I live in a high rise apartment, I recently realized that the building is “pressurized” meaning that if I open my window and my apartment door, air is constantly blowing in thru my door and out the window… the air in the hallway is constantly 72 and my apartment has its own AC. It’s something I have to run, living inside a tall binding means there’s always heat. It’s nice in winter, I almost never turn on my heater. But in summer with big windows and heat always rising, it’s get to be 90 inside my unit.

So upon this discovery, I am leaving my window open, and cracking my front door (with a doorstop for safety) when I'm at home, it’s been all of 5 minutes and my apartment already feels cooler as if I turned the AC on.

I believe the purpose of this is to keep unpleasant smells from entering each other’s units?

I figure I could take this up a notch and be more hidden by removing the peephole and allowing the air to flow in from there and keep the door shut. This would allow me to keep the gig up when I'm not home.

I don't want it to be too obvious because the peephole will cause light leakage and people would see what's up. And there's also the crime factor since thieves can stick a rope through the hole and unlock the door.

So I'm thinking of making a bent pipe with a grill to attach to the peephole so from the outside it looks like a speaker or intercom.

Has anyone tried this before and is it wrong?

Hello,

I am from Sri Lanka. I will first give some background on my self. I did London ALs at 14 and then did distance learning degree at UK. I managed to obtain first Class honors software engineering degree at the age of 17, and finished it about 8 months back. Then I started doing fiverr, about 3 months back, and currently made about $3000. And also I did not spend any money for the most part. I know its not a lot for most people, but for my country, $1000 a month would put me in like top 4-3%. However, I used a paypal account, from Philippines to take the money from fiverr, and since PayPal is banned on Sri Lanka, I got my account restricted and seems like it might be banned. I still have clients outside of fiverr, but I think fiverr as a whole is unstable with their rip off system.

Anyhow, I want to learn how to obtain financial freedom... I know it takes a long time so I'm planning on finding side hustles/ maybe a remote job as well (software engineering jobs or any other job for that matter seems not worth here because even the best jobs would have a starting salary of like $200 a month). I am also going to start reading many books about investment. Also, my main plan is to learn how to trade. I believe if i manage to be successful at trading, I can become financially independent. I really would like to learn from all of you, and get an idea/ suggestions on what I should do for next couple of years because I feel kind of lost. I mean I don't need to make millions just enough that I can live good life buying things I like to when I need them.. Thank you.

It got repossessed trying to get it back any advice I made a go fund me but idk I have $3,000 for it need $3,000 more in 17 days 😢😢😢😢😢😫

I’m 26 and currently living in Los Angeles. As we all know the economy Is insane and when I first moved into this apartment, I was able to afford my standard of living. As of last year, they raised the rent and I begged them to decrease, they did end up taking it down, but only if I agreed to sign on for another year. I’m now drowning. My entire check goes toward my rent, car payment, phone bill, gas, etc. and every month I’m adding on new debt. I obviously cannot break the lease because I can’t afford to pay out of it. I’ve been living off my stock for the past year and is now depleted to less than $5000. Also in about sixK worth of credit card debt. I am drowning. how can I escape this nightmare?

Female 32 So the most I've made at a job is 14.40 an hour I am so happy to make that! But the maximum hours they said I could get is 30. I'm still very grateful! How do young women make it today financially. I've been married since 19 so my husband pays majority of alot of bills. But how do single women survive under the age of 30? My sister says she can't find jobs paying more than 12 dollars an hour and she has a degree! Ive heard rent is over 800 a month for a one bedroom! So if a single non married girl gets a job and makes 10 dollars an hour at 35 hours a week that 300(-50 taxes) *4 which is 1200 a month how do you guys afford rent 800 , utilities200, groceries300, debt300, hospital bills, house hold products etc? Tips please and helpful comments. I don't know what I would have done without dual incomes. So many single women seem to be doing well financially.

Hello :)

I’m very fortunate to be making more money nowadays. My brother got a job as well and he got a letter saying he will be kicked off EBT because he makes too much now, which is fine. We have about $200 left to spend on food and I really want to make the best of it. Winter means slow work for me, so every dollar counts(we eat a lot as we both have heavy physical jobs)

Here’s my current idea list:

large bag of rice beans vegetables to blanch and freeze myself, or already frozen vegetables if theyre cheaper flour yeast the cheapest meat i can find so i can freeze it for the future(thinking turkeys going on sale)

any suggestions?

It just made me depressed. I’m 26, and I still live with my parents. My parents rent our house because they can’t afford a mortgage. We’ve always rented. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to not be homeless, but I feel like shit sometimes for not being able to own a house or the fact that my parents can’t own a house either.

I’ll probably never be able to own one. I’m in school to be a social worker which is low paying field. My boyfriend has a decent paying job at a warehouse, but with the cost of living rising, it’s hard to even find a place to rent. I kept seeing posts of people younger than me that bought their first house or have parents or grandparents who bought them a house. I know comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s just depressing to see people my age or younger that are doing better than me. I’m still working on an associates degree, and I work part time because I have ADHD, and it’s hard for me to balance school and work and I have unpaid internship on top of it. I hope to move out of my parents house by the time I’m 30 at least, but I highly doubt I’d be able to buy a house.

I read this thread and horrified to how poverty is handle in America, you get fired basically for anything, without reason, if you ever get sick better to kill yourself cause health care is not affordable. You can be working 25 years in a company and still they will kicked you out to the street worse than a dog. Or people paying car loans and rent that are unaffordable. And people with a salary over minimun wage but can not afford to buy the basics. It is really sad, and I wanted to share how it is in Europe where I live. My boyfriend's mom earn minimun wage, ( about 1600 euros after taxes I think). She lives in the same apartment since 20 years and her rent is still like 400 euros. Healthcare is free, she has an old Ford auto she bought new 10 years ago which she still drives, her car insurance is about 40 euros per month. Still with minimun wage she has enough to live ok, of course she can not buy brand name stuff or go on trips that are far away but she can live decently.
Other example, my boyfriend was around 4 month not being able to work because of an accident. He was getting 6 weeks full salary and then 60% of salary from the health insurance. He was never fired, his boss was writing him every month to follow how he was with his health, and he has reincorporated again to work. I feel here in Europe, companies are more human, rents and car prices are affordable and insurances even though we have a lot, actually cover if something happens. Anyway wish you all good, and stay strong for the next 4 years.

Edit: live in Germany, 2 hours away from Munich

Hi everyone, I want to participate in an angel tree group to give Christmas gifts to families that are having a hard time right now. I don't have a lot to give. I can spend about $20-30 and wish I could give more. But I have to work with what I have, what type of gift would make the most difference to you if you were one of these families?

Update: thank you all for the ideas and inspiration! An overwhelming majority said a gift card would be most helpful so the family can pick what they need most. My plan is to buy a few personal hygiene essentials, get one of the $1 stockings from dollar tree to "wrap" it all in and include a $20 gift card to Aldi which I personally shop at and always makes things go further.

One person suggested Winco and I dearly wish there was one near us because I have heard it is awesome. But we are in the midwest.

I don't plan on keeping up with future responses but please do keep sharing ideas so if others are looking for the same inspiration we can help each other out. I know I have looked at Reddit posts that helped me from over 3 years ago. You guys matter!

I have 2 credit cards and about 10k in debt. Im not sure which card to pay off first, or if i should pay them both off equally.

Card 1 is chase freedom card with a balance of 4752. Im getting $99 interest charged each month. It says if I pay $160 per month, ill pay it off in 3 years and end up paying an extra 6k. I have only put $200 on this card the last 3 months cuz i've switched to using my other card for most things.

Card 2 is Chase Sapphire Reserve with a balance of 5200. I'm getting $92 interest charged this month. It says if i pay 219 for 3 years I'll end up paying an extra 7k. Side note: I cant believe i got this card. This was a terrible mistake.

I bring in around 3400 a month. I spend 2300 on rent (1550), utilities (250ish) healthcare (320, but getting cheaper insurance in 2025) gym (180) and apple music (12). These are mostly fixed expenses besides con ed which fluctuates a bit.

I had a huge wake up call and realized i need to fix this soon. But just to be transparent. Last month was $290 on groceries (whole foods and trader joes), $250 on eating out, $220 on going out/dates (broadway ticket, dinner, drinks), $200 on coffee (fuckin yikes). And $600 for misc (got a new phone and a case, skincare, amazon/household goods. Obviously this was a huge splurge and I dont regularly spend this). I am buckling down on eating out and coffee and obviously the misc stuff. I luckily had no transportation expenses this month cuz i have a bike and live in a very central area of nyc.

I have 82k points that i was planning to use for a "free" trip home for holidays. I could convert to cash but Im not sure thats wise. I also have 2k in crypto i could cash out. And my parents told me they're going to give me 1k for christmas. I currently have a part time job and have been interviewing for another job and am also gonna start doing catering events. I am trying to bring in 1k a week as a goal. I also am considering subletting my studio apartment in nyc for a month or two and moving in with roommates as a way of saving 600ish a month. But im not sure if it is worth the hassle. I love living alone and my apartment and the location. Not sure if finding a room temporarily for like $850 is worth the added transit costs and hassle.

I have 2k in my checking account. And potentially another 2k if I sell my crypto (doge). And will have another 1k at christmas. Whats the best thing to do to get out of debt asap?

Started the 2024 year landing an under the table job doing handyman/ carpentry work with a local. Did that for 8 months before leaving due to his desire for slaves basically that will do whatever he wants whenever he wants for as little as possible, he started hiring illegal migrants. A month later I got a job in the carpentry industry again but more specialized in woodworking, a cabinet shop. I have goals of becoming a skilled woodworker and making custom furniture. I want these skills to appeal to my own aesthetic desires, have valuable skills that can pay bills, and feel important in a sense. I’m still working here and planned to work here until next summer when my girlfriend of 3.5 years and I are planning to move to maine so she can go to school and I can continue my career in An area that has ample outdoor and indoor physical experiences to try and practice. Aka hiking mountains, surfing, bars, city, camping, snow and whatever else. Unfortunately my girlfriend lives with her mom now who has just purchased a new place about an hour or more from me and will be moving in January or February probably. This is the X factor, now thinking about speeding up our moving timeline. Any thoughts, stories, recommendations, motivations, suggestions??????

I have a checkbook app that keeps track of my spending and balances.

I only spent $41.17 on eating out in the whole month of November!!

That includes fast food, takeout, dine-in, coffee….ANY food or drink not purchased at a grocery store.

I struggle with binge eating, so this is a huge improvement.

Some months it’s over $200. Sometimes I spend more on eating out than I do on groceries.

One step in the right direction!

Who always in a budget no matter.

I finally got a new job and start in 2 weeks and it will give me a major boost in income, but right now I’m so burnt out from just trying to keep myself alive. I work ~45 hours a week at my full time job, and then when I get home I drive for Instacart/Uber, whatever is more busy to get paid more. Then twice a week I go give plasma for money and most weekends pick up a babysitting shift or two if I can.

After getting paid Friday and paying all my bills and doing plasma twice since then and Instacart/Uber every night after work, I have a total of $7 in my bank account. This has been the cycle for months. I barely eat anymore because I can’t afford food and rent and my medications (type 1 diabetic) but me not eating helps me save on insulin because I don’t need as much. I just feel like I am running myself ragged and barely making ends meet, I know this new job will be great for me but it feels like I can barely keep myself afloat until tomorrow let alone 2 weeks from now.

I'm actually more shocked about the fact that a double cheeseburger at regular price costs $4.19.

I started a new job making 23 an hour a couple weeks ago. My grandmother lives alone and I got a call from the home aid nurse saying she had a stroke. Since I violated the “90 day policy of not being able to call out” I got fired. The only backup plan I had was to go back to serving until I can find a new job.

I got canned from my job in January 2024. I went on unemployment benefits and collected all 39 weeks until it ran out. I recently got a seasonal job at Target, and will go back on unemployment once the seasonal job ends and then proceed to collect all 39 weeks again.

Loser behavior to do this?

I have a 401k with about 10k in it. I'm in my mid 30's and currently unemployed. I don't see myself ever being able to retire, and it's a pretty pitiful sum anyway. Would it be stupid to just cash it out, pay the tax on it, and use the money to live on until I can find work again? Life just feels so hopeless that I can't even begin to imagine my future.

Edit: Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've never been jobless without something else lined up first, so I guess I'm panicking a bit. I won't withdraw and will look into other resources in case the job hunt takes a while.

Sometimes, it's hard to see the forest for the trees or something like that.

I don't know if this is the right sub to post this on but I'll take any advice that anyone has. Okay so, I turned 18 not too long ago. I still live with my parents and I get social security money for me. Since I was about 13 I've been dying my hair, I think 3 months ago about I had my mom box dye my hair from red to blonde. After dying it everyday I'm experiencing major hairless, burning in my scalp, and itching in my scalp. I'm almost certain I need some type of medical attention. I can't tell my mom trust me she will FREAK out and not listen to me and end up not going to the doctor. So please don't suggest her help. But can anyone give me any guidance for where I can go without insurance and can help me? I need help really bad, please.

So we all know that medical debt under $500 does not affect your credit score. But I have a question about how this works in practice.

Let's say you have two different bills from the same hospital, both being below $500 but together totalling above $500.

Do these count as separate debts, or as a single debt? In essence, what needs to be paid back here to avoid credit score issues?

I am considering trading in my 2020 Mazda 6 GTR for a used 2022 Mach E GT Performance. I currently drive the Mazda 6 and it’s very reliable, has all the features I could ever want, and is paid off. It is by no means old, but will have around 60k miles pretty soon. I have a powertrain warranty that lasts until mid 2027 or 100k miles. I was recently very lightly considering trading in my car for an electric car; partially for acceleration and cool factor, and partially to reduce my cost for fuel, maintenance and get decent resale value for the Mazda. I do not spend a ton on fuel each month, maybe $120 on average, but I do pay to service the car regularly which all adds up. I recently went to take a look at the Mach E just to see what I thought of it, and was offered a pretty decent deal. It has 28k miles and the performance package for $33k. The warranty for the battery should be valid until 2031 i believe and the powertrain warranty still has about a couple years or so. I would be giving up some features that I have learned to love in my Mazda including heads up display and cooled seats, but would gain quicker acceleration, lower fuel/maintenance costs and just a cooler car overall. I’m not sure if that makes up for losing a couple features and having a $300 car payment. I’ve also heard mixed reviews on reliability for the Mach E, but generally haven’t heard anything too bad. I’m not set either way but need help thinking of more pros and cons and deciding.

This is a tip for anyone who lives near a community college with either of these programs- Dental Hygiene or ultrasound. A community college I work at offers both of these services to the public. they need models to practice on. At ultrasound they can do ovaries, uterus, gallbladder, kidneys, thyroid etc. The instructors of both programs are professionals so they can tell you if somethings wrong or not & point you in the right direction. It's pretty cool that they do this. There may be other places that need "models" like this, I've even heard of hair salons. Just an idea!

My boss is offering a promotion to manager position. I currently work part-time as I'm only parent available to pick up kids from school. That's not the issue they will work with me on that. I currently make about 22k a year. I qualify for medi-cal. If I take this promotion my salary will be 60k no insurance benefits. I do get paid vacation, sick and all federal holidays. My concern is I have 2 children under 18 that get medi-cal with me. I'm scared to loose health insurance for us. I have had 2 cervical cancer scares in the past and I have a back injury that I receive care for currently. I'm going to get some insurance quotes for us but I have less than 30 days to figure this out. What would you do in my position?

I know this might be long, but hey, i’m 15 and live with my parents and older brother in a council flat, but we’ve always been stuck in poverty, and my mum’s the only one ‘earning’ (if you count waitering from time to time as a job so pay checks aren’t weekly) and my dad’s schizophrenic so he doesn’t do anything but eat, sleep all day, go out to smoke or weed (which rlly broke me when i found out years ago) and that’s about it. My older brother doesn’t seem to care about his education too even though he’s in college and i’ve been stressing about it alot everyday.

I’ve always been hyper-aware of money, even when i was younger, as my mums always arguing with my dad about him not doing anything, but my dad doesn’t seem to care about anything but his cigarettes, and he seems to spend more on that than me and my brother. We used to live in an old house years ago that didn’t even have heating or anything and i’m not really sure how we survived that (guess i was a toddler so i didn’t remember much lol.)

And now with this new government thingy- universal credit i think, it’s even worse since it’s a complete 360 change with benefits, and even right now as i’m typing, i’m freezing cold becuase there’s no money for electricity my mums trying to save all we have left- tissues and things like that have finished too and there’s barely food in the fridge. I know it’s a but selfish and bad sounding but i can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed and jealous at school whenever everyone’s talking about there parents buying them things and going out to places everyday or even just eating nice things- we don’t even have a car, i’ve walked or taken public transport everyday since i was a kid.

What can i do to help? I close the lights when it’s not in use, try my best not to ask for anything and try not to use the heater much even if it’s winter right now in uk. I’m currently in my gcse mocks period and i’m doing my best to get good grades so i can go college and get a good career, but i feel like everything’s been weighing me down. :,) Any advice?

Hello , Poverty Finance people! I am in bit of a pickle and would like to see about advice/better options for my possible situation.

So , I live in Minnesota (Twin cities) & my 15 month program is ending on a probable high note coming in June (Started in April) and this is the highest paid job I’ve ever had ($27 an hour & full time).

I currently have 10k saved up and can roughly save & put $400-$500 in savings each paycheck (Biweekly) if I live frugally . I live on my own in a $840 apartment with all utilities paid for besides electricity & internet & I pay $235 (probably more after my 6 months is up) for car insurance.

With all of this information being said, I don’t really know what to do when this happens? Can I apply for unemployment? Or will they see my savings and say fuck no? I don’t have a college degree but I am working on doing job trainings & getting out there in my field (Maternity work). And I don’t want to quit because this would be a good thing to leave on my resume for future references .

🙏🏽 Thank you! & there’s more to the story but it’s about summed up as I can get lol.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been following this subreddit for a while now, and I want to say how cool it is to see people coming together to share advice and supporting one another. I’m a financial advisor, and while I usually work with a variety of clients, I’ve always believed that financial knowledge should be accessible to everyone regardless of income or situation. If I had it my way, my job shouldn't exist. Finance shouldn’t just be taught to people who want a career in it. Why? Because everyone will have to manage at least one person’s finances in their life, their own. So why don't they teach everyone these things in school? Its almost like the system wants a wealth gap.

If you have questions about budgeting, managing debt, credit scores, savings strategies, or anything else related to your finances, I’d be happy to help. You can comment below or send me a message if you'd prefer to ask privately. I’ll do my best to break things down in a way that’s easy to understand (lord knows how extra confusing they try to make these things with the lingo), and I promise there’s no judgment, just honest advice from the things I have learned. I am not trying to promote or advertise myself. I became passionate about advising to help people that really need it. What I have come to learn is the people that really need it, can't afford to pay someone for help, because most people in my industry want to charge out the ass to help people in need. The information I have learned and the experience I have should be accessible to everyone.

You don’t have to feel alone or ashamed about where you’re at financially. Everyone starts somewhere, and small, manageable steps can make a huge difference over time. If I can help you gain a bit more confidence in your financial situation or answer a question that’s been on your mind, it would make fulfill my purpose, I got into this industry to help people.

Looking forward to hearing from you, do not be afraid to drop a comment or PM me.

Just got the bill and it's $556. $312 for schools. I will not be homeless or broke due to this but now I'll have no many for unexpected stuff or anything extra

Last year it wasn't this much. Around $300 or so as I recall

Thank God I kept saving money in case of unexpected bills. This is exactly why and people yapped at me saying certain things aren't a big deal

Well here's why I didn't want to spend anything more than I need to

I’m feeling really confused and could use some advice. I received an approved letter from Ohio Health granting me a 100% discount for a specific period, and all my bills on MyChart showed $0.00. However, months later, I got a bill from Team Health for $5,115.00, with a notice that I only have 30 days to pay.

Does the approved discount letter from Ohio Health apply to bills from Team Health as well? If not, is there anything I can do to help reduce this bill? Has anyone else faced a similar situation?

Any guidance or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

From maxed to zero, super happy we paid off my wife’s Discover. The last $1200 was paid from my side hustle uploading designs to print on demand sites, after withholding for taxes. My 7 year old, $1k laptop decided to kick the bucket the same week we paid the card off. Life. Its so beat up I dont even think its worth trying to fix but Im going to once I get a little free time and money for the project. My replacemet laptop is 1/3 the cost and hopefully will be enough for Canva and GIMP. I was doing video editing for a YT channel with my old one and havent done that in a few years. I can't even be mad bc the old laptop paid for itself about 21 times over the years from side hustling.

We still have ~$13,000 in 0% credit card debt from an emergency home repair plus refinishing the space that involved a brief spending spiral. Cards are all stashed away now. Our home is back together and we're hoping to have it all paid by July when the interest kicks in. It's an aggressive goal on our income with the cost of every bill increasing but that's the aim. It'd be a little easier if we had better budget discipline. It's far better than it was just a few years ago but not nearly where I want us to be. We love the idea of being debt-free. What it takes to actually get to being debt-free has been a bit of a struggle. We're trying to find a balance.

Hoping to get a few more semi-passive side hustles going while I continue to work FT. I'll be taking 15 credit hours at community college next semester to finish up some prerequisites for a postbacc program.

The marathon to financial stability continues...