers from problems common to all nonprofit social service organizations, North Porch’s board is determined to make it survive and flourish. There is some chance that Cathedral House will eventually be sold, Mrs. Obermann said, putting North Porch in the same homeless condition as some of its clients. Whatever happens, the volunteers are committed to staying in Newark, preferably in the same neighborhood.

The women who direct North Porch are also hoping to establish more satellite branches. The three-year-old Paterson branch provides packages for approximately 70 clients a month, and because of its affiliation with St. Paul’s Church it does not have the parent organization’s restriction of one package a child per year.

Mrs. Obermann said the board would like to set up a North Porch outpost in Jersey City and possibly another in Dover. “Of course,” she added, “what we would like most of all is not to be needed.”

It is clear that North Porch will be needed for the foreseeable future, and to stabilize the center’s finances, the board is preparing to begin a drive to establish an endowment. This effort was aided by the recent receipt of a small bequest.

Though the center’s anniversary was in February, its board and volunteers have yet to celebrate. The singularity of North Porch is apparent in the fact that the accomplishment of getting through 10 years is less important to those involved than the accomplishment of helping mothers get through the last 10 days of each month.

More information on North Porch

SOURCE: New York Times