Reader Survey: How Do You Cope with a Limited Income?

I know this sounds bad, but I resorted to a life of crime. I ended up stealing cars and selling the parts with my boyfriend at the time. I look back at that stuff now and realize it was dumb of me, but I was young and desperate to stay alive. I know a lot better now!

It’s been said before, but the key for us was to track all of our expenses. We were luckily making enough money that we didn’t have to rely on credit cards, and we were fortunate to not have any school loans to pay off. But even with those blessings, it was still down to the wire every month. And it was only by tracking our spending and then trying to stick to a realistic budget that we kept our finances in check.

I should also mention: We very consciously rejected the consumerist voice that pervades society. Not having a TV helped.

We are in that position now because I can’t work due to health, and even though my husband has two Bachelors, the field he works in pays very low wages.

Sadly, we have to use credit a lot. We try to use it only on essentials like food and clothing. And, we are working hard to pay off our debts. However, when you bring home 2000 a month, it’s not easy to make ends meet after paying for housing and utilities. Even if our school loans were paid off, we would still be scraping by.

So, that means that we don’t go out. No movies, no dinners out, nothing. We do at home hair cuts for both of us, we set our thermostat low and pile on the layers, we do whatever we can to cut the costs. We also do whatever we can (legally) to bring in more money in the month.

Still doing it, so… here’s how I’ve been handling it.

I’ve never lived alone. I share an affordable two-bedroom apartment with my boyfriend. Until I could afford that, I lived with my mother. It wasn’t fun, but it was the only responsible thing I could do under the circumstances. I don’t drive and thus don’t have a car insurance payment or gas; I do pay for half of the car since my boyfriend does all the driving. We probably won’t have a *new* car for a number of years yet and we’re okay with that.

During periods when things are most spare, I put groceries and anything else absolutely necessary on the credit card and don’t pay it off immediately. I don’t accumulate debt for frivolous things, but since I’m still a student, more debt is better than doing worse in classes because I’m working too many hours. Debt on the cards usually gets moved over to student loans the following semester. I don’t shop for clothes at Walmart… but I don’t shop at The Gap or A&F either.

Our entertainment budget is mostly movie rentals. We do go to the movies occasionally. We play a lot of older video games rather than buying new stuff when it comes out. I spend very little money on my appearance–no tanning or expensive haircuts and very little makeup. Books these days come from the library, not Amazon. When I needed to get a new laptop, I found a twelve-months-same-as-cash deal and paid it off just a couple days before the end of the year.

I am going to a state school. I could have gotten into someplace private, but I couldn’t have afforded it without huge unsubsidized loans, so I didn’t. I specifically chose a major where I knew I’d be able to find decent employment after graduation. Pinching pennies now without managing your big expenditures like tuition and providing for creating real income later on isn’t smart.

I still spend more on eating out than I should, and my boyfriend is having trouble finding steady work in this area right now, but being frugal on other stuff has made that bearable. The debt that I have will be no trouble at all to pay off once I’m working full time.

I was poorest my last year in college. Rather than list what I didn’t do, it would be a lot easier to list things I did pay for.

1) Tuition, fees, books. Bought books used when possible.

2) Rented a house off campus with five other people.

3) Ate only what I shopped for and cooked.

4) Occasionally bought other things. For example, since this was my first year off campus, I bought a knapsack as an investment. I used it to carry books to and from class, and I used it to carry my heavy groceries home from the store (the light groceries I carried in a bag in my arms). That knapsack was the most expensive thing I bought all year. If my shoes had worn out and become too slippery to walk on snow, I would have replaced them. But generally, I bought nothing.

So what did I do all day? Of course I went to class, went to my work/study job and studied a lot. I watched TV with my roommates. I watched some free movies on campus. I read and wrote letters home. I listened to music. I had long conversations with friends. I took mass transportation into town to do (free) sightseeing.

**

There was also a while when I was living month to month and finally just got rid of my car so I could start having some savings. I took the bus everywhere including the grocery store and the laundromat. I took the bus to parties and asked friends to drive me back after the buses quit running. I occasionally rented a car for the weekend (or borrowed one after taking the owner to the airport for a trip) when I needed to get something big or visit home.

I had a housemate then, too, and made sure to live walking distance from my job or on a bus route to my job. I lived like this for four years. And although I now have a car, I still live on a bus route to my job and have a housemate.

Now most of my friends don’t live on bus routes, so living without a car would be harder. Owning a car is so expensive though (including the purchase price, gas, insurance, and repairs), that even renting a car or taking a taxi occasionally can cost much less.

**

My main strategy is to realize how many things I do are really luxuries and give up some of them. Of course nowadays it’s just about impossible to give up indoor plumbing without giving up living indoors altogether. But you might be surprised at how many things you can give up, especially if you know it’s for a short time. If you spend a lot of your spare time working at odd jobs or taking classes that will lead to more pay, you don’t have as much time to spend money anyway.

My strategies would not work so well if I were sick or otherwise incapacitated or if I had dependents. I think in those situations you can at least get some help from the government, but it’s still got to be rough.

Oh, and while job hunting after college, I moved back in with my parents. This strategy would not work if you don’t have parents, if they cannot on will not let you move back in, or if it is very bad for your mental health to live with them. And with other friends or relatives, you’d have to keep your visit pretty short, althought it would help to spend some spare time doing favors for them such as cooking, cleaning, and mowing to make it as easy on them as possible.

**

Other strategies I’ve seen include:

* pawning stuff
* selling stuff (on E-bay)
* using credit cards
* getting custody of more of your kids
* marrying a friend to get cheaper insurance
* making each family member in charge of specific expenses with a specific budget (usually their salary)
* getting help from church

And I’ve also heard of:

* getting loans from friends and relatives
* dating people and moving in with people to get free support
* living in the street or getting arrested to live in jail
* getting a job at a strip club
* getting rehabilitated from some addiction
* mooching off people when you’re not well off and being extremely generous to people when you’re doing well
* abandoning your family/committing suicide

How do I cope with limited income?

I have been stuck in a rut when it comes to my income. I went straight to work after high school, and have been living the corporate life for 7 years. Although I make a decent living, it’s not enough when it comes to cost of living in the bay area. Here are some of the things that help me cope.

1. Staying at home – I’ve noticed that I tend to save money (hence more money in the bank) when I stay home, especially on the weekends. In my younger days, I would be out every weekend, out with friends, drinking, or at a night club. Those $100 + weekends might not seem like much, but after a while they started to add up. Now that I’m almost hitting the 30 mark, I find myself spending more time at home. World of Warcraft is my new friend! It helps keep my mind busy, and kills so much time, that you have no idea where it went after a few hours on the computer. Last weekend I spent absolutely NOTHING! It was beautiful. Believe it or not, World of Warcraft was a good investment.

2. Make everything AUTOMATIC – To hell with budgets. I don’t use them it all. It makes things too complicated. Keep it simple. If you have a steady job, this is easy. I have a FIXED amount go to a 401k and ING direct account each paycheck. I make sure I have enough to put maximum into a ROTH IRA (which I just started) each year. That’s it. Done deal. Whatever else you have left in your checking, make sure is enough to cover your monthly bills. I usually then have at least a hundred or two for entertainment purposes for myself at the end of the month.

3. Pay off debt to avoid debt – I only use CC’s when I know I can pay it off each month. I paid off a 5 year (23k) car loan in three years. Common sense, but when you pay off your debts and bills every month, it gives you the opportunity to save more money.

4. Cut your own hair – I’ve been cutting my own hair for 10 years now. I cut it at least once a week. Imagine how much money I’ve saved? That’s 52 haircuts a year x $12.00 = $624 a year saved.

5. Stop smoking – I used to smoke 3 to 4 packs a week. That’s $20 a week x 52 weeks = $1040 a year saved.

6. Go on vacations with your friends – I’ve saved a ton of money going on vacations with big groups. When you know someone that knows someone, that will happen. I have a friend that has a condo in Vegas, so I didn’t have to spend on a hotel. We usually split costs on things like hotel stays, rent-a-cars, gas, food, etc.. This year alone I was able to travel to Las Vegas three times, Lake Tahoe, and Newport Beach on a limited budget. Thus, gave me the opportunity to spend a little more on a vacation (for myself) to Hawaii =)

7. Share – My brother and I share everything. We have the same size shoe, so we wear the same kicks. We take turns using our i-pod or computer. This cuts expenses on things like clothes, electronics, etc..

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.. I’m sure a lot of this stuff has been mentioned a thousand times before, but I hope it helps!

I cannot overemphasize the benefits of a good roommate/housemate. (Note “good.” I’ve had a lot of housemates, and some of them have been for crap, and at one stuck me with several thousand dollars in debt in less than six months.) My husband and I share house with my best friend and her husband, and the math of three incomes divided by one set of recurring bills plus one full-time domestic goddess simply cannot be argued with. Both families have a vastly better standard of living than we did before, and we’re paying off debt, establishing savings, and still finding money for travel and graduate school. (None of us are in crappy jobs; my husband is running his own business, while I and my friend’s husband are both library techs. We love what we do and none of us would be anywhere else. But we average around $10/hr apiece, so we would really be struggling if we weren’t sharing expenses!)

Obviously, this absolutely requires that you team up with someone who you totally trust, who has similar life goals and (if applicable) childrearing values, etc., etc. But if you can find that person or people, it’s a godsend.

“5. Stop smoking – I used to smoke 3 to 4 packs a week. That’s $20 a week x 52 weeks = $1040 a year saved.”

I’m a medical transcriptionist, and trust me you are saving a lot more than that if you don’t smoke.

@jackie:
this attitude is exactly why you got into a life of crime:
>>Jackie: I resorted to a life of crime. but I was young and desperate to stay alive.

I lived on a low income for 6 months. it sucked. but in no way did it pose a
‘stay alive’ issue. In fact, crime is hardly ever needed to ‘stay alive’ in the western world, for anyone. A person living on the federal poverty level (=10k/yr), or basically working 20 hours a week at minimal wages, is unlikely to starve or lack shelter, or even basic health care (once your bills reach a high enough level, there is medicaid, social helpers help, or just not paying the medical bills – which would not prevent you from receiving care).
People choose crime to have a better standard of living. To have a car and not take the bus. To eat tastier food. to eat out. to go to a bar and drink with friends. All are reasonable expenses, but none are, as the writer put it in her own defense “to stay alive”. Rather, say, she chose crime to have a more comfortable and fun life.

Along with all the other good advice, learn to cook. During my worst year I learned to buy just fruit, vegetables, eggs, bread, meat, fish, and chicken. I packed my lunch every day and I ate a lot of home made soup. The key is to be able to make something you would be willing to pay for in a restaurant. Bad food wears you down. I was able to reduce my living costs by a lot.

My husband was in a work related accident in 2002, and I am unable to work due to my health. I am unable to go to a doctor because we do not have health insurance. He uses the VA and worker’s comp.

We grow most of our own food, which I can or dry. We generate our own electric with solar panels. We cook and heat with wood, which we get in the woods.

It is still a struggle every month for us to survive. I keep trying everything I can to fix my health problems myself, so maybe I could do something to earn more money. We make too much money for any sort of help. But not enough to pay for living expenses. Especially food. And clothing. I bought my first pair of shoes last month at Walmart for less than $7. & was so excited!

It sucks and yes, I am bitter. But I tried desperately to get a job and nobody would hire me because I had been a stay at home mother. Now, I cannot work because I have very painful legs and can barely walk most of the time.

We do not have any real debt except for a vehicle payment and a small mortgage. No tv, cable, dinners out, smoking, drinking, games, going to movies, etc. There is no where left for me to cut my budget. I have done everything anyone suggests. Just need more money. I keep trying ways to get it in! Won’t give up yet.

I’ve taken lots of weird jobs, and all the while instead of going to college I taught myself how to design websites and how to use graphic software. Throughout highschool I worked framing pictures after school and used that money to buy a car afterwards and got a full time job selling mattresses. It gave me sales experience and also gave me time during the day to build websites for free to build my portfolio, since mattresses aren’t really every day buys there was a lot of down time.
A hurricane came and hit New Orleans, so after leaving the mattress store I got a job on a clean up crew Supervising trucks that picked fallen trees up out of the streets, it paid very well but was outside in the sun all day for 12 hours a day, 5 am til 5 pm 30 minutes away from my house [so i had to wake up at 4am]
After that, I started looking for a real job, at which point I knew how to design websites and had a previous sallary that was very comfortable so I interviewed with an Ad Agency for a design position, charmed them thanks to my sales experience and got a good pay rate thanks to my construction sallary and won them over with my working experience and extensive [albeit pro-bono] web portfolio.
The point of this story is that when trying to build up to a certain standard of living, you can never be too good for anything, take whatever opportunities you can, build experience where you can because it can never hurt, and will all lend itself to the greater goal.

I have a hard time believing every one of the, and it appears to be women, who say they have not one more cent to spare, are posting their messages at a library.
Sell your computer. Shut down the internet access. If you truly can’t work, you will qualify for diability.
People who want to earn more always find a way. People who are lazy will always be poor.
I read an analogy recently that I liked.. if a person were told he or she had a few months to come up with a few thousand dollars for a surgery to save their child’s life.. they would become a saving madman or a saving madwoman.
Just a thought..
ann

I just saw this post again and saw where Ann thinks that anyone who has a physical problem that stops them from working will qualify then for a disability. And they will get it. Just try! It is the hardest thing to do. And if you have no insurance to go to a doctor then just forget it! It takes some people years to get it.

Her comment was to shut down your internet, yet that is the ONLY way I can make any money. Selling online has become my only way to get any money for anything. But not enough to save. Day to day only.

She also said: “I read an analogy recently that I liked.. if a person were told he or she had a few months to come up with a few thousand dollars for a surgery to save their child’s life.. they would become a saving madman or a saving madwoman.” Well if that applied to me, I’d have to stop paying my mortgage and not have a vehicle (which by the way I lived for 8 months without one out in the country) and forget any food. I am just glad that is not something I will ever have to worry about.

She also said: “People who want to earn more always find a way. People who are lazy will always be poor.”

No, Ann people like you always say things like that when you haven’t worn the shoes! I lived the “cushy” life like you at one time too. But through no fault of my own, divorce, ended up without much of anything. It can happen to anyone. I am definitley not lazy. I do more physical work with my limitations than you probably would even THINK of doing. I wash my clothes by hand, I make all my own food from scratch, grow a massive garden and can or dry it all for the winter months. I cook and heat with wood. If that is being lazy than what should I do different?

I am sorry if I sound angry, but these yuppie types answer questions like that and have no respect for other people.

I agree with the comment that we must reject the consumerist mindset jammed down our throats. Here are a few things I do to save money:

1) Observe a lifelong boycott of television.
2) I love theater but don’t want to spend money on tickets. So I have worked as a volunteer usher for years. Great fun! See all the plays for free. Community theater is cheap and fun also.
3) Get to know your library. Knowledge is free. You can be an interesting and fun person without spending a lot of money.
4) Got rid of my car six years ago. I love my bicycle and it saves me money. Bicycle or take bus into work.
5) Avoid bars and restaurants. Invite friends over, cook simple meals, enjoy conversation, music, company.
6) Get a rice cooker, and buy your rice in twenty pound sacks. You can eat healthy and cheap with a little imagination.
7) All the skrimping and saving in the world won’t do any good unless you have some income. Keep your skills up-to-date and get good at making money as well as saving money. Here’s an example: my aunt was getting too old to push a lawnmower. She bought a riding mower, and paid for it by cutting the lawns of her neighbors. She has a wonderful time doing it.

Staying Afloat: Just graduating college last year with student loans and dumb college credit card errors ( I chalk it up to not knowing about this site yet…) and living in the San Francisco Bay Area has made living on a limited income an art form. This is my basic path thus far: 1. I got the first inaugural crappy job to get my foot in the door. 2. I live at my moms house to cut down housing costs (not fun, but it works). 3. I eliminated all my credit card debt and started saving my emergency fund. I found in just a few months I was able to cut my expenses and save 3 months worth of income. 4. I resisted (well, sometimes…) the temptation to live ABOVE my means, I found fun, free things to do. 5. I’m investing what little money I had into a Roth IRA each month. 6. I FINALLY have a budget. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but getting my financial woes in order has become fun for me, a challenge and addicting to see how much I can save each month without sacrificing my sanity and ability to still have fun. Good luck!

When I first started (b/c I still am) living on a limited income I immediately turned to credit cards to make ends meet. It wasn’t that I was jobless at the time. In fact I had a full time (40+ hour) job working in the field that I was studying. But living where I do the pay and cost of living don’t even out. And, like may other college students credit became the way to get all the fancy toys I wanted now but not have to pay for it till later. No matter where you are in life keeping up with the Jones’ is still important.
However, after putting myself deep into credit debt I had creditors calling daily and even threatening to sue my parents. I ended up giving into a payment plan that had my hands tied. Every bit of my income was going to bills and in the end I had nothing left to keep me “alive” between checks.
I ended up doing a lot of things (legal and illegal) I never thought I would have to. It spanned the spectrum from pawning personal belongings to selling drugs to doing odd jobs for family and friends to stealing from the grocery store.
Though the illegal activity was the most profitable it only lasted a short time. Unfortunately it took my best friend’s house being burglarized to realize that it wasn’t the right way to solve my problems.
So, I decided one day to stop all spending and do nothing but pay bills. I stopped going out with friends. I did not buy any new article of clothing or shoes. I refused to turn on the AC (which sucks when you live in the south). I only drove to and from work. Luckily I lived next to campus, so I walked to class. And, I lived off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ramen noodles, and popcorn for almost 10 months.
At the end of the 10 months my lease ended and I promptly moved back home to my parent’s house. I used the money I was putting towards rent to paying off my bills faster and I started living on a budget. After graduation I moved away from home to an area that paid way more for the work I do and ended up paying all my bills off and actually saving money. I’m now looking into buying a house!
For those out there still trying to make it….Keep your head up and keep on hustling!!

I’ve always believed in splitting expenses by living with roommates. Sometimes they try my patience and drive me crazy, but it’s good for me to get in the habit of tolerating and working with other people. Right now there’s four of us splitting a two bedroom apartment. All utilities included costs me a bit less than $150/mo, meaning that rent isn’t my biggest expense.

How did I live as a single Mom with very limited income as I went to nursing school.

1. I didn’t even pretend that I had a large income.
Therefore no one expected me to go to tupperware parties
or spend $300 for a wedding present I could not afford.

2. I didn’t expect anyone to be obligated to go to any tupperware
parties or buy me huge expensive presents.So there wasn’t a
problem with reciprocity.

3.The friends I had were true friends and we didn’t have a
financial basis for our friendship.

4.I was taught by my Grandparents that money did not make the
man.and I believed it.

5. My gifts to others consisted of my time. I helped a friend
prepare for her wedding by arranging the flowers for the
tables at the wedding dinner. I often made chocolate chip
cookies when friends were having a rough patch. The teapot
was always out for tea and sympathy. Christmas gifts were
home made fudge,breads and jams ect. No-one ever
complained either.They even appeared to enjoy homemade
goodies.

I guess I was lucky because I never felt poor and I believe no one thought I was being cheap.I still have those same friends and they
are all wonderful people. I suppose the people that would have only wanted my friendship if i could contribute financially to their well being just went away.

And really, what kind of family would only want you if you could both dress properly and cough up a $300.00 gift?

If money is the sole basis for a happy life we are all going to be in trouble as i have a feeling times will be tough ahead. Being poor in spirit is a greater tragedy don’t you think?

Some permutations of what has already been mentioned:

1. Libraries: Not just for books, but for movies, CDs, journal/news articles, etc. Many towns and counties have networked library systems which allow you to reserve books in advance from any library in the system via the web. I know that LA, NYC, and parts of NJ do this. It’s been a while since I’ve had cable movie channels, been to a Blockbuster, used Netflix, or seen a movie at a theater and I don’t feel deprived one iota.

2. Get yourself on a workout schedule. This can be as simple as walking / running outside (if the weather is nice) or doing a 30min-1 hr stretch every night or every other night. By rigorously sticking to this schedule, I’ve not only improved my fitness but it has the additional benefit of preventing me from wasting money (and time) shopping on the web, or going out and throwing away my hard earned cash.

3. If you’re fortunate enough to live in areas that have free food tastings at groceries or dining establishments, hit those up. Usually, this is only satisfying enough for a snack (don’t be greedy), but hey, if it’s free, it beats spending a couple of bucks on a snack.

4. Learn to sew. You can mend holes or adjust hems yourself.

5. For theater fans, many cities have free theater nights. Do a search on the web for your city. Many will also give free seats to those working as ushers.

6. Volunteering. When I was unemployed for a few months, I volunteered to be a kitchen assistant at a local cooking school. I had to be in class an hour earlier and an hour later to clean up, but I got to learn some cooking techniques (by watching) and also got a free delicious meal. Granted, it was tiring (think of cleaning up and doing dishes for all the cooking for multiple entrees for 10-16 people), so the meal was well-deserved!

7. If you have friends with Costco or BJ’s Warehouse cards, try going with them on their shopping trips if you don’t have a membership yourself. Be careful not to buy huge quantities of things you’ll never use or finish, but for toilet paper, paper towels, etc., it’s great.

DO NOT USE THE LIBRARY for DVDs. I checked out two dvds from my public library last summer. I got sick the week before I left for vacation and didn’t get to return them. When I got home, the library charged me $60 in late fees (roughly three weeks). I know one of the DVDs sells for less than $9.99 on Amazon. DVD late fees are a huge rip off.