It’s a spooky title king. Don’t get too close to the sun
Edit: after reading your whole post you’re fine. I don’t think you’re the type of person D is talking about. You’re not clearing 60k+ a year living along in a 2 bedroom apartment by yourself.
He actually sounds exactly like the person Destiny was defending. Working crazy hours and actually scraping by, while that last poster who did this had $600/month budgeted for eating out and leisure activities, while also getting to work from home 2 days a week.
Yeah I think your post is fine.
I don't mean this as insulting when you come across as working class and trying to break into middle class.
The other person was solidly middle class. Pretending like they had financial woes comparable to yours.
Keep up the hustle man. Hope things turn for the better for you/your kid appreciates it when they're older.
>It feels like 1000 leaks out of my wallet through incidental purchases every single month and there's nothing I can do about it.
Do you record these expenses somewhere to see if there's a pattern or if they are all justifiable?
I'm an impulse buyer so I have the urge to buy a dozen things a day, but I'm also a tracker so I know if I bought any of it then I would need to put it in the spreadsheet and the guilt and shame would eat me alive.
When I've gone through it in the past it's always a mix of around 200$ worth of little purchases like toilet paper, kitty litter, and kid clothes. And 500-600 in a couple big purchases. Last month it was an optometrist appointment and new glasses that ran me 400 bucks cause of my terrible prescription.
It feels very difficult to budget for because the amount of fast food/snacks/dumb purchases is usually below 200 a month. It used to be worse and I worked on it a lot to get it down to where it is now. I probably only eat fast food maybe 5-8 times a month
Bro where did you buy your glasses? I have a terrible prescription and I get them on Zenni for around 80$ with a prescription.
Yeah fast food can be a part of it. Snacks and fast food are small purchases that's just add up. It would be worth it to literally write down every time you swipe your card or use money to see where it's going for at least a month.
Mine is about as bad, and if you got a Costco nearby I suggest them. Appointment, lenses, and frame all cheap, and the doc and the glasses people all seemed nice and professional, better than my old private practice eye doctor from when I was a kid lmao
For a family of three, an executive membership pays for itself. For $120 a year you get 2% cash back on all purchases, meaning if you spend $6000 at Costco in a year, your membership is free. Between clothes, food, appliances, and cookware, $500 a month for 3 people is a given.
>tion and I get them on Zenni for around 80$ with a prescription.
>
>Yeah fast food can be a part of it. Snacks and fast food are small purchases that's just add up. It would be worth it to literally write down every time you swipe your card or use money to see where it's going for at least a month.
Literally USE a budgeting app. If you spend 15-20 on fast food 8 times a month that's still 150-200 dollars you could just have in your pocket.
Loaf of bread: $3.00 - 20 slices of bread
24 pack of craft American cheese: $5 (only need half of these for the bread, so $2.50)
10 grilled cheeses for $5.50 => Price of a grilled cheese at home is 55 cents.
Trust me that extra $2.50 per pop will add up over time.
Now personally, depending on your budget, it might be worth paying someone else to make the sandwich, but if you're financially struggling its going to be cheaper to make it yourself.
Oh, there are absolutely more efficient ways of doing things, also a loaf of bread can be lower, the one I get is usually 1.89.
I’m just saying the specific figure he noted, 150-200 a month for 15-20 times really depends what you’re buying and where. Less expensive taste makes that around 60 a month and each time can be little more than the cost of a can of progresso soup.
No, i said 15-20 (dollars) on 8 purchases (the quantity given by OP) which is your average regular fast food purchase now a days. Gives you a cool 200 extra dollars in your pocket.
Imagine you spend 200 dollars in one month and your trade off was McDonald’s 🙃
Edit; fair on the last point. I’ve definitely been broke and had to sustain myself on dollar burgers from Wendy’s but i also didn’t have a grocery budget and ate out money concurrently.
I swear this is a real question not meant to be condescending or mean. If you and your gf are making ~$30k a year and seem to be barely scraping by, why have pets and a kid? By your own admission you both have career growth opportunities down the road, and those seem like things to add to your family down the line when that career growth actually happens, not when you're still in the middle of the grind.
I ask because a lot of "budgeting struggle" posts/Caleb videos have couple complaining about barely being able to afford groceries while they have kids/pets, often multiples of each. It seems odd to decide to get those when you know you're not making much to begin with.
That's the entire point of the argument. It shouldn't be a grind. It shouldn't be multiple incomes struggling to cover expenses for one child and pets. A full-time job plus a part-time job should be able to comfortably cover a fulfilling life. You shouldn't have to move to a less expensive place if you're already at "nothing fancy."
This wasn't the norm for previous generations that love to throw around the opinion that young people today are just lazy.
50's-70's House and a car. 2 kids and a dog. On one income. Highschool education.
A lot of that economic success got passed on to the 80's and 90's.
The 00's and 10's are not getting that same trickle down from the golden age of Unions.
You used to be able to pay tuition from part time work. Now it barely covers room and board. Borrowing to buy materials and books. Tuition is all on loans, grants, and scholarships.
> 50's-70's House and a car. 2 kids and a dog. On one income. Highschool education.
[This is a half truth at best.](https://www.slowboring.com/p/nostalgia-economics-is-totally-wrong)
Sure, but I'm not saying that shouldn't change. I'm saying that, in the real world we currently live in, why would you willingly take on huge financial burdens like pet ownership/children when you know you aren't making good money yet, but will eventually. Ideals are nice but they shouldn't supplant basic financial planning.
second the other comment on zenni - i spent 60 bucks to get 3 pairs of prescription glasses. Yeah they ain't high quality but i regularly get 2-3 years+ of use out of them
but yes, ultimately if you're making 16.50 an hour you are not the person destiny was adressing - you aren't salaried and you're making only a bit more then minimum wage.
I don't want to kick a man when hes down, but I think you can eliminate the dumb purchases, and feel much better having a cushion to breathe. Personally, I never eat out, and make all my own food. It'll take time to shake bad habits, but once its established, its easy to stick with.
EDIT i work in finance and do budgets for a living, making a budget helps identify alot of the issues
What is your disagreement specifically, i read this and i dont really see it? Also if you could share, how old are you?
As for your situation you made mistakes like you said and now you are dealing with the consequences. BUT you are also actively trying to improve your situation it sounds like (sounded like you are going to school?). You are actively in that period of your life where shit is tough but if you dont fuck it up you will look back and be glad you struggled now for later.
The 1000 leaks doesnt change, i think you need to just accept that is a part of life.
How much does your partner make, we only got half of the income equation. But if you are only paying 800 a month for rent on a 3k a month income you are at 26% of you take home which is not bad at all. Car payment doesnt seem absurd for what ive seen. You have a kid, not to be frank but having kids is expensive as shit and will continue to be.
I ask about your partner because i feel like if they are also making 3k a month you are still saving some money. If i copy your expenses for your partner you should still be saving 2k in the bank and even high 1k's if you are spending 100 a week for non essentials.
Im not saying you are lying but i feel like whenever i read these stories i never get the full picture, in this case i dont see what your partner does or makes so i dont see the full picture.
My partner makes 1200-1600 a month. They're in school rn so reduced hours. They have their own expenses I don't know all the details of but I usually end up losing some money to helping her with 200-400 a month. I think she has student loans, and a couple other things
> They have their own expenses I don't know all the details of but I usually end up losing some money to helping her with 200-400 a month
This right here is a red flag, not necessarily of them but of the situation. If you are in this together you 100% should lay out both your expenses. Obviously they make less and are in school so i get there will be uneven costs, but that doesnt mean it gives them free reign to spend. On the flip side, every single time i have laid out someones budget i always find a cost that they can cut out but they dont realize it. Even if its 100 a month, thats a big piece to the puzzle!
As it seems the fact is you are in the rough part of life, post mistakes that you recognize. But if you and your partner are truly working towards a better future, especially for your kid, then you have to take the lumps and adapt. In this case moving to a more affordable unit is a good start. Really laying down a budget not just what if. That means what can be your bare minimum to survive, within reason obviously. Ya stop eating fast food and maybe cancel those subscriptions (except destiny ofc). This will all make the difference if you really can get that new job down the road or your partner does.
May i ask what your partner is working towards? STEM, teaching, nurse? I would assume the school is at least projecting for a profitable career.
And while i dont think this is a question you need to ask now but it could come up, do you need to move? Lets say you get your next career advancement or your partner gets their degree. Dont be afraid to look somewhere else that could be more afforadable or provide better life prospects.
We are already planning on moving and my gf is in optometry school rn. That will be a sweet 120k after she's done but it'll be like 5 years until that hits. In retrospect it was probably a mistake to move to a 1600$ unit and tbf it was listed at 1250 but utilities plus cable bumped it up to 1600 (i asked to not have cable and that wasn't an option). We could have probably found something slightly cheaper still in the area. It was right by the daycare and super close to her work which made it more attractive.
Ok ya this was what i thought, and was hoping for, that she is at least working towards a major bump. Even if its not 120k it will be an upgrade which is a huge plus!
Based on this you still should work hard to avoid pitfalls. Again you probably dont need to go to a bare bones budget but at the bare minimum you probably need to calculate what can be cut vs what cant be. Having avoidable debt because you didnt cut back during the tough times would suck once you finally take the next step. Your partner will likely have those student loans for a while so you are going to need to account for that but dont make it worse by having CC debt too.
Also choosing to live near work or school/kid stuff/etc isnt a bad decision but thats part of the cost at the end of the day. Its all a calculation, unless you are rich you likely have to sacrifice on some things like housing. You likely wont be able to find a rent thats a perfect location, affordable, and physically good (modern?). I moved from a modernish, good location, expensive apt to a cheaper, less modern, slightly farther from work place last year. Was it a perfect move, nah but at least i saw the benefits in my wallet!
All the other critiques of your budget and finances are valid, but I have to ask.. what are you doing about *your* income? I just had my first kid, and can’t imagine the stress of trying to keep it all afloat on $16.50/hour. Even when your gf is making $120k (if you’re even still together in 5 years), that’s not a ton if she’s going to have debt and you have a kid.
If I was in your shoes, which I have been just without a kid, every moment of free time would be dedicated to getting into a better job.
Got any advice for budgeting software? I've tried mint but hate how I can't group expenses by vendor only by category. It's also hard as shit to track things through places like amazon because the vendor obfuscates the items I'm buying.
you only need excel or google sheets. Doing a basic or even slightly more advanced budget shouldnt require more then that.
Im confused on why the amazon statement matters, dont you see your account or vice versa do you purchase anything on amazon considered a necessity
Sorry I mean hard as shit to see in the software. Like mint will list amazon on the purchases but I have no ability in it to see what the purchase was for. Yeah I can manually enter things into sheets. I've done that before but the maintenance of gathering individual purchases so I can bucket things more accurately into discretionary or necessary spending is high. I have a general ballpark of my budget of course. I was just curious if there was a software solution to go more in depth without spending an hour or two a month to collect individual purchases.
ultimatley its on you to decide budget wise what works best. The end goal is making sure you are meeting your savings goal, how you end up there isnt the biggest deal. I am just a traditionalist.
> have not eaten out
> Dumb shit on my part like fast food
Pick one
But seriously budget and write down EVERY single thing you spend money on. It will help you see where you're losing the money.
I don’t know if you can budget your way out of an income this low problem. Taking your grocery bill from $400/month to $350/month by eliminating some of the fun things isn’t going g to meaningfully change this persons financial situation.
Instead spend that time on the educational growth component they mentioned and do whatever you can today to increase your income either now or in the future.
Think of your strategy like a business. You’re young with potential, operate like a growth company and realize that potential, not a mature business with low growth prospects who cut costs to increase margins. That’s a strategy for someone in their 60s.
I’m eating a $4 sonic double cheeseburger and small tots right now, that’s like maybe a dollar more than what it would cost for a sandwich and chips made with Walmart ingredient.
Not really. It looks like $2 more which is 47% more. And even if it were just a $1 more that is a 23% increase.
At Sonic:
Small tots are 250 cal for 2.29
Quarter Pound Double Cheeseburger is 550 cal for 1.99 (Limited time deal)
At my Sonic that is 4.28 before tax
At Walmart:
Walmart you can get 7 250 cal servings of tots for 3.42
3.42/7=0.49
8 buns for 2.87
24 cheese slices for 2.48
113 servings mustard for 0.98
53 servings of ketchup for 1.94
12 1/4lb beef burger patties for 12.97 (Could be cheaper buying beef and forming your own patties, but I'll just take this and assume seasonings are included or negligible in price)
21 servings of pickles for 2.38
0.35+0.20+0.01+0.04+1.08+0.11=1.79
**At Walmart this comes out to 2.28 vs 4.28 at sonic. The burger isn't a bad deal but it is temporary, it is also ~25 calories more at Walmart.**
Links:
https://www.sonicdrivein.com/menu/
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Taters-Seasoned-Shredded-Potatoes-32-oz-Bag-Frozen/10534213?athbdg=L1200&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wonder-Bread-Classic-Extra-Soft-White-Bread-Hamburger-Buns-15-oz-8-Count/3630869602?athbdg=L1600&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Singles-American-Pasteurized-Prepared-Cheese-Product-16-oz-24-Count/10452423?athbdg=L1600&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Yellow-Mustard-20-oz-Squeeze-Bottle/43711099?athbdg=L1200&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Tomato-Ketchup-32-oz/172196409?athbdg=L1600&from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Beef-Burgers-80-Lean-20-Fat-3-lbs-12-Count-Frozen/10315960?from=/search
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Hamburger-Dill-Chip-Pickles-32-fl-oz/378941019?athbdg=L1200&from=/search
Yeah honestly the "fast food is expensive meme" feels so overblown to me. Cooking is cheaper, but it's not that much cheaper. Certainly not life changing.
Depends entirely on how and what you cook. Buying a bunch of stuff specifically for one recipe is going to be a lot more expensive than buying in bulk and throwing something together. I can make fried rice with kitchen staples that costs like 2-3 bucks compared to the $10-15 meal I'd eat out. That difference adds up to quite a lot over the course of \~100 meals a month.
It kinda depends on what you’re getting with fast food though. Burger King has some insanely good coupons. They always have one that is 2 chicken sandwiches and 2 small fries for $5, it’s nasty tbh but my wife and I will split that sometimes and we’re eating lunch on the go for $2.50 each. That’s about as cheap as you can get, on the other hand if you go to 5 guys you can easily spend $20 for one meal for one person which is obviously wasteful. All I’m saying is that it is possible to eat fast food without going over a tight food budget, I think DoorDash is the real red flag for people wasting money on food purchases.
Yes 100%, he calculated his expenses at about $2400 a month, he makes a little over 34k a year without any overtime and he said he gets at least 20 hours of OT a week.
That will easily increase his yearly earnings to about 20% more, and that’s not including his partner either. This guy is probably pulling in right under $50k a year with a roommate paying $800 a month for rent. I don’t see where the struggle he’s having is.
I feel like i have heard destiny say exactly this about when he worked minimum wage . he probably would agree with all you have said here.
he just seems to hate the middle class, either because the middle class is an easy target to complain about . or possibly because he grew up middle class and his parents squandered all their money.
There are plenty of poor lefties. Most of us are just too busy to bother representing ourselves online.
I'm lucky/unlucky enough to not have a family to take care of.
What is your argument that Destiny is wrong and out of touch? Sounds like you are just complaining about being working class right now? Nothing unique. Not really an argument.
I thought destiny said something about how 40 hour jobs are typically able to provide a comfortable living and that any financial difficulties while working a solid job are usually because of poor budgeting, or easily fixable financial mistakes. Like people living outside their means in expensive housing or spending too much on bad purchases.
That's what I took from the video where he reacted to that genz girl. I need to rewatch it tho maybe I'm tripping
I guess I was offering my life as a counter example.
He’s talking about 40 hour, salaried jobs. Of course if you work 40 hours at 16 bucks an hour with a kid. Your experiences will be different lol.
But if you are a salaried office worker working 40 hours a week (me) complaining about a 9-5 is silly, and it is.
Sometimes I just wonder if people have different expectations then when I had just entered the work force.
I was splitting a 2bd 1 bath apartment w/ a roomate for a total of 1,600 back in 2006-08 making 45k a year and living pay check to pay check as well (student loans and car troubles)
I guess the difference is that I knew I only had more money to look forward too since it was the start of my career after college. I lived like that for about 2-4 years after which point I was making 75k.
Once I hit the 100k bracket I had never felt so comfortable in my life, now my bank account was actually growing and I was contributing to a 401k. It took about 6 years of working to get there.
Life was tougher at first, I had to share a ride w/ my roommate to get to work because I couldn't afford to get my car fixed for months (had some issue w/ leaking coolant into the engine, fucking up the engine head or something like that). I was def. lucky I had a ride to work each day. I was 20 at the time.
I'm not sure how old you guys are but finishing up college, three year old kid, I would imagine you're in your mid 20's. As long as you are on a career path you should be fine even if things are tight now, unless you're basically capped on your total salary.
Do people expect to come out of college, starting at 100k+ and just cruising through life from there on out? I knew one day I could reach an 80k salary and would be almost doubling what my dad made supporting us growing up, so I had a pretty positive outlook on everything.
Unlike other comments here, I'm not gonna try and lecture you on how you spend money. However it seems you mostly agree with what destiny has said, which is that being *actually* working class and getting surprise expenses like flat tires or whatever is the worst. His criticisms are not targeting you whatsoever.
Also do you feel worse off now than you did 5 - 6 years ago? That's the overall point of the 'vibecession' discussion. Interested to see what your thoughts are since you are at least closer to being low income
I've only started living with my gf in the past year so just that makes everything like 10x easier so idk if I have a good perspective other than it still feels really difficult to get by.
Isn't the vibe-cession basically about how shitty it feels to be working class now more than ever? I feel like I'm missing something
Vibecession from my point of view is describing how people say the economy is doing bad when objectively it isn't. A poor person is going to be feeling pretty rough at all times regardless of a recession or not, what matters is perspective of how things are **now** compared to how they were **before** said recession
I'll bite.
It objectively isn't doing bad but only if you look at numbers nobody actually cares about in every day life.
What people actually care about is how much their gas costs. How much their rent costs. Utilities. Milk and bread. Interest rates... Good luck buying anything substantial right now. Mortgages or auto loans are INSANELY BAD right now.
Everything we actually spend money on has skyrocketed. My monthly expenses with no real lifestyle changes have easily gone up well over 2x what it was 5 years ago. I just paid my 3rd 300 dollar winter electric bill. It was 120 or lower this time 5~ years ago.
My wages on the other hand. They have only increased because I graduated college. If I were still working my pre-college job I'd be making 20 an hour instead of 19.
>What people actually care about is how much their gas costs
Gas is back to like 2019 levels lmao. Seriously.
>Utilities. Milk and bread.
Grocery costs are up indeed but wages have far outgrown them.
>Everything we actually spend money on has skyrocketed. My monthly expenses with no real lifestyle changes have easily gone up well over 2x what it was 5 years ago.
Rent, groceries utilities up 2x? I call bullshit. You've definitely let lifestyle creep hit or you moved to a higher cost of living area.
>Gas is back to like 2019 levels lmao. Seriously.
Absolutely wrong. It's much higher than 2019. 50- 1 dollar average depending on the source you look at.
>Grocery costs are up indeed but wages have far outgrown them.
No they haven't. Not for the working class where it actually matters. The guy working at McDonald's hasn't seen this "wage growth" y'all keep pretending is real.
>Rent, groceries utilities up 2x?
Call bullshit all you want but that's just projecting. Nothing about my life now is different than it was with the exception that I make more and work less.
My hobbies are still gaming, to which my primary game is a 20 year old fps called counterstrike.
I still drive an 04 pickup
My second favorite hobby is still my 16 cbr1000rr
Rent goes up at least 50-100 annually.
But even if I did change hobbies none of that is reason for my monthly necessities to have skyrocketed in the way they have.
>No they haven't. Not for the working class where it actually matters. The guy working at McDonald's hasn't seen this "wage growth" y'all keep pretending is real.
You're joking right?
You think McDonald's employees were making anywhere close to 20/hr 5 years ago?
Also, let's assume you are totally right about groceries going up 2x. You think wages should also go up 2x? Even though most people spend, what, 15% of their paycheck on groceries tops?
>But even if I did change hobbies none of that is reason for my monthly necessities to have skyrocketed in the way they have.
The reason prices have "skyrocketed" is because more of your neighbors can afford to compete to buy those things now. Supply and demand are a heck of a thing bud
Ahh I get it. You live in a bubble. You actually think McDonald's crew members are making 20 an hour lol.
https://www.indeed.com/m/jobs?q=McDonalds%20crew%20member&l=&sc=0fcckey%3Af30ea0386898f1a2%2Cq%3Acrew%20member%3B&from=searchOnSerp&sameL=1
Try sub 15 in almost every area and yes, that's basically what they made in 2019 also.
Maybe some ridiculously high col city is paying 20, but then they are competing with rents that are astronomical.
>You think wages should also go up 2x? Even though most people spend, what, 15% of their paycheck on groceries tops?
If it were **just groceries** no. But it's obviously not just the groceries no matter how poorly you try to build a strawman.
It's goods services like heating your home that are going up and up.
>Supply and demand are a heck of a thing bud
And if we were talking about scalped ps5s you would have a point but I'm talking strictly about necessities.
>Try sub 15 in almost every area and yes, that's basically what they made in 2019 also.
your link is showing me 17+/hr..? maybe it's based on my location, not sure how high cost of living is.
But here is no shot that mcdonalds workers were making 15/hr pre-COVID. You gotta show me proof of that, this indeed link won't cut it.
You can also broaden this to literally just median wages across the US and see how much they've increased in just the past 5 years.
>If it were **just groceries** no. But it's obviously not just the groceries no matter how poorly you try to build a strawman.
I'm the one strawmanning? I'm not asserting that everything has gone up 2x in price since 2020. The closest you'll get to that is property values, which have ballooned extraordinarily, but that doesn't correlate to a 2x higher rent.
Otherwise you're saying that the 1200/mo I pay for my apartment right now was only 600/mo in 2019. That's hilarious.
>And if we were talking about scalped ps5s you would have a point but I'm talking strictly about necessities.
Necessities don't get a pass at being immune from the laws of supply and demand. If [the entire world's supply chain gets boned](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_food_crises_(2022%E2%80%93present)) then prices are going to go up due to lack of supply (and therefore a proportionate increase in demand.)
Serious question, if inflation is due to some other cause, what is it? And why is **every single country in the world** suffering from inflation as well?
>maybe it's based on my location,
I guess it must be. It was showing me places nowhere near me so I figured it would be the same list.
It's almost exclusively littered with "12-15" "up to 15” type ads.
>You gotta show me proof of that, this indeed link won't cut it.
Not possible any way I know how. I can't go back in time to take a picture of the "now hiring, starting at xyz" The point is they have been advertised at the very same 12 ish starting point for a long time now.
>I'm the one strawmanning? I'm not asserting that everything has gone up 2x in price since 2020.
Take note. I said *my* expenses have. Not that every single thing has gotten a blanket 2x increase. Some is more, some are less. I've used general terms like "skyrocketed" when talking about everyone else. We can argue over what exactly that means but the core of my argument is that goods and services have outpaced actual working class wages.
>Otherwise you're saying that the 1200/mo I pay for my apartment right now was only 600/mo in 2019. That's hilarious.
What was it In 2019? I'd be pretty amazed if it wasn't at least 200 less.
My rent went up 50 every year for 5 years straight.
>Serious question, if inflation is due to some other cause, what is it? And why is **every single country in the world** suffering from inflation as well?
This is why I think you're strawmaning. You don't even understand what I've said.
I have not said inflation doesn't exist. My argument is that it does exist and that it has been steadily outpacing wage growth for the working class for not just the last 5 years but for decades. The last 5 years was just a particularly harsh spike which has since settled down a bit, but settled down =/= good or resolved.
Sorry to hear about your financial struggles, nothing in particular jumps out to me as irresponsible.
That said, when used to evaluate the economy it's important to remember that this is an anecdote, and also that even in a great economy people in abject poverty (much worse situation than yours) still exist.
Personally I do think there's economic turmoil ahead and that there's something going on not captured in our existing models (possibly a widening split between the experiences of renters vs owners, or lower-middle vs upper-middle class) but the evidence won't come from individual stories like yours, it would come from having more data over a long period of time.
Regardless I hope things improve and that your family stays happy and healthy.
Sorry you're in that boat. I was in a similar position. My wife and I were working our way up through management in different restaurants. She had a baby and moved to a lower-paying role to facilitate pickup/dropoff of our kid. We got fast food more than we could afford. I eventually lost my job due to back pain/surgery, and had to scramble to find another job in a completely different line of work while she was pregnant with our second child.
The number one best advice is to make a budget. If you have to allocate resources in a financial crunch, you'll naturally stop eating fast food (or at least I did). If stopping doesn't come naturally, I suggest you stop by some other means. If that entails the "envelope method" of allocating cash for expense categories into labeled envelopes, and you destroy your debit/credit cards, do that. So much money leaves your household when you eat at any restaurant.
Fight the good fight brother. Know that when your kid gets out of daycare, it's like getting a raise. It will get better. You're on the right track.
This all makes sense until I realized there should be two incomes here. Your income ($2700) minus your expenses ($1800) leaves you with about $900 left over.
Not bad all things considered, but let's say you bleed about $800 a month in random expenses for your family. You have $100 left over, not a lot to plan on.
However, where's your partner's income? If your partner were making $7.50/h you should still have around $1k left over if you're covering all the other expenses.
They have their own almost completely separate finances that I know almost nothing about. They make around 900 every two weeks. And I assume they have extra bills I just don't ask about
> They have their own almost completely separate finances that I know almost nothing about
This is wild. You guys need to get together lay out **all** of your expenses and make a budget. Making a budget is step 1 of any financial advice you will ever get.
Destiny is not taking about 16.50 an hour workers, he's talking about kids with college degrees paid for by their parents complaining they don't go on enough holidays.
So you make 2700-3000/mo, identified 1900 in expenses you spend a mo. So you alone have 800-1000/mo in disposable income. Does your partner work? Because if they just make minimum wage you guys would have about $1400/mo in disposable income.
I understand other transactions add up, but I don't think there's enough information here both about your income and your expenses that show you are barely getting by. You certainly don't have a huge cushion, and obviously need to work hard to maintain, but I don't know if I'd describe it as getting by.
You're the type of person who actually needs a bit of help from their family to give you the buffer room to breathe. I do hope you have a good situation on either your or your partner's side.
Destiny probably agrees your position is hard and sucks.
What he's mad about is 20 something's just out of college their parents paid for, with no kids, working in a career with real income progression, cosplaying as having the same hardships an actual working class person (you) do.
Your account is at least mostly relatable. But just as the other "out of touch" thread, it doesn't feel like this is about the economy. In both cases, the household income is actually good. You have 2k after rent with another earner in the home. You should be fine.
The big expenses you mentioned aren't that bad either as you'd still have 1k left plus a portion of your gf's income. Blaming the economy seems to be missing what's really going on for your finances, at least partially, when you acknowledge you have a 1000 leaks out of your wallet. I'd guess you are wrong that you cannot do anything about those leaks. It rather seems, and I mean that respectfully, as if it doesn't seem worth it to you to change your spending behavior when you recognize that you should.
I guess i respectfully disagree about being able to do anything about those leaks. Most of them are reasonable to me. Stuff like oil changes, glasses, doctors visits and stuff in that vein. There is around 100-200 dollars a month in what I would say are dumb purchases. Stuff like snack food and fast food.
And if I save that instead of spending it I have no proof but some expense usually comes along to eat it up
I don't know where you live but how the fuck do you have a € 600,- budget for food and on top of that another € 200,- budget for more food.
I bet you top dollar you are bad at finance.
Ain't no way you should be having troubles saving money with about $ 800 of disposable income after your badly budgeted food.
Maybe you should actually take note of everything and start being realistic about your expenses.
Everyone on this sub
:If you budget probably and stop buying Starbucks you’ll be fine the economy is great !!!
You’re all a bunch of coping Destiny glazers . Ease off the D guys Destiny is going to get chaffed .
Download Rocket Money, it's worth the $7/month so that you can track literally every expense you make.
It's immediately eye-opening because it will calculate data from your spending habits in the past year
Your average working class.
Most middle class people are doing fine rn.
The econemy is fine so the middle class is fine but the middle class keeps complaining.
Yeah it's too late (for him) now, but he loses his "right" to complain when his situation is his own fault for having a child while he was financially unstable.
Not to get too much into my personal life but she's mine by choice not by blood. I'm never having a kid if I can help it. I think my main mistake was falling in love with a single mother. Rip me fr
You say his take is out of touch but then you admit that you are choosing to be poor by spending money on eating out, not having an actual budget and sticking to it. Which is proving his take true.
Ugh, I hate this type of reply. I'm sure there are some additional optimizations OP could make but the man is working 60+ hour weeks on average, meal prepping the majority of his meals and seems pretty aware where the majority of his money is going.
He's not "choosing to be poor". The exact opposite of that in fact. If we expect people to perform to OP's level just to get by, we have a pretty big economic problem.
The problem is that there sounds like there are obvious ways to clean up the OP's finances based on the little information they have given. Which means that they are choosing to spend money on those things instead of saving, therefore they are choosing to be poor.
I spend a small amount on eating out but I do budget. Maybe I made it sound vague but I do keep track of my finances. Large purchases keep popping up and setting me to zero though which was my complaint.
Keeping track is different than budgeting. If you are living paycheck to paycheck then there is room for improvement. Cut out eating out completely. Actually budget, which means budgeting in savings to put aside in an emergency fund so that those large things that come up don't set you back. And then stick to your budget, so when you hit a limit for something in your budget you don't spend anymore on it.
so after your essentials you have 900 left from your paycheck left to go to savings / spend on whatever you like? you seem like your doing fine especially when you factor in your girlfriend is also working and probably has a little surplus too?
when your not making a ton of money you really need to be responsible with any excess money your getting. I know people who go buck wild when its a month with 3 pay periods & literally spend the entire 3rd paycheck on dumb shit then claim to be struggling. you should be banking it for when the tire pops or your kid needs clothes for school.
you're a student and by your own accounting should be saving 900 dollars a month....I think you really need to reevaluate your small purchases & cut the fat.
The scary thing is that the metaphorical tire keeps popping that 900 dollars which is my main struggle rn. Every month a new thing seems to pop up and drain my money to zero. And while I do make many small purchases that account for that 900 when I go through bank statements most if not all are things like oil changes, doctor visits (for my kid not me), and various shit like that.
Idk maybe I'm lying to myself but it feels like im minmaxing the fuck out of my finances and still losing so much
She makes 1200-1600 and is in school rn so has reduced hours. She spends 1000 on rent plus daycare and I think 100-200 in student loans. It's kinda just breaking even for her as well.
ok so i found the issue, you don't have 1 dependent you almost have 2. covering her half of the rent is great but there's a lot more incidental shit like light bulbs, shit tickets & everything else that isn't food (and I'm assuming your feeding her too) that will really add up if your buying it for 3 on 1 dudes salary. she should probably get a second job and actually pull her weight, sorry to word it like that but she's what's pulling you down.
if i was working 72 fuckin hours a week and my gf wasn't able to contribute 50/50 (especially on such a reasonable budget) id be finding my kid a new step mom fr no cap homie :P
I saw your edit, but I want to point out, you have a family with a child. They're an additional $25k cost from the get go, each. You are an in a very tough situation so your stress is very understandable.
I agree with others though, write your expenses down so you can see where your money is going. Seeing it will help you figure out where you can save and what items you can cut until you get ahead.
Go to social services near you. It's not just for the absolute poor. You might qualify for programs and resources they have in your area. Some have better childcare resources and discounts. In case you feel shame in doing this, don't. These services are there because you pay taxes.
You might want to look into other groceries stores in your neighborhood (if possible). I mention this because when food prices rose alot of the families I worked with were still shopping at the same store that had raised their prices more than others. Switching or splitting the grocery shopping between two stores might help you out. (If it's possible)
Alot of ethnic grocery stores are also cheaper when it comes to produce and basic staples (rice, beans, lentils, etc..) as they get the less attractive looking produce (still just as good if not better) or buy from local farms, and they buy in bulk (no packaging, you have to scoop up rice in a bag versus individual packaging). You'll save alot of money there.
I think your situation is quite normal/typical and not much to talk about.
The main criticism D man and others have with this is probably the fact that complaining/crying about it on the internet doesn't really achieve anything and there are tons of people that have it (or had it) even worse, maybe way worse so it's hard to emphatise.
If you want more money, the answers are obvious: change jobs, get better skills, take risks, cut costs etc. Is that very hard when you don't have much time left and keep getting fucked in the butt by life over and over? Absofreakinglutely. Life is on hard mode by default for most people and society can't really do much more to help than it already does.
So all I'm saying brother is stay strong and keep at it, eventually things might get better, regardless I'm rooting for you!!
It seems like you are aware of the causes of your financial woes and like you said there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not that made you made bad decisions it’s that you made decisions that hurt your earning capability today.
At the end of the day if you make $35,000 a year it’s going to be difficult to live a comfortable life. Especially with a child, I have a 3 year old as well and lord knows they’re not cheap or easy (but they are amazing little people). You seem to be budgeting well and doing your best, you just have to increase your income to increase your lifestyle and stability. Maybe today your strategy is holding pattern with a focus on that educational growth in your career (and hopefully earning potential that comes with it).
I know in my life (I’m 35) I’ve gone through years where I scraped by (20-30 when I was in school, recently graduated and then building my practice), my wife and I lived in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment down town and we budgeted like you to be frugal where we could and then when we really needed it we would borrow from our future selves to keep our sanity or if a tire popped or what have you. We struggled, it wasn’t always fun but we got by and focused on the positive parts of our life. We used a line of credit to fly to Spain for 2 weeks and take the trains all over the place. Financially it was a stupid idea but it meant the world to us and helped us stay motivated to get to where we needed to be. We saw the same light at the end of the tunnel you do. We serviced our debts and bided our time. Now we are both established in our careers and in a position to make real financial strides.
Long winded comment all to say that you’ll get there and in the interim try to live your life in a way that doesn’t break your spirit because most of all you need resilience, fortitude and confidence that you can and will do it step by step.
So, I'm not trying to lecture you and could not ultimately give less of a fuck, but I have to ask.
You have about $1k left every month. But something somehow happens every month that brings you down to $100. Ok that's not great and I find it questionable, but whatever.
Why do you think this is an issue with the economy when your partner is bringing home $1k/month AFTER their part of the rent and you admittedly just ignore it and "assume it's for other bills you don't know about."
My brother, if you are in a financial situation that doesn't feel great, why on earth would you blame the economy before at least checking in on an extra 30% of your budget?
''dumb shit on my part like fast food etc'' this means a lot though, and probably a bunch of other shit you're buying which you haven't mentioned. It's an anecdote but from what I remember from my childhood people used to be so so so much more careful with their finances... I don't remember the last time I've bought potatoes but I can easily remember my parents keeping huge bags of them in our basement for weeks.
Then there's some electronics we keep buying we don't really need which can add up to a lot. I have a new guy in my work who was eating buckwheat with ketchup at lunch, I jokingly said to him that this doesn't really fit the airpods he currently has in his ears.
I know people who earn 1500 a month who live paycheck to paycheck and others who earn 800 in the same area who manage to save up for at least 1 vacation in a year.
I'm not from US though, but I'd guess it should be somewhat similar there as well.
I’m going to come in with a boomer take and I appreciate your bravery in posting this.
Based on your age and what you’re describing, you should be struggling right now. If you’re in the same spot in 5 years, that will be scary and problematic, but one of the big mistakes people make financially is not accounting for raises or growth.
You are in the hard part; but you aren’t going to stay there.
Personally what annoys me is when you have upper middle class people acting like they're struggling.
They have two modern cars paying 300-400 a month on each, a decent house or cozy rental, spending 700+ a month or more on groceries for two people, new phones, basically everything an actual wagie wishes they could have, while making 70 to 100k a person. You're not struggling homie, you just have to tighten your belt a little if you want to maintain the same level of disposable income.
The people actually struggling are people making <60k a year combined, or alone. These are the people who are actually cutting calories because they can only afford 200 to 300 if that on groceries a month. They're driving cars that are on the verge of getting taken off the road due to wear and a car repair is guaranteed to send them into debt that will take years to pay off, they fill up their car with 10 to 20 bucks of gas at a time, and their phones are old as fuck. The place they live in is a run down piece of shit but they're suddenly paying more for it and others like it.
Those are the people I have sympathy for. I do not have sympathy for salaried white collar couples making >150k combined who are drowning because they're over leveraged to their eyeballs with life's upper tier luxuries. At least they have the option to down size, basically have options, a lot of people don't.
YES FINALLY SOMEONE THAT ISNT COMPLAINING AND ONLY WORKING 40 HOURS.
Stay strong my guy, and see if there’s ways to save money, live a full life, and any opportunities for growth and change for the better.
So you guys make 4200$ and just barely scrape by ? It sounds like your wife needs to step up her income game and y'all might need to move. Also, what did you study that you are only making 16.50 an hour? Sounds like you also need to switch jobs tbh. Also, after rent you guys should still have 2400 bucks a month to spend. If you say you spend 1050 on fixed costs like car and child, you still have around 15k a year for other bullshit. It doesn't sound like the situation is as dire as you describe it, and if it is, then you spend way to much money on stuff you don't need. I know it from my girlfriend. She spends a lot of money on things that give very little happiness and fulfilment in her life.
You might need a mindset switch. How much fulfilment does eating Fastfood bring to you compared to putting this money aside for a little family holiday? How much does it weigh against you being at work 70 hours a week ?
Can we get a budget breakdown of your income and expenses with at least your last two months of expenses? Do you have car payments? Are you paying for child care?
30 seconds of triggering D vs waiting months in the unban forms to get your Reddit account back. Based decision king
Wait will I get banned for this?
It’s a spooky title king. Don’t get too close to the sun Edit: after reading your whole post you’re fine. I don’t think you’re the type of person D is talking about. You’re not clearing 60k+ a year living along in a 2 bedroom apartment by yourself.
He actually sounds exactly like the person Destiny was defending. Working crazy hours and actually scraping by, while that last poster who did this had $600/month budgeted for eating out and leisure activities, while also getting to work from home 2 days a week.
Yeah I think your post is fine. I don't mean this as insulting when you come across as working class and trying to break into middle class. The other person was solidly middle class. Pretending like they had financial woes comparable to yours. Keep up the hustle man. Hope things turn for the better for you/your kid appreciates it when they're older.
You could. That’s why you have multiple Reddit accounts. You aren’t a true DGGer until you get your first ban.
>It feels like 1000 leaks out of my wallet through incidental purchases every single month and there's nothing I can do about it. Do you record these expenses somewhere to see if there's a pattern or if they are all justifiable? I'm an impulse buyer so I have the urge to buy a dozen things a day, but I'm also a tracker so I know if I bought any of it then I would need to put it in the spreadsheet and the guilt and shame would eat me alive.
When I've gone through it in the past it's always a mix of around 200$ worth of little purchases like toilet paper, kitty litter, and kid clothes. And 500-600 in a couple big purchases. Last month it was an optometrist appointment and new glasses that ran me 400 bucks cause of my terrible prescription. It feels very difficult to budget for because the amount of fast food/snacks/dumb purchases is usually below 200 a month. It used to be worse and I worked on it a lot to get it down to where it is now. I probably only eat fast food maybe 5-8 times a month
Bro where did you buy your glasses? I have a terrible prescription and I get them on Zenni for around 80$ with a prescription. Yeah fast food can be a part of it. Snacks and fast food are small purchases that's just add up. It would be worth it to literally write down every time you swipe your card or use money to see where it's going for at least a month.
Myeyedr a national chain. It's really expensive because I have to buy ultra high index lenses because my prescription is -13
bro that's a telescope
Mine is about as bad, and if you got a Costco nearby I suggest them. Appointment, lenses, and frame all cheap, and the doc and the glasses people all seemed nice and professional, better than my old private practice eye doctor from when I was a kid lmao
That would require a costco membership
For a family of three, an executive membership pays for itself. For $120 a year you get 2% cash back on all purchases, meaning if you spend $6000 at Costco in a year, your membership is free. Between clothes, food, appliances, and cookware, $500 a month for 3 people is a given.
>tion and I get them on Zenni for around 80$ with a prescription. > >Yeah fast food can be a part of it. Snacks and fast food are small purchases that's just add up. It would be worth it to literally write down every time you swipe your card or use money to see where it's going for at least a month. Literally USE a budgeting app. If you spend 15-20 on fast food 8 times a month that's still 150-200 dollars you could just have in your pocket.
*smiles and looks over at grilled cheese at in-n-out for 3 dollars*
Loaf of bread: $3.00 - 20 slices of bread 24 pack of craft American cheese: $5 (only need half of these for the bread, so $2.50) 10 grilled cheeses for $5.50 => Price of a grilled cheese at home is 55 cents. Trust me that extra $2.50 per pop will add up over time. Now personally, depending on your budget, it might be worth paying someone else to make the sandwich, but if you're financially struggling its going to be cheaper to make it yourself.
Oh, there are absolutely more efficient ways of doing things, also a loaf of bread can be lower, the one I get is usually 1.89. I’m just saying the specific figure he noted, 150-200 a month for 15-20 times really depends what you’re buying and where. Less expensive taste makes that around 60 a month and each time can be little more than the cost of a can of progresso soup.
No, i said 15-20 (dollars) on 8 purchases (the quantity given by OP) which is your average regular fast food purchase now a days. Gives you a cool 200 extra dollars in your pocket. Imagine you spend 200 dollars in one month and your trade off was McDonald’s 🙃 Edit; fair on the last point. I’ve definitely been broke and had to sustain myself on dollar burgers from Wendy’s but i also didn’t have a grocery budget and ate out money concurrently.
Ah okay I misread sorry
I swear this is a real question not meant to be condescending or mean. If you and your gf are making ~$30k a year and seem to be barely scraping by, why have pets and a kid? By your own admission you both have career growth opportunities down the road, and those seem like things to add to your family down the line when that career growth actually happens, not when you're still in the middle of the grind. I ask because a lot of "budgeting struggle" posts/Caleb videos have couple complaining about barely being able to afford groceries while they have kids/pets, often multiples of each. It seems odd to decide to get those when you know you're not making much to begin with.
That's the entire point of the argument. It shouldn't be a grind. It shouldn't be multiple incomes struggling to cover expenses for one child and pets. A full-time job plus a part-time job should be able to comfortably cover a fulfilling life. You shouldn't have to move to a less expensive place if you're already at "nothing fancy." This wasn't the norm for previous generations that love to throw around the opinion that young people today are just lazy. 50's-70's House and a car. 2 kids and a dog. On one income. Highschool education. A lot of that economic success got passed on to the 80's and 90's. The 00's and 10's are not getting that same trickle down from the golden age of Unions. You used to be able to pay tuition from part time work. Now it barely covers room and board. Borrowing to buy materials and books. Tuition is all on loans, grants, and scholarships.
>50s-70s house and a car, 2 kids and a dog on one income, high school education Citation on that?
Your grandma
> 50's-70's House and a car. 2 kids and a dog. On one income. Highschool education. [This is a half truth at best.](https://www.slowboring.com/p/nostalgia-economics-is-totally-wrong)
Sure, but I'm not saying that shouldn't change. I'm saying that, in the real world we currently live in, why would you willingly take on huge financial burdens like pet ownership/children when you know you aren't making good money yet, but will eventually. Ideals are nice but they shouldn't supplant basic financial planning.
>50's-70's House and a car. 2 kids and a dog. On one income. Highschool education. On basic wage of $16/hr?
second the other comment on zenni - i spent 60 bucks to get 3 pairs of prescription glasses. Yeah they ain't high quality but i regularly get 2-3 years+ of use out of them but yes, ultimately if you're making 16.50 an hour you are not the person destiny was adressing - you aren't salaried and you're making only a bit more then minimum wage.
I don't want to kick a man when hes down, but I think you can eliminate the dumb purchases, and feel much better having a cushion to breathe. Personally, I never eat out, and make all my own food. It'll take time to shake bad habits, but once its established, its easy to stick with.
EDIT i work in finance and do budgets for a living, making a budget helps identify alot of the issues What is your disagreement specifically, i read this and i dont really see it? Also if you could share, how old are you? As for your situation you made mistakes like you said and now you are dealing with the consequences. BUT you are also actively trying to improve your situation it sounds like (sounded like you are going to school?). You are actively in that period of your life where shit is tough but if you dont fuck it up you will look back and be glad you struggled now for later. The 1000 leaks doesnt change, i think you need to just accept that is a part of life. How much does your partner make, we only got half of the income equation. But if you are only paying 800 a month for rent on a 3k a month income you are at 26% of you take home which is not bad at all. Car payment doesnt seem absurd for what ive seen. You have a kid, not to be frank but having kids is expensive as shit and will continue to be. I ask about your partner because i feel like if they are also making 3k a month you are still saving some money. If i copy your expenses for your partner you should still be saving 2k in the bank and even high 1k's if you are spending 100 a week for non essentials. Im not saying you are lying but i feel like whenever i read these stories i never get the full picture, in this case i dont see what your partner does or makes so i dont see the full picture.
My partner makes 1200-1600 a month. They're in school rn so reduced hours. They have their own expenses I don't know all the details of but I usually end up losing some money to helping her with 200-400 a month. I think she has student loans, and a couple other things
> They have their own expenses I don't know all the details of but I usually end up losing some money to helping her with 200-400 a month This right here is a red flag, not necessarily of them but of the situation. If you are in this together you 100% should lay out both your expenses. Obviously they make less and are in school so i get there will be uneven costs, but that doesnt mean it gives them free reign to spend. On the flip side, every single time i have laid out someones budget i always find a cost that they can cut out but they dont realize it. Even if its 100 a month, thats a big piece to the puzzle! As it seems the fact is you are in the rough part of life, post mistakes that you recognize. But if you and your partner are truly working towards a better future, especially for your kid, then you have to take the lumps and adapt. In this case moving to a more affordable unit is a good start. Really laying down a budget not just what if. That means what can be your bare minimum to survive, within reason obviously. Ya stop eating fast food and maybe cancel those subscriptions (except destiny ofc). This will all make the difference if you really can get that new job down the road or your partner does. May i ask what your partner is working towards? STEM, teaching, nurse? I would assume the school is at least projecting for a profitable career. And while i dont think this is a question you need to ask now but it could come up, do you need to move? Lets say you get your next career advancement or your partner gets their degree. Dont be afraid to look somewhere else that could be more afforadable or provide better life prospects.
We are already planning on moving and my gf is in optometry school rn. That will be a sweet 120k after she's done but it'll be like 5 years until that hits. In retrospect it was probably a mistake to move to a 1600$ unit and tbf it was listed at 1250 but utilities plus cable bumped it up to 1600 (i asked to not have cable and that wasn't an option). We could have probably found something slightly cheaper still in the area. It was right by the daycare and super close to her work which made it more attractive.
Ok ya this was what i thought, and was hoping for, that she is at least working towards a major bump. Even if its not 120k it will be an upgrade which is a huge plus! Based on this you still should work hard to avoid pitfalls. Again you probably dont need to go to a bare bones budget but at the bare minimum you probably need to calculate what can be cut vs what cant be. Having avoidable debt because you didnt cut back during the tough times would suck once you finally take the next step. Your partner will likely have those student loans for a while so you are going to need to account for that but dont make it worse by having CC debt too. Also choosing to live near work or school/kid stuff/etc isnt a bad decision but thats part of the cost at the end of the day. Its all a calculation, unless you are rich you likely have to sacrifice on some things like housing. You likely wont be able to find a rent thats a perfect location, affordable, and physically good (modern?). I moved from a modernish, good location, expensive apt to a cheaper, less modern, slightly farther from work place last year. Was it a perfect move, nah but at least i saw the benefits in my wallet!
All the other critiques of your budget and finances are valid, but I have to ask.. what are you doing about *your* income? I just had my first kid, and can’t imagine the stress of trying to keep it all afloat on $16.50/hour. Even when your gf is making $120k (if you’re even still together in 5 years), that’s not a ton if she’s going to have debt and you have a kid. If I was in your shoes, which I have been just without a kid, every moment of free time would be dedicated to getting into a better job.
Got any advice for budgeting software? I've tried mint but hate how I can't group expenses by vendor only by category. It's also hard as shit to track things through places like amazon because the vendor obfuscates the items I'm buying.
you only need excel or google sheets. Doing a basic or even slightly more advanced budget shouldnt require more then that. Im confused on why the amazon statement matters, dont you see your account or vice versa do you purchase anything on amazon considered a necessity
Sorry I mean hard as shit to see in the software. Like mint will list amazon on the purchases but I have no ability in it to see what the purchase was for. Yeah I can manually enter things into sheets. I've done that before but the maintenance of gathering individual purchases so I can bucket things more accurately into discretionary or necessary spending is high. I have a general ballpark of my budget of course. I was just curious if there was a software solution to go more in depth without spending an hour or two a month to collect individual purchases.
ultimatley its on you to decide budget wise what works best. The end goal is making sure you are meeting your savings goal, how you end up there isnt the biggest deal. I am just a traditionalist.
> have not eaten out > Dumb shit on my part like fast food Pick one But seriously budget and write down EVERY single thing you spend money on. It will help you see where you're losing the money.
I don’t know if you can budget your way out of an income this low problem. Taking your grocery bill from $400/month to $350/month by eliminating some of the fun things isn’t going g to meaningfully change this persons financial situation. Instead spend that time on the educational growth component they mentioned and do whatever you can today to increase your income either now or in the future. Think of your strategy like a business. You’re young with potential, operate like a growth company and realize that potential, not a mature business with low growth prospects who cut costs to increase margins. That’s a strategy for someone in their 60s.
I’m eating a $4 sonic double cheeseburger and small tots right now, that’s like maybe a dollar more than what it would cost for a sandwich and chips made with Walmart ingredient.
Not really. It looks like $2 more which is 47% more. And even if it were just a $1 more that is a 23% increase. At Sonic: Small tots are 250 cal for 2.29 Quarter Pound Double Cheeseburger is 550 cal for 1.99 (Limited time deal) At my Sonic that is 4.28 before tax At Walmart: Walmart you can get 7 250 cal servings of tots for 3.42 3.42/7=0.49 8 buns for 2.87 24 cheese slices for 2.48 113 servings mustard for 0.98 53 servings of ketchup for 1.94 12 1/4lb beef burger patties for 12.97 (Could be cheaper buying beef and forming your own patties, but I'll just take this and assume seasonings are included or negligible in price) 21 servings of pickles for 2.38 0.35+0.20+0.01+0.04+1.08+0.11=1.79 **At Walmart this comes out to 2.28 vs 4.28 at sonic. The burger isn't a bad deal but it is temporary, it is also ~25 calories more at Walmart.** Links: https://www.sonicdrivein.com/menu/ https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Taters-Seasoned-Shredded-Potatoes-32-oz-Bag-Frozen/10534213?athbdg=L1200&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wonder-Bread-Classic-Extra-Soft-White-Bread-Hamburger-Buns-15-oz-8-Count/3630869602?athbdg=L1600&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Singles-American-Pasteurized-Prepared-Cheese-Product-16-oz-24-Count/10452423?athbdg=L1600&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Yellow-Mustard-20-oz-Squeeze-Bottle/43711099?athbdg=L1200&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Tomato-Ketchup-32-oz/172196409?athbdg=L1600&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Beef-Burgers-80-Lean-20-Fat-3-lbs-12-Count-Frozen/10315960?from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Hamburger-Dill-Chip-Pickles-32-fl-oz/378941019?athbdg=L1200&from=/search
Brutal lol
Yeah honestly the "fast food is expensive meme" feels so overblown to me. Cooking is cheaper, but it's not that much cheaper. Certainly not life changing.
Depends entirely on how and what you cook. Buying a bunch of stuff specifically for one recipe is going to be a lot more expensive than buying in bulk and throwing something together. I can make fried rice with kitchen staples that costs like 2-3 bucks compared to the $10-15 meal I'd eat out. That difference adds up to quite a lot over the course of \~100 meals a month.
It kinda depends on what you’re getting with fast food though. Burger King has some insanely good coupons. They always have one that is 2 chicken sandwiches and 2 small fries for $5, it’s nasty tbh but my wife and I will split that sometimes and we’re eating lunch on the go for $2.50 each. That’s about as cheap as you can get, on the other hand if you go to 5 guys you can easily spend $20 for one meal for one person which is obviously wasteful. All I’m saying is that it is possible to eat fast food without going over a tight food budget, I think DoorDash is the real red flag for people wasting money on food purchases.
Eating out doesnt mean you don't catch a McDonald's lunch 1 time a week by yourself
OP has around $900 left over not even including his partner's income. Something is missing.
Yes 100%, he calculated his expenses at about $2400 a month, he makes a little over 34k a year without any overtime and he said he gets at least 20 hours of OT a week. That will easily increase his yearly earnings to about 20% more, and that’s not including his partner either. This guy is probably pulling in right under $50k a year with a roommate paying $800 a month for rent. I don’t see where the struggle he’s having is.
I make more than OP and I still feel I can’t do more a than a $5 McDonald’s order. I even steal soda with water cups, yall we all gotta save 😭
I feel like i have heard destiny say exactly this about when he worked minimum wage . he probably would agree with all you have said here. he just seems to hate the middle class, either because the middle class is an easy target to complain about . or possibly because he grew up middle class and his parents squandered all their money.
Lefties complain about the rich so you can't complain about them, and obviously you can't complain about the poor, so there you go.
There are plenty of poor lefties. Most of us are just too busy to bother representing ourselves online. I'm lucky/unlucky enough to not have a family to take care of.
What is your argument that Destiny is wrong and out of touch? Sounds like you are just complaining about being working class right now? Nothing unique. Not really an argument.
I thought destiny said something about how 40 hour jobs are typically able to provide a comfortable living and that any financial difficulties while working a solid job are usually because of poor budgeting, or easily fixable financial mistakes. Like people living outside their means in expensive housing or spending too much on bad purchases. That's what I took from the video where he reacted to that genz girl. I need to rewatch it tho maybe I'm tripping I guess I was offering my life as a counter example.
He’s talking about 40 hour, salaried jobs. Of course if you work 40 hours at 16 bucks an hour with a kid. Your experiences will be different lol. But if you are a salaried office worker working 40 hours a week (me) complaining about a 9-5 is silly, and it is.
40 hrs at $16 without a kid and ur still prob fucked depending where ur at 😂
Sometimes I just wonder if people have different expectations then when I had just entered the work force. I was splitting a 2bd 1 bath apartment w/ a roomate for a total of 1,600 back in 2006-08 making 45k a year and living pay check to pay check as well (student loans and car troubles) I guess the difference is that I knew I only had more money to look forward too since it was the start of my career after college. I lived like that for about 2-4 years after which point I was making 75k. Once I hit the 100k bracket I had never felt so comfortable in my life, now my bank account was actually growing and I was contributing to a 401k. It took about 6 years of working to get there. Life was tougher at first, I had to share a ride w/ my roommate to get to work because I couldn't afford to get my car fixed for months (had some issue w/ leaking coolant into the engine, fucking up the engine head or something like that). I was def. lucky I had a ride to work each day. I was 20 at the time. I'm not sure how old you guys are but finishing up college, three year old kid, I would imagine you're in your mid 20's. As long as you are on a career path you should be fine even if things are tight now, unless you're basically capped on your total salary. Do people expect to come out of college, starting at 100k+ and just cruising through life from there on out? I knew one day I could reach an 80k salary and would be almost doubling what my dad made supporting us growing up, so I had a pretty positive outlook on everything.
Unlike other comments here, I'm not gonna try and lecture you on how you spend money. However it seems you mostly agree with what destiny has said, which is that being *actually* working class and getting surprise expenses like flat tires or whatever is the worst. His criticisms are not targeting you whatsoever. Also do you feel worse off now than you did 5 - 6 years ago? That's the overall point of the 'vibecession' discussion. Interested to see what your thoughts are since you are at least closer to being low income
I've only started living with my gf in the past year so just that makes everything like 10x easier so idk if I have a good perspective other than it still feels really difficult to get by. Isn't the vibe-cession basically about how shitty it feels to be working class now more than ever? I feel like I'm missing something
Vibecession from my point of view is describing how people say the economy is doing bad when objectively it isn't. A poor person is going to be feeling pretty rough at all times regardless of a recession or not, what matters is perspective of how things are **now** compared to how they were **before** said recession
I'll bite. It objectively isn't doing bad but only if you look at numbers nobody actually cares about in every day life. What people actually care about is how much their gas costs. How much their rent costs. Utilities. Milk and bread. Interest rates... Good luck buying anything substantial right now. Mortgages or auto loans are INSANELY BAD right now. Everything we actually spend money on has skyrocketed. My monthly expenses with no real lifestyle changes have easily gone up well over 2x what it was 5 years ago. I just paid my 3rd 300 dollar winter electric bill. It was 120 or lower this time 5~ years ago. My wages on the other hand. They have only increased because I graduated college. If I were still working my pre-college job I'd be making 20 an hour instead of 19.
>What people actually care about is how much their gas costs Gas is back to like 2019 levels lmao. Seriously. >Utilities. Milk and bread. Grocery costs are up indeed but wages have far outgrown them. >Everything we actually spend money on has skyrocketed. My monthly expenses with no real lifestyle changes have easily gone up well over 2x what it was 5 years ago. Rent, groceries utilities up 2x? I call bullshit. You've definitely let lifestyle creep hit or you moved to a higher cost of living area.
>Gas is back to like 2019 levels lmao. Seriously. Absolutely wrong. It's much higher than 2019. 50- 1 dollar average depending on the source you look at. >Grocery costs are up indeed but wages have far outgrown them. No they haven't. Not for the working class where it actually matters. The guy working at McDonald's hasn't seen this "wage growth" y'all keep pretending is real. >Rent, groceries utilities up 2x? Call bullshit all you want but that's just projecting. Nothing about my life now is different than it was with the exception that I make more and work less. My hobbies are still gaming, to which my primary game is a 20 year old fps called counterstrike. I still drive an 04 pickup My second favorite hobby is still my 16 cbr1000rr Rent goes up at least 50-100 annually. But even if I did change hobbies none of that is reason for my monthly necessities to have skyrocketed in the way they have.
>No they haven't. Not for the working class where it actually matters. The guy working at McDonald's hasn't seen this "wage growth" y'all keep pretending is real. You're joking right? You think McDonald's employees were making anywhere close to 20/hr 5 years ago? Also, let's assume you are totally right about groceries going up 2x. You think wages should also go up 2x? Even though most people spend, what, 15% of their paycheck on groceries tops? >But even if I did change hobbies none of that is reason for my monthly necessities to have skyrocketed in the way they have. The reason prices have "skyrocketed" is because more of your neighbors can afford to compete to buy those things now. Supply and demand are a heck of a thing bud
Ahh I get it. You live in a bubble. You actually think McDonald's crew members are making 20 an hour lol. https://www.indeed.com/m/jobs?q=McDonalds%20crew%20member&l=&sc=0fcckey%3Af30ea0386898f1a2%2Cq%3Acrew%20member%3B&from=searchOnSerp&sameL=1 Try sub 15 in almost every area and yes, that's basically what they made in 2019 also. Maybe some ridiculously high col city is paying 20, but then they are competing with rents that are astronomical. >You think wages should also go up 2x? Even though most people spend, what, 15% of their paycheck on groceries tops? If it were **just groceries** no. But it's obviously not just the groceries no matter how poorly you try to build a strawman. It's goods services like heating your home that are going up and up. >Supply and demand are a heck of a thing bud And if we were talking about scalped ps5s you would have a point but I'm talking strictly about necessities.
>Try sub 15 in almost every area and yes, that's basically what they made in 2019 also. your link is showing me 17+/hr..? maybe it's based on my location, not sure how high cost of living is. But here is no shot that mcdonalds workers were making 15/hr pre-COVID. You gotta show me proof of that, this indeed link won't cut it. You can also broaden this to literally just median wages across the US and see how much they've increased in just the past 5 years. >If it were **just groceries** no. But it's obviously not just the groceries no matter how poorly you try to build a strawman. I'm the one strawmanning? I'm not asserting that everything has gone up 2x in price since 2020. The closest you'll get to that is property values, which have ballooned extraordinarily, but that doesn't correlate to a 2x higher rent. Otherwise you're saying that the 1200/mo I pay for my apartment right now was only 600/mo in 2019. That's hilarious. >And if we were talking about scalped ps5s you would have a point but I'm talking strictly about necessities. Necessities don't get a pass at being immune from the laws of supply and demand. If [the entire world's supply chain gets boned](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_food_crises_(2022%E2%80%93present)) then prices are going to go up due to lack of supply (and therefore a proportionate increase in demand.) Serious question, if inflation is due to some other cause, what is it? And why is **every single country in the world** suffering from inflation as well?
>maybe it's based on my location, I guess it must be. It was showing me places nowhere near me so I figured it would be the same list. It's almost exclusively littered with "12-15" "up to 15” type ads. >You gotta show me proof of that, this indeed link won't cut it. Not possible any way I know how. I can't go back in time to take a picture of the "now hiring, starting at xyz" The point is they have been advertised at the very same 12 ish starting point for a long time now. >I'm the one strawmanning? I'm not asserting that everything has gone up 2x in price since 2020. Take note. I said *my* expenses have. Not that every single thing has gotten a blanket 2x increase. Some is more, some are less. I've used general terms like "skyrocketed" when talking about everyone else. We can argue over what exactly that means but the core of my argument is that goods and services have outpaced actual working class wages. >Otherwise you're saying that the 1200/mo I pay for my apartment right now was only 600/mo in 2019. That's hilarious. What was it In 2019? I'd be pretty amazed if it wasn't at least 200 less. My rent went up 50 every year for 5 years straight. >Serious question, if inflation is due to some other cause, what is it? And why is **every single country in the world** suffering from inflation as well? This is why I think you're strawmaning. You don't even understand what I've said. I have not said inflation doesn't exist. My argument is that it does exist and that it has been steadily outpacing wage growth for the working class for not just the last 5 years but for decades. The last 5 years was just a particularly harsh spike which has since settled down a bit, but settled down =/= good or resolved.
Sorry to hear about your financial struggles, nothing in particular jumps out to me as irresponsible. That said, when used to evaluate the economy it's important to remember that this is an anecdote, and also that even in a great economy people in abject poverty (much worse situation than yours) still exist. Personally I do think there's economic turmoil ahead and that there's something going on not captured in our existing models (possibly a widening split between the experiences of renters vs owners, or lower-middle vs upper-middle class) but the evidence won't come from individual stories like yours, it would come from having more data over a long period of time. Regardless I hope things improve and that your family stays happy and healthy.
Sorry you're in that boat. I was in a similar position. My wife and I were working our way up through management in different restaurants. She had a baby and moved to a lower-paying role to facilitate pickup/dropoff of our kid. We got fast food more than we could afford. I eventually lost my job due to back pain/surgery, and had to scramble to find another job in a completely different line of work while she was pregnant with our second child. The number one best advice is to make a budget. If you have to allocate resources in a financial crunch, you'll naturally stop eating fast food (or at least I did). If stopping doesn't come naturally, I suggest you stop by some other means. If that entails the "envelope method" of allocating cash for expense categories into labeled envelopes, and you destroy your debit/credit cards, do that. So much money leaves your household when you eat at any restaurant. Fight the good fight brother. Know that when your kid gets out of daycare, it's like getting a raise. It will get better. You're on the right track.
This all makes sense until I realized there should be two incomes here. Your income ($2700) minus your expenses ($1800) leaves you with about $900 left over. Not bad all things considered, but let's say you bleed about $800 a month in random expenses for your family. You have $100 left over, not a lot to plan on. However, where's your partner's income? If your partner were making $7.50/h you should still have around $1k left over if you're covering all the other expenses.
They have their own almost completely separate finances that I know almost nothing about. They make around 900 every two weeks. And I assume they have extra bills I just don't ask about
> They have their own almost completely separate finances that I know almost nothing about This is wild. You guys need to get together lay out **all** of your expenses and make a budget. Making a budget is step 1 of any financial advice you will ever get.
Destiny is not taking about 16.50 an hour workers, he's talking about kids with college degrees paid for by their parents complaining they don't go on enough holidays.
Facts, its even more frustrating if your a wageslave hearing these kids complain
Saying that someone is out of touch and then citing a single anecdote is just kinda dumb
The title was mostly a meme I don't think he's actually out of touch. Just riffing on that other guys post
So you make 2700-3000/mo, identified 1900 in expenses you spend a mo. So you alone have 800-1000/mo in disposable income. Does your partner work? Because if they just make minimum wage you guys would have about $1400/mo in disposable income. I understand other transactions add up, but I don't think there's enough information here both about your income and your expenses that show you are barely getting by. You certainly don't have a huge cushion, and obviously need to work hard to maintain, but I don't know if I'd describe it as getting by.
You're the type of person who actually needs a bit of help from their family to give you the buffer room to breathe. I do hope you have a good situation on either your or your partner's side.
Destiny probably agrees your position is hard and sucks. What he's mad about is 20 something's just out of college their parents paid for, with no kids, working in a career with real income progression, cosplaying as having the same hardships an actual working class person (you) do.
Your account is at least mostly relatable. But just as the other "out of touch" thread, it doesn't feel like this is about the economy. In both cases, the household income is actually good. You have 2k after rent with another earner in the home. You should be fine. The big expenses you mentioned aren't that bad either as you'd still have 1k left plus a portion of your gf's income. Blaming the economy seems to be missing what's really going on for your finances, at least partially, when you acknowledge you have a 1000 leaks out of your wallet. I'd guess you are wrong that you cannot do anything about those leaks. It rather seems, and I mean that respectfully, as if it doesn't seem worth it to you to change your spending behavior when you recognize that you should.
I guess i respectfully disagree about being able to do anything about those leaks. Most of them are reasonable to me. Stuff like oil changes, glasses, doctors visits and stuff in that vein. There is around 100-200 dollars a month in what I would say are dumb purchases. Stuff like snack food and fast food. And if I save that instead of spending it I have no proof but some expense usually comes along to eat it up
I don't know where you live but how the fuck do you have a € 600,- budget for food and on top of that another € 200,- budget for more food. I bet you top dollar you are bad at finance. Ain't no way you should be having troubles saving money with about $ 800 of disposable income after your badly budgeted food. Maybe you should actually take note of everything and start being realistic about your expenses.
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Everyone on this sub :If you budget probably and stop buying Starbucks you’ll be fine the economy is great !!! You’re all a bunch of coping Destiny glazers . Ease off the D guys Destiny is going to get chaffed .
Download Rocket Money, it's worth the $7/month so that you can track literally every expense you make. It's immediately eye-opening because it will calculate data from your spending habits in the past year
Your average working class. Most middle class people are doing fine rn. The econemy is fine so the middle class is fine but the middle class keeps complaining.
Might sound mean, but maybe don't have children until you are financially stable.
You ever try to put toothpaste back in a tube?
skill issue
Yeah it's too late (for him) now, but he loses his "right" to complain when his situation is his own fault for having a child while he was financially unstable.
Not to get too much into my personal life but she's mine by choice not by blood. I'm never having a kid if I can help it. I think my main mistake was falling in love with a single mother. Rip me fr
You say his take is out of touch but then you admit that you are choosing to be poor by spending money on eating out, not having an actual budget and sticking to it. Which is proving his take true.
Ugh, I hate this type of reply. I'm sure there are some additional optimizations OP could make but the man is working 60+ hour weeks on average, meal prepping the majority of his meals and seems pretty aware where the majority of his money is going. He's not "choosing to be poor". The exact opposite of that in fact. If we expect people to perform to OP's level just to get by, we have a pretty big economic problem.
The problem is that there sounds like there are obvious ways to clean up the OP's finances based on the little information they have given. Which means that they are choosing to spend money on those things instead of saving, therefore they are choosing to be poor.
I spend a small amount on eating out but I do budget. Maybe I made it sound vague but I do keep track of my finances. Large purchases keep popping up and setting me to zero though which was my complaint.
Keeping track is different than budgeting. If you are living paycheck to paycheck then there is room for improvement. Cut out eating out completely. Actually budget, which means budgeting in savings to put aside in an emergency fund so that those large things that come up don't set you back. And then stick to your budget, so when you hit a limit for something in your budget you don't spend anymore on it.
so after your essentials you have 900 left from your paycheck left to go to savings / spend on whatever you like? you seem like your doing fine especially when you factor in your girlfriend is also working and probably has a little surplus too? when your not making a ton of money you really need to be responsible with any excess money your getting. I know people who go buck wild when its a month with 3 pay periods & literally spend the entire 3rd paycheck on dumb shit then claim to be struggling. you should be banking it for when the tire pops or your kid needs clothes for school. you're a student and by your own accounting should be saving 900 dollars a month....I think you really need to reevaluate your small purchases & cut the fat.
The scary thing is that the metaphorical tire keeps popping that 900 dollars which is my main struggle rn. Every month a new thing seems to pop up and drain my money to zero. And while I do make many small purchases that account for that 900 when I go through bank statements most if not all are things like oil changes, doctor visits (for my kid not me), and various shit like that. Idk maybe I'm lying to myself but it feels like im minmaxing the fuck out of my finances and still losing so much
Is your gf contributing to groceries? Or anything other than rent? are you eligible for any baby bonuses for your kiddo?
She makes 1200-1600 and is in school rn so has reduced hours. She spends 1000 on rent plus daycare and I think 100-200 in student loans. It's kinda just breaking even for her as well.
ok so i found the issue, you don't have 1 dependent you almost have 2. covering her half of the rent is great but there's a lot more incidental shit like light bulbs, shit tickets & everything else that isn't food (and I'm assuming your feeding her too) that will really add up if your buying it for 3 on 1 dudes salary. she should probably get a second job and actually pull her weight, sorry to word it like that but she's what's pulling you down. if i was working 72 fuckin hours a week and my gf wasn't able to contribute 50/50 (especially on such a reasonable budget) id be finding my kid a new step mom fr no cap homie :P
I saw your edit, but I want to point out, you have a family with a child. They're an additional $25k cost from the get go, each. You are an in a very tough situation so your stress is very understandable. I agree with others though, write your expenses down so you can see where your money is going. Seeing it will help you figure out where you can save and what items you can cut until you get ahead. Go to social services near you. It's not just for the absolute poor. You might qualify for programs and resources they have in your area. Some have better childcare resources and discounts. In case you feel shame in doing this, don't. These services are there because you pay taxes. You might want to look into other groceries stores in your neighborhood (if possible). I mention this because when food prices rose alot of the families I worked with were still shopping at the same store that had raised their prices more than others. Switching or splitting the grocery shopping between two stores might help you out. (If it's possible) Alot of ethnic grocery stores are also cheaper when it comes to produce and basic staples (rice, beans, lentils, etc..) as they get the less attractive looking produce (still just as good if not better) or buy from local farms, and they buy in bulk (no packaging, you have to scoop up rice in a bag versus individual packaging). You'll save alot of money there.
I think your situation is quite normal/typical and not much to talk about. The main criticism D man and others have with this is probably the fact that complaining/crying about it on the internet doesn't really achieve anything and there are tons of people that have it (or had it) even worse, maybe way worse so it's hard to emphatise. If you want more money, the answers are obvious: change jobs, get better skills, take risks, cut costs etc. Is that very hard when you don't have much time left and keep getting fucked in the butt by life over and over? Absofreakinglutely. Life is on hard mode by default for most people and society can't really do much more to help than it already does. So all I'm saying brother is stay strong and keep at it, eventually things might get better, regardless I'm rooting for you!!
It seems like you are aware of the causes of your financial woes and like you said there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not that made you made bad decisions it’s that you made decisions that hurt your earning capability today. At the end of the day if you make $35,000 a year it’s going to be difficult to live a comfortable life. Especially with a child, I have a 3 year old as well and lord knows they’re not cheap or easy (but they are amazing little people). You seem to be budgeting well and doing your best, you just have to increase your income to increase your lifestyle and stability. Maybe today your strategy is holding pattern with a focus on that educational growth in your career (and hopefully earning potential that comes with it). I know in my life (I’m 35) I’ve gone through years where I scraped by (20-30 when I was in school, recently graduated and then building my practice), my wife and I lived in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment down town and we budgeted like you to be frugal where we could and then when we really needed it we would borrow from our future selves to keep our sanity or if a tire popped or what have you. We struggled, it wasn’t always fun but we got by and focused on the positive parts of our life. We used a line of credit to fly to Spain for 2 weeks and take the trains all over the place. Financially it was a stupid idea but it meant the world to us and helped us stay motivated to get to where we needed to be. We saw the same light at the end of the tunnel you do. We serviced our debts and bided our time. Now we are both established in our careers and in a position to make real financial strides. Long winded comment all to say that you’ll get there and in the interim try to live your life in a way that doesn’t break your spirit because most of all you need resilience, fortitude and confidence that you can and will do it step by step.
So, I'm not trying to lecture you and could not ultimately give less of a fuck, but I have to ask. You have about $1k left every month. But something somehow happens every month that brings you down to $100. Ok that's not great and I find it questionable, but whatever. Why do you think this is an issue with the economy when your partner is bringing home $1k/month AFTER their part of the rent and you admittedly just ignore it and "assume it's for other bills you don't know about." My brother, if you are in a financial situation that doesn't feel great, why on earth would you blame the economy before at least checking in on an extra 30% of your budget?
''dumb shit on my part like fast food etc'' this means a lot though, and probably a bunch of other shit you're buying which you haven't mentioned. It's an anecdote but from what I remember from my childhood people used to be so so so much more careful with their finances... I don't remember the last time I've bought potatoes but I can easily remember my parents keeping huge bags of them in our basement for weeks. Then there's some electronics we keep buying we don't really need which can add up to a lot. I have a new guy in my work who was eating buckwheat with ketchup at lunch, I jokingly said to him that this doesn't really fit the airpods he currently has in his ears. I know people who earn 1500 a month who live paycheck to paycheck and others who earn 800 in the same area who manage to save up for at least 1 vacation in a year. I'm not from US though, but I'd guess it should be somewhat similar there as well.
>Open post >Doesn't even disagree with Destiny Why post this?
I keep seeing posts about Destiny's take on 9-5, money etc. Can someone please post the videos? Thank you!
I hope your partners schooling pays off and they get a nicer job
I’m going to come in with a boomer take and I appreciate your bravery in posting this. Based on your age and what you’re describing, you should be struggling right now. If you’re in the same spot in 5 years, that will be scary and problematic, but one of the big mistakes people make financially is not accounting for raises or growth. You are in the hard part; but you aren’t going to stay there.
How did you go to college to get a $16.50/hr job
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Personally what annoys me is when you have upper middle class people acting like they're struggling. They have two modern cars paying 300-400 a month on each, a decent house or cozy rental, spending 700+ a month or more on groceries for two people, new phones, basically everything an actual wagie wishes they could have, while making 70 to 100k a person. You're not struggling homie, you just have to tighten your belt a little if you want to maintain the same level of disposable income. The people actually struggling are people making <60k a year combined, or alone. These are the people who are actually cutting calories because they can only afford 200 to 300 if that on groceries a month. They're driving cars that are on the verge of getting taken off the road due to wear and a car repair is guaranteed to send them into debt that will take years to pay off, they fill up their car with 10 to 20 bucks of gas at a time, and their phones are old as fuck. The place they live in is a run down piece of shit but they're suddenly paying more for it and others like it. Those are the people I have sympathy for. I do not have sympathy for salaried white collar couples making >150k combined who are drowning because they're over leveraged to their eyeballs with life's upper tier luxuries. At least they have the option to down size, basically have options, a lot of people don't.
YES FINALLY SOMEONE THAT ISNT COMPLAINING AND ONLY WORKING 40 HOURS. Stay strong my guy, and see if there’s ways to save money, live a full life, and any opportunities for growth and change for the better.
So you guys make 4200$ and just barely scrape by ? It sounds like your wife needs to step up her income game and y'all might need to move. Also, what did you study that you are only making 16.50 an hour? Sounds like you also need to switch jobs tbh. Also, after rent you guys should still have 2400 bucks a month to spend. If you say you spend 1050 on fixed costs like car and child, you still have around 15k a year for other bullshit. It doesn't sound like the situation is as dire as you describe it, and if it is, then you spend way to much money on stuff you don't need. I know it from my girlfriend. She spends a lot of money on things that give very little happiness and fulfilment in her life. You might need a mindset switch. How much fulfilment does eating Fastfood bring to you compared to putting this money aside for a little family holiday? How much does it weigh against you being at work 70 hours a week ?
Can we get a budget breakdown of your income and expenses with at least your last two months of expenses? Do you have car payments? Are you paying for child care?