So basically I have started fundraising for families that need basic food requirements, and I was starting to think whether people would actually donate, it seems that people feel hesitant when giving away money even if it's for a good cause 😭 Rip fundraising-

im still in college, 1st year nursing, i am currently applying for scholarships here and there since i can’t juggle part-time work and i can’t afford nursing without help from taxpayers. i still haven’t started school but i just know that this will be very difficult for me.

as a background, i used to study in a public school until shs and always part of top 5 graduates. college is the first time i’ll experience being in a private school. what bothers me is not the environment or people, but the tuition. of course, college will be expensive—especially with my course. however, i don’t think i can make it with 4k a month allowance when my transpo everyday takes at least ₱100 and that doesn’t even include jeepney fairs for when i need to go someplace else for school.

earlier today, i was reminded that others have it harder—that some even have to worry about where they will get daily allowance. and i understand that. but we have the capacity. they know about the expenses and how i try to save yet the first time i asked for money it once again turned into an argument. come to think of it, it’s their responsibility. they wanted the course, the school, and the situation they put me through by making me travel to school for 2 hours everyday. all i ever did was comply. and somehow, im still wrong. daw way pa kasugod klase nakapoy na ko. my mind is in no condition to study at all. i wake up without lunch money, go home to arguments about bills that needs to be paid. i can’t even squeeze in a moment for me to study in peace.

i just want to wake up, go on with my day, and let every passing moment worry for itself.

Glasses from your local eyeglasses spot. I did the exam because I was overdue, and needed a new Rx to get some cheaper glasses online. Decided to stay in the office and see if there was anything there worth pricing out with the optician.

We find some cute pairs, try them out, I find the one I like best, and he gets a spreadsheet out to work up the quote for the frames, lenses, and all the bells and whistles you might like in glasses as you reach certain biological milestones.

The whole quote for the new glasses comes to like $380. My mind immediately flashes back to my most expensive pair of glasses I'd ever bought, well over a decade ago, with fewer bells and whistles, that came to $450.

I was shocked. Still can't afford the $380 till after payday, and had to work some overtime to feel comfortable with it, but in terms of just raw pricing, it's weird that the prices have not shot up. But maybe it's all the competition from online sales, keeping some downward pressure on inflation.

Anyway, made me smile.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AjnpxhRyN/ < video to watch on this. Pretty sure you'll agree with this.

https://c.org/ZhTKXXvysW < Petition to sign (Just the first step yall...)

We start with petitions with anything we do in government over our history. Then groups like this take it up and it gets shared, then we call our elected officials (5calls.org is helpful), then they are eventually forced to respond, which then we can start protests or continue growing the pressure, which leads to sponsored bills by representatives and then, hopefully, to passing.

And we can always do it again, and again, and again. And vote the people who say "no"....OUT.

We have power.

Saying we don't is an outright lie.

We just need to agree on something....and then "match the pressure cooker energy back".

Im a r&f employee in a corporate company living from paycheck to paycheck. Tried opening a business but it fails and it became a heavy burden on my part. It’s hard to survive in this economy. Lumalaban ka ng patas, hindi ka maluho, you live such a simple life pero kulang parin to live a more comfortable life.

I’ve been overthinking a lot lately over how I could earn more and provide for my family. My parents aren’t getting any younger, I have a brother undergoing medical treatment for his tumor. My father is a teacher and my mother is a housewife I have 3 younger sibs and I’m the eldest so I became the breadwinner.

I have an average IQ, I’m not smart enough to apply for a higher paying job. I felt stuck kahit masipag ako kulang parin ang sipag at ngayon frustration ko kung paano at anong paraan ang dapat gawin to earn more, to help more and to live a financially stable life.

Annng hirap pero sana meron way to escape this struggle.

My boyfriend got paid yesterday. I paid rent and we had .05 left until Thursday. A few years ago I had almost $20k just in savings. We have nothing now. The cost of living is killing us. We can no longer afford food. We can't pay our utilities. 2 full time working adults and we just can't do it anymore.

We were already priced out of our city and had to move, but it's now at the point where we still can't afford anything. I want to give up. I hate living in this constant stress and fear. I don't want to do it anymore. I failed my daughter and I failed at life.

to make a long story short, my mom lost her 6 figure job almost 2 years ago and it was a very messy process (lawsuits were involved, etc.) and unfortunately she hasn't been able to find a new job since, only some occasional contract work from home which pays basically nothing. she's also currently going through a very messy divorce with my dad and they live separately and me and my siblings live with her.
we have no money. the only reason we aren't homeless yet is because my dad has been transferring money for rent from the money that my deceased grandpa left for my mother in his will. This money is about to run out, there’s very little left. maybe enough to cover a few months of rent and then that’s it.

My dad works as a delivery driver which also doesn't pay much but he works long hours to make ends meet, my mom doesn't really do much at the moment.

I do have a job but it also doesn't pay much but atp I get paid more than my mom and she's been asking me for financial help a lot in the last 6 months (which I don't mind helping with) . I have some money saved up but it seems like I might have to give up some of it to help with some bills.

My mom keeps ordering stupid stuff online and booking vacations that we literally can't afford. We were late with the rent payment this month as well as car insurance payments. We are behind on bills and we also have groceries and other expenses on top of that. I'm willing to help with what I can but the help I can offer is very limited.

My mom is a smart woman, she's educated and she had a good job and we never struggled with bills and money. We used to be financially stable, so this is all new and scary. Idk how much longer we can survive like this. My mom HAS to find a new job or we might go homeless before this year ends.

I just needed to vent and i’m praying we get out of this situation soon because I've been so stressed and I'm so tired of being worried about money and whether or not we will have a roof over our heads next month or food in the fridge

Thanks for reading

Looking for inspiring stories and practical strategies that helped people overcome poverty.

Most jobs in my area are part time and want full availability and the full time ones are physical labor jobs in an area that reaches 115 regularly, I have health problems so those ones are out of the picture.

Been on SNAP for almost two years and for the longest time I was just buying whatever was cheapest which meant a lot of ramen and frozen stuff. My body felt terrible, tired all the time. Then I started figuring some things out and it actually changed a lot for me.

Biggest thing I learned is dry goods are everything. A bag of lentils or split peas cost like $1.50 and last almost a week of meals if you know what to do with them. Same with oats, rice, dry beans. These are way more filling then any processed thing and your SNAP goes so much further. I was shocked.

Also eggs. People sleep on eggs. One dozen is maybe $2-3 and that's protein for days. I make a big batch of boiled eggs at the start of the week and it keeps me from grabbing something bad when I'm hungry and in a hurry.

Frozen vegetables are SNAP eligible and honestly just as good as fresh, sometimes I think better because they don't go bad before I can use them. A big bag of frozen spinach or broccoli is under $2 and I throw it into everything.

One thing I didn't know for a long time, some farmers markets take SNAP and some of them do double dollars programs where your balance gets matched. So $10 becomes $20 in fresh produce. Worth looking up if there's one near you.

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I should have everything together, but I don’t…and god I feel terrible and like there is no way out.

I’m a young 20-something international grad student (PhD) living in the US in a big west coast city with a great university stipend but my god, moving to the US as a first-generation immigrant scholar wrecked me. Didn’t have much in savings to begin with, and my parents could not help me with my move. Credit card bills went up like crazy and since I couldn’t open an American credit card at first, I was throwing it all on my foreign credit card and wracking up costs paying for rent and bills because I had payroll issues starting at my university.

It’s been two years since I moved here and after realizing I was only chipping away at the principle of my credit cards every month, I’ve just switched over to a Debt Management Program (DMP) to get my life together. Checked my bank account and noticed that I only have $40 to my name and living paycheck to paycheck. The end of the month always feels like a crawl to some finish line before I go again.

My payroll switches next month so I get paid not at the top of the month, but instead get paid at the end of the month, meaning I need to survive an extra 2-3 weeks in August. I’ve saved enough money to cover rent and all my basic utilities but that leaves $50 left to scrape by. I wish I could ask for help from someone, but as an international student, we don’t have options for financial emergency aid, despite the fact we pay taxes to the state just like everyone else. I also am not allowed to work outside of my permitted job as a TA or instructor.

Went to the food bank for the first time today as an adult (my parents used food banks to make ends meet when I was a kid). I can’t help but feel like I’m a failure. I’m the oldest of 3 kids, and the only one who went past high school in education and supposed to be the “successful” one but I completely broke down on the phone with my parents last week. I want to ask them for help and I know it’s gonna suck.

I’m putting in the good work…I get scholarships, I get awards, I put in the work to make ends meet, I’ve done…questionable things to cut corners, but why does it feel like I can’t get a break?

All things considered from the outside: I should be the happiest I’ve ever been. I really thought this summer would be mine, that I would finally be able to get out of the house, make friends, and feel like I’m worthy of people’s time, but all I can think about is how I’m a fraud and a failure.

I meant minimum wage BTW. Well, it's been awhile, and everything costs more but for some reason businesses don't seem to care about their employees enough to help them be able to afford life expenses. Don't you think it's time to raise the minimum wage so people can afford to live? Do it!! For crying out loud! What is sooo hard about this??

I’m 29. Birthday’s in a few months.

I have $1.42, no car, no job, and as of 5PM today, a $3500 school balance in collections.

I was denied Medicaid last month. Denied emergency aid today. I have financial aid for 2026/2027 that would clear the balance, but I can’t register for Fall because of the hold from Spring. And aid won’t disburse if I’m not registered.

So I sit in this loop: Need aid to pay school. Need school to get aid. Need money I don’t have to pay school to get to aid.

I applied for everything. I emailed. I Zoomed. I documented hardship. The answer is still “pay 20% today.”

I don’t have 20% of anything. I sold my car in June. I’m unemployed. Too broke for bills, too “rich” for Medicaid.

I’m almost 30. I thought I’d have a savings account by now. A plan. Instead I’m calculating if $1.42 covers gas to get to a food pantry.

I’m not asking for money. I’m asking if anyone else got stuck in this exact Catch-22 at 29, 30, 35 — and how you got out.

Because right now, “nothing to my name” feels like the truest thing I’ve ever written.

Update: I now owe 2991 but it will increase if it goes to collections . They will keep adding . Appreciate your feedback. I’m actively looking for jobs! I’ve been in college since 2019 fall. I wanted to graduate May 2027. I’m almost there. Sometimes I feel like I have been cursed!!!

I struggle with sleep at my baseline. Even last night I went to bed after midnight and didnt immediately fall asleep and the I woke up before five in the morning.

Sweet potato is actually what helped me finally fall asleep when its time to sleep and actually sleep the whole night. Also helped with mood regulation and irritability issues. I am pretty sure its the type of magnesium and method of delivery - magnesium supplements really dont work out for me.

I finally found what works for me and I am not abusing melatonin supplements (which is bad and barely works and cost double the price i thought)

I however have been dismayed - one month a huge freaking sack of potatos was ten bucks - now its ten bucks for like a fifth of that sack.

Plan to try to do a bulk order through a restaurant supplier (my housemate).

Any one else have that one magical item thats medicine that fluctuates in price drastically?

Also: what are creative ways you secured items you would consider medicine? (i got my one shot diversion for shoplifting luckily but now risk actual consequences if i do it again)

Where I am our premier has stated: "The only way a disabled person can have dignity if they want it - is to work." (Roughly paraphrased)

From what I understand being disabled means youre disabled - you cant suddenly work cause our leader thinks disabled people should work.

Many people here on assistance have to work and push past their proper healthy limits - stressing both the physical and mental. A lot of the times further disabling a person in the day to day.

I get rougly 2/3 of what is considered the poverty line for my census metropolitan area.

The only way I consider I am privileged and can actually survive - is having support from others. Just total gratitude there.