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It is simple, but not easy.
You have to do everything you can to make more money - extrs hours, extra jobs, etc. Try for promotions, and take on responsibility.
On the other side, you need to carefully monitor spending, budget, and live below your means.
I’m 42. I didn’t follow this advice. Got divorced 6 years ago, got a mountain of debt from it, and started to work multiple jobs and budget like my life depends on it.
………would have been much easier, if I’d been 10-15 years younger.
It was hard as hell. The side gigs (made up for the income lost to maintenance), tight budgeting, and some good fortune - stimulus, etc. - really helped. Managed to turn 60 months into about 36.
Some people cannot do this without a social safety net — someone to watch the kids, give them a ride, cover a shift, front then some money, etc
Life is a lot harder than “bootstraps” for some people born into a situation with no boots.
But yea, this is the gist of it.
It’s like losing weight. You can’t lose weight without a caloric deficit. You can’t become rich (save a lot of money) without balancing your incoming and outgoing cash.
You can become rich working at McDonald’s. You just have to have a roommate and spend nothing on anybody. And have all your non-work bases covered
You are right - I should add I’m a single dad, to two great kids……but I have awesome family, and a very flexible FT job. It is a huge part of my success.
First off people in America take on so much debt because they want super nice things and to keep up with the Jones’s. If you never take on that much debt and only take on Required debt I think the majority would do a lot better.
Not exactly getting rid of debt, getting rid of negative debt, debt that does not earn money, the one thing I can see from my perspective is sacrifice, if you can live in meager means and buy a more expensive home to rent out, this will free up a mountain of possibilities. We lived in a even for 9 months and it changed our lives.
This isn’t awful advice, but if you’re working a dead end, low wage job there is little chance you will have good work/life balance and be able to retire before working yourself to death. At the end of the day, a lot of people need to switch careers in order to really change their economic status. And most times that requires some type of extra schooling.
And there's a difference between career and job. Tons of people are the working poor doing dead end jobs with little hope for meaningful promotions. Their expectations are so low that an extra quarter an hour to be key holders or shift managers sounds amazing. Making $18 an hour as a manager is the top of the game for many of them. How many made it to that through coordinated effort and aspiration and how many made it because the last manager quit or got fired and they were next in succession? I'd love for their to be a reality where someone who enjoys flipping burgers can just do that their whole life and make a career of it and retire and be comfortable. I think there's something to be said for people who aspire to be good at just one thing and do that steadily all their lives. We don't value that though and so people doing those jobs aren't compensated to live and it's either up or out to the next dead end.
I lived below my means up until this year, and yes, that's great and works. I now have very little in my accounts, and taught myself a very good lesson. I don't understand why I went wild this year, but I nearly emptied out my accounts. It's terrifying having less than $10,000 in my account. Way less.
Overdid it on clothes, food, take out food, Halloween decorations, mini vacations. All of it.
I’m 37 and got divorced 3 years ago and it’s been 3 years of living like I’m poor, side hustles, revamping curb furniture and selling it on marketplace, only shopping sales and with coupons to even make a dent in the debt. This is correct advice. I’d do so much differently if I could go back.
>extra jobs
Everyone says this one to me but honestly, and I mean this sincerely, what's the point of life if I'm working seven days a week? I blow enough of my weekend on chores, take away my two days off and my mental health is going to plummet. Should people really be expected to work every single day just to make ends meet?
People are too focused on "getting extra hours" to make more money and it seems like a miserable way to live.
Starting a business is the only realistic way out. You'll still be using your precious time, but you get to decide how much it's worth. The amount you can earn from a job is gonna cap off and it's gonna cap off hard. A business is something that you can grow and watch it make more money than you thought you were even worth.
I come from a poor family and have nothing beyond a high school education and yet when I take out my friends who went to college or come from wealthy families (but are working class themselves)- I always pay their way if they let me because I know how miserable it is to blow half a day's worth of salary to eat out. But having a business, I can pay for the whole meal with a (good) half hour's worth of work. Not every hour is a "good" hour, but there are enough of them to take out most of the sting of a $150 dinner.
And before anyone claims that this is only possible because I'm "exploiting workers", no. I am the only employee of the business (except for when I'm on vacation, then I'll have somebody fill in for me).
Quoted from Bureau of labor statistics says this "Data from the BLS shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. "
Not many people can bank on starting a business, and one could end up in even more debt than they started with. Not sure I'd recommend starting a business for most people.
And, on top of that, everyone can't start their own business, then we'd have no workers left. There has to be another solution, one that could perhaps kick the can of corporations and govt to help those in need.
Prioritize education. It's crazy that people will go out for a 50 dollar dinner but won't teach themselves a new skill via a 50 dollar Coursera course. Always continue learning.
I would say to NOT focus on promotions. Doing that is investing more time into your current job. Instead, go home and learn new skills, then switch jobs. Keep switching jobs every 3-4 years.
paying for education, “skill,” or “investment” courses can also be a rabbit hole. There is a MASSIVE amount of free information, courses, resources etc on the internet and in the world. I’ve scraped through a lot of cases by spending extra time researching things, keeping records and planning. Time is money, so if you don’t have money, invest your time— wisely.
>Prioritize education.
That's what I was going to say too. Taking a personal finance course which is easier cheaper than ever can be super helpful as a starting point.
Agree 💯 having multiple skills and being familiar with more than one area within research and healthcare has always helped me in situations where I’ve needed a safety net or to advance.
I recommend read the book:
“How to win friends influence people” Dale Carnegie 1933… or at least watch a YouTube review on it.
Helps work the first 2… literally better then a university education in terms of skills that can take you far in life …, not the only person to say that
My dad had me listen to the records in the early 70s.
I would also recommend the book "The millionaire next door" it's my husband's Bible. He grew up REALLY poor. We aren't.
Grew up poor as well. Have lived my life just as the book suggested. Now I’m the millionaire next door and nobody knows.
And recommend the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” And listen to Dave Ramsey. Not religious, ignore that part of the show yet his advice is solid.
start your own little business people need power washing lawn care window washing haircuts cars detailed i do dog grooming on the side etc find some side job save every coin you can stop eating out make simple foods at home and save some in the freezer eat more leftovers buy stuff on sale what you use the most in bulk go over your finances start budgeting drop what you dont need sell what you dont want pay off debt get ahead on bills if you need to move jobs/houses or move areas to achieve your goal so be it most importantly you can do it if you put your mind to it it may take time and you might have trial and error big mountains to climb but you can achieve great things no matter how long it takes
Go read some of Dave Ramsey's stuff. He gets a little over the top, but the basics are good advice. Unless you are just clowning us like your comments kinda point to.
Dave Ramsey is basically about eliminate debt and save. As someone who doesn’t have any debt but also doesn’t have a huge income, his advice is basically useless to me.
I like it for savings because I feel like he sets reasonable goals and helps with budgeting. When I was working retail I felt like I never had any money, because I didn’t. Then I got a better job and still felt like I just never had any money until I started budgeting and keeping track of every dollar I spent. I was in charge of my money, not it in charge of me. A lot of months I wasn’t able to save more than $5-20 but it slowly added up and gave me confidence that I could save.
To be fair to him, he often (enough) says on his show “you just don’t make enough money. You need to find a way to make more.” Which is true, but not always helpful if you aren’t in a position to make more, or at a low level job building your career to make more.
Yeah his book helped me out a ton.
Obviously not every part works for everyone, but it has the basics.
I don't agree with the part of not having any credit at all and saving up to buy a house cash lol
As we can see OP seems to be trolling. May indeed be a hard time of year for them so we can wish them the best without providing any actual advice because they don't seem to want it. The rest of you great job planning to crush it and I wish you well.
By all means I'll offer what support I can :).
My biggest recommendation is to diversify when you can. Start point 1 should be your main source of income which covers 100-125% of your monthly debts. Next start looking into doing a side gig with what spare time you do have. It can be something artistic or that you're passionate about just make sure you're able to monetize. From there look into doing research of stock dividends and investing safely in the market. From there save up enough for a 3.5% down payment of 2-4 unit home. (FHA allows this its called house hacking).
From there continue to build up money while retaining a savings for repairs. Potentially buy more stocks and reinvesting dividends into those stocks and look for opportunities to buy properties or other assets that you can flip or increase in value.
To add to this **always** make sure you are contributing to a 401k **and** IRA. There is never an excuse to not have a 401k from your employer if it's offered, contribute the max matching amount/threshold. Pretend this is money you don't have. It is NOT an emergency fund, it's a retirement fund. Then try to put as close to the yearly limit in your IRA as possible while still being able to live comfortably. "Living comfortably" here means all expenses paid with some money left over at the end of the month.
Hope this helps, as always do your research. But this is a great way to not have to end up a wage slave during your 60-100 years. 401k's and IRA's are relatively safe investments.
We may agree to disagree on this as I believe stock dividends of a safe S&P etc may yield more funds. IRA I rather enjoy but 401k isn't my favorite. I will state though that my company doesn't match too highly (a dollar amount not %). Also due to it being a liquidity pool of middle income wage earners, if not properly managed it can lead to it being secured under a moderate fund that a majority of people are in that can only be sustained by a proceeding generation class to also buy into it.
Yea I'm sure there are some nuances between orgs and matching rates. At the end of the day YMMV, but in my case my employer matches 5% of my wages. I contribute 5% of my paycheck and they give me another free 5% for a total of 10% of my pay to be invested monthly. So that's essentially an immediate double return plus the interest over the years. Now are there better returns out there? Probably, but you'll actually have to know how to manage stock *correctly*. Which I don't.
I can't tell you how to get out of debt, but I can tell you how to get out of poverty if you're just standard poor and have a bit of luck.
Live below your means, if that means roomates, you suck it up and have roommates.
If you work service and you're trying to go corporate, save up for a year or so to take on a bottom tier office job. The first year, you'll make shit wages, but wage growth will outpace your service wages if you're halfway decent at your job within 3 years.
Regardless of whether you're blue collar or white collar, constantly ask yourself and your manager, what do I need to do to get to the next level? and then actually do it. If your manager can't tell you, switch teams or switch companies, don't stay in a dead end job. You're wasting time in a position if you're not connecting it to the next move in your career. I learned sql and excel through youtube to be a project manager in a tech company, did a couple personal projects that benefited my team through two career levels to prove I could, and that tripled my salary in 4 years. I'm a college drop out that went from customer service agent for 30k to developing the customer service process for 100k. There's luck in the opportunity, but people don't prepare themselves to take advantage of opportunity should it present itself.
The shitty reality is, sometimes, we're going to have to overextend ourselves and work positions outside of our paygrade with no increase in wages for career development. Ask yourself before taking on the task, do I need this for the next level of my career, and if not, will skipping out on volunteering for this negatively affect my relationship and visibility to the higher ups in my company who can get me into my next role? You have to be strategic about the extra work that you do - showing up and doing stock for overnights will not help your resume, it will only help your reputation at best. Leaning into a temp team lead role when you have no managerial experience and assisting with hiring, schedules, etc, will do a lot more for your resume comparatively.
Try a different company if you're in a dead end company that isn't delivering the bare minimum of care and respect. The worse that happens is it's the same shit in a different place for more money. Don't be my dad who literally got sued by his boss for slipping on unmarked concrete because the dude didn't want to replace the weather stripping on his doors, and proceed to work for them for 10 more years without raises because change is scary. My dad is fucking talented with machines. He shouldn't be making less than an apprentice level mechanic with 25 years experience, but he refuses to apply to anywhere else.
Talk to a resume coach or a hiring manager if you can. Applying to jobs is a skillset, and you have to match what's in your resume with the skillsets they're looking for. If they mention they're looking for someone who can use metrics to drive outcomes, you talk about that time you figured out that if you changed this one step, you'd save 30% of your team's time. If they're looking for stakeholder management skills, you're bringing up the fact that you have to communicate with multiple departments in order to drive positive outcomes within your job responsibilities.
INVEST EARLY. Put the the cash you don't need within the next year into a mutual fund and don't. fucking. touch it. My husband and I started doing this, plus all the above, when we first started dating, and were able to buy a condo with a year's expenses to spare because we had 10-20% returns on what we put in year after year vs the 1% offered on our bank's interest rate.
Going out to eat, drinking out, and delivery food are killing people's budget. When I worked 3 jobs as at 19, I was shocked to find out that 40% of all of my money total was going to convenience foods, either delivery or takeout, which I relied on because I was too busy to cook, and resulted in me living paycheck to paycheck. You can either take the L and spend the cash on the food, and accept it's a choice you're making to do so, or you can meal prep a meal or two to reduce the cost of your takeout significantly. Just buying a rotisserie chicken and breaking it down on sundays saved me so much money - I could throw it in pasta, on salad, in rice, etc, for pennies, and still have a meal faster than delivery could make it to my house.
Pregame nights out and dinners out if you don't want to cut going out near completely. Drinking a few shots of tequila at home or having a sandwich beforehand so you can stick to the $7 appetizer will save you a lot if you're someone who goes out frequently and loses control over your budget under peer pressure. Genuinely being good with where you're at can help avoid the impulse purchases.
Ultimately, the only way out of poverty is to pursue money and not get complacent or allow yourself to be stagnant, but the above are the things we did to make sure we got out as quickly as possible.
Aww. You took my comment. I look back and wonder how much more $$$ I'd have if I just avoided social media and other time wasters.
It's amazing how productive I can be when I am bored. Sadly, off to read the next thread, instead of doing something I know needs to get done.
You work really hard. Work holidays, weekends, graveyard. Take any and all overtime available to you. Work side jobs, second jobs, save your money!
Don’t rely on handouts or free stuff that’s slavery.
I escaped poverty this way.
What do you mean you escaped poverty this way? A lot of those suggestions is what people who are in poverty already do and it’s not getting them to the next level.
I mean exactly what I said. I worked hard, I was committed, I developed skills, I invested my time and money to better my situation while my equally poor peers punched out 5 mins early I asked if I could stay late and finish, while my equally poor friends were out partying and buying cell phones and cars and what ever else they couldn’t afford I was reading books, working out, finding odd jobs.
If someone is working as hard and as much as I was and not escaping poverty they’re doing it wrong.
You ascend. Set goals. Save! I can’t stress this enough. Save your money! Live humbly. If you’re poor and you don’t want to be you cannot afford vices or luxuries.
Network. Talk to your companies vendors, partners even neighbors. Build those connections and relationships and when you’re looking to move up talk to them first.
Build skills! Actual skills. Something you can demonstrate.
I made 6 figures by 25, 10 years before that I was bussing tables after football practice and school just to keep the lights on.
And get rid of a victim mentality.
You can do damn near anything if 1) you want it with all your heart, mind and soul. 2) you are willing and ready to do anything to get it.
Damn right! I wasn’t at a disadvantage! I got to start from zero! I built this from the ground up. Nothing but opportunity when you’re as poor as I was.
I remember watching a docu. 3gang member wannabe's go to several businesses and try applying for jobs but with no luck and they blame everyone. Racism, cultralism. Etc etc. The fact that they wore their pants hanging below their butt's, dress like gang bangers, talk like gang bangers, and thry are somehow surprised that nobody wants to employ them.
Everyone is at fault but them.
You want a job, speak concisely, be polite, be on time, work hard and go the extra mile.
I want to be able to do anything but it's like a wall when I try I know I can but fuck dude I'm fucked I'd have to go to a professional and even then I could be put on 10 to 15 different medications while I still lose my shit before they either say your fucked or we know what's wrong. LSD is cool in moderation kids but from my experience if you have any slight trace of mental illness lsd will pull that shit right up out of your brain like a magnet. And for a guy that used to do heavy ass doses that shit can really fuck with you later on.
Look I get taking pride in a strong work ethic, but do you see how much you’re encouraging this person to work every second of the day and then bemoaning taking handouts as slavery?
Embracing a system that requires you to sell every second of your free time is fucking stockholms slavery.
I agree with the first paragraph as a baseline recommendation, but if someone needs food stamps or other benefits… I mean, that’s what it’s for? I think the important part is desiring to work your way out of welfare reliance, and it’s easier to do that if your basic human needs are met. You also have to assume that some people living in poverty are dealing with the barrier of a mental or physical disability, and my government (US) at least doesn’t offer a lot of accessible treatment options.
Yep. I used to make shit pay (30k a year). Started my own thing doing the same thing I was doing and worked 7 days a week for 3.5 years until I hired someone. I just bought myself a $70k vehicle for Christmas
This 100%…. getting rid of that victim mentality is the biggest key to success in my opinion. There’s no secret why so many successful people — athletes, musicians, business owners, etc all swear by mentality. Telling yourself that you *will* succeed no matter what is so important.
It's not for everyone, but driving jobs that require a CDL license tend to pay very well. The training can be a bit pricey, but a lot of companies will pay for you and have you pay it back over time, akin to a student loan just nowhere near as ridiculous to pay back.
I'd probably need more information before offering advice.
But most importantly, are you working?
If no, research what the skills gaps are in the economy, attain those skills (there are cheap and sometimes even free online courses in many skills areas), and throw everything into getting a job in that area.
If yes, your country is broken. Start a revolution.
You gotta apply to a crap ton of semi-low-level positions. Most will ignore you, a few will probably bite. Most people don’t get experience by having experience, a lot of the time listings requiring x experience can be lenient. When they bite, you need the skills and motivation to back you up. If your not willing to put in more effort than the minimum, you won’t make any more than the minimum.
I went to therapy. Paid $90/hour which I was sure I couldn’t afford. Worked on my money issues, ‘changed the picture’ and ended up doing alright. Retired a 62, not bad for someone who at age 35 had no thoughts or ideas of how to maneuver this life.
When my husband and I were first married, we were so broke that we had to decide on what bills to pay, regularly had our electricity shut off, rent was always late. We decided quickly that we didn’t want to live like this. So, yes, I took out student loans and went to school full time while also working full time. I didn’t have a day off for *months* at a time. Would often cry because I was so tired and overwhelmed. I slept in my vehicle between shifts to save money on gas.
Now I make enough money that money isn’t a worry anymore and even though I have student loans, it’s just another payment.
I know people say to avoid student loans but it got me a degree and a good living. So my vote is go back to school!
The company I work for is looking for several people paying 100-150k a year no experience needed.... but people aren't willing to work very hard 6 or 7 days a week.
You don't do this position the rest of your life. You do it for a couple years, bank money/experience, be personable and make connections and then you move on to something better. Sorry, but you probably do have to work a shit job for a while to get a good one.
Make money.
If you don’t want to work a job find a thing that makes a little bit of money. Say $10 or more per hour (however that averages out time wise for what you’re doing).
Then spend 12-16 hours a day 7 days a week doing this thing. Reinvest a % of your earnings to slowly increase that $10/hr profit goal to $15, $20, etc.
Eventually you’ll earn enough to be able to afford to sacrifice earning hours for leisure time.
This “thing” could be knocking door to door offering landscaping services and then farming out to a 3rd party, pocketing a % of the total cost.
It could be copywriting/trade marking. Could be typing essays professionally. Doing homework for others online. Anything. Use your imagination.
Yeah this atleast touches on the survivorship bias that many other commenters are missing. Hard work is a prerequisite, sure...but only a small portion of hard workers are wealthy.
paying off any and all debt, emergency savings buying stocks and mutual funds, and investing in retail in that order all of which require you to have money already
Don't feel like you are only able to do the job you do now. Apply for higher paying work, even if you feel like there is a learning curve. Skilled labor.
Evaluate your education and skills. Create a budget and eliminate any nonessential expenses. Don’t use credit cards if you can’t pay the bill in full each month. Using the information you’ve gathered, lay out a plan that includes milestones for savings, job changes and/or education/training, and continued expense monitoring. Be willing to sacrifice to reach your goals. Take advantage of free resources - there are library resources that can help with your plans, budgeting, etc. Some people will have you believe that all successful people are just lucky but your choices and willingness to sacrifice to reach your goals make the difference.
Act like you have money. Not like the dumb people who do ok and spend more than they make, like a fiscally responsible person with money. Make purchases based on price per unit, life span of a product which might mean buying expensive. In short, make decisions based on long term not immediate needs
You're not poor, you're broke.
One thing is to be aware, that whoever says they have their shit figured out, they're lying.
It's not just starting to make money, it's about understanding where you are mentally, and become psychologically clean
Another is understanding that you're not what your parents make of you, which is tough to go through, but a good mindset to have is to just accept that, at least you're alive, so play things to your advantage, instead of losing time arguing with them.
Having something of an independence is key here.
Learning a trade that is scalable is also key, or a skill that you know you can expand upon, and slowly work your way up, which can also mean, playing with other people's insecurities, which depending on context, is good or bad.
When moving to another city or country, think that immigration isn't the same as tourism, so move because of the better outcome, not because you just love the culture.
This looks counter intuitive, but don't do what you love when you're starting out. Find ways to fund your re-invention on the side, so that you're developing skills like discipline, integrity, etc, while making money and a probably shitty jobs, learning how to ignore shitty bosses or people in general. What you learn now, will always be useful in the future you want for yourself.
After this, by then you'll be in a mindset that just allows you to be in a far more confident position to trust your instincts and decisions, which is why most people don't discuss it among others who are around the same level of wealth, which ultimately happens regardless of social status.
If you spend your free time on hobbies or things that are $$$ then change over to stuff that's less $$ or free & that you can use to generate extra income.
BUDGET!
Drink more water - and not $$ bottled water. Just drink water. Don't waste $$ on fast food.
1.) Increase your income by any means possible
2.) Spend as little as possible, be frugal, save, don't splurge on unessecary things.
3.) Don't gamble, smoke, drink or do drugs
4.) Keep you lodging and transportation as practical and inexpensive as possible.
5.) Outside of a home or vehicle, DO NOT take on ANY debt unless it's life or death.
6.) Want what you have.
That's literally it. Welcome to not being poor
It’s not hard. Stop keeping up with the joneses. Our societal pressure to have the latest and greatest is why we live beyond our means. Desire less. Acquire less. Minimize.
Learn to be frugal and get skills that people will pay you for.
I was very poor growing up and pretty poor when I was as a Private, Lance Corporal, and Corporal. I was one cheap-ass motherfucker because I had to be. Pretty much every choice I made was through the lense of value and cost. I had the cheapest cellphone I could find, I bought a used honda civic that I made sure was well maintained by the previous owner, I didn't eat at restaurants. I could go on and on, but I was an extremely frugal motherfucker. I figured out that I wasn't going to have the skills I needed to get a job when I got out so I started doing online college courses. It matters less what specifically I chose and more that I had a plan to upskill. Skilled trades are making a comeback, so that might be worth looking into.
Budgeting is the first step if you don't already have one. See exactly where all your money is coming and going.
Figure out how much you spend in every category and track it over a few months.
Then you can start setting limits for discretionary areas if you happen to be a spender.
Next, pay down any high interest debt. Credit cards are usually the issue here. Pay off the highest interest rate card first and work your way down. This is called the avalanche method.
Or if you're the kind of person who needs little victories pay off the smallest balance first and go up. This is called the snowball method.
After that, start saving up an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months living expenses so next time something happens you don't need to run to credit. From now on you pay those on time and in full (and don't use more than 10% of your limit). This will get you great credit over time to boot!
Do those things and you'll be way on your way to helping yourself out.
Spend $5000 on a class A cdl. Immediate jobs available at $25 hr +. Make 100k a year after a few years in the industry. I work 60 hrs a week at 22, on track to make 80k in my first year with a cdl.
Most truckers are old. Much of the workforce retired during the ‘rona. Drivers are needed badly
If you're in the US.
Finish highschool. Don't have a child out of wedlock. Get a full-time job.
If you do those three steps you'll live above the poverty line.
Work. Use coupons. Look for sales. Save money. Only buy what you can afford. Set a budget. Obviously it’s never easy to save money but these hopefully will help some.
There’s no real answer here, a lot of it is just luck to be honest, the only “advice” I can give you is focus on finding ways to earn more money rather than on just trying to save in everything
This is the honest answer. The only solution to poverty is a different economic system; capitalism cannot help but perpetuate misery by its very nature.
Turn the TV off, get off the computer, shut off the video game consoles and read. When you're not working, read and hunt for skills and trades to further develop yourself
Go to Dave Ramsey's website. daveramsey dot com
Listen to as many podcasts as you can. Buy (or find a free copy online) his book "The Total Money Makeover." Read or listen to it at least once. Internalize the concepts.
On his website, learn the Baby Steps and also the Debt Snowball.
Those steps would be a good start. Also read "The Millionaire Next Door" to find out what self-made rich people do that the rest of us don't.
Join subreddits like FIRE (Financial Indepdendence / Retire Early) and finance, personal finance, etc.
Keep asking questions like this and seeking the answers.
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It is simple, but not easy. You have to do everything you can to make more money - extrs hours, extra jobs, etc. Try for promotions, and take on responsibility. On the other side, you need to carefully monitor spending, budget, and live below your means. I’m 42. I didn’t follow this advice. Got divorced 6 years ago, got a mountain of debt from it, and started to work multiple jobs and budget like my life depends on it. ………would have been much easier, if I’d been 10-15 years younger.
Getting rid of debt is going to be the biggest freedom and hardest hurdle
It was hard as hell. The side gigs (made up for the income lost to maintenance), tight budgeting, and some good fortune - stimulus, etc. - really helped. Managed to turn 60 months into about 36.
Some people cannot do this without a social safety net — someone to watch the kids, give them a ride, cover a shift, front then some money, etc Life is a lot harder than “bootstraps” for some people born into a situation with no boots. But yea, this is the gist of it. It’s like losing weight. You can’t lose weight without a caloric deficit. You can’t become rich (save a lot of money) without balancing your incoming and outgoing cash. You can become rich working at McDonald’s. You just have to have a roommate and spend nothing on anybody. And have all your non-work bases covered
You are right - I should add I’m a single dad, to two great kids……but I have awesome family, and a very flexible FT job. It is a huge part of my success.
First off people in America take on so much debt because they want super nice things and to keep up with the Jones’s. If you never take on that much debt and only take on Required debt I think the majority would do a lot better.
Not exactly getting rid of debt, getting rid of negative debt, debt that does not earn money, the one thing I can see from my perspective is sacrifice, if you can live in meager means and buy a more expensive home to rent out, this will free up a mountain of possibilities. We lived in a even for 9 months and it changed our lives.
This isn’t awful advice, but if you’re working a dead end, low wage job there is little chance you will have good work/life balance and be able to retire before working yourself to death. At the end of the day, a lot of people need to switch careers in order to really change their economic status. And most times that requires some type of extra schooling.
And there's a difference between career and job. Tons of people are the working poor doing dead end jobs with little hope for meaningful promotions. Their expectations are so low that an extra quarter an hour to be key holders or shift managers sounds amazing. Making $18 an hour as a manager is the top of the game for many of them. How many made it to that through coordinated effort and aspiration and how many made it because the last manager quit or got fired and they were next in succession? I'd love for their to be a reality where someone who enjoys flipping burgers can just do that their whole life and make a career of it and retire and be comfortable. I think there's something to be said for people who aspire to be good at just one thing and do that steadily all their lives. We don't value that though and so people doing those jobs aren't compensated to live and it's either up or out to the next dead end.
I lived below my means up until this year, and yes, that's great and works. I now have very little in my accounts, and taught myself a very good lesson. I don't understand why I went wild this year, but I nearly emptied out my accounts. It's terrifying having less than $10,000 in my account. Way less. Overdid it on clothes, food, take out food, Halloween decorations, mini vacations. All of it.
I’m 37 and got divorced 3 years ago and it’s been 3 years of living like I’m poor, side hustles, revamping curb furniture and selling it on marketplace, only shopping sales and with coupons to even make a dent in the debt. This is correct advice. I’d do so much differently if I could go back.
Honest question- how was the used/revamped furniture business? Did you find any success with it? What was your average labor input and profit outcome?
>extra jobs Everyone says this one to me but honestly, and I mean this sincerely, what's the point of life if I'm working seven days a week? I blow enough of my weekend on chores, take away my two days off and my mental health is going to plummet. Should people really be expected to work every single day just to make ends meet?
People are too focused on "getting extra hours" to make more money and it seems like a miserable way to live. Starting a business is the only realistic way out. You'll still be using your precious time, but you get to decide how much it's worth. The amount you can earn from a job is gonna cap off and it's gonna cap off hard. A business is something that you can grow and watch it make more money than you thought you were even worth. I come from a poor family and have nothing beyond a high school education and yet when I take out my friends who went to college or come from wealthy families (but are working class themselves)- I always pay their way if they let me because I know how miserable it is to blow half a day's worth of salary to eat out. But having a business, I can pay for the whole meal with a (good) half hour's worth of work. Not every hour is a "good" hour, but there are enough of them to take out most of the sting of a $150 dinner. And before anyone claims that this is only possible because I'm "exploiting workers", no. I am the only employee of the business (except for when I'm on vacation, then I'll have somebody fill in for me).
I won't claim it's only possible through exploiting workers, but I will say it's only possible by having certain advantages not everyone has.
Quoted from Bureau of labor statistics says this "Data from the BLS shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. " Not many people can bank on starting a business, and one could end up in even more debt than they started with. Not sure I'd recommend starting a business for most people. And, on top of that, everyone can't start their own business, then we'd have no workers left. There has to be another solution, one that could perhaps kick the can of corporations and govt to help those in need.
This is some of the best advice I’ve read on here.
Prioritize education. It's crazy that people will go out for a 50 dollar dinner but won't teach themselves a new skill via a 50 dollar Coursera course. Always continue learning. I would say to NOT focus on promotions. Doing that is investing more time into your current job. Instead, go home and learn new skills, then switch jobs. Keep switching jobs every 3-4 years.
paying for education, “skill,” or “investment” courses can also be a rabbit hole. There is a MASSIVE amount of free information, courses, resources etc on the internet and in the world. I’ve scraped through a lot of cases by spending extra time researching things, keeping records and planning. Time is money, so if you don’t have money, invest your time— wisely.
>Prioritize education. That's what I was going to say too. Taking a personal finance course which is easier cheaper than ever can be super helpful as a starting point.
Agree 💯 having multiple skills and being familiar with more than one area within research and healthcare has always helped me in situations where I’ve needed a safety net or to advance.
Is a Coursera course something that one can use on a resume? If not then that $50 was kinda wasted.
Not really.
Bravo for recognizing where you went wrong and working on doing the right thing now don’t dwell on the past
To add. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Victim mentality never helps.
I’ve lived like this for the last 25 years. There are side effects to this recommendations but it works. Good luck
I’ll add also to minimize spend. Look at your spend on things you don’t need. Most people buy a lot of stuff they don’t need or can’t afford.
And don't have kids.
This is shit advice
By having more money. It’s not rocket surgery.
Rocket surgery
r/malaphors
often confused with Rocket Appliances
Gotta learn stuff through denial and error.
Official Rocket Surgeon, at your service...
This man brain sciences!
r/technicallythetruth
Stop paying for stuff…it works for Musk…it works for Trump…dare people to take you to court!
Well said! I love it!! Hahaha
Dang
Getting married Getting promoted at work Budgeting and saving a percentage of your pay
Joey your alternate reality is too affordable
I recommend read the book: “How to win friends influence people” Dale Carnegie 1933… or at least watch a YouTube review on it. Helps work the first 2… literally better then a university education in terms of skills that can take you far in life …, not the only person to say that
My dad had me listen to the records in the early 70s. I would also recommend the book "The millionaire next door" it's my husband's Bible. He grew up REALLY poor. We aren't.
It's a great book
Grew up poor as well. Have lived my life just as the book suggested. Now I’m the millionaire next door and nobody knows. And recommend the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” And listen to Dave Ramsey. Not religious, ignore that part of the show yet his advice is solid.
Dave Ramsey hasn't updated his beliefs in 30+ years and doesn't follow his own advice.
Dave Ramsey is outdated in his advice and shitty to women. Erika Kullberg, hands down
That book and “7 habits of highly effective people” went a long way to helping me get financial security.
That as well. By 2nd favourite
Have you tried being born rich?
Knew I missed something
Use ChatGPT to write a children's book and Midjourney or Dall-E to make the illustrations.
there are plenty of human authors and illustrators already not making any money writing children’s books lol
Stable Diffusion can make images for free!
Where can I try it?
Nightcafe
Stop spending your money and work out how to spend some one else’s instead.
Never liked the public sector
This was a good one
I agree. Idk why he's getting downvoted for it
start your own little business people need power washing lawn care window washing haircuts cars detailed i do dog grooming on the side etc find some side job save every coin you can stop eating out make simple foods at home and save some in the freezer eat more leftovers buy stuff on sale what you use the most in bulk go over your finances start budgeting drop what you dont need sell what you dont want pay off debt get ahead on bills if you need to move jobs/houses or move areas to achieve your goal so be it most importantly you can do it if you put your mind to it it may take time and you might have trial and error big mountains to climb but you can achieve great things no matter how long it takes
This is great advice, but I really wish there was some punctuation on there somewhere. Had to read that like 3 times.
Honestly, at your level if you are still looking for side jobs, you are still poor.
I make 6 figures, and I just took on a side job. I want to put in more effort now to have an easier time later, so I do.
Same, but started a micro-business. Basically a hobby that people pay for.
Go read some of Dave Ramsey's stuff. He gets a little over the top, but the basics are good advice. Unless you are just clowning us like your comments kinda point to.
Dave Ramsey is basically about eliminate debt and save. As someone who doesn’t have any debt but also doesn’t have a huge income, his advice is basically useless to me.
I like it for savings because I feel like he sets reasonable goals and helps with budgeting. When I was working retail I felt like I never had any money, because I didn’t. Then I got a better job and still felt like I just never had any money until I started budgeting and keeping track of every dollar I spent. I was in charge of my money, not it in charge of me. A lot of months I wasn’t able to save more than $5-20 but it slowly added up and gave me confidence that I could save.
When you get clear from debt, you're supposed to start investing in income generating assets. The goal is to divorce income from labor.
To be fair to him, he often (enough) says on his show “you just don’t make enough money. You need to find a way to make more.” Which is true, but not always helpful if you aren’t in a position to make more, or at a low level job building your career to make more.
Yeah his book helped me out a ton. Obviously not every part works for everyone, but it has the basics. I don't agree with the part of not having any credit at all and saving up to buy a house cash lol
Do you really care? It doesn't look like you respect our advice.
yeah, it’s like anybody says anything and he’s like “hell no, fuck that”
Most of the advice y’all are peddling is “stop being lazy and save money” they didn’t need to ask advice to be told “eating out is expensive”
He was told to get a job and he said he wouldnt, not that I have a job, just a teenager, but he really said that
I mean that’s about all the advice someone can give to a stranger knowing nothing of their situation
I suggested starting a side business or getting a college degree, poor people aren’t poor because of how they spend their money 95% of the time
Bad troll
Your biggest asset is your ability to work. Work hard. Then save it like your life depended on it. In 20 years you should have money. It's what I did.
As we can see OP seems to be trolling. May indeed be a hard time of year for them so we can wish them the best without providing any actual advice because they don't seem to want it. The rest of you great job planning to crush it and I wish you well.
Other people might want a serious answer though. I clicked on this post to see people's serious answers.
By all means I'll offer what support I can :). My biggest recommendation is to diversify when you can. Start point 1 should be your main source of income which covers 100-125% of your monthly debts. Next start looking into doing a side gig with what spare time you do have. It can be something artistic or that you're passionate about just make sure you're able to monetize. From there look into doing research of stock dividends and investing safely in the market. From there save up enough for a 3.5% down payment of 2-4 unit home. (FHA allows this its called house hacking). From there continue to build up money while retaining a savings for repairs. Potentially buy more stocks and reinvesting dividends into those stocks and look for opportunities to buy properties or other assets that you can flip or increase in value.
Thank you.
To add to this **always** make sure you are contributing to a 401k **and** IRA. There is never an excuse to not have a 401k from your employer if it's offered, contribute the max matching amount/threshold. Pretend this is money you don't have. It is NOT an emergency fund, it's a retirement fund. Then try to put as close to the yearly limit in your IRA as possible while still being able to live comfortably. "Living comfortably" here means all expenses paid with some money left over at the end of the month. Hope this helps, as always do your research. But this is a great way to not have to end up a wage slave during your 60-100 years. 401k's and IRA's are relatively safe investments.
We may agree to disagree on this as I believe stock dividends of a safe S&P etc may yield more funds. IRA I rather enjoy but 401k isn't my favorite. I will state though that my company doesn't match too highly (a dollar amount not %). Also due to it being a liquidity pool of middle income wage earners, if not properly managed it can lead to it being secured under a moderate fund that a majority of people are in that can only be sustained by a proceeding generation class to also buy into it.
Yea I'm sure there are some nuances between orgs and matching rates. At the end of the day YMMV, but in my case my employer matches 5% of my wages. I contribute 5% of my paycheck and they give me another free 5% for a total of 10% of my pay to be invested monthly. So that's essentially an immediate double return plus the interest over the years. Now are there better returns out there? Probably, but you'll actually have to know how to manage stock *correctly*. Which I don't.
I can't tell you how to get out of debt, but I can tell you how to get out of poverty if you're just standard poor and have a bit of luck. Live below your means, if that means roomates, you suck it up and have roommates. If you work service and you're trying to go corporate, save up for a year or so to take on a bottom tier office job. The first year, you'll make shit wages, but wage growth will outpace your service wages if you're halfway decent at your job within 3 years. Regardless of whether you're blue collar or white collar, constantly ask yourself and your manager, what do I need to do to get to the next level? and then actually do it. If your manager can't tell you, switch teams or switch companies, don't stay in a dead end job. You're wasting time in a position if you're not connecting it to the next move in your career. I learned sql and excel through youtube to be a project manager in a tech company, did a couple personal projects that benefited my team through two career levels to prove I could, and that tripled my salary in 4 years. I'm a college drop out that went from customer service agent for 30k to developing the customer service process for 100k. There's luck in the opportunity, but people don't prepare themselves to take advantage of opportunity should it present itself. The shitty reality is, sometimes, we're going to have to overextend ourselves and work positions outside of our paygrade with no increase in wages for career development. Ask yourself before taking on the task, do I need this for the next level of my career, and if not, will skipping out on volunteering for this negatively affect my relationship and visibility to the higher ups in my company who can get me into my next role? You have to be strategic about the extra work that you do - showing up and doing stock for overnights will not help your resume, it will only help your reputation at best. Leaning into a temp team lead role when you have no managerial experience and assisting with hiring, schedules, etc, will do a lot more for your resume comparatively. Try a different company if you're in a dead end company that isn't delivering the bare minimum of care and respect. The worse that happens is it's the same shit in a different place for more money. Don't be my dad who literally got sued by his boss for slipping on unmarked concrete because the dude didn't want to replace the weather stripping on his doors, and proceed to work for them for 10 more years without raises because change is scary. My dad is fucking talented with machines. He shouldn't be making less than an apprentice level mechanic with 25 years experience, but he refuses to apply to anywhere else. Talk to a resume coach or a hiring manager if you can. Applying to jobs is a skillset, and you have to match what's in your resume with the skillsets they're looking for. If they mention they're looking for someone who can use metrics to drive outcomes, you talk about that time you figured out that if you changed this one step, you'd save 30% of your team's time. If they're looking for stakeholder management skills, you're bringing up the fact that you have to communicate with multiple departments in order to drive positive outcomes within your job responsibilities. INVEST EARLY. Put the the cash you don't need within the next year into a mutual fund and don't. fucking. touch it. My husband and I started doing this, plus all the above, when we first started dating, and were able to buy a condo with a year's expenses to spare because we had 10-20% returns on what we put in year after year vs the 1% offered on our bank's interest rate. Going out to eat, drinking out, and delivery food are killing people's budget. When I worked 3 jobs as at 19, I was shocked to find out that 40% of all of my money total was going to convenience foods, either delivery or takeout, which I relied on because I was too busy to cook, and resulted in me living paycheck to paycheck. You can either take the L and spend the cash on the food, and accept it's a choice you're making to do so, or you can meal prep a meal or two to reduce the cost of your takeout significantly. Just buying a rotisserie chicken and breaking it down on sundays saved me so much money - I could throw it in pasta, on salad, in rice, etc, for pennies, and still have a meal faster than delivery could make it to my house. Pregame nights out and dinners out if you don't want to cut going out near completely. Drinking a few shots of tequila at home or having a sandwich beforehand so you can stick to the $7 appetizer will save you a lot if you're someone who goes out frequently and loses control over your budget under peer pressure. Genuinely being good with where you're at can help avoid the impulse purchases. Ultimately, the only way out of poverty is to pursue money and not get complacent or allow yourself to be stagnant, but the above are the things we did to make sure we got out as quickly as possible.
Short version: Spend less time on Reddit
Aww. You took my comment. I look back and wonder how much more $$$ I'd have if I just avoided social media and other time wasters. It's amazing how productive I can be when I am bored. Sadly, off to read the next thread, instead of doing something I know needs to get done.
I advise you to start an only-fans and start putting things up your butt because you sound like a turd.
You work really hard. Work holidays, weekends, graveyard. Take any and all overtime available to you. Work side jobs, second jobs, save your money! Don’t rely on handouts or free stuff that’s slavery. I escaped poverty this way.
What do you mean you escaped poverty this way? A lot of those suggestions is what people who are in poverty already do and it’s not getting them to the next level.
I mean exactly what I said. I worked hard, I was committed, I developed skills, I invested my time and money to better my situation while my equally poor peers punched out 5 mins early I asked if I could stay late and finish, while my equally poor friends were out partying and buying cell phones and cars and what ever else they couldn’t afford I was reading books, working out, finding odd jobs. If someone is working as hard and as much as I was and not escaping poverty they’re doing it wrong.
What I mean is, how do you get out of the cycle of always working overtime, odd jobs, second job, weekends, holidays, overtime, night shift ect?
You ascend. Set goals. Save! I can’t stress this enough. Save your money! Live humbly. If you’re poor and you don’t want to be you cannot afford vices or luxuries. Network. Talk to your companies vendors, partners even neighbors. Build those connections and relationships and when you’re looking to move up talk to them first. Build skills! Actual skills. Something you can demonstrate. I made 6 figures by 25, 10 years before that I was bussing tables after football practice and school just to keep the lights on.
..you were responsible for keeping the lights on when you were 15?? That sucks. It certainly *shouldn't* have been the case.
And get rid of a victim mentality. You can do damn near anything if 1) you want it with all your heart, mind and soul. 2) you are willing and ready to do anything to get it.
Damn right! I wasn’t at a disadvantage! I got to start from zero! I built this from the ground up. Nothing but opportunity when you’re as poor as I was.
Plus one on the victim mentality... A victim is seldom a victor.
Can I steal this quote?
I remember watching a docu. 3gang member wannabe's go to several businesses and try applying for jobs but with no luck and they blame everyone. Racism, cultralism. Etc etc. The fact that they wore their pants hanging below their butt's, dress like gang bangers, talk like gang bangers, and thry are somehow surprised that nobody wants to employ them. Everyone is at fault but them. You want a job, speak concisely, be polite, be on time, work hard and go the extra mile.
I want to be able to do anything but it's like a wall when I try I know I can but fuck dude I'm fucked I'd have to go to a professional and even then I could be put on 10 to 15 different medications while I still lose my shit before they either say your fucked or we know what's wrong. LSD is cool in moderation kids but from my experience if you have any slight trace of mental illness lsd will pull that shit right up out of your brain like a magnet. And for a guy that used to do heavy ass doses that shit can really fuck with you later on.
Pfft… even rich people are constantly looking for handouts. (They just call them loopholes).
It’s called subsidies
Handouts you get while sitting down, you have to be moving forward to go through a loophole.
Look I get taking pride in a strong work ethic, but do you see how much you’re encouraging this person to work every second of the day and then bemoaning taking handouts as slavery? Embracing a system that requires you to sell every second of your free time is fucking stockholms slavery.
This is the way.
Good for you
I agree with the first paragraph as a baseline recommendation, but if someone needs food stamps or other benefits… I mean, that’s what it’s for? I think the important part is desiring to work your way out of welfare reliance, and it’s easier to do that if your basic human needs are met. You also have to assume that some people living in poverty are dealing with the barrier of a mental or physical disability, and my government (US) at least doesn’t offer a lot of accessible treatment options.
Yep. I used to make shit pay (30k a year). Started my own thing doing the same thing I was doing and worked 7 days a week for 3.5 years until I hired someone. I just bought myself a $70k vehicle for Christmas
I would like to add along with working hard, be smart with opportunities, think, and use what you have. Also, luck plays a pretty big part as well.
This 100%…. getting rid of that victim mentality is the biggest key to success in my opinion. There’s no secret why so many successful people — athletes, musicians, business owners, etc all swear by mentality. Telling yourself that you *will* succeed no matter what is so important.
I don't think thats the definition of slavery but ok
and work your life away!
It's not for everyone, but driving jobs that require a CDL license tend to pay very well. The training can be a bit pricey, but a lot of companies will pay for you and have you pay it back over time, akin to a student loan just nowhere near as ridiculous to pay back.
I'd probably need more information before offering advice. But most importantly, are you working? If no, research what the skills gaps are in the economy, attain those skills (there are cheap and sometimes even free online courses in many skills areas), and throw everything into getting a job in that area. If yes, your country is broken. Start a revolution.
"Skills" means nothing if you cannot demonstrate previous paid experience
You gotta apply to a crap ton of semi-low-level positions. Most will ignore you, a few will probably bite. Most people don’t get experience by having experience, a lot of the time listings requiring x experience can be lenient. When they bite, you need the skills and motivation to back you up. If your not willing to put in more effort than the minimum, you won’t make any more than the minimum.
Make more, or spend less, but spend less than you make.
Get a job
Learn web design on your free time
Stop buying Starbucks according to conservative Facebook
My crippling avocado toast addiction. More powerful than meth
I went to therapy. Paid $90/hour which I was sure I couldn’t afford. Worked on my money issues, ‘changed the picture’ and ended up doing alright. Retired a 62, not bad for someone who at age 35 had no thoughts or ideas of how to maneuver this life.
When my husband and I were first married, we were so broke that we had to decide on what bills to pay, regularly had our electricity shut off, rent was always late. We decided quickly that we didn’t want to live like this. So, yes, I took out student loans and went to school full time while also working full time. I didn’t have a day off for *months* at a time. Would often cry because I was so tired and overwhelmed. I slept in my vehicle between shifts to save money on gas. Now I make enough money that money isn’t a worry anymore and even though I have student loans, it’s just another payment. I know people say to avoid student loans but it got me a degree and a good living. So my vote is go back to school!
Do not have children. That is the only way for poor people to stop the cycle of poverty.
Eat the rich
It sounds like you have nothing to blame but yourself at this point you troll
Make more money or spend less or both
Go sell your butt on MLK Blvd sounds about what you’re good for
Not ugly enough
Stop frivolous spending and find more ways of making money.
I guess I could cut up pieces of paper and draw on them
The company I work for is looking for several people paying 100-150k a year no experience needed.... but people aren't willing to work very hard 6 or 7 days a week.
Hey could I DM you about this??
My only problem with that is that you no longer have any free time to use the money you now earn.
You don't do this position the rest of your life. You do it for a couple years, bank money/experience, be personable and make connections and then you move on to something better. Sorry, but you probably do have to work a shit job for a while to get a good one.
Be lucky or exploit the poor.
What it boils down to.
Make money. If you don’t want to work a job find a thing that makes a little bit of money. Say $10 or more per hour (however that averages out time wise for what you’re doing). Then spend 12-16 hours a day 7 days a week doing this thing. Reinvest a % of your earnings to slowly increase that $10/hr profit goal to $15, $20, etc. Eventually you’ll earn enough to be able to afford to sacrifice earning hours for leisure time. This “thing” could be knocking door to door offering landscaping services and then farming out to a 3rd party, pocketing a % of the total cost. It could be copywriting/trade marking. Could be typing essays professionally. Doing homework for others online. Anything. Use your imagination.
Spend a lot less then you bring in consistently.
You don’t, it’s literally the whole scheme! The outliers were lucky and incredibly hard working, sadly you can’t make luck.
Yeah this atleast touches on the survivorship bias that many other commenters are missing. Hard work is a prerequisite, sure...but only a small portion of hard workers are wealthy.
When you figure that one out, DM me!
You have to beat the rigged system. Like the rich do. But poor people tend to face charges for using those tricks.
"It's opposite day!"
paying off any and all debt, emergency savings buying stocks and mutual funds, and investing in retail in that order all of which require you to have money already
Don't feel like you are only able to do the job you do now. Apply for higher paying work, even if you feel like there is a learning curve. Skilled labor.
Evaluate your education and skills. Create a budget and eliminate any nonessential expenses. Don’t use credit cards if you can’t pay the bill in full each month. Using the information you’ve gathered, lay out a plan that includes milestones for savings, job changes and/or education/training, and continued expense monitoring. Be willing to sacrifice to reach your goals. Take advantage of free resources - there are library resources that can help with your plans, budgeting, etc. Some people will have you believe that all successful people are just lucky but your choices and willingness to sacrifice to reach your goals make the difference.
Your whole post, but especially the last sentence is 100% on the money.
You need to develop a marketable skill that not everyone can do and get good it it.
Act like you have money. Not like the dumb people who do ok and spend more than they make, like a fiscally responsible person with money. Make purchases based on price per unit, life span of a product which might mean buying expensive. In short, make decisions based on long term not immediate needs
You're not poor, you're broke. One thing is to be aware, that whoever says they have their shit figured out, they're lying. It's not just starting to make money, it's about understanding where you are mentally, and become psychologically clean Another is understanding that you're not what your parents make of you, which is tough to go through, but a good mindset to have is to just accept that, at least you're alive, so play things to your advantage, instead of losing time arguing with them. Having something of an independence is key here. Learning a trade that is scalable is also key, or a skill that you know you can expand upon, and slowly work your way up, which can also mean, playing with other people's insecurities, which depending on context, is good or bad. When moving to another city or country, think that immigration isn't the same as tourism, so move because of the better outcome, not because you just love the culture. This looks counter intuitive, but don't do what you love when you're starting out. Find ways to fund your re-invention on the side, so that you're developing skills like discipline, integrity, etc, while making money and a probably shitty jobs, learning how to ignore shitty bosses or people in general. What you learn now, will always be useful in the future you want for yourself. After this, by then you'll be in a mindset that just allows you to be in a far more confident position to trust your instincts and decisions, which is why most people don't discuss it among others who are around the same level of wealth, which ultimately happens regardless of social status.
If you spend your free time on hobbies or things that are $$$ then change over to stuff that's less $$ or free & that you can use to generate extra income. BUDGET! Drink more water - and not $$ bottled water. Just drink water. Don't waste $$ on fast food.
1.) Increase your income by any means possible 2.) Spend as little as possible, be frugal, save, don't splurge on unessecary things. 3.) Don't gamble, smoke, drink or do drugs 4.) Keep you lodging and transportation as practical and inexpensive as possible. 5.) Outside of a home or vehicle, DO NOT take on ANY debt unless it's life or death. 6.) Want what you have. That's literally it. Welcome to not being poor
Intelligence plays a huge role. Smart people don't start a minimum wage job and stay there for 30 years.
It’s not hard. Stop keeping up with the joneses. Our societal pressure to have the latest and greatest is why we live beyond our means. Desire less. Acquire less. Minimize.
Extra hours. Save, don’t go out, budget HARD I got very lucky and got into a trade job. Minimal schooling with good pay afterwards
Spend less than you make.
Learn to be frugal and get skills that people will pay you for. I was very poor growing up and pretty poor when I was as a Private, Lance Corporal, and Corporal. I was one cheap-ass motherfucker because I had to be. Pretty much every choice I made was through the lense of value and cost. I had the cheapest cellphone I could find, I bought a used honda civic that I made sure was well maintained by the previous owner, I didn't eat at restaurants. I could go on and on, but I was an extremely frugal motherfucker. I figured out that I wasn't going to have the skills I needed to get a job when I got out so I started doing online college courses. It matters less what specifically I chose and more that I had a plan to upskill. Skilled trades are making a comeback, so that might be worth looking into.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Win the lottery, marry rich, or overthrow capitalism.
Make money
Just send me $49.99/month and I’ll tell you this one secret banks **hate**!
Did he really spend money on awards to premote a scam. Woow what a lowlife.
Ask Paris Hilton
Budgeting is the first step if you don't already have one. See exactly where all your money is coming and going. Figure out how much you spend in every category and track it over a few months. Then you can start setting limits for discretionary areas if you happen to be a spender. Next, pay down any high interest debt. Credit cards are usually the issue here. Pay off the highest interest rate card first and work your way down. This is called the avalanche method. Or if you're the kind of person who needs little victories pay off the smallest balance first and go up. This is called the snowball method. After that, start saving up an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months living expenses so next time something happens you don't need to run to credit. From now on you pay those on time and in full (and don't use more than 10% of your limit). This will get you great credit over time to boot! Do those things and you'll be way on your way to helping yourself out.
Do you still have the receipts for your parents? Might be best to return them and get new ones with money!
They would have done the same to their own kids
Can't blame them after seeing this comment section
Spend $5000 on a class A cdl. Immediate jobs available at $25 hr +. Make 100k a year after a few years in the industry. I work 60 hrs a week at 22, on track to make 80k in my first year with a cdl. Most truckers are old. Much of the workforce retired during the ‘rona. Drivers are needed badly
Not in the USA
If you're in the US. Finish highschool. Don't have a child out of wedlock. Get a full-time job. If you do those three steps you'll live above the poverty line.
Work. Use coupons. Look for sales. Save money. Only buy what you can afford. Set a budget. Obviously it’s never easy to save money but these hopefully will help some.
Tired of scrimping by. I want to do better than scrounge around
There’s no real answer here, a lot of it is just luck to be honest, the only “advice” I can give you is focus on finding ways to earn more money rather than on just trying to save in everything
Get lucky. I'm serious. In this capitalist hellhole luck is the biggest contributing factor.
This is the honest answer. The only solution to poverty is a different economic system; capitalism cannot help but perpetuate misery by its very nature.
My luck stinks
I feel ya, mine does too.
Absolutely correct
[удалено]
I do not eat out, use netflix, go to nail salons, have any debt. Still poor as dirt
Turn the TV off, get off the computer, shut off the video game consoles and read. When you're not working, read and hunt for skills and trades to further develop yourself
Hunt for skills? Where do they hide?
Bust your ass. Work 2 jobs temporarily if you must. Save don't spend when you can. Repeat.
Can't get 1 job let alone two
What's holding you back, if you don't mind me asking
Drug dealer
Finally a good pointer
Dm me
For specifics
Get rich.
Do work that others can't or don't want to do. For example, rocket scientist or septic tank pumper.
Go to Dave Ramsey's website. daveramsey dot com Listen to as many podcasts as you can. Buy (or find a free copy online) his book "The Total Money Makeover." Read or listen to it at least once. Internalize the concepts. On his website, learn the Baby Steps and also the Debt Snowball. Those steps would be a good start. Also read "The Millionaire Next Door" to find out what self-made rich people do that the rest of us don't. Join subreddits like FIRE (Financial Indepdendence / Retire Early) and finance, personal finance, etc. Keep asking questions like this and seeking the answers.