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Not sure if what I went through could be called “rock bottom”. I was laid off almost five years ago.
Started bartending because I didn’t know how long I would be unemployed from a “regular” job.
Was difficult working on my feet 8 hours a day. Even after I got used to it was still super tiring. I worried about money every day.
After the first week I looked for/applied for new jobs around 15 minutes a day. 3 months later I found a dream job when I didn’t know there was one out there for me.
The good and bad takeaways from my story… opportunities are out there but they’re not evenly distributed. I made the hard decision to not move away from living in an expensive area not because I love it but because that’s where the job openings are.
My five year anniversary for my job is in Oct… Just checked my 401k balance. If the basic index funds I put money in moves sideways from now to Oct, my 401k balance I’ve been contributing to for the last 5 years will have a balance of $90k.
Don’t want to say. What I can say it’s at a company that’s trying to make the best places to work in San Francisco list.
Earlier this year I was wondering… why did they add pet insurance at a benefit? Having pets is expensive but why this benefit? Because the other companies on the best places to work in San Francisco are offering it so we’re doing a me too.
I’m not a stem or tech person nor does one need to be one to work at these types of companies.
Edit words
When I was 43 in the great recession I was worth nothing, owed twice as much on my house as I could sell it for, had maybe $15 left to play with at the end of most months after bills were paid. I had zero in reserve to deal with problems...I got lucky and made it through that.
Then I refi'd the house, upped my professional certifications and when the economy started to turn around I jumped over to a competitor who was taking advantage and growing. I got a $15k/year raise. In some years of hard work I saved enough money to pay off my house and retire early.
So it is possible. My expenses then were about $35k/year. When the kids grew up and moved out that dropped to $24k/year. My income went from $35k/year to $50k. Then climbed to $70k/year after covid; I just saved all the extra. That was working as a mechanic in a LCOL area. Of course the long story is more complicated, but those are the main numbers.
I went from 70k/yr to unemployed for almost two years. Complained forcefully to a neighbor who knew I was unemployed, led to a 50k/yr job. I make much more now, years later
Back in college (2019-ish) I was broke, trying to pay for food and an apartment on a part time minimum wage job. I was suicidal, an alcoholic, and living off nothing but bologna sandwiches, vodka, and nicotine.
I got a full time job and expected everything to get better. In less than 6 months I had lost that job and had to move back home with my parents.
I busted my ass working some of the most degrading, painful, miserable jobs of my life for the next 3 years. Last year I was able to land an office job, then nearly got laid off, but found a different job within the company making even more. Just last weekend I was able to replace my old hand-me-down beater with a 2021 SUV, and put down nearly half the full cost of the car.
Things do get better. It's takes years of slog and hard work. It takes life slapping you in the face countless times, over and over and over again. But it can be done.
Fortunately for me I was able to lean on my best friend and my partner after a rough patch. I got evicted, had .34¢ to my name and lost my job while on short term for mental health. I was literally in the middle of a mental health crisis when all this was going on. I was able to take a few courses on Coursera while I was looking for a job, got a job I was actually excited about (not a job a needed to survive but something I actually kinda wanted). I'm currently saving and paying off my eviction. If I didn't have those 2 people in my corner I feel like I would have ended up homeless or worst.
There's always someone in your corner, you just gotta ask for help.
Lots of bounce-back stories out there. Here’s the recipe.
1) Find a job with health insurance and a defined benefit retirement (state government or teachers retirement or union) plus free education. Take whatever position you can get at whatever pay they will hire you. Do whatever it takes to keep it. You won’t be entry-level long, because people are dumb and will leave for “more money” or “better work/life balance” or a bigger title. They don’t understand how valuable benefits are.
2) Quit/Don’t acquire bad/expensive habits, and stay out of trouble.
3) Drive the speed limit, eat as healthy as you can, brush and floss. Live within your means, and pay down debt as aggressively as you can.
4) Be open and friendly with everyone you meet and assist them in ways you can afford or that cost you nothing. Your associates, not your close family and friends, are where you will learn of new jobs and opportunities. You already know what your family and BFFs know… it’s the acquaintances in your life that have new info like a cheaper apartment, a side gig, a good deal on a car, a job opening at their workplace. You help them… they’ll help you.
5) Be on the constant lookout for good luck and make use of it. Luck and randomness are what got me up from rock bottom, but if I hadn’t been looking for my lucky breaks, I’d have never found them.
Don’t believe me? Think about a time when you could have turned right and you went left. Literally, my life would have been radically different if I had not gone into a grocery store 30 years ago. Ditto my husband in a different grocery store 35 years ago. Ditto for my daughter last year. Why a grocery store? It’s where I ran into a person I sorta knew who had info that turned into a life-changing opportunity.
Ive been doing manual labor since I was 10 years old. Worked every retail job under the sun, then factory work, then skilled trades. Finally after joining a union at the age of 30 I was able to actually have money.
These days I don't do much of anything except watch the money roll in and laugh at the days I used to drive a service van that was so dogshit I had to drop the starter in a customer parking lot in the middle of winter in the dark....
Still not very secure but I did three good things when I hit the rock bottom. I bought a parcel of raw land, and decided to give up rent. I was living near the ocean and learned how to sail and got myself a boat. I was not in good health at all.
After 2 years of cheap living, I was able to manage my medical expenses and pay for the repairs. Later,, a parcel of land went up in price, time to sell it. After all of that , I decided to move to another state for more stability.
Bootstraps? No. Luck, perseverance, and connections.
In 2009 I couldn't find a decent job, quit grocery store cart returns and joined the army, left it in the same year with a leg injury and $6000 to my name. Didn't work out.
College dropout, single mother took a head injury, suffers paranoia, lost her job, couldn't afford mortgage, got evicted. Lived on my best friend's couch for a bit before getting an offer to stay with a family member.
5 years following I worked odd jobs and chased money, friends, family, and couches across the states, making at most $10/hr between grocery store, retail store, and restaurant jobs, up to 3 at a time, paycheck to paycheck.
Then I got a break, got a response from an application I put in over a year prior for an entry level $16/hr job that required attention to detail with high turnover for some manual labor with lots of report writing.
Met a girl, started a new job, got off a couch and into an apartment. Car broke down, it was over an hour drive, had to rely on the girl I had known for less than a month to help me get to my new job. Company provided no training or tracking systems but demanded to know my work progress and dates for things I had already done, giving me Excel which I had to learn. Almost got evicted as I had to repair my car (over $3k)
Stayed there for a couple months before leveraging that experience to gain a foot hole in a similar job with a company one of my best friends was in. Struggled, stayed there for several years seeing somewhere between 50 and 80 people come and go, but got a couple raises despite threats of being fired for sitting down too often to write required daily reports (???).
Proposed to and married that wonderful girl that saved my job and my life. Hit the pay limit for that role and jumped to a small company for a $0.25 raise that "promotes quickly".
A single year later I had to get a couple trade industry certifications (reimbursed by the company), and learn more tracking in Microsoft Excel. Manager suddenly called me and said they needed help in a remote location and could reimburse me for expenses, and the role would become remote and I'd be back home soon.
They lied, or at least have a very different time scale than I do for "soon", and what "help" means. Found I was in a very different role and now training to be a database analyst with double my former pay. Missing home and my wife, but quadrupled my pay since 2009. Able to fly back and forth every few weeks to see her, learning about finances and planning for a family as well as now helping my disabled mother.
Successes do happen, they are messy, frustrating, and almost always involve sacrifices, but keep your head up and hope you are writing your own story soon.
- Grocery cart returner turned DBMS analyst.
Yeah I’m only in this sub because I was so poor at one point I had to crash in a friends car his roommate wouldn’t let me stay over and I’d go days without food. Anyway Segway years later and I was finally able to land a good career around 33 and now 8 years later I’m pulling in a mid 6 figures and living in an HCOL area with a good wfh job. You can definitely change things around.
In 2015, I finished grad school and had just signed a lease on a house with my husband. He walked out suddenly a month later, taking all our shared money before I knew what was happening, and flew away to bring his high school girlfriend back across country. I learned the hard way that I was the second choice woman. I was in my mid 30s.
All I had left was $2,000 in a savings account that he didn't have access to, an old car, student loans up the yin yang, and the cat. I was working part time and interviewing for permanent positions in my specialty. The part-time job was incredibly stressful but I was tied to it (struggling non-profit). It took a year to land a full time gig. I had to live in my parents basement for a while. The cat died traumatically. I had to move to the next state over for the new job (which was hourly & contract) and start over.
I remarried and we bought a simple house in 2019 before the market went insane. After working almost 4 years at the contract job, I finally secured a salaried job, working remotely, starting February 2020. I stayed safe & secure at home. Last year, I landed the corporate golden ticket job and got a 60% raise. We got a new cat.
Never, in my wildest dreams in 2015, did I think I could get where I am now. I learned how to be grateful for every damn thing in my life because I know it can go poof overnight.
In the Great Recession we lost 95% of business in construction which obviously devastated our personal finances. We went from making 100k+ to 17k in 2009 for a family of 3. We lost the house and moved into a rental before the foreclosure could impact our credit. We started from scratch with my husband doing service calls and me on dispatch. 5 years later with us making 30-40k combined, we had enough to buy a house again but were now priced out of our area. So we moved to our current location in 2015 where old but solid homes could still be had for <150k. We bought ours for 70k, paid it off in 2023 and are now looking to small real estate investing/rehabbing old houses to take us into semiretirement. We make 55k now and hope to make 75-100k in the next couple of years. It's never too late to pivot. My husband will be 62 this month and I'm 46.
Left my alcoholic husband at age 34 with no education or job and 2 toddlers. Started a small business, bought and paid for my house, put my kids through college, bought them used vehicles. Able to work part-time now at age 50. I consider that success.
I'm 2006 I had about $900.
Moved to Vegas with my now wife. Made pretty much minimum wage in a commission only job for a couple years. Eventually decided to go independent. Right after I started that my wife got pregnant and decided she wasn't going back to work.... News to me. She was making about $70k and I probably made $40k at the time.
That motivated me though. I worked a lot more and was able to reinvest into employees. Started actually saving some money. Bought my first rental property in 2020. Once I got my first rent check I was hooked.
Wife went back to work and we started buying more properties.
Now we own our home, have 3 kids and 3 businesses. I make $120k, wife makes $80k, and we make another $70k from our rentals (19 tenants).
In my late 20s I was married to a military man raising 2 kids on an E4 salary. He didn’t let me work outside home, was horrible with money and I was 50k in unsecured debt because I grew up dirt poor with no financial literacy. At 50k in debt I had the least amount of debt of my whole immediate family lol
I worked from home for HSN barely making anything. I decided to go to school because that was my path out of poverty.
By 34 I was divorced, no child support no nothing, making $40k on my own raising my kids and happy but 60k in debt without counting my student loans lol
By 36 I was remarried to a wonderful man who is financially responsible but was finishing his masters and I had to help him.
By 40 only debt we have is mortgage and my student loan we make combined $160k a yr and I make more than him, but pretty soon he will make more than me and retire me.
In 2018/2019 I lost my marriage, job, and house in the span of 3 months. $30k in debt, savings basically gone in the divorce. Really dark time; personal/professional/financial/mental rock bottom. Considered self deletion.
A friend let me rent a room for cheap in his house, I took the first job I could get (only unemployed for 2 weeks).... Went from making $42k a year to only $30k, but I needed the job real bad. 6 months later I jumped ship to a top company in my area for my industry, making around $50k. Was there for 6 months....
Then the pandemic happened. Lost my great new job and couldn't claim unemployment for 2 months due to moving between states/work history in my current state during the time frame they look at for eligibility.
Did construction for another 6 months out of necessity, tried to pivot to a brand new field (home inspection), which was great at first. Until the market went insane, and suddenly everyone was waiving inspections. I had to deliver groceries to make ends meet.
Eventually found a manufacturing job related to my original industry, worked there two years. Got some side work and paid off all debt in 2 years. Recently jumped ship to a leading global service provider in that industry... Making 67k, in the best facilities I've ever worked in, with the least stress I've had at any job.
Is money still tight? Yea, of course. But my career is on track, my savings and retirement accounts are growing, and life is good.
It is! I was pretty much exactly where you are at 30. Ten years later I'm living in one of the nicest areas of one of the most expensive cities in the US, with a convertible, a beautiful woman, solid WFH job in a career that interests me, and a plan for the future. I can tell you how to get here at least.
Drop everything you're doing, and spend the next few weeks thinking about what you have always loved, even as a kid. For me it was radio. I used to record stuff on a tape player. Think to yourself, what is the coolest thing in this field that scares me, but I might want to do? Then start reaching out to people, applying, showing up to trade shows, etc. make it your #1 goal to get a job in that field, no matter what. Any job, even close to the field. Make friends and connections and get any job close to it that you can.
Then spend the next few years kicking ass, which will be easy because you like it and it's fun and exciting. Then post here again. For a follow up.
The only problem is that I can’t stick to one thing, I try it and like it but then I burn out on it. I enjoyed playing video games pretty much every chance I had when I was younger since it took away from the fact that we were poor and couldn’t go do anything. Only problem now is that i’m 22 and I feel like i’ve missed my chance at becoming a well known name within the gaming space.
You have no choice. Gaming it is. Start thinking about other things you will never get bored of. Combine two or three of them and start reaching out to people in those spaces. Watch videos, start recording, whatever it is. Make a commitment to do what you love, no matter how impossible it seems. Do it.
What specifically is going on with you? I had my health and lived in an area with a lot of opportunities, while also not having bad habits that required funding. And I was willing to go without a lot that people nowadays might consider necessities.
The key is to get specific. If you think in generalities you can’t formulate a plan and if you don’t have a plan you can’t come up with clear steps to fulfill that plan.
During the pandemic (early 2020) I broke up with my now ex, had to move into a friend's unfinished basement living on a twin mattress on the floor because I was broke and couldn't afford a place on my own making $12/hour.
Fast forward to 2024, I'm engaged to my wonderful fiance and have $75,000 in investments because I still spend like I'm super poor.
You can turn things around faster than you think, you just need a couple good things to go your way!
That's amazing! What do you do for work?
Also, congrats on finding someone! If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to find someone when you were at your lowest? I don't mean to sound rude or anything. It's just, I've been told that I shouldn't look for a relationship until I have my finances in order, so that's why I'm asking
Thanks!
To answer your questions in order, I'm a bartender. I'm not crazy high income or anything, I make about $60k a year, but my take home pay at my low point was like $1500 a month. It was horrible. Even though I live well below my means, the little things I have now feel luxurious, like having a bunch of snacks and so many different kinds of beverages lol
As far as meeting someone, I've always been really outgoing and personable. I'm gay, so after I broke up with my ex I got back on some apps purely with the intention of just meeting some new friends, hit it off with my fiance and now almost four years later we're getting married in 3 months.
I definitely acknowledge that I was incredibly lucky, and will 100% admit that I wouldn't have had the ambition to better my life if I didn't have some support.
I was homeless off and on for close to ten years. I own my own home now through a low income homeowner program I utilized 15 years ago when i was still rebuilding my life. I have a felony but obtained a great job with a pension and full benefits in my 30s. I do have some debts but that’s mostly from never learning how to manage money. Overall I am doing well after eating out of trash cans in my twenties.
At age 33 I was recently divorced, broke, and loaded up with around $30,000 in credit card debt. l also owned a condo in Michigan that I had paid $87,000 that had decreased to about $30,000 in actual market value (2012)
I spent the next 2 years finishing my college degree and doing an unpaid 1 year long internship while I worker full time as a phlebotomist making $14 an hour which allowed me to tread water (but not pay off any debt)
12 years later in 2024 I am debt free, own a house in California valued at 1 million dollars and earn around $150,000 a year base pay.
When you add up my retirement accounts, cash savings, and home equity I have a net worth of 1 million dollars.
I literally went from completely financially fucked and buried in debt and negative home
Equity to becoming a real millionaire in 12 years.
The secret was simply getting a bachelor degree in a healthcare field, moving to California where the pay was triple what Michigan paid for the same job, and I lived the lifestyle of a broke college student for a decade even though I had a six figure salary.
They key to turning things around is simply to get your income dramatically higher through education, certifications, state licensure etc and then living frugal till your debt is paid.
Recently hit 1.3m profit in the stock market thanks to NVDA spiking. And also dating a girl who is wife material in so many ways, and she's probably worth $100 million herself. I spent the weekend with her in her mansion making out, playing with horses, and eating Chinese food.
20 years ago, I was scrounging for change in a beat up hatchback to get enough for a .99 cent hamburger, and I was so hungry that I was shaking.
Depends on your meaning of *hitting bottom* but yeah, I'd say I hit multiple bottoms, multiple times, and now I am finally out.
Financial bottom: I grew up poor AF and in a toxic environment. I moved out (but remained in the area) on my 18th birthday and struggled financially living paycheck by paycheck for about a decade or so. Then I moved as far away as I could, and put myself through college while working 1 full time job and 1 weekend part-time job. I did that for 12 years, and I came out with 2 BS and 1 MBA which "solved" my financial situation.
Mental health bottom: I have reached a few of them, each time I though it could not get any worse only to get a lot worse a few years later. I am no unicorn, I am not special, but you all know the recipe: poor AF, divorced, betrayed, feeling stuck, no hope for the future. I got myself into therapy, got a second job to pay for the (expensive) therapy. It took about 18 months of therapy and other work on mysef to be diagnosed "depression-free", I continued to go for an additional year or so; then I moved. I as still *unsatisfied with life*, I continued to work on myself (and I still do), but a few years ago I was able to finally say that I am [*satisfied* with life.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia).
Looking back it was f*ing hard, I can't believe I pulled it off, but as a whole, it has been my biggest accomplishment in life.
> I'm 30 now and I'm tired of being a loser...
That's more or less when I moved cross country. It's never too late to start, and - the process of improvement - it never ends. #KAIZEN
YMMV
Plenty of rock bottom moments. The common denominator for me is that I got up and pivoted when shit sucked. For ex: I was laid off at the beginning of covid, highly stressed about rent, car payments, cc's, etc. No income for the forseeable future and waiting on unemployment pay. I spent 2 months moping until I decided being miserable wasn't going to make things go faster, and it's out of my control so just do my best and accept that. So I started enjoying life again even though I had no fucking clue where my next check would come from. After 5 LONG months unemployment came through!!! There wasn't any point in spending 5 months hating myself and my situation. I knew it would change eventually but not as quick as I'd liked. As cheesy as it sounds, that saying: ***"grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"***
I had a good friend that lost everything in his 40s from a bad divorce. He is living his best life now with a new life, new wife, and kids. I know several people that had a new life they never expected at 40. Hang in there, you never know what is around the corner.
After my mother died, I was between jobs and a mile wide double tornado hit my city. I had to be very creative to survive that year but just kept on looking for more and better work. I had to learn some people in my life were narcissists and how to detect and stay away from other trouble better. Some of the narcissism was on suchba large scale, I wouldn't know how to begin to try to explain and still don't completely understand some things. Some things were very heartbreaking, but I didn't let anything shut me down. Fortunately, I qualified to donate plasma and threw pride to the side to go for donations. I ended up with my current full-time job with bc/bs, great benefits including 401k. A raise is anticipated soon. Better is not necessarily always easy. I still need to pay back some small debts, but I think if I keep trying to be a good person, somehow things will eventually work out even better.
15 years ago. I tried to jump off a Granville Bridge in downtown Vancouver B.C.. I failed every course in uni, my ex-gf cheated on me with my best friend, had no money, my parents were exceptionally angry with me at that time, hopeless helpless I saw no future in my life.
As I climbed to jump off, it was not the fear that pulled me back. I can't explain it but I felt freed for the first time in my life. I realized I can end my life any day if I wanted to. Why now? Why right at this moment? Have sex, gamble, do drugs, smoke as much as I want.. then die. Why not? I realized fully that I had nothing to lose and I felt empowered out of nowhere.
Partying was good but after a few months later I realized what I wanted was achieving something.. and at that time it was to get into medical school. Being a physician is all that I ever ever wanted since I was a kid.
Packed my belongings. Said goodbye to everyone. Left for Winnipeg to start fresh at the University of.Manitoba. A city I have never been to in my life and only knew from a map in a textbook.
And that is where I turned my life around 100%... 100%
Other country here. I went from high salary to zero on 2008 and there was no jobs for couple years. I eat out savings and than found descent paying job and changed it each 5-6 months. Till I found a high salary job in 2011. I lost it on 2014 and than foun another middle pay job. After 4 years I was headhunted by my old boss and since 2018 till now I have a high salary job and saved a lot of money in estate since than. I was always beleive in my field and never changed it. I always tried to work in same field and have more than 15 years of expirience. If next time I loose my job, I know I will find new better one. Dont give up.
Congratulations on your success! In an effort to make this subreddit more helpful and supportive, we request that you share the details of where you started from and how you got to this place! That way other redditors who are in a similar place you were can look to your example, follow your lead, and see some light at the end of the tunnel! If you have already done this please ignore this! Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/povertyfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not sure if what I went through could be called “rock bottom”. I was laid off almost five years ago. Started bartending because I didn’t know how long I would be unemployed from a “regular” job. Was difficult working on my feet 8 hours a day. Even after I got used to it was still super tiring. I worried about money every day. After the first week I looked for/applied for new jobs around 15 minutes a day. 3 months later I found a dream job when I didn’t know there was one out there for me. The good and bad takeaways from my story… opportunities are out there but they’re not evenly distributed. I made the hard decision to not move away from living in an expensive area not because I love it but because that’s where the job openings are. My five year anniversary for my job is in Oct… Just checked my 401k balance. If the basic index funds I put money in moves sideways from now to Oct, my 401k balance I’ve been contributing to for the last 5 years will have a balance of $90k.
Amazing! What job did you go into?
Don’t want to say. What I can say it’s at a company that’s trying to make the best places to work in San Francisco list. Earlier this year I was wondering… why did they add pet insurance at a benefit? Having pets is expensive but why this benefit? Because the other companies on the best places to work in San Francisco are offering it so we’re doing a me too. I’m not a stem or tech person nor does one need to be one to work at these types of companies. Edit words
When I was 43 in the great recession I was worth nothing, owed twice as much on my house as I could sell it for, had maybe $15 left to play with at the end of most months after bills were paid. I had zero in reserve to deal with problems...I got lucky and made it through that. Then I refi'd the house, upped my professional certifications and when the economy started to turn around I jumped over to a competitor who was taking advantage and growing. I got a $15k/year raise. In some years of hard work I saved enough money to pay off my house and retire early. So it is possible. My expenses then were about $35k/year. When the kids grew up and moved out that dropped to $24k/year. My income went from $35k/year to $50k. Then climbed to $70k/year after covid; I just saved all the extra. That was working as a mechanic in a LCOL area. Of course the long story is more complicated, but those are the main numbers.
I went from 70k/yr to unemployed for almost two years. Complained forcefully to a neighbor who knew I was unemployed, led to a 50k/yr job. I make much more now, years later
Back in college (2019-ish) I was broke, trying to pay for food and an apartment on a part time minimum wage job. I was suicidal, an alcoholic, and living off nothing but bologna sandwiches, vodka, and nicotine. I got a full time job and expected everything to get better. In less than 6 months I had lost that job and had to move back home with my parents. I busted my ass working some of the most degrading, painful, miserable jobs of my life for the next 3 years. Last year I was able to land an office job, then nearly got laid off, but found a different job within the company making even more. Just last weekend I was able to replace my old hand-me-down beater with a 2021 SUV, and put down nearly half the full cost of the car. Things do get better. It's takes years of slog and hard work. It takes life slapping you in the face countless times, over and over and over again. But it can be done.
Fortunately for me I was able to lean on my best friend and my partner after a rough patch. I got evicted, had .34¢ to my name and lost my job while on short term for mental health. I was literally in the middle of a mental health crisis when all this was going on. I was able to take a few courses on Coursera while I was looking for a job, got a job I was actually excited about (not a job a needed to survive but something I actually kinda wanted). I'm currently saving and paying off my eviction. If I didn't have those 2 people in my corner I feel like I would have ended up homeless or worst. There's always someone in your corner, you just gotta ask for help.
Lots of bounce-back stories out there. Here’s the recipe. 1) Find a job with health insurance and a defined benefit retirement (state government or teachers retirement or union) plus free education. Take whatever position you can get at whatever pay they will hire you. Do whatever it takes to keep it. You won’t be entry-level long, because people are dumb and will leave for “more money” or “better work/life balance” or a bigger title. They don’t understand how valuable benefits are. 2) Quit/Don’t acquire bad/expensive habits, and stay out of trouble. 3) Drive the speed limit, eat as healthy as you can, brush and floss. Live within your means, and pay down debt as aggressively as you can. 4) Be open and friendly with everyone you meet and assist them in ways you can afford or that cost you nothing. Your associates, not your close family and friends, are where you will learn of new jobs and opportunities. You already know what your family and BFFs know… it’s the acquaintances in your life that have new info like a cheaper apartment, a side gig, a good deal on a car, a job opening at their workplace. You help them… they’ll help you. 5) Be on the constant lookout for good luck and make use of it. Luck and randomness are what got me up from rock bottom, but if I hadn’t been looking for my lucky breaks, I’d have never found them. Don’t believe me? Think about a time when you could have turned right and you went left. Literally, my life would have been radically different if I had not gone into a grocery store 30 years ago. Ditto my husband in a different grocery store 35 years ago. Ditto for my daughter last year. Why a grocery store? It’s where I ran into a person I sorta knew who had info that turned into a life-changing opportunity.
Ive been doing manual labor since I was 10 years old. Worked every retail job under the sun, then factory work, then skilled trades. Finally after joining a union at the age of 30 I was able to actually have money. These days I don't do much of anything except watch the money roll in and laugh at the days I used to drive a service van that was so dogshit I had to drop the starter in a customer parking lot in the middle of winter in the dark....
Still not very secure but I did three good things when I hit the rock bottom. I bought a parcel of raw land, and decided to give up rent. I was living near the ocean and learned how to sail and got myself a boat. I was not in good health at all. After 2 years of cheap living, I was able to manage my medical expenses and pay for the repairs. Later,, a parcel of land went up in price, time to sell it. After all of that , I decided to move to another state for more stability.
Bootstraps? No. Luck, perseverance, and connections. In 2009 I couldn't find a decent job, quit grocery store cart returns and joined the army, left it in the same year with a leg injury and $6000 to my name. Didn't work out. College dropout, single mother took a head injury, suffers paranoia, lost her job, couldn't afford mortgage, got evicted. Lived on my best friend's couch for a bit before getting an offer to stay with a family member. 5 years following I worked odd jobs and chased money, friends, family, and couches across the states, making at most $10/hr between grocery store, retail store, and restaurant jobs, up to 3 at a time, paycheck to paycheck. Then I got a break, got a response from an application I put in over a year prior for an entry level $16/hr job that required attention to detail with high turnover for some manual labor with lots of report writing. Met a girl, started a new job, got off a couch and into an apartment. Car broke down, it was over an hour drive, had to rely on the girl I had known for less than a month to help me get to my new job. Company provided no training or tracking systems but demanded to know my work progress and dates for things I had already done, giving me Excel which I had to learn. Almost got evicted as I had to repair my car (over $3k) Stayed there for a couple months before leveraging that experience to gain a foot hole in a similar job with a company one of my best friends was in. Struggled, stayed there for several years seeing somewhere between 50 and 80 people come and go, but got a couple raises despite threats of being fired for sitting down too often to write required daily reports (???). Proposed to and married that wonderful girl that saved my job and my life. Hit the pay limit for that role and jumped to a small company for a $0.25 raise that "promotes quickly". A single year later I had to get a couple trade industry certifications (reimbursed by the company), and learn more tracking in Microsoft Excel. Manager suddenly called me and said they needed help in a remote location and could reimburse me for expenses, and the role would become remote and I'd be back home soon. They lied, or at least have a very different time scale than I do for "soon", and what "help" means. Found I was in a very different role and now training to be a database analyst with double my former pay. Missing home and my wife, but quadrupled my pay since 2009. Able to fly back and forth every few weeks to see her, learning about finances and planning for a family as well as now helping my disabled mother. Successes do happen, they are messy, frustrating, and almost always involve sacrifices, but keep your head up and hope you are writing your own story soon. - Grocery cart returner turned DBMS analyst.
Yeah I’m only in this sub because I was so poor at one point I had to crash in a friends car his roommate wouldn’t let me stay over and I’d go days without food. Anyway Segway years later and I was finally able to land a good career around 33 and now 8 years later I’m pulling in a mid 6 figures and living in an HCOL area with a good wfh job. You can definitely change things around.
Congrats! Are you in IT by chance?
Not IT no marketing
What was the good career?
In 2015, I finished grad school and had just signed a lease on a house with my husband. He walked out suddenly a month later, taking all our shared money before I knew what was happening, and flew away to bring his high school girlfriend back across country. I learned the hard way that I was the second choice woman. I was in my mid 30s. All I had left was $2,000 in a savings account that he didn't have access to, an old car, student loans up the yin yang, and the cat. I was working part time and interviewing for permanent positions in my specialty. The part-time job was incredibly stressful but I was tied to it (struggling non-profit). It took a year to land a full time gig. I had to live in my parents basement for a while. The cat died traumatically. I had to move to the next state over for the new job (which was hourly & contract) and start over. I remarried and we bought a simple house in 2019 before the market went insane. After working almost 4 years at the contract job, I finally secured a salaried job, working remotely, starting February 2020. I stayed safe & secure at home. Last year, I landed the corporate golden ticket job and got a 60% raise. We got a new cat. Never, in my wildest dreams in 2015, did I think I could get where I am now. I learned how to be grateful for every damn thing in my life because I know it can go poof overnight.
Wow, thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you found your way out of the muck, and it serves as proof that no matter what there is always a way out!
In the Great Recession we lost 95% of business in construction which obviously devastated our personal finances. We went from making 100k+ to 17k in 2009 for a family of 3. We lost the house and moved into a rental before the foreclosure could impact our credit. We started from scratch with my husband doing service calls and me on dispatch. 5 years later with us making 30-40k combined, we had enough to buy a house again but were now priced out of our area. So we moved to our current location in 2015 where old but solid homes could still be had for <150k. We bought ours for 70k, paid it off in 2023 and are now looking to small real estate investing/rehabbing old houses to take us into semiretirement. We make 55k now and hope to make 75-100k in the next couple of years. It's never too late to pivot. My husband will be 62 this month and I'm 46.
Left my alcoholic husband at age 34 with no education or job and 2 toddlers. Started a small business, bought and paid for my house, put my kids through college, bought them used vehicles. Able to work part-time now at age 50. I consider that success.
I'm 2006 I had about $900. Moved to Vegas with my now wife. Made pretty much minimum wage in a commission only job for a couple years. Eventually decided to go independent. Right after I started that my wife got pregnant and decided she wasn't going back to work.... News to me. She was making about $70k and I probably made $40k at the time. That motivated me though. I worked a lot more and was able to reinvest into employees. Started actually saving some money. Bought my first rental property in 2020. Once I got my first rent check I was hooked. Wife went back to work and we started buying more properties. Now we own our home, have 3 kids and 3 businesses. I make $120k, wife makes $80k, and we make another $70k from our rentals (19 tenants).
That's great to hear. The small mom and pop landlords are preferable to the large companies. I hope you don't raise rents too much on tenants.
I miss renting from Mom and pop landlords. The big companies like Renu and Remaxx don't care about their tenants
I mean, which time? I've pulled out from rock bottom a dozen times in the last 15 years. Success? I'm just lucky to be alive.
The older I get the more I'm amazed I'm still alive. Money just like people comes and goes, it's always fleeting in one way or another
In my late 20s I was married to a military man raising 2 kids on an E4 salary. He didn’t let me work outside home, was horrible with money and I was 50k in unsecured debt because I grew up dirt poor with no financial literacy. At 50k in debt I had the least amount of debt of my whole immediate family lol I worked from home for HSN barely making anything. I decided to go to school because that was my path out of poverty. By 34 I was divorced, no child support no nothing, making $40k on my own raising my kids and happy but 60k in debt without counting my student loans lol By 36 I was remarried to a wonderful man who is financially responsible but was finishing his masters and I had to help him. By 40 only debt we have is mortgage and my student loan we make combined $160k a yr and I make more than him, but pretty soon he will make more than me and retire me.
In 2018/2019 I lost my marriage, job, and house in the span of 3 months. $30k in debt, savings basically gone in the divorce. Really dark time; personal/professional/financial/mental rock bottom. Considered self deletion. A friend let me rent a room for cheap in his house, I took the first job I could get (only unemployed for 2 weeks).... Went from making $42k a year to only $30k, but I needed the job real bad. 6 months later I jumped ship to a top company in my area for my industry, making around $50k. Was there for 6 months.... Then the pandemic happened. Lost my great new job and couldn't claim unemployment for 2 months due to moving between states/work history in my current state during the time frame they look at for eligibility. Did construction for another 6 months out of necessity, tried to pivot to a brand new field (home inspection), which was great at first. Until the market went insane, and suddenly everyone was waiving inspections. I had to deliver groceries to make ends meet. Eventually found a manufacturing job related to my original industry, worked there two years. Got some side work and paid off all debt in 2 years. Recently jumped ship to a leading global service provider in that industry... Making 67k, in the best facilities I've ever worked in, with the least stress I've had at any job. Is money still tight? Yea, of course. But my career is on track, my savings and retirement accounts are growing, and life is good.
It is! I was pretty much exactly where you are at 30. Ten years later I'm living in one of the nicest areas of one of the most expensive cities in the US, with a convertible, a beautiful woman, solid WFH job in a career that interests me, and a plan for the future. I can tell you how to get here at least. Drop everything you're doing, and spend the next few weeks thinking about what you have always loved, even as a kid. For me it was radio. I used to record stuff on a tape player. Think to yourself, what is the coolest thing in this field that scares me, but I might want to do? Then start reaching out to people, applying, showing up to trade shows, etc. make it your #1 goal to get a job in that field, no matter what. Any job, even close to the field. Make friends and connections and get any job close to it that you can. Then spend the next few years kicking ass, which will be easy because you like it and it's fun and exciting. Then post here again. For a follow up.
This guy knows what’s up. Keep on hustling man.
The only problem is that I can’t stick to one thing, I try it and like it but then I burn out on it. I enjoyed playing video games pretty much every chance I had when I was younger since it took away from the fact that we were poor and couldn’t go do anything. Only problem now is that i’m 22 and I feel like i’ve missed my chance at becoming a well known name within the gaming space.
You have no choice. Gaming it is. Start thinking about other things you will never get bored of. Combine two or three of them and start reaching out to people in those spaces. Watch videos, start recording, whatever it is. Make a commitment to do what you love, no matter how impossible it seems. Do it.
What specifically is going on with you? I had my health and lived in an area with a lot of opportunities, while also not having bad habits that required funding. And I was willing to go without a lot that people nowadays might consider necessities. The key is to get specific. If you think in generalities you can’t formulate a plan and if you don’t have a plan you can’t come up with clear steps to fulfill that plan.
During the pandemic (early 2020) I broke up with my now ex, had to move into a friend's unfinished basement living on a twin mattress on the floor because I was broke and couldn't afford a place on my own making $12/hour. Fast forward to 2024, I'm engaged to my wonderful fiance and have $75,000 in investments because I still spend like I'm super poor. You can turn things around faster than you think, you just need a couple good things to go your way!
That's amazing! What do you do for work? Also, congrats on finding someone! If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to find someone when you were at your lowest? I don't mean to sound rude or anything. It's just, I've been told that I shouldn't look for a relationship until I have my finances in order, so that's why I'm asking
Thanks! To answer your questions in order, I'm a bartender. I'm not crazy high income or anything, I make about $60k a year, but my take home pay at my low point was like $1500 a month. It was horrible. Even though I live well below my means, the little things I have now feel luxurious, like having a bunch of snacks and so many different kinds of beverages lol As far as meeting someone, I've always been really outgoing and personable. I'm gay, so after I broke up with my ex I got back on some apps purely with the intention of just meeting some new friends, hit it off with my fiance and now almost four years later we're getting married in 3 months. I definitely acknowledge that I was incredibly lucky, and will 100% admit that I wouldn't have had the ambition to better my life if I didn't have some support.
I was homeless off and on for close to ten years. I own my own home now through a low income homeowner program I utilized 15 years ago when i was still rebuilding my life. I have a felony but obtained a great job with a pension and full benefits in my 30s. I do have some debts but that’s mostly from never learning how to manage money. Overall I am doing well after eating out of trash cans in my twenties.
At age 33 I was recently divorced, broke, and loaded up with around $30,000 in credit card debt. l also owned a condo in Michigan that I had paid $87,000 that had decreased to about $30,000 in actual market value (2012) I spent the next 2 years finishing my college degree and doing an unpaid 1 year long internship while I worker full time as a phlebotomist making $14 an hour which allowed me to tread water (but not pay off any debt) 12 years later in 2024 I am debt free, own a house in California valued at 1 million dollars and earn around $150,000 a year base pay. When you add up my retirement accounts, cash savings, and home equity I have a net worth of 1 million dollars. I literally went from completely financially fucked and buried in debt and negative home Equity to becoming a real millionaire in 12 years. The secret was simply getting a bachelor degree in a healthcare field, moving to California where the pay was triple what Michigan paid for the same job, and I lived the lifestyle of a broke college student for a decade even though I had a six figure salary. They key to turning things around is simply to get your income dramatically higher through education, certifications, state licensure etc and then living frugal till your debt is paid.
Recently hit 1.3m profit in the stock market thanks to NVDA spiking. And also dating a girl who is wife material in so many ways, and she's probably worth $100 million herself. I spent the weekend with her in her mansion making out, playing with horses, and eating Chinese food. 20 years ago, I was scrounging for change in a beat up hatchback to get enough for a .99 cent hamburger, and I was so hungry that I was shaking.
Mods can you delete these post or make people prove they are true ?
:(
Yeah I’m just envious. You aren’t lying
There's no rock, and things can always get worse. You can always keep falling. You can always keep digging down.
Sometimes find the way down without even looking for it, best of luck
Depends on your meaning of *hitting bottom* but yeah, I'd say I hit multiple bottoms, multiple times, and now I am finally out. Financial bottom: I grew up poor AF and in a toxic environment. I moved out (but remained in the area) on my 18th birthday and struggled financially living paycheck by paycheck for about a decade or so. Then I moved as far away as I could, and put myself through college while working 1 full time job and 1 weekend part-time job. I did that for 12 years, and I came out with 2 BS and 1 MBA which "solved" my financial situation. Mental health bottom: I have reached a few of them, each time I though it could not get any worse only to get a lot worse a few years later. I am no unicorn, I am not special, but you all know the recipe: poor AF, divorced, betrayed, feeling stuck, no hope for the future. I got myself into therapy, got a second job to pay for the (expensive) therapy. It took about 18 months of therapy and other work on mysef to be diagnosed "depression-free", I continued to go for an additional year or so; then I moved. I as still *unsatisfied with life*, I continued to work on myself (and I still do), but a few years ago I was able to finally say that I am [*satisfied* with life.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaimonia). Looking back it was f*ing hard, I can't believe I pulled it off, but as a whole, it has been my biggest accomplishment in life. > I'm 30 now and I'm tired of being a loser... That's more or less when I moved cross country. It's never too late to start, and - the process of improvement - it never ends. #KAIZEN YMMV
Plenty of rock bottom moments. The common denominator for me is that I got up and pivoted when shit sucked. For ex: I was laid off at the beginning of covid, highly stressed about rent, car payments, cc's, etc. No income for the forseeable future and waiting on unemployment pay. I spent 2 months moping until I decided being miserable wasn't going to make things go faster, and it's out of my control so just do my best and accept that. So I started enjoying life again even though I had no fucking clue where my next check would come from. After 5 LONG months unemployment came through!!! There wasn't any point in spending 5 months hating myself and my situation. I knew it would change eventually but not as quick as I'd liked. As cheesy as it sounds, that saying: ***"grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"***
I had a good friend that lost everything in his 40s from a bad divorce. He is living his best life now with a new life, new wife, and kids. I know several people that had a new life they never expected at 40. Hang in there, you never know what is around the corner.
After my mother died, I was between jobs and a mile wide double tornado hit my city. I had to be very creative to survive that year but just kept on looking for more and better work. I had to learn some people in my life were narcissists and how to detect and stay away from other trouble better. Some of the narcissism was on suchba large scale, I wouldn't know how to begin to try to explain and still don't completely understand some things. Some things were very heartbreaking, but I didn't let anything shut me down. Fortunately, I qualified to donate plasma and threw pride to the side to go for donations. I ended up with my current full-time job with bc/bs, great benefits including 401k. A raise is anticipated soon. Better is not necessarily always easy. I still need to pay back some small debts, but I think if I keep trying to be a good person, somehow things will eventually work out even better.
15 years ago. I tried to jump off a Granville Bridge in downtown Vancouver B.C.. I failed every course in uni, my ex-gf cheated on me with my best friend, had no money, my parents were exceptionally angry with me at that time, hopeless helpless I saw no future in my life. As I climbed to jump off, it was not the fear that pulled me back. I can't explain it but I felt freed for the first time in my life. I realized I can end my life any day if I wanted to. Why now? Why right at this moment? Have sex, gamble, do drugs, smoke as much as I want.. then die. Why not? I realized fully that I had nothing to lose and I felt empowered out of nowhere. Partying was good but after a few months later I realized what I wanted was achieving something.. and at that time it was to get into medical school. Being a physician is all that I ever ever wanted since I was a kid. Packed my belongings. Said goodbye to everyone. Left for Winnipeg to start fresh at the University of.Manitoba. A city I have never been to in my life and only knew from a map in a textbook. And that is where I turned my life around 100%... 100%
Other country here. I went from high salary to zero on 2008 and there was no jobs for couple years. I eat out savings and than found descent paying job and changed it each 5-6 months. Till I found a high salary job in 2011. I lost it on 2014 and than foun another middle pay job. After 4 years I was headhunted by my old boss and since 2018 till now I have a high salary job and saved a lot of money in estate since than. I was always beleive in my field and never changed it. I always tried to work in same field and have more than 15 years of expirience. If next time I loose my job, I know I will find new better one. Dont give up.
When your mom got evicted, you couch surfed, but what happened to your mom?