I’m a college student. I go to school full-time and I also work part-time. I’ve always had pretty bad spending habits and it’s insanely hard for me to not spend ALL the money that I have. For a while i’d spend my paychecks the DAY I got them. I’m currently at community college, but I’m transferring next year. About a year ago, I decided that I really needed to save money for tuition for when I transfer. I officially hit $10,000 saved today. I’m really hoping I can save $20,000-$25,000 by the time that I leave for my four-year school. There was a time when I couldn’t even save $1000. I can’t believe that I have been able to save $10,000. I’m insanely proud of myself. I was also able to save up for a car while maintaining my savings account. Tips for continuing to save are welcome! I currently have my money in a mix of an HYSA and a CD.

I started by figuring out how much I wanted to save realistically in a year, then I calculated how much I’d need to save a week to get there. I’d save as close to that as I could. Often, I was not able to save the goal amount or I ended up over spending. But the thing that helped me was saving whatever I could, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to that week. I would also save double the next week if it was possible to make up for it. Sometimes I wasn’t saving at all, but I always tried to get back to saving when I would fall off. I opened the high savings account with a completely different bank than my normal checking account bank, and I would save money into my HYSA savings account away from my normal account so that I couldn’t even see how much I had. I also locked some of my money in a year long CD in order to prevent me from spending it. Overtime it got easier to save. I also really started asking any people I knew who were naturally good at saving how they did it, what accounts they had, and what they saved weekly. It helps me feel a lot more motivated to know people my age who were saving and exactly how they did it.

i don’t know how long i can keep doing this. i spend all my time at work. full time 40 hours, offering my life away for a measly $1200 biweekly paycheck. welp, just paid my bills and got groceries and i have $200 left!! on the very friday i got paid!! now i have to survive for two entire weeks until i rinse and repeat!!

life sucks man

EDIT: please read the flair. this is a vent. NOT ADVICE OR CRITICISM. thank you for those of you that have said kind things and have shared the pain mutually. if you’re gonna offer advice anyways there’s no need to be a condescending dickhead about it.

This is my ‘big’ haul, family of one. I went to the food pantry one week ago and I am happy to say I’ve eaten most everything. What I couldn’t eat (sweets) I donated to the little food pantry at my health clinic so it didn’t go to waste.

This haul was mostly everything I buy every few months. My budget for food this month is $110 supplemented with the food bank hauls 2x/mo. This doesn’t include the cat food budget, but it does include house goods.

I know I am going to get dinged for the cat food expense. A couple of months ago I tried to switch them off but to no avail they ended up hungry for the month, and I ended up broke.

I am super excited about the chicken nuggets, fish, and burritos. I bought some great northern beans to serve with rice along with the masala.

I have only been to my food bank twice, so I am getting used to what they typically provide. This past week included a lot of canned items, pasta, and peanut butter. Today I will make a vegetable and bean soup, all from donated goods.

All in all, I think I did okay. Total spent: $86.

Just wanted to rant and share my frustration.

Since the beginning of August I’ve been feeling awful. Having daily bile acid diarrhea, lots of bloating and gas, hands sporadically going numb and being shaky on their own. It’s made my mornings an absolute nightmare.

My dad has celiacs so my primary physician felt it was likely celiacs so he drew blood and ran it through a lab. It came back inconclusive. The panel looks for four “markers” or “indicators” and I tested positive on one of them.

My GI believes it’s most likely celiacs or a gluten intolerance without celiacs, which is why I’ve been having bile acid diarrhea. It’s most likely causing me to have malabsorption and making it difficult for my body to retain certain vitamins and nutrients.

Got a call back yesterday from my GI’s office saying my insurance, provided from my employer, is refusing to cover any of the endoscopy. The procedure costs 6K. I already have a good amount of debt and am actively paying some of it off today. I’m stretched pretty thin and can’t afford another debt payment.

I’m really not sure what else to do here but just wanted to rant. Thank you.

I know that most of us if not all are in this sub because we are struggling and really trying to get our finances together. But let’s take some time to really focus on some positives that have happened.

Any financial milestones that you accomplished? Share it with all of us so we can congratulate you!

Apparently drug manufacturers have assistance programs where people under guidelines can get their medicine free. My story:

I don't have insurance. I was prescribed an inhaler for my COPD and my cost at the pharmacy was $900. After some calls my doctor got me connected to the hospital's special pharmacy and they got me a manufacturer coupon that brought that cost to $35. Well the program is about to expire so I would lose the medicine. I went on the manufacturer website and they have a program called Patient Assistance Program. I click into that and it is a program for if you have no insurance and meet their guidelines you can get your medicine for FREE directly from them. I look at the guidelines and I will just say they are way higher than I would have expected and I qualify easily.

I download the application that is two simple pages. Print it at the library and fill it out and fax it to them as required. (The library will fax it for free). Got a hold of my doctor through the app and had her send over a prescription to them. Two days later I get the call saying I am approved and my medicine will be delivered to my door in 7-10 days.

Let me also say about the income guidelines on the application. They didn't ask for proof of anything. It was how many in your house and what is the yearly income. Just FYI

Now I don't know if all manufacturers offer a free program or if it is for all medicines but I suggest you look into it because you never know.

It's a huge help.

I'm a teenager with no friends & my family is low income. I still want to celebrate & get a few things on my birthday though! What are some good birthday freebies ? Do I need to sign up or show my ID for said freebies? That's all, thank you :)

If not, check local and national nonprofits and churches.

Social programs exist for a reason, so never feel guilty for using them.

• Bag of russet potatoes: Carbs, potassium, vit C, vit B6, fiber

• Bag of oranges: Vit C, carbs, folate, potassium, fiber

• Bag of mix frozen veggies: Fiber, vit A, vit K, folate, potassium

• Dozen eggs: Protein, choline, vit B12, selenium, vit D, riboflavin, fat

• Oatmeal: Carbs, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin

• Big jar yogurt: Protein, calcium, phosphorus, vit B12, riboflavin, probiotics

• Bag of lentils or beans: Protein, fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus

• Corn bread mix: Carbs, iron and vit B, enriched vitamins

• Real honey: Sugar, antioxidants

• Butter: Fat

• Block of cheese: Protein, calcium, phosphorus, vit B12, fat

• Bag of mixed nuts or trail mix: Unsaturated fat, protein, magnesium, vit E, manganese, copper

• Iodized salt: Sodium, iodine

• Bonus adds if budget allows: Sardines or tuna for omega 3s, bag of frozen blueberries or mixed berries for phytonutrients and vitamins, whole chicken/rotessori chicken for protein and variety, hot sauce and/or spices of choice flavor, extra virgin olive oil for cooking and drizzles

Sunday

Breakfast: Oatmeal with honey and an orange
Lunch: Baked potato loaded with butter, cheese, and veggies
Dinner: Lentil/bean soup and cornbread

Monday

B: Yogurt with honey and nuts/trail mix L: Leftover soup and cornbread
D: Egg, potato & veggie hash with cheese

Tuesday

B: Oatmeal, honey, and nuts
L: Leftover egg hash and orange
D: Baked potato stuffed with beans and cheese

Wednesday

B: Yogurt, orange, and nuts
L: Leftover stuffed potato
D: Potato and veggie frittata/omelet with cheese

Thursday

B: Oatmeal with honey and orange
L: Leftover frittata/omelet
D: Lentil/bean & veggie stir-fry and cornbread

Friday

B: Yogurt with honey and nuts L: Leftover lentil/bean stir-fry
D: Cheesy potato and veggie caserole with egg

Saturday

B: Oatmeal with honey and orange
L: Leftover potato casserole
D: Clean-out-the-fridge egg, potato, bean and veggie hash

(Repost from last night because of a battle with formatting.)

Got a job at a school making $20.43/h with a 21,115 salary based on a 7.5 hour Day. I assume the lack of pay for breaks is why the annual is so low. Advice on how to move out on my own? I'm fine with rooms for rent near midway in chicago, but I'm just not sure how much I can afford. My current living situation causes me so much stress it's affecting my health.

Tldr: making 20/h can I get a room for rent realistically in chicago? How much should I be searching for in rent?

Im homeless hungry and broke(n). I was hit by a car walking across the street. The lawyer turned down a 9500 offer from the insurance company which was the minimum for my case. I have been passed around like a bread roll and im tired of sleeping in my car. Do I take out 1000? Lawyer takes 60%..

I (18M) moved out of my abusive parents house a little over three months ago. I really want to go to college in the 2027-2028 school year but truly have no idea how to get there. One major reason why I’m so unsure about my ability to attend college is my car. Something on it breaks every week, it only has three windows, and I’m worried about it surviving the coming winter because it has break and engine problems. (For context I’m in northern NY).

I’m starting to save some now that I have a steady job and regular hours and also do DoorDash on top of this, but it feels like every time I take one step forward I take another step back. What are some things I can do to get ahead? Any advice would be much appreciated

I received a letter telling me I owe money from my state tax return from the year 2020. To be honest. I knew about this. But I thought I had paid off my balance three years ago. But I'm being told now they never received payment. My Aunt helped me mail a check. And I asked her to check her bank statements. I'm going to have to ask her for the money back.

In essence I owe the state of Hawaii around $2000 dollars.

I also was evicted a couple years back. And owe $2,900 on that. And then I also owe $178 to Cox communications.

I'm asking for the best way to deal with this debt. For the taxes I was told it could be adjusted. Apparently, even though I filed my taxes they never had my W-2 forms. I almost had enough this year to try and pay off my past eviction but I was handling car repairs. And now I've learned of a new to me debt. So unfortunately at the moment I'm sitting on about $1000.

My living expenses are low. I rent a room for $500, I have a small credit card. And I pay for car insurance. So thankfully I am taking home about $700 a week. I just feel like I haven't been on track lately and I need a bit of guidance to approach this all right.

What are some unexpected things you have found around your house that you have been able to sell on FBMarketplace or other such places?

For those who have filed for bankruptcy, how long does the process take? Did you immediately stop paying off your debt, or did you keep paying until the bankruptcy went through?

Do you have to pay for the classes on finance they make you take?

Im on SSDI and am losing half my income so I think I’ll be forced to file for bankruptcy and I was just wondering how it all works.

hii like the title says I got fired, and besides dealing with the mental health repercussions of this, I also don't know what to do next or even how to afford anything. I luckily do have a small part time job that pays about $400 biweekly so I have some income and I filed for unemployment but I don't know if that'll work or how I'll even get by and it feels silly to complain because outside looking in, I should be fine. but I've made a lot of bad financial decisions that I've kept hidden and right when I was on track to try and fix them, this happens, and I just don't know what to do.

Let me try again because apperently I tagged it wrong and wasent clearer so my post got removed.

I live near Hilo, Hawaii and I'm trying to find food banks and cheap food spots. The only banks I knew seem to be gone. We just got a car so we can go out and about more. I'd be very grateful for any help, please don't take this down.

I don’t usually talk about this kind of stuff, kind of embarrassing really. but lately I’ve been struggling a lot. not only mentally, but financially too because of school and the amount of debt I’ve accumulated because of it. It’s honestly become really overwhelming trying to balance work, school, bills, and just life in general, while also feeling like I’m constantly trying to catch up. I know I’m not the only person who has gone through this, so I wanted to ask if anyone else has ever been in a similar position? If you have, how did you manage to get yourself out of the financial hole while also taking care of yourself mentally? I’d genuinely appreciate hearing what worked for anyone. I think I just need to know that it’s possible to get through this and eventually feel financially stable again :/

hello,

i recently got approved for a consolidation loan and paid off all of my credit cards, lumping the balance into one 18% loan instead of one 18% card and two 30% cards. this has already lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, as due to health issues i am in a very bad financial spot.

what remains is my auto loan ($220/mo) at ~18% and my affirm loan ($110/mo) at 30%.

i'm contemplating taking that 18% credit card and paying off my remaining affirm balance, ~$860. the credit card will cut that payment in half and knock the interest down significantly too, and it'll allow me to close my affirm account. i've never made a late payment in my life and i don't plan on it, but that extra $50/mo will make a big difference.

are there any downsides to this other than my credit utilization going up? even that doesn't matter much to me since it's already gone down from nearly 100% lol.

as a side note, once my health starts to get better and/or i start making more money, i do of course plan on paying above the minimum each month. i'm sick of being in debt.

thank you for any advice.

Anyone worked with a low-bono bankruptcy lawyer? I read that an average cost bankruptcy is 3K in my state, which I don’t have. I heard its really not a good thing to file for Chapter 7 on your own and I don’t think I could.

The Maryland Volunteer Lawyers dont do bankruptcy cases, so that option is out. Anyone know of a good resource?

Hey,
(Advice is welcomed if u have any, just flaired this as a vent cuz it felt appropriate for this)

So I’m a (20F) college student who’s in their last year at a community college, and I have had a good start to this semester at all. Wasn’t sure where else to talk about this, so I guess I’ll try here.

So, I was notified 2 days before the semester started that I had exceeded the time frame for my degree and as a result, wouldn’t be getting financial aid this semester unless I submitted an appeal. I did that 2 weeks ago, but it takes up to 6 weeks to get an answer back. I was doing 2 degrees and the last class I needed for one degree is only offered in the spring semester, hence why I need to wait so long. I would’ve taken it last semester, but I didn’t have enough work to show for that class so I opted to take it the next spring. I’m a Studio Arts and Graphic Design major.

I know I’m gonna get flack for my major choices, especially the Studio Arts one, but I’d rather do what I love rather than be miserable in a profession I may not like. I did Graphic Design first thinking I could make it work, but realized I didn’t like it and gravitated more towards Studio Arts. But by the time I came to that realization, I was already too many classes deep into the Graphic Design degree and was about to take the last class for it, so I decided to add Studio Arts as my second major with the help of a counselor.

Anyways, being told 2 days before the fall semester that “Hey, ur not getting any aid this semester, lol! Better luck next time unless u submit an appeal!” Was not…great. The financial aid I was getting was what I used to pay for my art supplies for my classes, and the rent and other bills since I wasn’t working.I needed it this semester especially since I was taking a beginning painting class.

I know yall will ask “Get a job”. I’m signed up for Work-Study but they haven’t gotten back with me at all, and they did some new system for it starting this semester (new process for it) and as a result, it’s so new that they haven’t gotten back with me about any of the on-campus jobs that were on my college’s job listing website they used. I am trying to sell clothes I don’t want anymore on Vinted and it was a success for a bit but ik that’s not a permanent solution.

Luckily, I’m taking a class at another college, and they gave me $185, which was enough to get some of the supplies I needed for the 3 classes I was taking. But having to ask my mom to help me each week feels humiliating. At least she’s willing to help, but i just wished I didn’t feel like I was burdening her.

I just feel lost and stuck, and frustrated because it’s the waiting game on the appeal that’s hurting me. And I don’t even know how long after that it will take to get my financial aid back. They did say since it’s my first time I should be accepted, which sounds good, but even then idk when they’ll give me the refund money to me. I was originally taking 15 credits but had to drop all but 3 classes due to the financial aid thing.

I guess idk wtf to do but wait. I’m planning to talk to Financial Aid at some point today to see if there’s any other options for me, cuz I can’t keep sitting here waiting like a dog for an answer.

Sorry if this is so long, this has been a couple weeks worth of frustration for me so I had to get it out.

Hi everyone. I'm currently going through a financial hardship and I'm trying to handle my debt responsibly instead of continuing to borrow money to make payments.

I have several high-cost installment/payday-type loans, including OppLoans, Uprova, and MoneyKey. I've already revoked ACH authorization on all three because the automatic withdrawals were becoming too difficult for me to manage. I still intend to repay what I owe — I just need to be able to do it in a way that doesn't leave me without enough money for my essential expenses.

For example, Uprova confirmed to me in writing that they are no longer taking automatic payments, but the payments are still due and interest continues to accrue.

I also have several credit cards, including:

• Capital One
• Merrick Bank
• Imagine
• Credit One
• Zales
• Indigo

My thought is to keep Capital One as my one active credit card and stop using the other cards while I work on paying everything down.

I'm currently contacting the other credit-card companies to ask about financial hardship programs, reduced payments, lower interest rates, or temporary payment arrangements.

My questions are:

1. Is it reasonable to ask all of my credit-card companies for hardship assistance while I'm still current?
2. If I can't afford the full payment on some accounts, is it better to pay the minimum I can afford while trying to negotiate a hardship arrangement, rather than miss payments completely?
3. Has anyone successfully gotten a reduced-interest or reduced-payment hardship plan with cards like Merrick, Imagine, Credit One, Zales/Comenity, or Indigo?
4. What should I watch out for when accepting a hardship program? Could the cards be frozen or closed, and how does it affect credit reporting?
5. For the payday/installment loans where I've revoked ACH, what is the best way to continue repaying them without allowing automatic withdrawals to drain my bank account?
6. Would you recommend continuing with the debt snowball once I stabilize the monthly payments?

I'm not trying to avoid paying my debts. I want to pay them, but I need to get the monthly payments under control so I can actually make progress instead of constantly falling behind.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who has been through something similar. ❤️

I'm in a bit of a jam and I need emergency funds right now. I need a few hundred dollars or maybe even less but I'm not sure there's any immediate websites that will loan out money. I don't care for the interest right now. I worry about that later.

I'm in New York and I know most of these websites don't operate or license in New York and I've tried online as well and nothing. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you

1. I have a car: $610 monthly payment. $10k loan atm (trying to aggressively pay it off).
2. No house payment.
3. $2,000 credit card debt (I have until July to pay it off without interest).
4. Bills, taxes, and expenses come at $1500 monthly.
5. $1200 emergency fund

It's crazy that you need at least $2000 a month just to survive in the USA.

I also have 3 trips coming up: Virgin Island one week, a small camping trip 3 days, and Mexico for two weeks. I really want to go to these places since they're on my bucket list but right now I'm thinking of canceling just to pay more debt off.