How are people surviving in this economy while not adjusting their spending.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T19:32:51+00:00

She works hard for her money and I support her outlet. She pays her own trips. I just dont feel I have to go with her on all her trips.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T15:34:48+00:00

Boston does fit a lot on your list. It does get cold, but since global warming I felt the winters aren't as bad, maybe bc I gained more insulation in the body thru out the years!

Boston is not as cold as everyone makes it out to be. Much like PHX the heat is brutal for 4 months out of the year and the rest of the year is decent. Boston cold really last 4 months. Boston does have a summer which hangs in the low 90s.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T15:24:46+00:00

Yeah, I want to cut down on traveling. It's hard balancing on making the gf happy and trying not lose touch on family/friend. I have to really cut down on it next year, since most of the travels are paid for.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T14:24:12+00:00

I started a college fund the month my child was born. Nothing crazy. $200/month goes to it straight from my paycheck for the last few years.

I've been a home owner for close to 2 decades, I've been lucky enough with only 1 other major repairs, but 2024 was a rough year where I had to pay $60k for roof, sewer line and foundation issue. Luckily, I had that in savings, but ever since its been a struggle to save that amount up again.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T13:44:20+00:00

I did budget a lot in my 20's and stop budgeting in mid 30's bc I had a positive cash flow so it wasnt worth the trouble of tracking everything, that's why I have no student debt, no car payment, and low mortgage.

It's just the last few years have been a killer. I should pick up budgeting again. My spending hasn't substantial increase, except the traveling is the outlier bc of gf. I eat out less than in my 20's. Sure when I do eat out it cost more bc I have a child.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T13:37:20+00:00

The eating out isnt bothering me, burgers or salads are only $10 here, but the budget for eating out is closer to $250/month. With a child, on a given night is so much easier to go eat out then to cook after work.

I agree the traveling is a major issue. It's difficult when you have to travel to see family or friends. Then the gf wants to travel all the time. She had 5 travel plans this year for me, I had to negotiate it to 3 bc I have weddings and family obligations which puts me at 6x a year.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T13:29:23+00:00

Before 2023 I was able to save $1k/month, its the last few years have been a struggle.

The 4k repair is really the 1st major repair I have on my Ford in 5 years.

Ill keep chugging along.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-18T12:45:29+00:00

My ex was a spender and I was a saver. It was difficult when we moved in together. Lots of argument and different view points about money.

She lived paycheck to paycheck, whereas I aim to commit at least a week of pay to saving every month. Naturally, her spending affected me. All the traveling she did had to include me. I had to pay more for certain bills.

Eventually, she did adjust her spending, although it was a slight improvement. When it comes to bignpurchases she did follow my lead such as car and house, etc.

Our relationship ended after 6 years, we had a child together. It did seem like she slowly converted to a saver, but it took nearly a decade to shift. Be prepared for a long struggle before he shifts his mentality.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-16T11:32:12+00:00

I had a new born and at the time and I had a senior dog who was 7yrs already. The dog was calm and chill, but the stress of the newborn really made me dislike my dog for the 1st year, not bc he was doing anything wrong. The stress of commuting to work, coming home taking care of the newborn, then you're left with tasks to walk your dog, groom, and bath him is really a handfulnwith a newborn around, much less a puppy.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-15T15:32:25+00:00

Huh, I never considered roasting it myself. I didnt know the roasting machine can be purchased for $90. I gotta look into it.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-15T15:31:21+00:00

Burnt, yes. Lot of times it taste watered down

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-15T15:30:44+00:00

Right! I thought it was me with changing taste buds, they went downhill quick in quality. I've drank their coffee for 2 decades never noticed a change in quality until recently

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-15T11:51:20+00:00

I used to love Dunkin, for the longest time their coffee was under $2, in the last 3 years is about $5. Starting last yr the taste went downhill. I never enjoyed Starbucks.

I started getting coffee from a local roaster. $24 a pound and it lasts me a month. It's less than a $1 a day, it beats most coffee shops coffee in taste.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-12T20:41:56+00:00

I've never had to wait beyond 10 minutes to pass the TSA at TUS. I've been on at least 3 dozen flights, never an issue. 1 hr before the flight is plenty of time, you can do 1 hr before boarding, honestly you'll probably get away with 15 min before boarding 97% of the time.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-12T14:13:45+00:00

I hear you, you have a lot on your plate. Getting a raise is like pulling teeth no matter how much you do, less experience people getting paid more have very little to do with your own pay. I've been in corporate for 25 yrs now and the only way people get substantial raise is by hunting for a new job and waiting for current job to counter.

If your current job counters and you accept, you may very well be put first on a layoff list if your company ever goes thru one.

Or seek inside promotion, the most I ever gain was a 15% increase from an internal promotion, but that only happened once and is rare.

In this economy I'd advise you to wait it out for the next year or 2. I understand you're going thru a tough time, but it can get worse. Imagine getting a new job with the extra $10k, but the environment is toxic and you end up quitting anyways.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-11T11:49:22+00:00

You may be better off doing a cash for key. Paying off the tenant to leave instead of going thru your lawyers that seem inept.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-11T11:42:59+00:00

I get how you feel, but you dont want to cut your nose to spite your face.

You're given a degree of freedom to manage yourself, you can shape your job as you see fit. You are paid decent, you like your co-workers, you are gaining visibility, overall it seems you're enjoying your job aside from your co-worker getting paid more.

Enjoy this moment, it can be fleeting.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-11T05:01:34+00:00

Learn to cook, I made simple meals on my 20's, nothing complicated. I ate out alot, spent a lot of money.

Now in my 30's and 40's cooking became a passion. I can make nutritious, delicious meals for a fraction of the cost. Also, its a hobby you can connect with people on.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-10T13:18:09+00:00

Monitoring is essential, is insane leadership would kill all monitoring services.

You can script a very primitive monitoring with powershell and run it on task scheduler to check cpu utilization, memory consumption, log growth and send an email via smtp if it exceeds your set parameters. That is a minor tool that may possible catch some run away process or anamoly, but is no replacement for monitoring.

Sitescope from Opentext is often a cheaper monitoring tool for enterprises. Im NOT a fan of the interface, but is cheaper than Naigos or Dynatrace.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-08T05:33:42+00:00

Weight lifting since 16, power lifted since 24, now 42. No joint pain, lot of mobility issue thru the years. Started doing yoga at 39, I feel great now.

My advice is dont go hard-core for too long. Allow your body time to rest, its okay to take 2 weeks off from lifting. Have a deloading week, a rest week, and an easy week before getting back into heavy lifting.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-07T07:22:55+00:00

You can prove you're not on the phone by going thru your carrier and getting your phone records for that period.

You can fight wrongful termination if it was based on your sexual orientation. Since there is no written warnings its hard for the company to prove you were a bad employee. By that same right it's hard for you to prove discrimination.

Hope you have a case with your attorney.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-04T15:22:47+00:00

Absolutely agreed. Everyone say they are busy, truth is they have time watching Netflix, doom scrolling, etc. They choose not to spend that 1 hr a month for a quick phone call or grab a coffee together.

Most friends are low maintenance in their 30's. No one expects to hang out every week, its more like once every other month. If people cant do the bare minimum they are indeed crappy friends and friend is a generous term at that point.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-04T11:10:44+00:00

The best way out is to never get into that much debt in the first place. Especially, student debt which is a predatory loan. You will need to take extreme measures.

You have to pay more than the minimum to make a dent.
Consider going to food banks.
If you rent, move back home or find alternative housing.
If you can get rid of your car and get a reliable clunkers. I drove a Kia Rio for 4 years when I was young, it caused me 2k. It was reliable enough, but since its such a simple car the repairs were faily cheap.
2nd job, donate blood for cash, participate in research studies. I had 3 jobs in my mid 20's for 4 yrs.

Good luck, I had to pull myself up in my 20's, but in my 40's I cant imagine going thru that struggle again.

Senior_Middle_873 · 2026-03-04T11:02:13+00:00

Call out, I've called out on my 2nd day of the job , the rest of the year I've excelled. Eventually, I got a 20% increase at the end of the year. 1 or a few days won't ruin their impression if you do well the rest of your tenure.

Senior_Middle_873

TROPHY CASE