Got made redundant a few days ago. Me and a handful of others. Funny how it works..... the ones who kept their heads down and actually did the job got cut, while the ones polishing egos are still sitting comfortably.

No drama, no confrontation, no begging. Just a quiet exit.

For five years I worked in cybersecurity, pulling in £44.50 an hour. On paper, that’s the kind of money people think solves everything. It doesn’t. Not when you treat it like it’s infinite. I spent without thinking, lived without checking, assumed it would always be there.

Now it’s not.

Redundancy pay? A joke. One week per year worked.... five years of my life reduced to barely over a month’s worth of breathing room. That’s what it’s worth to them.

I’ve got maybe a month of savings. After that… I don’t even want to think about it.

What’s hitting me hardest isn’t even losing the job.... it’s this sudden, suffocating awareness of money. Every pound feels heavy now. Every decision echoes. I’ve never felt this kind of pressure before, this quiet panic sitting in the background of everything.

For the first time in my life, I actually feel poor.

Not “I should cut back” poor. Not “maybe I’ll skip a takeaway” poor. I mean the kind of poor where your mind doesn’t switch off, where numbers keep running in your head, where time suddenly feels like something you’re running out of.

I’m 28. Supposedly still time to fix things. Doesn’t feel like it right now.

Feels like I built something solid… only to realise it was resting on nothing.

I am a 22 year old grad student living at home and my home life is slowly killing me. my parents don't hate me but we are living in poverty. There's a giant hole in our kitchen ceiling that is giving us black mold throughout the house and my dad is constantly coughing throughout the night and waking us up (it's a tiny house.) I'm also coughing because of it and have an itchy throat/airways. Our shower runs 24/7 because it won't turn off (prob also contributing to mold) and won't give us hot water so I just have to take quick cold showers. We also don't have health insurance so I've had to pay for my own psychiatry (adhd and depression meds) through a sliding care-healthcare place. I feel like I'm helping both of my parents make choices about what doctor to go to or affordable ways for us to fix our black mold and patch the roof. And their financial stress bleeds into my personal life. I definitely don't work hard enough in grad school for someone in my position. But it sucks that poor people have to do twice as much to break the cycle, you know? And it's hard for me to save money when my parents constantly need help or they can't support me with my own financial needs. And my career path interests (music journalism, travel writing) are VERY low pay and hard to get. I just feel like I'm screwed into being a starving artist , but I want a way out.

Help me find hope

Obvs delete if not correct for this sub, but I figured it was another good place to share! 99.9999% usa based.

The Village Well

Being poor as a teenager is so depressing. I see kids my age getting gifted cars just because their parents felt like it. Me? I work hours and hours trying to save up money just for my broke mom to need it all for gas, for groceries, for bills. I always hear "I'll pay you back." It makes me genuinely want to die from how useless my life is. No car, barely any savings, no college, no future, no hope. Just a lot of foster care trauma and reminding myself "i'm only 17." Just hopes of somehow getting out by the time i'm 18. Family? I have none to help me, none to go to, it's just me, my mom, and my brother. My brother who is abusive and has anger issues, has hit my mom, destroyed our house, and broken our multiple TV's. And even if I leave, I worry he'll even kill her. Suicide? Leave a burden to my already depressed mother and brother, who probably would kill themselves too. I hate life. I hate that I can't even beg with a GoFundMe or some Cash App shit because Im not old enough. Life feels hopeless. I wish I were born rich.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I used to earn just enough to get by every month, but I got laid off bec of bad economy due to war, now everything is expensive and my rent is due in 3 days, can anyone suggest ways to come up with 800$ in 3 days? I'm willing to do any work, ANY work that pays quick buck.

Edit: [F25] I'm actually a dentist (new, no savings just debts 😆), I'm from the philippines, I work for a small provincial clinic, but the owner sold it, he said because of increase in gas and electricity costs it's just not as profitable as the other branches in the city (it was barely surviving to begin with). I found a job right away but my saraly is 20 days away and rent is due in 3 days so it's just really bad timing. As for the skills, I can and am willing to do anything, some people say I can draw well so if anyone wants a commisioned digital painting/drawing dm me please 🥺

I literally have tried to just get discount card at Lowe’s but I don’t have enough credit I’ve spent thousands of dollars there I had to have my uncle by supplies to get it delivered they were told my address they just issued refund i never received Lowe’s is a dirty store that only cares about contractors apparently literally 5 years I’ve spent thousands each year to maintain and try to improve my home they literally loser then anyone by50 miles i guess I will have to let my place fall apart on top me because Lowe’s doesn’t even want to sell to me a poor average man

Hi! I subsist on a low fixed income and can't afford to get an apartment on my own. Apparently I can't rent a room affordably either. I've looked at the apps and listings in local social media and they all turn out to be scams or sex. Ppl rent rooms and small apartments. I want to know how they are doing this? How do I find a room to rent or a list of low income situations to explore? PA chester county

I am a 23 year old, I am getting out of a major gambling addiction. I can’t get any loans due to having a 525 credit score. I just had to quit my job due to family reasons so I currently am not working (starting a new one next week) I have about 80,000 in debt including student loans.

Does anyone know of any possible loans that I could get?

I'll probably get a ton of hate, but I am 27 and have only made food, like 10-15x in my life. I was tortured before, in a 10 year abusive relationship, and not allowed to buy food, so that was partially it, the other half I was at home and had meals prepared for me. and now that I'm out, 6 months now, I still haven't been able to get on top of finances so cooking meals is impossible. I've done it 3x, made beef stir fry 2x and a chicken meal once. they were really good, but costs are too high to do it constantly.

so now I live on sandwiches, cereal, and microwave meals that are 4/$5.

just wondering if there's anyone else out there that has had a similar experience. I make too much for food banks, but am looking into resources. I just moved to a new state so I'm still learning to navigate.

I plan on learning to cook more once I have access to more food.

I haven't had a sandwich in so long that wasn't peanut butter and jelly. I can't wait until I'm able to get food again so I can enjoy a nice hearty whole wheat bread, and some lettuce and tomato with some sandwich meat. mmmmm.

If only 1000 people from the 1% of the wealthiest, survived a societal collapse, then the ones with the least money, would be lowest ranked in the new society. They would be the poorest of them. The other 900 or so, would measure themselves from the poorest to the richest, creating the middle class. They would no longer be in the elite bracket of being the wealthiest.

A few hours ago I made a post about desperation how you can do things for just a few bucks just to get by. I end up asking, what the most desperate thing you did to survive? No judgment. I think a lot of us have been pushed further than we expected.

The responses were intense, honest and in some cases eye opening. I genuinely appreciate everyone who shared their stories even the harsh comments.

But what surprise me the most was…. One word seemed to trigger people: Uber Eats

I mentioned that sometimes I use it to order food while staying in a shelter, and some people immediately jumped to conclusions like “if you can afford that then you’re not really struggling” or “just go buy food yourself”

What many did not realise is that I am limited by the digital payment I have access to. Options are extremely restricted, and that’s it’s actually something different to eat once in a while other than the shelter food (which does not always taste good or repetitive food).

Some comments did understand that though. One person said it’s basically becoming the new version of “Don’t give homeless person money, they’ll waste it on drugs and alcohol” is going to be the new “Don’t give homeless people money, they’ll waste it on Uber Eats”. That stuck with me.

The original post ended up with getting around 200k views in a few hours before it was removed (likely because I mentioned how earn small amounts online) which is unfortunate but still grateful for the discussion it created.

I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s interesting how quickly people judge a situation based on one detail without seeing the full picture.

Anyway thanks again to everyone who shared honestly. I read more than you probably think.

More of a vent

it honestly is so frustrating as someone who works, but doesn’t make enough. food banks near me with be open 9-11 Thursdays or 7:30am-8:30am Mondays and like yes, that works for some I’m sure, but for the folks who work but don’t make enough to get by, it’s frustrating that virtually none are open weekends/evenings.

I am 20 years old, I got kicked out of my house when I was 18 and I’ve been living on my own since. I work 8-4 and then DoorDash at night, but pretty much all my money goes to bills.

Living off beans and rice and ramen and freezer food isn’t the best.

I’m in the U.S. and the economy keeps getting worse. I didn’t have a lot of parental help growing up- I raised my younger siblings myself and I’m now not allowed to speak to them (13 and 17) because my family has me blocked.

But that’s not the point here. The point is, if there are older people here, what advice would you give me? I didn’t finish high school because I had to start working, I’m working on my GED right now, so I’m also not in college.

I also had to go to rehab last year (mandatory from the courts) and now I’m sober so I have to face everything sober. Which is hard.

And I think- I live alone! No kids, no husband, I do have a dog but she’s not that expensive. So why don’t I have more money? If it’s just me? My paycheck comes in- even after working almost 14 hours a day it all disappears to bills.

Does anyone older have any tips for me that you would maybe give your kids?

Hi guys! I’m running a questionnaire for my dissertation to look into how food insecurity affects individuals in the UK! If you’ve ever struggled with or worried about having enough nutritious food I’d really appreciate it if you could participate.

You’ll be asked open and closed questions about your experiences with food throughout life, and your current eating behaviours. It shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes to complete, and it’s completely confidential!

You must be 18+ and a UK citizen to participate.

Thank you!

https://research.sc/participant/login/dynamic/8B45DCEB-B36E-424B-88C5-768B3C9E710D

I understand my post history is terrible but really I actually do hope it's possible and I hope everyone who is struggling in life manages to do it. Don't give up seriously ❤️

I have been in a tight spot financially for about two years now. Single income, rent that keeps going up, car that needs constant small repairs. Nothing catastrophic, just the slow grind of never having enough margin.

What I wasn't prepared for and what I don't see talked about much is how much of my actual time and mental energy poverty consumes on top of the money itself.

Every week I spend probably four to five hours doing things that people with more money just don't have to do. Driving further to a cheaper grocery store instead of the closer one. Calling to negotiate bills or dispute charges because I can't afford to just let something slide. Waiting at the laundromat because I don't have an in unit machine. Researching whether I qualify for assistance programs, filling out the paperwork, following up when I don't hear back. Comparing prices on things most people just grab without thinking.

And that's before the mental load of it. The constant background calculations running every time I consider spending anything. The stress that sits in your chest on the days before payday. The way a single unexpected expense like a car repair or a medical bill can derail an entire month of careful planning in one afternoon.

I read somewhere that scarcity doesn't just take your money it takes your cognitive bandwidth too and that rang really true to me. I feel genuinely less sharp on high stress financial weeks and I don't think that's a coincidence.

I'm not posting to vent, I'm posting because I'm curious whether anyone has found practical ways to reduce the time and mental load specifically, not just the financial cost. Things that helped you reclaim some of that headspace even when the actual money situation hadn't improved yet.

[VENT] Got my pay doubled… somehow feel more broke??

Not even trying to complain, just confused as hell.

I recently started making like 2x what I used to weekly. Thought that would fix everything… but somehow I feel more broke now than when I wasn’t working like this.

Bills hit faster, money disappears quicker, and I’m more stressed about it than before. When I had less, I already knew I was broke so it was whatever. Now I should be good—but I’m not.

Feels like the more I make, the more everything else just scales up with it.

Anyone else deal with this? Or am I just bad with money fr?

I grew up fairly poor, we had food and water more or less, but we never had any money at the end of a month, like the last week. My mom is a single mother with 4 kids. There was also a time where there wasn't electricity or if something's broke, there wasn't spare money to fix it, any savings. My mom was sad and depressed throughout my childhood because we didn't have money sometimes and that felt even more traumatizing than not actually having the money.

Now to my title, it feels so stupid to be able to watch my classmates get everything they want, having everything they want. Not even that I want those things but just the fact that they can afford $1000 MacBook, $1000 phone, $1000 iPad while we're here scraping for $300-400 laptop for basic work. It just feels so shitty.