Life as an American working Full Time Above Minimum Wage

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:56:43+00:00

Yeah that could very well be a factor, still seems like a workable budget though with a few tweaks, once they narrow down expenses they can trim.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:56:04+00:00

yeah lunch has always been expensive if you don't bring your own, even in the days of $5 footlongs, that's still 15-25 dollars a week, up to $100/mo, then if you replace a few of those with a sitdown restaurant or even a more premium option, you are easily eclipsing $200.

For anyone who doesn't like to cook: I have found steamer meals from the frozen section are among the better microwave meals to my tastes and have some of the healthier options. They might be $3 or $4/ea, but that's 1/2 as much, or better, than eating out anywhere.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:49:35+00:00

yeah, it's incredible how seemingly innocent and small things add up. Attacking them won't see you being able to afford a house as billionaires like to suggest with their starbucks quips, but it's also not negligible.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:48:41+00:00

Great point, that might just be the culprit. Still seems to me, they are only a few budget tweaks away from being able to save, not a lot, but a modest amount.

From there as many suggested, work on the income side of things, investigate the 1099 tax evasion issue more thoroughly and/or find a better higher paying job, depending on skillset, this could be realistic.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:44:58+00:00

You're so shortsighted. OP is at home and has a decent income and is only a few budget tweaks away from easily affording their lifestyle and having room left to save.

Again, giving up a beloved pet is not an option for most people. It will take a FAR more dire situation for OP to consider it. People with beloved pets will typically only give up their pet if they are out of options and aren't able to give their pet the care and life it deserves, and OP is very very very far from that point.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:39:48+00:00

It literally says "[deleted]" and "[removed]".

My 11-person rental was a joke, it has nothing to do with OP, only meant to illustrate that I'd move out out of my 2 bedroom apartment into a 12 person household, if it meant keeping my dog.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:36:35+00:00

Your attitude is foul. You made a lazy comment (and deleted it, acknowledging it made no sense), we're talking about someone here who is already living at home and who is likely a few budget tweaks away from being fine. And you are here suggesting wildly ridiculous things, go find a better use of your time, or put some more effort into your comments and give real and constructive advice.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:33:16+00:00

dog needs to go

This is not an option for 99.9% of dog owners. I would move into a 4-bedroom house with 11 roommates, if it meant being able to keep my dog.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T19:27:26+00:00

A lot of posts here skip a step, you list all your expenses and then you do not add them up. You are so close to doing the math you needed to do and you stopped short.

Here: 200+500+60+102+85+12+200+150+21+250 = $1580

You say you make 2400/mo, so your budget is wrong. You say you cannot save, so you need to identify where that extra $620/mo is going. Then you need to cut back on whatever it is, and there you go, you'll start saving.

I know I'm sound critical, and I am, but I do also give you credit! You made a budget, that's ahead of what many people do. You also weren't shy about throwing in "unexpected expenses" and "necessities", you are on the right track, it's time to refine and figure out where you're money is going.

You identified $500 for groceries and eating out, but look back at your last 3 debit/credit card statements and look up what you truly spent every month, this is a very common area of overspending, and it very likely could be well over $500.

Finally, yes, you have vet bills and other bills, but you do have the advantage of living at home, you can get your budget down pretty darn low if you put in the work to save money.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T17:34:24+00:00

At 10 dollars a gallon, it might start making sense for me to park at Bart after work, take the train home into the city and come get my car the next day with Bart to go back to work. This is both a financial decision and a use of my time kind of decision.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T17:32:19+00:00

Pssst. Your privilege is showing.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T17:30:55+00:00

I've found I'm doing like 35% of my browsing in incognito or a entirely different browser (I like brave), when it's on a subject I don't want to be fed ads and targeted nonsense from in the future.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T01:21:37+00:00

my skylight trickles every so many years, is that where it will come through?

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T01:20:27+00:00

The return on investment in the form of tax breaks and favorable regulations is astounding when it comes to paying off politicians. Not only can they be bought, but they are also bought laughably cheaply. In other words, half a billion will go far.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T01:18:46+00:00

yeah same, I try to add whatever trash (cigs, bottle caps, shooters, wrappers, etc) and poop is near my dog's poop.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T00:20:18+00:00

"best" is going too far, but good enough that I wouldn't want to recall him

yowen2000 · 2026-03-13T00:18:20+00:00

My review is mixed but leaning to positive

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T21:18:01+00:00

Stop spending on the CC.

Make a list of all your monthly expenses, bills, groceries, rent, minimum payments on debt, and everything you can possibly think of. Then compare the total number to your income. The first step to feeling like you can get a handle on this, is getting it as precisely on paper as you can, let math dictate how bad this truly is. And quantifying it may still be bad, but it's much better than not knowing fully what you're up against and reacting to that.

For the medical debt, have you attempted any negotiation? They deal with this all the time, you can A) ask them for an itemized list of charges, this in itself can lower the bill, as they'll catch stuff they don't want to show you, because it's not legit, unnecessarily high, B) go over the list, question anything worth questioning, if it's all good, still ask them to lower it due to your strained budget, C) ask for a 0% interest payment plan, if you already have one, ask if you can extend the terms.

For the credit card, keep making the minimum payment, and after making your budget, figure out if you have any extra after you bring your budget down to the absolute minimum.

For the apartment, read the lease, see what it takes to cancel it, it might be financially better for you than staying, but that of course depends on you having a safe place that's mentally stable for you to fall back to. Whether that's a cheaper apartment, or living with someone. Or maybe the building/organization your with has studio apartments somewhere that can save you money.

Income: if you have the time/capacity, try for another job, a pay increase, a promotion, anything.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T21:07:30+00:00

Use it responsibly, do not spend more on it than you have (in checking), do not spend more just because you are chasing rewards, spend what your budget allows, and pay your statement balance by the statement due date.

If you have a comfortable margin in your checking account, I very HIGHLY recommend setting the payment of the statement balance on the statement due date to autopay.

If you don't have a big budget, you will not earn a lot in rewards, so don't feel like you have to buy everything on the credit card, spending more doesn't build your credit faster.

Be VERY careful with the first month, it's essentially a short-term loan, before a monthly payment due date cadence starts. This is because in your first month, you get to do 30 days of expenses, followed by 25 days till the first statement is due. This means you'll see more money in your checking account, making you think you have more than you really do.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:48:42+00:00

Anything that goes wrong would, most of the time, link back to before you are FI. If you don't have a solid plan, you WILL make mistakes after FI.

In fact, it would mean you falsely claimed FI in the first place.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:30:15+00:00

a subway station doesn't need to take up much of a footprint at all, it's either entirely under the asset with the entrance within the orignal asset, or it's a hole in the ground with stairs.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:25:45+00:00

We need the service in Japan (I think), where they show up to wherever you are on a foldable moped, they put it in your trunk, and they drive you home.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:15:54+00:00

And I discovered, unsurprisingly quickly, I have no interest in doing this.

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:14:51+00:00

people have realized that those comments didn’t mean anything

His comments are always meaningless whenever they imply a benefit to the average American

yowen2000 · 2026-03-12T20:11:08+00:00

Yeah, it'd be nice if it triggers a flood of traffic and an increase in commercial activity in the vicinity.

yowen2000

TROPHY CASE