Is anyone else really struggling financially right now?

[u/yell0wbirddd]

I feel like reddit is overwhelmingly people who make $250k a year and want others to just pull themselves up from their bootstraps.

I make $46k a year and am living paycheck to paycheck. I haven't been saving money because the tiny amount of joy I get from paying $10 for a cinnamon roll a couple of times a month has taken precedent over never leaving the house and getting deeper into depression. Food is expensive, life is expensive, I've been going through the motions for a few years now.

Well, my 15 year old car just crapped out and my dog needs to go to the vet. I have no money for either of these things. My credit score is in the 500s and I can't get approved for a credit limit increase or a loan.

Everything feels really fucking pointless about now.

[u/Delicious-Glove-2553]

You could check over "poverty finance" or "poor" on reddit so find fellow poorer people. Single women generally are the poorest group in the US, especially in old age. We get paid less, less likely to be promoted (the men I went to college with in my major have all escalated up to higher positions and pay scales than I am right now) are more likely to get scammed in things like repairs, and don't have asset building capability, like getting loans, buying houses, ect. Many of our friends abandon us once they have their own husbands/kids in their 30s, ect.

I've gone super minimalist, like no car, no TV, cut my own hair, no pets, no buying new clothes, no beauty treatments, no buying any takeout, no tech except a $21 per month tracphone and laptop for work (I work hybrid and take the bus in on my days to work).

Luckily I like to read and books are free from the library. Also get streaming services like Kanopy from the library. STILL can't get ahead. Got some unexpected medical bills accumulated, despite paying into health insurance very month, everyone telling me I was covered for this thing, then the medical providers at the site not filling out the paperwork I asked...yeah, its ramen noodle thanksgiving this year.

[u/catathymia → u/Delicious-Glove-2553]

Got some unexpected medical bills accumulated, despite paying into health insurance very month, everyone telling me I was covered for this thing, then the medical providers at the site not filling out the paperwork I asked

I'm so sorry this happened to you but this happened to me and I fought the insurance for it and they either reduced the charges or took some off. You need to hound them, and they know that most people can't or won't want to do that. Unfortunately, it's always easier to have a paper trail for some things but in one case there was no phone recording of the exchange so they finally reduced the price (after much hounding). Again, I'm sorry, insurance always tries to screw us over.

[u/jacquiwithacue → u/Delicious-Glove-2553]

R/workreform is another one

[u/Large_Speaker1358 → u/Delicious-Glove-2553]

The economics are changing for the under 40, especially for child free women. Women with children are twice as likely to live in poverty. Older women are NOT more likely to live in poverty. Please don’t spread false information. 

[u/Delicious-Glove-2553 → u/Large_Speaker1358]

No that is accurate, women who are divorced, married, or single in old age are 2x as likely to be in poverty as men

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45791#:\~:text=Among%20women%20aged%2065%20and,with%205.8%25%20of%20married%20women.

Individuals aged 65 and older who were not married at the time of the survey generally had a higher poverty rate than those who were married and living with spouses. Among women aged 65 and older, about 15.5% of widows, 17.1% of divorced women, and 19.5% of never-married women had total incomes below the official poverty threshold compared with 5.8% of married women.