I went to Shop-rite on my lunch break to pick up a few sale items. While shopping I saw a young woman who had 4 small kids with her and I noticed that she was buying the nabisco cookies that were 5/5, capri suns, 2 gallons of milk and eggo waffles. I had extra coupons for all of them, so I went to give her the coupons and she said to me in a nasty tone "Oh I may be on assistance but I'm not that poor that I need coupons" Another woman who was in the aisle told her she should take the coupons because right there her bill would have went from almost $23 to $12. Again she got nasty with that woman and said that she would go to a food bank before she ever thought of using coupons with her EBT card. So I gave the other woman the coupons, and walked away wondering if maybe the woman was so nasty and unwilling to use the coupons because with the EBT card you can't use coupons? I always thought that people were allowed to use coupons with it, but maybe I was wrong. If you are/were ever on assistace, would you be offended if someone offered you coupons?

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~~~~**Maryann**~~~~

I just got a firm grip on reality....
Now I can strangle it

Don't even start me on this topic. You certainly did cross paths with one ignorant young woman...not just misinformed because one can use coupons with the card, but stupid and ignorant for rejecting your kind help.

The stupid broad would have had another $11 left on her card to buy more
"brand name" junk food....not the store brand or cheapest junk food, but the most expensive .HMMMM. She'll be calling her case worker before the month is up to tell her she is out of food money and her kids need milk.

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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

E. Roosevelt

Not only was that woman rude and stupid - but I would have been very upset with her for wasting our tax dollars. And with my big mouth, I probably would have said something to her about that.

I used to work for WIC and would encourage people to use coupons with their checks. Most of them looked at me like I was crazy. Why on earth would you want to bother when the food was free anyway? I guess there's no reason at all to reduce government spending.

While she was VERY rude in her reply to you, keep in mind that some states require sales tax to be paid on the items that the coupons are used on. So even though she was paying with EBT, she may have had to pay the sales tax on the coupon value.

That does not seem to be her reason though from what you said BUT it is a reason why some refuse to use coupons with EBT cards.

I am not following this. If you buy food in a state that has a sales tax on food ( all food or just junk?), you have to pay sales tax if you use a coupon, but the sales tax is not charged if you just use the card??

So if I buy 2 cans of Green Giant beans at 2/$1.50 and I use a $.50/2 coupon, I would have to pay 5% ( arbitrary number) on the remaining $1 for a total of $1.05? But if I didn't use the coupon, I would pay no tax for a total of $1.50.

I did not know there were states that had a sales tax on grocery food---not take out or prepared food or junk food, but just grocery items.

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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

E. Roosevelt

Yes, that is correct, suezz!! I am not sure where you live but in NC, they charge sales tax on grocery items. And if someone using an EBT card uses a coupon on a grocery item, they have to pay that portion of the sales tax. It may only be a few pennies or such at a time BUT someone may not even have that in their pockets at the time.

Different states have different rules on WIC using coupons.
Arkansas you could not.
Texas you were encouraged to.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Rudeness is rudeness. Whether she was on assistance or not, she was incredibly rude.

well, yeah--I agree.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I'm with you: with my big mouth, I would have said something for sure. Something like "oh, you're not too good to use my tax dollars but you are too good to use my coupons"?????

So sorry this happened to you, op this has happened to me, you try to be nice. You tried to do a good thing... I love coupons so much, would never pass up on any....Peace..Catherine

Yes, lots of places have tax on groceries, my state Oklahoma is one of them, the tax where I shop it 8.75% on the $1.00, the same as everything else. Yes, it does work the same for the Food Stamp card here also, you have to pay tax on the coupons you use. I had a friend that used to use coupons with her Food Stamps. So if you don't have any cash then you just can't do it.

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visit my homepage http://penny.mycoupons.com/

All I can say is WOW, I can't believe there are still states that do NOT tax groceries! Alabama taxes EVERYTHING, and out tax rate is 9%.

I drew Food Stamps for 3 months when my daughter was small. I decided to go to a store that I didn't usually visit after I recieved them the first month, it was ALWAY busy when I went by. I walked thru for a few minutes and took my FS to my regular store, the prices were totally unbelieveable to me. That store was in a very low income area and I assume they just didn't care that the prices were so high.

I just couldn't see myself giving them the extra money even if it wasn't exactly coming out of my wallet at that moment. I knew I could go to another store and get almost twice the amount of food for the same amound of Food Stamp money.

Where and when I grew up we didn't have or even know about coupons. After I moved to a different area and found coupons I was in love. I don't use coupons nearly as much now that there are only two of us, but I watch sales, stock up on sale items and stock up when I have coupons.

I understand the post about having to pay sales tax if the person had used the coupons, BUT it was stated that she was young. I seriously doubt that she didn't not have the money to pay the tax. From what I have seen it is not the younger people that are really so dead broke, it is the older people that are counting there pennies to pay for their groceries.

I tend to notice people and watch their behavior and listen to what they say and look at what they do. Thankfully for my personal benefit, I am not surprised at peoples bad choices, it just reminds me that "I" need to always look closely at my choices in life.

.

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Sam

Oregon has NO sales tax, not on anything.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

So i guess if you are never taught and someone surprises you in a store, you go back to how you are taught. Her case is rudeness. It should not be ours to judge her because we don't know what she is from or what she has been through. However, since I now have been touched with her story I will pray for her to be enlightened..... doesn't a little go a long way.

No tax on food or clothing in Pennsylvania.