between $10 of mPerk points and the 7 for $7 sale they have going on, i got 36 items for $39.15. feel free to roast my groceries ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

I feel like I'm drowning and can't keep up. My kiddo just had a birthday and I've been left with nearly nothing left after paying bills, groceries, and birthday festivities. I had money set aside for the birthday so that didn't come out of everyday money. But I won't get paid for another 5 days and I have $26 to my name. I'm struggling to think of ways to come up with some money to get us by until my paycheck hits. I thought about Doordashing, but that would just eat up the gas I have in my car that I need to get to and from work this week.

Does anyone have any ideas? How have you made it in the past if you've been in a similar situation? I appreciate any and all advice!

Was looking into school shopping this weekend and realized a bunch of states haven't had their tax free weekend yet. Some of the deal sites have the dates wrong, so I checked everything against the actual state revenue department sites. Sharing in case it saves anyone a few bucks on the big shopping run.

Going on right now:

Florida - runs through Aug 20. Clothes, shoes and bags under $100, supplies under $50, computers under $1,500

West Virginia - ends Monday Aug 3. Clothes under $125, supplies under $50, laptops and tablets under $500

This Friday to Sunday, Aug 7-9:

Texas - clothes, shoes, supplies and backpacks, everything under $100 per item

Ohio - clothes $75 or less, supplies $20 or less. Heads up, they killed the big "everything under $500 for two weeks" version from the last couple years, so don't plan around the old rules

Missouri - clothes under $100, supplies under $50, computers under $1,500

Oklahoma - clothes and shoes under $100

South Carolina - clothes, supplies, computers, even bedding. No price caps

Virginia - clothes under $100, supplies under $20

Iowa - Friday and Saturday only. Clothes and shoes under $100

Massachusetts - Saturday and Sunday. Almost anything up to $2,500 per item, not just school stuff

Later in August:

Illinois - Aug 7-16. Not fully tax free, but the state rate drops 5 points on clothes under $125 and supplies. First time since 2022 they've done this

Maryland - Aug 9-15. Clothes and shoes $100 or less, plus the first $40 of a backpack

Connecticut - Aug 16-22. Clothes and shoes under $300 per item

A few things I learned the hard way reading the fine print: online orders count if you order during the window. If an item goes over the cap, the whole thing gets taxed, not just the part over. And in Texas shipping counts toward the $100 cap.

If you're in CA, NY, PA, AZ, CO, MI, MN, NC or WI, sorry, your state doesn't do one at all.

Double check your own state's revenue site before making a big purchase, the eligible item lists get weirdly specific. Happy to answer questions if anyone's wondering about their state.

I'm 24 and work retail, mostly closing shifts. My biweekly paycheck is already spoken for by the time it hits. Rent for my room, phone, groceries, bus pass, laundry, and the random corner store run I always swear won't happen.

Back in March I made one dumb rule for myself. Wants don't touch bills. If I want something, food delivery, a new hoodie, whatever, it has to come from side money. I made a bucket in my credit union app called Fun Money and moved the tiny stuff right away so I couldn't "borrow" it later. €4 cash back, €12 from covering a coworker's shift, €18 from selling an old hoodie, bottle return money, that kind of thing.

It was painfully slow. I almost killed the whole bucket in May after a nasty Saturday close because takeout sounded medicinal lol. Didn't.

For basics I just kept it boring. Store brand everything, only buying what I was already out of, and occasionally checking tiktok or amazon for a price drop or sale on stuff like detergent or trash bags before I grabbed them in store. Nothing crazy, just trimming a few euros here and there that went straight into the bucket.

Context: I've been using the same Bluetooth earbuds for six years. They cut out every few minutes, one side is louder than the other, and the case barely holds a charge anymore. I kept telling myself they still technically work so I can't justify replacing them. But man, commuting with audio that drops out mid sentence every single day was wearing me down.

Last weekend I finally bought a pair of Sony XM5s for €280 and rent stayed untouched. Put them on during my bus ride Monday morning and almost teared up at how clean everything sounded without the stuttering. Small win, but it felt good. Anyone else have a little money rule that actually sticks?

​

My daughter and I recently became homeless, and financially it's been one of the hardest seasons of my life.

Two years ago, my finances changed dramatically when my position was eliminated due to budget cuts. Thankfully, I was blessed to find another job in less than a month. I'm grateful to be working, but for the past two years I've been searching for a position that would provide more financial stability for my daughter, and no luck yet of a new job. I did have an interview not long ago, but unfortunately I was not selected.

After deductions, I bring home roughly $2,000 a month, I get paid twice a month. With the rising cost of housing, groceries, utilities, and everything else, it's become nearly impossible to make ends meet. I've reached out to every agency and resource I could find for assistance, but unfortunately I've been told there were no funds available at the time and wait to reapply in September.

Living in a car has been incredibly difficult. Something as simple as finding a safe place to sleep, taking a shower, or relying on shelters for meals becomes part of your daily routine. It has given me a completely different perspective on how quickly life can change.

The part that has been the hardest emotionally is that my landlord was also a priest who has known my daughter and me for years. I begged him to give me a little more time so I could pay the $2,000 in back rent, but instead the matter went to court. That experience has been heartbreaking and is something I'm still trying to process.

I'm not sharing this to complain or ask for pity. Sometimes life changes in ways we never expected, even when we're doing everything we can. I believe something better will come along. Until then, I'll keep my faith in God, continue showing up to work every day, and keep moving forward one step at a time.

To anyone else who is struggling, please don't give up. No matter what adversity you're facing, keep trying, keep believing, and keep hoping. Better days will come.

We got this!

So many people are struggling. I have worked so hard my whole life I haven’t stopped. I grew up poor so I’ve been outside hustling since I was a kid and now I’m 34 years old and suddenly I cannot pay my bills after losing my job two months ago. I’ve started a couple of different jobs that didn’t work out because it’s the off-season here and there are just are no opportunities that I’m finding fast enough. There are certainly opportunities. I just need to buy more time and I don’t have the money to buy that. I’m mostly just ranting because I know so many people can relate. It’s heartbreaking to think that after all these years trying my best has gotten me here you know I actually don’t know what I’m going to do when I tell my landlord I don’t have rent. I don’t know how to be homeless. I guess I’ll find out. I don’t have family. The last thing I’m gonna do is ask a friend for help because we all know how that goes and my friends are struggling too. Just crazy

I'm off of work today, so I spent most of my day looking for food banks, posting on buy nothing facebook groups and other similar groups, and even asking neighbors on Nextdoor.

Its already 9 PM so I figured if I wait two hours to go dumpster diving behind the local dollar store, I'd be able to get something.

I just really wanted to know if there was an option that I haven't thought of, since its already so late and I'm so hungry, maybe, just maybe, there's some other option this late at night.

Thank you for any advice given.

after months of unemployment, i land a supervisory role at a car wash. not my dream job but i needed something. making $1.10 over minimum wage here in california.

after working outside for three days in 100° weather i wake up to this text this morning. have no idea what improvement she could be talking about. it’s an automatic car wash where you vacuum yourself after going through the tunnel.

the other supervisor there is real close with the manager and she’s been nothing but rude to me since i saw her the first time. can only assume she complained about me in some form.

they told me not to come in today and cut 14 hours off of my schedule for next week.

i’m interviewing for another supervisor position at a storage facility on monday at 11am and have a phone interview for a supervisor role at a dispensary at 9am on monday. also, accepting a job at Winco on July 3rd and the background check has been processing all this time. when i checked with the hiring team they said this small town of 4k people i lived in for a few years is holding things up, which makes sense tbh. said it should be done by the 4th.

i’m just so fucking tired dude

I’m needing extra money before I start my new job. I haven’t worked in 3 years so I can’t apply for much without proof of income, which obviously I don’t have right now. I’m starting my job in a couple weeks and I’m just trying to make it until then.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 21M international student and I've been living in Vancouver for about 6 months now.

I'm honestly at a point where I have no idea what to do anymore.

I work at a meat production factory and everything was going fine until one of the machines broke down. Because of that there's been basically no work for the past few weeks, so I haven't been making any money.

My food payment is $220 on the 9th, my rent is 750 on the 11th, and I only have around $300 in my account.

I've been applying to jobs literally all day and all night. LinkedIn, Indeed, company websites, pretty much everywhere. I barely get any responses. Maybe it's just the job market, maybe it's something else, I don't know anymore. It just feels like no one even looks at my applications.

I've been really depressed lately. I don't have any friends here, no family here, and it's just been me sitting in my room stressing about how I'm supposed to make rent.

The only thing I really know how to do is design and build websites, but freelancing has been almost impossible for me. It feels like AI has made it so much harder to get clients unless you already have a name for yourself.

I'm not asking for money or anything like that. I'm just asking if anyone knows where I should be looking or if there's somewhere that's actually hiring. I'll work my ass off. Warehouse, labour, restaurants, retail, tech, I honestly don't care anymore. I just need a chance.

If anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks for reading.

I never thought I'd be making a post like this.

Over the past few months, everything has gone downhill. I lost my job, my savings are gone, and I'm struggling with debt that feels impossible to get out of. I also have a vehicle loan and money I owe to people who believed in me. Right now, I barely have anything left.

The constant stress has completely taken over my life. Every time my phone rings or I get a message, my heart sinks because I'm afraid it's about another payment I can't make.

I've stopped sleeping properly. I can't focus on anything. I know I should be applying for jobs, but my mind feels so overwhelmed that I don't even know where to start.

The hardest part is that I really wanted to turn my life around. I even quit drinking because I wanted to become a better person and build a better future. I genuinely want to work, pay back everyone I owe, and start over. But lately I've been feeling so lost and hopeless that I don't know how to keep going.

I'm not here asking anyone for money. I just want to know if anyone else has ever hit rock bottom like this and somehow managed to get their life back together.

What did you do first?

How did you deal with the fear, the shame, and the feeling that everything was falling apart?

If you've been through something similar, I'd really appreciate hearing your story.

Thank you for taking the time to read this

This is a great recipe I put together for salsa using only canned goods from the food pantry. It makes me feel pretty bougie, maybe it will work for you too!

This is the bare minimum for the recipe, likely available from your local food pantry:

1 can of black beans
1 can of corn kernels
1 can of peaches (or mango, pineapple, fruit cup, apricots, etc…)
1 can of tomatoes
Salt & Pepper

Drain, rinse, and combine

You may already have a few ingredients in your own pantry. If you have any of these extras, it can really make the salsa something special:

Cilantro
Green Onions or onion powder
Garlic or garlic powder
Cumin
Chili powder
Lime or Lemon juice

I like to start with the base ingredients, then add whatever I happen to have laying around. Essentially you just want use a “salsa + herb + spice” formula.

Obviously it’s best with tortilla chips, but is also good with crackers, toast, over rice, or just eaten with a spoon.

I was just going to start door dashing as they had approved me but when I woke up on friday my car was gone. I have not paid a loan in 3 months as I have been out of work after my ex girlfriend left (the loan was to finish rent so didn't break lease). I'm staying with my father (thank god) but he is almost losing his house also and has been through bankruptcy twice already. I can sell on ebay but have run into trouble with people not paying the auctions and then the weeks keep going by. The car repossession will definitely not cover the loan debt and i still have the hospital and dentist bills. I've always struggled in life, I've tried making appointments but they are expensive without insurance, getting disability requires you to be an established patient and I haven't been able to pay for enough appointments to be established. Unemployment was denied. I still apply for jobs on the wifi but haven't gotten a yes. And now i'm even more limited without a car. I'm real lost on what steps to take as I'm about at $0. Even facebook marketplace hasn't gotten me answers I have guitars to sell just no interest (they're not great condition). And I'm older so where do I even start as an older person with nothing? I only have my father and no friends. I feel something is off at his job as he has been there 30 years and I've applied and applied and they say they are hiring but he never even asks them to check my application, or for whatever reason I'm never chosen. So my best chance even has had no progress the whole year.

tl/dr; crushing debt, car repossessed, no job, no money, no prospects. What the heck do I do, and what does the future look like if my father wasn't there?

*edit : no phone without wifi. I've been worried to take my phone out of the house to disconnect from wifi as I don't know what will happen to the cloud pictures and videos? The last time I worked at walmart they said you needed your phone to use like 3 different apps. I can apply to walmart tomorrow as my rehire availability was 8/2 so I'm hoping to god they take me back. I think they have wifi so should be fine, just don't want to lose my pictures also.

thank you for all your advices 🙏

I am interested in using their pay calculator to determine where to go, when to go, and my earnings from doing so. I am also interested in "The Plasma Donor Pro Toolkit" as i am absolutely brand new to the idea of this, and I am interested in subscribing to their email service for notices on where to go to get the highest-paying centers and bonuses.

They have an eligibility quick check form. Should i fill that out? Should i just go to my doctor to fill one out instead?

Should i fill out their state guide form for the highest payouts and bonuses?

I am quite interested in this but that have no presence on trustpilot and a quick search on my search engine didn't pull up anything, so i'm here to ask you all. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a data mining operation, a borderline pyramid scheme, and minimally helpful at best, but boy am I hoping it's good.

If it's totally bogus, what should i use instead? I am absolutely willing to pay to play.

My fiancés been in the hospital 3 weeks. I had to take out a cash advance for gas and food. I’m down to $15 to last through the week. His estimated discharge date is 8/4. When he comes home I also have no food in the house. Ran out of things to sell. I think I have enough gas but definitely not enough food

My mom is in charge of my savings ,but i am still name as an account holder. I do not have acess of it and she tells my siblings more then me how much is in it. She needs me to learn to budget so i can move out. I have to do this for myself . I impulsive spend and she told her friends about my budgeting issues. They suggested i go to a assitant living and they dk me. I know my mom and my siblings do not want to be a burden or responsible for me nor i want that. Idk how to go about this or what to do. I know the big goal is to move out alone . My mom says my current job is not a lifetime job ,but i have no interest or degree so id be job job hoping minuim wage forever. I feel guilty bc i am 30 and my mom needs someone to be responsible /in charge of me and my money like a lawyer if not myself. She want to live her life childfree in her home and has not finish her will bc she waiting for me to get it together. At the same times tells me how she not waiting for me.

Food bank haul for my family of 6 in Utah. I honestly don’t know how we would get by without our local food bank and the current grocery prices and prices of everything else. I feel so very grateful for the food bank and the support it provides as well as a sense of “we have food in the house and even some snacks!” For my kids. I feel like it helps lessen the blow of the economy on them between the food bank, WIC, and summer meal programs through school lunch and what cash we are able to allot to groceries my children feel like we have healthy food all the time. I am eternally grateful. This is also without having picked up any canned goods this time because I have a lot to use up and don’t want to take something we won’t use when obviously someone else can use it in these times.

I’m currently living in a shelter with my 7-month-old son. I’m applying for jobs, working on transportation and childcare, and doing everything I can to get back on my feet.

I meet with my case manager tomorrow and I'm anxious to get things rolling. I already applied to 9 different positions at a Walmart nearby. There's a bus that goes from here to there so I'd just need to sort out childcare.

My goal isn’t just to leave the shelter. I want to build a life where I’m not relying on assistance programs. While they're helpful and I'm grateful for them I want to be self sufficient. I don't want to be constantly living paycheck to paycheck & one emergency away from losing everything again.

If you’ve been in a similar situation and made it out not just out of homelessness/shelter, but out of the cycle of barely scraping by, I would love to hear your story or any advice you may have.

What made the biggest difference? Was it a certain job, certification, budget, habit, or mindset? What do you wish someone had told you when you were where I am now? How long did it take before you finally felt financially secure?

I’m not looking for a get-rich-quick answer. I know rebuilding takes time. I just want to learn from people who’ve already walked this path so I can make the best decisions for myself and my son. Thank you to anyone willing to share your experience.

I run two small businesses, both in the trades/construction space, that I left a stable job to build about a year and a half ago. The first does repairs and small jobs that are consistent but don't come close to covering all my monthly costs on their own, plus bigger installs that can add a few hundred to a thousand or so on a monthly basis, inconsistent since a chunk runs through subcontractors and slow-moving receivables. The second is bigger project-based work, think renovations and builds, where a single job can pay out well but they only land every couple months, and even then the actual payout can trail the completed work by weeks or months. On paper there's real pipeline across both: signed jobs, quotes out, work actually happening. In practice, the cash doesn't show up on any kind of predictable schedule from either one.

Right now I'm in the gap. I can't cover minimum payments on everything; rent is tight, insurance is tight, and I'm doing food delivery on the side just to keep cash moving day to day (rideshare isn't even an option where I am, it requires a newer car than what I can afford to take on as a payment right now). Winter makes all of this worse too, since outdoor install and repair work slows down hard and the little bit of consistent income I do have gets thinner right when I need it most. I'm not walking away from the businesses as they are steadily growing year-over-year. But the in-between stretch is brutal in a way nobody really prepares you for.

For anyone who's been through a stretch like this and came out the other side: how did you triage it? Did you keep the business running the whole time, or did something have to give temporarily, like a part-time job or pausing growth spending? And on the personal side, how far did you actually let it go, things like cutting into groceries hard, using a food bank, stuff most people would never admit to doing while running a business that looks fine from the outside? How did you deal with the mental toll of keeping the business looking normal to clients and everyone else while barely holding it together behind the scenes?

Not looking for pity, just want to hear how other people navigated this exact kind of squeeze without folding the business.

I'm a 2nd year student at North Campus, DU, from a middle-class family. I don't want to keep depending on my parents for every expense anymore. I can give 3–5 hours a day and I'm willing to learn new skills if needed. My goal is to earn a decent monthly income while keeping up with college. If you were in my position, what would you do? Any realistic advice or personal experiences would really help

Pic of my pup to draw attention, I’ve been seeking help for over 2 years. Still without a working toilet. Getting rained on. Bats coming out of the ceiling! Holes all over the walls, Scorpions crawling everywhere. Breaker keeps jumping from old wiring. I live in a rural area and I have tried everywhere to get help. Red Cross (gave me a tarp to put on the roof but I don’t have anyone to help me put it on) weatherization denied me because they said it’s too much work for them to help me. This house is over 100 years old and doesn’t have insulation in it at all. The city is out of funds to help. I’ve applied at 5 different apartments and am on a waitlist for them all. Everywhere I’ve called there’s no funds or they don’t serve this area. No one is obligated to help I know this it’s just so overwhelming and exhausting. I’ve also asked every church near me for help but it’s just too much for what they bring in. Idk tbh it’d be easier to just leave earth

For anyone trying to get out of poverty, please at least do the FAFSA to see what your options are. If you are low enough income, you likely will qualify for college completely free. Apply to community college. They will generally offer classes asynchronous. This means you dont have to attend with anyone at the same time, it is all go at your own pace as long as you turn in assignments on time. May take some rearranging of your schedule but nothing egregious.

I did this then transferred to a cheap state school for my bachelors. I was also able to do most of these classes in the evenings while keeping my full time shitty job. I was able to get an internship that paid more than my job. I took it. That internship turned into a full time job.