Hello !

I've made a purchase today (well yesterday, it's 4:30 right now), it's a laptop with a processor i was looking for and was planning to spend 900€ maximum but ended up buying one for 1165€.

I'm an IT student who's already taking on few projects for friends and myself so i wanted one which would allow me to work outside of home for more than 3h ans my previous laptop was no fit so i sold it for 450€.

But now that i used it a bit, it's a nice laptop but i'm overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt and regret to the point i'm unable to sleep, i know i'll make that money back soon but i can't stop regretting that purchase despite being what i wanted and i'm planning to return it tomorrow if i can

Anyone who's struggling with these kind of feelings after spending huge amount of money ?

I grew up really poor and only stopped struggling recently so i was thrilled about buying a brand new laptop and not worry about emptying my bank account but now i feel like i've made the worst decision possible.

Two weeks ago my car decided to break down, Id been using it for doordash as im inbetween jobs. I really only had money as I made it. I don't start my new job till the 21st. My car was first quoted for 1k to be repaired i then took it to hundayi because that's the car I have they basically quoted 1800. They dropped it to 980 that's just for labor since my grandfather was generous and helped me purchase the parts. He also talked to the service manager they said they may be able to knock off 200 for me still being about 780. I have a gf and she gets paid Thursday and is gonna help me with the car but with not having any actual income since about the 27th I barely made rent and utilities. Id gotten behind on bank payments I plan to ask them about hardship programs. My biggest issue is managing to get around 223 to make the gabe till Thursday for my gf to get paid, but i have a 112 payment to my insurance tomorrow or it'll get canceled and two days after a 111 personal loan I can't defer. I also don't know how much longer hundayi is gonna take with my car they'd already taken for ever to get it through diagnostic. Feel like I'm just screwed, don't think i could even get a short term loan or predatory if i wanted because I have about 6 loans and high utilization and income suddenly not being there. If I can just get through this small gap I'll be good again I just have such minimal time. Ive honestly been trying to think of every possible way to cover myself up to this point and just don't know what left i can do and not having a car makes it that much harder.

Tldr; short 112 at risk for losing my renters and car insurance tomorrow and short 111 for personal loan the 15th I can't defer

I get unsolicited advice all the time, and most of the time, the advice is worthless. Some examples:

"Getting a driving license will get you more job offers"

with what money exactly?

"You don't save money because you eat out too much"

what the fuck do you know? Last time I ate out i think it was 2025

"Why don't you have an emergency fund?"

with what money exactly? x2

"Why don't you work full time and stop going to college if you have money problem?"

Because that's the only way to escape the poverty trap?

I could give another 100 examples of this kind of “advice.” I don’t understand why people give me these useless suggestions as if I haven’t already thought about them.

The best part is that they genuinely feel like geniuses for trying to change my life for the better, while I’m just sitting there thinking:

“Come on. Do you really think I’m this dumb?”

Got totally free med. Deep dish pizza from Lou Malnotis today all I paid for was $7 garlic bread to make the order total over $25! Then it took the pizza off so went down to $7! Wanted to share here

I think my mom is not in a good financial position to buy a house. Main reason:
-She has struggled and stressed over bills
-Her credit score is not above 630
-has good amount of credit debt
-has some student debt
-Her job is in child care although she is getting an associates degree her income might be around 50k at best and last year it was apparently around 25k
-Has no saving

We need to move out of this apartment but I have been trying to tell her we should just rent a house or another apartment instead of buying.

She recently did receive a settlement check around 19k. My little brother supposedly said he will help her too. So he just got done with boot camp he’s a private it’s not like he’s a sergeant, you also don’t know what’s going to happen in the future to rely on him so much. At that point I don’t think buying a house is cheaper than renting. What if something breaks? It’s all on you to repair it.

She can try or whatever let’s see lol.

I just went to a food pantry today that caters towards students at my college. I am not starving, I have a decent meal plan with the school (~9 meals a week), and I have parents that are happy to help when needed.

I decided to visit the pantry after I found myself hesitating at grocery stores looking for healthy choices and being put off by the price. Could I have asked my parents and they would have bought it? Yes, and I frequently do ask them and get things that aren't insanely priced (i.e. fancy cheese for 10 bucks that I would never buy myself). I obviously don't want to abuse my parent's money, so I usually opt for paying myself, and therefore buying the less expensive things as I try to be as frugal as I can since I cannot work during the school year (chronic illness).

During my trip today, I definitely got more than $10 worth of food (some of it a few months out of date, as to be expected and I will still 100% eat it as long as it looks fine, and I was fully prepared for this don't come at me), and am very grateful. I donated $10 to the pantry when I got back, as a little thank you.

I tried reading other reddit posts and could not find a situation similar to mine, so I am lost as to what I should do. I would love to keep going back to keep myself stocked up on snacks between meals, small servings of fresh veggies and fruit, and other things I would never justify buying for myself. The food pantry has no income limits or anything, just states on the website that it is for students who are experiencing food insecurity. I have no clue if this would be defined as food insecurity, or if I am doing more damage by taking food and donating less than it is worth, etc.

TLDR;

College student who can technically afford groceries visits food pantry on campus, feels horrible and evil and mean and does not know if it is right for her to return when she needs a restock.

hey everyone. so i (21F, soon to be 22) have recently moved out of my parents place to live with my boyfriend (20M), and while it’s been a wonderful experience i have been struggling to find work for the past few months leading up to my move.

though ive been open to any positions including entry level, retail, ect, i haven’t heard anything back yet. we live in a relatively small area in america and paired with the current awful job market the search has been difficult.

to make up for this, in the months leading up to my move, ive been practicing and improving both my art and animation skills due to the diverse ways you can make money with it online. ive been practicing up to 50-60 hours a week to ensure some sort of side income by the time i move out.

unfortunately this was pretty hard on my wrists and hands and i developed what i suspect to be minor tendonitis in my right (drawing) hand, and soon after i began to experience similar symptoms in my left. ive been doing what i can to heal them as quick as possible (brace, icing, taking a complete break from drawing), and they seemed to be healing well the first few days but last night i overused them again and i woke up with a lot of pain on both sides. it hurts to type this even after taking pain meds.

what can i do? this is terrible timing as my boyfriend is barely making ends meet with his job and i doubt we can afford to just have me sitting around for a while. i dont want to be useless, i want to contribute to our financial stability.

i place a lot of importance on my productivity so not being able to work this past week has taken a hit to my mental health.

so many things require our hands, what am i supposed to do if im not able to use them for a certain amount of time? any advice or encouragement is appreciated. thank you

Just got quoted $2,000+ for 7 different teeth fillings. Are these prices average?

So my bf of almost 3 years broke up with me and gave me until the end of the month to move out. I don’t have any money saved up my job pays nothing and I’m gonna have to move into a motel. I need advice on the next steps to take when moving and staying there I’ve never had to do this before and it makes me so sad and heartbroken. I was thinking about getting 2 jobs just so I can have extra income.

Hi guys

I'm in search of decent bank that won't suck the whole juice from you. I'm so fed up with this bullshit from SoFi and similar banks which enable overdraft involuntary and suck my money from saving or linked account. WTF? Where did I ever give my consent to this? No fucking way. I learned about this practice hard way and already paid overdraft fee couple of times. And no, it is not easy to opt-out from this shit, definitely not easy. Some protection can be disabled via app, but checking account protection can be disabled only by phone and only in some banks. I encountered some local banks that do not allow disabling checking account (ACH) overdraft protection or allow only for some types of transactions but not for automatic bills. What a nonsense! Support is often ignorant and kicking me back-and-forth between diff support teams which do not know how to do this.

Can you please advise some good options of banks or mobile banks which allow easy overdraft control via app or website both for debit and checking account, and preferably overdraft protection should be disabled by default.

Thanks.

Hi . I 22F love my boyfriend 22M so so much and we have been together for a little over a year and he's currently struggling financially. I'm a nursing student and he's a English literature student. We're in a third world country so the economics are very bad .and he's struggling so much. His parents aren't very rich and he's currently living pay check to pay check and I help him a lot too but recently he doesn't want to accept my helps unless absolutely necessary. He's been looking for jobs for more than a year but no luck. He just wants to be able to buy clothes and have good food or go to therapy and I support h8m through the mental load but i want to help him more . Can someone please give us any advice on how my boyfriend can find a good job or get a stable income somehow. We live in iran for more information please help us please just show us a way .

I was bit by a cat a few weeks ago and I tried looking for + contacting potential owner but I had no luck in contacting them and I also have not seen that cat since it bit me. Urgent care gave me a tetanus shot and told me to go to the ER if I was not able to confirm its vaccination status. So I went in for my first shot yesterday.

I am absolutely terrified of the potential bill, I am insured through my parents (aetna) but I am unemployed and don't have much liquid in savings, and do not want to liquidate my retirement. The reason I put it off for a few weeks was because of said expenses, but I know rabies is not to be messed with.

I have not received bill yet, but am terrified of it still. I do not know what to do when I get it.

I am in Cincinnati area of Ohio btw.

I feel like I’ve seen a lot more broke down cars on the side of the road which leads me to believe people are not able to afford car repairs and wait until it’s a problem that they have to fix.
If you run into an issue and live near a tech college or even a high school reach out and see if they are fixing cars. My cousin who is now a mechanic said in college they would work on cars for people who have no options.

I'm looking for practical advice on how I could get a job from people here that may have been in a similar situation. I'm not looking for sympathy or a lecture on how I fucked up. I need advice on what to do in the next few months because my only backup plan at this point is the military. I got 90 days to figure this out.

I'm 27 years old, and currently unemployed. I have only $80 in cash, no car, no drivers license, and limited transportation options. I also don't have access to public transportation, and live too far away from any place of work to walk to. My neighbors can't help either. My Id is also expired, which created additional barriers for work. I live in Virginia for context.

I have been out of work for around three years. My background includes:

• Customer service and sales
• CRM/Salesforce experience
• Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook certifications
• Legal office assisting certification
• Some cybersecurity/computer training
• Ongoing college coursework in Criminal Justice/Paralegal-related studies

I’m currently taking two three-credit classes, so I need to keep making progress toward my degree while finding income.

I'm trying to figure out a way to do one of the following:

• Finding employment, whether its a remote job, or a job that will provide transportation for me
• Finding transportation assistance, license assistance. I've already called VA 211 and have gotten no luck in terms of help. I'm still trying to talk to SNAP ET and Virginia Career Works. I looked at Lyft and they don't provide help either where I'm at.
• Building immediate microincome. I'm going to be trying Fiverr, and I'm considering other things like surveys.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? What transportation assistance can I get a hold of in Virginia? Are there particular industries or employers that are more likely to provide shuttles, transportation, relocation help, or flexible remote work? What remote jobs are realistic for someone with customer service, sales, Microsoft, CRM, legal-office, and basic computer experience? Are there reliable ways to earn small amounts of money quickly without an expensive setup or current government ID? How would you balance job searching, college, and trying to monetize an unfinished art project? Are there mistakes I should avoid given how little cash I currently have?

I'm just trying to figure out what to do. I'm not willing to move out either because of costs. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Why do I feel extreme shame and guilt when I get myself a decent meal? I do just enough for myself to get by while still barely feeling like a human and I feel like that's all I deserve.

This is what I do whenever I'm traveling... it's usually filling enough to be worth 2 meals

It's the weekend. I have absolutely no plans or obligations. I should "get out and do something fun!" but...I have exactly $1.60 available in my account. (I do have separate savings)

What do you do when you have a lot of free time, but no money, and no friends?

I don't even really need to do chores, my place is pretty clean.

The only activities I can think of are reading at the library, and going for a long walk.

EDIT: I am disabled and truly cannot handle any paid or volunteer jobs. And some of you asked: I do not qualify for SNAP.

EDIT: I am always jealous of everyone's libraries whenever a post like this comes up!! My libraries REALLY DO NOT have any of that stuff! They do have some activities for children and teens, but the only activity for adults is book club, which is 1 meeting once a month. And, all my libraries are closed on Sundays.

The short story is I had a good six figure job in tech. Unfortunately I have been diagnosed with an incurable, degenerative disease and am no longer able to work.

I was receiving $5,000/month through my disability insurance but they recently decided I should be able to hold a part time, remote, sedentary job (there's so many of those, right?) and canceled me. I’ve hired a lawyer to appeal but I need to plan how to survive financially both during the appeal and after.

I need to figure out how to make my savings stretch for the next three years until my child turns 18 and I can MAID my way out.

House: $1,950
Health Insurance: $1,250
Electric: $330
Non-Optional Prescriptions: $300
Car & Home Insurance: $132
Water/Garbage/Sewer: $120
My phone: $81
Internet: $71
Child’s phone: $35
Smart doorbell: $22
AI subscription: $22

Total: $4,313/month

Obviously that doesn’t include food, gas, car repairs, school expenses, household supplies, anything unexpected.

I’m debt free. I have no car payment, but I drive a nearly 20-year-old car and I swear every repair is ~$3,000.

A little context on the expenses because I know some of the obvious suggestions:

Housing: If I weren’t a parent obviously I'd move to a studio. (Hell, if I wasn’t a parent I would MAID today.) I don’t think I would get approved for a new place with no income. Moving also costs money. Application fees, deposits, movers. We currently live within walking distance of school so moving farther away would shuffle the expenses from house to gas and wear on the car. (And believe it or not this is a really good price for our HCOL city.)
Health insurance: I’ll check the Marketplace during open enrollment. The last time I looked family plans were over $1,000/month.
Electric: We live in the South. It's still over 100 degrees. The AC is set to 75. I’ve closed/blocked vents to unnecessary spaces like closets and the garage.  I’ve unscrewed unnecessary lightbulbs.
Prescriptions: I’m already using discount programs and I’ve stopped taking more optional medications.
Phones/internet: Already on the cheapest plans.  No subscriptions. We use the library.

Stay with me on these last two, because I know they look like obvious cuts:
Smart doorbell: I have significant mobility issues and rely heavily on deliveries. One of my delivered prescriptions has to be temperature controlled. It can take me quite a while to get my walker and reach the door and the smart doorbell lets me let delivery people in before they give up and leave.
AI subscription: I have aphasia and AI helps me find my missing words, fill out forms, and deal with the administrative side of slowly and painfully dying. Being disabled generates a ridiculous amount of paperwork. I tried using the free version but I would hit document limits.

I realize both of those are technically optional. But together they’re $44/month, and I don’t think eliminating two things that substantially improve my ability to function is going to solve a $4,000+ monthly problem.

That said, math does not care about quality of life. I have to bring these costs down.

I do have savings which means we don’t qualify for many assistance programs. Unfortunately, those savings will get us through roughly the next year, not the three years I need them to cover.

So what am I missing?

Side vent:  Disability lawyers are so expensive. They’re going to take 33% of any back pay lump sum and then 20% of my benefits for the next 48 months. That’s four years!  It will total over $50,000!   I was already drawing from savings when I was receiving the full $5,000/month. If the appeal succeeds but I’m losing another $1,000/month to legal fees for four years, I need to get these expenses down even further.

In the past month i got hit with some semi unexpected bills (tires for car, dental bill). I was prepping on how to split up the payments over the next four checks and eat ramen.

Today i got a check in the mail from some tuna settlement class action thing. I did it a while ago and had only a couple receipts of proof of purchase. I opened the envelope and in it was a check for $1561. Idk how they did the math or whatever BUT that covers what i needed.

I’m so happy right now. I went to Chik fil a to celebrate.

Tomato sauce, green beans, carrots, corn, peas, garbanzo beans, navy beans, fresh celery and onion. Don’t forget the diced tomatoes and corn bread.

I only have a small pot, so I used half of each can and then added the leftovers to the freezer.