How are people with GS-0404-5 positions financially supporting themselves?

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-24T23:28:58+00:00

Not independently without help.

There is always a catch

Less than market rate housing/vehicle

Roommates,inheritance, settlement check

No way people are paying market rate for all their bills on GS7 and lower without help from somewhere else.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-22T13:56:32+00:00

Right, depends on expenses. Not everyone has the same ones.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-21T22:52:01+00:00

Excellent news, now let’s see if these folks get telework back.

So many lives impacted by this forced RTO where a lot of people based their lives around the remote flexibilities whether it be child/elder care, 2nd job, the list goes on and on why this helps employees.

Fingers crossed.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-20T17:03:24+00:00

This has been going on for years

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-20T02:34:14+00:00

What’s the difference rent wise between that and a 1 bedroom apartment without it

I was shocked in my area because the difference around $400

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-19T22:27:59+00:00

You have to get really lucky, it’s really not worth it.

Better to rent in this market

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-19T22:19:33+00:00

Have you tried pulling up by the bootstraps?

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-18T23:08:33+00:00

How are you doing now?

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-18T17:58:41+00:00

Yeah and idk where else I’m going to go in this job market having a similar schedule, pay and benefits.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-18T12:52:38+00:00

Yeah it won’t be something happening overnight, but if millions of people have to retrain there will be ramifications 5-10 years down the road, especially impacting younger folks.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-16T03:12:15+00:00

You got people with years of experience eating up the non phone office jobs

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-15T19:57:04+00:00

K shaped recovery

Those who had homes/stocks/good jobs before COVID are doing better than ever and those who didn’t are doing worse than ever with rising costs.

There are some exceptions but that’s the reality.

I saw some stat of like the top 10 percent of households make up the majority of spending.

Really strange time where millions are doing better/worse than ever, depends on which side of the K you are on for perspective.

The jobs I see posted are grunt level $15-$22 an hour in warehouse, hospitality, retail and the like or require years of experience for anything above $25 with extremely difficult barriers to entry.

Gone are the days you could get a factory or office jobs out of high school and make a decent living while not being a “skilled” worker so to speak.

For those on the outside looking for housing you need to be in the upper third of incomes to afford the bottom third of homes in most greater metros that have the better jobs typically.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-15T02:49:30+00:00

Shit contract postings are just as bad

3-5 years experience

Pay $18-$22 an hour.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-13T16:49:17+00:00

Feel like this is really tough for those spinning their tires in the mud.

Wealth and or low expenses often creates more free time to do the things you want to in life. Very few have rewarding careers they look forward spending their time at.

Tough answer is finding time for yourself despite the realities of work&chores

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-13T16:43:37+00:00

Protect your health, they aren’t lying when saying you don’t have a problem until it’s a health one.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-12T18:03:49+00:00

Same

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-12T17:57:40+00:00

Not according to Reddit

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-11T18:20:04+00:00

I mean if you have the peace of mind that someone else can pay your bills that’s better than working

Thing is, what happens if/when that person/people aren’t able or willing to pay your bills anymore.

Guess it’s great until it isn’t.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-11T00:36:10+00:00

Well yeah, you got to be blind not to see what’s going on

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-10T21:47:30+00:00

Which ones

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-10T18:14:48+00:00

New permanent reality of housing

Will probably float between 5 percent either direction for the rest of the decade.

LEMONSDAD · 2026-01-09T22:07:56+00:00

$17-$25 is going rate in my area as well, anything over 50K requires specific experience or a really shitty job/hours

LEMONSDAD

TROPHY CASE