At fault car accident months before moving out of the country, should i use the car value money for a replacement in the meantime then sell it?

i was brake checked and ended up rear ending someone and my car might be totaled (waiting for the evaluation from the damage investigator). i had about 3k left to pay on a car valued at 12k (at the most). if it turns out that my car is totaled i will receive a payment.

im planning to move out of the country after university for better affordability, job opportunities, to get away from the american political landscape, and a fresh start. before the incident i was planning to sell my car and buy a new (used) one after i moved. this has clearly mucked up the plan.

should i use the insurance payout to replace my car only to eventually sell it anyway, or should i just deposit the payout in my high yield savings account and use uber? i don’t have rental car coverage. i work from home but i also live in a pretty unwalkable city, so things like errands would be bothersome. I’m not quite sure what to do here.

If you’re due to receive a substantial tax return due to the child credit ($5-15k), pay as many of your bills ahead as possible for the year so your hourly wage goes further monthly.

I know a lot of people use it to buy a vehicle, clothes shopping for the kids, needs and wants you couldn’t get throughout the year.

Think about the breathing room you’d have if you took $1200 and paid your $100 phone bill up for the year. Your $100 monthly car insurance for the year $1200. That’s $200 extra a month and you still have over half left. Not to mention you get a discount for paying insurance in a lump sum vs installments. If it’s doable, call your landlord and ask them if they would negotiate $50 off per month if you paid 6 months in full. A lot of people would find it hard to refuse.

My car was totaled out back in September of 2024 and I still owe a solid $2400 on it plus $755 for the rest of my car insurance policy. Any ideas how on I could come up with that money quickly? My taxes aren't set to comeback until after Valentine's day and I'm only getting about $1200 back

Dr. Martens and Dickies work wear are totally on sale with knockout prices. Go to their websites for deals.

Not affiliated in any way.

My wife had an accident today and totaled our only vehicle. She is safe and had only minor cuts. I work from home but she commutes M-F. We need to get into something ASAP but I'm not sure how to finance it. I have good credit, but we can't afford a loan through a dealership car of $10K+. I have maybe $2-3k that we can spare but looking for another $2-4k. I've considered taking out a loan against my 401k or a home equity loan or a private lender like lending tee. Looking for any advice especially concerning interest rates and the like.

It's just so extremely tough. Bills just get higher and higher and can't keep up. Hoping I'm not the only one in the same boat.

I am curious about what meals you are cooking and how they stack up budget-wise. I'd like to keep this going for a bit to get some ideas.

This is "Sunday Supper" tonight, which is a lot "more" than a typical weeknight. (Last night was a bratwurst and a baked potato.) This is for 2 adults, but we should have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Roughly $15 for 4 meals, or $3.75 a meal.

4 Boneless pork chops: $5.87

2 large onions: $1.25

Flour (to thicken the gravy)--maybe .25

1/2 head Cabbage: $1.67

Mashed potatoes: about $1.50 for 6 potatoes (2.99 for 5 pounds)

Half and half for the spuds--less than $1. I'll use the rest later

Cooked apples: 1/2 of a 3 pound bag: $1.75

Stick of butter used between cabbage, apples and potatoes: $1

Sugar: maybe .25?

Obviously this is a meal to cook if you have a stove, cookware, a fridge, etc. I understand not everyone does.

We'll eat the apples with the meal, and I actually scored a free key lime pie so we'll have that for dessert. But the apples could be dessert, too. I made too many so probably will mix leftovers with oatmeal in the am.

I'm in a situation where I agreed to be put on a plan that involves braces and other treatments after I went in for a checkup and they found out I have Gum disease, at stage 1. Noting the most expensive aspect to the plan (Braces) hasn't even been sorted out yet, but they had me paying anyway.

It's gotten to a point where I can't afford the payments anymore (remaining balance is $6,000+) and I'm realizing I (24M) got preyed on, am headed up tomorrow to talk to them about how I can't afford any more payments. Anything else I should do? If not, how screwed am I?

In my area, we only have PPL for electric. I have no other options. I’ve been on their “OnTrack” program for a few years now and I can’t get out from under it and I’m near tears at this point.

Every rep I speak to explains it differently. This last time I went on it, I didn’t want to, but the guy who explained it to me said things had changed in how the program works a little. He said it’s both a subsidy program as well as a debt forgiveness program. So for each month I make my payment, PPL would subsidize my bill and contribute a certain amount towards my past debt (all of which was caused by the OnTrack program to begin with).

The program goes for 18 months before you’ve got to recertify. They allow you a “credit” of $1250 for that time period. Once you use up that “credit” they change your bill amount.

My initial payment was $126 a month. So they looked at my financial information and went “She can only pay $126 a month.” I used that $1250 credit up within the first 6 months and now my bill is $415 a month.

My overall balance is $4900. As long as I pay my monthly bill, they don’t try to collect on that massive balance.

I keep getting caught in this circle jerk of BS with them and I don’t know how to get out from under it.

Please be gentle. I have no idea what I’m doing. I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of and I can’t keep racking up a debt like this with them.

Any help or insight would be appreciated.

I'll admit it: I fucked up big time in life and am now decades behind my peers when it comes to career/ finances. After years and years of dead end jobs (I have a useless, expensive BA that I finally paid off), I am now an RN making 100k+ with overtime. I've always worked my ass off, but just made some major bad decisions in life.

Anywhoo, I've been living in my parent's finished basement for what seems like forever now. It seems like I'm now in a position where I can finally move out. The question is: do I rent a place, or just bite the bullet and stay here until I have a decent down-payment on a condo? I'd really prefer to do the latter.

Some numbers:

pay rate: $38.25/hr, OT: $57.37/hr. I typically work 50-60hrs a week. savings: $55,000 debt: $21,000 on a car note @5.05% credit score: 807

I live in a HCOL area, and a decent 1BR condo goes for about $250k - $300k. I figure if I can get up to $75k in savings, that's be a 25% down payment.

I'm single, no kids. My monthly bills are around $2300

It's my dream to finally have a place of my own. It's been hell on my ego having to live where I do, but without my parent's help I certainly would have been homeless and likely dead.

Not meaning to brag or anything re: my pay. I entered my mid-forties still making $16/hr as a medical assistant. Trust me, I paid my dues. I would have posted this question in /r/personalfinance but last time I asked a question there (about tax returns) I ended up getting so many negative comments I felt like a dope.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I received an email from Domino’s Pizza with a coupon for a free pizza. I do not like their pizza so I will not use this. It expires on 15th February. It is a medium 2 topping. If you would like it (and are in Canada) send me a message and I will send you a pizza.

Edit - pizza has been claimed!

I’m talking about prices hikes that are absurd or unreasonable. I think #1 for me would be hair cuts. I can remember paying $10 for a haircut in 2012. Now, I’d be lucky to find anywhere less than $25 + tip.

I honestly just need a space to vent about finances because its one of my biggest stresses in life

I grew up in poverty and things like having not electricity or being able to pay the phone bill was really common, I remember having to download videos at school during lunchtime so I could have something to watch when I got back home. Most days I wouldn't eat anything besides a cup of tea because we simply couldn't afford to buy food, school lunch was the worse alot of the time if I didn't eat something it would just be put back in my lunchbox and it would happen for weeks at a time because there was just nothing else to give me. It was really hard not having people that related to me in that way or could understand it was very embarrassing and isolating.

Now I've grown and it feels as if nothing has changed.. I make roughly $600usd (i'm not american) a month off government support which I'm actually being underpaid and I'm employed to a job that rosters me once every month or two and I feel like I'm barely living life. I don't talk to any family or have any family to rely on, I don't really leave my house as there isn't really a reason too and I have a very small amount of friends IRL.

I make enough to pay for my share of the rent for my share house but I don't make enough to feed myself everyday or to factor in things like savings, emergency fund, or even things like money to go out but as long as my rent is paid that all that seems to matter.. We actually have to move due to the landlord wanting to knock the house down so our rent went up and i'm one of the only people with $0 savings to! but thats a bridge we will cross when we get there I try not to think about it.

People would probably tell me that I should go back to school, to go to college for a better paying job, but the simple answer is just that I cant. I never finished highschool due to mental health and poor academics so i don't actually have the ability to go to a college, I could do what you guys call community college but nothing about my mental health has changed and I feel so so stunned academically that I feel like I'm just going to set myself up for failure through falling behind or feeling so mentally unable to participate.

I've been putting out applications both online and IRL and it genuinely feels like no one wants me even for them most bottom of the barrel work especially because of my credentials. Even at the job I do have I feel so terrible at it... I'm neurodivergent and very socially awkward and all the isolation has stunned my social skills way way more, When I'm at work I don't really talk to anyone unless I have to and the whole time mentally illness makes me think everyone hates me or wants me dead even if it doesn't even make logical sense. I'm constantly worried if I'm doing said thing correctly and I feel really terrible repeatedly asking something I've already learnt to be re-explained (but honestly the shifts are so far apart I feel as if I skill regress between shifts and I've asked for more shifts and they said shifts are based on performance.. brother.. you get what you get when you only give me so many shifts?,?!L.L...!!)

If I do get a new job then I stress how I will even get through the interview. Interviews are like surprise pop quizzes that I didn't get to study for and I'm just socially supposed to know what is the correct thing to say when I can't even keep eye contact with someone. If I do manage to get said job then learning news things, having a new routine and having new people I need to interact with is a whole new can of worms.

It's not that I don't wanna work! it's just that mental illness, poor academics and social isolation is a big block in the road for me and it really feels like life is on hard mode

So, what is even the point?

I've always felt like I'll never escape poverty and that my life from the very start has been destined to fail. I'm so envious of those who have parents they can rely on to support them, people who are able to travel that world..I've never traveled before, people who can invest money in interests and hobbies and people who are able to afford going out and having a good time. I wish I could do all of that.

Everyday I just rot away in my house hungry mostly doing nothing but trying to distract myself from my overwhelming reality.. I'm just really in a stump

Finance professional recently out of work. My UI benefit is approximately the same I would make as a Walmart retail employee. Am I better off remaining on UI until I find something more aligned with my degree and income? I’ve been interviewing at various firms but nothing has come through yet. No credit card debt and enough in emergency savings to last at least 6 months. Thank you in advance

so, watching a YT video on $20/week budget meals... their kitchen is effing amazing. High end gas range, enameled pots and pans that cost over $100. High end utensils.... Huge kitchens... big Islands. Reviewed a few others and similar set up. WTAF? I want to see real people who have homes under 1500 sq ft making their ends meet who don't have a vintage cookware collection or high end chef style set up. You know, normal people. People who have to rent a studio with limited storage.

Hello I’m a single 33 year old father. My past is very traumatic and haunts me to this day with systemic oppression literally! I could go on for days about my experiences and how it’s directly effecting my life. I’m building my credit I never used it so that’s a mission in itself and lenders refuse to give a loan due to no credit history and not being at my job long enough. In my opinion this should be illegal! I work full time and manage my money well. I need to finance my first used car to maintain employment and find better employment opportunities. I’m not paid enough to adequately save due to other factors like paying restitution and parole fees, food, public transportation, hygiene, rent, phone, and being underpaid. I live in NEPA Pennsylvania and the weather is terrible. I walk to work everyday. I want to be a productive citizen and find better opportunities but what do you do when the system doesn’t work? And you have no family or friends to help in anyway?

I have 54€ to spend on food for a month and a half and I’m be able to get some food from a pantry but I’m not sure what is available there as I haven’t been. My refrigerator is unfortunately broken and likely won’t be replaced until 3-4 weeks from now, and so I am thinking of getting a lot of dried beans and some rice. How long would say, 1kg of beans and rice last if I eat them twice a day? So I have a general idea of how to scale up the amount I need. Thank you

Looking to open an HYSA. Ally, SoFi and CIT Bank are my top 3 choices. Any experience or recommendation for any would be appreciated.

Been testing every money tracking app I could find. And before anyone tells me to “just use a spreadsheet,” I already do - but it’s just become too tedious and unhelpful. 

I needed something that:

• Allowed me to connect 100% of my accounts & pulls account balances & transactions
• Has comprehensive reporting
• Has budgeting
• Isn’t completely behind a paywall. Must either be free or have a free tier. Not saying that it’s not worth to upgrade, but I’m not looking for an app where I’m locked into paying

Here's what I tested:

Personal Capital

• Pro: good net worth & account tracking
• Con: started getting a million spam calls & their budgeting sucks

Piere

• Pro: I like their UI & great reporting / budgeting / insights
• Con: only has MX, so had some account connection issues

Credit Karma

• Pro: good & stable account connections
• Con: Not even sure why I tried this. It sucks. It’s absurdly basic. 

Rocket Money

• Pro: Good subscription management tools
• Con: the free tier is limiting, and the reporting is basic

I guess it really depends what you're looking for. What are you using to track everything?

Hello everyone i m about to complete my masters degree and I was not able to appear for the final exams because of financial issues , so we have be trying to sell , mortgage property, take personal loan for the past 3 months and nothing is contributing not even a penny , i m clueless, mu father doesn’t have proper income for last few years so no bank is ready to lend any money without completing my masters i feel like a sitting duck who is good for nothing any good suggestions to arrange the money in legal ways possible kindly put on these feed i am open to any legal suggestions Thank you everyone

Recipe for 2 liters jar: Take 3 average red beets, peel them and cut into pieces, put inside the clean jar. Put several pieces of garlic, some spices, like several grains of pepper, laurel leaf. Boil 1 liter of water with 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt. When water is not very hot, after 20-30 minutes pour it into the jar. Later, when you feel that it is not hot for your hands, put small piece of bread on top. It will provide with necessary microorganisms. Place everything in warm place, so microorganisms can do their job. After foam is formed on top - you can remove bread. Put some cover on top, but not close the jar tight, it can explode then. Can be gauze, or simply just put its cap on top without closing it. 4-5 days later you will get tasty, a bit sour pickled beets, and tasty, also sour liquid, try it, probably you will like it. At least it is much better for your health than coke. This process will let you get better taste from this cheap product, processed in such way is better than simply putting it in vinegar. Try it.

Hi there! So straight to the point. My boyfriend and I both work for Walmart and we both contribute to 401k at the 6% rate which is company matched. We have about 9k in credit card debt. We have cut everything extra, set a serious budget for food and bills and we're still left with $0 at the end of the pay period.

At this time, we have a savings of about $500.

My thought is, why contribute so much to a future I don't know if we'll make it to if we're struggling so much now? Should we stop our 401k contributions temporarily until we pay down our debts and build a better savings account?

Thanks for reading! Any advice helps!

Long story short, we were moving/homeless for a little bit. Put most of our stuff in storage, lost the unit and it was auctioned off. I’ve had no proper shoes for months and only house slippers. What can I do for clothes and shoes?

I’m quitting my job but I still have a loan of $5000 from my 403b. There’s $8k left in my investment. Will i be able to withdraw it? Or the 403b will deduct my loan from it?

As the titles says, I have been unemployed for about 3 months now and still no luck with a job. I have gone through my emergency fund and I have $5 to my name right now. I missed a payment for the first time in 3 years on Jan 15, 2025. My next due date is on the 15th of February. The minimum amount due is $250 including late fees. Is there anything I can do to extend the grace period before Capital One reports this to the credit bureaus? Please advise. Thank you for reading.

Money isn’t just about bills—it affects friendships, family bonds, and even how we see ourselves. If you’ve ever been in a tough financial spot, how did it shape your social life? Did people around you notice, or did you feel like you had to hide it?

It’s one thing to skip a dinner out once in a while, but when every small expense feels like a burden, socializing can start to feel impossible. Have you ever had to turn down invitations, make excuses, or feel out of place because of money? How did it change the way you connect with others?

I love plants. I have a small set up for my houseplants with growlights during the darker months and already have a regular schedule to keep them happy and healthy. But, with the rising cost of living, I think it may be time to switch from philodendrons to plants that can actually help with our grocery bill.

The problem I'm facing is anything I can grow has to be grown indoors, which kinda limits the size of plants I can have. So many classic garden staples like zucchini and peas are out. I've tried growing herbs in the past, but we just don't really use herbs often enough in our cooking to justify growing them.

I think I can fit atleast one tomato plant and a bunch of microgreens. But I'm looking for any other suggestions for edible plants that work in a small indoor space with grow lights.

My life has pretty much been hell for the last three years. I am a single mom. I was divorced and got remarried. The "love of my life" was a chronic cheater, liar, ne'er do well, and was one of the biggest users I have ever met. I worked seven days a week while he tried to figure out his life. I insisted he get a job or go to school. He chose a part-time job and school which he did for seven and half years. Then, he left me for a woman who's husband was a millionaire. He finished nursing school, then left to be with her. She had absolutely no intention of leaving her husband. My husband changed the locks and pretty much turned his back on me and my two children. He acted like we didn't exist.

The next year, I started feeling really sick. I started having intense diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness. I had just gotten on my feet but I had a boss who was one of the most toxic people I've ever met. It was like being in an abusive relationship working for her. She fired people on the drop of a dime. She would scream in your face. It became too much, I was a nervous wreck so I did an easy job for a fraction of the money. However I was still sick.

I tried to get an appointment with a gastroenterologist that I had seen previously.I got sick in February to the point that I couldn't go to work without constantly having diarrhea. I got an appointment at the end of October. When I went there, I found out I had cancer.

It was stable and I got a scan every six months. It was a neuroendocrine tumor in my pancreas but it was stable and under 2cm which they do not remove unless it is over 2cm and is fast growing. It is slow growing so my oncological surgeon said to wait.

The next year, during a routine scan, they found a lesion on my liver. Tumor board and my surgeon advised surgery. I couldn't miss work, I couldn't do the treatment they wanted. I basically said no. So I got a second opinion and thank goodness they did a rescan of the legion and said it wasn't a tumor but a hemangioma. Long story short, I decided to go ahead and get the tumor removed. I had complications and was out of work for six weeks. Friends and family helped us. If you don't have cancer insurance, get it. It helped with my rent. We got food stamps. I got medicaid.

I worked like a dog, not feeling good most of the time and life was terrible. I worked 60 hours a week to make ends meet. I took menial work because I had to miss work when I was ill. I got sick again. This time they found out that I had gastroparesis. I can't lie, there were times, that I didn't want to live anymore. Because feeling terrible, raising kids, fighting the fear of the next illness propelling us into homelessness scared the shit out of me. I didn't sleep at night. I would fight not taking a bottle of pills. I felt like I was going to live and die in poverty, with nothing to leave to my kids—two divorces, no money, working like a dog, not knowing what could hit me next. I really was just a zombie.

I needed to make more money. I went back to my old profession. I got hired teaching at a university and I had applied for a corporate job.I thought I would never get it. Well, I got an interview and I got the job. I got a decent salary and good benefits. I get to work from home, so if I get sick, I will be at home. I love my new job. My new boss is an amazing woman and my co-workers are the coolest and most chill people ever.

I joined this forum because I thought there was no hope. I had medical bills, credit card bills, I even got my electricity cut off. That had never happened in my life. My first paycheck, I paid everything. This is the first time in eight months that everything is on time and I am caught up. We have enough food, we have enough.

This is a long post but when I read your posts about not wanting to go on, I feel you. I know what that feels like. There is a certain amount of terror of imagining that you will never dig yourself out of the moment. The way I made it through all of the terrible moments in my life is thinking of it as being a moment in time that will pass. I think, nothing is forever. That is how I have made it until now. There is hope.

I feel like I have a glimpse of satisfaction and happiness. Do I still have cancer? Yes. Can they remove it? It has been advised to not do surgery yet. I'm still recovering from my complications. But I feel like this is going to be ok. I've made a budget and a plan to pay off my debts and I'm already starting to cut them down.

I thank you all for being for me. Even if I am not posting all the time. Even if I am not putting stuff out there. Your stories have helped me to put it into perspective. It could be worse. I wish you luck on your fight. Keep fighting the good fight. And know that I am with every one of you, rooting for you and wishing you all the best.

I’m 24, newly debt free, have $4,500 in savings and need a car. I would like to have a car that will last me a very long time. Something reliable. I’ve checked used cars on marketplace and it seems like they average 3k to 5k for something not completely trash. Over 100k miles. But then I still don’t know if it’s gonna die on me. The used cars at dealerships in my area range from 15k to 20k and are no older than 7 years old. So a mostly newer car with under 100k miles. And in most cases for the dealership under 70k miles. But then the thought of being in debt again, having to pay on something monthly disgusts me after finally not having to do that anymore. So I guess im just trying to see if I should use my savings and buy a car outright and not be in debt? Or, finance a car for a little more money and have some more peace of mind in the reliability and longevity of it.