I'm the typical middle class father of two, and even I am having troouble making ends meet anymore

Turn the AC to something reasonable, like 78/79 and ditch cable, you can use the internet for tv( keep Netflix & Hulu). Do you all have any old furniture to sell? You could paint some stuff, fix it up or buy super cheap at yard sales and resell- lots of people do that and make some good extra cash. My daughter started watching the neighbor's dogs for $ and we have damn near the whole neighborhood now that asks us. All sorts of little ways to get out of the hole. I hear ya on the hit if you miss and have a utility cut off- they hit hard and it takes a few months to get out of that. Maybe save on gas a bit by carpooling? Groceries are $$, but if you use coupons and shop the sales, you can eventually get a bit to put aside- that too, takes a few months to do.

You definitely aren't alone.

i work 5 days a week at least 40 hours and cant afford to rent an apartment where i live.

I live a life of crime. Don't really "work" at all.

No wife, no kids. I'm loaded!

Down here you can live like a king, cheap! HAREMS of concubines.

I'm clearing through the old stuff in my parent's house. Did you know decades ago they used to put the price on the back of a book?

"75 cents"
"25 cents"

these are not children's book or something. These were all like college material stuff. Today these same books would be $20-$300, if new.


Granted this was when the minimum wage was around $3 but today books and well everything has been price hiked so much.

if youre both workingand suddenly you having trouble.... yer not telling us the whole story.... Here I'll tell the guys what you left out:

you have at least 3 cel phones with 2 year contracts (200/month)
you have cable tv and internet
you go out to eat because"i dont have time to cook"
you have 2 car notes which are upside down
you"bought" a house with little down, have no equity that is more than you can afford. in a neighborhood your income doesnt justify

here's the way out:
beans and rice for the next year- literally
cancel cel phones - those "free" smart phones actually cost about $2,000 after the contract period.pay the early cancellation fee and do without.
sell both cars and get 1 prius C- your fuel bills and insurance will be cut in half AT LEAST. a brand new prius C is only 16 grand.
cancel cable, tv, satellite XM
drive the speed limit and save 22% on fuel costs
have your wife cut your hair
stop buying expensive personal products-
stop buying disposable products
stop buying starbucks 5 dollar coffee everyday

there, i fixed the problem youcan thank me next year when yer solvent

Paid off my house car,my kids car and my electric bill is about 200 a month.I put in a brand new 3 quarter ton a/c heating unit paid cash.I own my boat. It depends on how much outside the box thinking you did.I do not make the most money,but I feel very lucky to have a extra 1000 every month

OP needs to downsize and simplify his life.

And are the kids in daycare and how much do you pay for that. Or are they in public or private schools?

All I have t say is if your wife is a Nurse and she's not making over 150k a year you need to move.

I have a friend who's wife only works fill in weekends and most Holidays and makes 90k. Hell I think he said she's only realy working about Two and a half months out of the year, and since you're not even in management she should be making more than you.

Last Edited by Daggo on 07/31/2015 07:39 PM

are you near a big city?
everything is so expensive within a 5 mile radius.

praying for you guys.

It's horrible.. cost of foods are insane.

Talk to the electric company to see if they can take the fees off for the funds over due.

Last Edited by abeliever on 07/31/2015 07:49 PM

The fucking insurance companies are the real crooks.....Health,Auto,Life,Homeowners,Dental,Pet,etc...and they can jack up the rates whenever they damned well feel like it!!!!!Same wit the property taxer going up to give the lazy,greedy,scumbag TEACHERS raise after raise and pensions and FREE healthcare for life!!!!!!!

10 Reasons Why a Simple Lifestyle Reduces Stress and Benefits Your Health


[link to www.lifehack.org]

Make swamp cooler bro.
[link to www.instructables.com]

Swamp coolers only work in places with low to no humidity.

I worked as a nurse several years ago in a hospital OP.

I use to pay about 15 bucks a paycheck 2twice a month for healthcare. It was top of the line healthcare coverage too..

Yep truth.


OP this is one really good indication of how bad things are today.

Depression; slow boil is what is happening in the US.

The cost of living is ridiculous and obscene.

I work full time with a lot of people who have a second job btw. Raising kids. And they are govt. workers.

So all of you haters of govt. workers that think they are all paid ridiculously, well no it's not like that.

welcome to the world in the mean time we can fight over who is the biggest slave might I add amongst ourselves

Higgs call the electric company and see if you can pay monthly, no way should you have to come up with $700 all at once if you can't afford it.

I know my local gas and electric company will let you pay monthly a little at a time

Didn't take it as whining at all; I share the challenge and I suspect a lot of us do as well.

Yeah
To keep with the tone of the GLP board, vote for Trump,he will save us. He is a joe6pack kind of billionaire. Lol.

The truth Op is that the wealthy elite OWNERS of this country have decided that the working class schmucks had it too good.

Trump,Jeb,Hillary,Paul etc will not make our lives better. The politicians are bought and paid for by the billionaires.
The media we rely on to tell us how to think is owned by these same wealthy pricks.

The middle class illusion is coming to an end. The game is to get what you can while the getting is good. And to do that they have to fleece us,the workers,as much as possible. As the illusion starts to fade people are seeing the truth. You are a wage slave.
Our ancestors were serfs,peasants and slaves. Back then it was political. Now it is economic slavery. The owners do not care how it comes about. The end is the same.
The ONLY way to fix this is via Populist socialist policies. The profit margin for the owners is cut,but we have a social safety net.
Yes socialism is bad for the ownership class. But 99.9 percent of us will be much better off.

It's just a Cohencidence. Inflation, it's like a force of nature.

No way there is any kind of plan or anything. It's not like it's a systematic method of stealing EVERYTHING. That's crazy conspiracy talk.

Try doing with only one income

I just love these sort of replies.

Let me translate: "Ignore reality, give that money pressures are mounting why not spend more money you don't have so you can live like a hobo if necessary..."

Fantastic, well reasoned, insightful, that's what this sort of tripe is. Or maybe not...

leaving the AC off isnt a good idea unless you are gone for a while. In order to cool the air back off as well as the material in the house like furniture the AC has to work longer, which means its on more.

Unless you are gone for more than a day i wouldnt sweat turning the ac off, turning it up by several degrees would be smarter.

Where's OP? Out to dinner no doubt (it's friday, they deserve a night out...

I'm here.

I was busy working.

Last Edited by Gimme 3 Steps on 07/31/2015 09:34 PM

I now ride a bike for everything local. Saves gas, wear and tear etc. Tires and brakes last a long time now. I'll order off of Amazon or Walmart and pick it up with my bike. You can order a lot of stuff from Walmart without a credit card. Just hit the 'pay cash button' and get a workout on your bike.

I quit drinking beer, Coke etc and now walk over to the library and fill up my water bottles for free.

All entertainment is on the tax payer dime. Including the local range, fishing and camping.

Perhaps you have a budgeting issue? Try budgeting by paydays long term - not that monthly shit.

Budget out an entire year of paychecks adding the savings from one payday to the next and figure the balance. In the end, the lowest balance of whatever payday of the year is how much you have now. If it's in the red, start cutting.

Maybe you will find a few months of suffering will pay off that one bill to get you a little extra money.

you are to blame if you voted for Demoncraps or Republicans

Good one.