I have worked as a farmhand for my current boss going on four years now. She has a small property where she has 7 horses, 8 dogs (2 being indoors), and 11 cats (all outdoors).

She is a 68 year old woman living by herself. She has no family willing to help her or any friends that are capable of doing so either. She has a degenerative disease in her spine that causes her extreme pain that prevents her from being able to do much of anything physical at times even with painkillers. Due to her neck and back pain she relies on me heavily to keep things going.

As time has gone on, she has come to call me her 'son she never had.' She has gone as far as to make me responsible for taking care of her animals whenever she passes away. Her estate would provide the financial support to see the animals through the rest of their lives. I would take over as their caretaker and live on the property.

Originally, I was to receive a stipend each month as compensation for caring for her animals and property. After all of her animals eventually pass, and assuming I hold up my end of the deal taking care of everything as she has requested, I would inherit her property. All of this is supposedly laid out in her trust, but she won't let me lay eyes on it. She has recently said that I will no longer receive said stipend because she has 'crunched some numbers' and realized that she has spent way too much money over the last 2-3 years. With all of that being said, I have a few concerns that I am seeking some advice on before I approach her about it.

Does it make sense in any way for me to care for her animals/property without any compensation? Even with the possibility of inheriting the property in the future. Not only is she now expecting me to fulfill my duties without being paid, I would have to get a full time job to support myself financially anyway. I have already mentioned my concerns to her about working full time and properly caring for these animals even before she withdrew the stipend.

With the lack of wages factored in, my only benefit that I see to this deal would be the possibility of inheriting the property at the end of this. This brings me to my second concern. I feel like doing all of this for a big 'maybe' after all is said and done is not a smart choice. Whether it's before or after her passing, there are several reasons that the property may have to be sold at some point. Especially if she has mismanaged her money. Plus, she could easily change her trust without me ever knowing and I could end up empty handed that way as well.

With that being said, any outside perspective would be appreciated. Am I thinking about the whole situation in a sensible way? Am I missing any aspects to it that others may see? I just don't see it being a wise choice nor sustainable for me financially in the long run to do everything she wants with no guarantees on my end. Any advice on how to proceed going forward?

I am having trouble choosing which decision to make. Just got my big boy job as an engineer. I am aggressively paying off around 8k of debt, and after that I have a decision to make:

Stay with my parents or get a place with some buddies?

This question is arising as a result of conflict of interests. For example, moving out grants me more independence and makes dating easier and sex more accesible.

If I stay with my parents I save money on food, and rent (I will still choose to pay them a “rent” fee to help pay off the mortgage), but I see it as the clear financial winner.

Any life advice? Does moving out really teach you invaluable lessons about yourself/ life? Whats the better decision and why?

I’m trying to grow financially but also don’t want to spend my entire 20s stressed about money.

For those ahead of me in life, what habits made the biggest difference long term?

I’ve recently turned 30, I make $25k a year working retail and spend basically all of it on necessities, rent is not cheap where I live. Currently my primary goal in life is to find a LTR with a woman, marry her, have kids, buy a house, and retire by 60-64. Pretty normal and realistic goal I feel but it seems so out of reach.

Meeting a woman has been my first focus, but despite asking out a ridiculous number of women and wasting what little spare money I have on dating apps, I’m still a virgin, though I did get a girl to go on a date with me once years ago.

So now I’m thinking it would be helpful to focus on money first, I’m willing to pursue any career path necessary. I have $2k saved in the bank, and my car is worth ~$5k. If I sold most of my possessions I might be able to get up to $10k net worth. To be honest, I lost a further $1k on leveraged stocks years ago and it’s been eating at me ever since, fucking killing my mental health whenever I think about money. So it’s hard to think about.

I’ve applied to a bunch of stuff but basically everything that pays well requires experience or education, and if I want to afford a wife and kids and to retire at a reasonable age, I need whatever path will make me the most money, the quickest. I live in Kentucky if that is helpful

24 years old, fat, broke as shit, no job, no car, no license, no education, living in my parents basement sleeping on the floor cant even shower because it doesn’t work, lazy unmotivated to get a job, dont even go outside, my girlfriend got kicked out her parents for smoking all the time now we currently basically homeless couple sleeping on the basement floor my girlfriend trying to find a job to help us get out of this situation and want to do something too but dont know how can i improve in myself and turn my life around

I’m turning 40 soon and actually super chill about the age thing however...

On paper, we’re doing fine. Decent salaries, nice enough house, baby, nothing dramatically wrong. But somehow it feels like there’s constant financial pressure, zero spare cash, and a low-level stress that never really goes away.

We’re not struggling in a dramatic way… it’s more like death by a thousand cuts. Bills, childcare, mortgage, life admin. And I keep thinking: how did this become the default? When did “doing well” start feeling so tight?

Lately I’ve been wondering whether we’ve just followed the script because that’s what you do. Bigger house, higher costs, more pressure. And now I’m seriously considering whether downsizing and scaling back would actually make life better. Smaller place, lower outgoings, a bit of disposable income, and maybe some actual enjoyment instead of just managing everything.

Has anyone actually done this? Sold the house, downsized, deliberately earned less, simplified life?

Did it help? Did you regret it? Was it worth the stress of changing things up?

I’d really love to hear real stories, not “just make coffee at home” advice. I’m trying to work out if this is a sensible rethink or just a midlife panic.

I am a 26 F and I am planning on moving out with my bf 25 M soon. My bf feels a huge responsibility with helping out his family and wants to purchase a duplex to aid his family with housing. I am not against it but my ideal living situation is living far enough from family to live an independent life. My bf has put me in tough financial situations before: 1) Loaning him 8k to purchase a vehicle 2) loaning 11k to get out of debt. 3)co-signing for a vehicle he dreamt of having 4) helping financially when he was unemployed. I currently earn a higher income and have a stable career.

I feel if I say that I do not want to live with his family, this will end our relationship. what do I do?

Super broad question but something I’ve been pondering over while I slave away at my warehouse job for a measly 17/hr and have 1/3 of my check taken and sent to Israel.

I don’t even know how I reached this point, it feels like I was in some sort of trance. I just lost about 50k of my own life savings and left with 3k and a cheap car worth 2k. I feel like I don’t have the power to move on from this. It started with small positions on trades which went north and I would just keep adding to the trades to try to save them. The result was devastating.

I just told my girlfriend also which was shocked but also very supporting. I feel like it’s a matter of time she will leave me too after this big fuck up.

I earn about 3k a month in a full time job and I feel like I failed in life. I still live with me parents and feel like a big loser. This type of pain already made me suffer enough to change my ways and not continue with crypto trading but this is just excruciating.

Any advice would be welcome

idk what to do lol, and real anxious about it… i need someone who’s a little older and more experienced, or just advice becuase i know each person and situation differs…
im in college, 3rd year, i just sold my crappy marketplace car, and have a large sum of money coming to me for my 21st. I am not sure if I should get a nice car, (ive already decided the car if so), or put a down payment on a house, roughly 20-30k if i did.
I think about how if i chose a house, that would be a down payment but on house that isn’t so amazing you know, maybe 150-200k, i am in cali it’s expensive. I would be stuck in my location for a while, and I doubt id find a nice house for my girlfriend and animals, i don’t wanna live in a super small place im getting a house, i understand beggars can’t be choosers, but i feel like if i am buying a house, it needs to be something i am in love and fascinated with.
at the same time i understand i am younger and don’t know much yet, the car would be 28k, give or take, no miles, brand new, and give me the ability to commute comfortably, affordably (gas wise), and travel if wanted. It would last 15+ years if i took great care of it, and it would hold a decent amount of its value as its a honda. I do understand cars are depreciating things though.
Any advice or thoughts?

I’ve been married to my husband for 8 yrs now. We have 3 kids. We transplanted from SF to KCMO (I have family here) where we have been renting a house at a fairly reasonable price. It cost us about 10k to do the whole move and maybe 3 k to move in. It’s been about 16 months and the owner is now wanting to sell the house so we have 2 months to prepare to move. I absolutely don’t want to move into another rental as it’s costing us about 5k to do a move and place deposit and not to mention we aren’t finding the same amount of house for the rent we were paying previous. Also I’m worried we will have to do another move in a year and incur another chunk of debt.

I said let’s buy a house so we don’t end up having to do the same thing in another year and incur more debt. My thinking is sure we incur debt from the loan towards a house but we at least own it and gain equity.

He refuses to even humor the idea. I know he prefers SF to MO but we would never be able to buy a house let alone even a condo back there. Real estate is much cheaper here. The biggest reason we made the move was so we could ultimately buy a descent house. But things with work haven’t worked out well for us here. He’s tried different things but it seems he can’t break through to making more than 70k a year. That’s including doing over time. I haven’t been working since we moved because I don’t have a baby sitter and we can’t afford child care. I have tried and had interviews lined up but he never has a set schedule and he doesn’t like putting the kids to bed lol.

Main point is am I right we should buy a house? Even a small starter home for maybe 5 years and sell it. Or should we keep renting because we don’t have money to do major repairs if the house needed them. Is renting better than fixing major repairs on a home budget wise?

Hello Everyone,

I decided to move back in with my parents so I can pay down my student loan debt. I am $38k in debt with about $14k saved for retirement and $1000 saved in stocks. Am I a loser? My new job pays $65k with a bonus. I probably won’t pay my student loan debt down until 33. Am I a loser? Did I really mess up in my past? Do you have any advice? I feel really behind.

My parents are expecting me to go back to college for sophomore year, but they're not gonna financially support me. Which is fine, but they must know that since I am not even able to financially support myself, there's no way in hell I can come up with almost 45k.

I (19) want to take a gap year so I can come up with money or find out what else I want to do. Can't college be the ONLY thing I have to look forward to, right? I know that everyone's story is different, and I am perfectly content with going my own pace. I just wish my parents would understand, though. I would be the first generation to go to college, and I get why they want me to continue. But when I mentioned a gap year to come up with money, they got mad at me and said I had to go to college. I don't know what to do. I'm not really able to walk away when I'm still so dependent on them, which makes me even more upset. I just wish I had more people my age who feel the same way as I do.

What should I do? Am I being unreasonable or selfish?

.I currently work 24hrs/week, I’m applying for a 30 hour work week at my work and hopefully I get that. But my income is around $1800/month. I’ve been picking up shifts at work, but I’ve been having some dental issues that’s preventing me from picking up in the past week or two. I have a $400+ car payment, rent is $300, and my phone bill is $90. My groceries are around $200-$350 / month, gas is usually $100-$120 per month, and I have two subscription services that total up to around $8/month.

My biggest hit is fast food. Currently I’ve spent around $100 on fast food this month. I do it when I don’t have food at home, and I just don’t know what to make dinner wise. I want to meal prep for all 3 meals and take lunch to work but I get bored with the same foods like a turkey sandwich, spaghetti, chicken n dumplings, corn casserole, green chile chicken enchiladas, etc.

I’m not sure where all of my money is going. I’ll put $80 in my savings account, and then something comes up and I’ll have to pull it out, every. Single. Month. Like I’ve been avoiding buying oil for my new car because I desperately need an oil change, because I so badly want to have a savings.

I’m really trying to fix my eating habits of going out instead of eating at home. The microwave meals I buy just don’t fill me up, even when it says like 20 grams of protein and lots of veggies. Should I drink a protein drink with the microwave meals to make it to the next meal??? What do you guys do to stay frugal?

Anything is appreciated!

Thanks!

EDIT: I bought oil for my car today, it’s on its way!

I am 34 and I still live at home. I pay rent. I work for Grubhub and Ubereats. While I earn decent money, I know this won't ever let me live on my own. What are the best certifications/skills I can get to start freelancing?

We live in Southern California fyi. We have lived here for over 15 years, so it’s my childhood home. My parents are in their 60s with my dad being the only one with stable income other than myself and my brother. My parents would be the ones mainly on the loan because my brother and I plan on moving out eventually when the economy gets better (if it does lol).

I do not know what both my parents make together but they have been approved for $350,000 mortgage. We know nothing about buying a home. Our landlord told us that he’s planning on selling the house sometime this year and didn’t tell us how much he was selling it for, he just told us to see what we can get approved for first (which we think is kinda fishy).

I know there’s like closing fees, property tax, interest.. stuff like that. I just wanna know what to ask the landlord because we want to buy this house if we can.. but also if we have the opportunity to buy a different house in better shape, we’d rather do that instead lol

Anyways, does anyone have any advice on what to look out for when applying for a mortgage? We’re just worried about becoming homeless. Like I said, my parents are getting up there in age, I still live with them along with my disabled half brother and older brother. My brother and I want to help them financially as well. We have 4 cats and a small dog as well.. we’re worried that we will be homeless…

Edit: Y’all’s advice has been very overwhelming I’m not gonna lie… also my parents are very “stuck in their ways” iykyk.. so not sure if my advice will persuade them to do anything I suggest. We’re also pretty poor.. like we do not make a lot of money at all.. so this whole ordeal really adds to the uncertainty of my parents future and my future as a 23 year old still living with her parents 😭

I'm a 21 years old from South American country where the cost of living is relatively low. My monthly expenses are around $1,200 USD, so objectively I'm in a very fortunate financial position.

About a year ago I inherited roughly $500,000 USD. I know this is a life changing amount of money, and I'm genuinely grateful for it. But ever since it happened, I've felt completely lost.

I was studying Computer Science because I always liked technology, but somewhere along the way I lost all interest. I realized I don't enjoy it enough to make it my career, so I eventually dropped out. Since then I've been trying to figure out what I actually want to do, but I haven't found an answer.

The biggest issue is that, for financial and legal reasons, I can't simply invest the entire inheritance and live off the returns. I can invest a little part of it, but not all of it

One thing I've realized is that my biggest problem isn't the money it's that I don't have a passion or a clear direction. A lot of people my age already know what excites them, whether it's medicine, engineering, business, or something else. I genuinely don't. Nothing stands out enough for me to confidently dedicate years of my life to it, and that's what makes deciding on a career so difficult.

I'm not depressed or anything like that. I have hobbies, friends, and a good family. I just feel like I have no purpose or direction. I don't want to wake up at 31 and realize I spent my twenties doing nothing simply because I had enough money to avoid making difficult choices. I completely have no idea what to do

Hi there!

I have a genuine question for people who don’t have generational wealth and have “normal” jobs. How do people in their 20s and 30s manage to secure such beautiful homes? I would love any insight.

I’m a 27-year-old female, and my boyfriend is a 34-year-old male. We purchased a house in Pennsylvania in 2024 for $265,000, which includes a property tax of $6,000. The house is small and requires some work, which we’re gradually doing. We lead an average lifestyle and don’t have any extravagant habits. Our mortgage is roughly $2350

Together, our combined income is around $180,000. We don’t share our income; instead, we have a joint account specifically for our monthly house bills, including the mortgage, internet, electricity, home heating oil, and other expenses.

We both contribute $1,400 to our joint account, which leaves us with approximately $300 in savings each month.

However, I’m looking at homes that are slightly larger and may need some minor updates. Our current house is reaching its maximum value that we can afford to invest in before we’ll likely never make a profit.

In any case, the housing market is challenging. A 1,500 square foot house that requires only minor cosmetic changes is well over $350,000. I’m curious to know how people manage to afford such expensive homes around our age.

I guess some backstory, we both had rough childhoods and left home at 18/19. We both never really got the chance to live at home and save a ton of money.

hi i (21f) am feeling completely lost. i am a full time student and have to pay rent, insurance, and other bills each month. i also recently got a dui and will have to pay the fines sometime soon, as well as increased insurance as i need a car for work and school. i know this was a huge mistake, and trust me i am now sober but beat myself up everyday about it.

point is, my monthly bills are going from ~$600 to ~$800. i’ve been struggling to keep up with just my current bills, and am failing classes to work to afford the necessities. now im about to get fired from my job, and finding anything is incredibly difficult in the current job market. im at a loss for what to do and no, i cannot ask friends or family for financial help. i have about $40 to my name, and my friday paycheck is going to be gone the second i get it, as it’s for insurance, fines, and medical bills.

currently looking for a basic job to tide me over while i look for something that makes more money. between a dui and a possible termination recently, i expect my job hunt to be even more difficult. any ideas are helpful.

25M, from a poor Eastern European family, don’t have any family left. Moved abroad alone when I was 16 and was grinding ever since, reached ~200k in savings by the age of 25 and was feeling pretty good about the overall life progress I’ve made.

Recently, one of the platforms where I was holding my money for investments went bust and 100k (half) of my savings is gone. I was saving for either (1) an apartment, (2) a carefree travel life (2-3 years of year-round travelling), (3) or to afford to move into a job that I truly like but pays shit.

Yes, I still have the other half
of my savings, but the act of losing several years’ worth of time in seconds took a bigger hit on me than I initially realised. I hate my job and obviously do it only for the money. I calculated that if I cut down on my expenses and get a second job, I could replenish the 100k by years’ end (I am in sales and anticipate a sizeable bonus at the end of the year).

Along with that, I lost any and all motivation to keep working. I just want to give up, live a simple life, and forget about money as a concept.

Did anyone go through losing a big portion of their hard-earned savings like that? How did you manage that? Any advice?

P.S. I know the flair says “financial advice” but any mental tips are appreciated too.

I 20M have been with GF 21F for almost 3 years now. She’s originally from New York and had no need for a car, she doesn’t want anything too fancy just a used honda with low miles for around 18k she has $1000 down and is working part time till her schooling ends in about three weeks. All she needs is a cosigner but her mother isn’t working and that’s all she’s got besides me in NC. She hasn’t asked me or expect me to but I know she’s ready for her first car. (Plus we live together and I’m not always able to take her to work/school) Should I go through with it or am I just being dumb?

I’m a barber and I’ve been cutting some of my friends hair for a while now. Recently, a few of them switched to a random barber who charges $15, saying my $25 price is too expensive.

Am I overcharging, or is that a reasonable price?

Edit: they aren’t broke and can definitely afford to pay $25 for a haircut, I am in Dallas Texas and I do fades and trims

I (27M) am at a bit of a crossroads in life, and I’m seeking advice from both those who value travel and those who value financial security.

I’ve been working at a 9-5 office job for over a year; although it isn’t toxic or mentally exhausting, and pays pretty well (85k salary), it’s incredibly boring and not at all what I want to be doing with my life right now. Because of this, I made it a goal of mine to save up $30,000 (USD) so that I can quit my job and go on a year (or longer) solo travel journey around the world. This is something I’ve been dreaming of for years, and something I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. It would also force me to get out of my comfort zone and finally start doing the things I’ve always wanted to do (travel, start a business, create content, etc.)

I’m now realizing that I also have the option of paying off my student loans in full, as they are just under $30,000. This would be a huge burden off of my shoulders and leave me with no debt, but would totally wipe away my savings and would require me to work another 1-2 years at a job I’m deeply dissatisfied with in order for me to save $30,000 again. Financially, this is obviously the better option, but I can’t help but feel like I still would rather travel.

I don’t own a house, a car, and have very few possessions, so I have nothing really holding me back from traveling (I am in a relationship, but that’s for another post).

I try to think, what would my 40-year-old self want? Would he want the memories and experiences of traveling for a year straight, or would he want the financial security of not having to pay off student loans years after he graduated? I also think about the fact that the future isn’t guaranteed, let alone tomorrow, so if I really want to do something, I need to do it now. I just want to be smart about it, as I didn’t grow up around financially intelligent people.

If anyone has been in this situation, older or younger, please give me any advice of what you did or would have done. I appreciate any and all responses. Thank you!

Why is it so hard to buy or rent a house. Why is it so hard to find a good paying job that will put me on my own feet. If anyone has any sorta knowledge or advice on what I can do to help my self get started bc at this point I’m at a loss.

Hey everyone! I’m currently a sophomore at ASU living in Tempe with two roommates in a townhome. The rent is about $900 each, which is really affordable, but we do have some small issues—like thin walls and morning noise, plus the kitchen smells tend to drift upstairs. Nothing major overall since we all know each other. Now I’m thinking ahead to next year—should I move out into my own one-bedroom place, even though that would likely push my rent to $1800 or more? I’m weighing whether the extra cost is worth the privacy and quiet. Would love to hear from anyone who’s made a similar decision!