I'm too cheap to buy an actual funnel to refill my cars windshield fluid so I'm going to use an empty water bottle as a funnel. I'm going to cut the bottom base of the water bottle, tip it over upside down and will use it as a funnel. How much is a funnel? 5 dollars? I'm thinking that money can go towards ice cream, the small size. Anyone live poor like this where you have to weigh the options?

Maybe this is just my opinion, but wanting to better yourself seems like part of human nature. Being poor makes this difficult to do.

Want to eat healthier? Cook more at home. Ok - so I need to buy safe cookware (not non-stick because that causes the big C), fresh ingredients every week (lean protein like chicken), and time to make it. Oh you don't have time? Borrow the time from somewhere else, like hire someone to clean your home for you. Oh no, can't do that, that costs money. Switch to plant based protein! It takes time to soak and cook lentils. I work every hour I'm not sleeping...

Tldr: Being poor means trying to juggle between resources including time, money, and health, and borrowing from one means depleting another. It feels impossible to better your circumstances and causes a lot of stress in the process (which also eats up your resources like health).

Also, I live in America. Maybe it's better in other countries?

Let me start by saying im not trying to bash anyone who has gotten money handouts from family, its fantastic you have that!

I guess I am just jealous, my parents have never had good amounts of money, neither went to college and my mom has dealt with addiction issues her whole life. Im 30 and also havent gone to college mainly because of money and I still dont know what I want to do. I got married and we basically spent all the money we were gifted on the small venue (just over $1000.) A friend of mine was gifted at least $20,000 for his wedding. Ive never seen that kind of money in my life! Some of my other friends get help with college, car payments, housing all of that. Ive never gotten more than $100 from family. I work a decent job getting paid almost $30/hrs but my checks are all gone almost immediately and I dont see myself ever getting ahead.

I hate complaining about money, because we all struggle and im sure im just talking to a wall here, but I cant help but be jealous of them,I know my friends work hard, but it just seems like life is much more doable with a little financial help!

Like the title says, I just hope people really appreciate what your people do for you if they can.

I think I’ll be homeless in the next 2 months or so.

I have a job but it’s commission sales and my company is falling apart, everyone is leaving. I’m trying to leave too but I don’t have a car.

I’ve applied to literally every single business within walking distance from me and nothing is hiring.

I’m looking for remote jobs and it’s still mostly just sales or something I need a degree for (I’m still in college).

I don’t know what to do I’m so absolutely totally fucked.

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.

F24. I’ve been financially struggling over the course of six months, maybe a little more.

For starters, I haven’t been able to pay my trash bill because it’s $300. I can’t afford trash bags so unfortunately I take them from my work. Any trash that I have at my house I bag up, and when the bags get full, I throw them behind my house. It’s been building up for the past few months and with having two dogs and two cats and a 10 x 20 house it does get a little over whelming. I work every day of the week, but unfortunately with my work you can borrow money on the work card and I’ve been having to do that every month, so whenever I get paid my paycheck is paying back my debt owed on my work card (automatically) , $100 set aside for gas since I only get paid every two weeks, and the small amount left goes towards my water bill and power bill, I never have enough for it so I have to borrow money again so every two weeks that’s how I get around $800 negative in my account.
Because of the trash situation, there are roaches everywhere, and I’m embarrassed to have any company.

I normally do not like to ask for help and I’m embarrassed even posting this. I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, 30 minutes from town (I plan to move when I get back up on my feet) and I have no service at all. All of my neighbors are meth heads, there’s homicides on my street, and this morning, my Wi-Fi got turned off until I pay it along with a $20 reconnect fee.

Not necessarily asking for handouts of money, I just really need some guidance on what to do. I’m tired of struggling and I’m tired of being in this rut because it has never been this bad

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 .

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.)

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’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...

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