I want to strike a balance between setting myself up for success and setting my kids up. I dont want them to have to take care of me financially in old age, but also don't want them to feel like I didn't do my job as a parent.

With kids staying home longer and not leaving the nest, it gets me asking myself this question. What is the right balance?

Do i sacrifice saving for my future to fund their college, buy them their first car cash, pay their phone bill, car insurance bill, etc? And if so, until what age? Do i need to pay for their first home's down payment? Pay for their wedding?

Growing up poor my parents didnt do any of this and i got a job at 15 and bought my own car, paid my own way, and i feel its made me the person i am today. I met my spouse when she had children already and I accept the responsibility, just want to know what is reasonable here.

Hey guys, especially with all the craziness before and now of groceries, what do you guys cook that's a decent and filling meal on a budget? Me, I make Salisbury steak with onion gravy and mashed potatoes.

Hello, so basically, my financial aid had been cut due to an issue with a withdrawal, I was unaware of this prior to the previous semester starting and have been left unable to pay my rent with already owing in past due rent. I am looking to move out anyways and was just wondering if anyone knew of any resources for college students looking to pay for housing. I looked into emergency loans however I have not been approved for any. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I had a balance of $16,000 at 29% card. I was able to blanace transfer all but $6,000 of it to a 0% card.

Which do I pay the higher payment to help bring everything down, the 0% or the 29%?

And now, I'm going to be short on money for the next two weeks. Just wanted to vent.

This month was a three-paycheck month for me, so I thought I had extra money, which was great. However, I went overboard, and now I'm short.

For reference, I filed for bankruptcy in May and have been budgeting since. I even have almost $3K saved, which I’m thankful for, but I still feel bad that I let this happen. I don’t even fully know where the bulk of the money went.

• $500 went to paying off my credit card.
• $150 went to an eye doctor visit.
• I was trying to diet, so I went over my grocery budget—probably by about $200 or more.
• My light bill was higher but that wouldn't do much harm.
• There's still some unaccounted-for spending, unfortunately.

I guess this is another lesson learned. Sometimes, you have setbacks and things to work through.

Hi everyone,

I’m in a difficult situation and would really appreciate any advice. I’m a 19-year-old female, and in my culture, I’m not allowed to work outside my home except for academic jobs related to my field. I’m currently studying dentistry, but I won’t be allowed to work until I graduate and officially start my career.

The problem is that I’m not financially independent, and my mother has completely cut me off from money. She used to give me a monthly allowance of $95, which had to cover all my expenses—including college supplies, bus fares (I take two buses to get to college), and assignments. But now, she either gives me very little or nothing at all.

For the past two years, I’ve been saving money by putting aside most of my allowance and keeping any money I received as gifts. Right now, I have about $200 saved, which I was planning to use for a laptop. However, when I asked my mother for extra money, she refused and told me to just use my savings instead. Now, I’m completely stuck and urgently need a way to earn money on my own.

Since I’m not allowed to work in a normal job, I want to find ways to earn money online or from home. I have never worked before, but I do have skills that I could possibly use: • I’m bilingual (English + another language). • I know how to use a laptop, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and can write assignments. • I’m good at subjects like math, English, and physics. • I also have a talent for drawing portraits with pencils.

Given my situation, what are some ways I can start earning money without violating my cultural restrictions? Any advice or ideas would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Edit:-Since somebody mentioned that without my country or where I live won't be much help, so I live in Iraq, Kurdistan

hi everyone i am currently broke asf and need to make dinners for 7 days and breakfast for 7 days, i have a pack and a half of dumplings and a pizza i can spread across the week for lunches, im thinking of getting some eggs for breakfast as i get break from work and just make egg on toast for breakfast but i need a dinner meal that will fill me up after a long day at work not eating much, any suggestions for filling easy and somewhat nutritious? I live in whistler canada so everything is expensive here also like $2 for a tin of beans

I’m 24 and had roomates that I really liked, but the girlfriend was stay at home and always used electricity to the point it went up a TON. I’m not sure when it happened, but I tried to pay what I could afford. And because I couldn’t afford it, I had a payment arrangement. Fast forward, a payment didn’t go through and now I have until February 3rd to pay or it gets disconnected. I’m just so scared. This is my first time living on my own. I have online school, I can’t afford to pay it off and I’ve been applying loan after loan but I’m 3,000+ in debt. I feel so anxious and I don’t know what to do.

The electric lady helped me get it down to like $980 but I don’t have anyone to help me rn. I’m at a loss and I feel so awful

Hey everyone, I’m in a tough spot and could use some advice. I’ve been a homeowner for two years, and my septic system just failed, leaving me with a $20,000 bill to replace it. I make $60,000 a year, but overtime is scarce, so there’s not much room to earn extra from my job.

I’ve been looking into e-commerce as a way to boost my income, but every time I try to learn, I run into so-called "gurus" who seem unreliable. I don’t know who to trust or where to start. My goal isn’t to make $20K overnight, but I need a realistic way to increase my earnings—not just for this septic problem, but to open up investment opportunities down the road.

Has anyone here successfully built a side income through e-commerce or another online business? What worked for you, and what should I avoid? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

I’m disabled but unable to see a doctor due to my mom and im not yet in college so im trying to get a job i can do to afford doctors appointments. however, many of them are in person, don’t have flexible schedules, require you to stand for long or carry heavy objects, and even the ones that are receptionist or remote jobs either require experience, are insurance selling jobs, or just scams. and almost none of them respond back to me. i usually look on indeed or ziprecruiter but i have tried even temp agencies with no luck.any advice would be appreciated. im in florida.

I (22) am interested in this. It seems like a get out of jail free card in the event you loose your job. Paying market rate with the security of never having to be kicked out if you don't have an income source.

How hard is it getting on a program? I don't make any money hourly but have a good amount of assets (around 70k between savings assets) I see people on social media that make more than me on these programs, how is that possible?

Hello, this is about a family member and i need advice to help them.

Current situation:

$58k year salary, 650 Credit score

$1800 for all payments monthly including rent, insurance, yearly property tax, bills etc...

$14k in cc debt (this is her third time being in CC Debt, the other two times she filled for bankruptcy) also owe $6k in home owner fees.

Wants to pay off cc debt and home owners fees with a mortgage.

Now for ideas/options, first off she wanted to take a mortgage off on the house - $50k with 7.8%. I told her no because she isnt good with money and i dont believe adding another $350 to her monthly expenses is wise. I also dont think her having around $30k leftover after she pays off her debt is wise knowing her spending habits.
My idea was to either take a loan out, roughly 20k to pay off both CC debt and Homeowners fees. And then have her pay that off while budgeting and taking note of her finances and cutting back on ALL spending.
My other option was transferring the CC debt to a 0% APR for 21 months credit card. Having her work to paying that off and also paying off the $6k homeowner fee over time. Is it realistic to think she can pay $6k in homeowners fee while also contributing to pay off a CC debt?

Are there any other options im missing, ive never done any research on anything finance related. My first time looking anything up as been this week while trying to help her decide what to do.

If you suggest loan or transfer debt, do you also have any recommendations on companies or where to find places? I looked up credit union places near me, but the reviews are all so poor. Is that just from people leaving shit reviews? do most credit unions have bad reviews? Thank you guys i appreciate any advice/help.

I’m Emily, and I’m 20 years old. I’m feeling pretty stuck right now. Life’s been throwing a lot at me—between school, work, and trying to pay rent, it just feels like it’s all piling up. I’ve been doing my best to stay on top of everything, but it’s been tough. I know I should probably ask for help, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want to burden anyone, and I feel like I should be able to handle this on my own.

So, I’m here instead, just venting a little. If anyone has advice on how to keep going when it feels like everything is slipping, or even ways to manage stress and finances better, I’m all ears. I just need something to help me keep my head above water.

Thanks for reading this, even if you can’t help. It means more than you know.

27 year old male. Due to loss of job I was unemployed for roughly 4 months. Currently got a better job paying me 4,200 a month after tax. During that time my finance company charged off my auto loan without repossession. From my understanding the only option now is to surrender the vehicle even though I have offered to pay the 4 months upfront multiple times this month. I owe 22,500 and the vehicle should sell for 17,880. What would be the best way to climb out of this? Bankruptcy? Pay back all collections and charge offs? Please I genuinely need help getting my life back on track. I only have a year left on my lease and genuinely afraid if I don’t get started on something now I will be homeless with money.

Does anbody no any good and safe apps I can use to borrow a loan? I need 65 more dollars to pay off something and I cant borrow a loan on cashapp for some reason. By the way I’m 17 so I dont know if you guys know of any that allow minors but if you have any apps let me know please.

I don't have a ton of extra money, but I have a reasonable emergency fund and I'm looking for a way to put a little money into some kind of investment account with better returns than I can get from a savings account.

I'm hesitant to invest in stocks since the stock market seems like it may be in a bubble and my 401k is mostly in stocks, so I kind of want to diversify. I'm also open to the idea that stocks are the right way to go.

Unfortunately, I'm basically financially illiterate and I can't find any information online that isn't from someone trying to sell me something.

What are my best options?

Hello, i am curious if people on here use a method of saving where you keep aside cash/coins, put them in a money tin or something.

I'm curious to know how you do it, what works for you and how much you've managed to save.

I do all my money things via online banking but had a few side gigs that get me small amounts of cash in hand, or coins my friends give me for petrol sometimes if i give them a lift. In my head its basically my secret off budget spending money. Cash has become out of sight out of mind. I have put cash in tins before but i get too excited and end up opening them too early and never get much out of it.

I'd like to get some tips on how to utilise this money better

Ive decided to make some changes to my lifestyle this year so I need help budgeting.

Income after taxes is between 4-5k per month. I think we should go with 4k just to keep things on the safe side. It really just depends if there's a lot of work or not.

My rent is 1.3k, my car note is 700, my insurance note is 150, my gas usage is around 250 a month and I spend about 700$ on food. So that leaves me with 1k free each month and if there's a good amount of work I'll have 2k free.

I'm building my savings again as I sort of had to burn it all last year. I figure 12k should be enough. I'm selling my car so that should cover half and my tax return should cover the other half.

My company matches 5% so I should probably open a 401k with them. Right? Can I do this from home or would I have to go to the office and talk to HR? I have a Roth that I usually max. Is there anything else I should do? I'm free to just Burn the rest of the money after I set all this up. Right? Lmk thanks in advance.

I just recently lost my job and I need about $100 for a ticket that due in a few days. I also have $700 of tuition due in a few weeks. I'm always applying to new jobs but I dont think I'll get paid in time to stay in school.
Any suggestions?

My hubs had an interview this morning and it looks really promising! We’ve been struggling to make it on my disability ($1000) a month for a bit here and this job starts at $40,000 a year. My fingers and toes are crossed and I’ve been praying hard.

Please think positive thoughts for him!!

How do i finance for a house with bad credit and just over 50k salary??? If there was a way to just be put in a house and be told to pay the bills for it i would be able to, but everything is credit or great income and no in between. At this rate ill be paying rent until i die. I dont need much, just a house so im not paying rent in shit places just for them to increase the rent each year with very shitty living conditions

Edit: original post below the line. You guys are right. Owning the land is the right way to go but these new manufactured homes are just unbeatable. Will be able to exit the rental market (which also keeps going up) and these homes are move in ready and come furnished with all the appliances you need. People are just being nasty about "living in a trailer" also below is a response I have to a lot of people:

What else are we supposed to in this housing market/economy? I did everything I was supposed to. I worked really hard in high school. Got scholarships. Had to move out due to home situation so I took out minimal subsidized loans to help with living expenses while working in college for a STEM degree. Got a corporate job out of college. (Above median annual salary in this country mind you). Even got a second job for a while. Fiance works overtime a lot and struggles to find something that would pay more since he doesn't have a college degree. Been saving up and doing all the financial tricks and we will just never be able to comfortably afford what we should be able to. So even with working a job I hate we'd be barely scraping by just to live in a "proper house" with probably no backyard anyway and have to pay for childcare so I can go to work. Just doesn't seem worth it.

White collar 25F living with bluecollar fiance (27M) in small one bedroom apartment relatively close to work. Getting married in March (No expensive wedding). I want to own a house. Currently only have $7k for down payment. Planning on having $18k by the time the lease is up here. I want to start a family. I want to quit my job in two years once I'm vested in 401k and have taken advantage of maternity leave and FMLA. My job is pointless. I don't care about living close to the city anymore. I want to own something with my soon to be husband. Seeing a new $80,000 3bd 2ba mobile home 40 minutes away from work (and city) going to finance something like it once the lease is up this year. Gonna keep working for about a year after. Saving aggressively. Hopefully get pregnant. Use maternity leave and FMLA. Quit. Maybe work part time for extra spending money and replenish emergency savings if need be.

Fvk it I'm getting a mobile home and starting a family. High school guidance counselors and college professors who thought I would be going to grad school be damned. I'm tired of the rat race and this stupid job. Stereotypes are stupid.

I (45M) am about to come into some money: a little under $100K. Should I pay off the last of my debt (not including my mortgage) of about $50K or invest the entire amount for retirement. I have no retirement savings at this point. Thank you.

I'm in the hole alot hence why I'm not using my regular user name. Putting my house on the market as early as May when I can. I just wish I can call somebody and say hey, let me borrow 15,000 and I will pay you back 17,000 or whatever as soon as my house sale closes.

just wish.

Hey, guys. I have a 2013 Mazda cx-5 GT with 75k miles. It’s actual value is estimated around 6800, but I owe 15700. It’s been involved in two collision where I was not at fault, but now car has some electrical issues where one headlight doesn’t stay on. But it runs well.

I got this car a few years ago when I was in a better financial situation and it had low mileage. It made sense and I could afford the 459 a month payment no problem.

The situation has changed and though I could with some sacrifice keep making the payments if the rest of my debts are discharged, I am wondering if maybe I should just buy a cheap older car cash. I love this car but also feel like I want to avoid monthly payments for awhile.

I’m also scared of picking a car only to end up with costly repairs shortly after buying it, at the same time my current car is older and there could be trouble anytime soon, but I have max care so that has given me peace of mind.

I feel lost and could use some advice from people with more experience. Thank for any replies.

Hi everyone,

I’m in a situation where I’m going to be moving very quickly and I’m barely getting by paycheck to paycheck. The owners of the house I’m in are selling the house and kicking me out.

What are your best tips for all that moving entails? Selling items (OfferUp, Craigslist), saving costs with moving, or anything else that comes to mind?

I’m grateful for any advice!

So I'm homeless in central TX right now, I got a place to stay overnight but it's very temporary. I got 200$ left to my name, give me some good ideas on what I could constructively do with this money. Looking for some wisdom from those that may be more experienced than I, this is my first time homeless.

Anything ya got.

EDIT: Also, I have a friend keeping me well fed, so food isn't an issue atm. I also own a tent and a sleeping bag already. I have also already secured a job, albeit low paying.

As the title suggests, myself and my 2 toddlers have the flu. I’m currently working to avoid missing work. My husband got laid off the Monday after Christmas, and he’s spend the last week and a half sick with the flu as well. He’s been denied unemployment. I make $18.50/hr, and haven’t been able to make an electric payment since 12/14/24. They finally cut it off last night. I haven’t had a full check since Christmas- I don’t get paid for holidays, inclement weather, or sick time. I’ve had to take a total of 6 days out this month due to all of those things, and my company was closed on Christmas Eve/Day, as well as NYE and NYD. Power company wouldn’t work with me, and I have to pay $660 to get it turned on. Had to miss Monday and Tuesday because I was so ill, and still very ill, but trying to keep a tiny bit of money coming in. My check this morning was only $480, and I’m about to be behind on our rent for the first time ever as well. I’m having an absolute meltdown internally, and I’m desperate for advice. I’ve contacted LIHEAP but still waiting on a response from them. My husband is going to our local Share office to see if they can help, but apparently that’s also a nightmare process. I’m pretty much in need of emergency aid. The temps are supposed to be into the 30s this weekend and the house is already so cold this morning. We have no one in our family that can assist us financially. Any suggestions? TIA🫶🏻

Just want to update everyone- called the power company back and they were willing to let me pay partial this week, and partial next week. I explained the situation with my sick kiddos. We already have power restored, and they’ve agreed to let me pay $100/week until I’m caught up. Thank you all for the help and suggestions 🫶🏻💞 still going to attempt getting LIHEAP assistance until we’re fully back on our feet.

Going to add a few more tidbits: we live in South Carolina and if the temps rise above 32° in winter months for 45 hours or more, they can shut off. Hubby got a call back a bit ago to start a new job Monday, should have checks coming the following week (weekly pay job). We thankfully have worked everything out to get caught up with utility company/ landlord and should be able to manage the $100/week. I normally make ~$650 per week (without missing days), and with all other bills caught up and tax returns actively on the way we should be okay. Just was looking for immediate help for the next 2-3 weeks. Thanks again everyone

Final edit: I was able to get together just under $300 on my own to pay towards the bill, and after very generous people have lended a hand, I’ve now been able to pay a total of $410. I’m not at risk for another shutoff for a while and our landlord was very understanding. She hugged my husband and told us to pay what we can when we can, and if we have to get caught up in a few weeks when our tax returns hit, so be it. We should be able to pay both what we have left for January ($400 remaining) plus Feb’s rent by the end of the month. Hubby starts a new job Monday and will have checks weekly. I think we’re going to be okay. Thank you again for reading, commenting, and helping an internet stranger you could’ve just judged or scrolled past. I’m so grateful for you all. Have the best weekend everyone!!!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on my current financial situation. I don’t speak English very well, so I used ChatGPT to translate this message.

I work as a waiter, and my salary covers the rent, but barely anything else. I have no bad habits—I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t spend on unnecessary things. I try to live as frugally as possible, but I only have about €200 per month left for food for both myself and my 18-year-old daughter, who lives with me.

I cannot give custody to my ex-wife and her partner, even though my daughter is now 18. I want to stay with her, but financially, things are getting harder. To make things worse, my landlord recently raised the rent, so now I’m struggling even more.

I came to this subreddit looking for advice. Is it possible to live on less than €200/month for food for two people? What can I do to improve my situation? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help!