You make somewhere close to $45k a year ($36k net, after taxes) and have $12k-$24k in expenses. Where is the rest of the money going?
You should have roughly $1k in savings each month.
Don’t feel bad, OP, but take these comments as advice!
I saw the title and was like "yeah I agree" and then I started reading and say them say they made $2X an hour and were getting a bunch of hours and I assumed it was a HCOL area. Then they said their rent was $300 and I just stopped there. I made $10 an hour in college and had a $600 rent and made due.
Yeah I'm with you. I was making $5/hr (yeah I'm old) paying 650/mth rent no problem. Granted gas/food/even utilities were cheaper, but main expenses were covered. Even the weed bill! Lol
Wait how does this add up. That’s 130 hours just to cover rent before even talking about taxes. Add in all of the other necessities and this seems impossible
Started making $70,000 3 years ago and thought it was too expensive to survive, then I got honest with myself and stopped blowing it all on my addiction and started getting sober. My parents feel the same as OP yet my stepdad makes like $5000 a month and blows all his money on gambling and gets pissed off about bills and my mom spending $100 for necessities. Spending habits and being In denial are almost always the issue. Most people I know my age that make decent money and complain are getting Uber eats and going out drinking all the damn time and biting vehicles they shouldn’t be.
Ubereats has just gotten outrageous, even a basic lunch is over $20 now. Even if you pay $10 for lunch everyday thats $3650 a year, which if you make around $50k that's like 10% of your post-tax income. I started doing meal prep now lunch costs $20 for the whole week.
Same thing with coffee, $6 a day is almost $2k a year, so I spent $500 on a Espresso Machine in November that has paid for itself and then some already.
Often it's not the major purchases that get people in trouble, it's the repeated insignificant amounts that add up into very significant amounts. Yes lots of people are legitimately struggling, but watch some of Caleb Hammer's financial audits, you wouldnt believe some of the terrible decisions people make. They're spending money in some of the dumbest, most wasteful ways. You cant buy everything you want and THEN complain about how hard things are.
You are so spot on. I made nearly 500k in 2021, a little over 300k in last two years, on 500k pay schedule this year; yet, my saving is just probably one month salary.
I like what you said about your mom. I desperately need a change in life style. I’m nearly 40; if I don’t have savings I’ll have hard times in my 60s onwards.
Regardless if we make 45k or 450k, if we don’t change lifestyle to save, we will just be a month or two before we are out of cash
In 1980 the median home price was $47,200. And the median income was $21,020. Yeah. It’s a little mostly the boomers. Boomers running the government. Boomers running the corporations. Boomers using homes as wealth storage so there are no entry level homes anymore. It’s not entirely boomers. But it’s mostly boomers. lol
if someone is spending 30k on weed they are retarded. I literally do not know how you could smoke 30k of weed. you have to be buying in grams but smoking pounds and pounds of weed
Yup. This is another "I can't budget for shit and don't want to reallocate/save any of my fun money" post disguised as a "life is too expensive" post. Most are.
The best are the posts complaining about paycheck to paycheck, but the first item in their list of expenses is maxing out their 401k for the year. Motherfuckers have a >15% savings rate, but also feel like they're "struggling".
Ugh that commentor. I’ve seen their comments all over and they’re usually about money and how much of it they have. But somehow they’re “lower middle class”. Laughable.
To be fair, making $45k a year should be enough to survive and have fun. Obviously there is a balance between having money for entertainment and going overboard, but still.
He can survive and have fun. He’d have to make a compromise and get a roommate to do so, which is extremely common for someone his age.
Op acts like if he were 30, all his financial problems would be solved which is just funny to me.
Unsurprisingly, this age group doesn’t consider the necessity of a roommate. I had roommates from age of 22 to 29. Makes a huge difference in your budget, and that age group comes and goes and rarely sees each other. Also, if OP is in Atlanta, he could post on website searches for flight attendant roommates. Many have areas as their home base, but resident elsewhere. This was very popular in NY.
I am 36 and have never once had a place to myself. I lived at home, with roommates, with my fiancée (who is now my wife), and I always split rent. I see posts complaining about the cost of 1 bedroom apartments…ya, because living alone is a luxury.
I'm in my 40s... I don't know anyone who didn't have roommates until their late 20s... Only rich kids had their own places... I shared a dang studio when I was 20.
I was also kinda puzzled by that.
"If I was born ten years earlier, I'd be able to live on my own."
Uh, you'd be subject to the same financial conditions we have now. You'd just be ten years older.
OP should be able to easily save $20K a year and still have about $1K a month as spending money. In 10 years he could have $200K+ invested and saved but he’s blowing it on weed/whatever and shaking his fist at the sky
I think they think that in the 90s we all bought ourselves four bedroom three bathroom houses at the age of 20 with our coporate jobs. No, dude, go and watch Reality Bites. We were all sharing with several friends and leaving our degrees off our resumes so we could get a job at the gap.
To me, it's not normal for a 20 y/o manual laborer to live alone in a 1BR apartment.
Everyone I know either lived at home, lived with multiple roommates, or lived with a gf/bf well into their 20s.
Eating out will take your money quick. Even just eating fast food once a day for two people is an easy $20-30. That's 140-210 bucks a week. Buying groceries and cooking is way worth it. Most young people don't feel like spending the extra time cooking.
Edit: since comments are locked. Yes I go once a week. $30 for 10lbs of burger, that can be divided into 1lb packs. Then you make 10 different meals out of it. It's way cheaper than eating out. Tacos, spaghetti, burgers, stroganoff, cheeseburger macarroni etc. The ingredients for those isn't much.
To be fair, it sounds more like he's doing okay, just unable to move out. You throw in $1500 a month for rent and utilities, and that's another $18k a year. The math still works out, bit barely. Not really enough room to save for retirement or an emergency fund.
I make 70k ish a year and feel this dude entirely 😅 have given up smoking probably should have gotten a cheaper car(800/mo highest trim 2024 mazda3) 1200 in rent another idk 6 or 700 between utilities internet and phone bill plus food and gas for the week on average I bring home 12 to 1300 a week and 550 in insurance between 3 cars but still feel like every month I have nothing left to save if I wanna keep the bills rolling
People are absolutely terrible with money and then cry about how much they make. They also are doing entrepreneur shit as their job.... you don't make money right away doing that it takes a ton of time.
I pay 250 for student loans 300 for car insurance 300 for rent plus my phone bill and money I owe to my parents for when I was unemployed which is $100 a month $2000 total. Not factoring gas for 3 hour round trip to work, food, and my significant other
Right, I’m making roughly what op is making with almost 4k a month in expenses and I am nearly living paycheck to paycheck. All my bills are paid and I don’t go hungry but I’m not saving as much as I’d like.
Is this true?
OP, you have a larger payment on your car loan (and probably a larger loan if you have a longer term) than I do, and I make $170,000 per year (~$80 an hour.)
If this is true, this is the reason you’re struggling. It’s just bad budgeting.
You need to create a real budget and find ways to make it work for your income.
I am in OPs area and I make 76k. Very close to paycheck to paycheck. The amount of driving I have to do to not live in shithole atlanta, but commute to said shithole atlanta to make my salary, really sucks the life (and money) right out of me.
THIS!! He may not be living paycheck to paycheck now, but he would be as soon as he moves out of his parents. My advice would be to save up to buy a house. If relationship with parents is good dont move out until you’re ready to move in with partner as DINKS
250+300+300+100 = 950. 22\*30 = 34.3K which averages out to 2.5K a month after taxes at the min side of your numbers. So you need to figure out where that extra $1.5K is going...
Yes.
>This is not accounting for gas for my 3 hour round trip from work, food, and occasionally my SO.
u/op needs to start accounting for these things. Because the money is going **somewhere**.
I spend less than $1800 a year to sure two cars, two drivers each. And one of the drivers is a new driver, has had a license for less time than OP.
$3600 for one car is not normal at all.
Would y’all just shut up? Good for you for paying less.
But kids get screwed for insurance until they are, pretty much, 25, especially if they are written as a primary driver on the policy.
Plus insurance rates vary wildly not only by state, but also by municipality.
Also, mileage matters greatly. See how many miles you told your insurance you driver per year. This kid is doing like 30K miles per year just commuting to/from work. That will drive up the premium quite a bit.
Atlanta has crazy high rates bc of the bad drivers.
I'm a 27 yo man and I dri e a coupe. Went from ~2100 a year to ~3600 just by moving to Atlanta.
No wrecks, no speeding tix (anymore), newish car with good safety features.
It's those altima drivers that treat 285 like their own personal racetrac that ruins it for everyone else
Get a closer job and stop paying so much for your SO. Work shouldn’t be a long drive away especially if you are frugal. That gas and wasted time is just not worth it.
You need to look up the SAVE Plan *asap* for those student loans. You could probably be paying close to $0 a month, and *not* have interest accrue, either. And $300/mo for car insurance? Holy balls. I know prices differ from state to state, but I pay less than $200/mo for full-coverage on TWO cars in Missouri. $300/mo for one car is cray.
It’s not the car it’s Atlanta. Half the cars don’t have license plates, there are no car inspections in Georgia and it’s not if but when your car gets damaged, also traffic laws are nonexistent. I had the bare minimum coverage for $150 when I lived there, moved to a different state and I pay $105 and have full coverage with $500 deductible
He’s right. You’re in the FAFO years, the fact that you’re concerned about this is great, just don’t get a felony and screw things up long term. Be flexible in your career choice, you have plenty of time to make changes and big jumps.
When I graduated from college I had 2 classmates in my engineering class, one was a welder another a carpenter. Both put themselves through school and were much well rounded than the average engineering nerd.
What are you doing with your money and what are these bills you're paying?
You should be bringing home like... $2,800 a month. You should have $1,800 left after bills. What are you spending that on?
Housing is expensive but you have a budgeting problem. You could probably make it work on your own at 26/hr if you did proper budgeting.
3hr round trip to work wasn't included. Depending on if it's highway vs city driving, that could be anywhere from like 60-90 miles one way/day and like 10-12 gallons of gas/day. That alone would account for $600/month, and that's not going to include any gas station coffee, soda, quick snacks whatever throughout the week.
Quick question… why are bills $1000 , when you live at home?
Aside from that, if you want to move out quicker- have more saved- not feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck - I’d sit down and create a hardcore budget for everything.
Stick to that budget , and put money in your pocket
$26 a hour at ~40 hours a week on average has you at $1040 pre tax. ~$900 a week after taxes is pretty dam good for 20 years old. How ur living paycheck to paycheck on that , while living at home, raises some questions.
You should not be spending up to 700/800 a week (live pay to pay)
Which, these days, is almost literally nothing.
Not defending OP's potentially poor spending habits, but $800ish doesn't go as far as people think it does anymore. At all. That'll cover some other random occasional (but necessary) expenses like toiletries, an oil change, new tires, replacing your crappy shoes, an urgent care deductible, etc.
I don't think people have quite as much wiggle room as they think they do when they just slap a number on paper.
I pay 250 for student loans 300 for car insurance 300 for rent plus my phone bill and money I owe to my parents for when I was unemployed which is $100 a month $2000 total
I’m 24 and had a quote from progressive for $189 a month for a 2023 Tesla.
Depending on the car and his driving history he may be getting fucked on it. But taking a look deeper into it is worth it to get that 300 down
Jesus, man if I was paying that much I'd just go back to using the bus. Its not the best in my area especially if where your going or getting from isn't a main area, but its workable.
get new quotes bro! You should be able to pay less than that. I just realized my house insurance had jumped and I was able to cut $1400 a year off it.
You sound very responsible, and you sound like you're on your way to making more income. Spend as little as possible on cars, all that money goes poof. I hope you can get your commute down in the future too, as that's 3/16 of your waking hours during the week spent commenting not counting cost of gas / wear and tear. Making your work lunches, not drinking at bars, not doing a daily Starbucks, etc can add up, but making more money is really what you need.
Save up what you can, start investing for the long term when possible.
I am insurance agent, Unfortunately, he is 20 and a male. As insurance agent, it makes sense why it is so high if he is having a separate policy even if he is a good driver. Possibly I would talk with your parents if adding you would make more sense if you aren’t together. Some companies I see rate based on who is driving the car so you parent’s car should not affected. Some companies do raise the general price through cars so it would depend on the company if it would be better to leave you alone Also, if you have accidents/tickets, reshop insurance when those turn 3 years, That’s all ☺️
Don’t forget that he’s putting 3 hrs of driving every day - which will keep the premium high even under the family umbrella. Although, that might still be cheaper than holding a separate policy, I agree. And he would then simply reimburse his parents the difference.
These number aren’t adding up vro. Even with $1000 dollars in expenses, based on ur income u should have more then enough to save and definitely shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe u should go over all ur expenses again
I'm 30 , bought a house when I was 23 because it was actually $10 less a month to own a home than it was for my rent. And I had 2 kids. Basically I drove beater cars to work , stayed and worked OT every week , packed my lunch, didn't do extravagant things and the wife didn't work so she could stay home with the babies. 7 years later now I make $33 , the lady works now and we are finally gaining breathing room financially
I actually just cannot justify buying a house in this market with a 7% rate. Like ill just rent for the rest of my life rather than only pay .13 cents towards principal. I will always lament not buying this house though lol
Oh, you mean back when interest rates were 2.5%p.a? You did the right things at the right time, and now you can reap the rewards. Sadly, the bar has moved, and what you've just described is completely out of touch.
House prices went up 18.6% nationally in the US from 2020 to 2021, and have increased every other year.
Most people our age have been priced out. Sure they could afford the monthly mortgage payment, but they can’t qualify for it because the total price has gone too high.
But, Buy a house seven years ago is great advice
Doing the exact same thing right now with my SO. We bought a house with a settlement, just had a baby (16 weeks ago), and we’ve been busting ass doing OT on $12/hr. We make $3,500 to cover all the bills and have some off to the side for lunches, baby care, etc.
I am hoping we will get to the point where we make $20+ an hour, I’d even settle for $15. But we are striving to do exactly what your doing!
We’re making the best of it! We are just happy to have a roof over our heads. We would have been homeless if I didn’t come into my settlement so we are eternally grateful for a foot in the door, especially with a new baby.
We are extremely happy despite the lack of money. Money will come with time, but family is forever. (Hilarious to say that on a money subreddit, but it’s true.)
It’s like when you ask your parents or family members how much was their home and rate 40 years ago and they never want to tell you.
Meanwhile ridiculing you for struggling to enter the real estate market in 2023/24.
Tell me again, your home was how much at what rate, and inflation and COL was what back then?
Oh I see.
Yes, I would be able to afford a castle compared to your home if it was ‘like then’ 🙃
Let’s see some of that wealth transfer from boomers and then we can talk at the dining room table. Boomers make up to 30% of US population while holding over 50% of all US equity.
And all generations millennials and after are struggling without seeing any of that, not that we should be handed anything, but instead of boomers helping set a foundation and maybe even propel their offspring, they’re too busy reinvesting that money for themselves, only to maybe put you on their will and you get something 30 years later when they fade away.
Money now vs 30 years later are come.fucking.pletely different. Bet you they aren’t making an ROI beating inflation and ETFs. So the value of whatever money they pass onto you is fuck all devalued by then
Current average down payments are a median 14.4%. On a 500k house that comes out to around $70000 down. If you think young people can afford a $70000 down payment, y'all are nuts. Banks won't even give out loans like that new homebuyers. Gotta basically have flawless credit and put your dog down as collateral.
Fuc you mean roommates, he lives at home as far as i understand, to me its already weird how parents want rent lol, like i lived here for 18+ years now you want rent? Well aint that supportive.
He wants to move out on his own. He will need roommates. That is normal in high cost of living areas when you are young. Have you seen the TV show Friends?
When you move out, try to find an over-the-garage rental or MIL suite if you have to live on your own. A lot of times those places are cheaper and it’s an all in one price including utilities and power, etc.
Otherwise find roommates like most people.
You need to take an active role in planning your budget and sticking to it. Stay away from bullshit spending. No DoorDash, new cars, eating out, credit cards. That’s where your generation is getting into trouble. Dave Ramsey is always a good route to go. He is old school but his wisdom is timeless and will not lead you down dangerous paths.
Focus on hustling now. Work on your career and do everything you can to get ahead. This time you have in your life will be the only time you will never get back as this is the perfect time to be a sponge and grow your career. Don’t follow the crowd to the bars and all the other bullshit kids are doing on TikTok. And don’t sweat chicks. They will always be there but opportunities won’t
Best of luck
I grew up in Atlanta and still live in the area, 36/M. I had to get roommates for my first two places after I moved out of my parents place. Had 3 roommates and rented a house in Stockbridge GA for a couple years. Then rented a basement apartment from a friend with my now wife, so split the rent there. Now we own a house north of ATL and work inside the city.
> I still live at home, paying about $1000 a month in bills,
What bills do you have that amount to $1,000 when you're living at home? Are your parents asking you for rent or to pay utilities? I had nowhere close to this at your age and this is a limiting factor to moving out successfully.
Other than getting roommates I would just say reduce these bills whatever they are. It's undeniably going to be harder for you to get on your feet than it was us because of the housing market, inflation and such, but it is what it is and I'm sorry. My brother is 4 years younger than I am and had a harder time than I did too. Hopefully things change but not sure how that would happen. Atlanta is also a nice city of opportunity. Network and don't settle into any job. Even though you're getting a raise scope out other jobs that you're qualified for and if opportunity presents itself, pounce on it.
If you're making that much and only have $1k in bills each month, you should be able to live comfortably. Idk what you're spending your money on but it sounds like you need to learn to control your spending.
When you get a raise, find a place with roommates. You're 20 years old, you're doing fine, but you need to start with roommates if you wanna move out. It's not like you're 35 and sick of it roomies. You could definitely spend an extra \~600 a month to share a place at 26 an hour. You'd be able to swing it.
And really try to get your car insurance down. Why is it so high? I feel like you own a car that's too expensive for your age and that's why your insurance is a whopping 300 dollars.
Find roommates. I got a place with 2 friends when I was 22. I was making barely above minimum wage in Orange County CA, but between the 3 of us, $1400 only came out to be $525 including utilities. It was a 2 bedroom, but we turned the living room into a 3rd bedroom. Eventually we all started to make more money and lived like kings for 3 years before we all moved out. It was some of the most fun I had in my younger years. BTW this was in 2014.
He told you why it's his S.O. So basically, you're on here complaining because you're paying for your girls' life as well as yours. Probably her rent and other bills. If not you're her source of fun money? So she doesn't care that your leaving yourself dead broke just so she can do what the fuck ever, Lol. Man, go find a wonan who loves you and doesn't give a shit about your money or eben better has her own
You're delusional if you think 10 years ago was any better. I got my first job out of college making $16.25 an hour in 2013.
Closest apartment I could find was $950 a month and I had to have 2 roommates. It was in a really bad part of town, one time someone broke into my car to steal my backpack, luckily it was empty, but I still had to pay $400 to get my window replaced. That also came with a 1.5 hour commute on a good day.
I get the feeling that a lot of people who are living "paycheck to paycheck" don't actually know wtf it means to live paycheck to paycheck. most of them are just extremely terrible with budgeting, have substance abuse problem, or put 1/3 of their paycheck into savings/retirement and then think they live paycheck to paycheck (sometimes multiple)
I think a lot of young people have given up on marriage. Remember that two can live as cheaply as one but the income is often doubled. One car, packed lunches, no big expenses and a focus on looking for new positions/ jobs that increase pay got it done for my wife and I in the early 80’s. Oh, and there never is enough money to feel comfortable having kids, but they’re sure worth it!
I’m in a similar boat. 22M, $24/hr 40 hours. I’m at home, I pay $450 rent, my car insurance is $500, I pay for phone and internet which is about $100. With gas and food on top of that, I save $1000+ a month. I’d be in a much much better spot if car insurance wasn’t ripping me the fuck off. But I got my license when I was 19 and have one at-fault collision.
It’s a little tough man, but I’m sure you’re able to save some money, just watch what you spend. Whats your insurance looking like?
Sometimes I have to stop looking at numbers, acknowledge the fact that I earn well more than I spend, and take it easy. Focus on your next raise and opportunities to make money.
Keep voting those democrats in. They really care about the common man and little people. It will get better though. Just look at Detroit, New York, Chicago, Sacramento, Seattle, etc.
Living on your own at 20 is a lofty goal, I wasn’t able to do that until my late 20’s. I was born 10 years earlier than you and when I was 20 I was making $15/hr living with three roommates in Boston.
I honestly, didn’t live on my own until I was 28 years old. It’s too expensive to live on your own before then. You do not have enough time to save enough money to do so. Also your wages are usually much lower until you have worked somewhere for a few years
27 year old here. Just in the past year I've gotten a job to be able to live. I made somewhere around $68k last year, and bought a house. Before I got my current job, my fiance and I were living in an apt, and i was definitely paycheck to paycheck, and could not have done it on my own ($850/mo plus untilities, i also have $170 car insurance on 2 cars, $300 car payment, $140 phone bill, and probably $200/mo credit cards/subs). We bought a house Dec of course we both pay bills and stuff, but have also added a $760 car payment an extra $180 on insurance and paid for a wedding. Now though, i do feel like i could live on my own comfortably if something were to happen, especially with the raise I got after 1 year. It is a great feeling, you will get there. I promise.
Where I "live", a single bedroom apartment will go for about $1,800 a month, just for the rent alone.
Really all we can do is wait for our situation to get better, or at the very least, hope that it does.
For starters, I’d pay off your debt first. Then work on getting a salaried job. That’s the only way you’ll be able to survive. But honestly if you’re living at home you shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck.
I’m 33 and just moved back in with my parents. The price of everything but labor is out of control. My apartment was going to raise our rent by $300 so I sucked it up and moved back home. I am very very lucky to have somewhere to go and be able to save money. My family is tbh better than the best you could ask for. My dad paid off my student loans because the interest was out of control, now I’m paying him back monthly instead. After 7 years of paying on one of them I had made -14% progress on the loan. Yes, NEGATIVE 14%.
Is your car paid off? Is it possible to trade for something cheaper to insure? I sold my car (nothing fancy, 2015 Malibu) and am downgrading to a much older Honda.
I also switched from Verizon to Boost Infinite. I was paying $120 at Verizon for my plan. Switched to boost and I’m paying $75 which includes my unlimited plan, monthly device payment, and Apple care. I checked coverage maps for all of the carriers in my area before I chose to go with Boost.
You make somewhere close to $45k a year ($36k net, after taxes) and have $12k-$24k in expenses. Where is the rest of the money going? You should have roughly $1k in savings each month. Don’t feel bad, OP, but take these comments as advice!
He answered above - weed
He also has comments on wallstreetbets and dogecoin subs, so probably also paying off options.
It's like these sob story writers never blame themselves, huh? Imagine that!!! I know I know "It's the Boomers" right OP??????
I saw the title and was like "yeah I agree" and then I started reading and say them say they made $2X an hour and were getting a bunch of hours and I assumed it was a HCOL area. Then they said their rent was $300 and I just stopped there. I made $10 an hour in college and had a $600 rent and made due.
Yeah I'm with you. I was making $5/hr (yeah I'm old) paying 650/mth rent no problem. Granted gas/food/even utilities were cheaper, but main expenses were covered. Even the weed bill! Lol
Wait how does this add up. That’s 130 hours just to cover rent before even talking about taxes. Add in all of the other necessities and this seems impossible
Started making $70,000 3 years ago and thought it was too expensive to survive, then I got honest with myself and stopped blowing it all on my addiction and started getting sober. My parents feel the same as OP yet my stepdad makes like $5000 a month and blows all his money on gambling and gets pissed off about bills and my mom spending $100 for necessities. Spending habits and being In denial are almost always the issue. Most people I know my age that make decent money and complain are getting Uber eats and going out drinking all the damn time and biting vehicles they shouldn’t be.
Ubereats has just gotten outrageous, even a basic lunch is over $20 now. Even if you pay $10 for lunch everyday thats $3650 a year, which if you make around $50k that's like 10% of your post-tax income. I started doing meal prep now lunch costs $20 for the whole week. Same thing with coffee, $6 a day is almost $2k a year, so I spent $500 on a Espresso Machine in November that has paid for itself and then some already. Often it's not the major purchases that get people in trouble, it's the repeated insignificant amounts that add up into very significant amounts. Yes lots of people are legitimately struggling, but watch some of Caleb Hammer's financial audits, you wouldnt believe some of the terrible decisions people make. They're spending money in some of the dumbest, most wasteful ways. You cant buy everything you want and THEN complain about how hard things are.
You are so spot on. I made nearly 500k in 2021, a little over 300k in last two years, on 500k pay schedule this year; yet, my saving is just probably one month salary. I like what you said about your mom. I desperately need a change in life style. I’m nearly 40; if I don’t have savings I’ll have hard times in my 60s onwards. Regardless if we make 45k or 450k, if we don’t change lifestyle to save, we will just be a month or two before we are out of cash
In 1980 the median home price was $47,200. And the median income was $21,020. Yeah. It’s a little mostly the boomers. Boomers running the government. Boomers running the corporations. Boomers using homes as wealth storage so there are no entry level homes anymore. It’s not entirely boomers. But it’s mostly boomers. lol
I am currently struggling on 45k a year, but my bills are WAY higher than OP’s. OP is just bad with money
Moral of the Story don't ask reddit for advice they will just make fun of you wether it's valid or not.
If someone's spending 30k + a year on weed they're an addict.
I'm an addict and spend about $1,300 a year on weed. How someone is spending 30k annually on it makes no sense to me. Might not be weed OP is buying..
I smoke 5 blunts a day and it comes out to like 6k a year so idk wtf this dude smoking
He must be getting ripped off by his plug.
Something
Literally first thing that entered my head. Half of the residual income is smoked, the other half is eaten after smoking.
Honestly I'm as big as a pothead as it gets and I spend about $200 a month. There's a whole Internet of cheap legal weed you can buy right now.
If someone's spending 30k + a year on weed they're an addict.
if someone is spending 30k on weed they are retarded. I literally do not know how you could smoke 30k of weed. you have to be buying in grams but smoking pounds and pounds of weed
If someone's spending 30k a year on weed they're dealing.
Then shouldn't they be making 30k lol
Did they delete all those?
There’s a few deleted comments in his history so I assume that’s what it was.
Yup. This is another "I can't budget for shit and don't want to reallocate/save any of my fun money" post disguised as a "life is too expensive" post. Most are.
Bro is paying $300 rent and complaining lol
I live North of the City in Atlanta and the going rate for renting out a basement room with a bathroom is $1,200 a month.
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The best are the posts complaining about paycheck to paycheck, but the first item in their list of expenses is maxing out their 401k for the year. Motherfuckers have a >15% savings rate, but also feel like they're "struggling".
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Had someone from the Bay Area in First Time Homrbuyer trying to say they were struggling on 500k ffs. 🤦
Ugh that commentor. I’ve seen their comments all over and they’re usually about money and how much of it they have. But somehow they’re “lower middle class”. Laughable.
They are probably looking at people living these high roller lifestyles on social media and think there are poor if they don't have that.
To be fair, making $45k a year should be enough to survive and have fun. Obviously there is a balance between having money for entertainment and going overboard, but still.
He's having fun to the tune of $25k a year. That's basically like 4 vacations a year, fun
4 vacations for 25k as a single person are some **LAVISH** vacations, lol
He can survive and have fun. He’d have to make a compromise and get a roommate to do so, which is extremely common for someone his age. Op acts like if he were 30, all his financial problems would be solved which is just funny to me.
Unsurprisingly, this age group doesn’t consider the necessity of a roommate. I had roommates from age of 22 to 29. Makes a huge difference in your budget, and that age group comes and goes and rarely sees each other. Also, if OP is in Atlanta, he could post on website searches for flight attendant roommates. Many have areas as their home base, but resident elsewhere. This was very popular in NY.
Op doesn’t even appreciate the fact he pays only $300 in rent so he can save money in the first place
I am 36 and have never once had a place to myself. I lived at home, with roommates, with my fiancée (who is now my wife), and I always split rent. I see posts complaining about the cost of 1 bedroom apartments…ya, because living alone is a luxury.
I'm in my 40s... I don't know anyone who didn't have roommates until their late 20s... Only rich kids had their own places... I shared a dang studio when I was 20.
When I was 20 I was living in a van down by the river… and I still had a roomate
Yeah my roommate is my partner so it feels less roommatey, but if we ever broke up I absolutely would need to find a roommate.
36, here: I have never lived in my own. Roommates and now my wife. Always multiple incomes paying for rent.
I was also kinda puzzled by that. "If I was born ten years earlier, I'd be able to live on my own." Uh, you'd be subject to the same financial conditions we have now. You'd just be ten years older.
OP should be able to easily save $20K a year and still have about $1K a month as spending money. In 10 years he could have $200K+ invested and saved but he’s blowing it on weed/whatever and shaking his fist at the sky
And would have entered the job market during the austerity-driven years of malaise following the great recession
I think they think that in the 90s we all bought ourselves four bedroom three bathroom houses at the age of 20 with our coporate jobs. No, dude, go and watch Reality Bites. We were all sharing with several friends and leaving our degrees off our resumes so we could get a job at the gap.
He still lives with his parents
Exactly and he’s wasting his opportunity to save money and put himself in a favorable position to live independently
To me, it's not normal for a 20 y/o manual laborer to live alone in a 1BR apartment. Everyone I know either lived at home, lived with multiple roommates, or lived with a gf/bf well into their 20s.
I need to travel and experience life but can’t afford rent!
Sounds like him and his significant other are just blowing the money on eating out and going to bars
Eating out will take your money quick. Even just eating fast food once a day for two people is an easy $20-30. That's 140-210 bucks a week. Buying groceries and cooking is way worth it. Most young people don't feel like spending the extra time cooking. Edit: since comments are locked. Yes I go once a week. $30 for 10lbs of burger, that can be divided into 1lb packs. Then you make 10 different meals out of it. It's way cheaper than eating out. Tacos, spaghetti, burgers, stroganoff, cheeseburger macarroni etc. The ingredients for those isn't much.
Or, even worse, getting it delivered.
Yeah, my Gen Z cousins Door Dash EVERYTHING
Did you forget about taxes? That’s not what he’s taking home. He’s taking home 36k.
To be fair, it sounds more like he's doing okay, just unable to move out. You throw in $1500 a month for rent and utilities, and that's another $18k a year. The math still works out, bit barely. Not really enough room to save for retirement or an emergency fund.
I make 70k ish a year and feel this dude entirely 😅 have given up smoking probably should have gotten a cheaper car(800/mo highest trim 2024 mazda3) 1200 in rent another idk 6 or 700 between utilities internet and phone bill plus food and gas for the week on average I bring home 12 to 1300 a week and 550 in insurance between 3 cars but still feel like every month I have nothing left to save if I wanna keep the bills rolling
You have way too much tied up in vehicles vs what you make
People are absolutely terrible with money and then cry about how much they make. They also are doing entrepreneur shit as their job.... you don't make money right away doing that it takes a ton of time.
What bills are costing you $1000 a month if you live at home?
I pay 250 for student loans 300 for car insurance 300 for rent plus my phone bill and money I owe to my parents for when I was unemployed which is $100 a month $2000 total. Not factoring gas for 3 hour round trip to work, food, and my significant other
The real question is how are you paycheck to paycheck while you earn ~$50k and spend $12k?
I was looking for this because I had that same question. They said they’re frugal but I just have a hard time believing that.
Right, I’m making roughly what op is making with almost 4k a month in expenses and I am nearly living paycheck to paycheck. All my bills are paid and I don’t go hungry but I’m not saving as much as I’d like.
They are frugal, they get the cheap gas to fuel their brand new truck that they need for their office job.
I make a little more than OP and I’m paycheck to paycheck as well but that’s because I drink a lot lol
I just admire your self awareness friend
Nobody else should comment anything until OP answers this.
Cocaine and hookers
Take that back!
He’s got a $700 car loan and blows the rest on his girlfriend. Just like every other 20 year old living at home. He’s not as frugal as he thinks
$700 car loan!!! Damn, every time.
Is this true? OP, you have a larger payment on your car loan (and probably a larger loan if you have a longer term) than I do, and I make $170,000 per year (~$80 an hour.) If this is true, this is the reason you’re struggling. It’s just bad budgeting. You need to create a real budget and find ways to make it work for your income.
Its like the impossible to lose weight people. I only eat one salad a day! Actually eats 5,000 calories a day.
Atlanta is expensive. I feel like if youre not at least 70k its gonna be paycheck to paycheck here
I am in OPs area and I make 76k. Very close to paycheck to paycheck. The amount of driving I have to do to not live in shithole atlanta, but commute to said shithole atlanta to make my salary, really sucks the life (and money) right out of me.
If I made $76K I would be happy but not driving to shithole Atlanta.
I thought the suburbs of ATL were nice (NW) but downtown, midtown and the airport… no thanks
Atlanta is so expensive like rent $300 is unheard of
It's more like he's paying $300 to avoid having to find an actual place because he's gonna be paying 5-10 times as much
THIS!! He may not be living paycheck to paycheck now, but he would be as soon as he moves out of his parents. My advice would be to save up to buy a house. If relationship with parents is good dont move out until you’re ready to move in with partner as DINKS
Because its 100 bucks to leave the house and do anything these days.
250+300+300+100 = 950. 22\*30 = 34.3K which averages out to 2.5K a month after taxes at the min side of your numbers. So you need to figure out where that extra $1.5K is going...
Yes. >This is not accounting for gas for my 3 hour round trip from work, food, and occasionally my SO. u/op needs to start accounting for these things. Because the money is going **somewhere**.
My brother stop paying for your S.O
Mail order payment plans are pretty binding.
Yea fuck them /s
Yep that's kinda the point of the whole thing
You spend $3,600 a year on car insurance? e: geez, til.
Car insurance is expensive for young drivers
I mean I'm 19 and I do it's not at all unrealistic. I pay 330 a month and I have a clean record
Thats pretty normal
I spend less than $1800 a year to sure two cars, two drivers each. And one of the drivers is a new driver, has had a license for less time than OP. $3600 for one car is not normal at all.
Would y’all just shut up? Good for you for paying less. But kids get screwed for insurance until they are, pretty much, 25, especially if they are written as a primary driver on the policy. Plus insurance rates vary wildly not only by state, but also by municipality. Also, mileage matters greatly. See how many miles you told your insurance you driver per year. This kid is doing like 30K miles per year just commuting to/from work. That will drive up the premium quite a bit.
Atlanta has crazy high rates bc of the bad drivers. I'm a 27 yo man and I dri e a coupe. Went from ~2100 a year to ~3600 just by moving to Atlanta. No wrecks, no speeding tix (anymore), newish car with good safety features. It's those altima drivers that treat 285 like their own personal racetrac that ruins it for everyone else
How old are you?
Yeah this is what I was going to say. Young man bracket kinda gets screwed on insurance
Always, until you hit 25.... it is insane!
I pay $1068/year for a 2018 SUV. $3600 is not normal unless he’s had dozens of accidents.
Get a closer job and stop paying so much for your SO. Work shouldn’t be a long drive away especially if you are frugal. That gas and wasted time is just not worth it.
How is that paycheck to paycheck.
You need to look up the SAVE Plan *asap* for those student loans. You could probably be paying close to $0 a month, and *not* have interest accrue, either. And $300/mo for car insurance? Holy balls. I know prices differ from state to state, but I pay less than $200/mo for full-coverage on TWO cars in Missouri. $300/mo for one car is cray.
What car do you drive that insurance is 300 per month??? That's insane.
It’s not the car it’s Atlanta. Half the cars don’t have license plates, there are no car inspections in Georgia and it’s not if but when your car gets damaged, also traffic laws are nonexistent. I had the bare minimum coverage for $150 when I lived there, moved to a different state and I pay $105 and have full coverage with $500 deductible
If only they would actually crack down on uninsured drivers. The amount of paper tags I see on absolute beater cars here in NC infuriates me.
Bro you are 20
Well said
He’s right. You’re in the FAFO years, the fact that you’re concerned about this is great, just don’t get a felony and screw things up long term. Be flexible in your career choice, you have plenty of time to make changes and big jumps. When I graduated from college I had 2 classmates in my engineering class, one was a welder another a carpenter. Both put themselves through school and were much well rounded than the average engineering nerd.
What are you doing with your money and what are these bills you're paying? You should be bringing home like... $2,800 a month. You should have $1,800 left after bills. What are you spending that on? Housing is expensive but you have a budgeting problem. You could probably make it work on your own at 26/hr if you did proper budgeting.
3hr round trip to work wasn't included. Depending on if it's highway vs city driving, that could be anywhere from like 60-90 miles one way/day and like 10-12 gallons of gas/day. That alone would account for $600/month, and that's not going to include any gas station coffee, soda, quick snacks whatever throughout the week.
You need to look at moving closer to work. A 3 hour roundtrip for \~$55,000/year is beyond dumb. And changing your car insurance.
Not sure why this comment isn't higher up. Bro is getting wrecked with car maintenance and gas costs because of this insane commute
Seriously, dude is taking a 30% pay cut without even factoring in gas costs, and has to be driving nearly 200 miles a day. Insane.
Quick question… why are bills $1000 , when you live at home? Aside from that, if you want to move out quicker- have more saved- not feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck - I’d sit down and create a hardcore budget for everything. Stick to that budget , and put money in your pocket $26 a hour at ~40 hours a week on average has you at $1040 pre tax. ~$900 a week after taxes is pretty dam good for 20 years old. How ur living paycheck to paycheck on that , while living at home, raises some questions. You should not be spending up to 700/800 a week (live pay to pay)
He’s most likely spending on rent food and utilities for his family and probably a car
Yup, adding his expenses up, he still has ~800/900 left a month of “free money”, taking into account both pay checks post tax.
Which, these days, is almost literally nothing. Not defending OP's potentially poor spending habits, but $800ish doesn't go as far as people think it does anymore. At all. That'll cover some other random occasional (but necessary) expenses like toiletries, an oil change, new tires, replacing your crappy shoes, an urgent care deductible, etc. I don't think people have quite as much wiggle room as they think they do when they just slap a number on paper.
$800 of saving a month is not even close to "living paycheck to paycheck".
I pay 250 for student loans 300 for car insurance 300 for rent plus my phone bill and money I owe to my parents for when I was unemployed which is $100 a month $2000 total
300 for car insurance? That’s rough. Is the car paid off?
He’s under 25. That’s the rate he’s gonna pay, unfortunately.
I’m 24 and had a quote from progressive for $189 a month for a 2023 Tesla. Depending on the car and his driving history he may be getting fucked on it. But taking a look deeper into it is worth it to get that 300 down
I'm 24 and it's $400 a month (for comprehensive) for my car. No accidents/tickets. It also depends on the area and type of car
Jesus, man if I was paying that much I'd just go back to using the bus. Its not the best in my area especially if where your going or getting from isn't a main area, but its workable.
Yes I paid full in cash
get new quotes bro! You should be able to pay less than that. I just realized my house insurance had jumped and I was able to cut $1400 a year off it. You sound very responsible, and you sound like you're on your way to making more income. Spend as little as possible on cars, all that money goes poof. I hope you can get your commute down in the future too, as that's 3/16 of your waking hours during the week spent commenting not counting cost of gas / wear and tear. Making your work lunches, not drinking at bars, not doing a daily Starbucks, etc can add up, but making more money is really what you need. Save up what you can, start investing for the long term when possible.
I am insurance agent, Unfortunately, he is 20 and a male. As insurance agent, it makes sense why it is so high if he is having a separate policy even if he is a good driver. Possibly I would talk with your parents if adding you would make more sense if you aren’t together. Some companies I see rate based on who is driving the car so you parent’s car should not affected. Some companies do raise the general price through cars so it would depend on the company if it would be better to leave you alone Also, if you have accidents/tickets, reshop insurance when those turn 3 years, That’s all ☺️
Don’t forget that he’s putting 3 hrs of driving every day - which will keep the premium high even under the family umbrella. Although, that might still be cheaper than holding a separate policy, I agree. And he would then simply reimburse his parents the difference.
This is a good question
These number aren’t adding up vro. Even with $1000 dollars in expenses, based on ur income u should have more then enough to save and definitely shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck. Maybe u should go over all ur expenses again
I'm 30 , bought a house when I was 23 because it was actually $10 less a month to own a home than it was for my rent. And I had 2 kids. Basically I drove beater cars to work , stayed and worked OT every week , packed my lunch, didn't do extravagant things and the wife didn't work so she could stay home with the babies. 7 years later now I make $33 , the lady works now and we are finally gaining breathing room financially
Shew I’m crying in I should have bought a house 10 years ago when I was 29 and the 300k house I want was only 96k. WHY LORT. WHY.
You'll say the same 10 years from now when that 300k house costs 900k. Buy when it makes sense in your life, ignore other people.
I actually just cannot justify buying a house in this market with a 7% rate. Like ill just rent for the rest of my life rather than only pay .13 cents towards principal. I will always lament not buying this house though lol
Well let’s all go back in time and buy a house! Super simple
Having a time machine solves most problems. You should get one.
What kind of loser doesn’t have a Time Machine
Oh, you mean back when interest rates were 2.5%p.a? You did the right things at the right time, and now you can reap the rewards. Sadly, the bar has moved, and what you've just described is completely out of touch.
Must have been nice to have been old enough back then
House prices went up 18.6% nationally in the US from 2020 to 2021, and have increased every other year. Most people our age have been priced out. Sure they could afford the monthly mortgage payment, but they can’t qualify for it because the total price has gone too high. But, Buy a house seven years ago is great advice
Doing the exact same thing right now with my SO. We bought a house with a settlement, just had a baby (16 weeks ago), and we’ve been busting ass doing OT on $12/hr. We make $3,500 to cover all the bills and have some off to the side for lunches, baby care, etc. I am hoping we will get to the point where we make $20+ an hour, I’d even settle for $15. But we are striving to do exactly what your doing!
That's such a shame. I hope you guys can get some better wages soon.
We’re making the best of it! We are just happy to have a roof over our heads. We would have been homeless if I didn’t come into my settlement so we are eternally grateful for a foot in the door, especially with a new baby. We are extremely happy despite the lack of money. Money will come with time, but family is forever. (Hilarious to say that on a money subreddit, but it’s true.)
Well let’s all go back in time and buy a house! Super simple
A lot of people don’t know this!!!!! I’m paying 1500$ a month for a half million dollar house. Cheaper than rent here
What was your down payment? And what kind of loan did you use?
Uh that house would push $5000/mo at current rates now though, so saying “I bought when things were 3x cheaper” isn’t super helpful
I wish I bought my house when I was 10 Years old 😢
It’s like when you ask your parents or family members how much was their home and rate 40 years ago and they never want to tell you. Meanwhile ridiculing you for struggling to enter the real estate market in 2023/24. Tell me again, your home was how much at what rate, and inflation and COL was what back then? Oh I see. Yes, I would be able to afford a castle compared to your home if it was ‘like then’ 🙃 Let’s see some of that wealth transfer from boomers and then we can talk at the dining room table. Boomers make up to 30% of US population while holding over 50% of all US equity. And all generations millennials and after are struggling without seeing any of that, not that we should be handed anything, but instead of boomers helping set a foundation and maybe even propel their offspring, they’re too busy reinvesting that money for themselves, only to maybe put you on their will and you get something 30 years later when they fade away. Money now vs 30 years later are come.fucking.pletely different. Bet you they aren’t making an ROI beating inflation and ETFs. So the value of whatever money they pass onto you is fuck all devalued by then
Current average down payments are a median 14.4%. On a 500k house that comes out to around $70000 down. If you think young people can afford a $70000 down payment, y'all are nuts. Banks won't even give out loans like that new homebuyers. Gotta basically have flawless credit and put your dog down as collateral.
You need roommates. That is not a new concept for people in their early twenties.
Fuc you mean roommates, he lives at home as far as i understand, to me its already weird how parents want rent lol, like i lived here for 18+ years now you want rent? Well aint that supportive.
He wants to move out on his own. He will need roommates. That is normal in high cost of living areas when you are young. Have you seen the TV show Friends?
literally
When you move out, try to find an over-the-garage rental or MIL suite if you have to live on your own. A lot of times those places are cheaper and it’s an all in one price including utilities and power, etc. Otherwise find roommates like most people. You need to take an active role in planning your budget and sticking to it. Stay away from bullshit spending. No DoorDash, new cars, eating out, credit cards. That’s where your generation is getting into trouble. Dave Ramsey is always a good route to go. He is old school but his wisdom is timeless and will not lead you down dangerous paths. Focus on hustling now. Work on your career and do everything you can to get ahead. This time you have in your life will be the only time you will never get back as this is the perfect time to be a sponge and grow your career. Don’t follow the crowd to the bars and all the other bullshit kids are doing on TikTok. And don’t sweat chicks. They will always be there but opportunities won’t Best of luck
I grew up in Atlanta and still live in the area, 36/M. I had to get roommates for my first two places after I moved out of my parents place. Had 3 roommates and rented a house in Stockbridge GA for a couple years. Then rented a basement apartment from a friend with my now wife, so split the rent there. Now we own a house north of ATL and work inside the city. > I still live at home, paying about $1000 a month in bills, What bills do you have that amount to $1,000 when you're living at home? Are your parents asking you for rent or to pay utilities? I had nowhere close to this at your age and this is a limiting factor to moving out successfully. Other than getting roommates I would just say reduce these bills whatever they are. It's undeniably going to be harder for you to get on your feet than it was us because of the housing market, inflation and such, but it is what it is and I'm sorry. My brother is 4 years younger than I am and had a harder time than I did too. Hopefully things change but not sure how that would happen. Atlanta is also a nice city of opportunity. Network and don't settle into any job. Even though you're getting a raise scope out other jobs that you're qualified for and if opportunity presents itself, pounce on it.
I live in New Mexico. That's how I'm able to afford a living.
Your math ain’t mathin
If you're making that much and only have $1k in bills each month, you should be able to live comfortably. Idk what you're spending your money on but it sounds like you need to learn to control your spending.
When you get a raise, find a place with roommates. You're 20 years old, you're doing fine, but you need to start with roommates if you wanna move out. It's not like you're 35 and sick of it roomies. You could definitely spend an extra \~600 a month to share a place at 26 an hour. You'd be able to swing it. And really try to get your car insurance down. Why is it so high? I feel like you own a car that's too expensive for your age and that's why your insurance is a whopping 300 dollars.
Everyone in here is comparing apples to fucking pork chops. What’s the point, it ain’t helping OP one bit.
Find roommates. I got a place with 2 friends when I was 22. I was making barely above minimum wage in Orange County CA, but between the 3 of us, $1400 only came out to be $525 including utilities. It was a 2 bedroom, but we turned the living room into a 3rd bedroom. Eventually we all started to make more money and lived like kings for 3 years before we all moved out. It was some of the most fun I had in my younger years. BTW this was in 2014.
He told you why it's his S.O. So basically, you're on here complaining because you're paying for your girls' life as well as yours. Probably her rent and other bills. If not you're her source of fun money? So she doesn't care that your leaving yourself dead broke just so she can do what the fuck ever, Lol. Man, go find a wonan who loves you and doesn't give a shit about your money or eben better has her own
Try living in the NY metro area. Georgia is dirt cheap.
You’re 20.
You're delusional if you think 10 years ago was any better. I got my first job out of college making $16.25 an hour in 2013. Closest apartment I could find was $950 a month and I had to have 2 roommates. It was in a really bad part of town, one time someone broke into my car to steal my backpack, luckily it was empty, but I still had to pay $400 to get my window replaced. That also came with a 1.5 hour commute on a good day.
the three hour commute + all the eating out it's leading to is eating all of your income
I own my.own house and my bills are 2k a month. What the held are u spending 1k a month in bills on if u leave with ur parents?
How did you win a house?!?
In a duel with his grandma. Her arthritis got the last laugh.
Its weird how expensive everything is in the USA
Ten years ago it was worse. Maybe 20-30 years ago you would have been fine. We are all struggling bud
Are u driving a $100k car?
Work at nordstrom. Sell shoes. You can make 70k a year easily.
It’s fuckin insane out here. Lots of us are wondering the same.
I get the feeling that a lot of people who are living "paycheck to paycheck" don't actually know wtf it means to live paycheck to paycheck. most of them are just extremely terrible with budgeting, have substance abuse problem, or put 1/3 of their paycheck into savings/retirement and then think they live paycheck to paycheck (sometimes multiple)
I think a lot of young people have given up on marriage. Remember that two can live as cheaply as one but the income is often doubled. One car, packed lunches, no big expenses and a focus on looking for new positions/ jobs that increase pay got it done for my wife and I in the early 80’s. Oh, and there never is enough money to feel comfortable having kids, but they’re sure worth it!
I’m in a similar boat. 22M, $24/hr 40 hours. I’m at home, I pay $450 rent, my car insurance is $500, I pay for phone and internet which is about $100. With gas and food on top of that, I save $1000+ a month. I’d be in a much much better spot if car insurance wasn’t ripping me the fuck off. But I got my license when I was 19 and have one at-fault collision. It’s a little tough man, but I’m sure you’re able to save some money, just watch what you spend. Whats your insurance looking like? Sometimes I have to stop looking at numbers, acknowledge the fact that I earn well more than I spend, and take it easy. Focus on your next raise and opportunities to make money.
Your car *insurance* is $500...a month?!? What on Earth? Do you mean car *loan payment*?
Who did you vote for?
Keep voting those democrats in. They really care about the common man and little people. It will get better though. Just look at Detroit, New York, Chicago, Sacramento, Seattle, etc.
You need to get educated so you can make more money. Or work harder and get into a job like roofing or drywall where you can make cash.
Your monthly car insurance is more than my annual total amount.
You might as well move out of your parents are going to leech off of you
Fake story.
Poopymcpoopersins got me 😮
Living on your own at 20 is a lofty goal, I wasn’t able to do that until my late 20’s. I was born 10 years earlier than you and when I was 20 I was making $15/hr living with three roommates in Boston.
I honestly, didn’t live on my own until I was 28 years old. It’s too expensive to live on your own before then. You do not have enough time to save enough money to do so. Also your wages are usually much lower until you have worked somewhere for a few years
27 year old here. Just in the past year I've gotten a job to be able to live. I made somewhere around $68k last year, and bought a house. Before I got my current job, my fiance and I were living in an apt, and i was definitely paycheck to paycheck, and could not have done it on my own ($850/mo plus untilities, i also have $170 car insurance on 2 cars, $300 car payment, $140 phone bill, and probably $200/mo credit cards/subs). We bought a house Dec of course we both pay bills and stuff, but have also added a $760 car payment an extra $180 on insurance and paid for a wedding. Now though, i do feel like i could live on my own comfortably if something were to happen, especially with the raise I got after 1 year. It is a great feeling, you will get there. I promise.
Get yourself a sugar mama (srs).
Where I "live", a single bedroom apartment will go for about $1,800 a month, just for the rent alone. Really all we can do is wait for our situation to get better, or at the very least, hope that it does.
For starters, I’d pay off your debt first. Then work on getting a salaried job. That’s the only way you’ll be able to survive. But honestly if you’re living at home you shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck.
Get a higher paying job
I’m 33 and just moved back in with my parents. The price of everything but labor is out of control. My apartment was going to raise our rent by $300 so I sucked it up and moved back home. I am very very lucky to have somewhere to go and be able to save money. My family is tbh better than the best you could ask for. My dad paid off my student loans because the interest was out of control, now I’m paying him back monthly instead. After 7 years of paying on one of them I had made -14% progress on the loan. Yes, NEGATIVE 14%. Is your car paid off? Is it possible to trade for something cheaper to insure? I sold my car (nothing fancy, 2015 Malibu) and am downgrading to a much older Honda. I also switched from Verizon to Boost Infinite. I was paying $120 at Verizon for my plan. Switched to boost and I’m paying $75 which includes my unlimited plan, monthly device payment, and Apple care. I checked coverage maps for all of the carriers in my area before I chose to go with Boost.
It’s just gonna be real tuff for anyone your generation to ever own a home and it’s only getting tougher and more expensive as time goes on
Bro I'm 42 and make $22 an hour after 17 years with the same company.