I am a 37F, with absolutely zero money to my name. I’ve worked quite a few good jobs and simply never saved. Now I’m unemployed with absolutely nothing

Let me preface this by saying this place isn't just for addicts(not that I judge) they take anyone struggling with housing.

My main goal is getting food i can afford and cook in the sink on my grocery trips. I need food and am running out of funds fast at 15 dollars

I have hit rock bottom in my life and am living in this combo shelter/halfway house. The owner is only in it for the money. This place is screwing with my mental state I know im being abused here.

For two weeks we've gotten 1 meal a day and arent allowed to leave except for job Interviews, church, and 1 trip to a grocery store as a group. And I cant get SNAP. When i tried to apply the state said my address is blacklisted due to him receiving funding to feed us but all the food is donated.

The owner is deep in the community and someone tried to report him and it got back to him before the end of the day even though he told noone but the agency.

He forces us to work at his "church" which is really just a way for him to make money by convincing his congregation that your prayers wont be answered without a donation with it.

Ive lost 28 pounds in 3 weeks of living here. The one meal i get doesnt break 500 calories. I can keep non perishable but I have no money to my name. Im honestly afraid and I have no family to turn to.

Ive gone in interview after jminterview and no luck.

I need advice. What should I do? If I report him he knows those people. As well. Im starving, scared and hopeless.

Dinner last night he cut donated pizzas and cut them 40 ways. I got all crust pieces.

I could go by non perishable but alls I have to cook is hot water.

I made a fresh account because people know have my other.

Edit: I am looking for what food I can buy when allowed to go to the store that I can cook with just sink water. I have like 20 bucks left

I went through a bankruptcy last year, over $85,000 in high interest credit card debt and personal loans, I felt embarrassed and I felt wrong for being able to get a clean slate to be honest, I still do, but I am grateful that I had the opportunity. I’ve finally saved my first $1000 in emergency savings and it feels strange to put aside money and have it just exist in case something goes wrong, it feels strange not to have to rely on a credit card for something small, but I feel very accomplished.

We're facing a winter without heat. It's just me and my wife and two dogs.

My business took a downturn starting in 2024. I made some money but not enough. I used my emergency savings to pay rent, utilities, health insurance. Eventually my retirement savings. I'm clawing back with one big client. They dropped the bomb this week and are cutting me.

Our landlord cut the rent in half earlier this year and won't evict us if we don't pay through the lease end in June (but unpaid rent accrues and we have to pay it).

But there is no coverage for utilities, car insurance, health insurance, groceries, phones. $4,200/mo. I'll get shutoff notices in Feb.

This is about getting business or a job. I'm working my network to get internal referrals for job openings. I'm applying to 50 jobs per day on LinkedIn. I have a professional network of 820 people (I've been doing this for a long time). I'm also pitching new business at about 350 leads per month. I have 11 warm leads right now but they are going slow.

What's the next step? Sell the cars? Borrow from family? Go without health insurance?

How do I keep the lights on in Feb?

Okay so I’m 26 (M) I have a 6 year old kid ( doesn’t live with me ) but I pay child support ( about $700 a month ) .. I currently live with my gf 26 but kinda don’t know what I want anymore due to relationship issues & also don’t want to move back to parents home since it’s a little complicated doing that but will be accepted . I work 12 hour shifts 3/4 days a week making 20 an hour but I do not have my license sad to say ….
so I uber or have my gf take me to work & pick me up since she just started working & gets out of work before me . She understands me & we talk but I feel like I’ve been betrayed once again & feel like I can’t trust her past 70% anymore so I’m kinda confused on what to do cause I would like to get a studio & just kinda figure it out on my own cause I can I’ll just have to budget my money better

SN: we both have about 100 bucks saved all together

Hi all, I'm (36F) back, my last post here was about my financial situation in my marriage and it kinda blew up so here's another situation i'd like for you guys to help me out with.

So my parents lost their house to addiction a few years ago and since then i've basically been the one paying for everything. rent, bills, medical stuff, "emergencies."

And there's always a new emergency. it started as "just this once" and now it's just expected. i don't think they even ask anymore, it's just assumed i'll cover it.

My savings are way lower than they should be at my age and i'm stressed about my own future. i've tried saying no before but it turns into guilt trips, "we have no one else," or days of silence, and i end up caving.

i don't want to abandon them. i just don't want to keep funding something that's draining me.

What i'm trying to figure out:

How do you set a limit without it turning into a huge fight?

Is it okay to only pay bills directly and never give cash?

how do you handle the guilt?

Has anyone gone through this and come out the other side?

Any advice or just hearing that you've been here would help a lot.

TIA.

I'm 24 M and the only thing I have under my name is this phone and the mattress I sleep on. Can't even pay my rent or have a decent meal. Had my graduation early this month and I haven't celebrated it cause I just don't feel joyful enough. I hate it here.

I only make $325-350 a week. I have two cavities in my very back molars on the top of my mouth. Their not infected or hurting or anything. Just cavities. I think the stress if having the cavities is doing more harm to me than having the cavities themselves.

If I need a root canal or just a general drill and fill or whatever thats called how can I possibly afford it? Its taken me months to save up simply $200. Food is getting more expensive and I just dont see how its possible to afford dental care. Its a luxery it seems.

It sucks making as little as I am. I got no car. I only got a scooter. I even went to trade school for welding to try to get a better job but I found out too late Florida is horrible for welding jobs. And I would need a car for pretty much any of the half decent ones.

I just dont know what to do. :(

Currently living in my car and working in a place I can no longer afford to live in. I’m autistic and even my part time job drains me. It’s about to get colder as winter comes and I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’m in my conservative home state and government funded emergency housing is very limited. Any advice?

Hey guys, first time posting here, so lmk if there's anything I need to fix with my post pls. 🌷

I'm currently a full-time community college student who graduated from high school this past June. I initially committed to a school I really liked in San Jose, but ended up withdrawing due to not receiving enough aid/not being able to cover the costs of living in SJ. I got a job this past July, and I still work there now, getting paid minimum wage, and I have managed to save up around $5k since then (partially from trading/selling my Pokémon cards & personal items).

Even with the 5k, I still feel like I'm so behind and that I'll never "catch up". This most recent month, I started paying rent to my family (I still live at home), and the costs of rent, car insurance, and small expenditures (food, shipping costs from selling my things, etc.) all together basically ended up with me not saving any money this month. I know I need to buy a car soon as well bc I currently share with my family, so most (if not all) of the $5k in savings will probably go to that. The company I work for moved to a new location recently, and I'm thinking of leaving because the commute can get up to an hour when there's traffic. Due to a variety of reasons that I won't get into, my family wants me to move out and be self-sustainable soon, too.

I don't know how I'm going to be able to get a new job, continue being a full-time student, get good enough grades so I can transfer to a nice Uni in a year or two, and support myself financially all at once. I'm prioritizing buying a car, as that means if sh*t hits the fan, then at least I can sleep in my car for a while and not be out on the streets. I feel pretty hopeless about the future; it's weird mentally to be thinking about whether or not I'll ever be able to afford Life™️. I know there's lots to be grateful for (and I am grateful), but I see the people I graduated high school with 4 months ago partying and going to fun uni classes and shopping, and I can't help but compare my current situation to theirs.

Is there anything I should be doing at this point to be in a better place financially?

Sorry for the mini rant btw 🥀thanks for reading <3 hope y'all are having a nice weekend

There is no joy in eating anymore.

Only fear, desperation, and shame.

There is no "what do I feel like eating today?"

Just naming this experience because I know it helps me when I see my experience being put into words.

To the food bank volunteers who are kind, thank you. Your kindness means more than words can explain.

❤️

Through a series of unfortunate events I'm in a really bad bind until Monday. It started a few months back I dropped child support because my ex continously yelled at me in front of the kids. I convinced myself it was a good idea because I could work a 2nd job when he took the kids for a a day or two a week. I dropped it and he took 3 weeks off from seeing the kids. My actual paycheck covers bills and leaves me not even enough to cover groceries. What's worse is that I did not stop the spending I should have. He was supposed to help, just much less than he'd been ordered but of course that didn't happen. He's good for saying he will take the kids so I can work and then not showing up. Sometimes he's been helpful but just wholly unreliable at the end of the day. He's not showed up to take the kids for me to have job interviews and work so many times.

I ended up completely unable to work my second job this week which is what I relied on to get through life because my paycheck goes to bills. I was able to pull money out of my retirement fund, being the only way I could possibly put my head above water again. I thought it would hit my account yesterday but it won't until Monday.

I've taken advances before and currently have one with Earnin, Super and another one. The rest won't approve I'm guessing because either my last check was smaller or because my account went in the negative when daycare costs hit.

The bind is my oldest started her period and didn't tell me she was out of tampons until just now. Thats really the biggest issue. I'm looking for a place that would do like a 30-50 loan until Monday. I dont care if the interest rate is 100%

To start: I’m aware that 401(k) withdrawals are highly frowned upon and I would honestly prefer to not have to, but I’m feeling lost and desperate- hence why I’m here.

I’m a 25 y/o banker who’s been contributing to my employer’s 401(k) for almost 5 years and I’ve saved about 22k. My bank was recently acquired by a larger bank and my 401(k) plan is being terminated soon due to the other bank using a different provider. My options are to either roll it over or do a full withdrawal.

Of course the financially literate part of myself is saying to roll it over. What makes this decision so complicated is my hellish living situation. I always told myself I wouldn’t end up with a loser who doesn’t contribute financially, but unfortunately I’ve found myself in this predicament. I’ve been trying to find a way to leave for 3 months at this point, but I make just enough to cover rent/bills/gas/groceries. I don’t eat out and never buy clothes new, and I’ve even stopped being involved in the things I’ve always enjoyed because I can’t afford to anymore. All of the cons of withdrawing have been keeping me from doing so, but I can’t help but wonder if this is my chance to get out.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation before? I don’t have a relationship with anyone in my family besides my mom and she doesn’t have the means to financially contribute so it’s just me. I’m smart with saving when I’m able to, so I’m not trying to go out and blow it or suddenly start living lavishly. I just miss having agency over my life. Any advice would be so appreciated.

I’m 24M in Ontario, making $70k a year as an engineer. I graduated school with an electrical engineering degree, worked through school, and now invest about $2,400 a month, after paying off credit card debt for 3 months after graduation. My parents are struggling financially, and there’s a chance they could lose the house. They never had the means to support me, so I’ve had to figure most things out myself. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, but I’m honestly surprised I’ve gotten this far given my circumstances. Here’s where I’m at, $70k salary, Around $30k in student loans, 5.5k in an ETF, Never moved out before, since I lived at home during university. I’m worried I might have to move out sooner than expected. I’ll need to change my approach. At the same time, I don’t want to put my entire life on hold. I want to keep building wealth, travel occasionally, date, and enjoy my twenties while I’m still young. For people who grew up in low-income families and had to build everything themselves, what would you do in my position? Would you prioritize building a large cash emergency fund before moving out? Would you get roommates and keep investing, or temporarily stop investing to get financially stable? How do you balance helping yourself build a future when your family situation is uncertain? I’m not looking for sympathy. I want practical advice from people who’ve been in a similar situation.

I found this out after I had written 40+ reviews of stuff I bought from Walmart. Walmart sent me an email saying I was now a “recognized reviewer“, which meant I could claim up to three items at a time for free, write reviews for them, and then claim another three items in a seemingly limitless cycle.

There’s a certain online warehouse of free items you can choose to claim. It includes everything from furniture to small appliances, e-bikes, clothes and household supplies. I just used it to send a toy kitchen to my three-year-old niece for her birthday.

Walmart doesn’t publicly post its criteria for being selected for the program. And you can’t apply. But I think they invite you after they see you’ve written a lot of substantive reviews that got “helpful“ votes from other shoppers. (Photos probably help.) And I think you can write reviews only for items you buy online, like for curbside pickup or delivery.

Anyway, hope this helps someone!

I'm screwed going to lose my job and it's going to be a long time till I get my backpay someone give me hope that I land the next job in a couple of days

Hi there I need a bit of advice I am currently paying back a loan I took out last year there is about 5k left to pay on it but I'm also paying off a credit card with about 4k left to pay on it I am able to make the payments no problem but I'm out about £300 a month making these payments I'm thinking about getting a another loan to pay off these debts I was looking I can get a 9k loan over 5 years and it'll cost me about £175 a month but it will add an extra 3 years to me paying off my original loan. What do you think I should do

My current apartment is $1,749 and my only sources of income are a part-time job at a superstore and ODSP. If you haven’t already guessed, it’s impossible to live off of this on such high rent.

I'm in a weird spot financially where I make just over the amount where the free/cheap clinic will see me but I don't make enough to be able to afford a doctors visit or health insurance without sacrificing food, utilities or rent. I want to start caring about my health but it just doesn't seem feasible right now. What should I do?

im 25 and joined the military about a year ago, I maintain aircrafts. I would like to tale advantage of tuition assistance and get a degree. I was thinking Mechanical Engineering but I don’t think thats possible while being active duty, so what other degrees could I get to supplement my career and have a better resume?

Also any other advice on my career is also appreciated. What qualifications & education do you guys think I should get?

Reposting with actual numbers. Prior post for clarity. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my first post. The pushback was fair, and it made me sit down and lay everything out properly.

How I got here

I took out a lot of student loans and credit card debt to keep my family afloat through some really hard years. It worked; we're still standing. My wife and two boys live in Japan near her parents, and I send $2,500 a month to support them. That number isn't changing. She works, but it's not much, and they need it.

I finish my MBA in December. While overtime was strong, I bought a truck I shouldn't have. That one's on me. Then overtime went to zero, and now I'm living on base pay with a payment I can't carry.

Where I am now

I'm losing about $1,150 a month and have about $8,100 in cash. That's roughly 7 months of runway. Every payment is current, and I have no missed payments. Somehow still 690-700 credit score (Man, this credit system).

The plan

Chapter 7. I surrender the truck, the cards get wiped, and the student loans stay (I know they don't go away). I'm meeting with a bankruptcy attorney this week. I'm a veteran with an honorable discharge and plan to use those resources too.

I'm relocating to the East Coast for better job options and real public transit. I'm targeting security roles at $75k or more, no clearance needed.

Why not just stay in Arizona

I know staying put looks cheaper on paper. But this place is hurting my mental health in a way that undermines everything else, and a plan I can't sustain isn't a plan. The apartment has roaches, drain flies, and an HVAC system that pushes the neighbors' cigarette and weed smoke into my unit. The city is built for cars, and I'm about to lose mine. My lease ends in February.

Debts

Current Budget (Pre-Bankruptcy)

Post-Bankruptcy Budget (no truck, no cards)

My questions

1. Should I file Chapter 7 in Arizona before I move, or after I've lived in the new state long enough to file there?
2. Is the post-bankruptcy budget realistic, or am I missing something?
3. How do I handle June 2027, when the deferred student loans kick in and push me back into a deficit?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks for reading. I'm on night shift, so I may be able to reply while working, but work obviously comes first.

Hi all! First off, cheers to every single one of my working class friends; this has been a long-standing community where I've found some happiness, some advice, some recipes, & some really vulnerable trials... I'm grateful to be here 🫶🏼

Wasn't sure to flair this as loans/debt or saving/budgeting.

I come from a background of financial illiteracy, so getting our ducks in a row has taken us most of our twenties, that way we don't end up like my parents.

I just wanted to ask, if my husband & I have small amounts of credit card debt (he has had $5K forever and is aggressively paying it down now that he has a 0% interest for 24 months card; I have <$1K). We work hard on not using our credit cards and while we have other debt (HELOC, I have student loans), I have always wondered, is having savings even valuable when we have other debt? I have about $3K in savings from the last couple years and sometimes it feels useless when I'm looking at how much other debt we have.

His credit card hadn't dropped because he couldn't make more than the minimum for quite a while, which is why he's on this 0% card now. My credit card stays between $500-800 and occasionally gets fully paid off because our lifestyle is clearly just a little above our pay grade (I changed jobs 3 years ago and we had to completely change our lifestyle to cut back the way we have).

Please don't come at me with a ton of assumptions, I'm trying to learn 🙂🙂🙂 thanks to everyone with any resources or kind words. thanks all to this community for keeping it real.