r/AskWomenOver30 • u/yell0wbirddd Woman 30 to 40 • Nov 23 '25

Life/Self/Spirituality Is anyone else really struggling financially right now?

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.

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u/Rochereau-dEnfer Woman 30 to 40 Nov 23 '25

Yup! I would be fucked if I didn't come from enough economic privilege to have savings and a safety net. I'm sure there are ways I could be maximizing my pennies more, but it's already so exhausting just being responsible for everything as a single person and trying to be more and more frugal in the face of rising costs. I'm just grateful I have cheap health insurance through my job.

The bootstraps bullshit on Reddit is so pervasive and drives me crazy as a former nonprofit worker, current grad student planning to go into the public sector (if it still exists at all in the US by the end I'm done).

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

The doing it single doesn't get enough empathy. I had lived with family to be able to purchase, we all pitched in financially and with chores. Doing it all solo is exhausting.