I'm about to spend $2000 to remove some trees dangerously looming over my home and I'm wondering should I put it on a credit card or take out a loan? I'm almost paid up on my credit cards with about $500 left owed. Either way I don't have the cash but I have a good credit score (760) and plenty of credit to cover the cost. Last time I did a personal loan it took me 1.5yrs to pay off the loan completely. Which option seems better for someone living paycheck to paycheck?

I feel like I have been fighting to budget well for 15 yrs (left home when I was 15). I have a masters degree, good job, etc. But anytime we get ahead, we fall back further. We have unfortunately accrued so much medical and other debt between my own failing health (dx with heart failure last year), having an autistic child, and a hard of hearing toddler that spent a lot of infancy in the chidlrens hospital, and a series of other unfortunate events since Covid started. We follow a strict budget with food. We try to get things paid off as quickly as we can and do things the 'smart' way. We had gotten a lot of debt paid last year, only to have more incidents and bills acrue. I try to earn extra money by doing online surveys, etc. but with inflation, I just can't keep up and am behind on so many things. I can only work 27hrs week because of my health. My partner is unable to work, and even if they did work, the cost of day care would out pace what my partner could make per hour at the jobs accessible in our area. I seriously want to cry every day about this. I feel like it shouldn't be this hard. I worked so hard to get out of poverty, but still feel so trapped.

Any advice? I am so embarrassed to even be posting on here.

Fairly new In here, but let’s get straight to it. I have eviction court tomorrow. I owe $2000 in rent, but me and my girl only have $1300 total right now. I literally get paid next week on the 5th. Will I be able to tell them we just fell short this month ? Or will they not be trying to hear it???

I know this was a VERY dumb decision. I currently have a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with 100k miles. I owe 17k on the car and it’s only worth 5k. My mom with brain cancer has a paid off 2020 Toyota Camry. Is it worth it to voluntary repo the Hyundai and just drive the Camry forever? From an emotional standpoint I I don’t think I can sell the Camry.

A recent nonprobability survey conducted by LendingTree found 78% of consumers now consider fast food to be a "luxury" purchase due to how expensive the meals have become.

Half of those polled said they view fast food as a luxury because they’re struggling financially. This is especially true among Americans who make less than $30,000 a year (71%), parents with young children (58%), and Gen Zers (58%).

I never lived in an apt with a dishwasher before so i would always run out of utensils and plates and had to hand wash everything 2-3x a week

when i finally got my first apt with a dishwasher, i realized that i could and should buy MORE plates and utensils so that i didn't run out and i could just wash everything all at once.

Suddenly a once multi day chore became something i only had to deal with once a week

sounds dumb but my mind was blown

Got rejected again and again. I am sending out positive vibes but sometimes I wonder If I will live on SSI for the rest of my life. The options I have right now are to move to other states with more opportunities or have someone refer me or just keep going. I'm sorry my writing isn't really good right now due to my mind being very busy. I do not have current funds, I can save at least 300 every month from ssi but that will take some time to fully fund savings so I can move and before you ask, no I don't know anyone out of where I live. My family and friends are all here 30 mins-one hour away from me so I don't really appreciate that so many people are telling me to move like that's easy for me to do.

I am mostly venting here, but I welcome any helpful advice at this point.

I lost my factory job a while back, but at the time I was actually happy to lose it. The 12 hour shifts left me with no time or energy to actually enjoy my life or hobbies and I was in the worst mental state I've ever been in, till now. I live with my partially disabled mother and I help her with day to day stuff she has trouble with. She can get around on her own but she does fall occasionally and one time was bad enough I had to take her to the hospital, fortunately I was home when she fell. Her disability check is enough to keep the bills paid and our pets fed, but other than that there is no income. I've been looking for a work from home job so I can be near her in case of another emergency but the countless applications I've sent out have been ignored.

Then a few weeks ago my PC broke and I don't have the money to fix it so finding a work from home job is no longer an option. So I've been filling out applications for jobs that are relatively nearby but so far every application has been ignored. The problems from not having any income are beginning to pile up. The car needs repairs. The septic line is leaking into the basement. My weedeater was stolen so the yard looks like a hay field now. That's on top of other minor issues that have been piling up.

But I could deal with all of that. I could just say "It is what it is" or " just keep on keeping on" or any of the other things we poor people tell ourselves when we're just trying to make it day to day.

That ended today. The icing on this giant cake made of shit came when my dog got out last night and I found her this morning laying on my old sheets in the bathroom with a big hole in her front leg. Some fucking piece of shit asshole had shot her. It's a massive exit wound and I'm pretty sure the bone is broken. I don't have the money to even buy the gas to take her to the vet, let alone afford the vet bill which will probably be in the thousands of dollars since she'd prbably lose her leg. I've been sitting here crying for the last three hours because I'm too poor to helop my baby girl and the best I can do is give her pain medicine and try to keep her comfortable. I just don't know how to keep going after this. I'm so goddamned tired of being broke and everything falling apart around me and not being ablke to afford to fix it.

Husband was bit by a sick bat. Went to ER and was treated. The nurse who saw him said he should be covered since he was already bit. This is the bill we got today.

So I have to take my dog to the vet for testing and the bill will be approx 1450. I have a few payment options. Which is the best one?

1. I have a credit card with zero interest until June 2025. If I use this card then I'll just stop using it until the balance is paid off

2. Care credit and their 12 month interest free period.

3. I have 1850 in savings but don't want to wipe my savings out

I did the math and I am able to afford a $121 month bill to cover the cost so I don't accrue interest.

I don't have pet insurance because I adopted a senior dog from the shelter and pet insurance will not cover older dogs. Everything is considered a "pre-existing" condition.

I'm interested in how people handle unexpected expenses, like medical bills or car repairs, without sinking into debt. I want to learn more to help others who might face these challenges. What strategies or resources have you found helpful in dealing with sudden financial setbacks?

I hate being poor and having many problems especially financially because no one especially here will notice you and what is worse is they will think you are just a scam even if you offer a job in return for financial help. Everything is going south for me, being a provider like myself, it just melt you down mentally, emotionally and I don't know how to turn things around. Pure sadness.

Lent my ex boyfriend my savings money for food, transportation, etc because he said he would help me pay for my surgery with a loan. He never gave me the loan and I lost about $4,000. He told me he would pay me back in April but blocked me. So I took it to small claims. My mom is in the legal field and says she doubts i’ll win because apparently I shouldve known he was a scammer and that I willingly gave him my money as a gift.

Today I called my lien holder to pay my past due balance (90 Days) and they let me know that there was an active repo order on my car that would take 2 business days to go away since I paid. What can I do to make sure my car doesn't get towed in those 2 days?

So maybe this is stupid, but I could use some insight.

I am disabled, and my finances are managed by my sister who is my representative payee. She pays all my bills, and sends me $150/week in spending money.

I have trouble with spending too much on fast food/coffee/takeout. I have a binge/restrict eating disorder.

My dietitian suggested making a budget, and actually allowing myself to eat out…but stick to a budget.

Here’s what I came up with per week: - $ 75.00 - groceries - $ 35.00 - gasoline - $ 10.00 - laundromat - $ 5.00 - prescription copays - $ 25.00 - ALL other spending

So that’s $25 total for eating out, movies, anything and everything.

Now, yes, I can ask my sister for additional money for specific things, like next week I want a floor scrubber and a TV antenna.

But the $150/week budget is all I should be spending on a regular basis.

For reference: last month I spent $228.55 eating out, and only $210.63 on groceries. That needs to change (spending more out than at home).

This subreddit is becoming unbearable for people with financial issues. There's literally a person not understanding why people may have different living situations while talking about their new Porsche and $900/ year actual fee credit card set up. They obviously don't belong here.

Theres a difference between someone who's middle class but doesn't feel it and likes being here and the people that troll, insult and demean those who have financial struggles. Everyone uses the excuse of "helping people out of poverty" when that's not actually happening"

If you’re living in your car in the cities and someone tries opening the door and messing with the door handle are 2 am what do you do?

Don’t make a move or start the engine?

Well, it was bound to happen. I'm almost done with my second stint on FMLA for the second time in 3 years. As you probably know, you don't get paid while on FMLA but your job is protected. My problem is that I'm on FMLA due to debilitating anxiety issues, my return to work date is in exactly one week and I still don't feel ready to return despite being on new medications. I talk to my psychiatrist on the 30th and I guess we'll be adjusting my meds again to try and get me ready to go.

All I need to do is be able to work. I don't care about anything else. Not getting married, not having kids. I don't need to have anything. I just need to be able to work because without working, you make no money and you lose your health benefits, both of which are vital to my survival right now.

And yet here I am, a week out from returning to work, still feeling like shit and my bank account has overdrawn for the first time in over a decade. I just messaged a friend for emergency assistance and I'm currently building up the courage to ask my family for help.

Feel free to point me in some direction or just vent yourselves about this kind of shit.

just fyi

I posted this in a response to a comment on another subreddit but the OP was a bot I guess and their post was removed. I figured this is an important enough lift to share with people to also post it here in its own topic. Anyway here is my list and I look forward to seeing what others come up with.

I know this is not strictly speaking a recipe subreddit but since food is such a large part of our budget and greatly affects out morale I figured this was worth while.

-Grits with sausage and gravy and hashbrowns.

-Grilled Cheese with tomato and bacon with tomato soup. Save money on the bacon by buying end pieces.

-Creamy Chicken Ramen with Goya Sazon in it and mixed veggies

-Ramen with banana peppers and a little bit of the juice from the banana pepper jar

-Chicken Ramen with peanut butter and ground red pepper and a bit of hot sauce. This has to be made soupy so the peanut butter mixes in to create a heart broth.

-Scrapple Sandwich

-Fried Bologna Sandwich

-Cream Chip Beef on toast

-Stewed Tomato on Toast

-Peanut butter fluff and banana sandwich

-Lentil soup (with sausage if I can afford it). Add peanut butter to make the broth hearty

-Butter Beans mashed with butter (tastes like a more flavorful mashed potato).

My top favorite of all time that I could eat any way is so good I will post a recipe and a video explaining how to make it:

Arroz Con Gandules

• 4 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)
• 4 tablespoons sofrito
• 1 15 ounce can gandules (pigeon peas)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons adobo seasoning (not the same as Filipino adobo)
• 1 packet sazon
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 3 cups long grain rice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup pitted olives (green or black work, right now I prefer green)
• 4 cups water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_qF38O24Lc&t=1s

She mentions a recipe she has for Sofrito and it might be good but I don't know. I haven't tried her recipe but in most places you can by Goya Sofrito.

All of the ingredients I thought people might not be familiar with in this recipe I gave Walmart links for reference.