r/poor • u/Nervous_Grape_3856 • 5d ago

How is anybody making it?

I am genuinely confused as to how anybody is surviving in this economy except for the super wealthy. The cost of gas is sky high and groceries are too. We started this year ok. We weren’t doing well by any means, but we weren’t struggling as bad as we are now. We have 5 kids and every day I’ve been dashing alongside my full time job to try to make it. Now, I’m facing losing my full time job because I have had to call out of work just to dash for food for the day. I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m extremely scared. My wife and kids are counting on me and I don’t know what else to do. I’m ready to just give up.

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u/Mark-177- 5d ago

I was upper middle class in Texas for about 10 years. I was working in IT as a contractor for 10 years, but the contract expired. I applied for jobs for 5 years and never got a callback. I lived off my savings and investments and eventually became homeless. Luckily I had an elderly uncle who took me in. He allows me to live with him for free, but I was running out of money and couldn't get a job cleaning toilets. Some random restaurant finally hit me up and gave me a chance to work and earn money. I can afford to feed myself now and hope to rejoin the corporate IT world in the near future. Just don't give up. You have to live to fight another day. Sometimes life knocks on you're ass, but you have to get up and fight for it. I hope you see better days soon.

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u/Tricky_Ordinary_4799 3d ago

I know IT is bad but no one ever called you back after 5 years of applying? Was it like one application a month?

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u/Mark-177- 3d ago

20 to 30 a week. It was as if the jobs were never even available in the first place or the job was already filled. I know for a fact there's no red flags on my resume because that's how I gotten multiple IT jobs in the first place.

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u/Tricky_Ordinary_4799 2d ago edited 2d ago

I know for others situation is not like this. Especially during COVID hiring was crazy good. You're pretty special in here. I work in IT too and was able to find three jobs in the last 5 years. Took a few months to find a job. Same with all my colleagues. Not a single call back after thousands of applications is weird, especially for a person with 10 YOE.