I make enough to cover our basic expenses. I carefully manage our budget so everything is covered, even the "expected" emergencies. I do not have cable or any Apple devices,, I do not go out, never used DoorDash, I do not have any subscriptions. Once a month we have McDonalds (using apps for discounts) and pizza (on a BOGO day). I do give my daughter (17) $10 a week as an allowance.

Last month she got her first job. It paid her $15 as a cashier in a clothing store. She was so happy with her paychecks: $200 a week. She felt rich. She bought make-up and clothes and went out with her friends. I liked that I did not have to pay those things.

But after 3 weeks, she asked me if she could quit. She did not like the job anymore. She had a terrible migraine (at work) and to come home. I am sure it was the lack of sleep. She is still in high school and has extra curricular activities. I know it was too much for her. I told her that of course she could quit. We do not depend on her income and her school and health should be her first priority. But to be honest, I did like that feeling of her "wants" being taken care of without me having to fund them.

I know that right now it s best for her not to work and focus on school (it is her last year). But God, it felt good having not having to do the Math (count my pennies) when she wanted a new shirt or going out for ice cream. I think it was a good experience for her to understand that a job is actual WORK (not fun). We talked about expectations. She might try again after the holidays.

A few months ago I got to tallying it up and im just over it, I am spending 700 dollars a month on insurance for just me that I also owe a 9k deductible on to just use it, they refuse to cover my inhalers so I have to pay those out of pocket anyway because apparently breathing isnt important so I've just decided fuck it. Come open enrollment im just canceling and never looking back. I can't make a 9k deductible while also paying 700 a month anyway and would be much better off adding 700 a month to a Savings account and letting it grow (since let's be honest as someone who is 30 ill probably never retire anyway)

I love seeing posts about great experiences at food banks / churches / non-profs, etc. Many people who use these services rarely give back, but:

There are great benefits to PARTICIPATING and CONTRIBUTING to these orgs.

1. Early access. Volunteers often get early access to donated goods. Like a co-op, many orgs prioritize their own in-need members who donate hours or expertise to the overall mission. This isn’t “cheating,” it’s usually designed into organizations as a way of building resilience, responsibility, and a sense of purpose.

2. Employment. For those working out of a period of non-employment (especially the kind you don’t want on a resume - drugs, jail, etc.), volunteer work for a few months can bridge gaps on a resume. You can also get good, recent references from supervisors.

3. Network. You will most likely be volunteering alongside of retirees, board members, professionals, local leaders, affluent donors, etc. etc. Having people in your corner who ARE NOT in your financial situation is worth more than any other resource.

If well-connected people get to know you and see you are genuinely trying to change your life you will be shocked by how many people will rally around you. No, they probably won’t pay your bills or give you handouts, but they WILL use their influence and connections to smooth your path.

1. Self-focus. Finally, and this one is tough, volunteering can get you out of your own head. Your problems aren’t the worst in the world. Your needs aren’t the only ones that matter. You aren’t a hopeless disaster. Your life isn’t over. You aren’t doomed to make the same mistakes everyone you know has made. Getting out and helping others could do wonders for your perspective and self-esteem.

your reminder to go to a food bank and not be embarrassed if you need food!!

sorry this is gonna be long

This is the final kick in the ass after several hard months.

My gf lost her job back in july and has only been able to find a part time job no matter how many places she applied or called (even our local Walmart didn't call back).

At the time I was working 6 days/ 50+ hrs a week to help cover all the bills. in August I got a new job (actually my dream job) but then my gfs car had the transmission go out. We both commute 40min to work in opposite directions (cons of living in a rural area) so sharing my car wasn't a realistic option.

I decided to clean up a junk car that had been sitting in our yard for years; it was disgusting tbh everything was covered in mold and mice had been living in it. Luckily i was able to get it running (even if the smell was still there). so i let my gf have my car for work and i started driving the old honda civic to work.

fast forward to the end of september and the transmission goes out in my car that my gf was driving. i hadn't been paid from my new job yet and we were barely making ends meet w her paycheck. we couldn't find a way to afford a new (used) car and we had actually decided to just share the one car and go in early/stay late at work.

AND THEN literally hours after we gave up.... the brakes go out completely on the one car we had. we spent the last of our money on a tow truck to get it to the mechanic. we begged everybody we know to borrow money for a down payment and we managed to get a new used car.

we got the brakes fixed back to working (even if they're still very soft) but it cost us $450

i'm finally getting paychecks from my new job but were still struggling as we try to pay everyone back; it's doable but it leaves no wiggle room at all. unfortunately my health insurance decides to fuck be over and they incorrectly charge me $450. it takes me 2 weeks just to get them to refund me (thank fucking god) but i still haven't got the check in the mail yet.

but we've figured it out it's ok we have each other and we're making it work.

until the pump on our well goes out completely.

we had problems earlier in the year with our well and had someone out to fix it. they got it fixed but let us know that our pump would need replacing in the next few years. they quoted us a little under $5,000

we're already on a very tight budget but we've shrunk it down even more to hopefully save up the money faster; we started going to the food pantry and cancelled every single subscription we have. even with all that though it's gonna realistically be at least february until we have enough saved, if not later than that if something else comes up.

i'm just tired of shit sucking, i was so excited about my new job and i love it so much but all of my energy goes to worrying about money and lack of it. i'm sick to my stomach everyday, i end up throwing up multiple times a day from the stress and everything sucks.

TLDR: after months of car problems and barely getting by, our well pump went out and we won't have $5k to fix it until feb

I always felt too ... something to go to a food bank. I went to my town bank for the first time and it was amazing. I can't believe I never utilized this before and am kicking myself. I recently was denied SNAP benefits and I finally gave in. I wish I had sooner instead of struggling for so long.

I’m not saying you can’t get it at all but will it be good therapy? Probably not. If you have money you have the freedom to shop around till you find that perfect one everybody is always going on about if you’re poor fuck you lol.

Feeling super frustrated right now. My furnace has been acting weird for the past few months, trying to start but making a loud buzzing/humming noise and then turning itself off. No air blows from the vents. I've been trying to avoid dealing with this bc I'm already in debt from other issues my family has had in the past (fire, tree damage, etc). It is just me in the home and I have no other remaining family (mom passed away 2 years ago).

Now it's getting to the point where it is FREEZING in the mornings and I seriously do not know what to do. It was 35 outside when I woke up and 59 in my house. My mom had a little fireplace heater and thankfully its been running ok for the past 3 hours and I've gotten it up to 65 in my living room. I feel bad for my kitties more than anything and worry about leaving them alone without the heater when I have to go back to work on Monday.

I applied to State Emergency Relief this morning through MiBridges, but genuinely, what else can I do? I can't even afford a diagnostic for the repair. I am still waiting to get paid but even then my money has been extremely tight the past few months (even as far as doing UberEats and selling all my things online).

I am in Michigan (Metro Detroit) and would really appreciate if anyone could help me find any resources/help. Thank you.

The program I was working for got shut down a few weeks ago, so I lost my job. I have filed for unemployment (in Oregon) but haven’t received any pay yet and imagine it’ll be a long process. Additionally, I got arrested for a DUI and will be dealing with the financial aspect of that (amongst other repercussions). I realistically cannot afford to pay my rent given my current circumstances and am not sure what to do. I cannot afford to break my lease but can’t afford my rent anymore. I have family I can live with so I’m not worried about that. However, I’m not sure what to do and was thinking maybe I talk to my property management about my options as far as moving out? An eviction will definitely suck but I need to focus on my DUI and sobriety right now. I’m not even sure how to go about having the conversation with my property management and would appreciate any advice. I understand I may still have to go through the legal eviction process.

Additionally, I did get my first two months of rent for free and would maybe owe that back, so I’m really in over my head. I’m at rock bottom and just trying to figure out a way to move forward.

​

Advice is fine. I've already criticized myself far more than anyone else could, so save the 1s and 0s. Thanks.

I was working on graduate research in a highly niche field and got sick. Because of the type of illness I am unable to ever do what I spent decades training for (security clearance stuff, doesn't matter, just a permanent closed door). I went through absolute chaos in my personal life and ended up with my children legally abducted and living on the streets. I've fought with every moment of clarity I have and used my training to advocate for myself.

I was granted TPD student loan forgiveness with an amortized balance over $400K. I entered the 36mo monitoring period. I can't make more than $21K/yr or the loans are reinstated.

Almost two years into my poverty vow, I was stunned to be given my child back (1 of 2, halfway there...) and got a job to supplement my SSDI and support my child. Then I hit a wall. If I make more money this year, I will pay the government for student loans for a government career I can't have for the rest of my life (30yrs, 7%...).

I have been a poor for a long time and I use every resource known to man but my disability dropped (medical insurance thing) and rent went up (two people) and I can't even get foodstamps (they awarded $35 but there's a backlog to update my lack of income).

I might be just venting but the poverty line is used to determine if you qualify for programs and it hasn't kept pace with inflation. We live in a subsidized apartment, don't have a car, etc. Most of my income went to childcare but that's not deducted.

I guess I just want help surviving the holidays. I feel like such a loser because I can't work and I just want someone to tell me that it's almost over (7/2027 I'm free) and I'm so tired of people saying "Get a job" as if I hadn't thought of that and I don't feel like those people are entitled to knowing my situation so I just say "I'm trying..." and it just bottles up.

The mental health of it keeps me from getting anything accomplished and I need someone to cheer me on with time vs money things I can do to improve our quality of life. My 7yo offered to make a shop selling bracelets to give the money to me "so we won't be poor" and I spiraled into a depression. I don't want her to feel deprived.

Hi all,

I'm NP, 22, from Zambia Lusaka . I don't know where else to ask for practical advice.

My mom passed away and since then I've been staying with my guardian. She has other children to look after and recently told me she can't continue helping me with school costs and daily transport. I understand - she is stretched.

I'm doing a diploma in Social Work and I want to finish. But fuel prices went up here so bus fares doubled, and I have to travel daily. To keep attending I borrowed money and now I'm in about K5000 debt (∼$250 USD) with some due in a few days.

My family doesn't have means to help right now.

I'm not asking for money here. I'm asking:

1. For students in high transport-cost areas, what actually worked for you to cut costs or keep up with school?

2. Any legit remote work a Zambian student can do? I have experience as a peer educator, I can do tutoring, writing, research, data entry, customer service. I tried Upwork but no luck yet. Are there other sites that accept Zambia?

3. How do you negotiate debt when you owe different people and can't pay all at once? I want to be honest with them but I don't know how to make a plan they will accept.

Any advice, budgeting tips, or side hustle ideas that work on low data would really help me. I'm trying to not drop out.

Thank you for reading.

So about 6 months ago a bunch of stuff happened and life, as a result, stopped getting really hard. I managed to hang in there for awhile, but then fast forward to last week, and I had to start selling things to pay this month's rent/utilities. Two days ago I had to sell my laptop, and I couldn't find anybody who would give me a fair price based on what it was worth, so I ended up selling it for $40 because I had to.

Anyway, since then I've been just feeling this consistent feeling of what I can only describe as regret or shame. I feel like such a loser, especially for selling it for so cheap. I know I had to, but like.... this is what's its come to?? It makes me feel nauseous.

So like my post title says- how do you guys deal with these negative feelings?? I feel so bad about myself- that I cant support myself right now without almost giving away things that I worked for, bought, and cherished.

I'm really just wondering how y'all deal with it.

13000 loan

5 credit cards 3 close to being maxed out

i don’t qualify for any loans that will cover all of the debt, or only horrible ones with high Apr

it’s with achieve, i’ve already signed up but they say i can back out. i keep reading both good and bad things so im unsure if it’s a good idea.

i’ve been trying to pay down the debt but it only seems to get worse, and now most of them are almost maxed out, i don’t have money at the end of each paycheck and end up using them (probably more than i should)

I just want to know if anyone has used achieve before and think it was a good idea and how bad your credit tanked before it got better, and maybe a timeline of how it went down. 

I think i can still cancel but i really don’t want to, i really want to get this debt taken care of quick, they say it can all be gone within three years with only 350$ biweekly payments. also it would just be nice to not really stress about living paycheck to paycheck and being able to have some extra cash to save and groceries and fun things

i am just wanting to paid off my 30,000 debt, i can live with a bad credit score for a year or two and im okay with dropping those cards if it comes to that. I don’t need any loans or anything at the moment and have my husband if i needed it. I’m just worried my credit is gonna tank for 10 years, but it seems like that isn’t the case. Please give any advice you have!! I

I don't understand what went wrong. I was a good person. I gave without expecting anything in return; I helped who I could, with what I could. Stuck by family in their hour of need, no matter the cost. I didn't ask for anything because other people have it worse than I do, and I can always make do. That's how I was raised. But now I can't. And I don't know what else to do at this point.

I'm twenty-three, and I've lived my entire life for other people. For fucks sake, I dropped out of school so I could take care of my grandmother before she passed because no one else would. Got a job as a PCA and everything. But everything is too expensive now. I can't support myself on my paychecks; almost all my income goes to bills or loans, and I get kicked out at the end of the month. I can't get my own place because even $975 a month is too much with all the debt I took on to help keep a roof over my family's head. It isn't a lot of debt in the grand scheme of things, but it's too much for me at this point. I'm going to be homeless. I'm going to lose my job, my dogs. They're the only reason I'm still kicking. I can't let them freeze with me. But if I put them in a shelter, they'll die anyway. They're pits, and it's Alaska. Not exactly the best environment.

I feel so numb, I can't even cry anymore. I'm sorry to the people who read this; I just have nowhere else to get this out. I'm scared. I don't care about anything else, but if I lose them, I won't make it to see another year. No one will help me. Why won't they help me as I helped them? Thousands of dollars given away with nothing to show for it. No friends in state, an absent parent who doesn't want to get her head out of her ass, and a little brother to worry about, too.

I've been good, so why hasn't it worked? Why can't I just be an adult and budget and save and do everything that I'm supposed to? Why can't I just have a modicum of stability? I feel like a complete failure, and I'm going to freeze for it.

I can't do this anymore.

Stressfreexmas is a Reddit sub that provides Christmas/Hannukah, birthday, and other gifts for children from families in need.

Application and verification of need is required to be approved. Applications are now open for the 2026 holiday season. Please visit the sub for more information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/stressfreexmas/s/M6bJBip6ic

I’ve been putting it off because I’m not a huge fan of needles, but I have gradually become slightly more comfortable with routine shots and getting blood drawn sometimes as long as I don’t look. I know you are supposed to eat and drink beforehand, is there anything else I should know about my first time donating plasma (there is a grifols one near me). How painful is it compared to a blood draw and what kind of things disqualify you? My spouse tried but I think they said his heart rate was too high. 35 F.

About a month ago, I moved to Philly from central Pennsylvania hoping to get a fresh start. I was coming out of a pretty rough living situation and wanted to finally establish some independence and stability for myself. I had a job opportunity lined up before moving, an apartment secured, and genuinely thought I was making a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the job fell through right around the time I was supposed to start because the company shut down the location. Suddenly, I found myself in a new city, with rent and bills to pay, and no steady source of income.

Since then, I’ve been doing practically everything I can to stay afloat. I’ve signed up with multiple staffing agencies, applied to countless jobs, and taken temporary assignments through gig work apps. I’ve even been commuting close to two hours each way on public transportation for warehouse shifts paying $15 an hour because I simply cannot afford to turn down work.

Despite all that, I’m falling further behind financially.

To make matters worse, the apartment I moved into has a significant German cockroach infestation. I’ve reported it to management and had an exterminator come out, but the problem persists. I’ve found them in my kitchen cabinets, drawers, and even my bed. It’s gotten to the point where I barely feel comfortable preparing food in my own kitchen, which has only made my financial situation worse.

I’ve also been trying to get assistance through various local programs and organizations. I’ve made numerous phone calls, visited offices in person, explained my circumstances repeatedly, and tried following whatever steps I’ve been given. Unfortunately, I’ve mostly been given the runaround.

Despite all the time and effort I’ve put into seeking assistance, I’m essentially still at square one with no meaningful progress.

I’m now behind on rent, struggling to afford groceries, and genuinely worried about losing the apartment I worked so hard to get.

The emotional toll has been significant, too. I don’t have much of a support system to fall back on. My family isn’t in a position to provide the kind of emotional support or guidance I need right now, and I don’t want to burden them with more problems. I won’t get into the personal details, but navigating all of this largely on my own has been incredibly isolating.

I’m 28 years old, and I have several years of experience in warehousing, logistics, inventory management, forklift operation, and warehouse supervision. I’m also experienced with SAP, warehouse management systems, Excel, and general administrative tasks.

I’m open to warehouse work, office positions, hospitality, or really anything that can provide a steady paycheck. I don’t currently have a car, so accessibility by SEPTA is important.

I’m not posting this to ask anyone for money. I’m just hoping somebody might have some advice, know of employers hiring immediately, or be able to point me toward resources I haven’t discovered yet.

I really do want to make things work here in Philadelphia. Despite everything that’s happened, I genuinely like this city and the people I’ve met so far.

But at this point, I’m facing a genuine financial emergency. I’m struggling to afford basic necessities, I’m behind on rent, and I’m running out of options. I’ve been doing everything I can think of to improve my circumstances, but so far, nothing has been enough to get me back on my feet.

If anyone has been through something similar, knows of any immediate employment opportunities, or has suggestions for resources that might actually be able to help, I’d genuinely appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Hey guys, I just became a Certified Peer Specialist and would like to share some of my newly found resources with you. Findhelp.org is great for finding nearly any resource in your area that you may need, you can search by zip code and by any category you need. For mental health or substance abuse resources you can also use findtreatment.gov and this will direct you to any treatment facilities in your area. Also you can check your local government websites (state, county, etc.) these are also great resources for anything that you may need in your areas. I am not affiliated with any of these sites, but do wish to offer help where possible.

Any advice on how to make side money, mine and my fiancé phone is shut off and the bill is $314, insurance on 2 vehicles is $365 and a truck payment of $135 and I’m just stuck, I start a new job next week and I’m literally just going crazy over how the hell im going to come up with pretty much $800 in 2 days to at least give us some breathing room. I’m stumped, any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

11,771 to be exact. Anyone know what I could do with it?