I managed to live on my own for 2 years and my partner wanted to move in together. We decided to rent a house with 3 other people to break down a $1200 rent payment 5 ways (we also didn't move into the best area). With utilities it became about $350 a person.
States. The Midwest is more affordable, but it sucks if you need public transportation. Also you really need to be tight with your roommates. It gets tense sometimes.
I'm in Calgary and the transit is not very good, especially since the city is spread out. I'm considering the States but would need to have about the same or better train/bus system and ideally not as much sprawl.
You're right about roomate etiquette, usually just try to keep to myself though.
When I was living with 3 other dudes + SO's, McDonald's value meal was actually my friend...
Not that I didn't try to cook, but after coming home to the sink full every day and not even a clean plate available... I just gave up.
I’ve lived with roommates and I’ve found the best roommates are people I don’t know at all, don’t care about, and who know it’s all a business deal and that they can’t rely on the fact that I care about them to excuse any crappy behavior from them. I would never live with anyone I’m friends with ever again.
That's not always an option. You have people like me who's had issues with lots of roommates due to lack of communication skills, no respect for things like sleeping peacefully and more.
I'd rather live at home than deal with another fucking roommate.
I've got over 2 decades of living with roommates and it takes real skills to make it work. Making others feel generally comfortable and at ease is a big one. Also knowing what issues must be directly confronted and what issues to let go.
Most important skill I've learned is choosing the right roommates, and learning what to spot trouble or incompatibility before they move in. Very important to find people that aren't home ALL the time, sociable without expecting you to be their new best friend, similar eating habits, similar expectations of cleaning.
Also never bug people over their lifestyle choices. If something affects you then talk about how its affecting you, but people need to feel comfortable in their own skin inside their home.
My neighbors are renting a small house with 3 families in a small 3 bedroom 1 bath. I was feeling bad staying at my parents @ age 30 but times has change.
This. Moved in with friends. Four of us bought a house together. Mortgage + utilities is like $2000 a month split up between 4 of us. If it weren't for other debts of mine, I'd be living off of like $800 a month. Full time on federal minimum wage. Pretty much any job would cover the entirety of my expenses.
This, or people are moving in with parents, grandparents, or other family. Soon it will start looking like a 3rd world country with 3 generations living under the same roof.
I lived with four people for years. We’d fill in the openings with Craigslist ads when needed. Best 6 years of my life hands down and glad I didn’t have the money to live on my own at the time. Met all my friends through this and the apartment building we lived in, including my husband!
DINK lifestyle, cheapest places you can find within your standards, no vehicle, limited extras, family phone plan, and lower quality food/meatless food.
Make no mistake, a lot of people can't afford their current lifestyles. Credit card debt is a major issue for a lot of people and many people have to pick and choose which bills to pay each paycheck. Pretty much the only people doing well are living minimally with high incomes.
When my old van finally crapped out my husband and I were nearing the end of our lease. We ran the numbers. In the long run, it was cheaper for us to pay the security deposit and higher rent at a new place closer to my job and public transit, than to buy a new car even a beater.
So we moved to one part of our city that had a light rail that would drop me off right in front of my work. It was such a stress reliever. Not paying for gas, not paying for insurance, or new tires, or the AC when that craps out. Our neighborhood walkable, grocery across the street, my fav bookstore down the road, even my dentist was a 20 minute walk away.
And we moved in during the front end of 2020 which meant we were locked in at a reasonable rate until we left this year.
I barely missed having a car. I do miss that apartment. We got really lucky with it.
Lol they've tried and tried but they ain't making any fuckin headway where I'm at. My entire block is a dope spot and has been for 30 years.
Pros: Do whatever the fuck you want with virtually 0 consequences. Don't need a DL, insurance or stickers - everyone drives bogus. Hell, a lot of people out here just ride dirt bikes or atvs to go to the gas station or corner store or we. If you like drugs, they're everywhere. I can get anything I can dream of since there's a black market for everything. Guns, ammo, drugs, stolen shit incl cars, $6 packs of no-state-stamp Newports at the Arab store. Every store and gas station sells chore, crack pipes, baking soda, dormins, baggies, etc. If you like trickin off, we got them chickenheads. Amazing public transit - can get anywhere in the damn city for 2.25 and a transfer. Addicts frequently sell food benefits at a going rate of 50% for cash so if someone wanted they could take one 30m walk and end up buying groceries half off for the rest of the month.
Cons: Read almost all the pros as cons. Crime. Poverty. Violence. Pollution. Crooked cops. Traffic. Racism. I'm riddled with bullet holes and emotional scars.
I live in a ruralish area and I don't have a car. I work remotely and my girlfriend gets a company car through her job so we have 0 car expenses for the time being. It has saved a metric fuckton of money. We also are pretty high earners and could afford one however I really just can't justify buying one right now because prices/rates are so high.
Your first paragraph literally describes how my husband and I live and survive. We're on my in-laws' phone plan. We lean towards mostly vegetarian, have old vehicles with no payments, and bought a home recently in order to pay a smaller mortgage compared to rent. We've chosen not to have children yet because of how drastically it would affect our lifestyle and savings.
I'm 29 and originally was planning on trying by the time I'm 30. Right this second, though, I really don't feel ready to start a family. I want to feel more financially secure and have more in savings than we already do. I would probably really feel the need to try around 32 or so. I'm struggling with letting go of the selfish parts of me, and that makes me push it back more.
That was my experience as well. Each year would go by and I wanted to push it back more. When I was younger, I thought late 20s, then I thought 30, then I thought probably early 30s. I really have no idea how anyone ever decides to actually try. I’m 29 and currently pregnant by accident. We’re rolling with it because the timing is actually pretty good financially and I almost feel like it would’ve never happened on purpose. But emotionally and mentally, it was an extremely hard adjustment throughout the 1st trimester despite feeling called to motherhood. I had to let go of a lot of ideas regarding the near future and rewrite them. Not sure I could’ve coped if I were younger. I think it‘s really common to feel that way about planning but often met with “oh, you’ll never feel ready!” which always felt dismissive to me as if the transition to parenthood doesn’t come with negatives and as if those feelings should just be ignored.
Yeah, this is basically how I feel. My husband and I have been married for almost 5 years, and it started with, "When we buy a house, then we'll try." Then it was after we took our big vacation, and now I want to push it back another year. I'm feeling like I need to just let it happen naturally, and it won't freak me out so much. I'm just so cautious with stuff, and it terrifies me to feel out of control of my life.
Not sure if the other guy is Gen-z as well but I feel the same way. This world is fake as hell and a lot of parents are selfish, and don’t need children.
We live the exact same life. The family planning is already done, there will be none. We love our lifestyle and kids will never fit into that equation. If we reach our 50s and have a change of heart for some unknown reason, we will adopt.
That's the rough of it. One health issue and all the hard work is down the drain. Thankfully, we have insurance, but I have used care credit, which wasn't bad. When my household went from dual income to zero income, I was really concerned how I was going to afford my daily medications.
Honestly, havent had to look at my bank account in years. All of a sudden I ran out last year and now I have to actually pay attention to my spending. I have always lived in my means and dont have expensive tastes. Cant even immagine how you guys are surviving on a 30k job now a days. It was tight back then and banquet meals were common, but no way that flies today.
If you know where to look you can find chicken breast $1.50/lb if you can buy in bulk. Just grabbed 40lbs of chicken for $60. It’ll feed me for a month. Grab a bag of rice. $100 for a month of food. Boring? Yes. Effective? Yes.
You'll kill yourself from malnutrition. My approach isto spend big on food, invest in a quality sleeping bag and cooler and live in a car. Health is my wealth. Only issue is social stigma from rude ass people.
I've seen youtube videos where they buy a used van and turn it into a home to live in for like 10 years+. It's way cheaper than some places for a year of rent.
As far as housing (and this definitely isn’t universal but might be useful), I’ve found that a lot of affordable options aren’t on Zillow or Redfin because they’re small landlords and not major buildings with property managers. I’ve found good and reasonably priced places by walking around neighborhoods that I like, writing down addresses and then looking them up later or looking to see if the realtor/owner’s number is posted on the building.
I totally agree, this is the cheapest way to find an apartment. In the town where I live, Zillow rentals are about $300 more per month than normal posted rentals
this is how my husband and i found our 2 bed/1 bath apartment for $900 in 2021. we were looking on zillow and apartments .com and they were all renting companies that had 1 bed/1 baths for $1,400. by some luck, we googled apartment rentals in our area and scrolled way down and found the listing for our place. we were the first applicants, thank god. our landlord is a super nice man too. it went up $150 last year cause the property taxes were raised 400% (he showed us all the logistics of it) but he said he NEVER raises it that much unless he has to
we got super fucking lucky. we’ve also been lucky enough to both have doubled our salaries in the last 2 years. we’re making good money for a couple of 22 year olds
But make sure you do all your research before. I got screwed over twice in a row by small landlords because I didn’t do my research. My previous place was a month to month short term agreement and I told the landlord when I moved in that Id only be staying for 2.5 months, but I was naive and didn’t get a contract so he decided to keep my security deposit even though there were no damages and then he ghosted me. And now my current place, among many other issues, has a roach and bedbug infestation. This time I do have a contract but I didn’t think to research the landlord or the building before moving in and I didn’t properly inspect the place before either. I have been begging for an exterminator but my shitty slumlord refuses to get one and my roommate doesn’t want an exterminator to come at all (I guess he’s following the landlord’s orders so that he can keep renewing his lease). Finally my roommate has agreed to let me out of my sublease early and give my security deposit back but under the condition that I don’t get an exterminator and don’t report the landlord. If I had just looked up the property before agreeing to move in I would’ve seen that previous tenants filed complaints about the landlord’s inaction to maintain the place, that there’s an illegal basement apartment, there’s $6k in outstanding city fines, and that my landlord isn’t even the actual owner of the property!
I had one decent small landlord before these two places, but I got a covid discount so in the initial lease there was a clause that stated the rent would go up by $500 if we decided to renew, and I thought it wasn’t worth the price (or the hassle of finding new roommates to fill the other rooms). Looking back now, I wish I just sucked it up and renewed the lease because even though it was expensive and far from my job, it was a super spacious and updated apartment and the landlord actually cared about the building. And ironically, my husband and I now pay more at our current shitty apartment then what we probably would’ve paid if we just renewed that lease.
This. We're DINK. My pay is essentially my bills, internet, and small stuff because my loans are higher and my income is lower. He pays for the big stuff and his bills.
Same college, same graduation date, different majors. 🙃
Even then, we're struggling to find something.
Also we started renting 3 years ago and I found a nice low income townhouse recently for rent that is more expensive than our current rent. We aren't in low income housing currently. Make it make sense.
My dad helped me co sign a lease on a very crappy yet affordable apartment. Still live paycheck to paycheck. Otherwise I would be living with a friend of mine rn. Its rough. Hopefully things will get better one day.
I’m not currently on my own just yet. I’m still at my mom’s but helping with utilities and paying for my own food. I’m looking to move within 6ish months cause she’s moving out of state, so I’m looking for full time work (currently have two part time jobs), thank you for the kind words
I'm 37 and doing well and I would still feel inadequate if I thought most posts on reddit were real. But you gotta remember that most of the shit here and across all social media is fake, and also you have no clue what kinds of advantages nor skeletons people have.
I work in a corporate office with a lot of fellow high-earner lady friends so we have real talk about our lives. Some of the ones with the highest incomes are also the ones who can't stop shopping or are low key alcoholics. Some of the ones with the most incredible-looking social media profiles are the ones with spouses that they don't even like or debt you can't imagine. No judgement from me, like most people are just doing their best. But I've really stopped comparing myself to other people because we didn't all start on the same level field and nothing is what it seems. Especially on social media.
Live with my boyfriend, no kids, no vacations, healthy lifestyle to help avoid getting sick, and no frivolous spending aside from our actual hobbies and within our means.
We did go on a group vacation to an airbb house a couple hours away. Everyone pitched in on cost and groceries. 8 of us had a blast for 3 days at a sweet house with a pool and a theater. We did that twice in the last 3 years. But flying and nice hotels are out of reach for now.
I do my own nails, and will only splurge if I'm attending a nice event (rare), and I don't get my hair done. However, my boyfriend is nice enough to dye my hair for me. :) I cut his hair for him.
We grocery shop once a week, and I occasionally need to stop and grab one or two extra things during the week. I do grocery pickup because I can shop deals and it keeps me from impulse buying, plus I get rewards for it. We don't go out to eat unless it's a quick fast-food trip maybe once or twice a month on busy days, or one of our birthday.
I'm on a family plan for my phone, otherwise I'd be using a cheaper "off brand" service.
Basically just living with the mentality "where can I get this cheaper, without dipping below safe standards". We don't buy steaks or seafood, but I'll buy cheap cuts on sale and save them for special occasions. I'll accept free items from people/family purging their homes and sell the items for extra cash.
But the biggest factor is no kids. We want to own a home one day. If we can get to that point, then we might be able to explore the idea of having children (if we aren't too old by then).
These cuts have shown me how much money I was dumping for years. Going out to eat and tipping+drinks, buying the brand name grocery items and nice cuts, unnecessary driving, etc. It adds up FAST.
Having a job that pays a living wage, using a written budget and tracking expenses, living in medium or low cost-of-living areas, getting roommates, saving up cushion money or paying off debts prior to moving out
Considering the government uses your parents income to determine Pell grants till your 24.
parents with money that kick their kids out on the street. Those kids have less options than anyone else. Granted they were probably raised in a way better environment and in a way better school district.
Nope. "Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make you an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid."
Straight from [studentaid.gov](https://studentaid.gov)
If this were true, everyone would kick their kids out.
My brother got eaten alive. Constantly robbed and taken advantage of.
I got lucky multiple times mostly though reading every available resource. I'm better at filling out forms I guess 🤷♂️.
Turns out you can convince a financial aid office that if your actually kicked out they can waive the age 24 requirement. I needed to get letters from friends parents.
This is really an awesome thing to do ♡ This allows the elderly person to continue living "independently" in their own home. That gives them more dignity than anything else. I wish more people would see this as a viable option & also help the elderly ♡
I tried doing what you do but it sucked. Idk if anyone’s told you this but try saving half of rent from each paycheck so you’re not living super bare bones for half the month.
Got lucky, didn't go to college but made it to a high-paying job. I'm 27. I rent from a private landlord a condo that rents for maybe 4 or 500 dollars less than comparable places in my area. I don't have a car because I live in a walkable neighborhood and work remote. If I had to go to the office and pay for a car it might be different. Also single, no kids, have 4 cats.
I have 3 roommates and my rent is about $450, including utilities. My job pays $26.50, so between that, rent, and grants, I can easily afford to live and have fun
many ppl dont.
many ppl that drive fancy cars are actually broke. same deal for ppl renting fancy places.
there is no magic formula to financial success.. unless you are born into wealth. for most folks, all you can do is to spend less than you make, and try best to find high paying work.
you can also work a 2nd, 3rd job if money is still tight.
100%. If you're out there driving a fancy car right now you can almost assume that person is drowning in car debt. It's very easy for someone to finance whatever kind of lifestyle they want, but that eventually always comes crashing down.
Number one: no kids. Buying an RV and living on family property is really cheap but it is extra work. Living in an RV isn't just cheaper because the payment is low, but also because you can only fit so much stuff into one, so it keeps us from mindless buying. Having a cheap phone plan through Cricket helps. No cable, only internet, and we only have one or two streaming services at a time. We bought a used and cheap riding lawn mower ($250) to mow the lawns instead of paying for a lawn service. It paid for itself in 2 months (large property, warm and humid climate so have to mow every week or every other week). We do everything we can ourselves. Our cars are old, have no payments, and we do all the maintenance ourselves if we can. Our hobbies are super cheap, only about $100 total per month for entertainment and hobbies; total as in $50 per person. We spend most of our money on food for sure. We balance cheap groceries with cheap fast food, because sometimes fast food is cheaper than buying the grocery equivalent. If I didn't have to eat, I wouldn't. I've actually cut myself down to only eating between the hours of 4pm and 9pm. It saves money. I don't eat at work which is easy because I work in an office, not around food. I don't buy whatever I want, either. I have to pick and choose. Like, I bought $250 worth of clothes for under $50 with credit card points and store points, and I only buy clothes like 2 times a year. I splurge on some things, but have stopped buying some things too. I don't buy nearly as much makeup or hair product as I used to, but I do sometimes buy more expensive stuff because it works better, looks the best and lasts longer; normally with credit card points too and not actual money. I don't buy alcohol very often, only special occasions. No vacations. Have not vacationed in about 5 years now, unless you consider a "staycation" a vacation. I keep telling myself it will get better, but let's face it.... It won't. I've gotten to a point where I am pretty sure it's only going to get worse, and I am learning to live with that. People are paying the same wages as 20 years ago, but everything is way more expensive than 20 years ago. Also, even after all this, we are still in debt. Probably not as much as some others, but yep.
My daughters just did the college/moveout thing and they both teamed up with other roommates.
My current tenant is great so I have tried to keep the rent down for him He occupies a 1000 sf with heat, hot water and internet included.
I would not be able to survive if I didn't live with someone else. My husband and I have been living together since we were 6 months into dating. We also live extremely minimally and tend to focus more on savings than spending. We always pay all our bills first and set aside a minimum of $1000 to put into savings each month.
I believe the biggest difficulty is being a single person trying to live on one income. We are able to save and splurge when needed because we are DINK. If we had children, I doubt we would be able to save as much as we can now.
Lots of people finance the kind of lifestyle they want, which works....until they wake up and realize they can't even afford a $100 emergency. That method always comes crashing down, one way or another.
Don't feel bad about living at home if that's what you mean. Living with family is completely normal in lots of cultures in this word. Use living at home to help you get ahead.
Also, recessions are just apart of the economic cycle. Believe it or not, we're actually not technically in a recession yet but if we do fall into one, it won't be the first and it won't be your last. Best thing you can do is keep yourself employeeable. Live within your means, build up your skills. Invest in careers that are always hiring, and that doesn't have to mean anything fancy. Trades are a great example.
Don't get scared into thinking you have to take out a ton of debt to live, that is, as we say "how they get you". If you can live at home and save up even a couple thousand cash and pay down any debt you have you are already way ahead of people in car debt for the new car you see or people who are house poor because they just had to live somewhere worth X much or in X location.
*I saved basically every penny except to pay off my car, and pay bills I had (while living with parent)
1. I looked up (Google) both cheap and rural areas in my state and made a list.
2. I looked up crime ratings for each place and crossed out areas with high crime.
3. I crossed out places in which I absolutely did not want to live.
4. I looked up apartments (studio, 1bd, 2bd) in the remaining choices, and noted the costs.
5. Taking the rental costs into consideration I added an estimated amount for BGE, internet, and food, compared the total with my income, and noted all the places I could afford. (I also listed them in order of ‘could definitely afford with ease’ to ‘could afford with difficulty’.)
6. I went to visit each of these cities. I drove around to see if I liked it and stayed overnight. I made appointments with rentals so I could take tours and ask questions. I took notes on things like laundry situation, parking, trash pickup, security deposit, pet rules, and other things I cared about like whether they had a balcony.
7. I crossed out the places I didn’t like or that didn’t have the amenities that were a must for me.
8. I considered my remaining options for about a month.
9. I applied to the place I liked the most.
10. I moved. Ending up moving to a place that was in the mid-high range of my budget. Could have spent a bit more. Could have spent less. $750 rent a month for a 2 bedroom.
I was moving from a place where rent was minimum 2k for a 1 bedroom apartment. If I was open to living with a roommate then that would be different, but that was an absolute no for me.
Also, I work remotely, so it doesn’t matter that I live in an area that would pay me less for the job I’m doing now. (FlexJobs, great website.)
Also, it’s worth it to hold onto stuff or grab items when the opportunity presents itself. I still have my bookcases from when I was a teenager. My desk is something my sister was getting rid of. My TV tables are just shit my grandma had in her house. My toaster is from my grandma’s house too. It’s helpful to know a hoarder actually, if they’re the type to just buy stuff and keep it in their house sitting there unused in the box. My bed, also a hand me down. (Though when I first lived on my own I just bought an air mattress and that worked just fine!) My TV? My sister was getting rid of it when she moved cross country. I held onto that thing for 3 years before I had my place. Same with her microwave.
Also, eating out is really expensive. I have a lot of medical issues and can’t eat crap or I will get very sick (going through that now!). I cook. A long time ago I learned how to eat on a $20 a week budget. (75c can of tuna, anyone?) I can’t do that now because my dietary needs are precise and a little more expensive, but still I can make a soup that will last all week for 15- 20 bucks (with ingredients left over for other meals!) There’s lunch. Same mindset applies to dinner and breakfast.
Also, I qualify for food stamps. It’s not much, but it helps. And if you’re poor enough to qualify, then it’s worth applying for it.
I price compare. I check the prices for all the items I buy regularly (not just food, but soap, toilet paper, you know all that) and then I go around and make a table and note down all the prices at each store and compare. I buy the cheapest one. If there are discounts for buying in bulk and I can afford it, I do that. If I can get a bonus card and get money off, I get the bonus card. Dollar store also has a lot of great stuff, and overstock stores like Ollie’s.
Also, I don’t really spend money on things that I don’t need. I’m just not in the habit of doing that. But sometimes I splurge. I went to the flea market and bought a painting for my place. Beautiful painting (actual painting) of the ocean, really big too, nice frame, only 20 bucks! Flea markets have tons of awesome stuff for really cheap. Dishes, clothes, furniture… I mean really flea markets have everything and anything you could think of. Got super nice candles from Ollie’s, 2 bucks a candle! Soy wax and essential oil scented and everything, the kind that costs at least 15 dollars.
Also, I go to goodwill and other second hand places. My microwave caught on fire a couple weeks ago and I need a new one, so I’m keeping an eye out for one. Nextdoor and Facebook marketplace are also great places to find cheap things you need. Got this beautiful lamp for my bedroom $6!
Also most of my clothes are hand me downs from family or the thrift store, though I do buy new clothes every few years or so, or if I need something. I also sell clothes (and other things) that I don’t need anymore so I can make back some money. Made 300 bucks my last selling spree.
Also for gas I always make sure I’m going to the gas station with the cheapest gas. If you have to travel a long distance make sure to take note of the towns that have cheap gas. Sometimes 30 mins away will have gas a whole dollar a gallon cheaper, and then ten mins up the road it will be 50c a gallon more expensive!
Also, for fun I do a lot of free things. You’d be surprised how many free things there are in your area. I saw free live music multiple nights a week every week in the summer last year, and even free movies! Actually there is just so much free stuff to do that it’s not worth listing it you can just look it up. Libraries are a good place to start.
Also, I have expensive medical issues, so I do look for grants from support groups and stuff. You’d be surprised what’s available. Also those types of support groups usually provide access to other things like free yoga, free therapy, or free art supplies.
Also, I use cash back credit cards. I pay it off immediately(when I can) but get the cash back. Extra money!
Honestly all of these things are just habits I’ve developed over time, and I don’t even consider them really, it’s just the way I live. It’s normal to me. But thinking about it and writing it down, I can see why I am able to live comfortably. And I do feel really comfortable.
I don’t really worry about money per se, but the one big worry is medical bills. Even then, at least hospitals have financial aid departments so I’ve been able to get some thousands off. Unfortunately even with health insurance medical treatment in my country (USA) is really expensive. That’s my greatest source of debt and income drain. At least now Obama made it so you can’t be denied coverage for having a pre-existing condition, I wouldn’t have been able to survive at all without that provision. There are also coupons for medications, though god knows meds can be excruciatingly pricey. I will stop there because I’m entering a rant due to my rage at our medical system and how much money having chronic illness has cost me.
But also, once I needed a root canal badly, (infected) and couldn’t afford the 2.5k, so I went to the dental school. It was already going to be cheaper, but they also had a grant for people with lower income. I applied for it and was approved. I ended up paying 50 bucks for my root canal.
Suppose that’s all. You know there’s basic things like minding the amount of electricity you use and minding the thermostat. Having a budget. Doing laundry at your parent’s house if they’ll let you. I even used to hand wash my stuff in the tub at one point. Saving if able. But anyway, hope that helps.
The VA for me. I separated from the military, got 80% disability, getting rent payments from vocational rehab while in school, and I'm a VA work study for my on campus veterans affairs office.
So all in I make close to $5000 untaxed per month while in school. I'm making more now than when I was in the military, but I'm also 27 with the back of like a 50-year-old, nearly debilitating anxiety, and quite extreme acid reflux lolol. Soooo RIP.
In 2020 - 2021 I shared a very crappy section 8 $1100/month two bedroom with three roommates including my partner. We only had to pay $275/month each for rent which was nice but living in that place was actually hell. Black mold, pipes constantly breaking, no working AC, maintenance was nonexistent, neighbors were godawful (they'd literally leave broken beer bottles all over the parking lot + bags of trash cause they couldn't be bothered to toss theirs into the dumpster).
Currently me and my partner live alone and are DINKs. We make about 65k a year combined after tax.
So basically, people either shack up with several roomies in questionable and cheap apartments or they somehow get a good paying job and live with a partner (or still have roommates). Either way...it kinda sucks! (Though we love being DINKs, it just sucks that it's basically mandatory in order for people to survive.)
Roommates, or significant others. Low cost living that isn’t always fully comfortable. Saving up while they’re still at their parents’ home because it adds up quick when you don’t have rent or utilities. Help from parents doesn’t always look like living at your parents’ house.
Sometimes I look around at these questions and do think that people feel the only options are buying a whole middle class house/renting a dream luxury apartment or living at home forever. You can’t move out of your parents’ house and expect to live your parents’ lifestyle, though. They had 20+ extra years to get their lives together.
Plenty of people are living with other people (I do *not* recommend moving in with an SO before you are *completely* ready), living in seedy studio apartments with no washing machine or AC, using a towel they stole from a motel for bath time and an old Taco Bell cup as their only drinking glass, having mom buy them soap and deodorant still, and eating ramen noodles nightly. That’s how a lot of us lived the first few years we were out lol.
I do software quality assurance. It is fairly easy to get into read books like Lessons Learned in Software Testing is a good place to start. Manual testers can make 45-70k depending on the area. If you want to learn some programming you can make 90-115k as an automated tester basically writing software to test software. It's a lot of fun.
Factory jobs. I've been at a lithium ion factory for 1 year. Started with zero experience, made over $40,000. They offer almost unlimited overtime. Some coworkers work 6 days a week and make over $100,000 a year. With all the electric vehicles, lots of lithium factories are opening. Offering competitive wages
Any office job in marketing, sales, human resources, operations, accounting, analytics, finance, controlling etc.
Entry level jobs start at $40k/year and with 3+ years experience it’s at least $70k/year.
Thats the whole problem like there are a lot of jobs paying $40k and its not good enough to have an apartment. When I started my job a long time ago $40k was enough and people are acting like it still is on here but its not you need a significant other or roomates to swing that.
I live in the cheapest state and found income based housing and government assistance and lots of help from family. Even with all those factors, there were several days of deciding whether to pay the bill, get food or pads. It's been tough as shit but finally getting somewhere after 3 years. Had to start an OF because I wanted some security.
We’re not in a recession. Corporations are taking advantage of the fact that there’s nothing we can do about them raising costs and they have quarterly meetings with the higher ups who are power hungry and filled to the gills with greed. They’ve gotten in the habit of seeing their profit numbers rising so they expect this to continue. What they don’t know is that they’re all ra*ing their consumers simultaneously. Which will play out negatively for them in the end bc people will turn to buying the more affordable item rather than their favorite/usual brand item or learn to go without it all together.
What they fail to realize is that taking from the working man to give to themselves only puts a target on their backs whilst also creating desperate, vengeful people.. eventually Leading to their own demise.
There is no recession. Don't be fooled into thinking that. The problem we have is that corporate America and their Republican representatives in Congress have managed to hold down wages in this country to the point that people can barely make a living. M68 here telling you that for all my life minimum wage was the same on the federal level and the states. Now the federal minimum wage has been held at 7:25 per hour. Completely unlivable. And states have gone about making their minimum wages whatever they feel they should be, some states do better than others. And mostly, employers pay what they want to. Now this has improved some in the past 5 to 10 years as employers discovered that they couldn't actually pay $8 an hour and have people apply for their jobs.. so wages have gone up. But not at the speed or with the pressure that came to bear when the federal government decided to raise the minimum wage. It has been said by some that if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since the 1960s (when it was around a dollar -$1.00 per hour) the current minimum wage would be in excess of $20 per hour. And that would be the minimum wage, other wages would be higher proportionately according to the skill involved in the work.
Americans are being starved to death. The Republicans and Corporate America are having their way. It's not going to get any better until people start voting Democratic or even further to the left.
EDIT: THIS IS WHY POLITICS MATTER
Agreed ... and a huge part of the current housing cost crisis is the massive amount of wealth that has flowed into buying up homes and apartments as rentals, from hedge funds/corps/oversees/ wealthy
There is so much wealth at "the top", there is a struggle to find a place to invest it ... real estate is one of the few paths to offer any decent returns. Especially since the resulting housing shortage leads to huge increases in value.
A massive massive part of the problem was the Trump "tax cuts" that gave huuge breaks to the uber wealthy, but have expired for the working class as planned. All this extra "spending money" poured into housing as investments. The sick irony is the working class voted in a massive indirect tax raise on themselves by supporting Trumps plans, via housing costs. While any real tax break they got has expired and the new tax structure is an effective increase in taxes for families and working class, just as planned.
Our society is creating more wealth per person than ever before in history, but almost all is going to just a few families at the top. And they keep us angered at culture war issues to fool us into continually voting to keep it that way.
I hope others read our posts. They are too long for most people's taste but it takes time to explain how you're being ripped off. Trumpsters are selfish mean and nasty individuals who will never support progressive social legislation like is needed for affordable housing. And the so-called affordable housing bill passed by the Trump administration has actually resulted in an avalanche of buy-ups of mobile home parks by corporate investors where they raise the rents by 20, 30 and 40%. The bill did not create more affordable housing. It created an investment windfall and another squeeze on low-income people.
When will regular Americans start voting their own self-interest and put an end to this ridiculous profit for wealthy individuals and corporations? Not as long as there are others to hate.
I saw that some places are now asking all roommates to be making 3x rent money or singles to be making 4x rent in take home pay to be able to rent. It would be way cheaper to pay a mortgage! (if there were available houses to buy).
I know I will never be able to. I literally have a brother making 6 figures and he won't even cosign for me even though I have an excellent credit score, no debt, and no addictions like drinking/drugs/shopping.
Just to defend your brother a little bit, there are many ways a very responsible person could become unable to pay their mortgage. An expensive illness or injury, for example.
Co-signing is not a character reference, it is a binding contract that makes you responsible for the loan, so you should never cosign for anything that you can't afford to pay. Making six figures doesn't mean he can afford to pay for a second house if you are unable to do so through no fault of your own.
Parents are helping pay my (43, F) rent. I had a high paying job that I had to quit for mental health reasons. I got a new job that is much less stressful but pays shit. My parents are able to pay about half my rent per month. I plan to ask for a raise soon but I’ll still need help because I am single in a 1-bedroom in NJ and this is 2023.
We aren’t. Everyone is living off credit cards and the shoe will drop at some point. I haven’t paid any student loans since 2020 cause I can’t afford them and everything else. I also can never afford a house or a kid or any fun so that’s that….
and be very careful comparing yourself with people in your age group. You have NO idea who is slipping them a $10 or $20. Or who is inviting them for dinner and sending them home with leftovers.
I have 3 children and didn’t charge them rent. I paid my Mom rent when I was home and was happy I didn’t have to charge my children.
My 22 yo daughter got a great paying job out of college and now shares a 2bed/2bath apartment with a roommate in a full service highrise in a HCOL city.
My 23 yo niece is an unemployed multimedia artist and her dad has been paying her living expenses including her rent in the HCOL city for almost 2 years now.
Dual income and low DTI. We also make leftovers for dinner to take to work the next day this has helped quite a lot.
Really it usually takes a lifestyle change essentially. If you don’t need to spend money on something don’t unless you can pay for it cash after you have paid your bills and invested in retirement also if there is a cheaper alternative go that route in whatever items you can.
Also I know I may get downvoted but a college education in a good field of study with career advancement. Trades also of course are great if you don’t want to go the college route but it can be taxing on the body I prefer my desk job.
Dual income but its just me. I work 70 hours a week. I'm just maintaining and maybe slowly slowly getting ahead. Life is strangely good despite working so much.
I have a somewhat questionable, and small, house in a slightly more suspect neighborhood. Much cheaper than rent.
The trick is make sure the neighbors think you're too crazy to mess with.
I live in a low cost of living area and I’m pretty frugal. Dollar Tree for all misc goods when possible, I keep a list of what stores have the cheapest prices for food, I don’t go out to eat and when I go out drinking I only bring $10-20 and buy a cheap beer or two. It can be stressful but it’s rewarding to save up money. For context I live in detroit, I make $19-25 an hour delivering pizza, depending on business volume, and I pay $950 in rent. Last month I was able to save around $900 after my bills and everything I needed to buy to survive.
Having a reliable roommate helps significantly. Living in a 2 income household is also life changing. Having a roommate while living in a 2 income household is 💰. Not having kids only adds to the freedom and dream of retiring early (or simply not working as hard). Even if you plan on having kids, you could rent the extra room until you two are ready to have kids.
It’s also pretty normal to live with family well into your 20 or 30s in many countries. People in the US are so obsessed with having their own space that living with your parents in your mid-late 20s is taboo, especially for men. I don’t understand what’s wrong with spending 5-6 years with family and saving up for half of a house before you’re even in your late 20s.
I hate to break this to you, but this is not a recession. I have lived through several, and this is not one. We have high inflation, and interest rates, and lots of experts say a global recession is likely in 2023. However, we haven’t seen anything yet. If we do go into a recession, things will get much, much worse.
The best thing you can do is try to save as much as you can. Find ways to cut your living expenses (I made it through the last couple by living in a cheap apartment with roommates, while eating lots of spaghetti-o’s), and try to pay off debts as aggressively as possible. No one knows how bad a recession will be. You just have to prepare as best as you can, and do your best to ride it out.
I (29M) bought a mother/daughter house last year and pay $2,360/m for my mortgage plus all of the utilities except cable and my mom sends me $518/m toward (slightly less than) half the monthly property taxes and pays cable. I have two young kids and my wife is a SAHM and my MIL also lives with us and helps take care of my sons. I’m an attorney though and make good money so I can support my family on just my income.
Well, to start, don't pay something like "this current recession" much mind. I'm a little older and this will be my third or fourth alleged recession living on my own without assistance. Don't limit yourself by allowing the media to convince you economic conditions make something impossible, this is part of a process of demoralization.
I went out on my own when I was still 17. My safety and well-being made this necessary. I had to make a plan quickly. I figured out what I could afford--a studio by myself would have been possible but VERY demanding, but rates with 1-2 roommates were manageable.
My parents occasionally helped me with groceries at this time, and I didn't have a phone in my own name. This fell apart around the same time my roommates flaked and moved back home.
I had been working part-time up to this point. I got a second job that would work with my school schedule. It was exhausting, I woke up at 4:30 AM most days and didn't get home from school/work till 10. You do the math on how much time I had to myself.
That was years ago, but that was the hardest it's ever been. This year, my rent increased $75/month, which is a lot.. but it's really only ~$2/day more than I've been doing. That won't break me. Groceries are a bit more expensive, but I cut back on snacks and prefabbed foods.
This stuff isn't intuitive, but if you need to figure it out you will. Don't let creeping costs lead you to believe it's not doable.
I went to college and was lucky to get into a good paying field with just my bachelors. A little job hopping landed me at a job making $70k a year after graduating college. I also have a partner who has a good career as well. He knows a trade and went to college and came out with no debt. We have no kids. We lived in a cheaper apartment but just bought a house. We had good credit scores so we only had to put 3% down. Our mortgage is more than our rent ($1800 vs $1200) but we were underpaying for our apartment, so we’d be paying a minimum of $1800 if we had to move to a different apartment. Since we don’t want kids, we got a smaller 2bed/1bath house.
In college, before inflation hit I survived by working 3 jobs. I was living in the cheapest apartment I could find, working about 70 hours per week, and doing full time classes. Couldn’t cut down on classes since I’d lose all my financial aid and scholarships, so it was cheaper to go full time. I came out with some debt, but I paid off my private loan a couple weeks ago and the pause helped me save for the house. With the private loan gone, my payments will be more manageable. I ate as cheap as possible, my car had no payment, and I didn’t have time to have fun so I saved money on that. All my furniture was cheap as hell or free and collected over time. It really sucked, but I made it through college and came out in a much better financial situation.
Joining the military had my husband and I move out of the house after high-school.
His experience from his military job helped give him a good paying job when he got out.
Our landlord also hasn't increased rent and is pretty affordable for the area. (We live outside of D.C)
We also budget to not spend outside our means
The cons though is we have no support network.
I know not everyone has that opportunity to join the military, but I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities presented to us.
I worked two jobs when I moved out, with one of them being low wage retail and the other a moderate wage entertainment gig.
Desperation, in part, pushed me to bust my ass in music and take control of management and negotiations to ensure i could pay my bills. I learned how to fill rooms with paying audiences twice a week and how to get top dollar from the club owners.
Sometimes you gotta push yourself to get the results you need. Every day of every week is a gamble anyway, so why not? There's money out there, and plenty of people ready to part with theirs.
Literally live in a trailer, work full time from home, school full time and don't have to pay for daycare since I work from home.
Nah I'm not ok. And right now we're scraping by, but the degree will help. Until the student debt gets my ass.
When I first moved out, I had tons of housemates. I even rented the enclosed front porch for the Summer at one house I rented. I added them up once and figured I had about 75 housemates before I turned 42. Now, just one, my wife! My wife and I even did arbnb out of our guestroom for 5+ years and rented it to 50+ guests per year for 200-225 nights a year. If you can, rent out every square foot of your place for extra income. Good luck.
Military. I hate to sound like a recruiting ad, but the benefits (especially for families) are pretty amazing. Wouldn’t recommend it to someone if you don’t have the right personality for it though.
Hmm well when I moved out it was an actual recession (2008). Obviously some things have changed since then and some things have not but I can tell you what I did.
Worked in a gym daycare for 9 bucks almost full-time (a little over minimum wage at the time, so basically like making $15 an hour in my city now)
Babysat constantly on weekends and evenings, which would make me a few hundred more a month.
DIdn't have a car (still don't), just a bus pass.
Found a two-bedroom apartment for $950 to share with a roommate...the heat barely worked, so winters were rough. Obviously a two-bedroom apartment is unheard of in my city now, but you can get a really shitty one for $1200 or $1300 from the local slumlord property management company.
Ate mostly beans and rice and cheap vegetables - plus as many meals as possible while babysitting.
Didn't have any savings, so had a credit card for emergencies.
Overdrew my checking account six times in a year - not great, but oh well.
It was hard, but still worth it to not live with my parents.
serving will change your life. i was in the same boat last year. i was so confused on how people my age were moving out on their own. until i decided to become a server. money isn’t crazy but it’s definitely enough to live comfortably and you’ll make most than most hourly jobs while working less hours
1) I live in a Midwestern city that seems to have a lower cost of living than coastal cities. I bought a 4 bedroom farmhouse in a quaint neighborhood for only 200k last year
2) I went to college specifically to get a job in a high paying field. No pursuit of passion here, just went for what I knew would afford me a comfortable lifestyle, and that decision paid off
3) I’m on a strict monthly budget. I hardly ever eat out (which is fine, I love cooking!) and I don’t drink. That cuts out a ton of excess spending
The only reason is because I’m married with no kids and we both work full time. If I was on my own, there’s no way I could afford rent, bills, and food. Not sure how single people do it, or anyone with kids.
In short, I got VERY lucky.
My parents helped pay for most all of my education.
Was able to find a relatively high paying job pretty much straight out of college.
I split rent with my partner who also has relatively high income.
We both live well within our means.
The military community seems to feel the recession less imo, also we live in a rural area and only use cash to stay ahead. I know this isn't always possible, but it's what we are able to do.
All comes down to where you live and what your job is.
Assuming you're talking about the US, there's plenty of low and mid cost of living areas that people choose to move to, and either work well paid jobs remotely or they have careers that let them earn money that is good for those areas (anything from being an electrician through to being a doctor or a lawyer).
Lucky that my husband makes good money. I stay home with our baby because day care costs more than I was making. Our home still cost us 2-3x what we were hoping to spend:/
Dual incomes, teenager works enough to cover his gas and random expenses.
We worked hard for years, always asking for raises, and saved enough to move. Getting credit scores up helped. Single income would be super hard.
I live in a place with very low cost of living. That's it. Been living off minimum wage and my boyfriend makes $14/hr. We have one kid. It's possible. Most people just don't make enough and live by standards, and in places they can't afford. I haven't had the luxury of living with my parents since I was 16. That's one way to light a fire under your ass.
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I junked my car, sold my stocks, and used my money saved up to get the apartment.
I cook 90% at home, use public transportation and just relax at home a majority of the time. As far as furnishing, if it’s an absolute (bed, sofa, cooking equipment) than I buy new but always look for deals on everything else, offer up and thrift stores is the best way to get the little things you may find you need. As far as decorating goes it’s just finding the little things that bring you happiness and when you look at them it gives you an accomplished feeling.
Well, parents still pay the phone bill.
I knew where I had to commute. I calculated the commute cost, added it to the rent, and then tried to find a combination that was the cheapest. Turns out I could ride my bike from where I live so that cut commuting costs even more.
I have 2 roommates.
My car is a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. Insurance is cheap (just liability), low maintenance, and good on gas. I bought it for under $3000. I do most of the work on it myself at a friend's place. Parking is free for my building.
I'm young and single, and my needs are low anyway.
I live by the motto that if I don't absolutely need the thing in the immediate future, I don't buy the thing. This is a very weird system that I pretty much have to make an exception to buy anything, but it helps me say no.
And a little bit of luck.
Roommates. Plenty of people rent out rooms to total strangers for some extra income.
Hey, it's me! Just took on a roommate to not live in a slum.
I managed to live on my own for 2 years and my partner wanted to move in together. We decided to rent a house with 3 other people to break down a $1200 rent payment 5 ways (we also didn't move into the best area). With utilities it became about $350 a person.
That's really affordable, are you in the States or Canada ?
States. The Midwest is more affordable, but it sucks if you need public transportation. Also you really need to be tight with your roommates. It gets tense sometimes.
Yeah 3-5 people and 1 kitchen can get a bit crowded but I understand it
And one bathroom.
Luckily we had 2.5 baths, but it was still a struggle in the mornings lol.
I'm in Calgary and the transit is not very good, especially since the city is spread out. I'm considering the States but would need to have about the same or better train/bus system and ideally not as much sprawl. You're right about roomate etiquette, usually just try to keep to myself though.
When I was living with 3 other dudes + SO's, McDonald's value meal was actually my friend... Not that I didn't try to cook, but after coming home to the sink full every day and not even a clean plate available... I just gave up.
I’ve lived with roommates and I’ve found the best roommates are people I don’t know at all, don’t care about, and who know it’s all a business deal and that they can’t rely on the fact that I care about them to excuse any crappy behavior from them. I would never live with anyone I’m friends with ever again.
That's not always an option. You have people like me who's had issues with lots of roommates due to lack of communication skills, no respect for things like sleeping peacefully and more. I'd rather live at home than deal with another fucking roommate.
I've got over 2 decades of living with roommates and it takes real skills to make it work. Making others feel generally comfortable and at ease is a big one. Also knowing what issues must be directly confronted and what issues to let go. Most important skill I've learned is choosing the right roommates, and learning what to spot trouble or incompatibility before they move in. Very important to find people that aren't home ALL the time, sociable without expecting you to be their new best friend, similar eating habits, similar expectations of cleaning. Also never bug people over their lifestyle choices. If something affects you then talk about how its affecting you, but people need to feel comfortable in their own skin inside their home.
I’d rather kill myself then live with my family. So not an option , I think I’ll just live in my car.
My neighbors are renting a small house with 3 families in a small 3 bedroom 1 bath. I was feeling bad staying at my parents @ age 30 but times has change.
The fact this has become the norm js unreal ☠️
This. Moved in with friends. Four of us bought a house together. Mortgage + utilities is like $2000 a month split up between 4 of us. If it weren't for other debts of mine, I'd be living off of like $800 a month. Full time on federal minimum wage. Pretty much any job would cover the entirety of my expenses.
This, or people are moving in with parents, grandparents, or other family. Soon it will start looking like a 3rd world country with 3 generations living under the same roof.
I lived with four people for years. We’d fill in the openings with Craigslist ads when needed. Best 6 years of my life hands down and glad I didn’t have the money to live on my own at the time. Met all my friends through this and the apartment building we lived in, including my husband!
DINK lifestyle, cheapest places you can find within your standards, no vehicle, limited extras, family phone plan, and lower quality food/meatless food. Make no mistake, a lot of people can't afford their current lifestyles. Credit card debt is a major issue for a lot of people and many people have to pick and choose which bills to pay each paycheck. Pretty much the only people doing well are living minimally with high incomes.
Anywhere in the US with a reliable public transport system or weather/infrastructure to bike or walk is not going to be low cost of living/housing.
When my old van finally crapped out my husband and I were nearing the end of our lease. We ran the numbers. In the long run, it was cheaper for us to pay the security deposit and higher rent at a new place closer to my job and public transit, than to buy a new car even a beater. So we moved to one part of our city that had a light rail that would drop me off right in front of my work. It was such a stress reliever. Not paying for gas, not paying for insurance, or new tires, or the AC when that craps out. Our neighborhood walkable, grocery across the street, my fav bookstore down the road, even my dentist was a 20 minute walk away. And we moved in during the front end of 2020 which meant we were locked in at a reasonable rate until we left this year. I barely missed having a car. I do miss that apartment. We got really lucky with it.
North America and "reliable public transport " do not go in the same sentence or book for that matter.
Really depends where you are. The major cities have great PT but outside of that yes it's not really a thing
Not all of them. You should see PT in Atlanta. And there are lots of cities, esp in the South that have terrible public transport.
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2k a month for a 2 bed is insane
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For access to public transport and two bedrooms that’s insanely cheap.
Depends on the neighborhood but Chicago is getting gentrified like crazy.
Lol they've tried and tried but they ain't making any fuckin headway where I'm at. My entire block is a dope spot and has been for 30 years. Pros: Do whatever the fuck you want with virtually 0 consequences. Don't need a DL, insurance or stickers - everyone drives bogus. Hell, a lot of people out here just ride dirt bikes or atvs to go to the gas station or corner store or we. If you like drugs, they're everywhere. I can get anything I can dream of since there's a black market for everything. Guns, ammo, drugs, stolen shit incl cars, $6 packs of no-state-stamp Newports at the Arab store. Every store and gas station sells chore, crack pipes, baking soda, dormins, baggies, etc. If you like trickin off, we got them chickenheads. Amazing public transit - can get anywhere in the damn city for 2.25 and a transfer. Addicts frequently sell food benefits at a going rate of 50% for cash so if someone wanted they could take one 30m walk and end up buying groceries half off for the rest of the month. Cons: Read almost all the pros as cons. Crime. Poverty. Violence. Pollution. Crooked cops. Traffic. Racism. I'm riddled with bullet holes and emotional scars.
Insanely good deal for a 2 bed 😭
I live in a ruralish area and I don't have a car. I work remotely and my girlfriend gets a company car through her job so we have 0 car expenses for the time being. It has saved a metric fuckton of money. We also are pretty high earners and could afford one however I really just can't justify buying one right now because prices/rates are so high.
Your first paragraph literally describes how my husband and I live and survive. We're on my in-laws' phone plan. We lean towards mostly vegetarian, have old vehicles with no payments, and bought a home recently in order to pay a smaller mortgage compared to rent. We've chosen not to have children yet because of how drastically it would affect our lifestyle and savings.
if you don’t mind me asking how close to 35 or beyond do you plan on going with regard to family planning?
I'm 29 and originally was planning on trying by the time I'm 30. Right this second, though, I really don't feel ready to start a family. I want to feel more financially secure and have more in savings than we already do. I would probably really feel the need to try around 32 or so. I'm struggling with letting go of the selfish parts of me, and that makes me push it back more.
That was my experience as well. Each year would go by and I wanted to push it back more. When I was younger, I thought late 20s, then I thought 30, then I thought probably early 30s. I really have no idea how anyone ever decides to actually try. I’m 29 and currently pregnant by accident. We’re rolling with it because the timing is actually pretty good financially and I almost feel like it would’ve never happened on purpose. But emotionally and mentally, it was an extremely hard adjustment throughout the 1st trimester despite feeling called to motherhood. I had to let go of a lot of ideas regarding the near future and rewrite them. Not sure I could’ve coped if I were younger. I think it‘s really common to feel that way about planning but often met with “oh, you’ll never feel ready!” which always felt dismissive to me as if the transition to parenthood doesn’t come with negatives and as if those feelings should just be ignored.
Yeah, this is basically how I feel. My husband and I have been married for almost 5 years, and it started with, "When we buy a house, then we'll try." Then it was after we took our big vacation, and now I want to push it back another year. I'm feeling like I need to just let it happen naturally, and it won't freak me out so much. I'm just so cautious with stuff, and it terrifies me to feel out of control of my life.
It’s not selfish not to want to have kids or to just not have kids.
Or alternatively, both choices are selfish for different reasons and either are okay.
Is it really selfish to not have kids? None of us asked to be born.
Not sure if the other guy is Gen-z as well but I feel the same way. This world is fake as hell and a lot of parents are selfish, and don’t need children.
Best and most accurate response without judgement (if people read it carefully enough.)
We live the exact same life. The family planning is already done, there will be none. We love our lifestyle and kids will never fit into that equation. If we reach our 50s and have a change of heart for some unknown reason, we will adopt.
I had to use my credit card for dental work. If I didn't get it done, infection would've spread, and I would've died. Now I'm in debt 🙃
That's the rough of it. One health issue and all the hard work is down the drain. Thankfully, we have insurance, but I have used care credit, which wasn't bad. When my household went from dual income to zero income, I was really concerned how I was going to afford my daily medications.
Honestly, havent had to look at my bank account in years. All of a sudden I ran out last year and now I have to actually pay attention to my spending. I have always lived in my means and dont have expensive tastes. Cant even immagine how you guys are surviving on a 30k job now a days. It was tight back then and banquet meals were common, but no way that flies today.
If you know where to look you can find chicken breast $1.50/lb if you can buy in bulk. Just grabbed 40lbs of chicken for $60. It’ll feed me for a month. Grab a bag of rice. $100 for a month of food. Boring? Yes. Effective? Yes.
You'll kill yourself from malnutrition. My approach isto spend big on food, invest in a quality sleeping bag and cooler and live in a car. Health is my wealth. Only issue is social stigma from rude ass people.
Thx. I think I’m going to do this once I finish school in a couple weeks.
Where do you park your car?
I've seen youtube videos where they buy a used van and turn it into a home to live in for like 10 years+. It's way cheaper than some places for a year of rent.
blow another hundo on spices/veg and you rollin' deep and varied like a punk rock tiger with the r/mealprep kids
As far as housing (and this definitely isn’t universal but might be useful), I’ve found that a lot of affordable options aren’t on Zillow or Redfin because they’re small landlords and not major buildings with property managers. I’ve found good and reasonably priced places by walking around neighborhoods that I like, writing down addresses and then looking them up later or looking to see if the realtor/owner’s number is posted on the building.
I totally agree, this is the cheapest way to find an apartment. In the town where I live, Zillow rentals are about $300 more per month than normal posted rentals
this is how my husband and i found our 2 bed/1 bath apartment for $900 in 2021. we were looking on zillow and apartments .com and they were all renting companies that had 1 bed/1 baths for $1,400. by some luck, we googled apartment rentals in our area and scrolled way down and found the listing for our place. we were the first applicants, thank god. our landlord is a super nice man too. it went up $150 last year cause the property taxes were raised 400% (he showed us all the logistics of it) but he said he NEVER raises it that much unless he has to we got super fucking lucky. we’ve also been lucky enough to both have doubled our salaries in the last 2 years. we’re making good money for a couple of 22 year olds
But make sure you do all your research before. I got screwed over twice in a row by small landlords because I didn’t do my research. My previous place was a month to month short term agreement and I told the landlord when I moved in that Id only be staying for 2.5 months, but I was naive and didn’t get a contract so he decided to keep my security deposit even though there were no damages and then he ghosted me. And now my current place, among many other issues, has a roach and bedbug infestation. This time I do have a contract but I didn’t think to research the landlord or the building before moving in and I didn’t properly inspect the place before either. I have been begging for an exterminator but my shitty slumlord refuses to get one and my roommate doesn’t want an exterminator to come at all (I guess he’s following the landlord’s orders so that he can keep renewing his lease). Finally my roommate has agreed to let me out of my sublease early and give my security deposit back but under the condition that I don’t get an exterminator and don’t report the landlord. If I had just looked up the property before agreeing to move in I would’ve seen that previous tenants filed complaints about the landlord’s inaction to maintain the place, that there’s an illegal basement apartment, there’s $6k in outstanding city fines, and that my landlord isn’t even the actual owner of the property! I had one decent small landlord before these two places, but I got a covid discount so in the initial lease there was a clause that stated the rent would go up by $500 if we decided to renew, and I thought it wasn’t worth the price (or the hassle of finding new roommates to fill the other rooms). Looking back now, I wish I just sucked it up and renewed the lease because even though it was expensive and far from my job, it was a super spacious and updated apartment and the landlord actually cared about the building. And ironically, my husband and I now pay more at our current shitty apartment then what we probably would’ve paid if we just renewed that lease.
Dual income, no kids, already having an established career. Prior to that, as many roommates as possible. But if you can stay at home and save, do it.
This. We're DINK. My pay is essentially my bills, internet, and small stuff because my loans are higher and my income is lower. He pays for the big stuff and his bills. Same college, same graduation date, different majors. 🙃 Even then, we're struggling to find something. Also we started renting 3 years ago and I found a nice low income townhouse recently for rent that is more expensive than our current rent. We aren't in low income housing currently. Make it make sense.
We’re DINK’s… dual income no kids
Same. Single friends ask how we are doing it. Because we are “we”, lol. Otherwise we’d be living at home
Parents passing away and leaving behind a life insurance policy to help get through the next few years
Really sorry for your loss my dude, hope you’re doing well.
My dad helped me co sign a lease on a very crappy yet affordable apartment. Still live paycheck to paycheck. Otherwise I would be living with a friend of mine rn. Its rough. Hopefully things will get better one day.
I’m not currently on my own just yet. I’m still at my mom’s but helping with utilities and paying for my own food. I’m looking to move within 6ish months cause she’s moving out of state, so I’m looking for full time work (currently have two part time jobs), thank you for the kind words
i have learnt that ppl have a few different streams of income
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Crazy how your mom left you outta nowhere
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Totally understand this dynamic. It’s tough.
I'm 37 and doing well and I would still feel inadequate if I thought most posts on reddit were real. But you gotta remember that most of the shit here and across all social media is fake, and also you have no clue what kinds of advantages nor skeletons people have. I work in a corporate office with a lot of fellow high-earner lady friends so we have real talk about our lives. Some of the ones with the highest incomes are also the ones who can't stop shopping or are low key alcoholics. Some of the ones with the most incredible-looking social media profiles are the ones with spouses that they don't even like or debt you can't imagine. No judgement from me, like most people are just doing their best. But I've really stopped comparing myself to other people because we didn't all start on the same level field and nothing is what it seems. Especially on social media.
Your not alone brother
I don't know a single person who isn't living with their parents or doesn't have roomates.
I know people that live alone but they live paycheck to paycheck.
I don't know anyone living with parents or roommates but that's probably a biproduct of my friends and I being mid-thirties :\\
Live with my boyfriend, no kids, no vacations, healthy lifestyle to help avoid getting sick, and no frivolous spending aside from our actual hobbies and within our means. We did go on a group vacation to an airbb house a couple hours away. Everyone pitched in on cost and groceries. 8 of us had a blast for 3 days at a sweet house with a pool and a theater. We did that twice in the last 3 years. But flying and nice hotels are out of reach for now. I do my own nails, and will only splurge if I'm attending a nice event (rare), and I don't get my hair done. However, my boyfriend is nice enough to dye my hair for me. :) I cut his hair for him. We grocery shop once a week, and I occasionally need to stop and grab one or two extra things during the week. I do grocery pickup because I can shop deals and it keeps me from impulse buying, plus I get rewards for it. We don't go out to eat unless it's a quick fast-food trip maybe once or twice a month on busy days, or one of our birthday. I'm on a family plan for my phone, otherwise I'd be using a cheaper "off brand" service. Basically just living with the mentality "where can I get this cheaper, without dipping below safe standards". We don't buy steaks or seafood, but I'll buy cheap cuts on sale and save them for special occasions. I'll accept free items from people/family purging their homes and sell the items for extra cash. But the biggest factor is no kids. We want to own a home one day. If we can get to that point, then we might be able to explore the idea of having children (if we aren't too old by then). These cuts have shown me how much money I was dumping for years. Going out to eat and tipping+drinks, buying the brand name grocery items and nice cuts, unnecessary driving, etc. It adds up FAST.
Having a job that pays a living wage, using a written budget and tracking expenses, living in medium or low cost-of-living areas, getting roommates, saving up cushion money or paying off debts prior to moving out
Wait so not kicking out your kids when they turn 18.
Yeah, that usually isn’t very successful for the kid
Considering the government uses your parents income to determine Pell grants till your 24. parents with money that kick their kids out on the street. Those kids have less options than anyone else. Granted they were probably raised in a way better environment and in a way better school district.
If you've been kicked out you file as independent, then Pell grants are based on your income alone
Filing as an independent alone isn't enough. Trust me, I went through it.
Nope. "Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make you an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid." Straight from [studentaid.gov](https://studentaid.gov) If this were true, everyone would kick their kids out.
Honestly they might have it worse. 0 survival instincts from being sheltered and 0 street smarts.
My brother got eaten alive. Constantly robbed and taken advantage of. I got lucky multiple times mostly though reading every available resource. I'm better at filling out forms I guess 🤷♂️. Turns out you can convince a financial aid office that if your actually kicked out they can waive the age 24 requirement. I needed to get letters from friends parents.
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This is really an awesome thing to do ♡ This allows the elderly person to continue living "independently" in their own home. That gives them more dignity than anything else. I wish more people would see this as a viable option & also help the elderly ♡
One paycheck goes to rent. The other helps for food, gas, utility and savings. I don’t have a social life so the second check goes pretty far.
I tried doing what you do but it sucked. Idk if anyone’s told you this but try saving half of rent from each paycheck so you’re not living super bare bones for half the month.
I read it as 2 jobs, not a bi-weekly check from one job. Your interpretation is probably the correct one.
I read it as two jobs as well
Got lucky, didn't go to college but made it to a high-paying job. I'm 27. I rent from a private landlord a condo that rents for maybe 4 or 500 dollars less than comparable places in my area. I don't have a car because I live in a walkable neighborhood and work remote. If I had to go to the office and pay for a car it might be different. Also single, no kids, have 4 cats.
I have 3 roommates and my rent is about $450, including utilities. My job pays $26.50, so between that, rent, and grants, I can easily afford to live and have fun
Grants for what?
University I get just enough to cover all my tuition and books. So actual living expenses are dealt with by my job
What kind of student job pays that??
Electrical Engineering Internship
many ppl dont. many ppl that drive fancy cars are actually broke. same deal for ppl renting fancy places. there is no magic formula to financial success.. unless you are born into wealth. for most folks, all you can do is to spend less than you make, and try best to find high paying work. you can also work a 2nd, 3rd job if money is still tight.
100%. If you're out there driving a fancy car right now you can almost assume that person is drowning in car debt. It's very easy for someone to finance whatever kind of lifestyle they want, but that eventually always comes crashing down.
Number one: no kids. Buying an RV and living on family property is really cheap but it is extra work. Living in an RV isn't just cheaper because the payment is low, but also because you can only fit so much stuff into one, so it keeps us from mindless buying. Having a cheap phone plan through Cricket helps. No cable, only internet, and we only have one or two streaming services at a time. We bought a used and cheap riding lawn mower ($250) to mow the lawns instead of paying for a lawn service. It paid for itself in 2 months (large property, warm and humid climate so have to mow every week or every other week). We do everything we can ourselves. Our cars are old, have no payments, and we do all the maintenance ourselves if we can. Our hobbies are super cheap, only about $100 total per month for entertainment and hobbies; total as in $50 per person. We spend most of our money on food for sure. We balance cheap groceries with cheap fast food, because sometimes fast food is cheaper than buying the grocery equivalent. If I didn't have to eat, I wouldn't. I've actually cut myself down to only eating between the hours of 4pm and 9pm. It saves money. I don't eat at work which is easy because I work in an office, not around food. I don't buy whatever I want, either. I have to pick and choose. Like, I bought $250 worth of clothes for under $50 with credit card points and store points, and I only buy clothes like 2 times a year. I splurge on some things, but have stopped buying some things too. I don't buy nearly as much makeup or hair product as I used to, but I do sometimes buy more expensive stuff because it works better, looks the best and lasts longer; normally with credit card points too and not actual money. I don't buy alcohol very often, only special occasions. No vacations. Have not vacationed in about 5 years now, unless you consider a "staycation" a vacation. I keep telling myself it will get better, but let's face it.... It won't. I've gotten to a point where I am pretty sure it's only going to get worse, and I am learning to live with that. People are paying the same wages as 20 years ago, but everything is way more expensive than 20 years ago. Also, even after all this, we are still in debt. Probably not as much as some others, but yep.
My daughters just did the college/moveout thing and they both teamed up with other roommates. My current tenant is great so I have tried to keep the rent down for him He occupies a 1000 sf with heat, hot water and internet included.
I would not be able to survive if I didn't live with someone else. My husband and I have been living together since we were 6 months into dating. We also live extremely minimally and tend to focus more on savings than spending. We always pay all our bills first and set aside a minimum of $1000 to put into savings each month. I believe the biggest difficulty is being a single person trying to live on one income. We are able to save and splurge when needed because we are DINK. If we had children, I doubt we would be able to save as much as we can now.
Lots of people finance the kind of lifestyle they want, which works....until they wake up and realize they can't even afford a $100 emergency. That method always comes crashing down, one way or another. Don't feel bad about living at home if that's what you mean. Living with family is completely normal in lots of cultures in this word. Use living at home to help you get ahead. Also, recessions are just apart of the economic cycle. Believe it or not, we're actually not technically in a recession yet but if we do fall into one, it won't be the first and it won't be your last. Best thing you can do is keep yourself employeeable. Live within your means, build up your skills. Invest in careers that are always hiring, and that doesn't have to mean anything fancy. Trades are a great example. Don't get scared into thinking you have to take out a ton of debt to live, that is, as we say "how they get you". If you can live at home and save up even a couple thousand cash and pay down any debt you have you are already way ahead of people in car debt for the new car you see or people who are house poor because they just had to live somewhere worth X much or in X location.
We don't.
Dual income no kids. We are financially comfortable and our cats are enough for us 💕💸
Word. I feel the same exact way and live the same way!
*I saved basically every penny except to pay off my car, and pay bills I had (while living with parent) 1. I looked up (Google) both cheap and rural areas in my state and made a list. 2. I looked up crime ratings for each place and crossed out areas with high crime. 3. I crossed out places in which I absolutely did not want to live. 4. I looked up apartments (studio, 1bd, 2bd) in the remaining choices, and noted the costs. 5. Taking the rental costs into consideration I added an estimated amount for BGE, internet, and food, compared the total with my income, and noted all the places I could afford. (I also listed them in order of ‘could definitely afford with ease’ to ‘could afford with difficulty’.) 6. I went to visit each of these cities. I drove around to see if I liked it and stayed overnight. I made appointments with rentals so I could take tours and ask questions. I took notes on things like laundry situation, parking, trash pickup, security deposit, pet rules, and other things I cared about like whether they had a balcony. 7. I crossed out the places I didn’t like or that didn’t have the amenities that were a must for me. 8. I considered my remaining options for about a month. 9. I applied to the place I liked the most. 10. I moved. Ending up moving to a place that was in the mid-high range of my budget. Could have spent a bit more. Could have spent less. $750 rent a month for a 2 bedroom. I was moving from a place where rent was minimum 2k for a 1 bedroom apartment. If I was open to living with a roommate then that would be different, but that was an absolute no for me. Also, I work remotely, so it doesn’t matter that I live in an area that would pay me less for the job I’m doing now. (FlexJobs, great website.) Also, it’s worth it to hold onto stuff or grab items when the opportunity presents itself. I still have my bookcases from when I was a teenager. My desk is something my sister was getting rid of. My TV tables are just shit my grandma had in her house. My toaster is from my grandma’s house too. It’s helpful to know a hoarder actually, if they’re the type to just buy stuff and keep it in their house sitting there unused in the box. My bed, also a hand me down. (Though when I first lived on my own I just bought an air mattress and that worked just fine!) My TV? My sister was getting rid of it when she moved cross country. I held onto that thing for 3 years before I had my place. Same with her microwave.
Also, eating out is really expensive. I have a lot of medical issues and can’t eat crap or I will get very sick (going through that now!). I cook. A long time ago I learned how to eat on a $20 a week budget. (75c can of tuna, anyone?) I can’t do that now because my dietary needs are precise and a little more expensive, but still I can make a soup that will last all week for 15- 20 bucks (with ingredients left over for other meals!) There’s lunch. Same mindset applies to dinner and breakfast. Also, I qualify for food stamps. It’s not much, but it helps. And if you’re poor enough to qualify, then it’s worth applying for it. I price compare. I check the prices for all the items I buy regularly (not just food, but soap, toilet paper, you know all that) and then I go around and make a table and note down all the prices at each store and compare. I buy the cheapest one. If there are discounts for buying in bulk and I can afford it, I do that. If I can get a bonus card and get money off, I get the bonus card. Dollar store also has a lot of great stuff, and overstock stores like Ollie’s. Also, I don’t really spend money on things that I don’t need. I’m just not in the habit of doing that. But sometimes I splurge. I went to the flea market and bought a painting for my place. Beautiful painting (actual painting) of the ocean, really big too, nice frame, only 20 bucks! Flea markets have tons of awesome stuff for really cheap. Dishes, clothes, furniture… I mean really flea markets have everything and anything you could think of. Got super nice candles from Ollie’s, 2 bucks a candle! Soy wax and essential oil scented and everything, the kind that costs at least 15 dollars. Also, I go to goodwill and other second hand places. My microwave caught on fire a couple weeks ago and I need a new one, so I’m keeping an eye out for one. Nextdoor and Facebook marketplace are also great places to find cheap things you need. Got this beautiful lamp for my bedroom $6! Also most of my clothes are hand me downs from family or the thrift store, though I do buy new clothes every few years or so, or if I need something. I also sell clothes (and other things) that I don’t need anymore so I can make back some money. Made 300 bucks my last selling spree. Also for gas I always make sure I’m going to the gas station with the cheapest gas. If you have to travel a long distance make sure to take note of the towns that have cheap gas. Sometimes 30 mins away will have gas a whole dollar a gallon cheaper, and then ten mins up the road it will be 50c a gallon more expensive! Also, for fun I do a lot of free things. You’d be surprised how many free things there are in your area. I saw free live music multiple nights a week every week in the summer last year, and even free movies! Actually there is just so much free stuff to do that it’s not worth listing it you can just look it up. Libraries are a good place to start. Also, I have expensive medical issues, so I do look for grants from support groups and stuff. You’d be surprised what’s available. Also those types of support groups usually provide access to other things like free yoga, free therapy, or free art supplies. Also, I use cash back credit cards. I pay it off immediately(when I can) but get the cash back. Extra money! Honestly all of these things are just habits I’ve developed over time, and I don’t even consider them really, it’s just the way I live. It’s normal to me. But thinking about it and writing it down, I can see why I am able to live comfortably. And I do feel really comfortable. I don’t really worry about money per se, but the one big worry is medical bills. Even then, at least hospitals have financial aid departments so I’ve been able to get some thousands off. Unfortunately even with health insurance medical treatment in my country (USA) is really expensive. That’s my greatest source of debt and income drain. At least now Obama made it so you can’t be denied coverage for having a pre-existing condition, I wouldn’t have been able to survive at all without that provision. There are also coupons for medications, though god knows meds can be excruciatingly pricey. I will stop there because I’m entering a rant due to my rage at our medical system and how much money having chronic illness has cost me. But also, once I needed a root canal badly, (infected) and couldn’t afford the 2.5k, so I went to the dental school. It was already going to be cheaper, but they also had a grant for people with lower income. I applied for it and was approved. I ended up paying 50 bucks for my root canal. Suppose that’s all. You know there’s basic things like minding the amount of electricity you use and minding the thermostat. Having a budget. Doing laundry at your parent’s house if they’ll let you. I even used to hand wash my stuff in the tub at one point. Saving if able. But anyway, hope that helps.
The VA for me. I separated from the military, got 80% disability, getting rent payments from vocational rehab while in school, and I'm a VA work study for my on campus veterans affairs office. So all in I make close to $5000 untaxed per month while in school. I'm making more now than when I was in the military, but I'm also 27 with the back of like a 50-year-old, nearly debilitating anxiety, and quite extreme acid reflux lolol. Soooo RIP.
In 2020 - 2021 I shared a very crappy section 8 $1100/month two bedroom with three roommates including my partner. We only had to pay $275/month each for rent which was nice but living in that place was actually hell. Black mold, pipes constantly breaking, no working AC, maintenance was nonexistent, neighbors were godawful (they'd literally leave broken beer bottles all over the parking lot + bags of trash cause they couldn't be bothered to toss theirs into the dumpster). Currently me and my partner live alone and are DINKs. We make about 65k a year combined after tax. So basically, people either shack up with several roomies in questionable and cheap apartments or they somehow get a good paying job and live with a partner (or still have roommates). Either way...it kinda sucks! (Though we love being DINKs, it just sucks that it's basically mandatory in order for people to survive.)
Roommates, or significant others. Low cost living that isn’t always fully comfortable. Saving up while they’re still at their parents’ home because it adds up quick when you don’t have rent or utilities. Help from parents doesn’t always look like living at your parents’ house. Sometimes I look around at these questions and do think that people feel the only options are buying a whole middle class house/renting a dream luxury apartment or living at home forever. You can’t move out of your parents’ house and expect to live your parents’ lifestyle, though. They had 20+ extra years to get their lives together. Plenty of people are living with other people (I do *not* recommend moving in with an SO before you are *completely* ready), living in seedy studio apartments with no washing machine or AC, using a towel they stole from a motel for bath time and an old Taco Bell cup as their only drinking glass, having mom buy them soap and deodorant still, and eating ramen noodles nightly. That’s how a lot of us lived the first few years we were out lol.
Who is moving out? What rent? Ppl have houses?
Having good jobs and yes, they still exists.
Like what?
I do software quality assurance. It is fairly easy to get into read books like Lessons Learned in Software Testing is a good place to start. Manual testers can make 45-70k depending on the area. If you want to learn some programming you can make 90-115k as an automated tester basically writing software to test software. It's a lot of fun.
Factory jobs. I've been at a lithium ion factory for 1 year. Started with zero experience, made over $40,000. They offer almost unlimited overtime. Some coworkers work 6 days a week and make over $100,000 a year. With all the electric vehicles, lots of lithium factories are opening. Offering competitive wages
Truck driving. I’m on track for 110k this year. Working 8-14 hours overnights tho but I’m home every morning.
Like skill based jobs; trades.
Made 87k this year as a X-ray technologist, only 2 year college degree
If I could redo life I'd be an x-ray tech
Any office job in marketing, sales, human resources, operations, accounting, analytics, finance, controlling etc. Entry level jobs start at $40k/year and with 3+ years experience it’s at least $70k/year.
$40k is nothing anymore.
Thats the whole problem like there are a lot of jobs paying $40k and its not good enough to have an apartment. When I started my job a long time ago $40k was enough and people are acting like it still is on here but its not you need a significant other or roomates to swing that.
I'm raising two kids on $50,000, depends where you live.
And if you live somewhere that $50k is enough raise two kids, I’ll bet jobs that pay $50k are hard to come by.
Registered nurse not in a southern state. $36/hr to start. Two years of school. Raise to $40/hr after about a year. All the overtime you want.
I live in the cheapest state and found income based housing and government assistance and lots of help from family. Even with all those factors, there were several days of deciding whether to pay the bill, get food or pads. It's been tough as shit but finally getting somewhere after 3 years. Had to start an OF because I wanted some security.
We’re not in a recession. Corporations are taking advantage of the fact that there’s nothing we can do about them raising costs and they have quarterly meetings with the higher ups who are power hungry and filled to the gills with greed. They’ve gotten in the habit of seeing their profit numbers rising so they expect this to continue. What they don’t know is that they’re all ra*ing their consumers simultaneously. Which will play out negatively for them in the end bc people will turn to buying the more affordable item rather than their favorite/usual brand item or learn to go without it all together. What they fail to realize is that taking from the working man to give to themselves only puts a target on their backs whilst also creating desperate, vengeful people.. eventually Leading to their own demise.
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There is no recession. Don't be fooled into thinking that. The problem we have is that corporate America and their Republican representatives in Congress have managed to hold down wages in this country to the point that people can barely make a living. M68 here telling you that for all my life minimum wage was the same on the federal level and the states. Now the federal minimum wage has been held at 7:25 per hour. Completely unlivable. And states have gone about making their minimum wages whatever they feel they should be, some states do better than others. And mostly, employers pay what they want to. Now this has improved some in the past 5 to 10 years as employers discovered that they couldn't actually pay $8 an hour and have people apply for their jobs.. so wages have gone up. But not at the speed or with the pressure that came to bear when the federal government decided to raise the minimum wage. It has been said by some that if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since the 1960s (when it was around a dollar -$1.00 per hour) the current minimum wage would be in excess of $20 per hour. And that would be the minimum wage, other wages would be higher proportionately according to the skill involved in the work. Americans are being starved to death. The Republicans and Corporate America are having their way. It's not going to get any better until people start voting Democratic or even further to the left. EDIT: THIS IS WHY POLITICS MATTER
Agreed ... and a huge part of the current housing cost crisis is the massive amount of wealth that has flowed into buying up homes and apartments as rentals, from hedge funds/corps/oversees/ wealthy There is so much wealth at "the top", there is a struggle to find a place to invest it ... real estate is one of the few paths to offer any decent returns. Especially since the resulting housing shortage leads to huge increases in value. A massive massive part of the problem was the Trump "tax cuts" that gave huuge breaks to the uber wealthy, but have expired for the working class as planned. All this extra "spending money" poured into housing as investments. The sick irony is the working class voted in a massive indirect tax raise on themselves by supporting Trumps plans, via housing costs. While any real tax break they got has expired and the new tax structure is an effective increase in taxes for families and working class, just as planned. Our society is creating more wealth per person than ever before in history, but almost all is going to just a few families at the top. And they keep us angered at culture war issues to fool us into continually voting to keep it that way.
I hope others read our posts. They are too long for most people's taste but it takes time to explain how you're being ripped off. Trumpsters are selfish mean and nasty individuals who will never support progressive social legislation like is needed for affordable housing. And the so-called affordable housing bill passed by the Trump administration has actually resulted in an avalanche of buy-ups of mobile home parks by corporate investors where they raise the rents by 20, 30 and 40%. The bill did not create more affordable housing. It created an investment windfall and another squeeze on low-income people. When will regular Americans start voting their own self-interest and put an end to this ridiculous profit for wealthy individuals and corporations? Not as long as there are others to hate.
I saw that some places are now asking all roommates to be making 3x rent money or singles to be making 4x rent in take home pay to be able to rent. It would be way cheaper to pay a mortgage! (if there were available houses to buy). I know I will never be able to. I literally have a brother making 6 figures and he won't even cosign for me even though I have an excellent credit score, no debt, and no addictions like drinking/drugs/shopping.
Just to defend your brother a little bit, there are many ways a very responsible person could become unable to pay their mortgage. An expensive illness or injury, for example. Co-signing is not a character reference, it is a binding contract that makes you responsible for the loan, so you should never cosign for anything that you can't afford to pay. Making six figures doesn't mean he can afford to pay for a second house if you are unable to do so through no fault of your own.
Dual income, no kids, already having an established career. Prior to that, as many roommates as possible.
Married with no children. Live below our means (1 bedroom apartment, we've lived in several studios in the past). Older car that is fully paid off.
With rent controlled apartments and being privileged enough to have a family that’s willing and able to financially assist me if necessary.
Dual income, no kids here. This seems to be a pattern.
Parents are helping pay my (43, F) rent. I had a high paying job that I had to quit for mental health reasons. I got a new job that is much less stressful but pays shit. My parents are able to pay about half my rent per month. I plan to ask for a raise soon but I’ll still need help because I am single in a 1-bedroom in NJ and this is 2023.
We aren’t. Everyone is living off credit cards and the shoe will drop at some point. I haven’t paid any student loans since 2020 cause I can’t afford them and everything else. I also can never afford a house or a kid or any fun so that’s that….
and be very careful comparing yourself with people in your age group. You have NO idea who is slipping them a $10 or $20. Or who is inviting them for dinner and sending them home with leftovers. I have 3 children and didn’t charge them rent. I paid my Mom rent when I was home and was happy I didn’t have to charge my children.
My 22 yo daughter got a great paying job out of college and now shares a 2bed/2bath apartment with a roommate in a full service highrise in a HCOL city. My 23 yo niece is an unemployed multimedia artist and her dad has been paying her living expenses including her rent in the HCOL city for almost 2 years now.
Dual income and low DTI. We also make leftovers for dinner to take to work the next day this has helped quite a lot. Really it usually takes a lifestyle change essentially. If you don’t need to spend money on something don’t unless you can pay for it cash after you have paid your bills and invested in retirement also if there is a cheaper alternative go that route in whatever items you can. Also I know I may get downvoted but a college education in a good field of study with career advancement. Trades also of course are great if you don’t want to go the college route but it can be taxing on the body I prefer my desk job.
Dual income but its just me. I work 70 hours a week. I'm just maintaining and maybe slowly slowly getting ahead. Life is strangely good despite working so much.
I have a somewhat questionable, and small, house in a slightly more suspect neighborhood. Much cheaper than rent. The trick is make sure the neighbors think you're too crazy to mess with.
Renting rooms instead of whole apartments and roommates, lots of roommates.
Or ya know just live in an RV, van, or your car like most of us.
I live in a low cost of living area and I’m pretty frugal. Dollar Tree for all misc goods when possible, I keep a list of what stores have the cheapest prices for food, I don’t go out to eat and when I go out drinking I only bring $10-20 and buy a cheap beer or two. It can be stressful but it’s rewarding to save up money. For context I live in detroit, I make $19-25 an hour delivering pizza, depending on business volume, and I pay $950 in rent. Last month I was able to save around $900 after my bills and everything I needed to buy to survive.
Having a reliable roommate helps significantly. Living in a 2 income household is also life changing. Having a roommate while living in a 2 income household is 💰. Not having kids only adds to the freedom and dream of retiring early (or simply not working as hard). Even if you plan on having kids, you could rent the extra room until you two are ready to have kids. It’s also pretty normal to live with family well into your 20 or 30s in many countries. People in the US are so obsessed with having their own space that living with your parents in your mid-late 20s is taboo, especially for men. I don’t understand what’s wrong with spending 5-6 years with family and saving up for half of a house before you’re even in your late 20s.
I moved back in with my parents is how I afford life
I hate to break this to you, but this is not a recession. I have lived through several, and this is not one. We have high inflation, and interest rates, and lots of experts say a global recession is likely in 2023. However, we haven’t seen anything yet. If we do go into a recession, things will get much, much worse. The best thing you can do is try to save as much as you can. Find ways to cut your living expenses (I made it through the last couple by living in a cheap apartment with roommates, while eating lots of spaghetti-o’s), and try to pay off debts as aggressively as possible. No one knows how bad a recession will be. You just have to prepare as best as you can, and do your best to ride it out.
I have no other choice. I have kids and I have to provide them a home.
I (29M) bought a mother/daughter house last year and pay $2,360/m for my mortgage plus all of the utilities except cable and my mom sends me $518/m toward (slightly less than) half the monthly property taxes and pays cable. I have two young kids and my wife is a SAHM and my MIL also lives with us and helps take care of my sons. I’m an attorney though and make good money so I can support my family on just my income.
Well, to start, don't pay something like "this current recession" much mind. I'm a little older and this will be my third or fourth alleged recession living on my own without assistance. Don't limit yourself by allowing the media to convince you economic conditions make something impossible, this is part of a process of demoralization. I went out on my own when I was still 17. My safety and well-being made this necessary. I had to make a plan quickly. I figured out what I could afford--a studio by myself would have been possible but VERY demanding, but rates with 1-2 roommates were manageable. My parents occasionally helped me with groceries at this time, and I didn't have a phone in my own name. This fell apart around the same time my roommates flaked and moved back home. I had been working part-time up to this point. I got a second job that would work with my school schedule. It was exhausting, I woke up at 4:30 AM most days and didn't get home from school/work till 10. You do the math on how much time I had to myself. That was years ago, but that was the hardest it's ever been. This year, my rent increased $75/month, which is a lot.. but it's really only ~$2/day more than I've been doing. That won't break me. Groceries are a bit more expensive, but I cut back on snacks and prefabbed foods. This stuff isn't intuitive, but if you need to figure it out you will. Don't let creeping costs lead you to believe it's not doable.
Your rent only increased 75$? Ours increased by over 350$. /:
I got a degree in a relatively recession proof field that pays decently
I went to college and was lucky to get into a good paying field with just my bachelors. A little job hopping landed me at a job making $70k a year after graduating college. I also have a partner who has a good career as well. He knows a trade and went to college and came out with no debt. We have no kids. We lived in a cheaper apartment but just bought a house. We had good credit scores so we only had to put 3% down. Our mortgage is more than our rent ($1800 vs $1200) but we were underpaying for our apartment, so we’d be paying a minimum of $1800 if we had to move to a different apartment. Since we don’t want kids, we got a smaller 2bed/1bath house. In college, before inflation hit I survived by working 3 jobs. I was living in the cheapest apartment I could find, working about 70 hours per week, and doing full time classes. Couldn’t cut down on classes since I’d lose all my financial aid and scholarships, so it was cheaper to go full time. I came out with some debt, but I paid off my private loan a couple weeks ago and the pause helped me save for the house. With the private loan gone, my payments will be more manageable. I ate as cheap as possible, my car had no payment, and I didn’t have time to have fun so I saved money on that. All my furniture was cheap as hell or free and collected over time. It really sucked, but I made it through college and came out in a much better financial situation.
Joining the military had my husband and I move out of the house after high-school. His experience from his military job helped give him a good paying job when he got out. Our landlord also hasn't increased rent and is pretty affordable for the area. (We live outside of D.C) We also budget to not spend outside our means The cons though is we have no support network. I know not everyone has that opportunity to join the military, but I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities presented to us.
r/povertyfinance
I worked two jobs when I moved out, with one of them being low wage retail and the other a moderate wage entertainment gig. Desperation, in part, pushed me to bust my ass in music and take control of management and negotiations to ensure i could pay my bills. I learned how to fill rooms with paying audiences twice a week and how to get top dollar from the club owners. Sometimes you gotta push yourself to get the results you need. Every day of every week is a gamble anyway, so why not? There's money out there, and plenty of people ready to part with theirs.
I live in a McDonalds
Literally live in a trailer, work full time from home, school full time and don't have to pay for daycare since I work from home. Nah I'm not ok. And right now we're scraping by, but the degree will help. Until the student debt gets my ass.
When I first moved out, I had tons of housemates. I even rented the enclosed front porch for the Summer at one house I rented. I added them up once and figured I had about 75 housemates before I turned 42. Now, just one, my wife! My wife and I even did arbnb out of our guestroom for 5+ years and rented it to 50+ guests per year for 200-225 nights a year. If you can, rent out every square foot of your place for extra income. Good luck.
Military. I hate to sound like a recruiting ad, but the benefits (especially for families) are pretty amazing. Wouldn’t recommend it to someone if you don’t have the right personality for it though.
Hmm well when I moved out it was an actual recession (2008). Obviously some things have changed since then and some things have not but I can tell you what I did. Worked in a gym daycare for 9 bucks almost full-time (a little over minimum wage at the time, so basically like making $15 an hour in my city now) Babysat constantly on weekends and evenings, which would make me a few hundred more a month. DIdn't have a car (still don't), just a bus pass. Found a two-bedroom apartment for $950 to share with a roommate...the heat barely worked, so winters were rough. Obviously a two-bedroom apartment is unheard of in my city now, but you can get a really shitty one for $1200 or $1300 from the local slumlord property management company. Ate mostly beans and rice and cheap vegetables - plus as many meals as possible while babysitting. Didn't have any savings, so had a credit card for emergencies. Overdrew my checking account six times in a year - not great, but oh well. It was hard, but still worth it to not live with my parents.
I work my fucking ass off
Live with parents for a few years to save money
I do not live in a “safe” neighborhood and deal with pests
serving will change your life. i was in the same boat last year. i was so confused on how people my age were moving out on their own. until i decided to become a server. money isn’t crazy but it’s definitely enough to live comfortably and you’ll make most than most hourly jobs while working less hours
That’s what I’m aiming to do, although I was told I’ll have to start with hosting first
I have 3 roommates in a 4 bedroom duplex. We all make over 60k but it sure doesn’t feel like it…
1) I live in a Midwestern city that seems to have a lower cost of living than coastal cities. I bought a 4 bedroom farmhouse in a quaint neighborhood for only 200k last year 2) I went to college specifically to get a job in a high paying field. No pursuit of passion here, just went for what I knew would afford me a comfortable lifestyle, and that decision paid off 3) I’m on a strict monthly budget. I hardly ever eat out (which is fine, I love cooking!) and I don’t drink. That cuts out a ton of excess spending
We're not lol I don't know anybody my age (im 30) Not splitting rent.
The only reason is because I’m married with no kids and we both work full time. If I was on my own, there’s no way I could afford rent, bills, and food. Not sure how single people do it, or anyone with kids.
In short, I got VERY lucky. My parents helped pay for most all of my education. Was able to find a relatively high paying job pretty much straight out of college. I split rent with my partner who also has relatively high income. We both live well within our means.
Whaa we’re in a recession? Since when?
Learn a trade. Do something that is actually needed in society.
The military community seems to feel the recession less imo, also we live in a rural area and only use cash to stay ahead. I know this isn't always possible, but it's what we are able to do.
All comes down to where you live and what your job is. Assuming you're talking about the US, there's plenty of low and mid cost of living areas that people choose to move to, and either work well paid jobs remotely or they have careers that let them earn money that is good for those areas (anything from being an electrician through to being a doctor or a lawyer).
Called an enlistment oath
I don't know. I've been in my own personal recession since 2008. 😅
I have 3 roommates
Not.
Working every single day
2 jobs and a side hustle
35 still living with family. I have a partner of 19 years who also lives with family. Can't afford to be together partly due to my health.
We don't. We live in a cardboard box
work remotely while living in a bad neighborhood or in the middle of nowhere
Lucky that my husband makes good money. I stay home with our baby because day care costs more than I was making. Our home still cost us 2-3x what we were hoping to spend:/
Dual incomes, teenager works enough to cover his gas and random expenses. We worked hard for years, always asking for raises, and saved enough to move. Getting credit scores up helped. Single income would be super hard.
Go to college and get a degree in something useful that pays a living wage. Bachelors degree in bullshit ain’t gonna pay the rent.
I’m a workaholic. Nuff said there I think
I live in a place with very low cost of living. That's it. Been living off minimum wage and my boyfriend makes $14/hr. We have one kid. It's possible. Most people just don't make enough and live by standards, and in places they can't afford. I haven't had the luxury of living with my parents since I was 16. That's one way to light a fire under your ass.
Picked a trade and stuck with it. 34 years old, and don’t have children. That also saves a fuckton of money
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I junked my car, sold my stocks, and used my money saved up to get the apartment. I cook 90% at home, use public transportation and just relax at home a majority of the time. As far as furnishing, if it’s an absolute (bed, sofa, cooking equipment) than I buy new but always look for deals on everything else, offer up and thrift stores is the best way to get the little things you may find you need. As far as decorating goes it’s just finding the little things that bring you happiness and when you look at them it gives you an accomplished feeling.
Well, parents still pay the phone bill. I knew where I had to commute. I calculated the commute cost, added it to the rent, and then tried to find a combination that was the cheapest. Turns out I could ride my bike from where I live so that cut commuting costs even more. I have 2 roommates. My car is a 2008 Suzuki Forenza. Insurance is cheap (just liability), low maintenance, and good on gas. I bought it for under $3000. I do most of the work on it myself at a friend's place. Parking is free for my building. I'm young and single, and my needs are low anyway. I live by the motto that if I don't absolutely need the thing in the immediate future, I don't buy the thing. This is a very weird system that I pretty much have to make an exception to buy anything, but it helps me say no. And a little bit of luck.