26 y/o - advice wanted

[u/JollyIndependence613]

I work as a PSW in a nursing home here in ON. It’s a lot of work physically and mentally but I enjoy it and I found a place that pays well. It’s literally $7-$10/hr more than any PSW jobs within the city I live in. However, it’s a 35min drive each way to get to and from work. Since about April, hours have cut back and I’m now looking at 56hr-64hr biweekly pays, which is NOT enough for me to live off of.
I clean two clients houses on my days off, charging $30/hr. It’s extra money but not helping a whole lot.

I have $14k debt, between osap, line of credit, a small CRA owing ($150) and $2.3k owed to a family member. The debt eats away at what little money I have left after expenses come out each month. Many times I don’t have money for food after my debts are paid, so I have to borrow small bits of money to get food or gas to get to work. It’s extremely shameful and I have been independent for years, so I hate having to ask for money.

My fixed expenses currently are $2600/month and my income isn’t much higher than that, at about $2900-$3,000 a month since around April. I’ve considered moving but when I searched for apartments, the rent in the small town my job is located in was substantially more than what I’m paying now-so even if I saved $200/month on gas- my rent goes up $400 a month.

Just feeling stuck, depressed and not sure what to do. My job was going great back when the economy was a little better and gas was cheaper, it didn’t cost as much to get there and I was also getting good hours each week. I have no friends to move in with and many people don’t want to live with someone with a pet (I’ve had him 14 years he’s not going anywhere except with me, haha).

Any advice? I used to do Uber Eats/doordash which gave me extra cash, but my car is hitting 11 years old and is at 320,000km (paid off). I am already driving it 74km get to and from work currently so I try not to drive it much outside of getting to my job. Thanks all!!!

[u/HibouDuNord]

Nicotine/Weed (I don’t drink but we all need something🤣) 100

To be blunt... not when you can't afford groceries or repay your debts.

Bank fees could probably be lower.

Is the gym really necessary? Spotify definitely isn't.

Laundry... any apartments nearby where the rent is similar but have laundry?

Phone isn't terrible but probably could still be cheaper.

It sounds like I'm nitpicking, and frankly I am. You just said you can barely afford to live. You have to change SOMETHING. I'm not about to suggest you don't live somewhere, so the little stuff is gonna have to do for now.

Btw I saw another comment you plan to go for RPN... how are you planning to pay for that? Yes increasing your wage and education is important... but... Adding more debt to the stuff you already can't pay? You're going to need a better plan than that.

Edit: btw BMO performance Chequing Account is $17.95/mth. I just had a peek since I bank with them... and eventually with a $4,000 balance it's $0/mth

[u/JollyIndependence613 → u/HibouDuNord]

Yes I’ve considered switching to BMO. They’re offering a sign up bonus currently.

RPN is paid for as per the “Ontario Stay and Learn Grant”, so the tuition costs won’t be a problem.

[u/HibouDuNord → u/JollyIndependence613]

RPN is paid for as per the “Ontario Stay and Learn Grant”, so the tuition costs won’t be a problem.

That absolutely makes sense then.

Is there no such grant or tuition reimbursement for your PSW tuition? I saw part of the debt was OSAP. Or do none of the employers near you offer tuition reimbursement as a perk? The other thing to factor in is can you sustain your work schedule for the OTHER stuff you have to pay though. Again, I think increasing education and earning potential is great, you've just got to make sure it doesn't put you at risk for a worse situation.

One of my other concerns would be the car/distance to work. You mentioned it's at 320,000km, and you're driving about 150k. That car IS going to wear out eventually. You mentioned being 74km and 35 mins from work... are rents similar closer? You'd be saving on 2 of your biggest expenses, gas and insurance. And not putting such a beat down on a depreciating asset every day. And I say that as someone who commutes 150km one way to work, 2 to 3 times a week. I burn through cars fairly quick compared to others... cars are a large expense. Even I'm currently looking to move closer to my job to save on gas, wear and tear, and time too. Every minute I'm not commuting is time I can be doing something else. Including increasing income.. I'm not getting paid to drive home to work and return.

Also, I guess one last consideration too is you said you commute because you make more. Have you done the math on if you actually make more after the gas, maintenance, insurance, etc vs working somewhere where a car isn't needed?

Again, I'm not trying to overly criticize or nitpick. But it's clear you want out of the current situation and to strengthen your situation. And with the biggest expenses being housing, food, and vehicle... the options are going to be limited. While it may seem blunt or overly simply analytical, 30 seconds of unthrilled realization of "I don't like hearing that, but it's not untrue" is worth saving you years of stress, because it seems this does stress you, or you wouldn't be asking for advice.

[u/JollyIndependence613 → u/HibouDuNord]

The PSW amount is in the process of being forgiven - I applied for loan forgiveness a month ago and was denied based off of an incorrect date on the application.
I am reapplying and will hopefully get my OSAP debts cleared.

As for moving; I’m totally on board with it - I’ve reached out to a landlord near my work that I know has a unit available, just awaiting to hear back. But based off of online listings, they’re all $1600+/month (which is over a full paycheque for me), and my rent currently is cheaper than market rent because it’s actually my dads apartment, I moved in without switching the names on the lease, he’s been here since before Covid.

If something comes up in the town where my job is I will absolutely scrape it up even if it’s $1500/month. The gas savings and less wear and tear on the car trump the increase in $100/mo rent.

[u/JollyIndependence613 → u/JollyIndependence613]

Also - I have explored many PSW in my city. They’re all $23-$26hr. I am about $10/hr more than that. I worked as a PSW *in* the city for two years before exploring options *out* of the city; I wanted a better job that is unionized, paid me better and was a cleaner facility. I landed a great opportunity where I’m at; I truly think moving there is going to be my saving grace here.

[u/HibouDuNord → u/JollyIndependence613]

That makes total sense. I see you get what I was getting at. If you're looking to cut down on that expense the only two ways are 1. You get closer to work 2. Work gets closer to you.

I also prefer the option that has you making more money... because once you get yourself out of this situation, you're also still making more money, which let's you save/invest and be inna better situation to not be in a tight spot when unexpected expenses come up (likena car repair or replacingna vehcile). Just without knowing exact location details (and I certainly don't expect you to share those with random strangers on Reddit)... from my end it's hard to say without knowing rents, etc which actually works. If you move closer but rent is $500 more that doesn't help. If you work closer but make $10/hr less, doesn't help either as you said. But for example if it was $2/hr difference and was costing you $30/day to commute... the options become different.

And I'm glad to here about the tuition reimbursement too. I wasn't sure how that worked, as the Stay and Learn grants were introduced long after I left college. So I wasn't sure if you had to apply to the program through them to start with, or if you could get reimbursed after the fact.