r/povertyfinance 11h ago

Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) I was divorced 25 years ago and living in poverty ever since.

743 Upvotes

I just marked the divorce as a major declining point in my life. I just never really seem to turn around after that went down. Now I haven't even worked in a few years so I'm definitely feeling the pinch of living in poverty.

My only saving grace is I have a really nice one bedroom apartment in Western denver. I moved out here 3 years ago without a wing and a prayer no money. Drove out and just said I'm going to make it out here somehow. After living in my car for a half a year I finally got government assisted housing. Now I just need to pick up my end of the bargain and start making money again. I just simply don't have much and I'm kind of liking not having much anymore. I came from background of a lot of nice things and upper middle class parents. Now that is all gone. It just helps to be able to vented out somewhere and I hope you all don't mind me expressing my frustration.


r/povertyfinance 5h ago

Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) $17/hr

208 Upvotes

I just got a job for $17/hr paid hourly. I haven't made this amount in over 10 years. Last job I had I made salary that was $24/hr, the two 2 years. I'm just trying to save up as much as I can by the summer. Wish me luck!

Edit to add: I could have gotten a higher paying job but I'm limited to the hours I can work. Iv actually had a quite a few offers making the same amount as before but they would all be standard 8-4/9-5 and I'm going through physical therapy and have a lot of dr appts during the day, and this job is 3-11pm


r/povertyfinance 4h ago

Income/Employment/Aid Mom 52 lives with me, trying to help her apply for Medicaid.

95 Upvotes

My mom (52) has lived with me for 4 years in FL. She is a Us Citizen but was living in her home country 4 years prior to that. She was taking care of her father who was battling cancer. She has been unemployed for 4 years and does now have any bank information. I have been supporting her, but did not file her as a dependent.

She is currently in the hospital without insurance. Will Medicaid approve her application? How do I show proof of no income?

She has not applied for any government benefits because she didn't know how to and I supported her. I have her as a authorized user on my credit card and that is it.


r/povertyfinance 12h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Finally in the positive after 3 years of struggling šŸ˜­āœØ

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422 Upvotes

r/povertyfinance 23h ago

Success/Cheers 2024 goal was to have $5,000 in the bankā€¦

2.2k Upvotes

Through hard work and some good savings Iā€™m going into the new year with $4,935 in my savingsā€¦ I didnā€™t quite hit the goal but thatā€™s close enough for meā€¦ Iā€™m very proud of myself!


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Success/Cheers Saved my first $5k at 26 pls clap šŸ„¹

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76.7k Upvotes

I also have some $820 in acorns and <$1500 in a rollover IRA I have yet to move to a ROTH but putting it off for tax/wuss reasons. However, I have $772 in CC debt. But a win is a win, I can pay it off with time šŸ˜

Gonna try to save $10k next year


r/povertyfinance 6h ago

Misc Advice Did I make the right choice?

43 Upvotes

Long time lurker here

A few days ago I took my dog to an emergency vet after him acting strange, whining, and eventually collapsing and falling unconscious.

I got to the vet and they said he had a ruptured gallbladder and the severity meant he either received surgery or was going to die.

It was everything I had left. Nothing left for rent. I'd rather be on the street with him than without.

Did I make the right choice?


r/povertyfinance 16h ago

Misc Advice I canā€™t afford any of my medications and Iā€™m starting to lose it

175 Upvotes

I donā€™t sleep at night at all. I think last week I got like 20 hours of sleep total. I have no money for my antidepressants, anxiety meds, sleep meds or anything and Iā€™m always on edge. Iā€™m seriously starting to question everything. Iā€™m not going to make rent this month but I thought at the very least I would have $50 for at least one drug. Iā€™m so lost.


r/povertyfinance 11h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending what do yall know about this

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51 Upvotes

gotta cut costs so yk we takin them packets home šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) $17 has me miserable

2.9k Upvotes

The Christmas I was gifted a shirt that I returned to the store. It was only worth like $17, but in all the hustle and bustle and the sheer amount of people I lost the gift card the store gave me, and I am so upset at myself for falling so far in my finances that something under $20 can ruin my day.

4 years ago I was completely debt-free, owned my car, and was making investments in my retirement. Now I'm barely scraping by, with $30k+ in credit card debt between surgeries/out of work/low pay/supporting family members.

There's no advice to be had, I'm just really feeling it this holiday season.


r/povertyfinance 14h ago

Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Who here is living on their own (no roommates)? How much do you make and how much is your rent?

73 Upvotes

I've finally got a decent income, but for where I live it's not THAT decent for a 1 bedroom. I currently live at home and trying to move out for good, but rent here is nuts. I take home roughly 4k a month after taxes. Average rent for a 1/1 that isn't complete ass in an unsafe neighborhood is roughly 1500-1800 from what I see. I think I can do it, but I'm really not sure. I currently contribute 10% a paycheck to my 401K and also try to max out my Roth IRA every year but I don't think I'll be able to do that if I move out.

Does anyone here currently live this? Is it tough, manageable?


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) Getting pets and being in poverty does not align.

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2.1k Upvotes

Apricot (top) Tang (bottom)

I got my boys after a roommate abandoned them. I couldnt bring myself to take them to a shelter. They cost me 4459 a year between litter, prescription diet, and insurance. Not to mention needing the money for vet visits up front. Tang cost me 4k this year after insurance covered 90% for a urinary blockage and other things and Apricot cost me 2k and counting this year after insurance covered 90% for a string of nailbed infections they are still trying to find the cause of and other small things.

I love these buggers but they are crushing me in bills. If this were happening to me even a few years ago I would have had to put them both down and the thought of others going through that keeps me up at night.


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending 34 years old, no debt and living with my MIL rent free to save for a house. This is one year into it! I've never felt more proud and stress free.

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922 Upvotes

I grew up I'm poverty and have been on my own since I was 15. I'm so thankful for my fiance and his mom ā¤ļø


r/povertyfinance 6h ago

Income/Employment/Aid How to tide myself over

15 Upvotes

Iā€™ve rejoined Reddit again to see if I can get some advice.

My life kindof blew up in December and I found myself on my own with my kid. Iā€™ve been busting my butt rebuilding things, my kid is 13.
Christmas wasnā€™t flashy but thatā€™s ok, we were happy to be together and safe. Iā€™m set to start uber in the new year but we need some assistance asap, what are some resources I can access for food and fuel?

ETA Iā€™m sorry, I should have mentioned Iā€™m in Canada. Greater Vancouver BC


r/povertyfinance 14h ago

Success/Cheers Seasonal work let me pay off my collections! AND I am getting my first car at 26!

47 Upvotes

Iā€™ve been posting here a lot lately because my financial situation is fuuuuucked. Iā€™m trying to get into law school and working full time + studying just isnā€™t in the cards for me right now. I am living at home. I came home with just over $200 in collectionsā€”$60 from medical debt, $46 from a closed off checking account, $117 from an old gym membership. I was between jobs, struggling to find something after graduation in May.

I worked at a restaurant for 2 weeks (I was trying to stay a month but a server held another server up and gunpoint in the parking lot and didnā€™t get fired so I dipped right after Christmas! Got that holiday pay and decided to chill until next month when I start substitute teaching. It was not worth getting shot!). I earned just enough to get my collections paid off. I donā€™t know what the boost will be in my credit yet, but weā€™ll see!

One of my cousins is also going to give me her car. She was going to trade it in, but she saw that the trade-in value was next to nothing. She got a huuuge Christmas bonus and can afford to gift me her car! Itā€™s not in bad shape or anything, itā€™s just a bit older and not a brand that is very popular. I think itā€™ll last me another 3-4 years.

Since Iā€™m living at home, I think the next move is to start saving up an emergency fund as I pay off my private student loan ($3k for the private loan). The plan is to door dash on top of subbing to try and maximize my income.

My situation is still fucked up, but itā€™s so nice to have been posting here a week ago freaking out about a car and not being able to pay anything off. Itā€™s wonderful how much things can change in a couple of weeks!


r/povertyfinance 3h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Close to losing my car ..

7 Upvotes

I got in way over my head on a car payment I canā€™t afford. Between rent, insurance, cc debt, other bills, I just donā€™t have the money to pay it. I had been scraping by for the year Iā€™ve had it, until recently I started falling behind on bills. I called and had them defer my payments, but then I missed one week of work which sent me on an even worse downward spiral financially.

I didnā€™t realize just how bad I was doing. I didnā€™t think one week of no income was so devastating. But regardless, not here to feel sorry for myself. Iā€™m actually worried Iā€™m gonna lose the car. Iā€™m two weeks shy of being two months late on my payments.

I canā€™t refinance or trade it in, or even sell it because I owe thousands more than itā€™s worth. I canā€™t lose it and have a repo on my already bad credit. Iā€™ve been doing food delivery, but thatā€™s only making me about $20/day since my city is so over saturated with drivers, and thatā€™s not accounting for the extra gas used. Iā€™m applying to jobs left and right, for a second income, and no results.

I feel pretty lost, and irresponsible for letting it get to this point in the first place. Iā€™m still gonna keep looking for a 2nd and 3rd job, Iā€™m not giving up. I just wish there was a way to surrender a car note and be off the hook I guess. Wishful thinking.

Anyone been through this and made it out without losing the car?


r/povertyfinance 13h ago

Income/Employment/Aid I might be getting fired. What should I do?

21 Upvotes

I turn 25 here in a few days. I've been struggling with mental health and it's really impacted my attendance at work. I just had my annual review with my supervisor and I passed with flying colors on everything other than attendance. I'm never late, and my boss even stressed to me yesterday that I do excellent work and I'm a very valued member of the team, but I get into horrible depressive episodes. I'm at about 200 hours of work missed since February, it's really really bad. I've been too ashamed to admit that I have depression or get help for it. I'm the type to put on a sunny face and pretend that everything is OK until I'm alone at home, so no one at work knows that's going on. I honestly still feel too ashamed. I don't know where to start. HR has given me FMLA paperwork to give to my doctor, but I don't have one other than for my HRT. (I am a transgender man.) I'm terrified no one is going to believe me and I'm going to get automatically denied. I don't believe I'm going to qualify for unemployment because my attendance is the reason I'll be fired. I'm in MO.

This past year has been rough financially. I was living with an abusive partner from 2019-2023. I was 100% financially dependent on him. But I worked my ass off to save up, then I drained my savings to escape that situation and move to a studio with my cat in January 2024. At this full time job, I only make about 35k. But also, subtract all the hours I've missed due to my mental health issues.

I'm considering just saying screw this job and finding another one ASAP. I don't have a degree, but I do have a lot of student loan debt. I wasn't able to succeed in school due to the previous abusive situation. Going back to school isn't an option due to how bad my GPA was. The first time I failed, it was because my partner was making it really hard to focus due to the abuse. This part year I tried to attend again, but working full time and going to school full time while horribly depressed just led to me failing again. I do not have any family that is willing to help me since I've now failed school a second time.

Financially, I'm terrified. I have no idea what my options are now. I'm really getting the impression that I won't be able to work at this job after Jan. 10th. I have about $800 in savings, that's it. The rent for my studio plus the utilities is about $700/mo. I unfortunately just resigned the lease for another year, this was a week before I realized I may be getting fired, but they're also the cheapest apartments in town. I also have a $140/mo car payment and about $1300 in credit card debt. $30 phone bill every month. The student loans are on pause until June, but they'll probably be about ~$200.

If you were me, what would you do? I need help coming up with a plan to make it out of this safely.


r/povertyfinance 3h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending Brand new to personal finances, getting a job that pays $17 to $19 an hour. How can I save up properly?

3 Upvotes

Hey all, I've got a dumb question. I moved into a shelter as of lately, and a lot of the job prospects I see involve pay that's around $17 to $19 an hour. I had 3 interviews this week via staffing agencies and the like. I have a ~680 credit score. Rent on average costs around $1250/mo. I have no car but i use public transportation that is pretty good. I guess the question is how can I wisely save and spend my money?


r/povertyfinance 3h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Where are good car loans?

3 Upvotes

I need a new car. I am coming back from deployment and wonā€™t have one so really donā€™t have any option other than a loan. I have okay credit, sits about 650 ish. My credit union offered me over 50k but at 16%!! Hell naw. My last loan from two years ago was a 4% with the same credit!! Iā€™ve looked into other credit unions, banks and even capital one. Any other good options? Looking at a used car so no incentives. :(


r/povertyfinance 14h ago

Income/Employment/Aid Banks without monthly fees for checking accounts or credit cards?

16 Upvotes

Currently am homeless with no money and no job, so I obviously need to close my current accounts with bank of America - they charge $5 monthly just for having a checking account open


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Wellness If you have paid PTO, please use it

823 Upvotes

Both of my parents didn't grow up with money. They were born in a third-world country and immigrated to the U.S., where they worked like crazy and scrapped every penny they could for the family.

This instilled a sense of hard work from which I have benefitted. However, there is one thing that I've always hated ā€” the non-stop nature of their work ethic.

My mother is a few months from retiring and I'm helping her with the paperwork. Yesterday, she mentioned she has over 400 hours of vacation time and over 600 hours of sick time. She was happy because her union recently got the company to agree to pay all the vacation time of people retiring and half of the sick time.

I can count on my fingers the number of times my parents took vacation. It was always this precious thing because it was so rare. Most summers I spent on my own (I'm an only child), and once I turned 13, I was also working or volunteering. As for sick time, only in the past three years has she started to use her sick time. Before, there was always this idea of working through the pain. Even I was sent to school if I was sick.

I'm almost 40 now, and yesterday, when I saw how much unused PTO time she has, all I could think about was why she didn't want to spend more time together. I'm not even thinking of some grand vacation; I would have been so happy if she had taken a few Fridays off during the summer so we could just hand out together.

Since I joined the workforce, I have made it a point to use my paid PTO whenever I wanted or needed to. I refuse to follow the same mindset. Yes, work hard, but don't drive yourself to the ground or miss on spending precious time with your family.


r/povertyfinance 8h ago

Misc Advice Students Need Backpacks

5 Upvotes

I noticed many of my students have had a broken backpacks since the beginning of the school year. Does anyone know where I should start to help them? Thanks.

We live in Minnesota, USA.


r/povertyfinance 18m ago

Misc Advice Defeated

ā€¢ Upvotes

I feel so defeated. After my partners job loss and accepting a new position we have been down 1/3 of our income. I have always taken pride in paying all my debts but had to give up that idea. We stopped paying every unsecured debt and filed for bankruptcy. I thought that would be enough. Got into the overdraft game with the bank and now at neg 2000. Tried to just open a new bank and treat that one as a debt. I have one direct deposit that I haven't been able to get switched so it just keeps increasing. The his just keep coming, car accident, a tree falling on neighbor's house and now our furnace is out. I'm exhausted trying to figure something out. We can't increase our income until the bankruptcy is over but I'm fighting one disconnection notice after the other. We somehow are just over income for basically everything (believe me I have tried). What other options have people tried?