It’s becoming increasingly hard for myself and my family to survive in this economy. Myself and my family are teetering in the edge. I hope there’s some relief soon. I lost my job back in 2021 and went I to business for myself. 5 years ago under Trump’s economy I think I could survive and grow without a problem. Now… a trip to the grocery store costs $500 and running up cards left and right because our two incomes combined still isn’t enough. That doesn’t even touch on all the other things like our healthcare going up etc. 3 kids… I am praying people will make their moves soon to take this thing back and get it under control. I don’t know how much time I have left. I wish there was a relief opportunity for those of us who know and trust the plan to get by until it’s fixed. LoL
It’s becoming next to impossible for myself and my family to survive.
🧘Mental/Physical Health 🏋🏼♂️
I agree and disagree. Agree in that having a second set of eyes on the budget may help. Don't agree in spending that money when you're already struggling... There's a lot of free resources out there right now that should help.
I would suggest finding someone, possibly in your church or something, that can go over your budget and just see if there's anything you can cut or ways to better manage things. If you're not already doing it, try Every Dollar (budget app from Dave Ramsey). The reason I like it, over other budget apps, is because you must account for everything... if you don't have the money, you don't have it. Also, I think Dave Ramsey does suggest paying the essentials first (home, food), and then work on the debt from smallest to largest or something like that. Definitely do everything you possibly can to not put anything on a card.
Have cable TV? Cut it. Internet? See if there's free internet for your income bracket. Phones? Sell them and use an old phone if they're worth more than $300. Use pay as you go services (could find plans for $25/month or less, depending on internet needs).
I agree with every thing you said except I put every expense on my cash back credit card. I get 3% back and pay every penny off every month. The 3% helps.
I do, too.
I agree with Ramsey in principle. A lot of people aren't doing what we're doing... but for those of us who do, it really does help. An extra $500-1k a year from cash is nice.
I used to put that extra bit into my mortgage payment. Any extra money I got in, I would put into my mortgage. I started putting in the one extra payment a year (divided monthly) since the very beginning of my mortgage in 2006. Every tax returns and any overtime would go into the principle. I would have paid off the mortgage much early, but a had a little divorce in 2010. Since then, I put a lot of focus into getting out of debt. It took me about 7 years to get out of debt from the divorce, but it the end I made it to debt free. I cut all waste and frivolous spending. It required a change of mind set, I have to admit that it was very hard to break the pattern. I only wish I would have done this much earlier. I have ten years till retirement (if the long term plan holds). Plenty of time to pack away extra savings and get the things I need to move off grid.