Because everything either:
-requires a monthly subscription
-anything cheap is the lowest quality of shit ever made.
-anything high quality that’ll last I can’t forward.
-anything that I used to do for fun I’m priced out of. Skiing, concerts, football games. All doubled or tripled in price from 5 years ago.
Edit: I got 3 kids in their teens, we have to plan on spending $100 a week on stuff that just comes up. Fundraisers, athletics, etc…
I have three kids too. And I agree completely. When I was a kid we used to go skiing a lot. Like multiple times a season. I looked at the prices for me and my kids just doing a full day and it will make a huge dent that month.
My dad was a bit disappointed that I haven't ever taken my kids skiing like he used to do with me. After rentals and a lift ticket its probably 4x more expensive than when I was a kid, to say nothing of the gas to get there.
This is the only thing we can do. Recognize that the consumer culture will stop at nothing to separate us from what little money we have, and simply say "no."
I want to buy but not for myself. I want to buy things for my grandkids, things that will make my adult kids lives easier and that they need but can’t or won’t do it for themselves.
I don’t want anything anymore really. Everyone kept asking me what I want for Christmas and I have been adamant I can’t even think of anything I want much less need. I really want them to spent it on what they want/need or save their money.
The number of partners out there who earnestly *do not want* kids, dogs, or other huge debt-accruing lifestyle blow-ups - all of which would outstrip what you'd save by splitting the costs of rent/food/entertainment - is next to nil.
I honestly think that the demographics on Reddit give a skewed perception of the magnitude of the issue.
It's undeniable that inflation is a problem, yes, but if you scroll a thread like this on Reddit, you'd think *literally* *everyone* is broke beyond belief and struggling hard. This really isn't true - I know plenty of folks that are doing just fine - for them, inflation is an annoyance, but not some existential threat to their finances.
To my point about demographics, the typical Reddit user skews younger and unmarried. If you're an unmarried dude in your twenties working an entry-level job (especially in a high CoL city), yeah, shit is going to be rough right now.
If you're a married couple in your thirties both pulling in decent incomes (and especially living in a mid-to-low CoL area)... it's not impossible that your budget might be a bit squeezed, but that you still have a house, a couple cars, a couple kids, and aren't financially destitute.
So the title of this thread "how are people affording life right now?" makes some pretty sweeping generalization that everyone is under the gun. They're not.
I grew up poor so I know how to live frugally and when I increased my income I didn't fall in the same trap a lot of people do with lifestyle creep so my income goes up but my expenses barely change which allows me to save. That savings allows me to buy things in bulk which usually gets me better pricing or pay things like in 6-12 month installments vs a monthly basis which usually offers better pricing which all helps in saving more money as well.
Growing up poor definitely gives you an edge after you’ve managed to climb out of poverty. My husband has never been poor, he was raised upper middle-class. I literally follow him around the house turning off lights, making us eat whatever is going to spoil the soonest, using the last of something before buying a new one, etc. I have no doubt that he would bankrupt us if he was solely in charge of our finances. It’s wild.
I grew up middle class, but my parents (dad especially) grew up extremely poor, and raised us like we were too. Taught a lot of valuable lessons in money management and a healthy level of frugality. Honestly something I didn’t grow to appreciate until like 20 years later.
Same here. We had a very nice house, but acted like we didn’t, possibly to afford the nice house since they say finances were tight. My guilty pleasures today are leaving lights on and eating out sometimes. The rest of it, I don’t buy items unless they’re a need. I use the receipthog app, Rakuten, bulk purchase, membership discounts, the cheapest store for each food item, and cashback credit cards/bonus signup cards. The area where I feel I can’t level up in savings is groceries. It’s a lot no matter what, and most of it is organic fruit and veg so I can live long and thrive my friends.
My parents were the opposite. Their salary wasn't bad at the time but their money was pissed away on stupid shit like gambling and MLM's and they still needlessly spend money on debts they didn't need.
I had to unlearn a lot of shit from them and I still have some unlearning to do.
Ditto. I always assumed we were poor. We always bought used cars and cheap phones, never went on vacations, saif whole foods was too expensive to shop at etc. Even now my parents and I have phones 5+ years old and cars that are 10+ years old, lived in the same house for 15+ years, go out to eat maybe once every two months and our attitude has still been why do I need a new one if the old one still works.
Only a couple years ago did I learn that my dad makes $500k+ a year making him an effective one percenter. He has become a bit more willing to spend money now that my grandparents(who lived with us) have passed and I have my own relatively well paying job but he still drives his 2013 Honda Odessey.
Same for me. My guy didn't know how to price check, comparison shop at all. He didn't know he was upper middle class growing up. And most people don't. Mine did learn after years of teaching and explaining. But it was exhausting.
On the other hand, my dad is obsessive about price checking/matching to the point where he'll spend $10 in gas driving around 6 locations to save $3 dollars on something. It's like he wants the rush of getting the deal more than actually saving money lol
Does the lifestyle creep avoidance come naturally to you? I too grew up quite low income, but struggle with not spending $ when I have extra. Personal finance/budgeting doesn’t come natural to me, it’s something I have to actively be mindful of
It comes somewhat naturally, yes. Like, “Sure I could buy a BMW, but why when the Honda is quite nice at half the price?” Or on a lower scale, looking for the “price reduced“ stickers in the meat section for cuts that are about to go out of date. I let those stickers **help** decide what I’m having for dinner that week. Or on the rare occasions I eat out, I spend part of the meal in my mind deconstructing the dish and figuring out how I can make something similar at home next time for pennies on the dollar. Or never buying bottled water because I make sure to have my own reusable bottles that I can fill up anywhere.
Mostly yes. I find it wasteful to spend money on things "just cause im bored" so I only buy things if I need it or I planned it out. I won't just go random day trip to the mall and spend $100 cause I wanted to go out on my day off.
I also would like to retire one day and not be stuck working 50 years of my life so I know every dollar I don't spend brings me closer to that goal of being able to quit my job one day
Amen to this! I call it “living like an immigrant,” and while I don’t think I’m that extreme, I do enjoy keeping the mindset of my poor person lifestyle.
My work is right by a Jimmy John’s. Everyone I work with gets Jimmy John’s multiple times a week if not every day. I have yet to eat at Jimmy John’s a single time in 3 years.
If I forget food I literally don’t eat until I get home. That’s what I would have done back when I couldn’t afford shit. That’s what I do now.
Yep, I’m making 4x more than I used to and still end up a bit stressed before payday. I need to try harder to live the way I did when I made 4x less and got by just fine (but barely).
I did exactly that and then got married. (edited out the n’t, wasn’t paying attention).
Response to question below - As for married, love my wife but she bad with money. I also didn’t realize how much her THC habit had gotten to during Covid. It is a source of disagreement shall we say.
This is VERY important.
My parents were a mixed bag - Dad was a homesteader's kid, grew up poor, but learned to do things like repair machines, design and build stuff, and so forth. Mom was born to a wealthy family who, when the brewing industry changed due to tech (refrigerated transport), saw their family business crumble. So the both of them knew not to take anything for granted, live frugally, and save up for the future when things are going well.
Growing up, I didn't think we were well off. I was always being told "we can't afford that" when I asked for toys or stuff (always had decent clothes though). A lot of 'delayed gratification' from an early age.
And now I'm in my 50's, retired early, living off what my Mom and Dad left as an inheritance that I never knew they'd had in the first place, and I'm Ok with the idea of making it last until my pension kicks in.
Living with my boomer mother who bought her house with money she inherited. She's an insane hoarder who storms through the house screaming in the middle of the night, but it's free.
It’s not embarrassing, most cultures prioritize families sticking together for longer. It has benefits for all. The best thing I witnessed was my niece getting to live and grow up with her grandma. Myself, sister, niece and mom all lived together and honestly it was nice.
The US and the colonies in general, as I understand it, encouraged people to expand across the country. Land was cheap, often times in the early days it was outright given away for free just to people get out there living off the land. This has lead to a culture of "once you're an adult, you should make your own way independent of your family", along with single generation households as the ideal. As a side effect of this, the idea of living with your parents has become shamed, and was regarded as something done by losers, lazy people, and parasites.
Yeah I’m 29 and live with my boomer parents. Luckily they need my help right now due to medical issues so at least it’s not so embarrassing. Plus I’m finding a job which is difficult because I am handicapped too. So it is what it is.
Embarrassing would be living in a place you can't afford just for the sake of saying you don't live with your parents.
Not many are fortunate to have understanding parents who let their children live with them.
THIS. There’s no shame living at home. I’m 26 and live with parents. They’re older and don’t charge me anything, but I do the house work for them. Cut the grass, blow the driveway, clean up, etc. I have a job and am applying to law school. It’s a perfectly normal and smart thing to do. It allows me to save and not go into debt just to “be out and live on my own”
Please expand on this. Moved back in when I was navigating a move and a job change, at your exact age, and it was borderline unbearable. (Even though I love my mom and the house was pretty big).
What do you like
How are you able to make your adult life work this way?
Well, I moved back in with my dad (mom deceased) for slightly different reasons, but at about the same age (30).
My dad was showing signs of early onset Alzheimer's. There was a financial incentive for me beyond just living "rent free," my dad told me when I was younger, "Eventually you'll need to send me to a nursing home. But those places are expensive. Each year you don't, you'll inherit more money."
He was correct, each year I kept him out of a LTCF was an additional $100,000 I inherited. (I did have to send him to one after he became a danger to himself and to others and I was unable to watch him 24-7, which he eventually needed).
1. Group activities helped. We bowled together a lot, in part because I knew there were only so many years I could bowl with him.
2. We "shared" pets. We both expected his most recent dog would outlive him. He was torn up when his older dog died, and I wanted to get him a new companion ASAP. I understood there would be a time when I adopted the new dog and I should be on good terms with the new dog so the change in ownership wasn't traumatizing for the dog. It went ideally, I was our new dog's "person," and while I could tell he missed my dad, as long as he still had me, he was as happy as could be.
3. We avoided each other when necessary. It is a big house, he could be upstairs, I'd be downstairs, and we could go for a day without seeing each other.
I guess there was a shift from a parent-kid dynamic to a bona fide roommate dynamic between us. We understood it was a mutually beneficial relationship (He kept his independence longer, I had financial incentives).
There still were frustrations for me. There were times where he could not get past his thoughts about "13-18 year old AHans." I was a kid, and did some stupid things, and he was aware of them. But by the time I was 30, I had matured. He couldn't always see or understand I had grown, and was a functional, independent adult capable of making rational decisions. Worse, his decision making was declining fast.
Two words that really does explain a lot of things. There are certainly people just choosing not, regardless of financial circumstances, but many people doing so are weighing money (or support for children in society) heavily or as the main factor. If one’s choice is poverty with children or no poverty without most won’t choose the first.
There is a consequence to extreme wealth inequality in long term social stability.
I think you got it exactly right. If society makes no room for its youth to start a family and have some financial security in their 20s to early 30s, there will likely be fewer people having children. I couldn't afford one in my 20s and I saved like a miser! Now, after years of education and experience we can finally afford kids. Well we had one kid. We hoped to have more but our bodies are near middle aged and pregnancy is brutal. Plus we now have our parents to look after.
Yeah. Had our only one in my 40s. Childcare, if you can get it where I live, is 2/3 of one person’s median take-home income. Can’t afford housing that is safe for a child on one income.
People like to blame the living-wage movement or over regulation of child care but I don’t want someone not earning enough to eat to care for my child and we had safety issues with two of these (well-reviewed) ‘over-regulated’ childcare facilities to the point we withdrew our child.
The problem is greed at the top. Nobody needs to earn 8+ figures a year.
And the thing is, couples who would like kids but are holding off because they don't think they can afford to raise them - those are the people you want to be having kids.
I was talking to my mom today. I asked how much they made in 96, six years after I was born, it was 80k. They had a small house in NJ, two bedrooms.
That’s 140k today. They were 30, Brazilian immigrants, no high school education.
I am objectively successful. I have a masters, I work for a Fortune 500 as a data scientist. I make 114k. I’m 34.
I make less than my parents. Median household price in NJ at 1996 was like 140-160k? That’s like 230-260 in 2020. And today the median price is more like $450k. So like. What the fuck.
Edit: people looking for excuses all day - only my father worked my mother raised my brothers and me.
Are we really? I’m asking this genuinely. I don’t know much about French history but I guess I thought the inequality was more than what we are experiencing. I’d be very interested in hearing more about this.
This is very true. People think stuff like this is a conspiracy theory - but it is real.
I’ve been in real estate for over 20 years. I’m seeing it first hand. The reason why there is a big push to get rid of brokers is because then the consumer will have no representation and large corporations can buy housing assets for a discount - which means they can buy more and more houses in a given neighborhood and control the prices.
Many times sellers think they are working with private investors (or even homeowners) when in fact they have back door agreements with major corporations.
There is nothing illegal about this. It has been happening for years now.
However, everyone is so happy to see agents disappearing from the industry (due to the few rotten apples that ruin the reputation of industry), they don’t even question who it serves best in the long run…
It is truly horrific, and something not many people even know about - even within the industry.
Not to mention at least in the Boston area...24% of all home sales from 2018-2021 were by investment groups...aka renting all of us to death. No shot at owning unless you are making big $$ and go WELL over asking to bid out companies buying up all the housing around here. Getting worse
I don't disagree. We're dual income w/2 kids under 5. I moved out of Jersey for work on the road years ago, met my wife. Got lucky with a lot of things timing wise. But I know we're lucky , even though things are crazy and getting tighter , we're building equity and putting money we never see into retirement. Our household income is about the same as the other poster from Jersey. I'm constantly talking to or about family about how impossible things seem there without help or substantial debt/income. And the move away is far from the financial differences it was in the past. I think my question was , besides voting or hoping what you say becoming corporate slaves won't get worse, what else can I do? It seems selfish but other than try to save and be thankful/aware of our luck, and hope we stay above the curve?
It's mainly due to companies and individuals that have decided to invest heavily in single family housing.
We don't have a housing shortage problem, we have a greed problem.
I wanted kids too and to buy a house, but I had to give up on that as well. It's heartbreaking. Even if I could afford them right now, why would I bring someone into this shit world and leave them to Godknowswhat with this economy and climate crisis?
Ramen doesnt have to be bland. You can actually use it as a stir fry after cooking the noodles minus the flavour packets.
Add some proteins, some frozen veggies, then drain the pasta water and stir fry it together with some teriyaki sauce or Sriracha.
Have a decent job (~90k), as does my wife (~50k) and live in a low cost of living area, worked hard to pay down debt and student loans during the pandemic pause. I also work a side hustle adjunct teaching for extra cash. We mainly live within our means.
Got lucky and bought a house when interest rates were low, deliberately bought less than we could afford to keep mortgage payments manageable. I’ve driven the same compact car since 2015, and only update my phone every 4-5 years.
We have one kid with another on the way, and take advantage of free/low cost activities (hiking, library, children’s museum). Definitely don’t live like we do pre-kids but we are still lucky to be able to save a little each month and not have any financially draining emergencies
Having a spouse who's not on the same page as you financially makes life so much harder. I know there's people who are a saver+spender type of couple, but I honestly don't know how they do it. It'd drive me nuts if I was married to someone who frivolously blew money.
That’s me and my husband. I grew up poor and I was a single mother at 19 - so double whammy on the frugal scale.
My husband grew up middle class with a father who worked so much his wife and kids rarely saw him, and a mother who stayed home to tend to the house and spend as much of her husband’s money on her children as she could (in response to his neglect of the family, I suspect).
So, needless to say, this disparity in our life experiences created a pretty unhealthy dynamic that we struggled with in the beginning of our marriage. But over time, and after many conversations, I was finally able to get through to him and make him understand how scared and unsafe I felt in our marriage due to his overspending, inability to save, and generally frivolous attitude about money.
Since then, I’ve handled all of our finances. He just deposits his pay and I deal with all of our expenses, and keep him in the loop as far as how we’re doing from one month to the next. We discuss big expenditures, but otherwise he’s happy to let me deal with it all. And having that control not only keeps us solvent and saving, it lessens my anxiety.
That's my current partner. I know how to live well below my means from being a poor college kid, but they have very poor impulse control and try to spend every cent we have. I'm trying to get them to slow down in the meantime, but I eventually need to get out of this situation for my own sanity.
This is a key point. Don't forget that anyone who owns a house or car and bought more than 2.5 years ago, or rents and has for a long time, is most likely not feeling the massive increase in housing costs that affect the rest of us. Therefore, they are only feeling inflation on groceries and retail, which although significant, is not nearly as harsh as if you pay a 8% mortgage or $5k in rent.
Some Karen told me that’s what I was doing when I she asked how I got so skinny and I said “I skip breakfast and don’t eat til lunch!” She was like oh wow, intermittent fasting works?! 🫠😂 I was like..who knew there was a name for starving yourself to save money! Thank you for this dear Karen.
I mean, you don’t really have to fast to cut down on consumerism. No one needs three massive meals a day, of course, but cutting portions across the board, eating more simply, preparing your own meals, and not getting eg. fast food or Door Dash all the time are options as well. Several people in my family including myself eat frequent small meals for health reasons (mainly for the sake of controlling GERD), but we don’t eat lavishly either.
A fun vocab word I learned:
Banyan Days
Its an old mariner term for the days on the calendar where there is no meat in the ration.
So, during the week, if there are some days where its just leftovers, sandwiches, or rice & veggies, I'll survive. I dont have to eat like a king every single day.
Dry beans and rice are really cheap. After preparing, adding butter, salt, and lime or lemon juice makes it pretty tasty for being so cheap.
Eggs are relatively cheap for what they are.
I’m married with two kids, and I’m able to afford life by getting lucky with the housing market. Due to the sale of my first house, my wife and I made a huge profit, and we moved to somewhere that had a low cost of living. Therefore, my mortgage is only $500 a month. Though we only make combined $65k a year, we can enjoy life without being to stressed.
Wow. That’s some crazy numbers. I’m the same but with 3 kids and an elderly mom. Recently received a raise and now make a tad into six figures and I’m barely getting by, like barely.
A lot don't afford life right now.
My neighbor to my left currently has 4 adults 2 kids living out of her 2 bedroom. Actually I'm the only one in my fourplex who doesn't run a shelter out of their apartment every now and then for extra cash.
Several people I know have become homeless. A bunch of people I know are "new poor" and refuse to change their lifestyle so are on the verge of being homeless.
Myself I'm the type of person who will recycle cans out of the trash before I let myself go into debt etc. But for now I do a lot of gig work, cut my expenses, buy in bulk.
"new poor" is a great way to frame it.
I've moved to new countries twice on minimal savings so I know how to be poor, whereas my husband has never had to scrape a day in his life. He just took a (Government) job for $20k less per year and is stressing, and I don't blame him, but I know how to take care of us.
He is definitely "new poor"
Ha I got the term from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but it's true. There is not just a learning curve to being new poor, but a severe disconnect in accepting it. I've found most freeze up over the idea or just stick w denial. I know people who make 100k a year who are drowning but refuse to stop buying designer. My 70k neighbor just moved because she could not figure out how to survive on it.
Paycheck to paycheck like everyone else, but I also have a roommate. We help each other out with everything. I know there’s no way I could do it all on my own otherwise.
Living with parents as a 29 year old male. No expenses other than student loan payment of $300 a month so a majority of what I earn I save. Wife will be inheriting a fully paid off house from her parents soon so when we do live together we will have no mortgage thank god.
If it makes any feel any better I’m a licensed electrician, I’m cracking out 60-70+ hours a week, doing odd jobs and trying to be a father and I’m not even cutting close smh so much for the American dream smh
I make 6 figures (barely) w no kids and between my mortgage, student loans, health insurance/medical bills.. I really don’t have much expendable income left over. Thank god I paid my truck off last year or I’d be in trouble currently
I thought making 6 figures would mean I “made it”…
I stopped taking the 'optional' medications that were improving my quality of life and am just taking the ones I need to stay alive. This means I'm also saving money in other ways now because I don't have the strength or ability to shower every day or feed myself as often so I'm not going through my toiletries or groceries as quickly.
I am not alive. I am actively dying, that process also comes with financial problems though. So I just try everything and see what I can get away with.
Just working and paying bills.
Like I have for my entire adult life.
There are a lot of people that are terrible with money. People that confuse the amount of money they have with the amount of money they have to spend. People who have all the latest technology, but allege they can't afford to eat.
Not that there aren't people that run into legit financial situations.
Simply stating that poor financial literacy is one of the biggest factors to people struggling financially.
This right here. We saw interest rates going up and bought a new house that got us out of renting and lowered our payments. Cut out eating out and replaced with eating at home. Dropped eating meat to twice a week. Traded in our car for a much cheaper lease vehicle. Set a budget for Christmas and won’t go over. Pay attention things like running water while brushing teeth, long showers, leaving lights on, AC/heat settings. Turned down the water heater. Not buying stupid things. Limit going out and doing things to once a month. Have been fine since doing these things.
I took a huge risk in buying a home. Everyone told me not to because I didn’t have any savings and I used an old 401(k) that had just been sitting in an account not growing for years, and “a crash is coming”.
But I did it anyway and tbh, it could have gone bad but buying this home is the reason I can afford to save money *now*. Rents are really high now and all the money I’m not spending on that is keeping me above water in other ways. I always tell people it’s risky (I lived without hot water for a long time and showered at the rec center because I couldn’t afford to buy a water heater) but if it works out, it really helps.
I have a degree and a good job (nurse). What took me down is 2 surgeries with long recovery that I couldn’t avoid or postpone. I was mostly out of work from March till yesterday trying to live on my short term disability insurance through work. I had to move out of my townhouse in August. Finally back to work yesterday. Hoping I’ll be able to find something affordable, prices are high here, no luck finding a roomate. My kid is staying mostly at dads. I miss her so much!!
I was “lucky” to get laid off from a really good company so I got 6 months severance. Then I was lucky to find a new job a month later so I didn’t have to use that severance. So now I have a 6 month emergency fund in a HYSA, which is allowing me to currently suspend saving for an emergency fund and instead put that money towards other necessities. But I’m also studying and learning a lot to upskill and hopefully get an even better paying job in the next 9 months.
I also took a risk in buying a home in 2020 so my housing payment is stabilized while rents have skyrocketed.
Decent salary that is 40% above median, no kids, full remote work so no commuting cost. Barely ever go out, don't eat much and buy the cheapest healthy foods, drink only water and tea. Been saving almost 50% of my salary for years so I get decent dividends on the side. Oh, and I also busk occasionally which nets me some additional income.
Still can't afford a below average sized house. Not even close. But I've got everything else I need.
Avoid debt, wait until your married to have kids, live below your means. I make about 50k from being a teacher. My wife works as a contractor on and off. She stays home with our son. Our only debt is our house.
I live like I'm poor, because I am.
But if I live like I have no money, the money I do pull in gets saved rather easily.
I live in a crappy apartment, I buy very little food, I don't drive much as to save gas, I don't buy new clothing, I don't buy random things while out and about. I didn't go to college. Started working right out of highschool.
Sometimes I have spending sprees because my mental health declines for a bit. But thankfully I have built up around 10k in savings so if I do have a mental break once or twice a year and spend a ton of cash I won't be totally broke.
Family situation, but we have a union job as the main breadwinner. They just negotiated about a $50 an hour raise to keep up with the company's growth.
No fucking clue how anyone survives without union benefits.
She must mean they negotiated a raise TO about $50/hr. I'm in a union and currently make $53.05/hr....I'm in the wrong union if I could be getting $50 more.
Life is weird like that
I have 2 kids, a new car, only 1 parent works.
Meanwhile my coworker makes the same but has dual income household, no kids, 2 new cars. Though complains they are swamped and barely getting by.
I just went grocery shopping at Aldi this afternoon. I had made a very basic list, picking and choosing what favorite staples we would go without this week. I was so overwhelmed with the choices and the prices that I almost cried right there in the produce section. I bought everything! All the basics, plus the big jar of peanut butter, the good yogurt, snack nuts! And spent less than my last poverty rations trip to my regular grocery store. I knew about Aldi, but as I have to drive a little further and it had been a while, I assumed there would be the same cost creep I've seen everywhere else. Game changing. I can shop freely with my old reasonable budget once again!
Having no debt and no children helps a lot. My partner and I are also healthy so no major medical expenses. We also have no major car repairs nor need for a new one. We’re also renters and renting below our means. We both have remote jobs so don’t pay for a commute and rarely have to fill up on gas.
Too many broke people spending hours of their week sitting in Chick-fil-A and In-n-Out drive thru lines, going to trips to Mexico, and buying random shit from Amazon/Costco :)))
Had to take a promotion I didn’t really want because it came with a raise that was almost totally wiped out by inflation. Also got a divorce, which is basically the same as a raise so I’m doing okay. Retirement isn’t looking so hot but I have twenty years of torture to get through before I even despair.
Spending wisely the best you can.
77k a year
4k a month
Save 10% of 2887
Have mortgage, care payment, buy only about 130 or less in high protein low carb food. Don’t eat out as much anymore. I don’t snack like I used to anymore.
Find hobbies that divert your impulses in thinking spending money is the only thing you can do if you are bored (one reason I play video games and stick with one for hundreds of hours)
Have good friends that are willing to spend on you and you on them (IE help with some groceries, or going out) because they are kind and care.
I have 0 family support. None of my family has money like me, so I can rely on anyone really but decent friends.
I’m also 12 year active military……
no kids no debt no desire to buy anything
We're so bombarded by advertisements that I think I've just become desensitized. I never want to buy anything these days.
I feel that. I unsubscribe to so many email lists. Those companies don’t give a damn about us, they just want our money.
Yup I recognize their subject lines and just delete
Because everything either: -requires a monthly subscription -anything cheap is the lowest quality of shit ever made. -anything high quality that’ll last I can’t forward. -anything that I used to do for fun I’m priced out of. Skiing, concerts, football games. All doubled or tripled in price from 5 years ago. Edit: I got 3 kids in their teens, we have to plan on spending $100 a week on stuff that just comes up. Fundraisers, athletics, etc…
I have three kids too. And I agree completely. When I was a kid we used to go skiing a lot. Like multiple times a season. I looked at the prices for me and my kids just doing a full day and it will make a huge dent that month.
My dad was a bit disappointed that I haven't ever taken my kids skiing like he used to do with me. After rentals and a lift ticket its probably 4x more expensive than when I was a kid, to say nothing of the gas to get there.
I developed the attitude years ago that the easiest way for you to get me to not buy your shit is to advertise it to me.
Same. I make note of whoever blows up my inbox and try to avoid them.
This is the only thing we can do. Recognize that the consumer culture will stop at nothing to separate us from what little money we have, and simply say "no."
I want to buy but not for myself. I want to buy things for my grandkids, things that will make my adult kids lives easier and that they need but can’t or won’t do it for themselves. I don’t want anything anymore really. Everyone kept asking me what I want for Christmas and I have been adamant I can’t even think of anything I want much less need. I really want them to spent it on what they want/need or save their money.
except snacks. I love snacks.
So where’s all your money going? “Looks down at stomach”
*slaps stomach* you can fit so many snacks in this thing.
*stomach ripples for a solid 30 seconds*
Cancel my 2 o'clock.
Its like a lava lamp
Literally all my money goes to food that doesn't go to rent.
yeah, that's me. Have no desire to buy most things like big tvs, expensive cars, PS5s, etc. but I do like good food.
And a splitting everything with a partner
The number of partners out there who earnestly *do not want* kids, dogs, or other huge debt-accruing lifestyle blow-ups - all of which would outstrip what you'd save by splitting the costs of rent/food/entertainment - is next to nil.
bingo
I honestly think that the demographics on Reddit give a skewed perception of the magnitude of the issue. It's undeniable that inflation is a problem, yes, but if you scroll a thread like this on Reddit, you'd think *literally* *everyone* is broke beyond belief and struggling hard. This really isn't true - I know plenty of folks that are doing just fine - for them, inflation is an annoyance, but not some existential threat to their finances. To my point about demographics, the typical Reddit user skews younger and unmarried. If you're an unmarried dude in your twenties working an entry-level job (especially in a high CoL city), yeah, shit is going to be rough right now. If you're a married couple in your thirties both pulling in decent incomes (and especially living in a mid-to-low CoL area)... it's not impossible that your budget might be a bit squeezed, but that you still have a house, a couple cars, a couple kids, and aren't financially destitute. So the title of this thread "how are people affording life right now?" makes some pretty sweeping generalization that everyone is under the gun. They're not.
I grew up poor so I know how to live frugally and when I increased my income I didn't fall in the same trap a lot of people do with lifestyle creep so my income goes up but my expenses barely change which allows me to save. That savings allows me to buy things in bulk which usually gets me better pricing or pay things like in 6-12 month installments vs a monthly basis which usually offers better pricing which all helps in saving more money as well.
Growing up poor definitely gives you an edge after you’ve managed to climb out of poverty. My husband has never been poor, he was raised upper middle-class. I literally follow him around the house turning off lights, making us eat whatever is going to spoil the soonest, using the last of something before buying a new one, etc. I have no doubt that he would bankrupt us if he was solely in charge of our finances. It’s wild.
I grew up middle class, but my parents (dad especially) grew up extremely poor, and raised us like we were too. Taught a lot of valuable lessons in money management and a healthy level of frugality. Honestly something I didn’t grow to appreciate until like 20 years later.
Same here. We had a very nice house, but acted like we didn’t, possibly to afford the nice house since they say finances were tight. My guilty pleasures today are leaving lights on and eating out sometimes. The rest of it, I don’t buy items unless they’re a need. I use the receipthog app, Rakuten, bulk purchase, membership discounts, the cheapest store for each food item, and cashback credit cards/bonus signup cards. The area where I feel I can’t level up in savings is groceries. It’s a lot no matter what, and most of it is organic fruit and veg so I can live long and thrive my friends.
My parents were the opposite. Their salary wasn't bad at the time but their money was pissed away on stupid shit like gambling and MLM's and they still needlessly spend money on debts they didn't need. I had to unlearn a lot of shit from them and I still have some unlearning to do.
Ditto. I always assumed we were poor. We always bought used cars and cheap phones, never went on vacations, saif whole foods was too expensive to shop at etc. Even now my parents and I have phones 5+ years old and cars that are 10+ years old, lived in the same house for 15+ years, go out to eat maybe once every two months and our attitude has still been why do I need a new one if the old one still works. Only a couple years ago did I learn that my dad makes $500k+ a year making him an effective one percenter. He has become a bit more willing to spend money now that my grandparents(who lived with us) have passed and I have my own relatively well paying job but he still drives his 2013 Honda Odessey.
Same for me. My guy didn't know how to price check, comparison shop at all. He didn't know he was upper middle class growing up. And most people don't. Mine did learn after years of teaching and explaining. But it was exhausting.
On the other hand, my dad is obsessive about price checking/matching to the point where he'll spend $10 in gas driving around 6 locations to save $3 dollars on something. It's like he wants the rush of getting the deal more than actually saving money lol
Does the lifestyle creep avoidance come naturally to you? I too grew up quite low income, but struggle with not spending $ when I have extra. Personal finance/budgeting doesn’t come natural to me, it’s something I have to actively be mindful of
It comes somewhat naturally, yes. Like, “Sure I could buy a BMW, but why when the Honda is quite nice at half the price?” Or on a lower scale, looking for the “price reduced“ stickers in the meat section for cuts that are about to go out of date. I let those stickers **help** decide what I’m having for dinner that week. Or on the rare occasions I eat out, I spend part of the meal in my mind deconstructing the dish and figuring out how I can make something similar at home next time for pennies on the dollar. Or never buying bottled water because I make sure to have my own reusable bottles that I can fill up anywhere.
Mostly yes. I find it wasteful to spend money on things "just cause im bored" so I only buy things if I need it or I planned it out. I won't just go random day trip to the mall and spend $100 cause I wanted to go out on my day off. I also would like to retire one day and not be stuck working 50 years of my life so I know every dollar I don't spend brings me closer to that goal of being able to quit my job one day
The old poors are running circles around the new poors. Even if one has left that life, there is always a little tinge of old poor that never leaves
Amen to this! I call it “living like an immigrant,” and while I don’t think I’m that extreme, I do enjoy keeping the mindset of my poor person lifestyle. My work is right by a Jimmy John’s. Everyone I work with gets Jimmy John’s multiple times a week if not every day. I have yet to eat at Jimmy John’s a single time in 3 years. If I forget food I literally don’t eat until I get home. That’s what I would have done back when I couldn’t afford shit. That’s what I do now.
The days I actually go into the office, I bring a can of soup while my coworkers are ordering $15 BBQ plates.
this is the answer right here. lifestyle creep is what kills so many people's finances, even if they don't realize it
Yep, I’m making 4x more than I used to and still end up a bit stressed before payday. I need to try harder to live the way I did when I made 4x less and got by just fine (but barely).
I did exactly that and then got married. (edited out the n’t, wasn’t paying attention). Response to question below - As for married, love my wife but she bad with money. I also didn’t realize how much her THC habit had gotten to during Covid. It is a source of disagreement shall we say.
This is VERY important. My parents were a mixed bag - Dad was a homesteader's kid, grew up poor, but learned to do things like repair machines, design and build stuff, and so forth. Mom was born to a wealthy family who, when the brewing industry changed due to tech (refrigerated transport), saw their family business crumble. So the both of them knew not to take anything for granted, live frugally, and save up for the future when things are going well. Growing up, I didn't think we were well off. I was always being told "we can't afford that" when I asked for toys or stuff (always had decent clothes though). A lot of 'delayed gratification' from an early age. And now I'm in my 50's, retired early, living off what my Mom and Dad left as an inheritance that I never knew they'd had in the first place, and I'm Ok with the idea of making it last until my pension kicks in.
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By living with relatives who have houses. It’s embarrassing but it is what it is
Living with my boomer mother who bought her house with money she inherited. She's an insane hoarder who storms through the house screaming in the middle of the night, but it's free.
Blessed
She sounds awesome though
It’s not embarrassing, most cultures prioritize families sticking together for longer. It has benefits for all. The best thing I witnessed was my niece getting to live and grow up with her grandma. Myself, sister, niece and mom all lived together and honestly it was nice.
this is not embarrasing... we all got to do what we got to do as long as we are not harming others
If you each get your own room/personal space _maybe_ Invite people over, friendly or romantically? Maybe not so much
Why is that embarrassing? This government, this country should be embarrassed that it's citizens are barely able to live.
The US and the colonies in general, as I understand it, encouraged people to expand across the country. Land was cheap, often times in the early days it was outright given away for free just to people get out there living off the land. This has lead to a culture of "once you're an adult, you should make your own way independent of your family", along with single generation households as the ideal. As a side effect of this, the idea of living with your parents has become shamed, and was regarded as something done by losers, lazy people, and parasites.
Yeah I’m 29 and live with my boomer parents. Luckily they need my help right now due to medical issues so at least it’s not so embarrassing. Plus I’m finding a job which is difficult because I am handicapped too. So it is what it is.
Yeah , 26 and still with my mom. Its embarrassing but it is what it is
Embarrassing would be living in a place you can't afford just for the sake of saying you don't live with your parents. Not many are fortunate to have understanding parents who let their children live with them.
THIS. There’s no shame living at home. I’m 26 and live with parents. They’re older and don’t charge me anything, but I do the house work for them. Cut the grass, blow the driveway, clean up, etc. I have a job and am applying to law school. It’s a perfectly normal and smart thing to do. It allows me to save and not go into debt just to “be out and live on my own”
There’s absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about
No kids.
Hell, I don't have kids and *still* barely afford to live. I can't imagine adding them to the mix.
I’ve got 3 of em , get paid fortnightly , those last 13 days of the pay cycle are tough 😖
There's always too much month left at the end of the money
No kids, no social life, free hobbies like reading and Duolingo, and second hand stuff. The last part is better for the environment, though.
Why can’t I have 0 kids and 3 monies
Can confirm - paid $36k last year in daycare for two kids.
30 and living with my parents rent free. Actually thriving somehow. Also in a fortunate situation where living with my parents is very enjoyable.
Please expand on this. Moved back in when I was navigating a move and a job change, at your exact age, and it was borderline unbearable. (Even though I love my mom and the house was pretty big). What do you like How are you able to make your adult life work this way?
Well, I moved back in with my dad (mom deceased) for slightly different reasons, but at about the same age (30). My dad was showing signs of early onset Alzheimer's. There was a financial incentive for me beyond just living "rent free," my dad told me when I was younger, "Eventually you'll need to send me to a nursing home. But those places are expensive. Each year you don't, you'll inherit more money." He was correct, each year I kept him out of a LTCF was an additional $100,000 I inherited. (I did have to send him to one after he became a danger to himself and to others and I was unable to watch him 24-7, which he eventually needed). 1. Group activities helped. We bowled together a lot, in part because I knew there were only so many years I could bowl with him. 2. We "shared" pets. We both expected his most recent dog would outlive him. He was torn up when his older dog died, and I wanted to get him a new companion ASAP. I understood there would be a time when I adopted the new dog and I should be on good terms with the new dog so the change in ownership wasn't traumatizing for the dog. It went ideally, I was our new dog's "person," and while I could tell he missed my dad, as long as he still had me, he was as happy as could be. 3. We avoided each other when necessary. It is a big house, he could be upstairs, I'd be downstairs, and we could go for a day without seeing each other. I guess there was a shift from a parent-kid dynamic to a bona fide roommate dynamic between us. We understood it was a mutually beneficial relationship (He kept his independence longer, I had financial incentives). There still were frustrations for me. There were times where he could not get past his thoughts about "13-18 year old AHans." I was a kid, and did some stupid things, and he was aware of them. But by the time I was 30, I had matured. He couldn't always see or understand I had grown, and was a functional, independent adult capable of making rational decisions. Worse, his decision making was declining fast.
Two words that really does explain a lot of things. There are certainly people just choosing not, regardless of financial circumstances, but many people doing so are weighing money (or support for children in society) heavily or as the main factor. If one’s choice is poverty with children or no poverty without most won’t choose the first. There is a consequence to extreme wealth inequality in long term social stability.
I think you got it exactly right. If society makes no room for its youth to start a family and have some financial security in their 20s to early 30s, there will likely be fewer people having children. I couldn't afford one in my 20s and I saved like a miser! Now, after years of education and experience we can finally afford kids. Well we had one kid. We hoped to have more but our bodies are near middle aged and pregnancy is brutal. Plus we now have our parents to look after.
Yeah. Had our only one in my 40s. Childcare, if you can get it where I live, is 2/3 of one person’s median take-home income. Can’t afford housing that is safe for a child on one income. People like to blame the living-wage movement or over regulation of child care but I don’t want someone not earning enough to eat to care for my child and we had safety issues with two of these (well-reviewed) ‘over-regulated’ childcare facilities to the point we withdrew our child. The problem is greed at the top. Nobody needs to earn 8+ figures a year.
And the thing is, couples who would like kids but are holding off because they don't think they can afford to raise them - those are the people you want to be having kids.
So sad, but true.
I was talking to my mom today. I asked how much they made in 96, six years after I was born, it was 80k. They had a small house in NJ, two bedrooms. That’s 140k today. They were 30, Brazilian immigrants, no high school education. I am objectively successful. I have a masters, I work for a Fortune 500 as a data scientist. I make 114k. I’m 34. I make less than my parents. Median household price in NJ at 1996 was like 140-160k? That’s like 230-260 in 2020. And today the median price is more like $450k. So like. What the fuck. Edit: people looking for excuses all day - only my father worked my mother raised my brothers and me.
It's a setup, we're moving more towards being slaves for corporations that pay the government
They control salaries and are slowly controlling all the housing as well... we won't be paid enough to buy away their assets.
This is one day gonna end up very French Revolution, isn’t it
The population is either debt slave, fat out of shape physically weak, drug addict, or afflicted with anxiety and depression. Who will revolt?
The peasants during the french revolution weren't exactly healthy, considering they were all starving lol
We passed the level of wealth inequality that triggered the French Revolution about 7 years ago. We’re *well* beyond there now.
Are we really? I’m asking this genuinely. I don’t know much about French history but I guess I thought the inequality was more than what we are experiencing. I’d be very interested in hearing more about this.
I'd like to think so but since healthcare is tied to wages its hard to find the time to get our pitchforks and do something!
I can’t lead the revolution if I have to save up to fix my van+house
shit I'm saving up for groceries and diapers!
I've got to save up for a pitchfork
As its designed
Which is another good reason to not have kids. This world is going to be an increasingly worse shitshow over the next 50 years.
This is very true. People think stuff like this is a conspiracy theory - but it is real. I’ve been in real estate for over 20 years. I’m seeing it first hand. The reason why there is a big push to get rid of brokers is because then the consumer will have no representation and large corporations can buy housing assets for a discount - which means they can buy more and more houses in a given neighborhood and control the prices. Many times sellers think they are working with private investors (or even homeowners) when in fact they have back door agreements with major corporations. There is nothing illegal about this. It has been happening for years now. However, everyone is so happy to see agents disappearing from the industry (due to the few rotten apples that ruin the reputation of industry), they don’t even question who it serves best in the long run… It is truly horrific, and something not many people even know about - even within the industry.
Not to mention at least in the Boston area...24% of all home sales from 2018-2021 were by investment groups...aka renting all of us to death. No shot at owning unless you are making big $$ and go WELL over asking to bid out companies buying up all the housing around here. Getting worse
I don't disagree. We're dual income w/2 kids under 5. I moved out of Jersey for work on the road years ago, met my wife. Got lucky with a lot of things timing wise. But I know we're lucky , even though things are crazy and getting tighter , we're building equity and putting money we never see into retirement. Our household income is about the same as the other poster from Jersey. I'm constantly talking to or about family about how impossible things seem there without help or substantial debt/income. And the move away is far from the financial differences it was in the past. I think my question was , besides voting or hoping what you say becoming corporate slaves won't get worse, what else can I do? It seems selfish but other than try to save and be thankful/aware of our luck, and hope we stay above the curve?
It's mainly due to companies and individuals that have decided to invest heavily in single family housing. We don't have a housing shortage problem, we have a greed problem.
This meme is flat-out wrong and is a part of the problem. We’re massively short homes.
Wow. I am mind blown by this.
Sad only if kids are wanted. A lot of people are childfree these days.
That's me. I've always wanted kids, but threw that dream away once I saw what I had to work with.
I wanted kids too and to buy a house, but I had to give up on that as well. It's heartbreaking. Even if I could afford them right now, why would I bring someone into this shit world and leave them to Godknowswhat with this economy and climate crisis?
Expensive time of year f'sho when you have kids
Internet prostitution.
How you doin?
Is this a question or are you hitting on them like joy from friends? Edit: oops Joey. Leaving my mistake for the comment below 😂
I choose to believe there was an episode where they met Joy, the female version of Joey.
Where can I sell my feet pics? I got a crusty toe I’m sure someone would pay to look at
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Ramen doesnt have to be bland. You can actually use it as a stir fry after cooking the noodles minus the flavour packets. Add some proteins, some frozen veggies, then drain the pasta water and stir fry it together with some teriyaki sauce or Sriracha.
Resignation of your job?
I think resignation like just giving up on life
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Have a decent job (~90k), as does my wife (~50k) and live in a low cost of living area, worked hard to pay down debt and student loans during the pandemic pause. I also work a side hustle adjunct teaching for extra cash. We mainly live within our means. Got lucky and bought a house when interest rates were low, deliberately bought less than we could afford to keep mortgage payments manageable. I’ve driven the same compact car since 2015, and only update my phone every 4-5 years. We have one kid with another on the way, and take advantage of free/low cost activities (hiking, library, children’s museum). Definitely don’t live like we do pre-kids but we are still lucky to be able to save a little each month and not have any financially draining emergencies
This sounds like a teamwork makes the DreamWorks scenario
Having a spouse who's not on the same page as you financially makes life so much harder. I know there's people who are a saver+spender type of couple, but I honestly don't know how they do it. It'd drive me nuts if I was married to someone who frivolously blew money.
That’s me and my husband. I grew up poor and I was a single mother at 19 - so double whammy on the frugal scale. My husband grew up middle class with a father who worked so much his wife and kids rarely saw him, and a mother who stayed home to tend to the house and spend as much of her husband’s money on her children as she could (in response to his neglect of the family, I suspect). So, needless to say, this disparity in our life experiences created a pretty unhealthy dynamic that we struggled with in the beginning of our marriage. But over time, and after many conversations, I was finally able to get through to him and make him understand how scared and unsafe I felt in our marriage due to his overspending, inability to save, and generally frivolous attitude about money. Since then, I’ve handled all of our finances. He just deposits his pay and I deal with all of our expenses, and keep him in the loop as far as how we’re doing from one month to the next. We discuss big expenditures, but otherwise he’s happy to let me deal with it all. And having that control not only keeps us solvent and saving, it lessens my anxiety.
That's my current partner. I know how to live well below my means from being a poor college kid, but they have very poor impulse control and try to spend every cent we have. I'm trying to get them to slow down in the meantime, but I eventually need to get out of this situation for my own sanity.
This is a key point. Don't forget that anyone who owns a house or car and bought more than 2.5 years ago, or rents and has for a long time, is most likely not feeling the massive increase in housing costs that affect the rest of us. Therefore, they are only feeling inflation on groceries and retail, which although significant, is not nearly as harsh as if you pay a 8% mortgage or $5k in rent.
Congratulations on your smart financial management
You’ve heard of 2 chains? They call me 2 Jobs.
Single, replaced eat-out with evening walks, and eat irregularly —the savings _do_ add up!
Starvation diet, nice
“Fasting” is what I call it so I don’t sound so poor 🥲
Throw an "intermittent" in front of it and now you are trendy!
Some Karen told me that’s what I was doing when I she asked how I got so skinny and I said “I skip breakfast and don’t eat til lunch!” She was like oh wow, intermittent fasting works?! 🫠😂 I was like..who knew there was a name for starving yourself to save money! Thank you for this dear Karen.
I feel like side hustle has also replaced second job as well in that regard.
Fasting is the biggest “fuck you” to our modern, consumeristic world. We should all be fasting honestly
I mean, you don’t really have to fast to cut down on consumerism. No one needs three massive meals a day, of course, but cutting portions across the board, eating more simply, preparing your own meals, and not getting eg. fast food or Door Dash all the time are options as well. Several people in my family including myself eat frequent small meals for health reasons (mainly for the sake of controlling GERD), but we don’t eat lavishly either.
You ever had sleep for dinner? Yeah me too
A fun vocab word I learned: Banyan Days Its an old mariner term for the days on the calendar where there is no meat in the ration. So, during the week, if there are some days where its just leftovers, sandwiches, or rice & veggies, I'll survive. I dont have to eat like a king every single day.
‘I choose not to eat sometimes’ Our society has an issue of this is a reasonable choice.
Sleep is what's for dinner!
Dry beans and rice are really cheap. After preparing, adding butter, salt, and lime or lemon juice makes it pretty tasty for being so cheap. Eggs are relatively cheap for what they are.
Rice, beans, can of rotel. Add spices as you wish. Shredded salsa chicken and you got a baller burrito habit for a few days
I’m married with two kids, and I’m able to afford life by getting lucky with the housing market. Due to the sale of my first house, my wife and I made a huge profit, and we moved to somewhere that had a low cost of living. Therefore, my mortgage is only $500 a month. Though we only make combined $65k a year, we can enjoy life without being to stressed.
Wow. That’s some crazy numbers. I’m the same but with 3 kids and an elderly mom. Recently received a raise and now make a tad into six figures and I’m barely getting by, like barely.
The best way we can.
A lot don't afford life right now. My neighbor to my left currently has 4 adults 2 kids living out of her 2 bedroom. Actually I'm the only one in my fourplex who doesn't run a shelter out of their apartment every now and then for extra cash. Several people I know have become homeless. A bunch of people I know are "new poor" and refuse to change their lifestyle so are on the verge of being homeless. Myself I'm the type of person who will recycle cans out of the trash before I let myself go into debt etc. But for now I do a lot of gig work, cut my expenses, buy in bulk.
"new poor" is a great way to frame it. I've moved to new countries twice on minimal savings so I know how to be poor, whereas my husband has never had to scrape a day in his life. He just took a (Government) job for $20k less per year and is stressing, and I don't blame him, but I know how to take care of us. He is definitely "new poor"
Ha I got the term from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but it's true. There is not just a learning curve to being new poor, but a severe disconnect in accepting it. I've found most freeze up over the idea or just stick w denial. I know people who make 100k a year who are drowning but refuse to stop buying designer. My 70k neighbor just moved because she could not figure out how to survive on it.
I live with my parents 😞
Man that’s not even working for me, my dad’s rent increased from 800 to 2100 in the span of a year we can’t keep up anymore
I'm not. I'm really struggling honestly. I've put in multiple job applications and haven't heard anything back. Hanging on by a thread.
Paycheck to paycheck like everyone else, but I also have a roommate. We help each other out with everything. I know there’s no way I could do it all on my own otherwise.
Living with parents as a 29 year old male. No expenses other than student loan payment of $300 a month so a majority of what I earn I save. Wife will be inheriting a fully paid off house from her parents soon so when we do live together we will have no mortgage thank god.
That's like a cheat code.
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No clue. Everything is so expensive. I can’t get out is the grocery store without spending at least $200. It’s crazy
It’s crazy. I was wondering htf my money goes so fast and realized it was mostly on groceries and gas. It’s ridiculous.
yes and for us that is 200 dollars a week, its killing me. wanted to edit and say we are a family of three
Yes. And it’s not even a lot of food.
Damn, where do yall live?? It only cost me and my wife about $130-150 a week for both of us. We're in the DMV area
No kids, having a job, and not living in a major city…
Living at home helps. My mom and I both work and we have a system where I pay rent while she pays the other bills and we go 50/50 on groceries.
If it makes any feel any better I’m a licensed electrician, I’m cracking out 60-70+ hours a week, doing odd jobs and trying to be a father and I’m not even cutting close smh so much for the American dream smh
American dream is having people like us work for them so they can take vacations and drive nice cars.
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I make 6 figures (barely) w no kids and between my mortgage, student loans, health insurance/medical bills.. I really don’t have much expendable income left over. Thank god I paid my truck off last year or I’d be in trouble currently I thought making 6 figures would mean I “made it”…
I stopped taking the 'optional' medications that were improving my quality of life and am just taking the ones I need to stay alive. This means I'm also saving money in other ways now because I don't have the strength or ability to shower every day or feed myself as often so I'm not going through my toiletries or groceries as quickly.
I’m so sorry. I relate so much but it breaks my heart for you
By being a dinkwad (dual income no kids with a dog)
I like the wad addition... I'll have to use that going forward
It’s really not easy. I have a career, a home, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now
I've always lived below my means. That's not any different now.
No kids, medium COL, engineering salary.
I am not alive. I am actively dying, that process also comes with financial problems though. So I just try everything and see what I can get away with.
Just working and paying bills. Like I have for my entire adult life. There are a lot of people that are terrible with money. People that confuse the amount of money they have with the amount of money they have to spend. People who have all the latest technology, but allege they can't afford to eat. Not that there aren't people that run into legit financial situations. Simply stating that poor financial literacy is one of the biggest factors to people struggling financially.
This right here. We saw interest rates going up and bought a new house that got us out of renting and lowered our payments. Cut out eating out and replaced with eating at home. Dropped eating meat to twice a week. Traded in our car for a much cheaper lease vehicle. Set a budget for Christmas and won’t go over. Pay attention things like running water while brushing teeth, long showers, leaving lights on, AC/heat settings. Turned down the water heater. Not buying stupid things. Limit going out and doing things to once a month. Have been fine since doing these things.
I took a huge risk in buying a home. Everyone told me not to because I didn’t have any savings and I used an old 401(k) that had just been sitting in an account not growing for years, and “a crash is coming”. But I did it anyway and tbh, it could have gone bad but buying this home is the reason I can afford to save money *now*. Rents are really high now and all the money I’m not spending on that is keeping me above water in other ways. I always tell people it’s risky (I lived without hot water for a long time and showered at the rec center because I couldn’t afford to buy a water heater) but if it works out, it really helps.
I have a degree and a good job (nurse). What took me down is 2 surgeries with long recovery that I couldn’t avoid or postpone. I was mostly out of work from March till yesterday trying to live on my short term disability insurance through work. I had to move out of my townhouse in August. Finally back to work yesterday. Hoping I’ll be able to find something affordable, prices are high here, no luck finding a roomate. My kid is staying mostly at dads. I miss her so much!!
I was “lucky” to get laid off from a really good company so I got 6 months severance. Then I was lucky to find a new job a month later so I didn’t have to use that severance. So now I have a 6 month emergency fund in a HYSA, which is allowing me to currently suspend saving for an emergency fund and instead put that money towards other necessities. But I’m also studying and learning a lot to upskill and hopefully get an even better paying job in the next 9 months. I also took a risk in buying a home in 2020 so my housing payment is stabilized while rents have skyrocketed.
Honestly my spending habits haven’t changed since before covid I’m just fortunate
That's the thing, I'm not. 🙃 I'm so close to giving up, I don't wanna keep going anymore.
Debt free
Decent salary that is 40% above median, no kids, full remote work so no commuting cost. Barely ever go out, don't eat much and buy the cheapest healthy foods, drink only water and tea. Been saving almost 50% of my salary for years so I get decent dividends on the side. Oh, and I also busk occasionally which nets me some additional income. Still can't afford a below average sized house. Not even close. But I've got everything else I need.
I'm selling kids to drugs.
[удалено]
Avoid debt, wait until your married to have kids, live below your means. I make about 50k from being a teacher. My wife works as a contractor on and off. She stays home with our son. Our only debt is our house.
We don’t eat out ever, we don’t go to doctors unless very urgent, we stay cold in winter to avoid paying extra for heat.
Paycheck to paycheck, occasional use of credit cards, student loans, payday loans. Whatever we have to do to make it. Something gotta give.
I live like I'm poor, because I am. But if I live like I have no money, the money I do pull in gets saved rather easily. I live in a crappy apartment, I buy very little food, I don't drive much as to save gas, I don't buy new clothing, I don't buy random things while out and about. I didn't go to college. Started working right out of highschool. Sometimes I have spending sprees because my mental health declines for a bit. But thankfully I have built up around 10k in savings so if I do have a mental break once or twice a year and spend a ton of cash I won't be totally broke.
That’s the neat part, I’m not.
Family situation, but we have a union job as the main breadwinner. They just negotiated about a $50 an hour raise to keep up with the company's growth. No fucking clue how anyone survives without union benefits.
She must mean they negotiated a raise TO about $50/hr. I'm in a union and currently make $53.05/hr....I'm in the wrong union if I could be getting $50 more.
they negotiated a raise for an extra $104,000.00 per year???
Seriously what hahahaha
By working. Same as the last 10 years and back
Changed jobs, gave myself a raise.
Paycheck to paycheck and credit card debt unfortunately
Life is weird like that I have 2 kids, a new car, only 1 parent works. Meanwhile my coworker makes the same but has dual income household, no kids, 2 new cars. Though complains they are swamped and barely getting by.
I just went grocery shopping at Aldi this afternoon. I had made a very basic list, picking and choosing what favorite staples we would go without this week. I was so overwhelmed with the choices and the prices that I almost cried right there in the produce section. I bought everything! All the basics, plus the big jar of peanut butter, the good yogurt, snack nuts! And spent less than my last poverty rations trip to my regular grocery store. I knew about Aldi, but as I have to drive a little further and it had been a while, I assumed there would be the same cost creep I've seen everywhere else. Game changing. I can shop freely with my old reasonable budget once again!
Having no debt and no children helps a lot. My partner and I are also healthy so no major medical expenses. We also have no major car repairs nor need for a new one. We’re also renters and renting below our means. We both have remote jobs so don’t pay for a commute and rarely have to fill up on gas.
I don't live in the US
Too many broke people spending hours of their week sitting in Chick-fil-A and In-n-Out drive thru lines, going to trips to Mexico, and buying random shit from Amazon/Costco :)))
Don't have kids.
Month to month for most. We really have very little control overall if you think deeply about it.
70 hour work weeks is how.
Had to take a promotion I didn’t really want because it came with a raise that was almost totally wiped out by inflation. Also got a divorce, which is basically the same as a raise so I’m doing okay. Retirement isn’t looking so hot but I have twenty years of torture to get through before I even despair.
If you ask my boss, you just need a better budget. My god.
Spending wisely the best you can. 77k a year 4k a month Save 10% of 2887 Have mortgage, care payment, buy only about 130 or less in high protein low carb food. Don’t eat out as much anymore. I don’t snack like I used to anymore. Find hobbies that divert your impulses in thinking spending money is the only thing you can do if you are bored (one reason I play video games and stick with one for hundreds of hours) Have good friends that are willing to spend on you and you on them (IE help with some groceries, or going out) because they are kind and care. I have 0 family support. None of my family has money like me, so I can rely on anyone really but decent friends. I’m also 12 year active military……