Chicken nuggs, corn, green beans, sweet potato, applesauce

Hey everyone. I'm the one who posted a few days (weeks?) ago about moving across the country to escape domestic violence with my kids and having $100 for food. I have had a lot of people asking me to update so I just wanted to let y'all know we made it to my mom's house safely. Baby girl and I are sharing a room and my other 3 boys are sharing a room (I have 5 children total but one is an adult in college in another state. Yep my oldest is 21 years apart from my youngest!).

So yeah I drove 1200 miles alone by myself with 4 kids and whatever I could fit in the back of our vehicle literally across half of the country. It was scary. I usually AVOID highways and I've never driven that far before. It took several days to get here but I just got up every day and did it scared. One mile at a time. We got here a few hours ago. Life certainly hasn't gone the way we planned but I'm so thankful to have my wonderful supportive mom and to have the supportive online community of people here.

My kids will never sleep afraid for their lives again. Tonight I think we all sleep better than we have in weeks. Here's to our new chapter. Thank you all so much for your advice and support. You have no idea how much it meant to me. It kept me going. Seriously. Knowing there were others who survived something similar and made it okay on the other side. Helped to give me the strength I needed to make it here even though I was terrified the whole time. I don't know y'all but I love y'all. We made it!

This is so embarrassing. Ive ran through literally EVERYTHING. I had even started to use my towels as toilet paper and ended up just throwing them all away in the trash as they were too dirty to ever be used again. I have cut open my tooth paste just to get a little bit left out of there. I'm literally considering just taking out a loan at this point just to get by. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Being poor is literally a humiliation ritual and sometimes I wish I didn't even exist.

About 4 hours per week pays most of the bill.

I used to be that one friend that had everything they wanted, and now we don't even have a house to live in.
Basically, my parents' business stopped working out of nowhere (probably because of the economic crisis here), so now we can't even afford a damn rent since it's too expensive. I'm currently studying, so I don't have total availability, which makes it harder to search for a job in a small town (public transport would be too expensive as a daily way of commuting, and I don't have a driver's license). My parents are living in the business facilities, which aren't supposed to be for that, while they spend their savings on my shared apartment's rent. Of course, we all are looking for jobs, but low wages can't cover the lifestyle we used to have, and at their ages finding jobs is way harder. I was super excited about the back-to-school stuff, and of course my greedy ahh had already romanticized the hangouts and purchases for it. I'm too shocked to even react right now, and I'm aware it could be even worse, but that's not the point.
I'm posting this to see if anyone else relates or has experienced this, if so, please tell me how you are dealing or dealt with it.
P.S. IM NOT FROM THE USA

Lost my job, no fault of my own, they eliminated the entire department I was working in, so 17 of us are without jobs. I already was living paycheck to paycheck, pulling in about $900 every two weeks as a single parent. Mortgage is $600 and the automatic payment is supposed to be pulled from my account this Thursday, but this next check won't be enough.

Getting my last paycheck this Thursday, and it won't be enough.

I applied for unemployment but I'm not even sure how much it pays, or WHEN it pays. I did the weekly certification, and have been utilizing the state website to find new employment.

I know it's the holiday weekend, so all the jobs I've been applying for won't even look at me until sometime this week.

The next food bank is this Saturday.

The city doesn't provide buses for school, so I am my children's bus, which limits what job I can get. I drive an old vehicle with tons of problems, the most amusing one being that it stalls while in idle, which is so fun to deal with while sitting in the parent-pickup line. And my tank is almost empty.

I'm just tired. I sometimes don't see the point of even trying to better.

Except being exploited, trampled upon, serving the rich, make them feel privileged, being the ashes of wars while they sitting in their yachts, traveling around the globe? I am still here because I need one more trigger to end such misery, I am tired of saving money, low standard of life, and I reflect too much on my life where does it go, all in all, it's not worth it. Sorry for my rant.

Im not in poverty by any definition, fortunately, (well then why are you in this reddit?!?!) I work with so many people of various economic and social levels that its basically feels dystopian if you observe the struggles others have to go through to live.

Speaking from USA perspective.

This country has so much $, so much wealth, so much food etc. The amount of waste, corruption and greed in everyday society is sick. I work sometimes in places that toss 1000 lbs of cooked food nightly instead of just give it to starving people outside etc.

I listen to coworkers get bent over on late fees and every thing under the sun due to their limited education and understanding of finances.

Dont ever feel guilty of going to a food bank, taking a handout, getting a heating credit. Etc etc, medical whatever you can get with any program. Just do it.

Throughout my life i have found the poorest people are the most kind and generous all around. But so easy to be taken advantage of and used like a tool, and when usually challenged they have no choice but to back down due to their position and need of "that paycheck"

Growing up, I developed this really weird relationship with money because my mom would constantly send our money overseas to help her family back home. It felt like money was always leaving our household and going toward someone else’s life.

My mom was also extremely cheap with herself. She wouldn’t even buy herself a coffee because she was always trying to save money or send it to family.
Now I’m finally making good money for the first time in my life, and I feel like I’m going absolutely crazy with spending. 😭

If I’m craving food, I buy it. If I want a purse, I buy it. If I see something I like, I’ll convince myself I deserve it because growing up, I never really had that mentality of “we have money, so you can enjoy some of it.”
I think a huge part of me feels like if I dont spend my money, someone else will

Like I spent my childhood watching money leave our household to support other people, and now that I finally have my own income, I have this urge to spend it before it can somehow be taken away from me.

I know this isn’t necessarily healthy financially, and I’m trying to understand where this mentality comes from. Has anyone else experienced this after growing up with financial scarcity or parents who constantly gave money to extended family?

First of all, thanks to the mods for deleting the numerous troll comments on my recent vent post.

Second of all, thank you to the people who actually did offer some financial/situational advice.

Third of all, do the wall street bets people come over here now to make fun of and blame people experiencing financial hardship? Seeing people so triggered by me pointing out the obvious reality that capitalism sucks in a poverty finance sub is ironic and sad. Acknowledging that an economic system that has the principles of cancer is fucking us over is not that mind blowing. But even beyond that, this sub used to have a lot of helpful advice and encouragement. Not minimizing the advice I did get, i am however noticing that the population seems to have shifted. One commenter asked if i have a Roth IRA, and i believe that question was asked in good faith do not ascribing ill intent, but i am noting I never wouldve seen a question like that asked in a poverty finance sub several years ago.

Has anyone else noticed this?

There is currently a post with 47k upvotes and it’s a pic of someone’s bank account. They saved $1,000. Great for them! But, how does that help anyone? Meanwhile, a recent post about a way to get a free hot meal was deemed inappropriate (See attached image) Are we trying help those struggling or are we here to karma farm? Can’t forget the flair. SMH

Hey, I'm just wondering what I can do or say to get my parents to stop spending money. Sorry if some stuff doesn't make sense, English isn't my first language.

We are poor. We've never really had much money, and growing up I just assumed that my parents had it figured out. They did not. I'm not going to talk about all the stupid small stuff. About 5 years ago, they took out a $470,000 loan and have barely paid ~$10,000. Today they're talking about taking out another $16,000 for a car. I know they took care of me and made sure I never went hungry and had a roof over my head, but even I know that this is an incredibly stupid decision and will put us in debt.

I'm afraid, now that I've graduated uni and started working, eventually they're going to saddle me with the debt and force me to pay. I'm sorry I know I probably sound like a POS but I'm just really really stressed and don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated.

I'm 19 and live on my own, in a duplex where I need to be able to pay my rent and get myself food and gas. Not to mention my car isn't paid off yet. I've been getting by with freelance work as often as I can and DoorDashing.

I've been applying to every job I possibly can in my area (and even tens of miles away), both online and by taking copies of my resume into businesses in person. I have a good amount of experience from the past, when I worked at my college last year (I can't afford college again this year) and when I was in high school. I've especially been applying to jobs I am qualified for. I've had interviews and done well; I've posted on my community's Facebook and in other places asking about freelance work or if anyone knows where I can find work.

I actually got hired to work for a house cleaning company, worked one day with another employee, was told I'd done a great job, and was given a ton of supplies for the cleaning, which I still have, and then never heard from my employer again. I wasn't given a schedule for what houses to clean next, so I wasn't able to do anything. I still haven't heard anything from her, and that would have been a very good, decently paying job, so I'm still grieving that.

I'm seriously losing hope and don't know how I'm going to continue paying rent. I have a good amount of skills that have allowed me to get accepted to sell handmade items and artwork at a fair this month, and I can only hope I'll make an unrealistic amount of money there. I've tried starting art commissions, but have only managed to make some extra pocket money.

It's gotten to a point where I genuinely want nothing more than to just be working a regular, boring 9-5. That's my only dream right now. I daydream about it and spend all day applying to more places. I want to work so badly. I'm itching to work, but it's so impossible to find anything at all. I try to keep myself busy by making things I may be able to sell and selling other things I don't need anymore. Even things I DO need, but sell anyway.

Please, if anyone has any advice at all, or just encouragement or anything, I'd be incredibly appreciative. Please, only positive and/or helpful responses- I don't need nor want any more negativity in my life right now, and am genuinely just seeking advice.

(PS, I can't move back in with my parents, as they were very emotionally abusive and stopped speaking to me after I left their religion, so that's out of the question.)

I lost my job in January and have since wracked up my credit cards that were paid off while having 2 debt consolidation loans that I still owe on. I finally found a job, but it's not enough to cover my debt and rent somewhere to live, but it is the most I've been offered thus far. I will literally be homeless soon and the only thing I own is a nice car that I cannot get rid of as It is a necessity. I don't know what else to do. I have dug such a deep hole just trying to survive these last 8 months.Any advice of thoughts on this? I have no savings account at this point either. My concern is that I won't be able to find a place to live if I file. I considered cashing out my 401k but It's almost not worth it by the time I pay all the penalties on it. It's not that much.

I live in total poverty and im 19M and a part time college student and I get by with what money I get from financial aid. Three months ago my dad was having immigration issues so we surrendered the apartment because we were almost convinced that he was going to get deported and my mom is around but she refuses to contribute to bills or support me and my siblings financially despite her being healthy and body abled.

Im currently living in a garage that my dad is paying for because he ended up not getting deported but my quality of life has gone to shit since then, I don’t have a kitchen obviously so I eat fast food almost every day which is already so damn expensive and it feels like I’m in a prison cell and my mom went off to go live with my sister that does not want me to stay with her at all because of my sexuality so screw her for that.

Today I got in a minor car accident but I was at fault so my insurance rates are gonna sky rocket and become way more expensive as if they aren’t already are especially because I’m 19 and recently my brother and my father signed a lease with me to get another place and now my dad is saying that we might not be able to afford it anymore because of the incident with the car today but we already signed the lease and I told him that if it was that bad that I’ll stop driving entirely so we can afford rent.

And thanks to the big beautiful bill, I’m going to most likely lose my Medicaid because I can’t find a damn job in my city even though I relentlessly apply and ace all my interviews so I’ll prob die anyways next year from not being able to afford medical bills and treatment because I can’t fulfill the work requirements for Medicaid.

My plan was to become a cop at 21 to escape poverty and earn a decent living but recently I haven’t been able to see what the point of living is anymore when I can’t even live because everything is so unaffordable and my life progressively gets worse, and I tried to join the military as a last resort but they don’t want me because I take ADHD medication.

For about 2 months, I had 2 jobs, working 15 hours a day. I got exhausted and I was starting school and I knew I wouldn't be able to do this. I was getting on my feet just to go back to 0 like last year.

Job 1: I work at a hotel. Financially, is not doing well and they cut a lot of things including breakfast to avoid the cost of ingredients. After that happened they decided to only use 1 person per shift so I went down to 3 shifts from 5.

Job 2: I knew it was a poor fit and full of red flags where they would constantly ask me to edit my overtime to 0. The place was so small and 'elite' where I would get micromanaged for petty things. When I told them I needed x and y days off for school, they tried to tell me that's not good and how I didnt tell them about school during the interview and how school can be a distraction. People started becoming aggressive and I kinda felt that they would let me go soon enough. I wasn't doing a 'perfect job' and everyone was a big clique full of biases. I couldn't take it mentally anymore. I decided to quit after a coworker yelled at me to accept this mistake and get the write up, otherwise his friend coworker was in line for that write up.

So I am back on the search. I paid a bunch of my cards at least. And I have some temp agencies but yeah.. really amazes me how easy is to get back to 0.

Hello, I just wanna converse because I was talking to my neighbor today and it got me thinking. My neighbor is an artist, and hasn't worked as long as i've known Her. She does sell her art, but it's not often that so many pieces sell for her to be able to cover all of her expenses, from what shes told me. Her parents are rich and her sister also married a wealthy man, and they gladly help her out with things.

I live alone with my small child and I have no support system. My health has been deteriorating and it's confirmed that I'll need surgery for some of my health issues, but i'm terrified to go to the doctor for anything else or to even get the surgery that I need for my debilitating problems because I can't afford to miss out on work.. I can't afford all of my monthly expenses and I've been late almost every single month that I've been living in my apartment And have been threatened with eviction more times that I can count. Because of my health issues and inability to afford child care, i've been forced to work prn (as needed or picking up shifts when someone else cancels) and even then they've been becoming more scarce. Since i'm prn, I also don't get health insurance nor paid time off, and Isabel, the only thing that governmental assistance is willing to cover for me. Thank goodness for that.

Very often, I've seen a lot of people say that they've been without work for months or even years. And some of these people also live alone with no support system, and i'm trying to figure out how do you all do it??? How are you able to stay afloat with a roof of your head? And maybe some food in your stomach, despite not having a stable job nor a support system?? I'm curious, but i'm also desperate for help and advice. Thanks for anyone listening and willing to share their story!

I was born in January 1990 in the USSR. A year later, the USSR collapsed.

In 1991, my mother got an apartment. The 90s were basically about survival. I wore Soviet-era clothes given to us by relatives. Chewing gum, Kinder Surprise and chocolate were luxuries. The priorities were simple: food, clothes and renovating the apartment.

My grandparents even baked their own bread. They collected bottles, sold things and did whatever they could to make some extra money. My father and grandfather built houses for a living - that's actually how both of them eventually lost several fingers. My father was often not paid his wages, while my mother worked for minimum wage as a cashier after being laid off from her previous job.

I was also sick quite often and spent a large part of my childhood in hospitals.

My first bicycle was given to me when I was 7, in 1997. Before that, I rode sitting under the frame of an adult bicycle.

I got my first console, a Sega Mega Drive 2, when I was 10, in 2000.

We got our first washing machine around the same time - my grandparents bought it for us.

Clothes were bought three sizes too big so I could grow into them. Usually cheap Chinese stuff. Later, second-hand stores became an option.

My parents bought me my first mobile phone and PC when I got into college on my own, on a state-funded place. They had to take a $1,200 loan and eventually paid back about $2,000.

At 17, they bought me a Nikon D80 on credit for about $1,000. Everything after that - lenses, flash, accessories - I bought myself after I started working as a wedding photographer at 17.

My first festival was in 2008, when I got in for free as an invited photographer.

I didn't travel abroad for the first time until I was 27, in 2017, and I paid for that trip myself.

And I bought my first car at 35, for $8,000. The funny part? A similar car can cost around $3,000 in Europe.

I still "love" our customs duties and taxes for that.

Looking back, I realize how dramatically the world changed during just one generation.

So I'm curious - if you were born in the late 80s or early 90s, was your childhood similar? What was considered a luxury in your family?

I was supposed to finish my education this summer but fell on the finish line due to health reasons. I moved in with my mom a month ago which was planned from before, but it's definitely saving my ass now. I haven't had a source of income since late July, I think it was, and now I need to live off of a specific savings account that was intended for something special.

I am in the process of going back to working as a substitute teacher but the process is slow and so is the demand, apparently. My sister told me that the demand doesn't start \*for real\* until mid September, so we'll see about that.

Looking forward to the procedures being done because my bank account is about to start crying. :))

My mom hasn't said a word about rent yet, but I'll take that initiative on my own once I start getting some actual money that isn't Vinted revenue.

Anyone know any alternatives?

I've always wanted to be a philanthropist and humanitarian, but here I sit penny pinching and relying on the food pantry. I wish I could help people, but, is this it? Am I just stuck? I try to volunteer, but I can't seem to do enough because I need that time for overtime for my job. I'm 19, and I know I'm young, but I'm 100% on my own. How do I break this cycle so I can help people one day? I'm not afraid of hard work, I'm just lost.

How am I supposed to meet Colorado Works work requirements without childcare? I'm in Denver and have a young child. CCAP is currently frozen, and I don't have family who can watch my son. I absolutely want to work, but I don't understand how I'm supposed to meet the required hours when I can't actually accept a job without childcare. I've asked for an in person appointment to get clarification, but I'm told Denver doesn't have individual caseworkers anymore. I was given this Work Activity Tracking Sheet, and it lists things like job search as a work activity. I've also heard that things like therapy, treatment, job training, etc. can count toward your hours. Is that true in Colorado? How do you get those hours approved and documented? Basically, if you don't have childcare and can't work an actual job yet, how are you getting your required hours? I'm genuinely trying to comply I just need someone to explain how this is supposed to work.

I’m a university student in Ghana, and I’m currently going through a very difficult financial situation.
I do whatever honest work I can find to support myself. I dig wells and manholes to make money. It’s hard and physically demanding work, but I’m willing to work because I want to be able to take care of myself.
If anyone is willing to donate to me, I would genuinely appreciate the help. Even a small amount would mean a lot to me right now.
But honestly, what I need most is a sustainable way to earn money and become financially secure. I don’t want to keep depending on donations or asking people for help whenever I’m struggling. I want to learn something, find work, or build an income stream that can help me support myself consistently.
I’m already learning skills like Excel, SQL, data analysis and data visualization, and I’m willing to learn or do other work if there’s a realistic opportunity.
For those who have been through poverty or serious financial hardship, what did you do that actually helped you turn things around?
Are there legitimate online jobs, remote work, scholarships, programs, or skills I could learn from Ghana that could eventually give me a stable income?
I’m not afraid of hard work. I just need a realistic path forward.
Thank you to everyone who reads this or offers advice.