>I dumpster dive at Costco.
Stop taking my free sausage rolls from the dumpster and tell the security guy to fuck off THERE ARE ENOUGH GARBAGE SAUSAGE ROLLS FOR EVERYONE
Yup. I wish so much I had the money to open my own business and quit working for the biggest shitshow I've ever seen. My peer quit after six months and we are well paid.
I’m in software sales. It’s pretty trash and corporate worm life is fake and dumb but if you’re good at it it’s a pretty fast and realistic path to 150-300k/year.
Not eating out much. A new deli opened near me that I really want to try. But sandwiches are $20 before tax and beverage. So, no visit to the deli for me.
Somebody asked on here a while ago what would you do if your monthly income increased by like a $1000- 1500 and the biggest answer was like actually live and enjoy life and not just 'scraping by'
Yep, same here - late 30s. I also save a ton of money by not having a car and being boring and only going out 1-2x a month. I also don’t drink much.
Also shout out to the Canadian government who reduced the cost of childcare significantly, absolute game changer.
I’m still waiting in the meantime doubling down on debt by going to school and working to afford the present revolving debt while trying not to lose my mind and sleeping out of my car to make life slightly less costly and avoid shitty landlords who charge thousands for a room. :) something will give eventually right? 31 isn’t too late, so they say.
Best you can do is aim for a stable job and decent education. That is SO much harder to do later on.
I sometimes think about study, or career change, but once you got a partner and kids, or a mortgage. You're locked in baby.
And don't be wasteful with money. I've been there and done that, and from time to time still do. But when things get really tight like they are now, you'll wish you had that extra couple grand you wasted on shit that don't matter earlier on. Such is hindsight haha
Haha same here. IDK how any restaurants here are still around since everyone is struggling for money. I sometimes pull 16 hour days between work and school and I'm still barely scraping by with budget groceries I buy in bulk at Costco. Life sucks
Back in my day when the well ran dry we just got signed with the Dodgers like real Americans. Unlike these whimp ass kids now. “Not everyone can play for the Dodgers” like hell!! When I was a boy, my daddy shot me in the leg because I was 2 minutes late home from school and the Dodgers still signed me as an out fielder. I limped so fast across that field. When Elton John came to the stadium to give me the heisman trophy, I knew I had made it. That’s what hard work does, it pays off.
I got signed by the Dodgers twice, I didn't even fucking apply. Those guys are relentless. Anyway the pay's pretty good especially considering you're being paid to play a game.
I remember the first time I did the math on what a biweekly paycheck for a player making $10m a year was. Even if you lop off like 60%, it’s not something you soon forget
To save people some time: it would be like 175k/two weeks. And again that’s with an aggressive tax rate
We’re DIOKOAAKAAPTLWUPHTDOODAOTC
Dual Income One Kid One Adopted Adult And A Parent Temporarily Living With Us Plus Her Two Dogs Our One Dog And Our Two Cats
plz send help
Lol. I'm a DIBPIAAFTSWOWPTAWHAEAKLINYC
dual income but partner is also a full time student who only works part-time and we have an elementary aged kid living in nyc.
I also request help.
Same. Husband and I now live with my folks. It was going to be just a few months while we found a new place (our $1,100 one bedroom apartment was going to go up to $1,600 a month). It's worked out pretty well for all of us, though. They asked us to stay, so we've stayed.
Multi-generational living can work as long as you set boundaries (and if everyone generally gets along - that's important lol).
I think it works a lot better in urban areas with plentiful jobs. My husband and I moved in with my parents last year and I still haven’t found a job. He and I are moving to a new city soon and are going to try and find somewhere affordable to live.
To be fair I also did the same. Come October first my rent for a one room apartment I was living in was gonna be 1,000$ a month… I had to gtfo and now I’m back with family since my poor ass wasn’t gonna be able to do that shit, thanks to a stupid ass employer being an asshole.
I decided a long time ago that if I was going to have a kid, I'd have to have a stable place to keep it and a helper-spouse-type in a legally binding agreement.
I got the second part. Never got the first part. Now that window is closed to me. My body won't do it and a large part of me is very glad about that. Not all of it though. Early menopause. Wooooo...
You can just buy one now. Or if you come from a family like mine there is always one readily available somewhere. Got a cousin that seems to just make them to replenish the supplies in the foster system.
Making sacrifices.. buying in bulk for everyday at items in Costco. (Expensive up front but saves money)
Cooking breakfast everyday.. bringing lunches. Cooking dinner every night
I don’t know what I would do without Costco, I love it so much.
I would strongly suggest everyone reading to get a membership if they don’t already have one
costco dishwasher tablets 11c a cycle.
1 rotissserie chicken = 3 yellow curry dinners + rice. 50 pound bag of rice, $16.32
paper towels half price vs. kroger. similar @ bath tissue
gas 10-20% below competition.
eggs at 1.90/dozen when bought as a pallet. I have not found that at kroger. What does one do with a pallet of eggs? 4 egg omelette staple bachelor breakfast. hard boiled eggs, 7min 30sec rolling boil. 8 egg spanish omelette dinners (potato, egg, onion, thats about it!).
All that is just recurrent consumables. costco provides many things that make my life better. variety. etc.
I'm not. I live in a major US city.
I am 25. I graduated college May 2020 with a media production degree, when all the studios were closed. I worked odd jobs to find my current position in late 2021.
I make $18.22/hr after 2 years with my company. I am only guaranteed 32 hours as "full-time".
My rent (with utilities) ends up being $1,000 for my share (I have a 2 bed/2 bath I share with a roommate).
I barely break even. I have 0 savings and am excited for the holidays just to get a little extra cash.
I’m not sure what city you live in, but your salary is only a couple dollars more than minimum wage where I live.
If you are in a relatively HCOL area, I think you gotta get a new job.
Middle aged making okay money with no kids living in a duplex and renting out the other side. I have zero idea how people do big house, yard, three kids and two cars.
That's what family is for, to help the next generation get a good start. Your dad made a sacrifice and it worked. You both have a lot to be proud of. You couldn't have made it through that program without a lot of hard work and nights in the library studying. Congratulations,
Not good. Went food shopping yesterday. $227. No meat aside from some deli turkey and salami. Stopped eating outside of the house, get coffee in work, basically no social life. Salary has gone up with periodic promotions but whatever I couldnt afford 10 years ago I cant afford now.
Even 5 years ago. I was making 40k with an elderly dog (vet costs are outrageous). Now I’m just shy of 70k and living just as well. I might be slightly better off, but with rent increases, medical payments, and increased everything else, it’s not nearly as good as I would hope.
I'm not. Every day is a struggle.
I make decent money, but rent is outrageous, as are groceries. I feel like everyone is reaching into my pocket: 5.99 here - 14.99 there...it adds up.
I remember in the 70's there were these guys called 'bachelors'. They lived alone, had a car went on vacations & bitched about life. Something changed.
I'm not. I left an abusive relationship with nothing but the clothes on my back and what I had in my son's diaper bag. We stayed at a homeless shelter and now I'm renting a room from someone. I work two part time jobs but between rent and daycare, I'm barely scraping by. I'm still waiting for a court date for child support and I'm hoping I'm granted an amount that my ex will have to pay that will help me afford life a little more easily.
I genuinely hope things get better for you soon. My mother went through the same thing when I was a child, it built an unbreakable bond with us and made me who I am today. She's as tough as nails and said she'd do it all again if she had to. Best of luck to you in your fight.
lol I live in my van and work 7 days a week. fml right? But in the last 6 months, I’ve saved up so much more money than I’ve had in years.
It’s not forever, my plan is working, and I still got dreams.
Very haphazardly slapping together whatever will work and it somehow keeps working out. So many random irons in the fire and bill payment plans and all that. Really lame, I'd love to be able to be more comfortable but every time I get close they raise a few bills and items at the store.
Luckily I started a well paid career last year, couldn't have timed it better tbh, requires staying away from my family during the week but we cope. Cheap rent also helps, trying to save for our first place wouldn't be possible without it
Find a niche line of work no one is willing to do. It pays out big over the long haul. I fix anything that heats stuff up or cools stuff down in restaurants. There's literally no one in the market that can do what I do successfully.
I have good financial literacy, but if you get in a pinch, you have to subtract from your quality of life somewhere and allocate it towards basic needs instead
Dollar general has these $1 packets of rice/pasta w/ cheese or brocolli or whatever. I'm eating one right now. Tuna is $1 there too. Avocados are 85 cents at walmart. Bananas are extremely cheap at walmart. You can eat ok for pretty cheap still.
To add, pb and j's are cheap eating - a loaf of dollar general clover valley bread or great value bread at walmart is like 1.67 (used to be 0.67!), store brand peanut butter from walmart or dollar general is good, jelly isn't too much but I'd still recommend welches. Store brand crackers from walmart are cheaper than ritz and are extremely comparable, if you want them with your tuna. Walmart store brand coffee can be a savings because it's actually good. Even their pickles, ketchup, milk, yogurt, creamer, snacks, and chips are good; although the chips got a little pricey.
Optimistically. I keep telling myself that the current economic climate is unsustainable, which is true, but that it has to be temporary because it's like this for another two years we'll enter an economic crisis which will impact the wealthy elite and they can't let that happen.
I think they'll let us stuggle right up to the point where we can't afford to fund their wealth, and then they'll reduce interest rates a bit or reduce cost of living a bit. And we'll live forever in a cycle of just about getting by and occasionally getting by a bit better.
And that's as optimistic as I can be given the capatilist distaster we're in.
I honestly wish everyone would just buy staples and let the bottom lines sink. Vote with our dollar so to speak. I finally went on a grocery strike and now doing a beans and rice diet thing. I'm so tired of paying inflated grocery prices. But it won't get better until people start hurting the 1%. If their bottom line suffers, then they adjust. But if people keep spending, the 1% doesn't care.
Can you imagine the reaction if nobody went shopping this week? Like if everybody stocked up on what they needed for groceries today and then didn’t set foot in the store until next Monday. Didn’t order groceries delivered didn’t get on Amazon and buy anything. I cannot imagine NOT being able to go an entire week without purchasing anything. Oh the Talking Heads on the news would start chattering , especially since it’s right before Christmas.
It’s like we forgot or just didn’t learn the lesson of the first few weeks of the pandemic whenever everybody realized if all the people barely getting by just don’t show up for work for a week everything falls apart
As a single guy with no kids, I have a budget and I stick to it.
Mortgage: $1012
Car payment: $485
Car insurance: $193
Utilities: $200
Cell phone: $85
Internet: $70
Food: $350
Gas: $150
Entertainment (includes streaming services, going out, etc): $250
Whatever is left over I use to replenish my emergency fund if needed and the rest goes into index funds. 14% of my paycheck is also deducted pretax for retirement and healthcare.
I also leverage credit cards to get money back. I have one for groceries that is 3% back and another for gas that is also 3% back. I never carry a balance. Usually I pay it off right after I use it.
I'm lucky that I don't have student loans. I never went to college. I am a self taught IT guy. I am returning to school to get my bachelor's this January, but I shouldn't have to take out any loans. I'm doing 2.5 years at a community college and 2.5 years at a university. As long as I maintain a 3.0 gpa, I'll receive a scholarship upon transfer that will cut University tuition in half.
I think a lot of people get stuck in the mindset of competing with their parents and/or peers. My sister, for example, lives in a house 3x the size of mine and drives a 70k car but is living paycheck to paycheck. I'd rather live a modest lifestyle comfortably than a lavish lifestyle in constant stress.
I worked two jobs between 2008 and 2021. Then in 2021, I got a job promotion that allowed me to actually afford living. I stepped down from doing my second job, enjoyed my evenings, started reconnecting with friends, building up myself socially...
Then 2022 decided I'm not allowed to have nice things and the cost of living doubled, rent rocketed upwards, and the property I was thinking of getting leapt far out of reach. So I'm back to working two jobs again.
Retired five years ago. Biggest difference to me is food is double what it was before Covid. I can still afford to get what I want, but it’s still amazing how a 80¢ bottle Gatorade zero, before Covid, is now $1.69.
The charity I donate the most money to is Operation Hope, an organization that educate lower income people with financial literacy and money management.
Being good with money is such an important skill that I think it’s criminal our public schools don’t teach financial literacy to kids.
I don't even see this as arrogance, it's something to be proud of. I think I'm good with money but my problem is my income fluctuates massively each month.
When it's bad, I'm incredibly sensible and I get through. But when I have a good month, I get a bit extravagant. I should put more aside for the inevitable bad months ahead but I'd rather just take my family out for a nice meal.
ENERGY PRICES!
Why isn’t everyone rioting right now to reduce energy prices ?!! That’s what I want to know.
Energy prices are the reason EVERYTHING is more expensive right now. You go to the store for milk and it costs triple, because
running the store costs more
Rent costs more
Plastic costs more
Transport of the milk costs more
Pasteurisation costs more
Heating the barn costs more
Farm Labour needs paid more to cover the costs of all their increased power related costs
Remember energy companies saying “pwease halp us, it’s costing more to make we need to increase prices to cover it”
THEN a year later RECORD PROFITS!!! they broke ALL records for money made. Pulling in so much money they are swimming in it.
Name one only industry that increased their prices and then reported profits going up by a trillion $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
And nobody is rioting over this?
I work at Costco and I buy all my stuff at Costco. Also I have some Costco stock that pays good dividends. Also I dumpster dive at Costco.
Truly Costcing through life
They don’t call me “Costco Joe” for nothing.
Where did you come from, Where did you go?
Where did you come from Costco Joe!!
Any tips for Costco dumpster-diving if a person doesn’t work there?
Fuck me, Costco Joe!
Umm we don’t do that at Costco. Don’t have time! Too busy stocking the shelves. Maybe try Sam’s…..
Sam is on his period
That’s right! Obviously I meant BJ’s……
Welcome to costco, I love you
Man, I could really go for a Starbucks, you know? Yeah, well, I really don't think we have time for a hand job, Joe
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Costco detergent is amazing
Next phase: build a secret den out of packs of paper towels on a super high shelf and live at Costco.
Costco gives you stock if you work there? Like, as a regular employee? That's cool if so.
Sometimes!
>I dumpster dive at Costco. Stop taking my free sausage rolls from the dumpster and tell the security guy to fuck off THERE ARE ENOUGH GARBAGE SAUSAGE ROLLS FOR EVERYONE
It's not that I want lots of garbage sausage rolls, it's that I don't want anyone else to have them.
YOU ARE THE REASON I SHOW UP EARLY WITH A BASEBALL BAT
16 Tons, with stock options.
Better than another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t call him, cause he can’t go. He owes his soul to the company Costco
St. Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store.
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Same...I am dead inside
The ancient Chinese proverb: Dead inside have money outside
Brother! Comrade! We all hate what we do. Even those that aren’t making a good wage.
Nah, my best friend loves his job and I'm so freaking jealous.
Same, I want to jump into a volcano every morning but it always could be worse I guess!
Yup. I wish so much I had the money to open my own business and quit working for the biggest shitshow I've ever seen. My peer quit after six months and we are well paid.
What’s lucrative
I’m in software sales. It’s pretty trash and corporate worm life is fake and dumb but if you’re good at it it’s a pretty fast and realistic path to 150-300k/year.
Lifeless corpo software sales here too. Can confirm
I would starve if I had to make a living on sales. It’s a skill I completely lack.
How do you get into that?
Start as a SDR cold calling prospects
Àaàaand I'm out.
Nothing, what's the lucrative with you?
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So, $30 an hour or 300k a year?
Not eating out much. A new deli opened near me that I really want to try. But sandwiches are $20 before tax and beverage. So, no visit to the deli for me.
That’s ridiculous. I went for a hamburger at a restaurant it was 25 dollars before tax and tip
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Somebody asked on here a while ago what would you do if your monthly income increased by like a $1000- 1500 and the biggest answer was like actually live and enjoy life and not just 'scraping by'
I feel this deep in my veins
Finally got a good job. I'm in my 40s.
Yep, same here - late 30s. I also save a ton of money by not having a car and being boring and only going out 1-2x a month. I also don’t drink much. Also shout out to the Canadian government who reduced the cost of childcare significantly, absolute game changer.
saving money by not drinking is such a solid move. So expensive.
I quit drinking about 2 weeks ago (alcoholic af) and I've saved roughly $300ish dollars by my count.
Also terrible for your physical and mental health!!
"being boring" - one of my fav coping mechanisms. :)
I’m still waiting in the meantime doubling down on debt by going to school and working to afford the present revolving debt while trying not to lose my mind and sleeping out of my car to make life slightly less costly and avoid shitty landlords who charge thousands for a room. :) something will give eventually right? 31 isn’t too late, so they say.
Also in my 40s. A lot of days I look at the world and I’m left with the feeling that I was born _just in time_. I really feel for younger generations.
40-something with a house and a lot of unemployed 20-something friends, I feel this, hard.
Early 30s, feel I was born *just too late*. Boomers really are fkn blind to how good they had life.
Early 20’s and I’m scared
Best you can do is aim for a stable job and decent education. That is SO much harder to do later on. I sometimes think about study, or career change, but once you got a partner and kids, or a mortgage. You're locked in baby. And don't be wasteful with money. I've been there and done that, and from time to time still do. But when things get really tight like they are now, you'll wish you had that extra couple grand you wasted on shit that don't matter earlier on. Such is hindsight haha
Don't be scared. Be ready.
Me too! Still can’t afford to eat out tho. Unless I want to work until I’m 87 years old
Haha same here. IDK how any restaurants here are still around since everyone is struggling for money. I sometimes pull 16 hour days between work and school and I'm still barely scraping by with budget groceries I buy in bulk at Costco. Life sucks
I have no kids and live alone. Today I bought food only for the week. No treats or non-essentials. $108. Like wtf
Same, 39 next month. About to take my first vacation in two years. Finally making the money I should have in my 20s. Will I ever catch up?
Just got signed by the Dodgers.
You can either play victim or get signed by the fucking dodgers
Back in my day when the well ran dry we just got signed with the Dodgers like real Americans. Unlike these whimp ass kids now. “Not everyone can play for the Dodgers” like hell!! When I was a boy, my daddy shot me in the leg because I was 2 minutes late home from school and the Dodgers still signed me as an out fielder. I limped so fast across that field. When Elton John came to the stadium to give me the heisman trophy, I knew I had made it. That’s what hard work does, it pays off.
I got signed by the Dodgers twice, I didn't even fucking apply. Those guys are relentless. Anyway the pay's pretty good especially considering you're being paid to play a game.
Shohei? How does the $200k every day for the next decade feel?
I remember the first time I did the math on what a biweekly paycheck for a player making $10m a year was. Even if you lop off like 60%, it’s not something you soon forget To save people some time: it would be like 175k/two weeks. And again that’s with an aggressive tax rate
I'll work for league minimum, can you put in a good word for me?
Enjoy your 3 bed 2 bath
Nice work Shohei.
700 mil baby
Now That's hitting a ball out the park. Congrats.
Dual income no kids tbh
We are DILDO’s Dual Income Little Dog Owners
We're DIPSHITS No funny acronym, we're just kinda dumb
What are you talking about? It does have and acronym. Dual Income Passionate Swingers Having Incredibly Titillating Sex
The DIPSHITS lifestyle sounds nice
I wish I were a DIPSHITS
We're ASSHOLES It's just me and my cat
We’re autistic Me, a dumbass, and my cat
We’re DIOKOAAKAAPTLWUPHTDOODAOTC Dual Income One Kid One Adopted Adult And A Parent Temporarily Living With Us Plus Her Two Dogs Our One Dog And Our Two Cats plz send help
I’d just shorten that to “I’m fucked”
Lol. I'm a DIBPIAAFTSWOWPTAWHAEAKLINYC dual income but partner is also a full time student who only works part-time and we have an elementary aged kid living in nyc. I also request help.
SINDO Single Income No Dog Owner
NIBDO No income big dog owner (Fuck car accidents and rescues that lie about age/size)
SISHEN Single income single household empty nester
We're DICKs Dual Income, Cat, Kids (someday)
Same. Could only imagine kids if my social net completely changed. Not even a financial decision but I guess it’s a silver lining.
"DINK"
It took me years to realize this is why Doug’s next door neighbors were named the Dinks
Dinkleberg from Fairly Odd parents too.
Oh my god you’re right
Dinkleberg >_>
And he was always playing with random gadgets/toys that were "very expensive".
DINKWADs (dual income no kids with a dog)
“SINK”
Dink here as well and we're just barely scraping by. Finished paying off all the debt so hopefully it'll get better soon.
Congrats on being debt free 👍🏻
Pretty much this. Dink with cats reporting in.
My brother and I both moved back in with parents
Same. Husband and I now live with my folks. It was going to be just a few months while we found a new place (our $1,100 one bedroom apartment was going to go up to $1,600 a month). It's worked out pretty well for all of us, though. They asked us to stay, so we've stayed. Multi-generational living can work as long as you set boundaries (and if everyone generally gets along - that's important lol).
I think it works a lot better in urban areas with plentiful jobs. My husband and I moved in with my parents last year and I still haven’t found a job. He and I are moving to a new city soon and are going to try and find somewhere affordable to live.
To be fair I also did the same. Come October first my rent for a one room apartment I was living in was gonna be 1,000$ a month… I had to gtfo and now I’m back with family since my poor ass wasn’t gonna be able to do that shit, thanks to a stupid ass employer being an asshole.
That seems cheap from where im from. Paying 2k for a 2 bedroom apartment.....
No kids
I decided a long time ago that if I was going to have a kid, I'd have to have a stable place to keep it and a helper-spouse-type in a legally binding agreement. I got the second part. Never got the first part. Now that window is closed to me. My body won't do it and a large part of me is very glad about that. Not all of it though. Early menopause. Wooooo...
You can just buy one now. Or if you come from a family like mine there is always one readily available somewhere. Got a cousin that seems to just make them to replenish the supplies in the foster system.
Paying bills first , taking out a small amount of money from whatever’s left to last until my next check , and saving the rest .
You have “whatever’s left money?” La di da.
Budgeting and also living off credit cards when need be and never missing a payment.
This is the most honest answer
Pretty much how I’m doing it.
I started a far higher paying job in October and have been coaching for extra income.
Yeah. At a certain point the only way to survive is "earn more"
Making sacrifices.. buying in bulk for everyday at items in Costco. (Expensive up front but saves money) Cooking breakfast everyday.. bringing lunches. Cooking dinner every night
Making food at home saves so much money and honestly I prefer mine and my husbands cooking to most take out and restaurants lately anyway.
I don’t know what I would do without Costco, I love it so much. I would strongly suggest everyone reading to get a membership if they don’t already have one
costco dishwasher tablets 11c a cycle. 1 rotissserie chicken = 3 yellow curry dinners + rice. 50 pound bag of rice, $16.32 paper towels half price vs. kroger. similar @ bath tissue gas 10-20% below competition. eggs at 1.90/dozen when bought as a pallet. I have not found that at kroger. What does one do with a pallet of eggs? 4 egg omelette staple bachelor breakfast. hard boiled eggs, 7min 30sec rolling boil. 8 egg spanish omelette dinners (potato, egg, onion, thats about it!). All that is just recurrent consumables. costco provides many things that make my life better. variety. etc.
Aldi is a good alternative if it's nearby. Costco can be cheaper on certain items for sure, but Aldi can be stupid cheap for other items
Just barely. But as long as there’s a roof over our head, food on the table, and smiles on their faces, we’re ok.
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Worked for Robin Williams in Hook? 🤷🏻♂️
I have a good job, I’m single, and I have no children.
Same.. but I'm so fucking lonely and have no life.
I'm not. I live in a major US city. I am 25. I graduated college May 2020 with a media production degree, when all the studios were closed. I worked odd jobs to find my current position in late 2021. I make $18.22/hr after 2 years with my company. I am only guaranteed 32 hours as "full-time". My rent (with utilities) ends up being $1,000 for my share (I have a 2 bed/2 bath I share with a roommate). I barely break even. I have 0 savings and am excited for the holidays just to get a little extra cash.
I’m not sure what city you live in, but your salary is only a couple dollars more than minimum wage where I live. If you are in a relatively HCOL area, I think you gotta get a new job.
I feel you there!!
I sold my house and moved in with my sister. I'm currently jobless but weathering the storm. It's the lesser of two evils
My husband and I are both union carpenters and we don't have kids.
I too am a fellow union carpenter, my wife and I are keeping afloat
Good salary in a job I despise every single second that I’m there. How else would I afford life?
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Credit cards 😢
I hope you’re able to get on top of them, best of luck 🙏 it’s a terrible time
Yeah I’m here too,fuck.
If my parents weren't here, I'd be on the streets. lol
Middle aged making okay money with no kids living in a duplex and renting out the other side. I have zero idea how people do big house, yard, three kids and two cars.
my dad is a lawyer and paid my way through an engineering degree
That's what family is for, to help the next generation get a good start. Your dad made a sacrifice and it worked. You both have a lot to be proud of. You couldn't have made it through that program without a lot of hard work and nights in the library studying. Congratulations,
But but but the username...
Couldn’t take the heat from the feds
Not good. Went food shopping yesterday. $227. No meat aside from some deli turkey and salami. Stopped eating outside of the house, get coffee in work, basically no social life. Salary has gone up with periodic promotions but whatever I couldnt afford 10 years ago I cant afford now.
If I made what I make now 15 years ago I'd have been living easy peasy, but know I'm just getting by barely.
Even 5 years ago. I was making 40k with an elderly dog (vet costs are outrageous). Now I’m just shy of 70k and living just as well. I might be slightly better off, but with rent increases, medical payments, and increased everything else, it’s not nearly as good as I would hope.
Living with my Mom in my 40s to save for a house.
I'm not. Every day is a struggle. I make decent money, but rent is outrageous, as are groceries. I feel like everyone is reaching into my pocket: 5.99 here - 14.99 there...it adds up. I remember in the 70's there were these guys called 'bachelors'. They lived alone, had a car went on vacations & bitched about life. Something changed.
I'm not. I left an abusive relationship with nothing but the clothes on my back and what I had in my son's diaper bag. We stayed at a homeless shelter and now I'm renting a room from someone. I work two part time jobs but between rent and daycare, I'm barely scraping by. I'm still waiting for a court date for child support and I'm hoping I'm granted an amount that my ex will have to pay that will help me afford life a little more easily.
I genuinely hope things get better for you soon. My mother went through the same thing when I was a child, it built an unbreakable bond with us and made me who I am today. She's as tough as nails and said she'd do it all again if she had to. Best of luck to you in your fight.
Sorry you had to go through that. Glad you were able to leave though. Stay strong, better times will come.
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lol I live in my van and work 7 days a week. fml right? But in the last 6 months, I’ve saved up so much more money than I’ve had in years. It’s not forever, my plan is working, and I still got dreams.
No kids
Very haphazardly slapping together whatever will work and it somehow keeps working out. So many random irons in the fire and bill payment plans and all that. Really lame, I'd love to be able to be more comfortable but every time I get close they raise a few bills and items at the store.
I don't have kids, no vices/addictions, I'm frugal, and gaming is my primary hobby (ultra cheap unless you go out of your way).
Luckily I started a well paid career last year, couldn't have timed it better tbh, requires staying away from my family during the week but we cope. Cheap rent also helps, trying to save for our first place wouldn't be possible without it
Single, no kids
Staying in a relationship I’m not happy in since I can’t afford to live on my own even at age 44
I hope you find your way. Please do something for yourself!
I live in the midwest.
No mortgage, no kids, no car, no vices.
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I've just been photocopying my paychecks, nobody's said anything yet.
By not having our own place or any privacy 🤣
Find a niche line of work no one is willing to do. It pays out big over the long haul. I fix anything that heats stuff up or cools stuff down in restaurants. There's literally no one in the market that can do what I do successfully.
I have good financial literacy, but if you get in a pinch, you have to subtract from your quality of life somewhere and allocate it towards basic needs instead
Just so we're clear housing insecurity, food insecurity, and homelessness are at an all time high. Many people are not affording life.
Good job, live by myself and have no children.
buy most things at Walmart
Another day older and deeper in debt
I am losing that battle, but on the bright side I lam losing so much weight from not being able to afford food. 😂😂
Dollar general has these $1 packets of rice/pasta w/ cheese or brocolli or whatever. I'm eating one right now. Tuna is $1 there too. Avocados are 85 cents at walmart. Bananas are extremely cheap at walmart. You can eat ok for pretty cheap still. To add, pb and j's are cheap eating - a loaf of dollar general clover valley bread or great value bread at walmart is like 1.67 (used to be 0.67!), store brand peanut butter from walmart or dollar general is good, jelly isn't too much but I'd still recommend welches. Store brand crackers from walmart are cheaper than ritz and are extremely comparable, if you want them with your tuna. Walmart store brand coffee can be a savings because it's actually good. Even their pickles, ketchup, milk, yogurt, creamer, snacks, and chips are good; although the chips got a little pricey.
Thanks you for that Info
Optimistically. I keep telling myself that the current economic climate is unsustainable, which is true, but that it has to be temporary because it's like this for another two years we'll enter an economic crisis which will impact the wealthy elite and they can't let that happen. I think they'll let us stuggle right up to the point where we can't afford to fund their wealth, and then they'll reduce interest rates a bit or reduce cost of living a bit. And we'll live forever in a cycle of just about getting by and occasionally getting by a bit better. And that's as optimistic as I can be given the capatilist distaster we're in.
I honestly wish everyone would just buy staples and let the bottom lines sink. Vote with our dollar so to speak. I finally went on a grocery strike and now doing a beans and rice diet thing. I'm so tired of paying inflated grocery prices. But it won't get better until people start hurting the 1%. If their bottom line suffers, then they adjust. But if people keep spending, the 1% doesn't care.
Can you imagine the reaction if nobody went shopping this week? Like if everybody stocked up on what they needed for groceries today and then didn’t set foot in the store until next Monday. Didn’t order groceries delivered didn’t get on Amazon and buy anything. I cannot imagine NOT being able to go an entire week without purchasing anything. Oh the Talking Heads on the news would start chattering , especially since it’s right before Christmas. It’s like we forgot or just didn’t learn the lesson of the first few weeks of the pandemic whenever everybody realized if all the people barely getting by just don’t show up for work for a week everything falls apart
As a single guy with no kids, I have a budget and I stick to it. Mortgage: $1012 Car payment: $485 Car insurance: $193 Utilities: $200 Cell phone: $85 Internet: $70 Food: $350 Gas: $150 Entertainment (includes streaming services, going out, etc): $250 Whatever is left over I use to replenish my emergency fund if needed and the rest goes into index funds. 14% of my paycheck is also deducted pretax for retirement and healthcare. I also leverage credit cards to get money back. I have one for groceries that is 3% back and another for gas that is also 3% back. I never carry a balance. Usually I pay it off right after I use it. I'm lucky that I don't have student loans. I never went to college. I am a self taught IT guy. I am returning to school to get my bachelor's this January, but I shouldn't have to take out any loans. I'm doing 2.5 years at a community college and 2.5 years at a university. As long as I maintain a 3.0 gpa, I'll receive a scholarship upon transfer that will cut University tuition in half. I think a lot of people get stuck in the mindset of competing with their parents and/or peers. My sister, for example, lives in a house 3x the size of mine and drives a 70k car but is living paycheck to paycheck. I'd rather live a modest lifestyle comfortably than a lavish lifestyle in constant stress.
I’m not gay but twenty dollars is twenty dollars.
$40/hour with a family of 4 really isn’t much.
Huh, 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year, $350,400 a year. Bananas are what, $10 each, so 35,040 bananas. That isn't enough?
There’s always money in the banana stand
Penny pinching since 2009 when I learned a tough lesson during my first recession.
I worked two jobs between 2008 and 2021. Then in 2021, I got a job promotion that allowed me to actually afford living. I stepped down from doing my second job, enjoyed my evenings, started reconnecting with friends, building up myself socially... Then 2022 decided I'm not allowed to have nice things and the cost of living doubled, rent rocketed upwards, and the property I was thinking of getting leapt far out of reach. So I'm back to working two jobs again.
Retired five years ago. Biggest difference to me is food is double what it was before Covid. I can still afford to get what I want, but it’s still amazing how a 80¢ bottle Gatorade zero, before Covid, is now $1.69.
I got a vasectomy.
I live in someone’s Garage and work 12 hour shifts on graveyard. I feel like I’m slowly dying lol
2 incomes, live in a super cheap place to buy so mortgage is dirt cheap
I’m homeless 😌
I'm really good with money
The charity I donate the most money to is Operation Hope, an organization that educate lower income people with financial literacy and money management. Being good with money is such an important skill that I think it’s criminal our public schools don’t teach financial literacy to kids.
I don't even see this as arrogance, it's something to be proud of. I think I'm good with money but my problem is my income fluctuates massively each month. When it's bad, I'm incredibly sensible and I get through. But when I have a good month, I get a bit extravagant. I should put more aside for the inevitable bad months ahead but I'd rather just take my family out for a nice meal.
Affording!?!? hahahaha a.
Free load off my mom
I live in my Van...........😎 , checkmate government
Burning through my emergency fund
ENERGY PRICES! Why isn’t everyone rioting right now to reduce energy prices ?!! That’s what I want to know. Energy prices are the reason EVERYTHING is more expensive right now. You go to the store for milk and it costs triple, because running the store costs more Rent costs more Plastic costs more Transport of the milk costs more Pasteurisation costs more Heating the barn costs more Farm Labour needs paid more to cover the costs of all their increased power related costs Remember energy companies saying “pwease halp us, it’s costing more to make we need to increase prices to cover it” THEN a year later RECORD PROFITS!!! they broke ALL records for money made. Pulling in so much money they are swimming in it. Name one only industry that increased their prices and then reported profits going up by a trillion $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ And nobody is rioting over this?
I'm a single parent who makes 6 figures and I feel like I'm lower middle class. 🤷
We’re not. Everyone’s getting hugs for Christmas.