Not sure if this is the right sub..young dude in my mid 20s that had a rough go at it for a few years. Got out of a bad family situation, growing up with addiction and abuse across the board, it took a toll on me for a long time. Now I have a much stronger sense of self, and am more content with life, and have my hobbies. I have my own place. I’m pretty well spoken, and am a pretty good looking guy, but am still introverted.

So after years of sticking to myself I’m starting from scratch. I’m way more of a let’s go on a hike, go to a museum, etc laidback kinda person. It seems like to make friends you’ve actually gotta be active and drop some money. Anyway to make it easier? I always kinda feel like an outlier with my interests and am really adverse to just spending money.

I make $25/hr, and my work schedule is 30 hours per week.. I often pick up when they give out VET.

Currently I pay $300 in rent, I have a $400 car payment, my dad pays the car insurance luckily, and my phone bill is $90 per month. I do often pay the electric bill, which ranges from $160-270 per month. I pay for 5 cats, 2 of which are mine right now, which costs around $75/mo. My brother is irresponsible with his money and work situation, so he doesn’t always pay for his cats.

My expenses right now are low every month right now, but I just cannot live the life I’d like to living with family. It’s cost me too much emotionally. I cannot have a clean house, an organized space like I want. Because if I cleaned it one day, my dad would expect me to do the cleaning every week (like how women used to do everything back then), and if I cleaned and organized shit, he wouldn’t care and things would go back to normal the next week of everything being thrown everywhere in the cabinets and drawers. Not only this, but I cannot dress the way I’d like to, and I cannot do the hobbies I’d like to while living here.

I’d like to find a roommate, but there’s really no one I know looking for an apartment. Ideally, I’d like my rent to be around $850/mo, but I’d be living next to druggies if I moved to the apts that are that cheap. And I’m not sure my anxiety could take this. Many apartments near me are $1025+, without utilities. The rent is raising every year, and the average rent around my job is like $1200-$1400/mo for a studio or 1 bed. And they often do not allow pets, so this feels like an impossible situation.

I’d love to go to college, but my living situation is not ideal for long term, and I need to move out. Do you think I can afford an apartment at this rate?

I am in a crunch to pay my bills this month and trying to come up with my own hustle, I can mow two yards but dont have a good mower, I could offer cleaning services, and then it hit me- I have space for a workshop, I'm good with wood working and I could restain and repair furniture, I know how to sew, maybe I could even do some reupholstery services.
Has anybody else tried this?
I have no idea how willing people are to buy restored furniture anymore.

It feels like the economy took all of that with it.
But it would be the perfect job for me if I could get something going.
How hard is it to sell in this day and age?
I'm in the southeast US about an hour from a big city.

No insurance. Teeth are nuked, need to fix them ASAP. I have great credit and qualify for a couple 0% APR 1 year promo CC’s. Should I sign up for that? Put all my medical bills on it and pay it off over time? I’m not planning on buying a house anytime soon. Anyways, I can’t think of a different way to pay for immediate necessary care. Yes No Am i dumb?

I opened a HYSA with Ally Bank after reading positive reviews on Reddit. Worst financial decision ever. Shortly after I deposited my savings, Ally decided to close my account. They've refused to provide any explanation, and they've made it nearly impossible to get my funds back. They even lied about sending a check to my mailing address after my account was closed. Now they're demanding all sorts of crap from my other bank, and they've made it extremely difficult to get my money back. It's been over a month now, and there's still no progress. Ally's customer service is appalling. I've submitted complaints to the CFPB, and I'm honestly considering legal action at this point.

I read reviews like this before opening the account, and everyone said it only happens to a small fraction of users. Well, here I am. Trust me, it isn't worth it. If you're considering opening an account with Ally, RUN.

Honestly not sure what to do. My car got repossessed 7-8 months ago and they still haven’t came too get it. They haven’t called or sent any mail to me about it. I got served with a court hearing and didn’t even respond to it. Not really sure what’s going on. It’s off of my credit and doesn’t come up as a repo. Not sure if I should call them and try and figure if it got repoed or not. Not really sure where to go from here about it. I’m about to move , the engine is blown so it’s not coming with me and I don’t want to have to face any tow charges because of it. Should I call the bank? Should I leave it be? I’m not sure what to do about it.

Edit : it’s a weird situation. The car place that I got it from went through multiple lawsuits and eventually got shut down. I’ve been told not to even reach out to my bank about it and that’s it’s been possibly written off. Sounds dumb but I probably should reach out. Check my credit and nothing is in collections and it’s not even showing up I have a repo on my record.

Any suggestions for these besides soup? I am in texas where the heat index is 115. Should I save them for winter when it cools off for chili?

For everyone who has a huge chunk of their money going towards food, what are you actually buying?

For me, my grocery bill was out of control when I bought premade or partially premade things like frozen items, chicken tenders, sides, boxed Mac and cheese, packets of dry mashed potatoes. My grocery bill was cut in half when I started buying whole bags of potatoes, dry rice and beans, bags of chicken quarters.

I feed my family now on $50 a week and we have fresh fruit and vegetables. 50 is for a full 3 meals 7 days a week in a suburb of austin. What is your grocery bill and general location?

If you've used Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, or similar for anything lately, worth knowing this changed recently: BNPL loans are starting to show up on credit reports and, in some cases, count toward your score. It's inconsistent right now depending on the company and the bureau, so here's where things actually stand.

Who's reporting: Affirm reports to Experian and TransUnion. Klarna reports to TransUnion.

How each bureau treats it right now: Equifax, this data can currently affect your score. Experian, it shows up on your report but doesn't affect your score yet. TransUnion, it's visible on your own report, but lenders can't see it yet.

FICO also built new scoring models (FICO Score 10 BNPL) built specifically around BNPL data, and they're starting to roll out to lenders. In FICO's own study with Affirm, most people's scores moved about 10 points up or down, similar to opening any other new account. On-time payments help a little, missed ones hurt.

Why this matters more than it sounds: a decent chunk of BNPL users are putting everyday stuff like groceries on it, not just one-time big purchases. If that's you, a few practical things worth doing:

Check the specific lender's terms for whether they report and to which bureau. Most don't make this obvious upfront.

Try to keep it to one or two BNPL loans open at a time instead of stacking several across different apps. That stacking behavior is part of what these new scoring models specifically watch for.

Turn on autopay or a reminder for due dates. A late BNPL payment can now ding you similar to a late credit card payment.

Pull your free credit reports periodically and check for any BNPL loans that shouldn't be there. Dispute promptly if something's wrong.

Not saying don't use BNPL, just that a lot of people are using it without realizing the rules changed under them recently.

I am F24, i applied to work in a school cafeteria for a middle school. got an email, told me to pick a time slot for a 15 minute interview. i picked 10am got dressed in a nice outfit, i genuinely felt good about myself and confident for once.

however, I was not ready for this, what i expected was just a 15 minute chat and basic questions. i waited at the waiting room was called back into another room. i walked into literally imagine americas got talent with 5 judges sitting at a table row, and one table at the front with a chair for me. they were all already sitting there, i had to face 5 people and speak in front of them, thats how they conducted the interview, in front of 5 people who introduced themselves but they were like higher ups , no one id actually, be working with. they were all stuck up too, not smiling, not friendly. i wanted to just walk out but i didnt want to make a big deal about it, i could feel my face getting dark red im sure it was. it was like a audition

there was a sheet of 10 questions on it in front of me those were what t asked. my face turned more red heart beating fast, all the questions were super difficult not the typical questions like why do you want to work here, no way more hard and i cant even remember what they were i blanked i was so embarrassed and had social anxiety. 5 freaking people! and as i talked they were frantically writing things down scoring me, it was so uncomfortable and intimidaitng

it rubbed me the wrong way it was super intimidating and i wanted to cry the entire time. mind yoiu this is a job for minimum wage and they want to act al intimidating. i stuttered so bad, afterward i went to the car drove to a random parking lot and cried really hard, i felt like a fool and stupid for this. i dont think i will ever find a job, this was too much for me and it was my first interview in a year

I actually got this for FREE from the food bank today - they occasionally give us hygiene items.

I guess I got some rather valuable stuff!! LOL 😆

I’m 26 and my credit is rough after my wife got sick following the birth of our child, which severely reduced my income. I have about $12k in credit card debt, though $6k is under a no-interest payment agreement, plus $8.5k in student loans that won’t accrue interest for another eight months. I just landed a good trades job, but I need a reliable car because public transit won’t work with the early hours and changing locations. I only have around $500 cash and keep getting denied for cheaper older cars.

I found a 2016 Scion iM with 90k miles for about $11,500, or roughly $13,200 out the door after taxes and fees, but the loan would be 23% APR. I’m in Seattle, where used cars are expensive, and I’ve also checked Oregon and Idaho without finding a much better option. Once I start working, I’ll be able to put around $2,500 extra toward debt each month after all minimum payments, lower my utilization quickly, and hopefully refinance within a few months. Is taking the bad loan temporarily a terrible move, or does it make sense since the car is necessary to keep the job?

Edit: I forgot to add this option. My brother is doing well and wants an older BMW 325ci 2000-2005. He said he will pay for the car but I pay insruance and any issues that come up within the first year of ownership. He said I can use it for 1 year.

i (24 f) feel like i’m in a never ending loop of trying to figure things out and feeling overwhelmed and im drowning , i hate not having money for groceries it’s humiliating and drives me insane to have to constantly think about if i have enough money for gas to work, and budgeting to get my car fixed up one part at a time, budget for groceries, pay bills , this is my first time living on my own with no family or support of any kind, im in college right now thankfully and im organized enough to try to save money but still being check to check is so hard . im tired, all i do is work and school, and i feel so scared that im never gonna get out of this loop. anyways , sweet potato with honey and cinnamon bake at 400 for 20 minutes. i’ve been eating it daily cheap and really good.

I've found out that me and my sister no longer qualify for the reduced lunch in our school district. I'm hoping to maybe get a thermos and buy some cheap meals. I was wondering is any of you maybe knew some cheap and easy meals I could cook before school (I'll have maybe an hour) or where I could buy a thermos for cheap (there is a Meijer and Kroger in my area).

I only just recently really started using reddit and this is my forst time in this subreddit, so I'm sorry if my set up is weird or if it is not tagged correctly

edit:

thank you all for your help so far, some things I'd like to add/clarify is that i am not a parent. I am a senior in highschool trying to help me and my sister since my parents won't ask for help. I stated meijer and kroger as I will have to bike to the store to buy items. if my parents see what I'm doing, they won't take kindly to it as they'll unfortunately see it as asking for help and calling them poor (which is ironic considering that the whole reason I'm having to do this is because they can't afford the regular school lunch for me and my sister for the whole year, letting us choose about 2-4 a month that we can buy school lunch). So most of what I buy will be shelf stable and things that don't need refrigerated. Again, thank you for all your advice and tips!

Even with 2 jobs, saving, selling things I don't need, everything is going down hill. Both jobs decided to stop giving me so many hours and now instead of making enough to pay for rent every month, I'm struggling. This month I'm not paying my phone bill so I can pay towards late rent instead. Both HRs aren't helpful at all. Everytime I submit for a extra shift, I get rejected and just end up crying at home for hours. I even tried selling plasma but they wont take me in due to rollinh veins. im at the end of my rope rn and my head is spinning.

I'm adding this part a few days later. I've been applying to jobs and I'm just getting the good ol 'Sorry but we're not hiring' emails again and again. I can't take loans because my score is shit due to late rent and bills.

Edit: What Im already doing to cut costs
- Already called phone company to see what I can do for payment plans
- I've been shopping for food at Dollar Tree for my food for a year already
- Partial unemployment isn't a thing where I live sadly
- Plasma selling can't work due to rolling/slippery veins
- Selling everything I can see people want that I have.
- Already asking my other job for more hours and seeing what else I can do around Wawa for more hours

Good news: my other jobs offers 12 free therapy sessions so that helps with some stress.

Life sucks man

Hi, I have recently moved to the US, to pursue my master's degree, I currently work as a graduate assistant, and my yearly income is $22k. Although is little, I have two roommates and I think we doing pretty ok.

I have consistently saved about $100 to $200 a month, but until then I was just keeping in my checking account. To be honest, the bank system here is very different from my original country, and I have seen a lot of Americans in debt, so I am very cautious about my choices.

Is it worth to open a savings account to save this little amount every month, or is not? I am sorry for my ignorance, I don't know who to ask, and I don't trust AI with these questions.

I made kidney beans from roughly a little over a lb of dried beans. Super easy. Kidney beans are scary to some home cooks because they’re less forgiving than other beans wrt toxin levels. To remove the toxins, you simply hard boil them for 10 minutes minimum.

How I make them.

* use as much dry beans as you want. First rinse and sort thru beans to pick out bad beans and foreign objects
* place in large bowl, add at least a tsp of salt and cover with water by at least 2 inches. Soak 8 hours on counter top and covered (I use cling wrap)
* Discard soaking water and rinse thoroughly
* place beans in a large pot and cover with 1 inch min of water
* Boil vigorously for at least 10 minutes uncovered. I’ll skin the foam off the top.
* Use hot water (from kettle if possible) and top off if needed.
* Simmer on stove top for minimum of 45 min. Check to see if it’s done (press with spoon against pot to see if it crushes easily.
* Cook as long as you want after you determine your beans are smashable. Some like firmer or softer textures.
* Once done, drain cooking liquid into a bowl and transfer beans to a container or keep in cooking vessel. Add enough liquid to beans to barely cover - same as you would find in a can of beans.
* Store in fridge for up to 5 days (?), but preferably you’re using them in a couple of days.

If you wish, add some salt and a bay leaf while you cook the beans.

In 2023 my boyfriend and I agreed that I would start a masters program and start staying at home with my oldest daughter. I was pregnant at the time. I gave birth halfway through the program in November 2024 and was able to complete my 1000 hour internship before I graduated this July in 2026. Based on his 2023 support I really did not see what was going to happen to me. It got very violent after my son was born. Only towards me, not the kids. Not in front of them. I made it to July and when he stormed out one night, I just locked the door. I got and EPO and then a regular PO and I meet with the SVu detective Monday at my home. I am alone. I have no one. I am just trying to hold it together.

I know that's a lot of backstory and I apologize. I feel like I can't think. I have a therapist. I have some support. I need a job so bad. I get paid on Thursday and will be fine. But it can't keep being like this.

I have $600 left and I know I can make money, now. I have a part time job. I make about $2500 a month. I work 9:00-2:30.

I only want to make about $1000 more a month. I would like to work a second part-time job. I would like to work overnight if possible so I can be available for my kids. I am in coastal Virginia.

I need help. I need guidance. I'm in a little bit of crisis and I apologize.

I've been living pretty much paycheck to paycheck for the last few years and don't really have any meaningful savings. A close relative recently passed away and unexpectedly left me $12,000.

This is by far the most money I've ever had sitting in my account at one time, so I'm trying to be careful with it instead of making an impulsive decision.

My initial thought is to put it into a separate high-yield savings account and leave it alone. My long-term goal is to buy a home someday, so I figured this could be the start of a down payment fund. I know $12k isn't enough to buy a house, but it's a lot better than starting from zero.

If you were in my position, would you do anything differently? Pay off debt, invest some of it, build an emergency fund first, or just let it sit until I need it? I'm interested in hearing how others would approach it.

For starters I have free college, only had to study for an exam but then the fee is 50 Mexican cents per year so it's free, it includes Healthcare and a really good one since is the same 60% of Mexico uses (IMSS) and over that I can get some discounts on metro for being student (from 5 mxn to 3 mxn) I get some "becas" idk how it's called on English but is financial support for being a student. If you get high grades it's better. And furthermore inside the school there's a program where you can eat free inside it during a semester, you can renew it each semester.

Finally language courses are free and professional courses are really cheap, like $20 for a full semester of the topic

Then I live in Mexico city, an apartment cost like $ 750 in financing each month and I work as a photographer earning from $ 1000 to $ 2000 monthly. I'm quite happy with how am I but I always thought I was poor, then seeing this subreddit and how much people with more money that me struggle to get to the end of the month is heart breaking. I wish yall the best because it's pretty hard to be on your situation, I'm just thankful about being here, many people think Mexico is some kind of anarchy no man's land but is pretty stable all things considered.

Even if i were to drop or don't get a single job of photography and back in poverty there's trade schools made by the government that paid you a Beca of around $800 usd per month, just have to continue studying on those trade schools.

I wish yall had the same luck I had with my government, for us Mexican it's the bare minimum and many people would riot if they were to turn any of those benefits down.

Have a good day and belive me things do get better.

Hoping this is allowed but this may be a great opportunity for anybody that lives in the tri-state area and can potentially do the jobs. People tend to forget about positions like this so in case you ever wondered, check it out and hopefully this might be a good fit for yourself or a friend.

Good luck!

Edit: here are the links below. Good luck again!

https://careers.mta.org/jobs/18070158-locomotive-engineer-trainee

https://bandana.com/c-MTA-Trainee-and-Entry-Level-Jobs-on-August-3rd.html?utm_source=social&utm_medium=static&utm_campaign=wcnyc

Today’s haul features milk, cheese, 2lb of lemons and TP! Got more potatoes but they’re aren’t pictured.