You could call Michigan's plan to change food benefit scheduling "forced budgeting." Instead of arriving all at the beginning of the month, benefits will be added to the Michigan Bridge Card at intervals throughout the month. Families often spend all their EBT funds at the beginning of the month, leading them without food and putting huge pressure on local food pantries to support them at the end the of month.
The new interval design would lesson these challenges by spacing out the times in which residents receive their benefits. Personally as someone who uses a bridge card, I can see both the the positives and negatives of this change.
Positive:
- It will force people to budget more consciously and they'll never run out of food at the end of the month.
- It will help keep stores better staffed and stocked, with shopping spread out throughout the month.
- Users will likely buy more fresh foods and vegetables at the end of the month, instead of stocking up heavily on boxed and frozen items early.
- It will increase the hassle and micromanagement one must do when shopping for groceries.
- It will be harder to buy sale items in bulk because of less money on the card at once
- It may force families to have to wait without food not once, but multiple times a month while they wait for their cards to charge.
For my personal use, I am not a fan. I run a steady budget and have never been impulsive with my spending. For me, it means waiting an extra day or two not once a month, but TWICE. My life is busy enough as it is and finding the time to run to the store will be more hassle. It also means holding back when bulk items are on sale because my card has less money.
It may help some families in Michigan, but it also will cause hassle others. I'm interested to hear the results in a few years.
Read the full article: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wirestory?id=12056499&page=2
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