I’m in my 30s so I should be used to this by now, but this shit is getting so stressful guys. I have no savings, my checking account is drained every month with rent, and if there’s ever a serious emergency I have no safety net, I’m legitimately fucked. I’m one unplanned expense away from absolute ruin. Those in the same boat as me, how do you deal with this?
Crime. That’s the answer. I don’t suggest or recommend it, but people who genuinely can’t survive or achieve any meaningful quality of life while participating in the social order will violate it instead. Some people shoplift; others engage in elaborate plots to rip off their landlords and creditors, but there’s no squaring the circle. I’m not in the same boat, but I’ve been there, and it’s only a stroke of good fortune that kept me from a very different road.
This is absolutely horrible advice. Being financially broke doesn’t mean having to be morally broke. Those who don’t have much money don’t have to become bad people.
The first line literally says they don’t suggest or recommend it. The Answer was how do people do it. Crime is how some people do it.
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”
That is to say, the error is to conflate law with morality. They are not one and the same.
Yes, but stealing has been considered amoral in all cultures for all of history.
Stealing is fundamentally wrong, only a tiny fraction of humanity would ever disagree.
clipping. sums it up perfectly.
Warning: best with headphones and ten minutes to spare. I was hung over when I listened and it was not a fun experience. Would recommend.
Sounds like you’re in the US. Most other Western countries have a much better social safety net to actually address these problems.
Western countries possibly. Not most of the world population has near zero help. Safety nets are a very modern philosophy that has only emerged in about the last 50 years and mainly in in capitalistic societies that have created the excess wealth to support.
I am happy we have those extra resources to support people. But this is not some universal law that dictates the requirement. The universe cars not about our well behind. This is provided by those that work a few extra hours to cover those that can’t.
Hey man, first off I’m sorry for the situation you’re in. I’m not sure if you are looking for commiseration or advice, so if I offer some please know comes from a place of love.
I was in a similar spot to what you’re describing. I am not going to suggest that you can budget your way out of poverty - that’s absurd, the only long term solution (aside from fixing a lot of broken systems) is more money.
That being said, this is something that made my situation more bearable. I cut up all my credit cards. I created two checking accounts, one for bills and one for everything else. I added up all my monthly bills and divided them by the number of pay periods in a month. I split direct deposit so that one checking account got the bill money and the other the rest. I never touched the bills account outside of depositing money and paying bills - I kept the physical debit card locked in my closet.
This helped me keep on top of my bills and keep an eye on how much discretionary money I actually had to spend. I found the alternative was piles of late fees when I forgot that x bill was coming out of this pay check and I stupidly bought a donut that week or whatever (man it sure is expensive to be poor).
Like I said, it’s not a solution and I don’t know your situation. No amount of budgeting is going to help if you don’t have the income to cover your expenses, and I wish that that fact wasn’t treated as a moral failing by so many people.
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Yep good advice, some services have no investment value loss e.g. short term insurance, life insurance, etc. You can switch elsewhere for a cheaper rate and lose nothing.
Unless you have a family or dependants, I’d cut out life insurance and focus on the essentials for now to recover. I also learn long ago to pay my credit card off every month to not have to pay interest on it…
I’m glad to read that! I hope it helps. I would also recommend joining a credit union if you’re eligible and not already a member. They will typically have much better rates and lower fees on various services. Also, doing this math can be depressing - I remember having weeks where I had like $30 to cover gas and food. If you find yourself in that situation, dried beans and a second-hand pressure cooker are a much healthier alternative to the usual ramen packets.
Consider finding a budgeting tool to help. I use YNAB (though it’s gotten kind of expensive at $15/month) that keeps me in line. It’s a cash spending budget model that keeps me focused and away from credit card debt and ultimately saves me far, far more than the $15/month fee. It’s especially helpful if you have shared finances with a partner.
There are lots of good options out there from free to more expensive than YNAB, but a good tool can go a long way to helping you maximize what cash you do have.
One thing I’d change here is the credit card thing.
Not using a rewards credit card (like it’s a debit card) is leaving money on the table. I get 1-5% on every purchase I make and never pay interest because I pay the credit and as I go, never spending more than cash I have on hand.
Granted, this is a discipline thing and not everyone can trust themselves with a credit card, but if you can get that under control, you should absolutely be using a credit card for all spending unless the fee to do so is greater than the reward.
That’s 100% true. After a certain point, I migrated from using my “bills” checking account for everything to using a credit card with cash back rewards, and paying that off every pay period rather than using the checking account. But, that is only useful advice if you are already out of debt - if you’re carrying a balance on your credit card, rewards are likely not going to out pace your interest accumulation. It’s also a good idea to try to fit in as much savings as you can - any little bit in a money market account making you money is a good thing, and invaluable when an emergency comes up. But again, that is very very dependent on your financial situation, and may not be realistic to many people.
Great callout on it working best when lm you’re already out of debt.
Studies repeatedly show people spend more with cards. It’s often more than the cash back amount in the first place, and additional fees for credit cards is becoming more common. Cash is vastly superior at controlling spending.
Granted this is a discipline thing
Yes, I am keenly aware
Buy fewer candles
I just straight up burn avocados
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Skip the lattes.
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The game is cruel and we’re forced participate.
To echo what some people have said, if you haven’t changed jobs in the last year or two; you absolutely should do so.
As you’ve realized, there’s only so much you can do on the cost side to have things balance. Cost of living has risen relentlessly, but thankfully in many areas wages are finally growing too, and new hires usually get the higher rates.
So not changing jobs frequently, especially in the industries you mentioned, is just leaving money on the table.
Aside from that, definitely look into trades, but also look into local government, healthcare (like being a patient scheduler at a hospital), really any industry you are looking to break into as a career.
They really need the help now, especially for entry level positions, and if you do a good job, you could parlay that into a career in an industry you’re excited about.
So spend like 30 minutes each day looking for jobs, and don’t stop until you’re hired. Remember, even if you end up hating it, you can always quit and get rehired immediately in industries you’re more familiar with, because they also desperately need help too.
Are you living with a roommate? If not, you can save money by doing this.
Have you thought about changing careers? Look for federal, state, and city programs that will pay you to learn a trade. Or look for a job that has on the job training — like an electronics or factory job, or doing tech support.
Do you qualify for assistance programs — like food pantries or food stamps? There’s no shame in it. Helping you get back on your feet is what these programs are for.
You get some space by taking a better job and/or better budgeting
OR
You become numb to the grinding system
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If you are willing to work, many of the trades are hiring and having a hard time getting apprentices/helpers. If you can pass a basic algebra test, you can make it as an electrician.
The company I work for starts wages at $12+/hour with lots of overtime opportunities (including mandatory) and planned raises each year of your apprenticeship. I also know of a carpenter shop hiring helpers at $16+ because they can’t get help.
Please don’t feel like you have no path forward. You just have to look outside your comfort zone a little.
This one. There are nowhere near enough electricians in particular. It’s a guaranteed high-paying job and one that is in dire need of people.
Assuming you’re in the US, check out the USPS for jobs. They are understaffed and so long as you can jump through the hoops, they’ll hire you. I applied there back in 2013 and when I went in for an “interview” it was more of a walkthrough of if you complete x, y, and z by the deadline you’re hired. It pays well and you can get a ton of hours for overtime pay. I can’t talk to the job conditions, since I ended up going with a different job at the time.
There’s a lot of government positions that require just high school, and pay more than typical.
But they’re annoying to apply to, and often can make you wait a long time. Look into your cities job bank, same with state/province and/or federal level.
Not degrading you at all, but have you tried recipes with rice and beans? It’s filling and nutritious. Frankly I love the taste too
I’m doing better now and still include them as staples in my week.
Any chance you could retrain in trade school?
It would help if you shared a little more about your income, your expanses, and your location.
There are a lot of remote data entry positions you could get into. You could study some data analysis on the side, using the data entry as a toe hold in the industry. Lots of free content and datasets to work with to learn on.
Just a suggestion, not cutting you down.
I’d be happy to chat more about that topic if you are interested.
Sales pays the best because you’re in the revenue generating column, not the cost column and also last to get the sack in a downturn
Maybe a side hustle? If you have a good eye, upcycling stuff from charity shops is a way to generate extra income.
If you are good at driving a CDL is a gateway to higher paying jobs as well.
If you don’t have immediate obligations such as kids, older, or sick family members/friends.
The industry is full of crap but I went from food service to driving a semi. 4 week school paid for by the company(after signing a 1yr contract) do that one year knowing it’s going to suck and then find something local you like or stay on the road and do online school/self study. Most all of the big US based companies have partnered with online colleges to heavily discount the cost.
I did it as an emergency to save for a year and get out but ended up liking it and now work in safety with no school, just experience.
One year is nothing. Even for crap work. It seems like a long time but when you look back it often was a breeze.
I recall signing up for the military that was going to be A 4 year stint. When your 19, that seems like a lifetime. It gave me 4 years to sort myself out. You can have a girlfriend and social life in that period but you do not start a family or great commitments. That year or few years is to get your life started.
I just cry.
I realized that paying rent was like throwing money into a bottomless pit. Obviously buying a house was out of the question so I bought a used RV and moved into that. I added solar panels and all the VanLife type stuff and now my biggest expense is for the storage unit I put all my stuff in. No more rent, no power, water or most other bills. StarLink is expensive but with all the other expenses eliminated it’s not bad at all.
Where did you park it?
A storage unit is rent. RVs require maintenance and resources similar to a house.
Both true, but storage rent is far cheaper. As for maintenance, I’m far more handy than the average joe so YMMV.
If you don’t mind sharing, what education do you have, and what are you currently doing for work?
Getting a better job paying job is never the answer. We need all jobs to pay living wage.
I have no education and a high paying job. Some people have education and no job in their area, can’t move across states, or good jobs in cities that are too expensive. Some people have dependents (siblings, relatives) that eat up that little extra you had. This is not due to the family issues but to general socio-economic background issues. If you’re from a poor family, no matter how well you do, you’re that further behind.
There’s a million reasons, and none of those are because he doesn’t browse /r/personalFinance enough
Agreed and that’d be great. But also, no that doesn’t help this individual right now at all.
Of course a better paying job will help. If your job paid more and you spend the same, suddenly and by definition, the person would not be as broke.
We all agree his current job should pay more, or he should find a better one.
That was like #1 on his list already, that’s common sense not advice. We know the world doesn’t make doing those things easy, so he’s clearly looking for other ways.
I’ll even do you one better, he’s not even here for solutions, sometimes people want to talk and share common situations/experiences.
Wish I could upvote this twice. This needed to be said.
Are you suggesting “systemic rebuild” is the advice OP needs to figure out the rest of the year?
Fully agree your conversation needs to happen, loudly, but it won’t benefit OP in anything like a “near term”
Not to fix OPs issues.
I’m saying his advice is the first thing OP throught of, and not realistic in a lot of ways.
I wasn’t giving any advice to OP myself
Sure, we all need to fight for proper social safety nets and living wage laws. But that shit is the long game.
OP is looking for strategies for how to navigate the current fucked up system.
Knowing where one is starting is crucial to formulating a plan.
I was once in OP’s shoes, college drop out ten years ago, and not a lot of good job prospects. I am now less than a year out of a degree with an income potential close to or actually hitting 6 figures. I was able to work myself into a sound financial position and return to college. Now with a family, and a stay at home spouse.
Yes, there are a litany of socio-economic issues that can make things more difficult, but to say “getting a better paying job is never the answer” is false. It may be challenging, and it may take time, but there are rarely no options. I have a good friend with a felony, 7 years in prison, and a college drop out who is in a HCOL area who is able to support themselves well with a trade. Yeah, they work weird hours, but they make good money.
I’m still living with my parents. I’m in my 30s. I’m unemployed. Yeah, I’m a failure.
Well where I live it’s normal to live with ur parent well into your 30s, I know more than a 50yo that still lives with their parents, we are totally fucked economically though.
So! Stop? You’re 30, not 70
I’m assuming you are in the US. The problem with being broke is it is stressful. Stress impacts decision making, causing a cycle. The US is a capitalist society that educated people to behave as socialists with regards to business, career management, and employment.
The people that REALLY need financial planning advice can’t afford it. Those that can use it to go from rich to richer.
The best thing you can do is get some help going through your expenses to see what you can optimize. Once you start getting a little bit of a breather, you will feel a lot better.
I’ve been following the FIRE community for close to a decade, so if you want, I can probably help you find some fat to trim.
Do you have roommates? If not that is rather expected as a single guy with no family. Check you budgets but if you’re working a mcjob, likely will not see any real future. Mcjobs are for kids or those that just want some spare cash or don’t need the ‘responsible’ type of job. Job shop as many say here. Just do it. Keep in mind that real career type jobs that can eventually pay higher require you to take a real investment in what you want to do. Pick something that fits you in other words.
Sorry if it is kind of tough love advice. Most other posts have covered your typical suggestions but ultimately it comes down to solely the direction and effort you take.
Similar to what others have said you need to make some changes. Figure out how the game works. Get educated. Find a new job, get certs, go back to school, rehab your credit, find a cheaper place, make moves.
this is the way
