How do you deal with being broke?
I'm in my 30s so I should be used to this by now, but this shit is getting so stressful guys. I have no savings, my checking account is drained every month with rent, and if there's ever a serious emergency I have no safety net, I'm legitimately fucked. I'm one unplanned expense away from absolute ruin. Those in the same boat as me, how do you deal with this?
Hey man, first off I'm sorry for the situation you're in. I'm not sure if you are looking for commiseration or advice, so if I offer some please know comes from a place of love.
I was in a similar spot to what you're describing. I am not going to suggest that you can budget your way out of poverty - that's absurd, the only long term solution (aside from fixing a lot of broken systems) is more money.
That being said, this is something that made my situation more bearable. I cut up all my credit cards. I created two checking accounts, one for bills and one for everything else. I added up all my monthly bills and divided them by the number of pay periods in a month. I split direct deposit so that one checking account got the bill money and the other the rest. I never touched the bills account outside of depositing money and paying bills - I kept the physical debit card locked in my closet.
This helped me keep on top of my bills and keep an eye on how much discretionary money I actually had to spend. I found the alternative was piles of late fees when I forgot that x bill was coming out of this pay check and I stupidly bought a donut that week or whatever (man it sure is expensive to be poor).
Like I said, it's not a solution and I don't know your situation. No amount of budgeting is going to help if you don't have the income to cover your expenses, and I wish that that fact wasn't treated as a moral failing by so many people.
I'm glad to read that! I hope it helps. I would also recommend joining a credit union if you're eligible and not already a member. They will typically have much better rates and lower fees on various services. Also, doing this math can be depressing - I remember having weeks where I had like $30 to cover gas and food. If you find yourself in that situation, dried beans and a second-hand pressure cooker are a much healthier alternative to the usual ramen packets.
in a state of frustration after paying my rent this morning
lol me, every month at the end of the month.
There's a lot more column B on the personal finance lemmy if you want to go further!
Consider finding a budgeting tool to help. I use YNAB (though it’s gotten kind of expensive at $15/month) that keeps me in line. It’s a cash spending budget model that keeps me focused and away from credit card debt and ultimately saves me far, far more than the $15/month fee. It’s especially helpful if you have shared finances with a partner.
There are lots of good options out there from free to more expensive than YNAB, but a good tool can go a long way to helping you maximize what cash you do have.
One thing I’d change here is the credit card thing.
Not using a rewards credit card (like it’s a debit card) is leaving money on the table. I get 1-5% on every purchase I make and never pay interest because I pay the credit and as I go, never spending more than cash I have on hand.
Granted, this is a discipline thing and not everyone can trust themselves with a credit card, but if you can get that under control, you should absolutely be using a credit card for all spending unless the fee to do so is greater than the reward.
That's 100% true. After a certain point, I migrated from using my "bills" checking account for everything to using a credit card with cash back rewards, and paying that off every pay period rather than using the checking account. But, that is only useful advice if you are already out of debt - if you're carrying a balance on your credit card, rewards are likely not going to out pace your interest accumulation. It's also a good idea to try to fit in as much savings as you can - any little bit in a money market account making you money is a good thing, and invaluable when an emergency comes up. But again, that is very very dependent on your financial situation, and may not be realistic to many people.
Studies repeatedly show people spend more with cards. It's often more than the cash back amount in the first place, and additional fees for credit cards is becoming more common. Cash is vastly superior at controlling spending.
It ain't pretty, but here's how I got through it until I started bringing in good money:
This works but isn't a great way to live. You need to combine it with a plan to either make more money or relocate to a cheaper area while maintaining your current income.
Thanks for mentioning this! Even with a small apartment freezer, I've always found it worthwhile to buy meat in bulk and separate it into 1# packs for freezing. Aldi tends to have great bulk meat deals in my area.
One caveat with the food tip is that eating absolute garbage like highly processed frozen food is still gonna be cheaper. I guess it's cause they put so much preservatives and so those have such a long shelf life. Not that I'm advocating for eating that but cooking for yourself is a cheap way to eat something nutritious. But as somebody who's gone through the same grind, it's still honestly just cheaper to eat garbage. But, I legitimately just feel better, think better, and overall am better on food I cook myself. And that improvement has knock on effects for the rest of everything you do in life.
I'd argue against highly processed frozen food being cheaper. If you buy the basics in bulk it has been cheaper in my experience. You've gotta have the time to cook from scratch, though, and that's rough when you're working multiple jobs. People with kids gotta have it even worse.
Buy fewer candles
I just straight up burn avocados
Skip the lattes.
😂
I'm not really the correct person to answer this, since I'm not struggling to the same degree as you are.
However I once heard a good tip on how to save money. Most people, when they receive their salary spent it first on the necessities (food, rent, etc) and then save the remainder (if anything is left). But instead you should first save a percentage of your pay before spending on any necessities. That way, your brain will try to make the best use the remaining money to survive the best it can
To echo what some people have said, if you haven’t changed jobs in the last year or two; you absolutely should do so.
As you’ve realized, there’s only so much you can do on the cost side to have things balance. Cost of living has risen relentlessly, but thankfully in many areas wages are finally growing too, and new hires usually get the higher rates.
So not changing jobs frequently, especially in the industries you mentioned, is just leaving money on the table.
Aside from that, definitely look into trades, but also look into local government, healthcare (like being a patient scheduler at a hospital), really any industry you are looking to break into as a career.
They really need the help now, especially for entry level positions, and if you do a good job, you could parlay that into a career in an industry you’re excited about.
So spend like 30 minutes each day looking for jobs, and don’t stop until you’re hired. Remember, even if you end up hating it, you can always quit and get rehired immediately in industries you’re more familiar with, because they also desperately need help too.
I realized that paying rent was like throwing money into a bottomless pit. Obviously buying a house was out of the question so I bought a used RV and moved into that. I added solar panels and all the VanLife type stuff and now my biggest expense is for the storage unit I put all my stuff in. No more rent, no power, water or most other bills. StarLink is expensive but with all the other expenses eliminated it's not bad at all.
But what about an address? No address, no bank account. No bank account, no job. Or can you get paid another way in the US?
Where did you park it?
You get some space by taking a better job and/or better budgeting
OR
You become numb to the grinding system
If you are willing to work, many of the trades are hiring and having a hard time getting apprentices/helpers. If you can pass a basic algebra test, you can make it as an electrician.
The company I work for starts wages at $12+/hour with lots of overtime opportunities (including mandatory) and planned raises each year of your apprenticeship. I also know of a carpenter shop hiring helpers at $16+ because they can't get help.
Please don't feel like you have no path forward. You just have to look outside your comfort zone a little.
Assuming you're in the US, check out the USPS for jobs. They are understaffed and so long as you can jump through the hoops, they'll hire you. I applied there back in 2013 and when I went in for an "interview" it was more of a walkthrough of if you complete x, y, and z by the deadline you're hired. It pays well and you can get a ton of hours for overtime pay. I can't talk to the job conditions, since I ended up going with a different job at the time.
There's a lot of government positions that require just high school, and pay more than typical.
But they're annoying to apply to, and often can make you wait a long time. Look into your cities job bank, same with state/province and/or federal level.
Any chance you could retrain in trade school?
It would help if you shared a little more about your income, your expanses, and your location.
Sales pays the best because you're in the revenue generating column, not the cost column and also last to get the sack in a downturn
Maybe a side hustle? If you have a good eye, upcycling stuff from charity shops is a way to generate extra income.
If you are good at driving a CDL is a gateway to higher paying jobs as well.
The game is cruel and we're forced participate.
If you don't have immediate obligations such as kids, older, or sick family members/friends.
The industry is full of crap but I went from food service to driving a semi. 4 week school paid for by the company(after signing a 1yr contract) do that one year knowing it's going to suck and then find something local you like or stay on the road and do online school/self study. Most all of the big US based companies have partnered with online colleges to heavily discount the cost.
I did it as an emergency to save for a year and get out but ended up liking it and now work in safety with no school, just experience.
Are you living with a roommate? If not, you can save money by doing this.
Have you thought about changing careers? Look for federal, state, and city programs that will pay you to learn a trade. Or look for a job that has on the job training — like an electronics or factory job, or doing tech support.
Do you qualify for assistance programs — like food pantries or food stamps? There’s no shame in it. Helping you get back on your feet is what these programs are for.
Are you living with a roommate? If not, you can save money by doing this.
I lived with roommates for like 9 years before I was able to move out on my own. I hate that it's a luxury to live by yourself and have true privacy.
A lot of the good answers are already posted. I'll share my experience.
A bunch of people I know, including myself, rose out of retail hell through customer service jobs. My first one was making $55k/year (in 2023 dollars. This was a while ago because I'm old) and jumped decently after a year. Plus it was steady work at a desk with insurance. I switched to another company doing the same kind of thing after a year or two, and was able to transfer internally to IT. A couple years later I made the leap to engineering. I don't have a computer science degree. It was all experience and teaching myself.
A bunch of other friends took similar paths, and now have higher paying jobs.
But this was in new york city, where there are a lot of startups looking to hire people. And because the companies were small, the jobs weren't a cubicle hell where you read from a script. I got to actually help people troubleshoot when I was doing IT. That first job I could just talk to people like people.
I don't know how different it is now or in other parts of the country. I'm not sure how much the pandemic and AI hype has changed the market. But getting a first foot in the door is really helpful. You can meet people and get on the job experience.
A lot of job listings might require a college degree, but enough experience can be a substitute. Also knowing people helps a stupid, unfair, amount.
Gotta either cut costs or increase pay. When I was living on $600 a month I roommated up, I applied for food assistance (SNAP), I bought a shitty craigslist car rather than picking up a car note, and I stuck to cheap cell carriers.
The last one is a place a lot of people could save a few dollars. T-mobile has a plan called t-mobile connect that is $15 a month with a few gigs of data. Works fine. Actually still use it now that I have a better job.
Ultimately you need to make more though. Think about all the skills you’ve gained in food service and retail and apply for another job you think you’d be good at. Imo anyone can do low level office work, for example. Sounds like you’re in the US, so keep an eye on Craigslist and Idealist.org (two engines where the jobs available are usually actually available unlike most search engines). Make it a habit of scrolling through and forming an opinion about what you would/wouldn’t like. Make a resume to fit (use chat gpt to help). Lie about things you’re pretty sure you could handle no problem but have no experience with. Once you get a better job do the whole thing again with the new experience to pad your resume.
Also if you have an senior family member, over 55, t-mobile has senior citizen plans that are unlimited for like $70 for two phones.
I absolutely feel your pain and was in your situation for a long time. For over a decade as an adult, I lived well below the poverty line and was homeless for a couple stretches.
I obviously don't know you or your situation beyond what you shared, but I believe that you can improve your life just like I did. I was so poor and struggled for so long that I finally had enough and vowed to never be in that situation again. While the mindset helps, it was a long time of extra effort that got me into a comfortable position.
For me the biggest help was no one thing; it was a bunch of incremental improvements over about a decade. A jump to different jobs that pay even $1.50/hr more buy breathing room. I know you're not "buying too much avocado toast," but there might be ways to stretch your necessities budget; I hear that sometimes things get missed when using self checkouts.
Depending on where you are, there are hopefully food banks and living assistance services in your areas. If you need internet and don't have it, libraries are great places (and you can still check out books and movies for entertainment).
I wanted to write code for a living, so I got a computer science associates degree (not even a bachelor's); I went to school in the evenings and delivered pizzas when I didn't have class. This was on top of my day job. It was no picnic; I had a few meltdowns from being overworked and exhausted. You don't even need to go the school/degree route. We need skilled tradesmen. Pipe fitting, welding, carpentry, electrical work, etc... are always in need and they can provide a good quality of life.
My general view is fuck corporate loyalty. If you can jump ship and make more money elsewhere: do it. If you can't afford some recurring bill: stop paying it. You are more important than those business.
Look into assistance services now. Always be looking for a new job that will pay more. Identify a five year career goal and work toward it. It's not a today solution, but that was basically how I escaped being crushed by our system.
I wish you the best.
Hi there, I am trying to claw myself out of a financial hole myself and I would value your opinion.
I am currently pursuing an associates in computer science myself, I am curious how far/what kind of job that landed you. I am just wanting to see my options once I achieve getting the degree as well.
Thanks in advance.
Not OP, but here are my 2 cents. You can't really go wrong with that degree imho. Even if you only land an entry level job at the beginning, you can quickly advance from there. You just to have keep learning.
If you haven't done so already, get a raspberry pi, install docker, get used to how it works. Destroy everything, start over. Get another pi, learn kubernetes.
You can stand out and succeed if you can learn and adapt to new technologies. The system doesn't matter, it's how you approach it.
Beat of luck to you!
Can you donate plasma or white blood cells to the Red Cross? I go to their main center in Philadelphia and they pay $50 for a presceen appointment (1 hour) and $450 for the donation (3-4 hours).
Ask for a raise. Find another job.
Keep a separate savings account. This won't increase your income but it's absolutely vital that you do this. I fully understand that you don't have money for this, but here's the idea: if you're already broke at the end of the month, then what difference does it make if you're broke one day earlier every month? Let's say you have a payout of €3000 monthly. That means you have €100 for each day of the month. Put €100 in a savings account and you'll go broke 1 day earlier, but you now have €100 saved for unexpected shit. Keep it up for a some months and you'll have enough saved to deal with moving/changing jobs etc. Eventually you'll adjust your expenses so you don't get broke even if you set the money aside. You can figure this out. This is how my wife and I saved up for our marriage. By going voluntary broke before it actually happened.
Okay, once you have some "financial security" saved up, do you have a budget account? Keep a budget account so you don't overspend. Only transfer the excess to your spending account, so you don't spend money that was supposed to pay for the rent/electricity/internet/food. Whatever is in excess is safe to spend.
If this is not possible, then your financial life isn't sustainable. Ask for a raise. Find a different job.
I just cry.
If you don't mind sharing, what education do you have, and what are you currently doing for work?
Getting a better job paying job is never the answer. We need all jobs to pay living wage.
I have no education and a high paying job. Some people have education and no job in their area, can't move across states, or good jobs in cities that are too expensive. Some people have dependents (siblings, relatives) that eat up that little extra you had. This is not due to the family issues but to general socio-economic background issues. If you're from a poor family, no matter how well you do, you're that further behind.
There's a million reasons, and none of those are because he doesn't browse /r/personalFinance enough
Agreed and that'd be great. But also, no that doesn't help this individual right now at all.
Of course a better paying job will help. If your job paid more and you spend the same, suddenly and by definition, the person would not be as broke.
Wish I could upvote this twice. This needed to be said.
Sure, we all need to fight for proper social safety nets and living wage laws. But that shit is the long game.
OP is looking for strategies for how to navigate the current fucked up system.
Knowing where one is starting is crucial to formulating a plan.
I was once in OP's shoes, college drop out ten years ago, and not a lot of good job prospects. I am now less than a year out of a degree with an income potential close to or actually hitting 6 figures. I was able to work myself into a sound financial position and return to college. Now with a family, and a stay at home spouse.
Yes, there are a litany of socio-economic issues that can make things more difficult, but to say "getting a better paying job is never the answer" is false. It may be challenging, and it may take time, but there are rarely no options. I have a good friend with a felony, 7 years in prison, and a college drop out who is in a HCOL area who is able to support themselves well with a trade. Yeah, they work weird hours, but they make good money.
On an individual level it absolutely can be the answer. It's not the answer to the systemic problem but it can still help OP.
If you can, move back in with your parents
I honestly just take as much care of myself as I can afford and hope for the best.
I’m still living with my parents. I’m in my 30s. I’m unemployed. Yeah, I’m a failure.
Similar to what others have said you need to make some changes. Figure out how the game works. Get educated. Find a new job, get certs, go back to school, rehab your credit, find a cheaper place, make moves.
this is the way
There was a time this was an option, but with the glut of CS grads out there I'd be shocked if this would be a viable path these days.
All else being equal, why would you pick the self-taught guy v. the guy with a degree in Comp Sci? They're good skills to have regardless, but it sounds like you got very lucky (edit: to be clear, this doesn't take away from the work you would've put in).
Does depend on the talent pool for system engineers where you are, though.
I'm assuming you are in the US. The problem with being broke is it is stressful. Stress impacts decision making, causing a cycle. The US is a capitalist society that educated people to behave as socialists with regards to business, career management, and employment.
The people that REALLY need financial planning advice can't afford it. Those that can use it to go from rich to richer.
The best thing you can do is get some help going through your expenses to see what you can optimize. Once you start getting a little bit of a breather, you will feel a lot better.
I've been following the FIRE community for close to a decade, so if you want, I can probably help you find some fat to trim.
I crash at my friend's house.
What's your social network look like, OP? For people in your situation, your friends and family will have to be your safety net. Shared resources can also bring expenses down.
This is going to be from my very American perspective on being broke. Your circumstances may be significantly different.
I used to be in your boat. I started working in the trades and being an apprentice at the same time. It wasn't amazing pay to start, but it was enough and significantly better than the minimum wage I'd been earning before.
The way I managed for years on minimum wage was the following:
And finally 6. Government assistance. If you simply cannot make ends meet, applying for food stamps and/or medical insurance is something you should do. People generally don't want to think they need it or just don't know how to sign up for it. Having a bit of savings on food and at least some medical safety/help for any prescriptions is always useful.
The thing you will definitely run into as you more than likely know is a complete lack of free time.
Ignore 5, OP. As described, it's exactly the trap the credit card companies want you to fall into, and you're susceptible at the mo.
I've never had one, don't know anyone that has one. There's nothing you can buy with it safely that can't wait without getting in debt, no matter how short a timescale
It's listed as risky for a reason. The thing the credit card companies want is for you to overspend, or buy something beyond your means that will take you awhile to pay back so they can make interest money. The way in which people can benefit from is purely by making it a stepping stone payment system. Never spend money you don't have and just keep it purely for earning points.
When I had a job that didn't pay enough, I did side work. For me, for a long time, that was reffing mens hockey.
Another time I was struggling I approached my boss and said I know I'm not your best employee right now, but I want to turn it around and get into a higher paying position. What do you need me to do? Then I did it, and moved up.
5 yrs ago we moved to anew city and I started over in a new thing. I took a job that didn't really cover our bills, and my wife and I had to make some cuts.
But I wanted certain freedoms like the freedom to do my hobbies or take a vacation, so identified ways to earn additional income through the job I had (in my case it was handling little repairs like replacing smoke detector batteries and light bulbs, installing missing door stops and changing deadbolts). I've kept grinding until I took over for my boss, and I continue to handle repairs also. Effectively I work a job and side job at the same time 6 days a week. I work fucking hard, but I had nice vacations with my fam this summer, live in a good house and drive a good vehicle.
So honestly - and while I don't think this is how it should be - in the system we have, I just grind harder. I am amazed at my ability to do this now in my 30s and now 40s compared to how lazy (in hindsight) I was in my 20s.
By the way! I'm also pretty happy now because my job is (mostly) ok, I don't dread Mondays or anything most weeks.
I used to go over to my friends and they would feed me. They weren't much better off than me but they could afford to get some extra ramen and KD.
I suggest joining a domestic terrorist organization. Become the solution. Accelerate our fall into a true third world nation.
This isn't your situation, but this is how we did it while living very paycheck to paycheck. Plan and budget. We had a plan for everything. It hurt, but we planned our store trips, our meals were the sales and manager specials. We knew how much gas we were buying and which kid had birthdays and gifts to buy for, and we shopped ebay gift cards and scrapped by. We also made hard decisions, and it sucked. We cut cable, and other non essentials, we almost never went out. We were able to plan a path out, we refinanced our house, by taking a title loan on my car. We consolidated our cc debt.
What I'm trying to say is, you find a way. Maybe you can work towards a promotion, or a new career. Or find a different living situation which would be cheaper to help sort it out. Try not to lose hope, try to find a path to prosper. I'm pulling for you.
Not in the same boat as you as I got decent financial education about saving money from my parents. Okay legit advice here. You have only two options. Earn more OR cut your expenses. The best is doing both. There's of course a minimum to expenses. You have to reflect on every part of your expenses, make a list of all fix costs that are not immediately changeable (rent, electricity, water etc) then make a list of changeable expenses (food, restaurant visits, cell phone contract etc). Then a list of completely redundant expenses that are not needed for survival which you've done in the last year/365 days. (New TV, cell phone, expensive clothing etc). Compare all of that and analyze what you can cut down. If your rent is high and/or your apartment is too big for you, move into a smaller one with the saved up money from above cost cutting. And on the side look for better paid jobs and change jobs/companies every 2 years. It's too much of a hassle to discuss with your employer why you should be paid more just look for other companies, statistics show this is the best strategy to get a salary increase. Sounds like your situation is pretty dire, so start right away! All the best, mate, hope it helps.
To add to this, I think it's really helpful to have a monthly (or whatever works best for you) budget, and to compare your predicted versus actual balance at the end of the month. It may: give you feedback and increase your awareness (and decision-making) of your spending and budget, increase your confidence in your ability to manage your finances, help you manage them more rationally (versus emotionally at the time of "where'd all the money go?"), and truly help you reduce debt/ save money. I use a spreadsheet that I update with each paycheck. My parents are very financially literate, but I had to learn this stuff for myself. I reckon it might be a bit of a lost (and sorely missed) art in the age of credit cards, in-app purchases, online gambling, and an over-reliance on subscription services. It's not a panacea but it really helped me get out of the debt I had
Same, I honestly think it will end up with becoming a thief for food, probably living hidden in a house that doesn't belong to me spend the time in a sleeping bag too hungry for move, waiting to dying.
What do you do for a living?
If you've worked so much retail I guess the next logical step would be to shift to field sales. Companies across all industries are almost always in want of good salesmen and you stand a chance of earning good commissions if you put in decent effort, and eventually you can get into management and move up the corporate ladder. I don't know what's operating wherever you live, but to start with maybe you can hit up offices of telecom companies, banks or wholesale e-commerce firms. You don't need a lot of qualifications to enter field sales.
You can try to check which expenses could be avoided, look for a better job, study to get a better one in your spare time, get a part time job, do some random tasks in Upwork, etc
You could also legally move to another country and work remotely, earning $1k USD/ month should suffice to have a decent lifestyle almost anywhere, although gentrification is becoming an issue in some places.
Coming back to the stress, you could talk to a therapist and see what could help that situation. Maybe some journaling and life planning could help you identify what's going on with your life and how you can deal with it.
my dude how rich are you?
2/3rds the things you suggest, he’d had 0 access to
It's funny because that's a big part of capitalism for when people couldn't afford to keep up, and people like him don't see how expensive it is to be poor. They've been convinced it's not the systems problem, and people who are poor just want to be poor. Bootstraps and all, and they think they are giving sound and reasonable advice.
"Just spend thousands of dollars on for profit education, for profit health-care and for profit real-estate, and you'll be back on your feet in no time! Here's a 20% interest loan to get ya started".
2/3rds the things you suggest, he’d had 0 access to
Can you specify which ones? I'm genuinely interested in what would be difficult to access here. I think maybe the therapist would cost a lot if you don't find a cheap or even free option, but life planning and journaling are completely free to do on your own, looking for a better job can be done for free on LinkedIn, studying can be done for free in Youtube, getting a part-time job can be done if you have extra time, checking Upwork I think costs now because of the connects but there are probably other free alternatives for task-based gigs.
Going to another country legally should also not cost as much if you prepare for it, but I guess it could be challenging if you don't have any chance to save any money at all, but going to LATAM should be relatively affordable to Americans and Canadians.
my dude how rich are you?
I wouldn't say I'm rich although I live a frugal albeit comfortable lifestyle, I went to Asia (1 month) and Europe (3 months) last year while earning $6 per hour, I just had to save for a few months, I was renting studios in city centers so not even going to hostels and eating crackers. I'd say I spent around $3k on that trip
I agree. Moving to another country, even if it is on paper requires money. So does a therapist. I'm in a better position than op and I don't get a therapist although I could use one.
Self study is important though. speaking from experience with the same life experience as op, learning a new trade and going with it has changed my life for the better by a lot. finding the right (paying) employerin the trade is a bit of work (years). some jobs just don't pay enough to live off. I know it's wrong.
A tip I can give op is to put the savings in a bank account you don't have access to. in the same of somebody else. I went through a period of cash only. This was pre-smartphone, so transfers between accounts required me to go to the bank. Perhaps move financial applications to a secondary phone if you have one, or install when needed.
You can try for customer support, legal assistant, virtual receptionist, virtual assistant, scheduler, appointment setter, or just go into sales if you are good at that, all of those pretty normally don't require any experience at all.
If you have some good tech skills you can also go for help desk or it technician.
Btw school would be ideal to learn something but it's not the only way to learn, you can try Udemy or just YouTube to learn a lot of stuff that could help you land a new job.
Lots of ways to educate yourself for a new job. You could take night classes at the local junior college if you have some money, or you can find free things online that would relate more directly to the sort of work you want to apply to. E.g. learning the basics of Excel at night for a month.
Post questions here if you're looking for specific resources. You'd be surprised what you can find online for free!
Other comment has great recommendations for the sorts of jobs you could do with minimal experience.
What do you currently do for work? Are you open to changing careers?
Consider a genuine reboot.
Switch neighborhoods. Towns. Regions. States. Countries. The point is, change things up, big-time.
Don’t half-ass it, either; turn a page. Make a 1-year and 5-year plan. Get a room, not an apartment. Structure a budget. Learn a trade. Work out.
find a non retail gig that most people wouldnt like to do that you wouldnt mind doing.
Back in my twenties we never went out, no cellphones, set goals, and did things cheaply.
Back in my twenties I worked for a couple dollars above minimum wage and had to donate plasma in order to make rent. Hell, “consider donating plasma as an extra revenue stream” is probably more helpful advice than “never go out; don’t have a cellphone; set goals.”
Organize with socialists, make use of mutual aid. Provides an IRL version of what you're seeking here- uou are in no way alone. This is how most people live and it is by systemic design.
There's a lot of power, and value, in making local irl connections so that when you need help or just to talk to people, you'll know that you have options. Also, some options take time, so getting on top of them now will pay dividends. Examples include food stamps and subsidized housing. Finally, lefties sometimes like to help each other get better jobs.
Of course I can also suggest ways to live cheaply, but there is a hard limit under this economic system and you might already be there.
Also please feel free to DM if you want to talk about anything.
Crime. That's the answer. I don't suggest or recommend it, but people who genuinely can't survive or achieve any meaningful quality of life while participating in the social order will violate it instead. Some people shoplift; others engage in elaborate plots to rip off their landlords and creditors, but there's no squaring the circle. I'm not in the same boat, but I've been there, and it's only a stroke of good fortune that kept me from a very different road.
Why are you ordering Sony XM4s if you’re “broke”? Sounds like you’re just a scumbag who wants to justify being a scum bag to society.
This is absolutely horrible advice. Being financially broke doesn't mean having to be morally broke. Those who don't have much money don't have to become bad people.
The first line literally says they don't suggest or recommend it. The Answer was how do people do it. Crime is how some people do it.
Yeah, but unfortunately it's par for the course on lemmy.
"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."
That is to say, the error is to conflate law with morality. They are not one and the same.
Sounds like you're in the US. Most other Western countries have a much better social safety net to actually address these problems.
...I would like to learn more about this
Ew criminal
clipping. sums it up perfectly.
Warning: best with headphones and ten minutes to spare. I was hung over when I listened and it was not a fun experience. Would recommend.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/qFtxuocl1gw
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.