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Most of us have been there at one time or another: stuck at minimum wage, hog-tied by a fixed income, or working a crap job fresh out of school. Some find themselves living in a city where the cost of living is out of sight. It can be a nightmare trying to make ends meet when you’re barely earning enough for necessities. What use is worrying about retirement when you don’t have enough for rent?
I want to hear some real-life stories from GRS readers: How have you coped with circumstances in which you had to struggle to make ends meet? How did you avoid debt? (Or did you?) How did you get out of the situation? What tips can you offer others who find themselves just striving to get by?
Please share your story so that other readers can learn from your experience.
This article is about Odds and Ends, Real-Life Friday, 17th November 2006 (by J.D. Roth)
November 17th, 2006 at 7:05 am
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!
November 17th, 2006 at 8:13 am
I finally have time to share a little about how I coped with a limited income. The short answer is: not very well.
As I’ve already confessed, I lived off credit cards. I accumulated a lot of debt. I did work extra jobs, and that helped, but my desires were such that I couldn’t afford everything I wanted, so I lived off credit. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
What I didn’t understand, though, was that if I would be patient, if I would live frugal for just a couple of years, time and experience would take care of the situation. I got better jobs that paid more.
Now this isn’t true for everyone, and I don’t mean to imply that it is, but for most people, if you’re willing to live like a pauper while you get an education, or work at the ground level, or develop necessary skills, things will begin to improve. And even a little bit of improvement can help when you’re pinched to the bone.
But what do you do while you’re pinched? That’s what I’m hoping other people will share.
November 17th, 2006 at 8:56 am
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.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:11 am
JD - Didn’t see your last question (”what do you do”?)
I’ll echo what I said about “consciously rejecting the consumerist voice that pervades society”: There are expectations that we have about how we’re supposed to live that aren’t necessarily good.
For example, when I started work after college, pretty much everyone in the office went out for lunch. I simply couldn’t afford it, but it was still tempting to want to go relax at a restaurant, or just to get out of the office for a little bit. But it isn’t necessary to eat at a restaurant.
I was really into going to shows and concerts when I was in high school and college, but had to re-prioritize when I was in the “real world” and couldn’t afford to go to concerts all the time. In high school, I didn’t have the other “living expenses” (since I was with my parents), and in college, a lot of entertainment is free (or cheap). It was a bit of a shock, but I had to get used to it, and to go without. I still went to concerts, but only the ones I was really interested in seeing.
An up-side to being young, poor, and married, is that your best friend is also young, poor, and married (to you!). And the way it worked out for us, our other friends were also young and poor, so we ended up hanging out at each others’ houses and playing Scrabble and watching movies, rather than going out to a movie together, or going out to eat. We had a lot of pot-luck meals.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:20 am
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.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:41 am
When my first real job found me moving to Seattle for pay that was only a hair over cost of living, I did everything I could do.
Surprisingly one of the first things I did was set up Quicken with my bank accounts (it came with my PC, so I thought ‘why not’) which allowed me to track my spending. I didn’t have a budget at the time, but I did have a rough idea of what kind of money I had.
At the start it was hard, I did everything by debit card and tried to get credit, but couldn’t. I had so many transactions that I some times would lose one or two and had to adjust things to make my bank ballance match.
I didn’t spent a single cent I didn’t have to for six weeks so I could afford an appartment, and even then I needed some help from my parrents for the next month of bills. The last time I ever needed such help I’m proud to say.
Even with the aparment I didn’t really have enough. I never went out, ate sparingly, worked extra hours when I could, and was pleased when I had saved up 300 dollars after six months.
I was also relizing how badly my job was picking my pocket, but that’s another story.
I did finaly get credit, but not much of it, and used it for the energencies that seemed to come up every week. I tried not to splurge with it, but I wasn’t always sucesfull. Even so my debt load never got crazy, thanks partly to a 3 digit limit (no credit history, no credit).
I’m past that now, but it was an important lesson.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:49 am
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.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:06 am
My husband and I were just talking about this topic last night. What we did while I was in school and he was working was estimate how much we were making and lived within that budget. Not too interesting huh? Unfortunately, the simple answers sometimes are the best.
And when dinners, or drinks, or movies, or vacations, or new cars, or “stuff” called our name, we either refused or took on extra jobs to put towards those desires. Don’t worry we got teased a BUNCH, but it sure seems worth it today.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:28 am
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
November 17th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
The necessities really truly became the necessities. When you can survive on a couple boxes of no-name KD for 59cents a box that is what you do. You dig and dig until you are in a position that you’re not scrambling maddly.
The thing to avoid is going into debt if at all possible. Yes a nice shiny new credit card will allow you to get a few more things but when the card catches up to you you’ll be paying even more interest.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
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!
November 17th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Don’t eat. Or get a job that provides you food, and only eat at work.
November 17th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
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.
November 17th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
In graduate school in New York, my loans covered my tuition but not much else, including my $1250 half of our $2500 rent for a room that basically fit my bed.
I picked up work babysitting for wealthy families that paid well above average, and because I could eat whatever I wanted from their kitchens, I was able to eat well (fresh organic produce, etc.) for free. When I ate on my own, it was peanut butter sandwiches and baked potatoes. I didn’t need cable because the upper-class families had premium packages and DVR. I also babysat for older children (10-year-old boys) who entertained themselves (video games) and wanted little to do with me or any adult, so I could do school and freelance work while I was babysitting.
The second year of school, I moved out of NYC 20 minutes by train north to save $500/month in rent, even after accounting for commuting costs.
I also adopted virtually free hobbies - reading from the library or at Borders, playing cards, writing, running instead of the gym - which years later are still my hobbies.
After school ended, I moved out of NYC. To me, it’s a great city, but I couldn’t take advantage of all it has to offer because I wouldn’t have been able to afford it.
November 17th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
“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.
November 17th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can start to come back up. I found the “willpower” to wean myself off of credit cards right after I had missed enough minimum payments for the companies to stop extending credit to me.
Faced with an enormous debt and an unhealthy lifestyle, things just looked completely hopeless. But I was forced to change, and now I’m so much happier that I can’t imagine what I was thinking a few short years ago. I ditched the cellphone ($1200 saved per year), traded cable for Blockbuster.com ($480 saved per year) moved into a cheaper apartment ($3000 saved per year), put myself on a strict grocery budget instead of eating out ($2000 saved per year), and let my hopeless credit card debt sit unpaid for a year or two. Once the credit card companies were treating me like a “hopeless debtor,” I was able to negotiate payment terms with them that seemed less hopeless, and thereby settled for less than half what I owed.
My credit score is in the toilet, but I have paid off all of my debt over the last couple of years, and am living below my means.
I see my friends in similar desperate situations, but telling them to downsize their lives is completely fruitless. The thought of giving up my cellphone and cable used to give me the willies, but compared to the dread of answering the phone (debt collectors on the prowl), giving them up has proven to be small potatoes.
I can now technically afford a cellphone, more frequent restaurant trips, and cable, but my girlfriend and I agree that we would rather save for our future and take real pleasure in the less expensive entertainments. For example, we used to spend about $30 on a night at the movies (tickets plus concession), but instead, we now participate in the “Five Buck Club” at Kerasotes and smuggle in candy to reduce the cost to $10.
As I keep repeating to my friends: It’s nto about depriving yourself, it’s about getting good value for what you are spending. I have as much fun every week as I ever did. The difference is that I’ve stopped wasting money for convenience’s sake.
November 18th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
@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.
November 18th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
I buy the cheapest food possible at the grocery store and have a club card, which saves me about $7 per $20 of groceries (so I pay $11-13 for what, without the card, would cost $18-22). I don’t need a lot of food, because the co-op where I live has comparatively cheap rent ($666 for a room, in the Bay Area, is a steal!) and included in that is cable (communal tv) and food (they prepare brunch and dinner every day, with food you can eat at any time as well). Groceries are only for the times when the house is low on food, or bulk food that I would like (i.e. a lot of oatmeal/granola from costco).
The co-op also has a free pile, and though I’m not proud of this, I’ve sometimes raided the free pile for clothes and bring them to goodwill, to get a little money. Although this isn’t the most ethical thing to do, like stealing coins from a water fountain, the pile is free, it’s open to everyone, and there’s nothing that rules against using the clothes in the pile however you see fit.
In the bay, there are a lot of places that will try to compensate you by not paying you, i.e. asking you to volunteer at a show to get in for free, or work somewhere for free books. While I could do this in high school, now I pretty much refuse to do it, since my responsibilities are great enough as is. Of course, these are all the cool jobs, but if you work hard and study hard you can get even cooler jobs that pay.
Generally I spend $20/week on anything, mostly food and miscellaneous expenses (i.e. the odd concert). My father had the presence of mind to start a mutual fund account for me in middle school, and, when he was later disabled, to deposit my social security checks (as a dependent) in said account. I haven’t touched it yet, and don’t plan on it for a while, but generally I deposit 30-45% of my monthly income in the account, depending on what other expenses are for that month. Because rent and food is together, and I take public transportation, I don’t need that much spending money.
I come from an upper-middle-class background, which makes a few people (who are older and more in debt) resent me because they think I’m filthy with money (not the case!). And yet, they eat out a few times every week, have cable, and go drinking every week-end. I don’t deny that I have advantages other people didn’t have, but I’m neither directly nor indirectly responsible for their financial circumstances, and their quality of life is probably better than mine in most ways. Class works in strange and subtle ways though.
November 19th, 2006 at 10:36 am
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.
November 21st, 2006 at 1:48 pm
1st and foremost I increased my tax deductions for both Fed & State, I take 9. I offset the tax bite at the end of the year by writing off my mortgage. I also put on my taxes that I am outside sales, so I get to write off my car mileage, clothes, food, and even a percentage of my house for business purposes. Next I got a roommate and split the mortgage and utilities. Third and most important for me is, I have great credit so I play my zero percent credit card offers off of my Home Equity Line of Credit. I have 50k spending buffer that allows me enough room to pay off my credit card. I have been riding those 6 month 0% finance checks for about a year 1/2. I am doing so in hopes of one particular investment that I heavily invested in to pay off, which hopefully comes soon.
November 25th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
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.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Well,
I live with my sister and my parents at home.
During the winter, because heating our home can be expensive, my sister and I would go to the local library to read and stay warm.
We don’t have cable, we watch TV with bunny ears.
Now it’s even tougher being a full-time student at school, but I’m still looking forward to what life throws at me.
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 am
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.
March 10th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Life in poverty, subsisting wage. Live small . . . small bed, small events, it is the little things. I lived for years on minimum wage and raised my daughter doing it. Discipline, not fashion.
Basics: Food, Rent and Phone.
Exercise & Transportation: Walk and get to know everyone in your neighborhood. I walked an average of 25 km each day.
Entertainment: Pot luck dinners; Attend free community events; Second run theatres; Libraries have great events as well as books.
After so many years, when i did land a job with money … I quit because I didnt have time to walk, visit friends, or go the movies. Que sera sera. This wont work if you have huge debt though. Presumes you are at $0 debt and $0 extra cash.
March 13th, 2007 at 2:58 am
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
May 1st, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I just had this post and reading people’s stories & ideas was great! I’d like to share the few things I learned my first year out of graduate school, when I got a job that paid peanuts, my boyfriend broke up with me (and left me holding the bill on his cell phone, half of the apartment we were renting, and a bunch of money I had already loaned him to make rent et cetera while we were settling in), and my 17-year-old car called it quits:
1. I moved walking-distance away from my job. It meant I didn’t have to worry so much about my car, so I ended up selling it ($200, but I saved $ on not having to insure it or put gas in it everyday). Its amazing how much money you save when it becomes difficult to go to places where you would spend money! Also, because I lived so close to work, I was actually able to walk home for lunch, which was fantastic and saved me money as well.
2. There was a local food store (expensive) and a local discount store (a whole lot cheaper, but weird and inconsistent selection). I learned to go to the discount store first and score whatever cheapies I could before I went to the store with the decent selection (I ate a lot of things with onions or potatoes in them: a 10lb bag of onions or potatoes will go a long way–and they keep well and last a long time for one person).
3. Just the basics: heat, electricity, and a phone plan with no long distance access–people can call you if its important, and you can always get phone cards as gifts (if your mom says “you never call” tell her to contribute!) or use a library to do some email contact.
4.As a gift someone got me a netflix subscription, and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone who has home mail delivery–all the benefits of tv or renting movies for $5.99 (or less if its a gift!) a month. Though this worked for me only because I had a tv and dvd player already, and there was no TV reception in the area so local channels weren’t really an option. If you can get by without any media, good for you! but I really missed the distraction (for just an hour or so a day) when I didn’t have anything. Other options are trading around movies you already own with friends who have other stuff, or local libraries.
5. Get a cheap and all-consuming hobby: It sucks to know that there is nothing that you can do to make yourself feel better, so find something (cheap, or free preferably) that will help you feel better–for me, it was running, and training for races (a half marathon and marathon). There are places on line that will help you build a plan for free, and then it takes up so much time that you don’t fixate so much on how broke you are, and in fact start to fell better about yourself when you realize you’re in better shape / accomplishing your goals. And all you need are sneakers.
I hope these can help someone out! I managed to get my life (financially anyway) back on track, pay down the credit card debt I had and save for a (slightly) newer car so I could look for a job that paid better. It took me two years, but I’m out of the hole now, and starting to get closer to where I want to be (debt paid off, savings in the bank). And I ran my first half marathon and marathon, something I will always be proud of that I probably wouldn’t have every tried to do if I hadn’t been in the down in the dumps to begin with!
June 27th, 2007 at 8:07 am
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.
June 29th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I hung out my laundry to dry, bought used appliances and a 10 yr old car, found cheap hobbies that I STILL love (running, biking, surfing, reading), cooked from scratch , never got cable tv, and washed my kids cloth diapers as opposed to buying disposables (they were potty trained in record time),eventually bought fixer upper real estate, and most importantly, NEVER paid interest on anything- always pay your bills off, on time in full,every month. 15 yrs later I own 2 houses free and clear, have enough that my kids college is completely paid for,and am semi retired,and I still practice exactly the same fiscal stuff (except for the diapers!) that I did back then. I pay for EVERYTHING with a credit card that I pay off in full every month and they pay ME 2% back! Live simply and ditch the TV- life is an adventure to be lived, not watch it from a couch!
October 9th, 2007 at 9:21 am
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.
October 20th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Very interesting. Luckly my wife and I have never been one of those down on their luck ones. What I have noticed of recent is that with food inflation heating up the working poor (if you keep a price book you’ll really notice it)are finding it much harder to survive.
tinyurl.com/2f272l
just wondering for those of you who posted above how much do you spend on the baisics rent heat etc and how much does that leave you left over?
As an aside for the first time ever foodbanks and soup kitchens are appearing in Germany. Cuts to the generous welfare state combinded with food inflation is creating a new class of poor.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
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!
May 9th, 2008 at 7:01 am
Some of the things I learned when surviving on $7k for the whole year. I am in the process of going back to these tips as I am due to have a child in a couple months and day care is going to eat up close half of my take home pay so that I can keep working and pay for the other stuff like housing and food and other stuff.
Resale shops (compare the shops as some are better value than others) and freecycle. Local, non-chain grocery stores & Aldi with planning out meals. Shop the chain stores sales and special loss leaders. Spend more time with family & friends. Find the free admission events for entertainment (check with your local library to find free passes to museums and such) and save up to treat yourself now and then. My favorite going out treat was finding the pubs that would have weekly specials and find one where I could treat myself to a huge burger or fish fry for about $5 (including a drink). (I would always put $5 each week aside to treat myself to a non-essential. Totally surprising how many purchases can be avoided by asking yourself “Is this really necessary?”) Make your own beauty products/household cleansers when you can. Most are surprisingly simple and cheap to make. It is more of a change of lifestyle and finding ways to accommodate a savings plan as well.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:14 am
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!!
May 9th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I didn’t start saving properly until later. I do have a limited income, although probably more than a lot of people.
I support my husband and myself by being careful.
We have a small garden in our backyard. I go to the thrift shop and yard sales for as many things as I can.
I also shop at places like Big Lots for some stuff. In other words, I am careful, watch every cent, and shop for food carefully, using sales and/or coupons whenever possible.
It isn’t easy, but we make it.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:02 am
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.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:44 am
i contacted my student loan organization and they gave me a 6 month forbearance. i don’t have to make payments for 6 months this helps some. i should have asked for more time. they gave me what i asked for so easily.
i am looking for more work too.
also, i sell on ebay or craigslist for extra money and i cook alot from scratch& i make all my baby’s food.too.
you know it kinda helps just knowing i’m not the only one trying to deal.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
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?
October 20th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Right after college, I was trying to support myself living in LA and although I had a decent paying (for a fresh college grad) and very cheap rent the cost of living was simply way too high and I was struggling.
I did what many college grads are doing these days and moved back in with my mother. However, always very independent, I knew I wouldn’t be able to deal for long set a deadline for myself.
I then got a new career oriented job but had to pay my dues (i.e. low pay) so supplemented my income by beginning bartending nights.
I worked like a crazy woman for about two years. I worked 9am-5pm and then 8pm-3am at least 5 days a week and got about 1 day a month off, if that. I was honest with my career oriented job, told them I was bartending at night to make ends meet and overall they were understanding when I came in exhausted often. I worked at 5 different bars in the area. I took every extra shift I could. Essentially, I took advantage of my youth and ability to function on very little sleep.
I got through it and eventually my career oriented job started to really pay off and I could quit bartending. I stayed with the same company, and being flexible and growing with them until I began making a very decent living. I have always lived a modest life style. I drive and old Honda Civic even thought I could probably afford something better. I have tons of ghetto money saving tricks that I will probably always do (water bottle in my purse full of booze when I go out, popping the heavy stems out of mushrooms at the grocery store etc). I chose to live very modestly and my only big luxury is travel. It really helps me maintain sanity and refreshes me so I can work even harder.
October 20th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
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.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Fascinating replies. During those times that we have faced life with little money it wasn’t that nice, but not dire. We lived on a high starch diet - little or no meat. Walked when it was less than a couple of miles. Used the library for books. All of which ideas are on here. Our most broke times were when we were first married in the early 1970’s - it was much easier because few people had the money for any kind of lavish lifestyle. However, doesn’t everyone have a friend who can seemingly afford everything - has that sports car, the nice flat? T’was ever thus and will never change.
I hate budgeting, I take out the essential payments (including savings) and live on what is left. If I end up with £100 for a month’s food that’s all I spend. Can’t be doing with the X amount for this and that every month. Ultimately, it’s all about what works for the individual.
From my reading of frugal/lifestyle US sites it is clear that the freedom from health worries is a real blessing. I have never had to think twice about seeking health care for either myself or my children and for that I am grateful.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:26 am
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.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Dude. “didn’t get to return them” …I think you mean you forgot. The library is an awesome place to get DVDs–for free as long as you return them on time–or renew them, which can often be done on line or over the phone–and you can set yourself reminders in google calendar or something similar so that forgetting is not an option! its not that hard.If you do end up with late fees a lot of libraries are very understanding and will waive some part of the fees–or let you pay it back over time if cash is tight.