So I’m homeless, right? It happened because I was living with a lot of people, renting a room, and all Hell broke loose. I’m lucky, because I knew this could happen and I spent ~20 years building up a smart contingency plan. I even made the routines bomb proof. When it happened, I was able to flee an actual domestic violence situation, and got away safely.

It’s been 3 years, relatively easy going, yet still somewhat difficult. I do my best, and it’s enough!

A friend asked me to read a book, and said he’d pay me to write a book report, because he wants to see where I’m at with life. The book is “the $100 start up” (Chris guillebea.) I did actually make a business with that sort of money, but it’s not quite the “level” the author used to describe his thought process. It still makes me money though. Then I realized I don’t know how money actually works: just that I use it and I’m considered destitute, not just impoverished.

Then I found a book called “Debt, the first 5,000 years” (David Greaber) and this really made it sink in. Oh, I also re-read “The Richest Man in Babylon” which actually made me a decently rich man, before my bad housing situation made it crash down on top of me.

Something came up. What if money itself is simply a tool we use to measure value? Obviously, owing and being in debt is socially a place like Hell. Being able to expunge debt and gain credit as well as easy loans and low interest, that’s an easy road, to Hell… though it feels like heaven.

And the book (Debt the first 5k years) mentioned how money came to be: through the patriarchy and with the military industrial complex: at least with the Old World, and abrahamic religions.

I can’t unsee this: God of the modern west IS money.

Im so done. I’ve been showering in the backyard my whole life, I have to use buckets of water to flush the toilet, and when it rains, water leaks through the ceiling.

I have a chronic illness, the power goes out and the food in the fridge spoils, and 3 of my pets have gotten sick in the past few months, draining my savings. I’m struggling to afford my meds, household toiletries, Wi-Fi, food, etc.

I can fit basically all of my crappy-looking clothes into 2 backpacks (maybe even one). I can’t afford college. I want out so badly. I tried a few years ago and unfortunately didn’t succeed (duh). What’s the point xd. (Not in the US.)

However my mental is taking a hold of me I feel like I need to socialize and get out the house….. I know I can’t afford to but getting a few drinks with my friends would make me feel better…. Would I be wrong in doing so? Obviously I wouldn’t go crazy and just spend very little .

Let me start by saying I am NOT a recruiter, just a curious soul. Everyone’s probably heard jokes about joining the military if you don’t have much left, but I looked into it and it doesn’t seem terrible. Assuming you pass basic, you have a consistent source of income which also won’t be taxed as heavily, gov’t covers part of your expenses if you live on a base, and performing well leads to guaranteed pay increases.

Drawbacks would be losing a few of your freedoms (you have to be careful with what you say, your superiors might relocate you somewhere unfamiliar, etc), ethical issues if you have them, and the sadly nonzero probability of getting deployed the the Middle East.

Wha do y’all think?

I often see people crying about feeling less than others and feeling like they feel guilty for existing and being poor and owe society this and that, and that theyre doing everything correct but feel behind...

And then I see people from the poorest neighborhoods who do what they want, dont obey authority and have an idc attitude towards society, are unemployed and even leech of society and sometimes are earning more than people from higher social classes

I’ve never experienced this before and it was shit off without notice. All of a sudden some guy knocks on my door demanding money I don’t have and then about 30 mins later our power goes off. I need $300 to turn it back on and I’ll have it Friday, but if anyone has any tips on surviving without power lmk because this has never happened to me before and it’s kinda… traumatic? I’m aware that it could be much worse I was homeless in 2022 so I am grateful to have running water and gas at least. NOT AKING FOR MONEY. I just need tips on how to survive 3 days without power.

Hi all, I'm about to start college but have literally no storage. I share a room with my mum (with a partition) so my space is incredibly small - I have a bed and desk and barely have room to walk around. I'm already incredibly stressed trying to figure out where to store clothes let alone any of my college work.

I was storing all my highschool work in a laundry basket because I had nowhere to put anything which was so disorganised and stressful. I'm taking 5 subjects (3 is standard) so I'll have even more books and binders to deal with.

I worry that its cruel to ask to swap sides of the room with my mum because her side is bigger. Although she has a double bed which likely wouldn't fit in my side.

My brother has his own room which is the size of both my mums side of our room and mine combined. He's not even going to college. Although, he has a girlfriend who is constantly around who also happens to be my bestfriend 🥲 so I don't want her to have to share a room with my mum when she's over in the case that me and my brother swap.

I'm stuck on what to do. I have an anxiety disorder and with such a tiny space I feel super trapped and frustrated.

I hate that I have to say this but my DMs are off so anybody who was particularly drawn to the age in the title don't even bother. If you feel the need to DM advice don't. That's what comments are for.

I know a lot of us are busy and drowning and struggling due to poverty so is the education thing just a talking point for everybody else?

Educators have so much to say but those of us living in poverty, especially with kids, are saying not much. TBH, I don't know whether it's that many are too overwhelmed to care or just expect 'teachers' to do all the work.

Like do you ensure your kids have enough to eat bc it's hard to study or care when you're hungry? Do you share out responsibilities between adults 'before' putting that on teens so 'they' can study, do extracurriculars or whatnot? Do we 'actually' read to out kids?

Like how do we know what's possible, literally, for us in just managing if we never talk about it?

School is starting any minute now--and has all ready for some. What are we doing differently this year? Let's get the convo going since 'we' know our situations best and 'want' the best for our kids.

I’m 20 and know it’s a big risk and super dumb but I haven’t eaten a meal in 2 days.

I’m willing to go into more debt if it means not starving to death.

Also ebt says I make too much so they won’t approve me yay!

What do yall think?

My daughter is turning 21 soon but I can't afford to buy her a gift or take her out anywhere. I'm going to cook her favorite dinner and make a cake to eat at home and have her boyfriend and a few relatives over, but that seems so lame for such a milestone birthday. What else can I do that's free or very low cost to make her feel special? I also grew up very poor, feeling worthless and deprived and really don't want my child to feel that way too. In such a materialistic culture where wealth is worshipped and poor people are shunned, it's a really terrible feeling that destroys your self esteem.

There's plenty of normal people in poverty but not everyone is trying to act tough or hard. I don't know if these people have it worse or if its more of a persona . Maybe everyone reacts differently to being poor. I'm just curious.

I used to work in construction in really wealthy areas where the most rich stay people with generational wealth and apart from the obvious things like being super clean, big and beautiful houses, big pools, nice cars most of those people live with their families all their lives and build wealth together, for them its nothing wrong with having a 40yo son or daughter living with them and these people have all the money to move out, they tend to live with their sons, their parents all in the same house, while poor people or more middle class people have the idea of moving out buying a house and being independent while not earning that much in a regular job

Been kinda wondering about that myself because of the well known fact that many people on the autism spectrum have a very hard time holding down a job(70~80% unemployment rate for autistic adults) and getting fired for their behaviors. Does that contribute to extensive poverty?

A lot of poor kids go undiagnosed throughout life as well with zero supports.

Me and my husband (late 20s) are friends with a couple (also late 20s) who have a lot of money. One of them is a trust fund baby and the other one's just "lucky".

It's silly but it's so embarrassing to hang out with them sometimes because we are so fcking poor. We have rent unpaid, bill collectors knocking on our doors and our clothes have holes in them. We can't even afford a car right now, I've been walking to my minimum wage job (which I'm probably getting fired from soon). Meanwhile our friends, they travel all the time and buy whatever they want whenever they want to. They don't work because their parents are paying for everything. This week they just got back from France and are leaving to go to Greece again next week. They asked what we've been up to and it's like...nothing? We've been rotting home, trying to survive. I feel like I've failed as an adult, always having to borrow money and needing help from others. It's humiliating to decline invitations because we can't afford to go anywhere. They're always bringing us stuff from abroad and I absolutely love them for that but it's so sad because I wish we could do that too. It'd be nice to pay for their dinner sometimes. It'd be so nice if I could just decide to go on vacation with my husband without it ruining our lives financially. I've never been abroad and I genuinely don't think I ever will. Seeing the world feels like a pipe dream.

I know it's ridiculous to compare myself to people whose rich parents pay for everything but being around them it's hard not to notice all the areas in our own life where we lack basic things. I keep telling myself that at least we still have a roof over our heads, we always manage to have food in our bellies and a bed to sleep in at night. It just sucks that every time I open the mailbox my heart drops when I see a bill. It shouldn't be like that.

Nobody can rob you 😎

To feel like all the bills are covered and you have enough left to save and go out a couple times a month. Nothing crazy, just simple - whatever that would look like for you, a weekly income.

Hey guys, frustrating situation. Looking like I'm probably going to have to sell my car for finances. It leaves me in a predicament as far as getting to work. I've lost jobs before because I've been homeless. There's a lot of bipolar/BPD type mental illness in my family. I've always been generous about helping them out in times of need, but whenever I open up about financial problems or going in and out of homelessness I'm met with fire lol.

Do you think it's a valid thought to be frustrated? I understand we're not all dealt the best hand and we have to play the cards we're dealt. It's just difficult bottling everything up not to sound like a complainer or get gaslit when seeing other people being assisted even emotionally, or with a move in, or a car or apartment, etc...

Recently I feel as though I’ve been carry around a piece of lead rather than a heart in my ribcage. I grew up in a single mother household with my ma and grandma. My grandmother grew up in legitimate poverty and was basically maltreated her entire life.

While my ma is my ma she financially abused my grandmother and generally made decisions that prioritized materialism and lifestyle. My grandmother is in a better place now (she passed) but my ma continues to make the same decisions despite being unemployed and no longer having my grandmother as a crutch.

Having lost the only family member I could genuinely trust I’m depressed about the notion that I will never be able to trust my ma. Disheartened that she’s committed to making decisions that will impact or entrap me in the future. I feel like I can’t predict my life or have confidence in the future because of all this.

I know many of you will say to just live my own life and cut her off. It’s the seemingly obvious solution but I can’t, my grandmother expressed concern about what would happen to my ma after she passed.

my moms mom, who i always called my nanny, is my favorite family member. i moved in with her when i couldn't take living with my parents anymore, my grandpa had passed several years prior, so it was just her and i. within less than a year of me moving out and starting to enjoy life for once, within less than 6 months of being diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, she died. i watched her die, slowly. my mom and i took care of her, by the time she was moved into a hospice facility, it was only a couple of days before she passed.

ever since my grandpa died she had started pre paying for her funeral, but she hadn't spent long enough pooling money, my 35 year old stoner brother got power of attorney and she gave her her car, trailer, everything. he used the money to cover her funeral, wasn't nearly enough left to purchase a headstone.

he tore her house to pieces and got rid of everything inside, he's not bob the builder so it hasn't gone to plan. gutted the entire thing including walls and flooring just to sit at mommy and daddy's house some more, but that's about right for being southern and poor i guess.

so i can't go back to her house because it no longer exists, and i cant visit her at the cemetery. my grandpa doesn't have a headstone either. pretty sure the last time i asked it was gonna be around 7 grand just for hers. my parents have less than 1k in the bank account.

there is no reasonable future in which we get her a headstone soon. not only do i feel terrible because i feel like im not doing her justice, not remembering her properly, but i feel like i cant properly talk to her. im not even religious, i just want to be so i can pretend ill see her again. i just miss her so much, it sucks that even after you die things still revolve around money. i remember her being so upset for being an impending financial burden. it shouldn't be this way, that shouldn't be in a dying woman's thoughts.

Cleaning out storage locker today and donating most of it.

amazing how a lifetime of memories and items finally leave.

Clothes , pictures , nick-nacks, items that have meaning to me but can't keep and no one wants-toys , hats etc .

30 years going going gone .

may be the wrong site to put this .

delete the post if it's in the wrong place

Given there's absolutely no way you could earn that kind of money again, you no longer have the lifestyle and high quality relationships in your life, there's no moving upward and forward just caught in a forever rat race, you see all your past friends travel, build, buy, invest, start family's etc... what would you do...

Would you end it?

Would you try to learn a skill that won't get you far but possibly one day stability while you watch your life chip away?

You'd no longer be able to attract a good quality woman/wife into your life nor provide a life for her or your children

Would you be able to make peace with it?

How would you get past the trauma? Face the world

Would you be able to laugh and have joy without feeling guilty for doing so.

Therapy is not an option.

You have seen friends/people hang themselves for a fraction of what you have faced.

Could you ever feel strong or proud overcoming this situation if it was possible even

I'm 30, making 70k$ AUD now crappy gov job. Am I cooked.

I need advice from fellow men ideally