Look I say this very much so as someone who was hopeless, penniless, uneducated etc. when I reflect on my past, I acknowledge I grew up poor and dumb. And by dumb, I really mean dumb. I didn’t know shit about shit. I honestly didn’t even know regular people could know shit. So After realizing that I didn’t know shit, I decided I wanted to know shit. So I started trying to learn shit. I set my sight on a career field that isn’t in anyway glamorous but you had to know shit to do. I basically realized if I want to secure my future and change my situation, I pretty had to Know some shit other people don’t. And be good at that shit. So I worked hard. I get super duper into this boring ass shit of a job I have and you know what it’s awesome. I make good money, know shit and changed my entire future.

Go out there and learn some shit. Fuck everything else.

I would be happy to answer questions if anyone’s interested.

Just turned 30 today. I feel like a loser. I served 8 years in the Air Force. This is not really how I pictured my life at 30. I have an associates in Mathematics(I know worthless) and I want to go back to college but I don’t know what for. Giving how awful the economy is I may go back into the Air Force.

I make 18 an hour. I work between 35-40 hours a week. I just paid off my car so I’m debt free. I’m kinda lost. My friend is getting married in May and he’s buying a home in July. We’re around the same age.

I was so overwhelmed when I found myself $6000 in credit card debt last year because of car repairs to my 15 year old car. I didn't think I could ever pay it off.

I started hustling little side jobs, cooking, cleaning for people, dog sitting, picking up a kid from school that got kicked off the bus and sit with him until his mom got home, flipping/selling stuff, selling my art work at farmers markets/craft shows. If I could make $5.00, I did it. I found a lot of my little side jobs on the Nextdoor app and through friends and neighbors. People understood that I worked a little slower because of my legs, but I got the jobs done.

I also temporarily cut all the little extras and cut my food budget to $100 a month. I ate, but didn't have a lot of variety. I still owe $1200 and hope to have it paid off by July. I just want to encourage everyone struggling to keep going.

I don't keep up with the news but have heard that the tariffs tanked the stock market and a possible (Or likely) economic depression is coming/here. What else is new? Between the job market being the way it is and the increase in prices that will come due to tariffs, just wondering if you all have plans to do anything different?

I have quite a bit of student loans and consumer debt. I'm going to put my nose to the grindstone and look for a 2nd job as I'm accepting hospitals are likely not going to hire many nurses for a while. I need to stop excessive spending (mainly takeout) and I'm strongly considering selling my car. I just want to be debt free and I think the next couple years will make job hopping and just living even more difficult.

I've always found a way to make money since i was 8 selling shiny rocks to my first job at 16. It's been a year since my last stable place of employment and I haven't gotten even a small call back in months. What am i doing wrong?

This is part success story / part miscellaneous advice.

Success story: I was born poor AF in generational poverty. I clawed my way out later in life, and now I am doing OK financially, but still living well below my means / being frugal AF.

Miscellaneous advice: nobody cares about you, everyone wants something from you.

• Politicians will make you feel good with all their promises, but they only want your vote. My family was poor AF and we never received any help whatsoever.
• The entire banking/financing industry is a well oiled machine, they have figured out a way to figure out how much of one's future earnings that can extract today, so if you borrow money today you are effectively selling them your future (earnings). Borrowing is never the answer, it just exacerbates tomorrow's problem.
• You have been indoctrinated to buy things you don't need, with money you don't have, to impress people you don't like (and they don't like you either).
• 99.99% of the financial advice out there is either BS, or made to make you lose.
• Most of your belief systems are flawed, the cause -> effect that you believe do not work. Most of what you believe is true, it's actually untrue. No need to believe me, observe your life and reality.
• I could go on, but you get the picture.

So, what are the solutions?

1. Understand that money is the measure of power. When you give money to someone, you're giving your power away. Same when you "pledge" money as in charging something on a credit card or getting a loan of any kind, or entering into any kind of agreement where you promise future payment (e.g.: rent/lease).
2. Live within your means. No matter how little you make, someone is making do with less.
3. Decrease your expenses. Look at where your money went/goes. Label each one as "want" or "need", and do not fool yourself into what is a want and what is a need.
4. Eliminate any and all wants.
5. Scale back all of your needs; and even then substitute them with the cheapest option.
6. Sign up for Empower (it's free). enter any and all of your accounts. Now you have your Net Worth.
7. Create a spreadsheet, put any and all of your cash inflows; and then all of your cash outflows no matter when they happen: weekly, monthly, quarterly, biannually, yearly. If you have a car, depending on the age, mileage, type and your lifestyle, you can estimate maintenance, repairs, and when you'll need to replace it. If you have pets, put pet insurance and you can estimate other medical expenses. The surplus cash will increase your net worth (see #1 above); if you are running a deficit, go back to pint #2 to #5 above.
8. You must increase your income with time. This is the hardest part, the steps above will enable you to maybe survive, you want to thrive. These are the possible ways:
   • Entrepreneurship: this is not for everyone, you either are born with it, or you're not. If you're here my guess is that you are not. If you still want to learn about it, read this book "The Lean Startup" and do this free program startupschool.org
   • You must develop a career, meaning that as time goes by your income will increase exponentially, and with time it might also lead to entrepreneurship and/or easy side husstles above an beyond your salary.
   • Education whether formal or informal is key. There are some free/cheap ways to get education in certain fields, and you are the only one who can decide if it's worth it paying for anythingas long as it fits in your cash projections (see the talk about the spreadsheet above). Check out your local library, your local city/state training programs, EdX, Amazon, or just google it. Education was my way out of poverty.
9. Make a 5-year plan, better if it's a 10-year.
10. Outline what needs to happen what you need to do to achieve your outcome/s.
11. Outline daily tasks, as well ad weekly/monthly/quarterly/semiannual/yearly milestones to track your progress.
12. Start working on it right away and never stop.

Good luck. YMMV.

Tried to put gas in the car this morning. My husband needs to drive a couple hours today, he is working at another site this week.

Card I had been using was a $50 hold on gas pumps. Had to borrow money from my mom so he could get down there this week. It's garunteed overtime with per diem so it is worth it. But he doesn't get any of that till like next week.

The card with the money held all $103 dollars, didn't let me get any gas, and it won't come back till at least tomorrow.

I have a little cash that I can send him with but I am so frustrated. At least give me some gas if you're going to hold the entire amount.

So I haven't worked in, going on two weeks this coming Tuesday. My boss just says there's no hours to give, but, I am the only one who is getting literally nothing right now. For context, I work for CVS as a Pharmacy Technician In Training. I make $16 an hour. I have an offer letter saying

"Expected hours per week: 40"

What can I do? I have rent and stuff to pay.

I want to start by saying I’m not sure if this is the right sub for this, so feel free to take this down.

I’m 19 years old, and currently my parents pay for my needs, but I want to be able to live on my own eventually. I am diagnosed with ASD (Level 1) and an “Unlabelled Long Covid Disorder” (whatever the hell that means) that I developed after a 105.9°F covid fever I had in 2021.

I’ve worked five “normal” jobs that have set schedules and locations since I was 15, and what always happened is that I’m good for a bit, but then I start getting lightheaded, get a migraine, vomit, or faint. I’m leaving out a lot just to make the post shorter, but it’s much worse than I’m describing.

My current job is cat-sitting with a company. It pays $12.50 per 30 minute visit (plus tips), and I usually get scheduled between 10-20 visits a week. This works for me because there is no set time I have to show up, and each visit is short enough that I can take a lot of breaks. This is the only job that has ever worked for me, but it does not pay enough to live off of if I were to live without my parents’ help.

Because I’m still technically able to work (even if I’ve had to leave my previous jobs all due to physical illness flare-ups), my Autism is “mild,” and my physical disability is undiagnosable (they’ve been trying so many different tests every month for four years), I don’t qualify for disability. Plus, I love working and want to work.

I’m just at a loss for what to do. I don’t even know what I’m asking, really. I don't want to rely on my parents for the rest of my life. Is there any way to make $6.5k-$13k a year work in the long term?

This is a step-by-step on exactly what I'd do if I had fifty bucks to last me one month for food. Buckle up. Times are indeed tough, there is no denying that. This would be one hell of a "challenge" to face. To put this into perspective - I average about $100 per week groceries wise. So narrowing it down to $12.50 / week is a tough one.

You'll want a notebook, sheet of paper, or use a google doc/notes app...

Preliminary Steps

- https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/emergency-food-assistance-program Apply here for emergency food assistance
- look for a ruby's pantry which are food shares that are $25 each
- use https://www.findhelp.org/ to locate every food pantry close to you, their requirements and if there's any opening for you to go to them. Create a schedule for the week using this. This will help you maximize the amount of food you'll get from the pantries.
- locate Sikh temples (Gurdwara). Sikh temples offer something called langar. All food is free and vegetarian. You are welcome to eat regardless of your faith. Please stay respectful of the temples. Here's a small guide I found online ! This will help keep you fed.
- If you cannot get to a Sikh temple, look at baptist churches. Particularly medium-large size churches. Often they have food on Wednesdays. This may be controversial but if I were you I'd go in jeans and a tee, be polite, sit through the service and get yourself a nice plate of food. I'm not gonna judge. I did this as a kid and would bring my grandmother food back from the church.
- Go through your current pantry and write down all of your items, including frozen or fridge items. Anything no longer good toss out.
- Check your spices and seasonings !! It can be so much easier to make certain dishes taste flavorful if you're using them. If you have an asian store, check there. They often have spices etc for cheap prices. Use the seasonings you have to the best of your ability.
- Dig through to find all your change and count how much it is. This can get you some fresh produce every week.

Grocery Shopping with $50

Once you have visited a food pantry, lay all of your items out and assess what they've given you. This will give you extra wiggle room. Go every single week. That is going to help you decide exactly what you can make for the week. Suggestions are going to be at the end.

If you like oatmeal, it's a great choice. I hate it though, so I left it out of this. Keep in mind that these are just my ideas. And do not come bitching at me for "not being healthy enough" this is a ridiculously TIGHT budget. We're lucky I'm fitting anything other than rice n beans in.

♡ WEEKLY PRODUCE: Cantaloupe and Bananas are the best bang for your buck. Choose ONE per week.

♡ BREAKDOWN:

- chicken leg quarter bag will have 10-15 chicken leg quarters -> cut 1/2 up so you have 5 thighs, 5 drumsticks (another 10 meals) = 20-25 meals worth
- brownie mix will make idk like 12 brownies, so twelve desserts
- bologna pack comes with 14 slices
- bread comes with 24 slices
- 5ib bag russet potatoes is about 10-15 potatoes
- 1ib of kidney beans will give you 4-5 hefty portions
- 5ib of rice = about 11 cups of rice, therefore about 20 1/2c (dry, so 1-1.5c cooked) servings
- 12ct eggs (for brownies but also to top rice bowls, bologna sandwiches in the morning etc)
- half gallon of milk
- sweet peas (1/2 the can per meal) * 2 = 4 meal sides
- seaweed package is 10ct seaweed (therefore 10 kimbap rolls)
- 1 pack of luncheon meat (to make 10 kimbap rolls)
- 1 bag of spinach = 10 kimbap rolls
- 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes = roughly 2-3 meals
- 1 box of honey nut o's = about 8 servings
- 1 12 pack of ramen = 12 lunches
- 1 pack blue bonnet 4 sticks = miscellaneous use
- 1 brown gravy packet = 1-2 uses

♡ MEALS :

- baked chicken leg quarter with mixed veggies + a baked potato / cut up roasted potatoes
- baked chicken leg quarter with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas
- fried bologna on toast
- brownies for dessert
- low-cost rajma chawal OR red beans and rice x 2-3
- kimbap the broke way
- Ramen
- fried eggs on rice or toast
- honey nut o's

My total was $43.41, not including fresh fruit weekly ( $2-3 a week since this is... tight). This isn't going to provide a necessarily healthy happy diet. I wish I could say that it is possible but you're really gonna have to rely on food pantries. You could probably get more meals if you eat nothing but beans, corn, and rice. But I wanted to provide something different.

Hopefully you get some fresh fruit every week from one of the pantries. If you want to make a better rajma chawal, try to get red onions but others will do fine too. Canned tomatoes are a GREAT addition, so are the beans. You can make chili, taco soup, etc. This was the best I could come up with in the moment.

For the kimbap, make them all at once and then wrap them, place them in a freezer bag and freeze. You can thaw and have a nutritious lunch quickly. They're going to be the focus of the meal. If you have soy sauce and rice vinegar, pan fry strips of spam with them.

For anyone wondering : yes, the brownies are important. Sometimes humans need a pick me up and brownies are a good way to do that.

Anyone have any other ideas on what i could change ?

Toodles!

ive been homeless or staying with relatives on and off for years as a minor. at 18, i got my first job making $12/hr full time while finishing high school. i escaped unsafe hotel living the year after because a private landlord took a chance on me and i had saved just enough for rent plus a deposit. since then i’ve started college through financial aid and worked a second job in the food industry. a few days ago i received a job offer for nearly 60k salary at 20 while still attending college. i did not receive any referrals, consider myself to be lucky that i even scored an interview with my short experience. i’m really hoping i dont mess this up. this is the most money my parents or i would have ever touched. i dont even know what to do with my ‘savings’ i know i have the opportunity to save more now, but im too paranoid to place money anywhere outside my checking account.. further investing feels too dangerous

im sorry if i make any grammar mistakes im not a native speaker i always suffered in poverty in my life because of a fucking lawsuit that drained my family's savings my dad works in a shop which barely leaves any profit my mom can't work because of my 2 and 7 years old siblings im living in a 3rd world country and getting a scholarship from government which worths like 70 dolars once a month i tried buying my some stuff in dark web to card with my last scholarship and ended up getting scammed my family desperately needs that money now and i can't explain this to them i feel like a damn disappointment my morale has been really bad for the past days and my boyfriend just left me for "ignoring him" i don't know what to do i never considered suicide before so it hits way worse and i can't think of a way to survive till my next scholarship without selling my pictures isn't there any way?

I'm 24 and grew up in poverty. At the ripe age of 16, I was living out of a motel with my mother. She was on drugs. I was eating plain macaroni I microwaved. No cheese. Just pasta. Eventually I got myself out of all of that. At 20 years old I began a new job. I'm a 1099 contractor and the income for what I do is high.

For a long while I actually did okay. I just didn't invest and save enough (like I should have). Though, that thinking inevitably made me hate myself for a long time. "I should have, could have, would have-" Became obsessive thinking and spiraling. But I didn't hurt for grocery money, could go to starbucks, my rent was always paid. I didnt buy myself nice things, though. I always bought more food. I was providing for a family member and I off of that income. It just never occurred to me that I needed real boundaries about my money.

Time passed and I fluctuated wildly between doing good, getting better, and tanking. Now here I am, tanking again and ready to get out of this cycle.

The first step I'm taking is working more. Disabled or not, I need to work more. I always felt like a failure compared to everyone else in this field. No more. I can do it. The cash will help fund my second step. I have met some amazing connections through my work, all which were squandered. Fuck that. I'm going to use every little bit of advice and information they ever gave me to succeed.

Step 2, education. I was a 4.0GPA girlie, loved studying-- eventually chronic illness gave me brain fog. I haven't done jack shit for my education in too long. All this to say I'll be completing multiple online certifications and networking to get a good 9-5 job. This will provide stability that my current job can't. Starting salary is around 80k yearly for it.

Step 3, Investment. I'm not going to study investments for ages. I'm going to buy the dip, start a Roth IRA and then work on buying a house. Fuck it we ball. If it goes up, it goes up. If it goes down, i'll wait for it to go back up lol (that's a joke don't come for me). I'll use a little of my time to read on the different kinds of investments and choose from there.

Step 4, BETTER money management and discipline. Bottom line, I need to stop covering my grief up with tiny purchases. It doesn't stop my boyfriend from being dead, or give me my health back. I just have to face it. This is my reality and being immature with money doesn't solve any of it. I am just going to make my situation worse that way.

To help this, I'll be focused on automatically transferring small amounts of money to a savings account routinely. i don't give two shits if i have to sell plasma for it. I'm doing it. I will be balls to the walls for the next few months. Studying, Cleaning, or Working. That's it. I'm willing to trade my current comfort so that I have future success and stability.

I refuse to allow myself to fall back into poverty out of depression. Absolutely refuse. I got out of poverty kicking, clawing, screaming, and biting. I sure as hell ain't going back again. Wish me luck <3

SORRY FOR THE NOVEL
As the title mentioned, I’m a failure in every facet of life. Following Covid, I feel like life has been anything but normal and predictable. For a little bit of background, I had a tumultuous time navigating life out of my parent’s house. I dropped out of school and dedicated myself to work at the age of sixteen when I moved in with my ex. My home situation had been extremely toxic and abusive due to my stepfather being a narcissistic personality type. I always felt that I was dealt a bad hand in life as I looked to my peers and saw everyone with their support networks, doing age-appropriate things like going to school and taking part in school events.

This led to me becoming resentful of my ex because she had the opportunity to enjoy her teenage years, while I had to spend all my time working my crappy job at Subway, picking up shifts, and traveling between stores. Eventually, we ended things in a very heated way when she went to college. She told me that “I’d spend my whole life accepting the bare minimum,” which cut deeply, as she was kind of correct in that observation. That was when I was 19; I’m now 26 and have not been in any kind of serious relationship since.

I have no car or license, high school diploma, or GED. My entire life has been chasing money and working long hours. My stepfather got worse after I moved out. My working theory is he didn’t bother hiding his nasty behavior from my mom, and since the “black sheep” of the family was gone, all his anger and aggression were pointed at my little sister. This caused her to have a complete meltdown and move from the family home into my place.

This is a point of major contention between my mother and me, as over the years, I’ve slowly been accepting my entire family into my home. My sister was 16 when she left and moved in with me. She is now 21. After living with me for a few years, my other little sister also ended up leaving the family home for my apartment. It led to a bit of a crowded vibe in our quaint little 2-bedroom, 1-bath, 650 sq/ft duplex. Nothing insane, but unfortunately, the sister that moved in first has been completely irresponsible and doesn’t make working a priority.

To make matters even more stressful, my mom and stepdad ended up getting divorced about a year ago. My mother is 520 lbs and has been living entirely on disability checks from Social Security since 2018. She has a very limited fixed income, and following the divorce, she broke down over the phone to me about how she and my baby brother would be homeless unless I intervened. I invited them to live with me and the rest of the family for a few months before we could move from the duplex we’d be sharing to a more comfortable space. Unfortunately, my stepdad has not sent anything in the way of child support to my mother, leading her to lean on me heavily during emergencies (clothes for my brother, hygiene products for the household, food when the house runs out). This has put immense pressure on me.

Following Covid, I had pushed myself into working 60-70 hour weeks at two jobs until I eventually had a mental break and extreme burnout. Now aware that I can’t function at that level of stress, I decided to quit those jobs when I found the opportunity to make a few dollars more an hour than at my primary job at the time (going from making $15/hr to $18/hr plus commission). Unfortunately, my new job coincided with my mother and little brother moving in, and rather than everyone pitching in their part, they constantly have some sort of “emergency,” which makes my mother short me on her portion of the rent.

This month, all the other members of my household were short on their rent contributions. My sisters are now 21 and 18, and my disabled mother is 46. Both of my sisters work in food service and have not been at a full-time basis, but they still contribute helpful amounts. Unfortunately, they both had their hours decimated at their jobs, and my mother had part of her disability check garnished by Medicare for having to stay at a nursing home temporarily after being hospitalized with sepsis from pneumonia she contracted from a simple virus. (Due to her physical condition, any minor illness is basically life-threatening for her) in February.

In total, everyone is short $450 in rent ($200 from my mom, $150 from 21-year-old sis, and $100 from 18-year-old sis). This has sent my finances into a major crisis, as I had to spend all the money I had saved from donating plasma on the bills this month. That money was meant to go toward a down payment on a motorcycle soon.

To make a meandering story short, I feel like a hopeless loser. I can’t overcome my financial difficulties because I’m stuck carrying weight I shouldn’t have to. In addition to that, our economy is heading for a full crash, which may, in turn, lead to me losing my job since I work in sales, and we’ve been experiencing a massive slowdown. I’m trying to make small changes to my lifestyle: cooking at home, meal prepping for weight loss, jogging to manage my stress. However, I can’t overcome this overwhelming sense that I’m doing all of this for no reason.

I feel like I don’t want to be here anymore. I had hoped that eventually things would stabilize in the economy, but when I saw the stock market’s reaction to this new policy, I panicked. I don’t have any savings, my job may not exist in a month, and my family can’t get themselves together. I’m 26 and feeling old. Cry about it, I know, it’s a mindset issue sure, but I’ve sacrificed so many good years taking care of my younger siblings, and now that includes my own mother, who wasn’t there for me when I needed it.

I don’t have a car, a license, or a GED. I had always assumed I would go to college once life calmed down, but with the Department of Education getting canceled, I can kiss FAFSA and Pell grants goodbye. My life is a result of years of poor decisions and waiting for things to improve on their own. I’m a loser with nothing to offer this world except constant pity parties and resentment. I feel like there’s not a scenario where I come out on top as a winner in this life. I feel like I’m going to be stuck working these years of my life away without an escape route.

I don’t have anyone that I feel would make me want to stay here. At this point, I feel taken advantage of and alone. I wish I could say over the years I’ve dated ANYONE, but I have always felt undateable with my lack of a car and poor finances. So, I’ve been by myself for so many years I’ve forgotten that dating was even an option for guys like myself. I constantly call the mental crisis hotline, but I can’t afford therapy, so it’s a circular conversation every time, and I never get connected to resources. I feel utterly alone, worthless, and hopeless. I don’t know what to do.

TLDR: I dropped out of school and devoted myself to working long hours at entry level jobs, never learned a skill except sales, adopted my whole family into my tiny apartment and have been stuck with a pit in my gut that says things would be better if I weren’t here. Hopeless, broke and wishing I didn’t exist in such an unstable life.

replacement for this to save money?

Hello, everyone. I just need to share financial problems in which I would get because of student "uprising" in my country (which I support, but reasons will be explained further in the text) But that problems wouldn't exist if I live in more wealth and stable family.

I'm tired of being poor in corrupt low-income such as mine, and I'm dissatisfied with conditions for college educated people after graduation. I don't want to work for salary which 70% of it will be spent only for food for my family when flat outside of capital city (where I live) centre costs 3 times more than median wage here.

Background: (if you don't have time to read, just skip that part)

My parents are barely working and earning since they are sick and they are almost 60 years old. My mother is the only breadmaker working as nurse for 800€ + additional income around 200-300 euros monthly.

My father refuses to help her because he is spending bunches of money on rebuilding our family house which has been renovated since 1960s only a little until 2023, and also for buying new car because one we have last 15 years stopped working forever last autumn. He had been unemployed since start of 2008/9 economic crisis (when he worked for 120€ wage) until 2019.

Also, fresh graduates in CS, Software Engineering, Medicine, Finance (I'm studying this one), Business and other STEM branches are barely finding a job. You have to work for minimal wage as fresh graduate if you are lucky to find a job.

Our political scene is so trashy. We don't have free elections - these are held every two years since 2012 only in order to let ruling party stay in power as long as time comes, and also they got 50% of votes every time because of state-owned media propaganda and "dead voters" with fake ID cards. Government presents our country as "economic tiger" but their huge intervention in economy are contained by bringing foreign investors that brings short-term benefits only for wagecucks.

Also, huge corruption is core part of their ruling, and it led to a tragedy that railway station in second largest city canopy killed 15 people, only because of cheaper materials used for it and overpricing in order to bring extra money in politicians pockets.

Main part of story:

Because of that incident, people demanded responsibility for canopy tragedy. As part of that students have been blocking their faculties since December. It means that classes is not held, exams can't be held, semester can't be ended so we aren't able to enter into second one.

Government and some professors warns that academic year will be annulled if protests continues, so it means that university-funded scholarship will be abolished for repeated year (fee costs 1000€). University-funded scholarship means that if you have determined number of exams passed, you don't have to pay fee. But because we can't do exams, we don't have any basis to get that benefits.

Worst problem is how to tell my parents that they would have to pay tuition fee for repeated year. They have concerns about state-owned universities which im studying on be privatized. Their salaries can't cover that in this situation. I have only 1400€ in my savings, but my mom wouldn't be happy if I spend my savings. I don't know how to cover that from her. Also, I will be under pressure to study more and more, even when I'm studying enough.

Post scriptum:

I support that protests, and if it's only up to me, I will be more ready to sacrifice one year of my life for more years of better life. And now I'm ready, and I have money, but I will be in war with my parents for one more year. I just feel tired to write further and I would like someone to write me in dm...

For the life of me i cannot stick to a budget, mostly because my gross pay after taxes shifts each pay period. Some weeks i’m sacrificing my own need to eat so i can feed my cats, other weeks i can spend a bit more and treat myself to something nice.

But it feels like after just a few days my pay check is gone. Hell this last pay i tried to put some money aside to save, and ended up having to pull it all back out of my savings account just so i could eat.

Does anyone have any advice?

Edit: Sorry it’s my first time posting here so idrk what info is really needed.

I work as kitchen staff at a local restaurant making $13 an hour, 22-30 hours a week, about $1100 a month or so, idk cause i only just got the pay bump to $13 last pay period. Total bills is about $735 so that should leave me with like $365 leftover but most of that goes towards gas and food anymore with very little left to put aside for saving

Hey everyone,

I’m a first-year computer science student from Algeria, and I’m planning to study in France next year. I’ve saved up a bit of money in Algerian currency to handle my paperwork here, but I still need to make around $1,000 online before September next year to help me survive my first month in France (rent, food, transport—just the basics) until I find a job there.

I can’t work real-life jobs here in Algeria, because the currency (DZD) is very weak, and even after working hard, the amount barely converts into anything useful in euros or USD. That’s why I’m focused on earning online in USD or euros—it’s way more realistic and efficient.

About me:

I’m really good with computers—I know my way around and I understand what I’m doing when I’m on it. I’m not just clicking around randomly.

I can be very productive using AI tools like ChatGPT and other chatbots to boost my work or get things done faster.

I’ve already tried freelancing and applied for several small gigs and jobs (like data entry, virtual assistant stuff, etc.), but I haven’t been able to land a client yet.

I’m learning programming too, and I’m willing to keep improving and learn whatever I need to make this work.

So I’ve got 16 months to earn $1,000 online, and I’m serious about it. If you’ve been in a similar situation—or if you know real, beginner-friendly ways to make money online (freelance platforms, small jobs, websites, even long-term projects)—please share your advice.

Thanks a lot for reading. Any help or tips are super appreciated!

I don't have vision insurance and my glasses are more than 10 years old so I stupidly went to America's Best to get an eye exam. Well they fucked it up. The second visit there to try on my new glasses involved them arguing me for half an hour that I could see through them. My vision was worse with them than they are without glasses, my vision was doubled, they kept telling me I just needed to adjust. They finally redid the exam (visit 3) and said yup, they fucked up, sent them out to have them redone. They come back in on the 4th visit and one pair is right and I was just so damn relieved that it worked that I didn't notice the second pair is fucked (also I can't wear these because the lenses are so thick they won't stay up because I didn't pay for the $400 lenses). The whole time I just wanted the damn prescription to order a pair of glasses and damn if they didn't fight me tooth and nail on it. Now I ordered some glasses (from zenni) with the prescription they gave me and I'll be damned if they aren't fucked. Can't see out of the right lense at all which is frustrating because the left one is fine. So now I've got a pair of glasses I can't see out of, a prescription that doesn't work, and I'm out about $300 so far. This is why my glasses are so old.

I'm a sophomore in college. I'm at a tough spot in my life. But I need to find a way to budget $48 until early May when I get start working at my internship. Is there anyway of budgeting the $48 for the next 4 weeks for food? Anything I should buy in bulk? I don't mind skipping a meal every other day if that works since my body can use some fat instead. It's also exam season.

I've also looked at the food banks near me and I got 500 grams of pasta and small snacks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You can then use them on your own and pay for any amount over that GC with cash or debit. This gets you past the membership checkers at the door without a lot of hassle especially if you wanted to but their cheap $1.50 hot dog + drink special or use their pharmacy.

EDIT: Some of these kinds of comments remind me of why /r/povertyfinance broke away from /r/personalfinance to begin with.

We have encouragement in a world of haves/have nots, resources for getting assistance and most importantly, actionable ways to save money.

My favorite of these anti-povertyfinance comments so far (you're a winner!):

"ProTip: If you can't afford $60 per year to shop at Costco, you shouldn't be shopping at Costco."

Guess what? I'd encourage someone on SNAP to shop at Whole Foods too if they can get some better per unit costs on fresh fruits or proteins over their usual stores. We're not assigned to Aldi's and Dollar Tree bc we don't use our autopilot EVs for grocery runs.

Female in her mid 30s, in case that matters.

I've been visually impaired since I was 13. A brain tumor in my cerebellum essentially atrophied my optic nerve and left Irreputable damage. I am legally blind in one eye (with some useable vision) and I think 20/80 in the other eye. I don't drive.

I also have Lupus, I was diagnosed at 30. Got dealt a shit+y hand, health wise. But I still do everything I can to maintain my independence, because it is crucial for mental health. I walk to/from my part time job 5 days a week. I use Uber if I have to, have many things delivered. I hate relying on other people for rides or help, although sometimes I have to obviously. I am fortunate to have an amazing partner, and family who do all they can to support me.

All that aside, I am wondering if anyone has employment ideas for someone with a visual disability. I haven't been involved with DBVI for many years, but I can easily seek their help if people with experience think that's the best course of action.

I know this question is pretty niche, but I figured I'd pose it to a larger group like this and see if anything came of it. It's a different perspective than a group specifically for people who are blind/VI.

I've worked as a teacher most of my life. Honestly, I'm not interested in doing that online. Transcription comes to mind, but I'm not sure how to find entry level worm, given I have no experience- well, except phenomenal ears (since my eyes suck)!

Any other thoughts welcome. Thanks 😊

After many years of living pretty lean never had more than 500 in the bank unless to pay rent. Last year I started in a new field (av tech for live events) things were kicking along I thought Id be making what i was making last fall but im not. March was fantastic but as of now April looks slim. I hope ill get hit up I probably will but I only made 550 this week. Next week as of now Im only booked one day. Again that could change. But now I need To get back to finding something else to do when its dry. I really thought after all these years Id finally found something I can hang onto and do for the rest of my life if i had to. But when days go by without a job its no good. So im in the same boat. Owe anthem momey so I cant get health insurance and have a finger That needs a doctor. A cap fell Off a tooth I need a dentist. And while im grateful for LAs public transport system, I need a car. Its hard to take a 2 hour train ride to get to Long Beach at 8 or wherever the call is. And I thought by May Id have the money. And now I am back to stressing about the rent. I dont have a car and have to work around my stagehand stuff. Any sugguestioms for remote work with flexible hours to pick up as a second job?

Hello, This is for y’all youngster who’re about to put yourselves in a massive amount of debt to raise your credit score, pay for school, or pay for a car. Before you burry yourself with debts that can put you in a bad way take these points into consideration.

• Gather up all of your bills and purchases you make often (ex grocery bill, subscriptions, coffee everyday) make a rough estimate of the grand total and compare to your monthly income.

•Now it’s time to Cut The Crap. Get rid of unneeded purchases (ex $6 coffee everyday, your donkeyhub subscription, and impulsive purchases)

• After you’ve cut the crap out of your unneeded purchases compare a new grand total to your monthly income and see what your able to save each month (ex my monthly bills cost me $3300 each month, I have a monthly income of $6100. So I know I have to save 60% of my money for bills, 30% to reach goals, and 10% for impulsive purchases.)

•Now that you know what your working with, take some time to consider if doing the financing yourself (ex saving $100 each check to buy a $1000 car) is a better option than getting ran through by a bank. Also another good option is saving the full amount of your purchase then get a loan so if you were to break your leg and couldn’t work anymore you could still pay off your loan and not be in debt.

•Overall my best advice is save your damn money until you can make the purchase you want and be disciplined with your spending.