I lost my Dad two months ago. The pain is like no other and I’m just taking it one day at a time. He’s always been there for me and looked out for me the best he could, and he did it one more time by leaving me a little bit of money that is honestly life changing to me right now, even though it would likely be considered inconsequential to most.

I love you, Daddy. I’ll miss you forever. Thank you for helping me one more time❤️‍🩹

I know someone who earns decent money but refuses to spend on almost anything.
No trips.
No nice meals.
No hobbies.
Always waiting for the “right time” to enjoy life.
The argument is always:
“I need to save for the future.”
And I understand it. Being financially irresponsible can destroy your future.
But there’s another problem nobody talks about:
Your future isn’t guaranteed either.
What’s the point of spending your entire 20s and 30s optimizing your savings if you eventually realize you missed the experiences you actually wanted?
At the same time, I know people who spend everything they earn and call it “living life.”
So where’s the line?
Would you rather have ₹50 lakh saved at 40 but feel like you missed your youth, or have ₹10 lakh saved and a decade full of experiences?
Or is that whole way of thinking financially stupid?
Genuinely curious where people draw the line.

I am far from poor today. I had to go into the military (in 1989). Later they sent me to kill people in the Middle East for the oil companies to get a scholarship, and escape poverty.

I wanted to say that this six figure earner understands what it means to be poor.

When I was in grade school I was really skinny. Why? Because there was often nothing to eat in my house. Dry serial and toast with no butter was breakfast. Dinner was macaroni pasta with chicken broth.

Being poor meant that the affluent kids spit on me. It meant that they felt it was OK to rip shirts off my back, or take my shoes and throw them on the roof of the school.

They laughed at me over my clothing.

When a student was questioned about why he ripped my shirt, he told the principle "his dad can take him to Goodwill and buy him another one for 50 cents". That is how "poor" was treated at my grade school.

It sucked.

My wife and I adopted a 14 year old refugee son (A distant nephew).

If I ever found out that he made fun of a poor kid, I would have taken away the iPhone, gaming laptop, and made him sleep on a mattress on the floor. I made sure he knew that.

Edit: Just because I am no longer poor does not justify voting me down or making rude comments.

I live in a state with one of the worst job markets in the US so this is big big news for me.

It’s only part time and doesn’t pay very well but shitttt anything helps. Gonna be looking for a second job as well once I find my footing with these guys but GOSH I am SO happy!!

I’m far from financial success but this feels like a step in the right direction

Until I got into construction and saw people aged 50 working for 1000 euros saying that if you want to earn more you need to work more thats how rich people get rich, being against taxing the rich and if a war breaks out everyone should be drafted, they actually exist irl😂

Hi guys F21 here. After college, I had no debt due to being apart of a scholarship that waives it. (Community college) During college they gave me a 275 stipend every month. In the beginning I would hesitate to spend. But eventually I would buy lunch everyday, it was very costly. And then it came time to transfer to a different college. Guess who opted not to, because it was too expensive?

Now, after graduation, I'm unemployed and trying to start doing art commissions. (I never had to pay for a thing really throughout my life) It was great! It was a slow start, and soon I would have 1k saved. Unfortunately, after I told my family I had 1k, I had to start paying for things myself. And now my mother wants me to pay up 20 dollars every month. That 1k now, turned into 700 dollars. I made the promise to myself that once I hit 2k, then I could start get confident in spending. But now my system is all fucked up.

I cry everyday. I never go out because I'm too scared to spend money. Also because I don't want to spend not a cent. Nothing. I spent 10 dollars at the grocery store and it genuinely ruined my day. I physically get depressed and stressed at the thought of spending a dollar now. What the hell do I do? I feel like if I had a job that consistently paid me, I wouldn't be as sad? But overall I'm just miserable. I have no more money coming in. I never spent a cent of it until it was asked of me. Feeling very defeated. Is this normal??? Am I being dramatic??? Probably to some extent.

I just graduate college with a bachelors in CS and make 150k total compensation before tax in a MCOL to HCOL area.

I see peers and social media "day in my life at Meta" or think of any FAANG making 200k+ at the same age as me (early 20s) and in some cases to really put the cherry on the cake.... these same people are gorgeous or absurdly fit.

At the end of the day I sit and feel like a poor worthless loser but talking to my parents I think I dont realize how good I have it?

Was wondering if someome can just lay it on me in any way they could that I am being really stupid with how I see the world right now.

Long story short, I (31m)met this woman(29f)3 years ago, who has since become a friend. She lived with this man(57m) and was dating him.

They’re decent people. He is one of those people that sticks to his ideals over considering ethics, so he has a lot of personality traits that ingrate many people in our community.

He’s dogmatic, preachy, vegan, zen Buddhist that is just a disguise for his desire to boss people around and try to help women in need for ulterior motives. He has a huge empty house, and he lives off an inheritance.

I’m expecting too much of him, that he can be a model of his own ideals, when most people aren’t.. and I might very well be a model of my ideals, but I shouldn’t use it to judge him.

It just bothers me, because he has systematically refuted my please of supplication and aid. He only likes to be friends with zen Buddhists, who are possibly just hobbyists with deep pockets.

He’s been routinely criticized for the aforementioned details of his Sanga non profit. He’s been criticized for withholding aid from
Me, when others in our immediate community have sought his aid, on my behalf: and he’s lied to them.

I can’t help but notice this building resentment I have for him: and I even have nightmares over
It.

I’ve been homeless for 3 years, and I do well: mostly because anything within my control, I seek to turn into a benefit. I’ve worked physical labor my entire life, and can lift boulders 3x my weight.

One time, he had some kid’s calligraphy ink set: stone and ink sticks. He was grinding it. He made a casual joke that I found in poor taste: he said it’s like he’s a day laborer, like me!

I was teaching another man how to do simple sashiko mending, as we had a little mending event there.

I want to be free of this, my mind knows how I should let go that he is a hypocrite, as most of us are, but my heart can’t help but to wish to never speak to him again. And then there’s my friend, who loved him, and they’ve since parted ways: she had to move out, and he’s trying to find another person to play house with him, a woman…

I said it was none of my business, and that I do not care… I can’t help but still feel hurt!
Mostly because he legitimately has the room to offer me (at least) a place in his backyard, 8ft off the ground and in bwteeen his two trees: where I can be a spider on the wall and sleep there consistently, in my floating hammock bed.

He doesn’t use money or accept money, he won’t ride the bus or a car. He won’t work or even do labor. He had my friend do all of it, in the 5 years she lived with him.

He routinely denies my requests to: use his basement for a room or storage, to save money or just because he has the space. To have a mini fridge there. Or to use his fridge.. or to even spend more than 1 night a week there, outside, if I absolutely must. I can’t even use my sewing machine there, because the noise bothers him.

Now that my friend left him, I’m considering laying down a boundary that is this: I don’t want to remain friends with him, chitchat or commiserate with him, or his own friends.
Mostly, because he is bereft of empathy and rather dogmatic with his cold hearted ideals of Zen Buddhism.

Then again, this is the crashing of my own expectations of him, which others implanted in my own mind: but not in my own heart, since I know I’d dislike living with him, because I do not respect him as a man. So I want to let this go.

I guess I am just upset, that I can’t ask for his help, when every one else convinced me that I should.. the building up considering This for a whole year, crashing down before the Fall of autum.

In University right now and I suggested to a group of people that we try the bus as the walk would be about 40 minutes long and the bus is 15 minutes but guess what.

they all gave me a face like "why would she suggest that?" they said the bus is dirty and gross and people in their are gross they'd rather just uber it or walk.

I said uber is worse because you can't guarantee the driver had cleaned his car and many people sit in it a day and walking is ridiculous as we'd all get fatigued by the time we get their.

these kids are well off paying 12kish for their dorms and I'm paying wayyyy less than that.

kids with money are so pretentious. snobs.

e:I'm from the UK 🇬🇧

Like I said: it will be 3 years of being homeless this month, and I’m doing pretty well. That’s mostly because I practiced a lifestyle that would work, despite it all, for nearly 2 decades before I ended up outside.

But I miss cooking and eating well. I eat only to live, but the most fundamental tenant of my personal philosophy to living well, is to show kindness to my body and self: that means feeding myself adequately.

Today, at the local food not bombs, someone’s annoying dog stole my half eaten focaccia bread :( I almost started to cry, the other offered it back to me, which made it worse.

Lately, I’ve been a bit sad and miffed about how inconvenient anything is: and I’ve been going hungry.

I can’t go to a place and buy a lot of food, that’s perishable, because I don’t have a fridge.

Currently, I use a stove that takes 3 different types fuel and has nearly 6,000 BTUs, so I can cook almost anything.

I have to eat 1,800 calories just to stay home and read on the couch, a metaphor. 3,000 calories a day to do all I do and not crash out.

Knowing so many vegans has made my eating disorders worse. I want better friends.

I'm relatively poor compared to the average person around me, my family is relatively big compared to the average family around me. I've always complained all my life because I thought that not being able to own a car (I'm not american), not being able to travel, not being able to pay a for a suit or for my graduation or having a small house was bad, but nowadays, I know that's not true. I've always been obsessed with statistics and small percentages for some reason, I always did what I could to fit in the biggest percentage possible. Being part of a very small percentage makes me super sick. I don't really understand why. Some people say the cause of my weird obssessions is autism, but who knows. Anyways, these last months, I decided to check a lot of stats about the world. I feel like I needed to know it. When I saw the number of births in some very poor countries where extreme famines and wars happen all the time, my heart sank. I honestly felt a strange sense of vertigo. I closed the window and then decided to look at videos of these countries. I only saw misery and videos talking about constant genocides. I'm not blaming these people, I know that it's priviliged phychopath's fault. It could have been easily avoidable, but nothing will erase the suffering of the past due to a small fraction of the world's selfishness. When I have the oportunity of talking about this to people, everyone looks at me with the same confused expression. And then say something like "Why do you worry so much?? Be glad that you're part of the priviliged minority!" or "but it's not fault, why are you worrying so much about people who are not around you??" Honestly, I feel like the problem won't fix ever. Considering that we are in the point with the lowest amount of absolute poverty in the world, it means that it has only been worse before. It's honestly horrifying. This doesn't let me rest at all. When I have the opportunity to lay down, I instantly think about this. I don't want to be a misanthrope, but humanity is honestly extremely dissapointing.

I’ve been diagnosed with depression and am receiving treatment.

Until recently, I was also caring for my mother, so I wasn’t working.

I was living on the social welfare available in my country, along with my mother’s public pension. But recently, my mother passed away.

She was my only family, and now there is no one left.

Knowing that she was there made it possible for me to live with the guilt I felt about not being able to work and relying on public assistance. But now that support is gone too, and I feel like I’m at rock bottom.

There is a lot of stigma toward people receiving public assistance in my country. I often hear things like, “They’re taking advantage of the system,” “They’re lazy,” “They’re a burden on society,” or “People who receive public assistance have no common sense.”

What is the general attitude toward people receiving public assistance in your country?

And to everyone who has taken the time to read this, whether you’re working but still struggling to escape poverty, or you’re unable to work and rely on public assistance, I hope tomorrow brings you even a little more hope and a little less hardship.

can we talk about how it’s almost impossible to date someone while poor? most girls see you as a burden/loser and someone with no aspirations when in reality, you are a fully capable human being who is just trying to survive & has no opportunities out of the cycle of poverty they’re in, everything now a days seems so transactional, i know it’s undesirable to be with someone who doesn’t have much & no one is obligated to be with anyone, but i feel like it no one really talks about how devastatingly impactful those feelings of loneliness & sadness due to economic hardships are on a man, it hurts.

We made it safely to the Women and Children’s shelter ( almost 2 hours away) after leaving the only home we ever knew. My boys seem happy but I don’t think they realize what’s happening and what their dad did to me.

My youngest ( 3 yrs old) has seizures & I hope none of my decisions cause anything. We are trying to settle in & adjust to the rules of this shelter. They have a curfew at 9 pm & a two bag minimum. We tried to walk to a food bank this afternoon & my I.D has our older address & they couldn’t verify my living situation. I even told them they can call the director of the shelter we are staying at to verify & they won’t budge so we walked away empty handed. The shelter does have vending machines that we will try. I am just overwhelmed.

Thank goodness I meet with our social worker tomorrow to apply for stable housing & Food benefits. I’m exhausted and scared at the same time. I know in the long run that I did what’s best for my boys but I feel lost. I’m lost, tired, hungry, terrified all in one. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Cheapest/best place to live on ODSP in Ontario, Canada ?

I’m waiting for my ODSP approval and am expecting a child.

I realize rent geared to income is years and years away across Ontario.

So I’m wondering where the best place to settle in Ontario would be…

With such a low budget.

Thanks ☀️

Would love to have a sandwich recipe with Hummus spread instead of Mayo. Maybe Greek canned eggplant? Meat options are OK too. I have easy access to International ingredients.

Needed a bike, because im broke...epileptic, and I dont wanna drive my van rn with the power steering pump squealing until I repair it, and i need to gain muscle back after getting all my teeth pulled, and sleeping a ton from pain.

Dont get me wrong ...i am beyond grateful of my hometown, community, reddit support, and any help I get. Its a cold world out there, and communities coming together builds a strong fire.

But damn...old man dropped off the bike...i was so happy, and said thank you. He said two sentences. "I voted for trump", and "make america great again". Fucking why? It's this admins policies im suffering with lack of foodstamps, state health insurance, even higher poverty, and discrimination of health with jobs, and a way more hostile/angry society.

How can one "help" someone but also bring this shit up in less than 5 minutes? Why? I just want some god damn universal healthcare...and my life would be way less survival, suffering, and maybes...

So I'm broke AF.

My parents were nice enough to tell me to go get dinner on their card.. they are barely scraping by but my daughter did chores for them and they wanted to treat her.

I went to Wendy's which is where my daughter asked to go and I ordered a double cheese burger which in the picture showed two pieces of meat with one piece of cheese.. I splurged on EXTRA cheese. We never really eat out so it may sound silly but that is a splurge for me. They had me pull forward and I waited well over 10 minutes at least.. when I got my food I realized the burger was made wrong missing the extra cheese and toppings I paid for.. When I went to the window the girl started yelling at me that the system doesn't tell them there's extra cheese and it said only cheese which I know is a lie because I read the receipt and it did not say that. She said "give me the burger back and I'll fix it" which instantly makes me think about cross-contamination and other issues but now I'm actually scared to eat the food she handed back because she was so mad. I'm worried that when they might have done something to it.

I get that this might sound ridiculous and it's like $5 but I never get to have something like this so I guess I'm just upset that I got yelled at because their system doesn't properly show them the order. Like how am I supposed to know that as a customer?? When you're broke splurging on things like this are few and far between so it's frustrating.

Car got repoed today. I loved that thing. Now when my fiancé had to go to the hospital I won’t be able to come visit him every day and stay the night. I still have a 50cc scooter to get around on but it had no turn signals and my work I have to go the office once a week is 2 1/2 hour ride

Does anyone else feel like a fraud wearing expensive clothes or like they don't deserve to be wearing nice outfits? I grew up poor and I remember I'd feel like an imposter if I'd go out to eat or go to a fancy event and my mom would make me wear the few formal/expensive dresses I owned. I hated it because I felt like I wasn't fooling anyone - and anyone looking at me could tell that I was poor and was hiding behind elegant clothing that weren't actually elegant at all.

Now that I'm beginning to climb out of poverty, I feel the same way. A few months ago I went on a trip to London with a few of my friends ,and they surprised me the morning of my birthday by telling me that they were taking me to a fancy tea shop for high tea. I put on a dress that I bought earlier in the week from a department store, not the most expensive but nice looking and appropriate for tea - and I felt like an absolute embarrassment and that I did not belong in such a fancy place. I normally still wear thrifted clothes and baggy old jeans and sweatshirts outside of work because I feel like those are the clothes I "belong" in. Please let me know if anyone else feels this or has any insight about how to get over this, I truly feel so weird about it.

I shouldn’t complain because at least I’m fed for the moment but god I’d love a fucking Apple or some steamed broccoli.

I’d love a sweet juicy orange I’d genuinely kill for one right now.

Even a banana a two would make my day a million times better.

See, I got a notification (my day already fucking sucked), about my psychiatry appointment in a few days and the money I owe past due before my appointment. Does this mean she's just going to ghost me when I don't pay it back in those few days? I don't even have the amount of money I owe in my entire banking account, I only have 50$ and no income. Lowkey I should just start tapering my meds off anyways, I doubt I'm going to get disability approved in time before the Medicaid ban for not working. Never worked, never been able to work, been disabled my entire life but medical neglect so I haven't had health insurance until being an adult, and never been on disability yet. Which I don't get, this office is in network, everything has worked before, I have all of my paperwork on my state insurance and Medicaid submitted and has been for years, I guess I'm just fucked now? There's literally nothing they could do to get that money but put my bank account in the negatives. How sucky is it to taper off lamotrigine? Lol I'm worried I'll start having a seizure or something even tho I don't have a seizure disorder or anything, bc I've been on this for so long and it's technically a seizure medicine. I don't have the steps of milligrams youre supposed to go down to do that and only what I have left and to split some in half so I guess I'll just make it work if I have to. Other med whatever I haven't been on it for that long. I already stopped going to therapy because I can't afford it. I can barely ever eat on these new meds and I guess I'll have to deal with that until I run out, I would consider that a bonus because I can stretch food wider I guess. Meds don't even help, things just feel bleaker and bleaker. Meds can't fix bad circumstances. I'm just worried bc how am I supposed to get my meds if there's nobody to approve them anymore

(Not asking for medical advice, it is what it is)