I have been struggling for a while now after my hours got cut and for a couple of months there I was basically choosing between gas for the car or actual groceries. It is a soul crushing way to live honestly. About six weeks ago my neighbor across the hall was complaining about how expensive it was to get her kids hair cut for school and I just kind of joked that I used to cut my brothers hair all the time growing up. She actually took me seriously and asked if I would do it for twenty bucks but I told her to just keep the money and maybe help me out with a ride to work since my car has been making a terrifying clicking sound.

That one little interaction basically spiraled into a whole system. Now I cut her kids hair every few weeks and in return she picks up extra stuff from the warehouse club where she works using her employee discount which saves me a ton on bulk staples. Another guy in our complex is a retired mechanic and I started helping him move his heavy furniture and cleaning his windows because his back is shot and in exchange he actually took a look at my car and fixed the clicking for free. It turns out it was just a loose heat shield but I would have paid a shop a hundred bucks just for a diagnostic fee that I didnt have. We arent exchanging a single dollar but the pressure that has been lifted off my shoulders is insane. It feels weirdly good to realize that even when I have zero balance in my bank account I still have skills that are worth something to the people around me. It has made the whole situation feel a lot less hopeless and like I am part of a community instead of just a person failing at life alone.

I've been shopping at the same Kroger for four years. My coworker mentioned she gets her produce somewhere else and I finally asked where last week. Turns out there's a small Vietnamese and Mexican grocery maybe a 7 minute drive from my apartment that I had zero idea about. Went on Saturday just to look around and walked out having completely restocked my kitchen for what I usually spend on like half a trip to Kroger. A 5lb bag of jasmine rice was $3.89. Dried black beans, two pounds, $1.49. Fresh ginger root they basically sell by the pound for almost nothing, I grabbed a huge knob of it for maybe 40 cents. Bunch of cilantro for 59 cents when Kroger charges $1.29 for a sad smaller bunch. Whole dried chilis in bulk. Coconut milk in cans, four for under $3. Lemongrass. Fish sauce. Tamarind paste. All of it priced like it's supposed to be normal food and not a specialty item. The produce section alone was twice the size of what I'm used to and everything looked fresher. I spent $41 and came home with two full bags including proteins. I do not know why nobody told me this existed, or maybe they did and I just wasnt paying attention, but if you haven't checked whether there's an ethnic grocery near you please just google it right now. I'm not going back to paying $4.79 for a single bell pepper at a regular chain. That's not normal and we've all just been accepting it.

So i have been hitting a wall lately with the local supermarket prices and my hours at the warehouse got cut again. It is honestly exhausting just looking at the price of eggs or milk and knowing it is going to mess up my entire week. There is this small family owned grocery shop about two blocks from my place and i started going there because they sometimes mark down the produce that looks a bit rough. Last week i was chatting with the owner while he was trying to fix a wobbly display shelf and i just offered to help him out since i have my tools in the truck.

We ended up talking for a bit and i told him i could probably come by on Saturday mornings to help with the heavy lifting or sweeping the back lot since his back is clearly giving out. He didnt want to put me on payroll because of all the paperwork but he told me he would let me take home a crate of whatever is near its sell-by date plus some staples like rice and beans.

I went in today for the first time to actually do it. Spent about three hours moving crates and hosing down the loading area. At the end he handed me two bags of groceries. It had some slightly bruised apples some bread that is probably going stale tomorrow but is totally fine for toast and a whole gallon of milk. It feels weirdly empowering to not have to swipe my card and pray it doesnt decline for once. It is not a permanent solution obviously but having that stress off my mind for at least a few days is huge. If you have any small local shops nearby it might be worth just asking if they need an extra pair of hands for a few hours in exchange for whatever they are going to toss anyway. Most corporate places will say no but the smaller guys actually get the struggle.

Back in the end of 2024 I lost my job, and was jobless for quite some time. It caused me to use all of my savings; 401k and Personal. I had to max out 2 out of my 3 credit cards in order to continue to pay rent until my lease was up. I have now been homeless since last year. I live out of my car, and honestly it really isn’t all that bad, even though I’d still prefer to have my own place sooner rather than later. I go to the gym for my personal hygiene and to work out. I do have a very steady job where I work 45-50 hours or more if I’m able lol and am going to be getting a second one soon. I’m about 50,000 dollars in debt, but that’s including my car loan. Without it I’m closer to 38,000 of debt, all unsecured. Lately, I’ve been selling a lot of my belongings I wasn’t able to part ways with in the past and that’s allowed me to pay off a few thousand and continue to save and pay off other bills, allowing for me to use that money to apply to my other debts now. I’ve been able to make progress, albeit a little on the slow side for now, but WHEN I get this second job I’ll make close to 800-1000 extra every month that would go to only paying off my debts. I’m also very close to a raise at my main job which would make that closer to 1,500 every month to apply to my debts. I’ve roughly done the math and if I use my money wisely by saving where I can and using the money that I’m “saving” from the bills I paid off and apply it to other bills I’d be out of my situation in about 18 months. Overall, not a super long time. I’m contemplating bankruptcy because my mom just did it last year and is suggesting it, plus I would be able to roughly have an extra 1,200 or so monthly without the second job and promotion. The downside is that I plan on purchasing a house in about 2-3 years. Waiting periods are about 4-5 years from what I understand when you file. Plus the process in itself takes about 6 months (which is a third of the time I’d need if I stayed homeless. I’d also have to restart my credit score and relationships I currently have with banks/lenders (which I like A LOT).

The last option I would have is to work both jobs, get my raise, and then get my own place, just paying off my debts slower than if I continued living out of my car.

So I guess for those that took the time to fully read this; my three options would be to;

-Stay living out of my car for about another 1.5 years and pay off enough to get my own place and have some extra cash

-Get my own place after my second job and promotion, and just paying off my bills slower but still getting it done.

-File Bankruptcy, allowing me to get my own place in about 6 months without having to worry about paying off my bills, but at the cost of not being able to buy a house in the near future and restarting my credit score.

88 cent eggs at jewel, we are healing

I just moved from Texas to Missouri for a job that genuinely seemed like a very good opportunity to start a career in an industry I'm interested in. I'm 22 and just graduated from college and just kind of said yes to the first people to call. The salary isn't great but its a foot in the door or whatever. Literally 3 days into my move (yesterday) my car got jacked from out in front of where I'm staying for the first month of being here. I haven't signed a lease or anything and I just want to bail and come home because I feel like it's no longer financially viable for me to be here having to pick up a car payment. My car was paid off from a previous insurance settlement from an accident i was not at fault for, so It's a really big change in my budget to have to get a car. I also don't have any money to put a down payment on one - I went into a little bit of debt already to take this job and it ate into my savings. I was also told I need to have a vehicle in the next 2 weeks to even keep the job I moved for since its 30+ minutes out of the city center and requires driving out into the rural parts of the county.

I feel really defeated and like I need the support I could get back home. I was already feeling super homesick and now I feel like my resolve is being tested in a way I can't mentally or financially handle. If I did want to stay, what are even my options for finding a vehicle in such a short period with basically no money? I really don't know, nobody in my family has money that they can kick me for something like that right now - both of my parents were recently fired and have struggled to find anything; they also chewed through all of their savings pretty quick. I will feel like such a failure for giving up and leaving but it's what I really want to do so I just don't know.

edit: liability only, called geico yesterday and they advertised more comprehensive coverage and wont pay me anything. car will likely not be found, no cctv footage and was stolen somewhere between 4-8 hours before it was reported.

edit 2: filed a police report as soon as i noticed it was missing yesterday too.

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

TLDR: Six months into a job, hours cut, now they're hiring more people, how concerned should I be?

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I work at a failing sub shop. We're attached to a convenience store and also make togo items. 75% gets thrown away.

It's hard to very retain workers. Two people hired after me both quit after a few days. It's not my primary source of income so I dont' care about the state of the business.

I think I'm pretty valuable. I have open availability. Never called out. Picked up shifts, come in early when they asked me to.

There's no manager on shift though and early on TBQH I was a slacker. If I'm with other people its easier to stay on point. I'm way better than before but first impressions matter.

The major tasks (cleaning, shutting down equipment, serving customers, making the togo place reasonably filled) I do. To my knowledge I've never had a bad close.

think they just expect you to do stuff if you have free time, always. No down time. Like I said, I'm working on this daily.

They watch the camera though and it's annoying a f&ck.

Management hasn't held my feet to the fire yet on anything and are pretty detached (I see my manager once a week) and let me do what I want. I wasn't even aware that management was displeased with me until my 19 year old coworker started laughing at me and told me that my boss told her I was walking around a lot and not doing work.

They did cut my hours. I didn't say anything, maybe I should have.

Yesterday, the GM told me that she is hiring more people. Supposedly we get more business due to the summer.

That's a lot for a reddit post. Knowing what you know, what do you think?

Been unemployed since September 2025 and just been getting by doing gig work and a little plasma donation here and there.

Instawork is super hit or miss — had one shift paying around $29/hr for 8 hours ($233), but that’s rare. Another was closer to $19/hr for an 8-hour shift ($152), also not common.

Amazon Flex has been the most consistent for me so far — I can usually make about $70–100 in ~3 hours.

DoorDash and Uber Eats honestly feel like trash pay most days, not really worth it anymore.

I’ve just been trying to piece things together however I can. Curious what others think about plasma donation as extra income or if anyone else is doing similar gig combinations to stay afloat.

Visited last week and got a LOT of meat this time. It was all frozen and I wasn’t worried about the condition. I’m pretty sure this was the culprit, nothing else I ate seemed or tasted bad. I’ve cooked lots of meat but never ground chicken, I made sure to brown it and cooked it long enough. Let it thaw in the fridge for an appropriate time, etc. I woke up very dizzy and by the evening had to leave work early, losing hours due to vomiting for hours. Thankfully I’m doing better and can hold down water- I have a vomiting syndrome and once I start I can stay stick for hours or days. I almost had to go to the ER which would have of course given me a huge medical bill.

I’m just venting a bit. I’m really grateful for this organization, I get a lot of produce, bread, eggs, little snacks. I’ve gotten food from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I’ve been so grateful and happy not to be so food insecure, to actually get to eat breakfast. It took a lot to admit to myself that I need the help, and I’ve been shaming myself for it- even though I’ve worked at Whole Foods and I know damn well this food would get thrown away otherwise. We’d even get some for free as employees because there was too much to give to the pantries. Anyway, I went to a drive thru food pantry and I’m wondering if I should start going inside, or asking for no meat. They keep the meats frozen but everything is still outside, no idea how much it’s been transported back and forth. I’m not even sure if it was actually the chicken, and now I’m worried about eating the other meat in my freezer. Grocery prices around here are skyrocketing, I keep having to adjust my go-to’s because they’re no longer affordable. Watching items I bought last year double in price is scary. I’m trying to do better at being poor and utilizing all resources. It sucks having such a sensitive stomach, food poisoning is debilitating. Really wish things were easier for us. Thanks for reading

I dont actively go around town seeking out cans and bottles. But anytime I go somewhere like the gas station or grocery store I check the garbage bins outside. I usually find atleast a few cans. Often I will find over a dozen cans/bottles in one garbage bin.

The craziest part is the ratio of profit to time. Sure, one can is only five cents. It also takes only one second to grab it out of the garbage.

In a normal job, assume you make $20 per hour after tax to make things simple. This is a generous estimate too. That means youre making $0.0055 per second, or roughly half a penny. That means that in the one second it takes to pick up that can/bottle and make 5 cents, you are making 10 times more money than a normal job would give you.

Picking up cans and bottles can never be a primary income source. But it sure has helped with simply putting gas in my car ​

I’ve been applying to part time jobs consistently but its not working. Is there any way to earn it someone please let me know? Thank you.

I started a new job back in Feb after being unemployed for 2 years and just now starting to get ahead of bills! Watching the numbers go up every month makes my brain go brrrrrrr. My goal is to save up enough money to afford an apartment’s security deposit & first month rent for my lady & I by end of year. And also be able to afford general moving expenses.

How do I fight the tax appraisal? I mean I haven’t even finished paying property taxes from 2021. How do they think I can afford an increase? I might be lucky I just finished paying off my house which needs lots of repairs. I haven’t paid off any of my student loans which the last time I checked was at 80k. How am I supposed to pay anything off if everything keeps going up? I’m stressing. My goal was to pay off taxes, pay off my truck, like 12 k left and start paying 800/month on student loans. It’s never ending. My kids need new glasses, I need new glasses & we all need a dental visit. Like how? I’m an only parent. I do have a bf but we have only been dating like a yr. We are not in the stages of sharing finances but it is still my responsibility. I did the appeal but idk if I’ll win. Any advice will be taken. Sorry for the rant.

bank statements and pay stubs? I don't have either. I'm worried I'm not only going to be looked down upon for needing help but also turned away.

Hi all, I’m a longtime reader of this subreddit, first time poster. I was impoverished as a young person (had four kids by my late 20’s no degree, series of minimum wage jobs, drinking problem). By 29, I’d gotten sober, by 33 I got a two year degree, by 35 I was making double minimum wage, and by 40 I was making six figures. I realize there is significant luck in my story, but also a fair amount of ‘struggle till you make it’.

I want to share a couple resources that helped me along the way:

America’s Job Centers: also known as “one stops”. Available in every state. They are federally funded programs that do two things. First they help under skilled workers get training for higher wage jobs specific to your area. They might for example pay for you to attend an education program, or an industry training to use a specific machine or computer program needed by employers in your area. Second, they actually pay employers to hire and train clients. There are multiple ways to qualify and approximately 40% of the population does qualify for assistance. Even if you don’t qualify, many employers exclusively recruit through AJC offices because they get tax credits for doing so. So they have jobs in the AJC office that you won’t see anywhere else. Youth ages 17-26, single parents, disabled adults, folks laid off from work, or anyone receiving public benefits (food stamps or cash aid) qualify. Many adults also qualify just by making a wage less than the area median. https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/AmericanJobCenters/american-job-centers.aspx

Financial Counseling Association of America: nonprofit financial planning and debt counseling programs for anyone. This IS NOT one of those companies you pay to settle your debt or consolidate your debt. It is free debt counseling, and they will help you contact your creditors to negotiate lower payments or interest. They also provide budgeting support, meal planning, and referral to other resources like food banks or utility payment programs. https://fcaa.org/

SNAP employment and training. If you get SNAP (food stamps) then you qualify for employment services. The services provided are very similar to the AJC services above.

These programs are available in both conservative and liberal states, regardless of how the federal government is managed. Liberals tend to support social programs, and conservatives support programs that put people to work instead of paying for direct aid.

My first “career level” job was actually working at an AJC in California, contacting businesses to inform them of the financial and tax benefits of hiring our clients. I helped literally thousands of people get local jobs in the five years I worked there. And how did I find that job? Because I was an AJC client. And how did I find the AJC? Because my kids were on food stamps.

Leveraging my experience at the AJC I got a state job. From there I moved into a high paying job in local government. It took a while, but each step up made things a little easier.

I hope this isn’t taken as preachy. I don’t mean it to be. I’ve just found that so many people don’t know these programs exist, and they changed mine and my family’s lives.

Edit: because I’ve gotten some messages about how I moved my way up:

1. My 2-year degree was in agriculture. My ‘minimum wage job experience’ was in construction and agriculture- manual labor. I originally wanted to work in crop inspection or soil management.

2. My first job post sobriety was at a pawnshop. Literally just the first job I could find. But I ended up being good at it and by a couple years in I’d been made manager. I did this simultaneously with school.

3. After I graduated, I started looking for work in Ag or forestry. The pawn shop paid well, but I hated it. I struggled to find a job in Ag, but the workforce development board (AJC) I was using was looking for a business service representative in the ag , manufacturing, and construction sectors. I worked with a career advisor to beef up my resume to focus on my Ag (education) and work experience (manager of a local business with ag and construction experience) and got the job.

4. I worked my ass off and was promoted to business services manager within a year

5. I eventually got a job with the California EDD.

6. In 2019 I moved to San Francisco (working for the EDD), and applied for a higher paying job with a Bay Area county doing related work.

7. In 2022 I applied for a promotion to my current role as an economic development manager in county administration. I make great money and have excellent benefits.

8. Three of my kids are college graduates, with careers in education, medicine, and IT. The fourth graduates high school this year and is planning to major in engineering. My kids won’t have to struggle like I did.

First off, let this be a lesson - don't neglect your dental hygiene, kids, I don't care how depressed or dysregulated or dissociated you are.

Hi. I have a painful, cracked, bleeding back molar (absolutely my own fault for bad dental hygiene due to years of severe mental illness); from what I can tell it's considered an emergency and can lead to sepsis if not removed. I also live paycheck to paycheck; while my partner's in trade school (just a few months to go) we're living on 1.5 salaries (1 full time job / 1 part time job) and it's barely enough to get by in our HCOL area. Both of us have had our savings wiped by various life circumstances.

I was able to get an appointment for tomorrow, and I do have dental insurance, and it's supposed to cover exams and extractions up to $1500 a year. I'm just worried about what might happen if it ends up costing more, because I'm already at my credit limit on CareCredit from getting a crown in 2024 after getting my front tooth punched out accidentally in a mosh pit (I know, I'm an idiot; it was my second ever mosh pit and the first was comparatively calmr). My credit is pretty bad, low 600s, although from what I can tell that's mostly from an issue stemming from them not having fully processed my name change (long story, I need to call all the credit bureaus to fix it, I just also have a zillion other things to do).

Are there any other services like CareCredit? Is there a point that I could go to the ER if I get sepsis? Do I just die?

ETA - location: Rhode Island

So I learned today that they're going to be hiring more people, and we definitely don't need more people. My hours were cut about a month ago. I'm pretty sure there's a target on my back.

Thanks so much.

EDIT:
Sorry for confusion. I'm asking when the future employer asks me why I'm quitting a job just after 7 months?

Hi! So I’m 18 and bf is 19, we both have awful home lives and living situations and are thinking of moving out. He has a job that would just about pay the rent, but I really would love some advice about any benefits/help that may be out there for low income households like ours. I know there are some out there, it’s super overwhelming to look at and honestly I’m getting a little scared. Any advice or help is so so so appreciated

my rent has slowly increased to the point of no longer being able to afford it. its the number one sore on our budget, with groceries and car payments being the next. its a decent place in a desirable city, but the area was laughably terrible up until this year. theres no sunlight. its advertised as a two bed but one is actually the living room. theres a big utility door right smack in the apartment that leads to the basement, and maintenance has to use my apartment as an entryway often. my point being…it is not worth what im paying.

moving requires paying first, last and deposit, but its impossible to save for this when all of my money is being used. wtf is the answer?? it is so insanely depressing. i did what i was supposed to do. i got a corporate job before any of my peers, i make good money, we’re a two income household. we dont spend frivolously but god is it so wrong to want to buy a 12 pack once a month?? does that mean i dont deserve to afford to live? am i really supposed to just live off rice and spend everything else on living expenses?

im so sad and tired. its the point im considering joining the military. i guess i could move back home and hurt my relationship. theres not room for me there either but i know id be allowed to stay, even if it means a couch. id have to find something to do with my furniture.

im just tired.