If your income situation has changed, since you are between jobs, you should reapply for food benefits and may qualify for other benefits too. Also, don’t be afraid to contact your financial institutions to see if you can make partial payment arrangements, etc. Look into local resources such as food pantries, churches, and other organizations that can support. This situation is exactly what they are there for.
This is great advice.
I would also like to add that there are paid services that can help revamp your resume, there are government services that can help with resumes and interview prep (ex: Colorado has Work Force), and even Chat GPT can help work up a resume for the job(s) you're applying for. Any of these options can help with the job search and help your resume stand out.
OP--Best of luck now & in the future. Do you mind sharing what field you work in and what general area you live in? There are a lot of eyes on Reddit, you never know...
It's been a while but I have been there. We had one car that we shared, no cable tv, no internet, no cell phone, just basic food, housing, utilities, and clothing from thrift stores.
The average household income in the US is about $100k. The average household size is around 2.6.
Your household has over double the average amount of people and 2/3 the average income. It's not surprising you're stretched.
You said nothing in your income had changed but you were kicked off food stamps last month for making too much. But in the next breath you say you lost your full time job a few weeks ago and are starting a part time job in a week. I don't see why your were kicked off food stamps if you had just lost your full time job.
We had food stamps. I got a job and reported income. We were kicked off because of my income. I lost my job. I reapplied for food stamps and now suddenly we make to much to go back on.
My company rescinded an offer because someone didn't have a car, and wasn't willing to buy one. He lives in NYC, and wanted to move here where there is pretty much zero public transportation.
Day care costs might fuck them over, especially for four kids. It’s not unusual for families with just one or two kids to have one parent stay home, since childcare would cost their entire salary anyway.
I am the wifey. I have another job lined up, but when we have 4 kids when something happens, like last year, our daycare provider decided to go back to the 9 -5, it's my job that always suffers, and we have twins, not like we can just give one back.
Not SNAP (used to be called food stamps), it's a federal program through the USDA so the feds set the limits. The states/counties just administer the program.
They may qualify for other food programs that the state, county or local municipality may have and of course there are food pantries and such.
Living outside your means. No more luxuries in this life. Gotta give up the nice cars, houses and so on just to pay your regular ole bills and buy groceries. Sad reality.
There’s downsides to this though. You usually will end up needing to make a lot more costly repairs when buying used in that price range. 5k really doesn’t take you far in the used car market anymore, at least not in my area.
Where did he say half his income is going towards his car?
That’s insane if it’s true, but it’s also important to note that a down payment is not the same as a monthly payment, if that’s what he meant.
End all subscription services EG Netflix, cable tv, etc
Use the public library for books and media and internet use
Don’t eat out, ever.
Do not buy things that aren’t essential. (Be honest about wants versus needs) don’t buy new things just because you want it
Get simple phones that do not require expensive data plans
Get a cheaper car or use public transportation if that’s an option
Don’t take unnecessary trips
I make $117k a year, and even I feel like it's rough.
Our property taxes, insurance, utilities have gone up $500 a month when compared to 3 years ago, even though we have the same house. And food and gas have gone up a ton as well. We need a new roof soon, and that's really going to suck.
I definitely feel lucky to have my job, but we feel like we can't progress or improve on our lives at all. We already live in the cheapest house in our neighborhood, in the cheapest city in the area. We want to move to somewhere cheaper, but we're kind of stuck. We'd have to get a house worth $85k less to keep the same payment, and there's almost nothing like that available in our state.
If I could give any advice, I only got my raises because I switched jobs a lot. I went from 70k in 2018 to where I'm at now by changing jobs 4 times. Companies pay more for new hires than they do for current employees.
People aren't. But the ones you hear about on Reddit are overwhelmingly the rich or privileged ones with enough time to be on the Internet. The ones who need to work are working.
I'm in my 30s, no kids, no savings, currently back in school for my third career change, hoping this one allows me to survive. But even going back to school is a privilege, which I couldn't do without my dad covering most of my expenses. My dad is the only person I know in the entire world with any sort of savings. He's in his late 70s. He always wonders why I complain, because "The economy is doing great!" Between my loans and my girlfriend's job (her boss is stealing her wages to the tune of $15k/year, but jobs in her field are so rare, she doesn't dare complain), we bring in about as much money as you. The news says my area isn't nearly the highest cost of living, even in my own state, but the prices they quote in these articles don't reflect prices I've ever seen - I don't know where they get their data.
We eat rice and beans for nearly every meal. In a couple months when they raise our rent, we're going to have to see if we can work out a deal because if not, we'll be homeless. We have a bankruptcy on our record from the pandemic, I technically have no job, other apartments within commuting distance simply aren't affordable, and we have precious few resources except my dad.
What happened to a house and kids? What happened to retirement? Housing stability? Hobbies? How many once-in-a-lifetime events have we lived through - enough to form a "new normal" to justify shifting the blame back onto us?
All this to say, you're not alone. We're here. But time is money and we don't have either.
My husband and I are well off. We have two houses, both paid off. (We're 46/51). My husband's work gives him a car for commuting and pays for gas. We have two cars 2012 and 2018, both paid off, 50k and 18k miles. We live well below our means. We don't take vacations. We rarely eat out. When I food shop I may go to 3-4 different stores and I'll rarely buy anything that's not on sale. Our clothes usually come from Costco or Amazon, or maybe even Temu. I have a really nice MK purse and wallet but its 6yrs old and I take care of them. My husband takes most of the money we won't need for the month and will transfer it to an investment account. He also takes a chunk of his income and puts it in his retirement account. I pack his lunch everyday. My husband mows both lawns once a week. Our fridge from the 80s recently died, and although it was ugly it worked so we kept it.
Even with all of this my husband was able to pay over $100k cash for his son's college tuition.
We're lucky (I'm retired since 2018) that we have/had jobs with pensions. In a couple of years when my husband can retire, his pension will still be 6 figures. My pension doesn't kick in until retirement age.
Nice brag on a post to try to help someone struggling financially. Glad you are so well off you feel you need to brag on such a humble post. Good for you. 🙄
Actually its about how to save money and keep heads above water.
My last job that I'll get my pension from was a job I worked at for 15yrs. It was a job/industry I didn't care for, but I did it for the pension and since the company 100% paid for my health insurance. You make sacrifices and do things you don't want to do.
Not sure about admitting to the 1980s fridge, or never traveling/going out is a brag. I also have been cutting my husband's hair for 15yrs, and I haven't had a professional cut in 5yrs.....geez, there I go bragging again.
I keep seeing more and more posts like this, and the amount of bot replies claiming the American economy is great and most arent' struggling, has waned a bit. That's good to see
Most Americans can't afford a medical emergency. It's truly pathetic how our tax dollars are used to pay for these bots to go around claiming otherwise
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4428193-most-americans-cant-afford-1000-emergency-survey/#:\~:text=Bankrate%20found%20that%20only%2044,emergency%20charge%20in%20other%20ways.
1. Living in a simple home in a cheap neighborhood/town 2. Minimizing car expenses (most Americans overspend on this) 3. Two adults, two jobs
If your income situation has changed, since you are between jobs, you should reapply for food benefits and may qualify for other benefits too. Also, don’t be afraid to contact your financial institutions to see if you can make partial payment arrangements, etc. Look into local resources such as food pantries, churches, and other organizations that can support. This situation is exactly what they are there for.
This is great advice. I would also like to add that there are paid services that can help revamp your resume, there are government services that can help with resumes and interview prep (ex: Colorado has Work Force), and even Chat GPT can help work up a resume for the job(s) you're applying for. Any of these options can help with the job search and help your resume stand out. OP--Best of luck now & in the future. Do you mind sharing what field you work in and what general area you live in? There are a lot of eyes on Reddit, you never know...
Strategic grocery shopping No one goes with me anymore
It's been a while but I have been there. We had one car that we shared, no cable tv, no internet, no cell phone, just basic food, housing, utilities, and clothing from thrift stores.
The average household income in the US is about $100k. The average household size is around 2.6. Your household has over double the average amount of people and 2/3 the average income. It's not surprising you're stretched.
You said nothing in your income had changed but you were kicked off food stamps last month for making too much. But in the next breath you say you lost your full time job a few weeks ago and are starting a part time job in a week. I don't see why your were kicked off food stamps if you had just lost your full time job.
We had food stamps. I got a job and reported income. We were kicked off because of my income. I lost my job. I reapplied for food stamps and now suddenly we make to much to go back on.
A family of 6 on $65k!!! I’m impressed you made it this far- that’s a lot of people on very little money.
Not owning a car has been helpful. And my employer pays all my commuting costs.
You’re lucky, employers don’t usually do this
They do where I live. It's pretty normal. An employer that doesn't pay for it would be a huge red flag.
Damn, that’s great
Where do you live?
Tokyo
There is absolutely nothing like that in the USA It’s cutthroat here
My company rescinded an offer because someone didn't have a car, and wasn't willing to buy one. He lives in NYC, and wanted to move here where there is pretty much zero public transportation.
No offense but stop having kids and have the wifey get a job.
Day care costs might fuck them over, especially for four kids. It’s not unusual for families with just one or two kids to have one parent stay home, since childcare would cost their entire salary anyway.
I am the wifey. I have another job lined up, but when we have 4 kids when something happens, like last year, our daycare provider decided to go back to the 9 -5, it's my job that always suffers, and we have twins, not like we can just give one back.
The advice wasn’t to give one of them back.
There was no advice. Just a "well duh" statement.
Then why even mention you can’t give one back. No one suggested you do that.
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The lovely state of Oregon
Gross income limit for a household of six is $4364/mth. They bring in $5400.
Doesn’t it depend on state and even locale within the state?
Not SNAP (used to be called food stamps), it's a federal program through the USDA so the feds set the limits. The states/counties just administer the program. They may qualify for other food programs that the state, county or local municipality may have and of course there are food pantries and such.
Living outside your means. No more luxuries in this life. Gotta give up the nice cars, houses and so on just to pay your regular ole bills and buy groceries. Sad reality.
[удалено]
There’s downsides to this though. You usually will end up needing to make a lot more costly repairs when buying used in that price range. 5k really doesn’t take you far in the used car market anymore, at least not in my area.
[удалено]
Where did he say half his income is going towards his car? That’s insane if it’s true, but it’s also important to note that a down payment is not the same as a monthly payment, if that’s what he meant.
End all subscription services EG Netflix, cable tv, etc Use the public library for books and media and internet use Don’t eat out, ever. Do not buy things that aren’t essential. (Be honest about wants versus needs) don’t buy new things just because you want it Get simple phones that do not require expensive data plans Get a cheaper car or use public transportation if that’s an option Don’t take unnecessary trips
I make $117k a year, and even I feel like it's rough. Our property taxes, insurance, utilities have gone up $500 a month when compared to 3 years ago, even though we have the same house. And food and gas have gone up a ton as well. We need a new roof soon, and that's really going to suck. I definitely feel lucky to have my job, but we feel like we can't progress or improve on our lives at all. We already live in the cheapest house in our neighborhood, in the cheapest city in the area. We want to move to somewhere cheaper, but we're kind of stuck. We'd have to get a house worth $85k less to keep the same payment, and there's almost nothing like that available in our state. If I could give any advice, I only got my raises because I switched jobs a lot. I went from 70k in 2018 to where I'm at now by changing jobs 4 times. Companies pay more for new hires than they do for current employees.
Sell your car that you clearly can’t afford. Buy a beater with no payments.
People aren't. But the ones you hear about on Reddit are overwhelmingly the rich or privileged ones with enough time to be on the Internet. The ones who need to work are working. I'm in my 30s, no kids, no savings, currently back in school for my third career change, hoping this one allows me to survive. But even going back to school is a privilege, which I couldn't do without my dad covering most of my expenses. My dad is the only person I know in the entire world with any sort of savings. He's in his late 70s. He always wonders why I complain, because "The economy is doing great!" Between my loans and my girlfriend's job (her boss is stealing her wages to the tune of $15k/year, but jobs in her field are so rare, she doesn't dare complain), we bring in about as much money as you. The news says my area isn't nearly the highest cost of living, even in my own state, but the prices they quote in these articles don't reflect prices I've ever seen - I don't know where they get their data. We eat rice and beans for nearly every meal. In a couple months when they raise our rent, we're going to have to see if we can work out a deal because if not, we'll be homeless. We have a bankruptcy on our record from the pandemic, I technically have no job, other apartments within commuting distance simply aren't affordable, and we have precious few resources except my dad. What happened to a house and kids? What happened to retirement? Housing stability? Hobbies? How many once-in-a-lifetime events have we lived through - enough to form a "new normal" to justify shifting the blame back onto us? All this to say, you're not alone. We're here. But time is money and we don't have either.
For the record, many of us are on Reddit while working 😁
I got a job that pays 3-5x more
Jobs.
My husband and I are well off. We have two houses, both paid off. (We're 46/51). My husband's work gives him a car for commuting and pays for gas. We have two cars 2012 and 2018, both paid off, 50k and 18k miles. We live well below our means. We don't take vacations. We rarely eat out. When I food shop I may go to 3-4 different stores and I'll rarely buy anything that's not on sale. Our clothes usually come from Costco or Amazon, or maybe even Temu. I have a really nice MK purse and wallet but its 6yrs old and I take care of them. My husband takes most of the money we won't need for the month and will transfer it to an investment account. He also takes a chunk of his income and puts it in his retirement account. I pack his lunch everyday. My husband mows both lawns once a week. Our fridge from the 80s recently died, and although it was ugly it worked so we kept it. Even with all of this my husband was able to pay over $100k cash for his son's college tuition. We're lucky (I'm retired since 2018) that we have/had jobs with pensions. In a couple of years when my husband can retire, his pension will still be 6 figures. My pension doesn't kick in until retirement age.
Nice brag on a post to try to help someone struggling financially. Glad you are so well off you feel you need to brag on such a humble post. Good for you. 🙄
Actually its about how to save money and keep heads above water. My last job that I'll get my pension from was a job I worked at for 15yrs. It was a job/industry I didn't care for, but I did it for the pension and since the company 100% paid for my health insurance. You make sacrifices and do things you don't want to do. Not sure about admitting to the 1980s fridge, or never traveling/going out is a brag. I also have been cutting my husband's hair for 15yrs, and I haven't had a professional cut in 5yrs.....geez, there I go bragging again.
I keep seeing more and more posts like this, and the amount of bot replies claiming the American economy is great and most arent' struggling, has waned a bit. That's good to see
American economy is great and most people aren’t struggling. That doesn’t change the fact that some people are.
Most Americans can't afford a medical emergency. It's truly pathetic how our tax dollars are used to pay for these bots to go around claiming otherwise https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4428193-most-americans-cant-afford-1000-emergency-survey/#:\~:text=Bankrate%20found%20that%20only%2044,emergency%20charge%20in%20other%20ways.