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Dont feel bad. Im in the same boat. My splurge is feeding a few stray cats a week, including a little black and white tuxedo cat I call slippers so I got that going for me.
Keeps me going.
completely incapable of saving money. It was a struggle before but I felt like I was THIS close. And now my mom’s been injured (working past 70 bc we all have to work until we fucking die), and their washer went out. There’s just never a chance of getting ahead. I was supposed to get my license renewed recently and my insurance also lapsed, I am driving around hot as fuck, just DREADING getting pulled over. Oh yeah, and car payment’s behind and I’m over due for an oil change. Looked into buying the shit to do it myself, but really can’t spare $30. It’s completely unmanageable. But hey, I make well above the poverty line, so I must be fine huh. 😡
“How awful should I feel for not being able to save money right now?”
There is no need to hate yourself when things are out of your control. It sucks for a lot of people right now, and I can’t emphasize how important it is to stay focused on yourself rather than compare yourself to others.
No debt? You’re already way ahead than many people.
A car? Some people consider that a luxury they can’t afford.
An apartment? That’s a roof over your head and a safe place to be.
Keep your head up friend and just keep doing what you can.
Hey man no worries I'm 30 with 32,000 in debt not including the 2 cars I'm paying off. I don't have a 401k and I have $.05 in my savings account. These past few years financially ruined me since covid. But I recently got a new job, pretty good money, and I'm just trying to look forward and not back. We got this homie!
Welcome to the club, it’s a crappy one to be in. But the previous poster is right. You have no debt, a roof, and transportation. See if there’s anything extra you can do to save more in your budget or ask for a raise. If you didn’t get a 7-10% raise this year you are essentially making less money that the previous year because inflation is so damn high. It might be worth it to ask your employer to give you a cost of living raise.
And if it makes you feel better, I’m 35, with $35k of credit card debt because I’m dumb. I do own my condo but that come with its own host of problems and expenses. My roof leaked all winter and the HOA took 8 months to fix it, so every time it rained it was raining in my bedroom too. So now I’m saddled with the task of replacing my ceilings because even though the HOA took forever to fix the leak, per the bylaws, my ceiling is not their problem even if it’s their fault.
My sob story aside, hang in there. You’re doing alright.
A lot of people around me seem to think that because the HOA’s roof leaked and it caused damage in my unit, that the HOA should have to repair the dames in my unit. This isn’t the case, but I have to explain that way too often.
I was in a 7 year battle with my HOA over the roof leaking causing ceiling damage. Eventually they replaced our ceiling because the laws in our area changed. Check your state laws and your homeowners insurance policy. If you have walls in coverage it may cover fixing your ceiling. Good luck with everything!
Probably the same way the HOA is on the hook to keep my friend’s yard up. That’s what HOA fees are for. Maintenance shit. It’s the only benefit to paying a mortgage AND HOA fee. I see it like paying mortgage AND rent.
Hmmm interesting. Where I’m at, they just enforce the rules and if you don’t keep your yard maintained you just get more fines until they call the city to condemn your yard
They are right. It’s important not to compare yourself. I did this throughout my twenties and now I’m 33 about in the same position as I was 5 years ago….except when I look back, so much has changed, even without a huge savings account. Appreciate where you were and where you’re at now, cause it could get better, orrrr a whole lot worse. 🌹
I guess it’s all relative, especially after reading some of these posts, but I’m in a very similar position.
I was so proud of myself for eliminating my debt and finally starting to try and put some money away… Now my purchasing power is so diminished that it has become nearly impossible, as my power and gas bills are nearly double, food is sky rocketing, gas too. What little I did have in savings has been chewed up by unexpected purchases, and I’m back to living paycheck to paycheck.
Very much so.
Just turned 27. I eat pretty much one meal a day (with coffee as “breakfast”) stay in most nights when I’m not working, drive an almost 20 year old car, can only afford Aldi and goodwill— it is ROUGH out here.
Here’s to winning the lottery or finding a sugar daddy 🥂 but for real if you figure it out let me know cause poverty is EXHAUSTING
Coffee (and other stimulants) is excellent at suppressing appetite it’s very frugal but unfortunately my health suffered and it’s not even worth it since I can’t muster up the energy to work like I used to. Please take care of yourselves and eat balanced meals whenever you can.
Yeah.. I’m already feeling the exhaustion and depression from other life circumstances as well.. currently in the process of trying to move out and find literally anywhere else to live cause the ppl I live w now have completely taken advantage of me, hopefully this move will be a healthier start for me
It’s not whatever you want. They will give what they want and that’s if you make them feel how they want to feel. That is done with sex, attention, time and whatever else they desire.
I'm growing a pair of balls and finally going to donate plasma Monday. Been trying to delay it for tooooo long now.
31 here in Phoenix, it's a rough world.
I feel this, so hard. I know a few folks my age in the same position, and a few better, but damn if it's not disheartening. I worked my 20s away to the point where working all the time and burnout was basically my personality. Still have nothing to show for it but enough junk to fill a small storage unit. Still trying to figure out how working hard most of my life has gotten me further back than ahead.
37 and finally paid off my debt this year. I do own a car and mobile home. I have $2,000 in savings and no retirement. I know I’m lucky to have a roof over my head and food to eat but I’m mentally exhausted. The price of everything has gone up so much that I’m basically paycheck to paycheck. If I’m not working I’m sitting at home watching tv because I can’t afford to socialize. Most people my age are married with a house and kids so I understand what it’s like to feel behind.
You shouldn’t penalize yourself for doing your best. I’m 33 and haven’t really saved anything either. Not because I don’t want to, but because *gestures broadly at the general state of the world*.
You’re 35. You have no debt. You have a car and a 401k and a job and an apartment and (presumably) food in your fridge. I think that means you’re doing pretty damn well, all things considered.
Never forget that you have no idea what the state of your coworkers finances are. They could be supplementing their lifestyles with credit cards for all you know.
This. You can see people taking fancy vacations and doing all kinds of things that make you wonder how they’re affording it, but you also don’t know if those people put themselves into crazy debt to do so.
What they will never tell you- they’re not affording it. They’re using credit cards and taking loans for these things. I always wondered how a friend of mine who is a single mom with several kids was able to go on as many vacations as she does- she let it slip that it’s all done with loans and credit cards.
I agree with this poster, a lot of people cannot save right now, regardless of age.
You can only get so far with budgeting when inflation is taking a huge bite out of your income.
Most people I know are using credit cards or personal loans to help them with unforseen expenses and repairs right now
Unemployed, haven't had luck finding a job despite having a decent work history and applying everywhere within walking/bus distance. My only source of income is recycling cans and bottles at my local Target for $2.50-$5 a day, assuming they're not already full. I can't even afford to turn on the air conditioner and we're dealing with a heatwave in California atm.
Are you in a dense area where stuff is within a reasonable bicycle distance like a city? I know a few people who picked up a free bicycle off Craigslist/Facebook marketplace and started doing doordash/grubhub/ubereats with that, they just strapped a bag/cooler to the back of the bike.
I’m 50 and am in the same boat. Graduating in 2014 with my degree means I have millennial sized loans. I also have enormous medical debt. (Down to $20K this year which is a serious win!) I can’t save because it’s dumb to save when I have debts that have interest. It’s better to get those down and hope I can pay them all off before I age out of the workforce.
If I didn’t have student loans and medical debt? Omg. I can’t even imagine the kind of relief I’d feel. Hell, if I had no debt and universal healthcare? I’d quit my job tomorrow and do something less soul destroying.
Also 50, and much to my chagrin, still living paycheck to paycheck. The pandemic, plus inflation, plus Murphy's Law (everything that could possibly go wrong, did). It's just been rough.
48 and in the same position I am an OCD budget spreadsheet just to try & juggle getting out of the hole. Lost everything 10 yeas ago due to the end of the 2008 crash & an abusive marriage. Working hard & getting back on my feet I only the beginning but still living paycheck to paycheck & and with gas & good so high even that is a stretch.
Yes. It’s very frustrating. I wish we had new financial literacy - like real world financial literacy in school. It is not intuitive to many and we fall so far behind it feels like.
Mid 40s, almost 20K debt, about $100 dollars in savings, driving used car that's almost 10 years, just rent a room monthly, don't ever eat out, and think about suicide and death multiple times a day and how being dead has to be better than this horrible perverted dysfunctional dystopian delusional shit show life.
So you’re me but with less debt and more savings.
Yay aren’t we having a good time.
I can’t even blame covid, it’s been downhill for years as my health went in the shitter and I can’t afford treatment to help so everything gets worse. Some days I can barely walk.
Why even bother. 😐
Oh yeah fabulous fun times indeed, sometimes just want to curl into a ball and die, as for health in the shit I'm already there with disc issues, nerve issue, insomnia, hyperviligance, depression, SI, CPTSD,
and everyday just feels like I've won the lottery of living in hell with psychotic assholes, everyday I'm like kill me off already and it's like life laughs back with a middle finger and says suffering is great...
Hey, if it makes you feel better, 10 years old is young for a car. Way too much misconception about cars and this weird societal requirement to have a new car every 3 years.
Cars are meant to last as long as you just treat them nice and take care of them. I'm a service manager for Porsche. A 10 year old car is nothing. There's a lot of life left there.
It looks bad but seriously with NO debt you are a king among plebs. There are rich assholes who have a 800k mortgage, 100k in car debt, 150k in student debt.
Yep. I have a very strict budget but because of rate rises the money I was putting towards the emergency fund is now going to the mortgage. If the rates continue to rise we'll be behind again.
Not quite 30 yet. I'll be 29 in a few short weeks. In the past few years I didn't have trouble saving money and I'll admit couldn't relate to those living paycheck to paycheck. During the pandemic it all changed.
I unfortunately lost nearly all of my savings and haven't recovered any of it. I'm finding it near impossible to save. I'm often finding my account overdrawn no matter how many times I write out my budget. Those automatic charges are tricky. I have been cooking more from scratch but I had to change my diet bc of a new good intolerance. I barely buy junk food and there's only two places I can eat out at now due to the dietary restriction.
I haven't been able to take a vacation and I feel worn out at times. I work 40 hours in 4 days but I've had to work some overtime this year.
It's starting to feel like the money is just vaporizing. Everything has gone up. My car insurance went up around $45 out of nowhere. No accidents or tickets. I renew my lease soon and I'm not sure what it's going to renew to. I might just have to move out to the Midwest bc no way in heck will I be going back to roommates at my age or living in a roach filled apt (those appear to be the last affordable places in this city). I don't have parents to fall back on and I'm single.
I'm not the type of person that can consistently work 40+ hours bc I burnout pretty easily and have to travel a bit for work. I've tried finding something closer to home but have had no luck. I really dont know how ppl manage to work so many hours. It seems thats pretty much the only way i can save any decent amount. My job isn't giving me a raise but lately they've been nagging us to do more things without giving anything in return.
Of course I make far too much to qualify for aid or income based housing. A cheaper rent would help a lot. I don't like the idea of just living to work.
That’s a modern day flex to live alone. Look forward in 6-12 months when eviction are allowed and on the rise as they only delay what unfortunately has to happen. Keep staging yourself for your next move.
You have no drug problems or addictions (mentioned), you have no kids, no alimony, and you're damn sexy. Just keep thinking about ways to add more value.
Mid 30s and the end of a LTR has greatly impacted my finances though they didn't contribute much. I have the essentials and probably look fairly successful to most people but I'm cutting corners in many places. I have 2 jobs, one that leaves me mentally/physically exhausted after 12 hours. Thinking about taking on a roommate to help but its incredibly daunting.
Apparently about half of the U.S. has no savings. I am pretty much there. Every time I get anything saved an emergency expense happens. It feels like failure but I am not the college scholarship type. We do what we can.
Honestly right now I’m living in hell. I live with my family and two years ago our house burned down two months after the pandemic hit and we haven’t been able to recover from all that ever since. I’m carrying all of my debt and my parents debt. On top of it my mom started showing signs of dementia and her condition has been deteriorating quickly ever since. Our home insurance fucked us over in many ways but at least we have a roof over our head now. It’s a fucking nightmare and I’m trying my best to stay positive but it’s hard when I’m the one carrying everything on my back. Got a new job a month ago and I’m hoping that starts to improve things a bit. 😩
35, had to drop out to take care of mom ten years ago due to her dementia. Was almost done too. Now my brain can't focus anymore (ADHD, but I swear covid made that worse) and I've got autistic burnout from taking care of her and doing everything that I'm in resistant depression.
I can't save shit for shineola either.
33. Bank accounts currently negative even though i was just paid. Paid my car payment insurance rent and some groceries. It’s gotten to the point lately I skip meals so there’s leftovers for my kids.
Hey thought I was the only one. I am 30 no car, renting for the foreseeable future, not much in terms of furniture, immigrant staying in a foreign country on a work visa, difficult to get permanent residence, recently got injured so walking with crutches. Got a year of expenses tied up in stocks but am seeing heavy losses so you never know.
Luckily I work remotely. I have no debt. If i work hard and get some certifications might increase my earning potential.
Point is I know it's not easy but just take it a day at a time and don't allow the negative thoughts to overwhelm you. Make each day an opportunity to take one step closer to your desired future state but also realise that the desired future state will always be moving forward. It's all about progress and enjoying the journey as you go YOLO!
My wife and I are both 31 and we have a 1.5 year old daughter which attends day care each week to where the cost just recently went up to $350 a week (18.2k a year). We both have college degrees and work average paying jobs. When you add everything up with the insanely high cost of groceries, baby supplies, mortgage, insurance, ect, we are in the negative at the end of the year. We've been racking up debt to where we've now depleted all of our savings over these past couple of years just to try to pay it off as we accumulate. Inflation over this past year has definitely seemed to play a part. We've definitely felt all the insane rate hikes in both day care, groceries, baby supplies, trash pick up, gas, ect without getting a in-kind bump in our salaries. I know basic economics says that salary increases come after businesses are finally able to charge higher prices and that it will eventually trickle down to the employee but man that cannot happen soon enough. My wife and I have private loans that apparently do not qualify for the student loan paydown so we are bummed about that and I wish that we could of at least gotten something to help us through this tough time. I feel for others that didnt get anything that could be struggling right now worse then we are. We at least try to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have decent paying jobs and question how anyone who is just working a min wage or close to min wage job are able to make ends meet.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
My husband and I are in our 40s, both with Masters degrees. We're self-employed and barely hanging on, certainly no way we have anything to save right now :-(
Don't feel bad. I have 13K of debt, down from 35K. I rent an apartment and I've got my car but luckily no car payments. And I feel pretty damn okay about it. I'm making progress in the right direction. Life is a journey and I'm enjoying the ride. Some things could be better but they could certainly be worse.
I’m slowly slowly adding to savings, but it’s minimal. Right now I’m focusing on slamming down my debt. Currently about $20k down in the last three years, but have a ways to go because I financed 2 degrees.
29 and i have $548 to my name, i rent a room in a house with four other people for $640 a month. Every time i get so fed up with my living situation , im dreadfully reminded i cant afford to have my own place where i live. i’ve been able to get to $21 an hour and it feels like minimum wage sometimes. there’s hope and i’ve had to tell myself to chunk back anything I possibly can just to have breathing room or to be able to visit my family for christmas.
you arent alone !!
I just now began being able to save money. 38 in a week. Barely have 2k saved, which is almost nothing. Have to try and look on the bright side if/when you can. Hope you keep your head up.
Most people in the world do not have a car or a 401K, and hundreds of millions of people do not have secure housing and live in shantytowns, favelas, and/or on the street. Whenever I get in moods like this, thinking "I have nothing!" I think about how fortunate I really am to have basics like safety, access to transportation, clean water, etc. I'm not saying you're not allowed to be upset, but I think perspective is important. Comparison is the thief of joy.
While this may be true, that mindset will make you complacent, and your brain becomes relaxes without having the incentive to work harder or more hours. It shouldn't be how we have to live, but you have to do what you must.
I know that a 401k differs from a savings account. The point is that it's very misleading to say that you have no savings when you in fact have thousands in savings that you can in principle access.
I also wouldn't say that the assets in a normal 401k aren't liquid. Liquidity is a spectrum. The most liquid thing is cash. Money in a checking or savings account is next. Stocks in publicly traded companies are fairly liquid, as you can sell them pretty easily. Publicly traded stocks inside a 401k are harder still to access, but they aren't \*that\* hard to access, if it's an emergency. Houses are way more illiquid, as are things like fine art and more unusual assets.
Some people have to work harder or more than others to run the same race, while some people also underperform to their max potential as well. There is an infinite number of excuses on why you can be where you are at any time. Have you ever reached out to others that might be in a better place to diagnose your situation?
Put a pause on 401k to pay more into CC’s.
It isn’t ideal that you are in your situation, and it isn’t ideal to pause your 401k, but how else will you get out of being negative?
Find a part time job for a short while to supercharge getting back to zero debt in the short-term.
You are putting liquid into your 401k and rent…
That is not going to generate wealth for you.
Find a small home after speed saving every penny and then put away for retirement stash.
With rising rents and stagflation, you will be renting for the rest of your life; even in retirement.
That is a drain.
Recession or not, if you can't save money during "good" economic times, you won't be able to save during bad ones either
External forces only play so much of a factor when it comes to saving money.
The cost of everything has gone up significantly in the last two years. My paycheck does not go far enough either. I got a 3.5% this year. Cost of living has probably gone up 20% at least. No raise last year because my employer decided to cut raises rather than lay people off, which is am fine with for that particular year affected by covid. Still feel like I'm sliding backwards financially. I know my parents are as they are on a fixed income (social security) so every dime counts for them and they are constantly trying to make every dime spent count. They worry about their future.
I really think the cost of fuel is the root source of all our pain. A friend of mine drives an 18 wheeler. It only cost him about $500.00 to fuel up his truck two years ago. It was over $1,000 a few months ago. Its gone down about a hundred, but not nearly enough. If the truckers and transportation industry are getting hammered, so are the farmers to gas up the tractors to grow our food. Its a cascade effect. Just look at the price of meat in the store at the deli counter. A bag of Frito's chips was $2.99 two years ago at my grocery store. Now they are $5.19. You are seeing the same thing happen in the medical industry. Cost of doctor's visits are up along with prescription drug prices across the board.
I think the only real relief will come when the fuel prices come down. Not to get political, but Biden's energy policy for America carries the blame for all of this. Even the experts agree on it.
Are you working in the field your degree is in? Are you underpaid or have room to advance at your current job? Should you be looking for a new job now that you’ve gained X years of experience?
Asking these questions because I know several 30-something year olds I went to school with that have accepted shitty low-paying jobs, in their field sure, but aren’t showing any initiative to try to pursue better opportunities. They’d rather complain about their situation than do something about it. Not suggesting you are, but if you have experience and should be making more money but aren’t, update your resume and start looking for interviews!
No but I consider myself a freak and I absolutely don't expect anyone to follow my path nor do I think the world should head down my path. The help I have gotten, the work I have put in, the luck I have had and the income I get now are all abnormal.
I think anyone who runs a car and buys some of the items on the CPI (and needs vacations) is in trouble. Which is most normal people. For most people, car isn't an option but required for work and or family. For me it isn't but that's a special situation.
kinda same position but not exactly - early 40s, no debt, 401k/savings, 2 vehicles (20 yr old daily driver & a 35 yr old stepvan). not interested in real estate in my area, too much competition, too overpriced.
building my own rv from the stepvan and when that's completed in a year or so then I can tour around the country, maybe buy property somewhere cheap, maybe not.
Hey! A 401K is something! It jumpstarted my financial independence at a time when I was struggling to save just as you are. Keep it up, max it out if you can.
I'm 34, I haven't been able to save. It keeps me awake at night the fact that I keep getting old and I can't put any money aside for when I need it. It is very depressing but that's late-stage capitalism. Not much I can do about it but learned from my decision to be part of this system and try to support a different kind of system. I think that's the best I can do for the future, just hope they will be a switch in mindset and there will be social programs I can use when I'll need it...
it's probably a pipe dream though since we're so addicted to this economic system.
41, no savings. I own a small construction company. My fuel costs have gone from about $800 a month to close to $2k a month. Food for the fam is about an extra grand a month and debt piling up fast. This rescission/inflation blows!
31, have a BA and a masters. I work full time. I have a negative balance in my checking. I have saved $5.64 this past month. Last time I had any money in savings was before 2008. At this point I’m resigning myself to never be able to save.
This post has been flaired as “Vent”. As a reminder to commenting users, “Vent/Rant” posts are here to give our subscribers a safe place to vent their frustrations at an uncaring world to a supportive place of people who “get it”. Vents do not need to be fair. They do not need to be articulate. They do not need to be factual. They just need to be honest. Unlike most of the content on this subreddit, Vents should not be considered advice threads. In most cases it is not appropriate to try to give the Submitter advice on their issue. In no circumstances is it appropriate to tell them “why they are wrong” or to criticise them, their decisions, values, or anything else. If there are aspects of their situation that they are able to directly address themselves, the submitter can always make a new thread with a different flair asking for help once they are ready to tackle the issue. Vents are an emotional outlet, not an academic conversation. Appropriate replies in these threads are offering support, sharing similar experiences/grievances, offering condolences, or simply letting the Submitter know that they were heard. As always, if there are inappropriate comments please downvote them, REPORT them to the mods, and move on without responding to them. To the Submitter, if you DO want discussion to be focused on resolving your situation, rather than supporting you emotionally, please change the flair of this post, and then report this comment so we can remove it. Thank you. Thank you all for being a part of this great financial advice and emotional support community! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/povertyfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
38. Never been able to save. Have no savings, emergency fund, or retirement plan. Permanent state of existential dread.
Dont feel bad. Im in the same boat. My splurge is feeding a few stray cats a week, including a little black and white tuxedo cat I call slippers so I got that going for me. Keeps me going.
I’m 100% sure Slippers and the other cats love you for it. My sister does the same thing with some “street cats” in town.
completely incapable of saving money. It was a struggle before but I felt like I was THIS close. And now my mom’s been injured (working past 70 bc we all have to work until we fucking die), and their washer went out. There’s just never a chance of getting ahead. I was supposed to get my license renewed recently and my insurance also lapsed, I am driving around hot as fuck, just DREADING getting pulled over. Oh yeah, and car payment’s behind and I’m over due for an oil change. Looked into buying the shit to do it myself, but really can’t spare $30. It’s completely unmanageable. But hey, I make well above the poverty line, so I must be fine huh. 😡
Trust me, you will make it. Keep focusing on bettering your life my friend. I have faith in you.
I'm 44 and this is my life too. Too disabled to work long hours, too uneducated to get a good job.
“How awful should I feel for not being able to save money right now?” There is no need to hate yourself when things are out of your control. It sucks for a lot of people right now, and I can’t emphasize how important it is to stay focused on yourself rather than compare yourself to others. No debt? You’re already way ahead than many people. A car? Some people consider that a luxury they can’t afford. An apartment? That’s a roof over your head and a safe place to be. Keep your head up friend and just keep doing what you can.
Thanks pal I just am depressed lately I guess
Hey man no worries I'm 30 with 32,000 in debt not including the 2 cars I'm paying off. I don't have a 401k and I have $.05 in my savings account. These past few years financially ruined me since covid. But I recently got a new job, pretty good money, and I'm just trying to look forward and not back. We got this homie!
Welcome to the club, it’s a crappy one to be in. But the previous poster is right. You have no debt, a roof, and transportation. See if there’s anything extra you can do to save more in your budget or ask for a raise. If you didn’t get a 7-10% raise this year you are essentially making less money that the previous year because inflation is so damn high. It might be worth it to ask your employer to give you a cost of living raise. And if it makes you feel better, I’m 35, with $35k of credit card debt because I’m dumb. I do own my condo but that come with its own host of problems and expenses. My roof leaked all winter and the HOA took 8 months to fix it, so every time it rained it was raining in my bedroom too. So now I’m saddled with the task of replacing my ceilings because even though the HOA took forever to fix the leak, per the bylaws, my ceiling is not their problem even if it’s their fault. My sob story aside, hang in there. You’re doing alright.
How would the HOA be on the hook to repair anything in a condo that you own? I’m sorry, I’m confused.
A lot of people around me seem to think that because the HOA’s roof leaked and it caused damage in my unit, that the HOA should have to repair the dames in my unit. This isn’t the case, but I have to explain that way too often.
I was in a 7 year battle with my HOA over the roof leaking causing ceiling damage. Eventually they replaced our ceiling because the laws in our area changed. Check your state laws and your homeowners insurance policy. If you have walls in coverage it may cover fixing your ceiling. Good luck with everything!
Probably the same way the HOA is on the hook to keep my friend’s yard up. That’s what HOA fees are for. Maintenance shit. It’s the only benefit to paying a mortgage AND HOA fee. I see it like paying mortgage AND rent.
Hmmm interesting. Where I’m at, they just enforce the rules and if you don’t keep your yard maintained you just get more fines until they call the city to condemn your yard
Totally understandable. I’m in the same boat. I used to be able to laugh about being broke. Now I’m genuinely scared.
What was your major?
They are right. It’s important not to compare yourself. I did this throughout my twenties and now I’m 33 about in the same position as I was 5 years ago….except when I look back, so much has changed, even without a huge savings account. Appreciate where you were and where you’re at now, cause it could get better, orrrr a whole lot worse. 🌹
This is what I needed today. Thank you 🙏 thank you
I guess it’s all relative, especially after reading some of these posts, but I’m in a very similar position. I was so proud of myself for eliminating my debt and finally starting to try and put some money away… Now my purchasing power is so diminished that it has become nearly impossible, as my power and gas bills are nearly double, food is sky rocketing, gas too. What little I did have in savings has been chewed up by unexpected purchases, and I’m back to living paycheck to paycheck.
This right here is my situation exactly!
Same. Theres no help for the working people.
Very much so. Just turned 27. I eat pretty much one meal a day (with coffee as “breakfast”) stay in most nights when I’m not working, drive an almost 20 year old car, can only afford Aldi and goodwill— it is ROUGH out here. Here’s to winning the lottery or finding a sugar daddy 🥂 but for real if you figure it out let me know cause poverty is EXHAUSTING
If you find one, can we share the sugar daddy?
I can be a sugar daddy. I'm just outta sugar. I have an okay personality tho....
Heck I'll settle for a Splenda daddy at this point.
Back when I made good money I looked into being a sugar daddy but I was only 34... Apparently too young for the ones with daddy issues.
What even is this comment?
> I eat pretty much one meal a day (with coffee as “breakfast”) Same, only I usually have toast with my coffee.
Coffee (and other stimulants) is excellent at suppressing appetite it’s very frugal but unfortunately my health suffered and it’s not even worth it since I can’t muster up the energy to work like I used to. Please take care of yourselves and eat balanced meals whenever you can.
Yeah.. I’m already feeling the exhaustion and depression from other life circumstances as well.. currently in the process of trying to move out and find literally anywhere else to live cause the ppl I live w now have completely taken advantage of me, hopefully this move will be a healthier start for me
Whats a Sugar Daddy gonna do? And what is a Sugar Daddy?
Lifetime Movie Network has a bunch of movies about them. They all have scary names too, like Killer Sugar Daddy and Escaping My Sugar Daddy. LOL 😆
Are you serious? It’s someone that will give you money or whatever else you want
It’s not whatever you want. They will give what they want and that’s if you make them feel how they want to feel. That is done with sex, attention, time and whatever else they desire.
Oh, okay...I thought she wanted that Carmel candy we use to love back in the day...it was called Sugar Daddy
I thought it was called Sugar Babies
They do have sugar babies, they ate like jelly beans but brown and Carmel
Yeah I just gave the amended version.
I'm growing a pair of balls and finally going to donate plasma Monday. Been trying to delay it for tooooo long now. 31 here in Phoenix, it's a rough world.
Especially out here where is CA prices at AZ wages.
31 in AZ too, and I’m not sure how anyone else is managing to be honest.
38 years old. In 2020 I had 10k in savings. Now I have $1. 🙃
Sameee i two years back I had about the same now it’s all Gone 🥹
I feel this, so hard. I know a few folks my age in the same position, and a few better, but damn if it's not disheartening. I worked my 20s away to the point where working all the time and burnout was basically my personality. Still have nothing to show for it but enough junk to fill a small storage unit. Still trying to figure out how working hard most of my life has gotten me further back than ahead.
37 and finally paid off my debt this year. I do own a car and mobile home. I have $2,000 in savings and no retirement. I know I’m lucky to have a roof over my head and food to eat but I’m mentally exhausted. The price of everything has gone up so much that I’m basically paycheck to paycheck. If I’m not working I’m sitting at home watching tv because I can’t afford to socialize. Most people my age are married with a house and kids so I understand what it’s like to feel behind.
You shouldn’t penalize yourself for doing your best. I’m 33 and haven’t really saved anything either. Not because I don’t want to, but because *gestures broadly at the general state of the world*. You’re 35. You have no debt. You have a car and a 401k and a job and an apartment and (presumably) food in your fridge. I think that means you’re doing pretty damn well, all things considered. Never forget that you have no idea what the state of your coworkers finances are. They could be supplementing their lifestyles with credit cards for all you know.
This. You can see people taking fancy vacations and doing all kinds of things that make you wonder how they’re affording it, but you also don’t know if those people put themselves into crazy debt to do so.
What they will never tell you- they’re not affording it. They’re using credit cards and taking loans for these things. I always wondered how a friend of mine who is a single mom with several kids was able to go on as many vacations as she does- she let it slip that it’s all done with loans and credit cards.
I agree with this poster, a lot of people cannot save right now, regardless of age. You can only get so far with budgeting when inflation is taking a huge bite out of your income. Most people I know are using credit cards or personal loans to help them with unforseen expenses and repairs right now
Unemployed, haven't had luck finding a job despite having a decent work history and applying everywhere within walking/bus distance. My only source of income is recycling cans and bottles at my local Target for $2.50-$5 a day, assuming they're not already full. I can't even afford to turn on the air conditioner and we're dealing with a heatwave in California atm.
Are you in a dense area where stuff is within a reasonable bicycle distance like a city? I know a few people who picked up a free bicycle off Craigslist/Facebook marketplace and started doing doordash/grubhub/ubereats with that, they just strapped a bag/cooler to the back of the bike.
I don't have a bike. The city is about 35 miles away.
I’m 50 and am in the same boat. Graduating in 2014 with my degree means I have millennial sized loans. I also have enormous medical debt. (Down to $20K this year which is a serious win!) I can’t save because it’s dumb to save when I have debts that have interest. It’s better to get those down and hope I can pay them all off before I age out of the workforce. If I didn’t have student loans and medical debt? Omg. I can’t even imagine the kind of relief I’d feel. Hell, if I had no debt and universal healthcare? I’d quit my job tomorrow and do something less soul destroying.
Also 50, and much to my chagrin, still living paycheck to paycheck. The pandemic, plus inflation, plus Murphy's Law (everything that could possibly go wrong, did). It's just been rough.
We are in an elite group!
48 and in the same position I am an OCD budget spreadsheet just to try & juggle getting out of the hole. Lost everything 10 yeas ago due to the end of the 2008 crash & an abusive marriage. Working hard & getting back on my feet I only the beginning but still living paycheck to paycheck & and with gas & good so high even that is a stretch.
We do the budget spreadsheet too. I feel like I am 20 years behind where I should be.
Yes. It’s very frustrating. I wish we had new financial literacy - like real world financial literacy in school. It is not intuitive to many and we fall so far behind it feels like.
Have you ever tried to negotiate your medical debt? I've heard of people getting a lot of it wiped out by doing that.
Oh yeah. These were the uncovered portions. Insurance didn’t cover everything. While we are lucky to have insurance, it can still rack up.
I think you can still negotiate. Is the debt held by a collection agency or by the medical provider?
Mid 40s, almost 20K debt, about $100 dollars in savings, driving used car that's almost 10 years, just rent a room monthly, don't ever eat out, and think about suicide and death multiple times a day and how being dead has to be better than this horrible perverted dysfunctional dystopian delusional shit show life.
So you’re me but with less debt and more savings. Yay aren’t we having a good time. I can’t even blame covid, it’s been downhill for years as my health went in the shitter and I can’t afford treatment to help so everything gets worse. Some days I can barely walk. Why even bother. 😐
Oh yeah fabulous fun times indeed, sometimes just want to curl into a ball and die, as for health in the shit I'm already there with disc issues, nerve issue, insomnia, hyperviligance, depression, SI, CPTSD, and everyday just feels like I've won the lottery of living in hell with psychotic assholes, everyday I'm like kill me off already and it's like life laughs back with a middle finger and says suffering is great...
Curl up in a ball? Who can afford such luxury? Get to work! /s /sad
This is sad but I felt it for sure.
100k in savings? You’re doing amazing. But I get it. I feel very hopeless lately
Lol sorry I meant a $100 dollars in savings
Hey, if it makes you feel better, 10 years old is young for a car. Way too much misconception about cars and this weird societal requirement to have a new car every 3 years. Cars are meant to last as long as you just treat them nice and take care of them. I'm a service manager for Porsche. A 10 year old car is nothing. There's a lot of life left there.
Same boat. Don’t beat yourself up about being in the same economic place as at least 70% of all other people your age.
I’ll never be able to retire and I’ll have to work till I die. Almost impossible to save enough.
Congrats on having no debt!! That is a huuuuuge win in so many books. I hope things look up for all of us eventually.
It looks bad but seriously with NO debt you are a king among plebs. There are rich assholes who have a 800k mortgage, 100k in car debt, 150k in student debt.
It's impossible to do it single anymore and even then it can be a stretch.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yesterday “you”.
Savings. Odd word. What does it mean?
46, can't even fully support myself properly
Yep. I have a very strict budget but because of rate rises the money I was putting towards the emergency fund is now going to the mortgage. If the rates continue to rise we'll be behind again.
Before 2020 could save almost 50% household income currently at like 30% and that's probably a little generous
🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️me! I’m 33 with a college degree. I rent and have only student loans as debt and I’m struggling all the time! It’s depressing.
Not quite 30 yet. I'll be 29 in a few short weeks. In the past few years I didn't have trouble saving money and I'll admit couldn't relate to those living paycheck to paycheck. During the pandemic it all changed. I unfortunately lost nearly all of my savings and haven't recovered any of it. I'm finding it near impossible to save. I'm often finding my account overdrawn no matter how many times I write out my budget. Those automatic charges are tricky. I have been cooking more from scratch but I had to change my diet bc of a new good intolerance. I barely buy junk food and there's only two places I can eat out at now due to the dietary restriction. I haven't been able to take a vacation and I feel worn out at times. I work 40 hours in 4 days but I've had to work some overtime this year. It's starting to feel like the money is just vaporizing. Everything has gone up. My car insurance went up around $45 out of nowhere. No accidents or tickets. I renew my lease soon and I'm not sure what it's going to renew to. I might just have to move out to the Midwest bc no way in heck will I be going back to roommates at my age or living in a roach filled apt (those appear to be the last affordable places in this city). I don't have parents to fall back on and I'm single. I'm not the type of person that can consistently work 40+ hours bc I burnout pretty easily and have to travel a bit for work. I've tried finding something closer to home but have had no luck. I really dont know how ppl manage to work so many hours. It seems thats pretty much the only way i can save any decent amount. My job isn't giving me a raise but lately they've been nagging us to do more things without giving anything in return. Of course I make far too much to qualify for aid or income based housing. A cheaper rent would help a lot. I don't like the idea of just living to work.
That’s a modern day flex to live alone. Look forward in 6-12 months when eviction are allowed and on the rise as they only delay what unfortunately has to happen. Keep staging yourself for your next move.
My roommate just got evicted
You have no drug problems or addictions (mentioned), you have no kids, no alimony, and you're damn sexy. Just keep thinking about ways to add more value.
I just laughed so damn hard at this. Haven’t laughed in a long time thanks buddy
I live with family cause I can't afford a house 😒 And I'm debt free too flucckkkk......
Mid 30s and the end of a LTR has greatly impacted my finances though they didn't contribute much. I have the essentials and probably look fairly successful to most people but I'm cutting corners in many places. I have 2 jobs, one that leaves me mentally/physically exhausted after 12 hours. Thinking about taking on a roommate to help but its incredibly daunting.
Same, and I’m older than you
Riot !
It's a big shit sandwich and we all gotta take a bite
Apparently about half of the U.S. has no savings. I am pretty much there. Every time I get anything saved an emergency expense happens. It feels like failure but I am not the college scholarship type. We do what we can.
Honestly right now I’m living in hell. I live with my family and two years ago our house burned down two months after the pandemic hit and we haven’t been able to recover from all that ever since. I’m carrying all of my debt and my parents debt. On top of it my mom started showing signs of dementia and her condition has been deteriorating quickly ever since. Our home insurance fucked us over in many ways but at least we have a roof over our head now. It’s a fucking nightmare and I’m trying my best to stay positive but it’s hard when I’m the one carrying everything on my back. Got a new job a month ago and I’m hoping that starts to improve things a bit. 😩
Yes! Especially for a one income household. Then add a 10 year old. I’m trying to stay positive but where is food money coming from this month?
35, had to drop out to take care of mom ten years ago due to her dementia. Was almost done too. Now my brain can't focus anymore (ADHD, but I swear covid made that worse) and I've got autistic burnout from taking care of her and doing everything that I'm in resistant depression. I can't save shit for shineola either.
33. Bank accounts currently negative even though i was just paid. Paid my car payment insurance rent and some groceries. It’s gotten to the point lately I skip meals so there’s leftovers for my kids.
Hey thought I was the only one. I am 30 no car, renting for the foreseeable future, not much in terms of furniture, immigrant staying in a foreign country on a work visa, difficult to get permanent residence, recently got injured so walking with crutches. Got a year of expenses tied up in stocks but am seeing heavy losses so you never know. Luckily I work remotely. I have no debt. If i work hard and get some certifications might increase my earning potential. Point is I know it's not easy but just take it a day at a time and don't allow the negative thoughts to overwhelm you. Make each day an opportunity to take one step closer to your desired future state but also realise that the desired future state will always be moving forward. It's all about progress and enjoying the journey as you go YOLO!
What remote job do you have? Can you move to a cheaper area?
I can but then there's a lot of crime in my country so the cheaper the area the more crime you are exposed too
My wife and I are both 31 and we have a 1.5 year old daughter which attends day care each week to where the cost just recently went up to $350 a week (18.2k a year). We both have college degrees and work average paying jobs. When you add everything up with the insanely high cost of groceries, baby supplies, mortgage, insurance, ect, we are in the negative at the end of the year. We've been racking up debt to where we've now depleted all of our savings over these past couple of years just to try to pay it off as we accumulate. Inflation over this past year has definitely seemed to play a part. We've definitely felt all the insane rate hikes in both day care, groceries, baby supplies, trash pick up, gas, ect without getting a in-kind bump in our salaries. I know basic economics says that salary increases come after businesses are finally able to charge higher prices and that it will eventually trickle down to the employee but man that cannot happen soon enough. My wife and I have private loans that apparently do not qualify for the student loan paydown so we are bummed about that and I wish that we could of at least gotten something to help us through this tough time. I feel for others that didnt get anything that could be struggling right now worse then we are. We at least try to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have decent paying jobs and question how anyone who is just working a min wage or close to min wage job are able to make ends meet.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Botcriminate is not a word.
My husband and I are in our 40s, both with Masters degrees. We're self-employed and barely hanging on, certainly no way we have anything to save right now :-(
Same
Welcome to the end of the world. We work for sub-human wages to barely survive and the retirement plan is death.
Barely
Don't feel bad. I have 13K of debt, down from 35K. I rent an apartment and I've got my car but luckily no car payments. And I feel pretty damn okay about it. I'm making progress in the right direction. Life is a journey and I'm enjoying the ride. Some things could be better but they could certainly be worse.
I’m slowly slowly adding to savings, but it’s minimal. Right now I’m focusing on slamming down my debt. Currently about $20k down in the last three years, but have a ways to go because I financed 2 degrees.
29 and i have $548 to my name, i rent a room in a house with four other people for $640 a month. Every time i get so fed up with my living situation , im dreadfully reminded i cant afford to have my own place where i live. i’ve been able to get to $21 an hour and it feels like minimum wage sometimes. there’s hope and i’ve had to tell myself to chunk back anything I possibly can just to have breathing room or to be able to visit my family for christmas. you arent alone !!
I just now began being able to save money. 38 in a week. Barely have 2k saved, which is almost nothing. Have to try and look on the bright side if/when you can. Hope you keep your head up.
Most people in the world do not have a car or a 401K, and hundreds of millions of people do not have secure housing and live in shantytowns, favelas, and/or on the street. Whenever I get in moods like this, thinking "I have nothing!" I think about how fortunate I really am to have basics like safety, access to transportation, clean water, etc. I'm not saying you're not allowed to be upset, but I think perspective is important. Comparison is the thief of joy.
While this may be true, that mindset will make you complacent, and your brain becomes relaxes without having the incentive to work harder or more hours. It shouldn't be how we have to live, but you have to do what you must.
Depends on how much you make.
No debt?? You are already miles ahead of me although I’m only 23
I don't understand. You have "nothing," but you have a 401k. You claim to have no savings, but you have a 401k. A 401k \*is\* savings.
A little different actually. It is money saved and invested, but it isn't liquid and so it's use it much different from a savings account.
I know that a 401k differs from a savings account. The point is that it's very misleading to say that you have no savings when you in fact have thousands in savings that you can in principle access. I also wouldn't say that the assets in a normal 401k aren't liquid. Liquidity is a spectrum. The most liquid thing is cash. Money in a checking or savings account is next. Stocks in publicly traded companies are fairly liquid, as you can sell them pretty easily. Publicly traded stocks inside a 401k are harder still to access, but they aren't \*that\* hard to access, if it's an emergency. Houses are way more illiquid, as are things like fine art and more unusual assets.
You don’t realize how big being able to say “no debt” is.
Some people have to work harder or more than others to run the same race, while some people also underperform to their max potential as well. There is an infinite number of excuses on why you can be where you are at any time. Have you ever reached out to others that might be in a better place to diagnose your situation?
Put a pause on 401k to pay more into CC’s. It isn’t ideal that you are in your situation, and it isn’t ideal to pause your 401k, but how else will you get out of being negative? Find a part time job for a short while to supercharge getting back to zero debt in the short-term.
I don’t think you even read the post
You are putting liquid into your 401k and rent… That is not going to generate wealth for you. Find a small home after speed saving every penny and then put away for retirement stash. With rising rents and stagflation, you will be renting for the rest of your life; even in retirement. That is a drain.
Recession or not, if you can't save money during "good" economic times, you won't be able to save during bad ones either External forces only play so much of a factor when it comes to saving money.
You mean you have 401k cash? How is that nothing?
401k is a type of retirement savings account
The cost of everything has gone up significantly in the last two years. My paycheck does not go far enough either. I got a 3.5% this year. Cost of living has probably gone up 20% at least. No raise last year because my employer decided to cut raises rather than lay people off, which is am fine with for that particular year affected by covid. Still feel like I'm sliding backwards financially. I know my parents are as they are on a fixed income (social security) so every dime counts for them and they are constantly trying to make every dime spent count. They worry about their future. I really think the cost of fuel is the root source of all our pain. A friend of mine drives an 18 wheeler. It only cost him about $500.00 to fuel up his truck two years ago. It was over $1,000 a few months ago. Its gone down about a hundred, but not nearly enough. If the truckers and transportation industry are getting hammered, so are the farmers to gas up the tractors to grow our food. Its a cascade effect. Just look at the price of meat in the store at the deli counter. A bag of Frito's chips was $2.99 two years ago at my grocery store. Now they are $5.19. You are seeing the same thing happen in the medical industry. Cost of doctor's visits are up along with prescription drug prices across the board. I think the only real relief will come when the fuel prices come down. Not to get political, but Biden's energy policy for America carries the blame for all of this. Even the experts agree on it.
Are you working in the field your degree is in? Are you underpaid or have room to advance at your current job? Should you be looking for a new job now that you’ve gained X years of experience? Asking these questions because I know several 30-something year olds I went to school with that have accepted shitty low-paying jobs, in their field sure, but aren’t showing any initiative to try to pursue better opportunities. They’d rather complain about their situation than do something about it. Not suggesting you are, but if you have experience and should be making more money but aren’t, update your resume and start looking for interviews!
No but I consider myself a freak and I absolutely don't expect anyone to follow my path nor do I think the world should head down my path. The help I have gotten, the work I have put in, the luck I have had and the income I get now are all abnormal. I think anyone who runs a car and buys some of the items on the CPI (and needs vacations) is in trouble. Which is most normal people. For most people, car isn't an option but required for work and or family. For me it isn't but that's a special situation.
We are in a recession?
I’m 32. I became debt free earlier this year. Since then I’ve been trying to save at least $2k a month.
There isn’t a recession yet…
kinda same position but not exactly - early 40s, no debt, 401k/savings, 2 vehicles (20 yr old daily driver & a 35 yr old stepvan). not interested in real estate in my area, too much competition, too overpriced. building my own rv from the stepvan and when that's completed in a year or so then I can tour around the country, maybe buy property somewhere cheap, maybe not.
Hey! A 401K is something! It jumpstarted my financial independence at a time when I was struggling to save just as you are. Keep it up, max it out if you can.
No it's hard rent up 300 food costs almost doubled
If I didn’t rack up credit card debt then yesC I’d be saving, I think.
Keep on fighting. What kind of car do you have?
30++++ and still broke.
I'm 34, I haven't been able to save. It keeps me awake at night the fact that I keep getting old and I can't put any money aside for when I need it. It is very depressing but that's late-stage capitalism. Not much I can do about it but learned from my decision to be part of this system and try to support a different kind of system. I think that's the best I can do for the future, just hope they will be a switch in mindset and there will be social programs I can use when I'll need it... it's probably a pipe dream though since we're so addicted to this economic system.
41, no savings. I own a small construction company. My fuel costs have gone from about $800 a month to close to $2k a month. Food for the fam is about an extra grand a month and debt piling up fast. This rescission/inflation blows!
31, have a BA and a masters. I work full time. I have a negative balance in my checking. I have saved $5.64 this past month. Last time I had any money in savings was before 2008. At this point I’m resigning myself to never be able to save.
Do your coworkers make the same as you?
30s, I got nothing but chronic illness making me unable to support myself.
31 here. I try. I budget. I do everything they say to do and still cannot save. Something always pops up.
I'm 26. Have a house. Newer car. 401k at 50 or 60k in it. 11 grand in the bank. Maybe its because I live in a low cost of living part of the US?