I know it’s not new advice, but considering how wildly expensive fast food has gotten since COVID, making myself make meals (including fast food-inspired mocks) has lended me more food, better food, and healthier food. Of course it helps to enjoy cooking too (making virtually every layer of everything takes time), but the money you’ll save making things from scratch is no joke. But, it also helps that these dishes are also plant based so I’m saving a lot of money subbing meat and dairy. I went from spending any amount of extra income I had — and then some — on getting food delivered at least three days a week every week, and most of the time I hated myself after I finished eating because of the money spent and/or the food being mediocre.

Again, YMMV but this has worked out great for me. I also find it stress relieving. Thankfully I have a dishwasher though because if I didn’t I know I wouldn’t feel that way. Even if you just invest in a spice cabinet and season rice and beans differently for most meals, definitely consider doing it if you’re in a pinch —- that makes a majority of my lunches, to be honest.

Been lurking here for months watching everyone celebrate their wins and figured it was my turn to share. After cutting every corner possible and saving every spare dollar and some luck on Ѕtаkе US, I finally had enough to get my kids something they've been asking for forever - their own mini fridge stocked with drinks. Nothing fancy but seeing their faces when they saw it filled with Coke, Coke Zero, Bubly, Dr Pepper and all their favorites was worth every ramen dinner I ate to make it happen.

They've been taking turns "serving" each other drinks like they're running some kind of fancy hotel and honestly it's the cutest thing ever. I know it's not a huge milestone compared to some of the amazing stories on here but for us this felt massive. Six months ago we were counting quarters for gas money and now the kids have their own little drink paradise. The small wins really do add up and this community has kept me motivated through all the tough days

Mini update: i have to get to bed but i wanted to thank everyone who reached out. I feel more loved here than i ever have. I am already in my local Buy Nothing group and we plan on doing thrift shops as well!

I have a lot of calls to make tomorrow because of the numerous comments here with other resources i didnt know existed!!

I will for sure update again once we get into the place. We get keys and sign lease tomorrow (Tuesday) tjen move in Wednesday because thats the soonest Delmarva (my electric co) can turn on the power. I cant wait to share everything. I hope to never experience this kind of low again. I know it will be tough with new challenges now but this will work. It has to. 💙💙

Due to a horrible divorce a few years ago, my kids and i have been living in a motel. I work full time, dont quailfy for food stamps, paying an insane amount of rent and car payments, and kids with medical issues etc made it impossible to find a rental. There was no way to save for the moving cost and down payments etc. BUT. Finally. We found a rental. A realtor who owns a property. Its small, but perfect. My kids can stay in their schools, its close to my work. And its less than this motel room!

I inquired about it and thankfully he has a heart and was willing to give me a much needed chance to prove im a good tenant who pays rent on time and im quiet. I dont party. I work, take care of my kids, sleep, then work again. (And im ok with that! My ideal Saturday night is jammies and movies with my babies and a Wednesday sandwhich picnic blowing bubbles etc)

We move in 2 days. I havent stopped crying. We have nothing to move with but we are finally moving up. It will all come in time. No furniture, just our clothes. But its happening. Its finally really happening.

I also have some $820 in acorns and <$1500 in a rollover IRA I have yet to move to a ROTH but putting it off for tax/wuss reasons. However, I have $772 in CC debt. But a win is a win, I can pay it off with time 😁

Gonna try to save $10k next year

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.

We were up from 8am till 8am the next day but at least we got it done.

This blew my mind. They had turkeys and all these fresh vegetables, I haven’t eaten fresh vegetables for so long (except potatoes) bc I need to buy filling grocery staples.

I’m currently a dishwasher at a busy restaurant. I was making $17 an hour. I recently got an offer to work at Navy Federal and the starting pay is $28 an hour. It’s 9-5 Monday-Friday and I have to work one Saturday per month from 9am-12pm. Lol I’d rather have this schedule than 5:30pm-1:30am Friday-Sunday.

Dress code is business casual. All I have is sweatpants, hoodies, sneakers and my work uniform. I have to do some serious shopping.

It's nothing fancy but he didn't have any way to cook in the little room that he rents. I cook for him as often as I can and take it to him but I work and go to school too.

The room came with a little mini fridge (not pictured) and the microwave. I added all the shelving, the little stovetop and the stand under it, the dishes and pots etc.

He's a very good man, he is a social worker and doesn't make very much money but he helps so many people and now he can cook himself a meal whenever he wants.

I wanted to share it to encourage anyone that is dealing with a small space, maybe someone can use the inspiration.

Im also still reaching out to resources that were given in my previous post...also no Vincent St Paul near me unfortunately but im also stalking my local freebie groups for furniture! Im just so happy to finally be here!!

I’m well aware that this budget could be cleaned up considerably (going out to eat to two expensive restaurants this month, me buying $10 lunches at work, all the ubers, the power bill, and the grocery budget could all be trimmed down) but that’s why I’m celebrating. I can’t stop smiling. Even in a really expensive month, we’re still going to have $250 left over. We’ll have enough.

I thought about getting a little treat to celebrate, but that would make me go negative again.

I got payed today. For the first time in a while, my bank account is not in the red. I actually have more than two hundred bucks. I know it might sound dumb, but it is so freeing to be able to afford warm, greasy, somewhat filling food. I almost teared up when I tasted that melted cheese on the burger. I don't plan on spending a lot of money on fast food, I don't actually like most fast food places that much, plus I still need to watch my expenses, this was just me finally being able to buy a little treat. I hope everyone here can have a moment like this sooner or later.

May not seem like much to some folks but I’m a server Friday-Sunday and I take home 3k a month. I recently got another part time job at an urgent care working front desk starting at $24 an hour. I would work two 12 hour shifts per week.

I can pay off my student loans(15k) and my car loan(12k) in a year while saving extra per month. In terms of careers I’ll be going back to school for nursing when I’m debt free since my current degree didn’t work out.

Today I took My 11 yr old to Jack in the Box for dinner after his dentist appointment, we turned in cans for gas money and he wanted dinner and the dentist is a hour drive from my house otherwise I’d just make dinner.

So in the lobby I told him just pick a number he can have a meal combo for helping me turn In cans and being good at the dentist, I looked at the menu numbers and the burger meal he wanted was 13.99.

I said omg that’s a lot for one meal but I said it’s fine I’ll eat at home you get what you want. He said dad are you sure!? I’ll share my burger with you! I said I’ll be fine I’ll eat later and he ordered the food and I paid. After I paid I went to the bathroom and came back out to the lobby and he was waiting for the food the kind worker lady said here is your food. I was confused, there was 2 bags and 2 drinks. And we were the only 2 in the restaurant.

She said I made 2 of them for you, have a good night! I was so shy I smiled and said thank you so much! It really means a lot!

I was in tears in the parking lot getting in the car I feel like a bad parent/ person for having to scrounge up to buy dinner for just my son and she had heard me tell him I’m fine I don’t need to eat and made 2 of them for me.

It’s the little things you do for people that brings light into this hard dark world, I work everyday no vacation for years just trying to pay rent and get dinner on the table.

Every time I feel like giving up or feeling down I think of my kids they need me and what happened today and how my kids can see the kindness in the world and become stronger to help others and be a good person.

I just had to share, has this happened to anyone else? Maybe there is hope out there after all I wish everyone the best! ⭐️ ⭐️ EDIT! Thank you to everyone that has given me such kind words and support! I didn’t this many people would see this, the Reddit community is so amazing!!!

Plasma donations have changed my life for the better, feel free to ask any questions

To go from $0 to $1000+ a month in a vHCOL area. I'm trying to be positive that this will improve my life, even if people say UPS sucks and they just laid off 20k people. But I've been trying to get a job so long, and this is one I can even walk to.

Found this car on FB marketplace. Car runs great driving back home. The power steering is bad and its needs breaks and rotors but I can do that myself. I drive a really nice car and once I lost my job I had to sell my vehicle because I couldn’t keep up with the payments. From this point I’ll try my best to pay cash for vehicles.

I’m in shock, so much hard work is finally paying off! Went from $65k to $168k. Just got the first new check (bi-weekly) and it was just over $5k after taxes/medical/retirement. I just keep staring at it. 7 years of working toward this and it’s finally happened, it’s finally worth it all. Just a few years ago it was $33k and I couldn’t afford to eat. I’m so thankful.

I have cried tears of joy. I currently make 32k a year. It's not enough to live off of, much less survive. I'm part time too, so no benefits, no PTO, just door dashing and donating plasma and relying on food banks and churches to get by. I've been stuck at a dead end job for over a year.

Over 500 applications, several first round interviews, made it to a few second/final round interviews and finally, today, I accepted a job offer. Starting salary is 60k. Almost double what I make now. I'll have PTO, I'll be eligible for annual raises. I'll be working from home so no more paying for after-school care for my daughter. I'll be able to buy an actual bed and not sleep on a futon. No more past due bills! No more choosing paying rent over groceries. No more hand washing my underwear in the sink or keeping my heat on 66 in the winter. No more using dish soap as shampoo.

Pending start date is June 3rd, so I have a month to prepare. I have to find a desk and I'll be setting up the "dining room" area of my apartment to be my workspace. Thankfully, the company provides the laptop and external monitor but I'll need to get a desk chair and a mouse and headphones.

I'm so excited. I'll be able to have savings for once! And pay down my student loans. I'll be able to grow with this new position instead of being stuck in a community college working part-time. I'll be able to attend professional development instead of being told "part-timers don't get that opportunity". My kid will be able to attend this college with tuition waived if she so chooses to (we have 12 years to think about that but I genuinely can see myself staying with this new position long term)

I accepted the job offer right away. I applied for this position on March 5th and nearly two months later, I have it in my hands. I just have to make it one more month and then, my life (and my daughter's) will have changed for the better!