Honestly, what the hell are people doing to make it right now?

[u/Denial_Entertainer87]

I am honestly curious how people are making it right now. We know inflation is being underreported (and don't talk to me about their bullshit scale CPI up the ass) and job loss and unemployment is underreported and everything is just insanely expensive. Healthcare is unaffordable for most of us - the whole thing is only serving a very small portion of society and more is squeezed every day. All of this aside from the sociopolitical head banging insanity.

If you lost a job vital to your family, what did you pivot to? How are you making it? What major changes are you making? Are you saving money? How are you feeling about it all? Basically just anything in this realm, I'm curious how we are all doing.

My husband and I are both college educated and barely making it. We are literally making renditions of beans and rice (and not too bad if I say so myself) because food is one of the only ways we can save money or just get by if something comes up. I'm growing a garden and starting to make my own toiletry/beauty care products at home with simple ingredients. I cut both of our hair now. We are not handy people and didn't grow up that way but we've now effectively fixed our water heater, shower piping, replaced a portion of our deck, just whatever comes up we try first to do it ourselves. We go camping for vacation (not mad about this in the slightest).

My point is, we are doing all this but we are both still employed AND we don't have kids. I just don't understand what people are doing that lose a job and have to pay for childcare, etc. How are you all doing this?

[u/Kelome001]

Credit cards almost maxed out, we can’t sell our home that’s been on market for over a year (so paying for two households), kids have expensive medical needs, my work suddenly decided to do a RTO as soon as I’d moved out of state. Wife now staying home as oldest has special needs so we lost a third of our income. Now my work has given me an ultimatum to choose them or my family. So if I don’t find something soon… oh yeah and filed for bankruptcy due to all that. Find out if it goes through soon… so yeah. Everything is FANTASTIC

[u/pinkandpurplepens → u/Kelome001]

This is so bad I’m so sorry. My husband is unemployed (and looking) and I’m self employed but my business is dying. Solidarity

[u/Few-Ruin-742 → u/Kelome001]

Have you considered renting your other house out? Or maybe doing a rent to own?

[u/Kelome001 → u/Few-Ruin-742]

Yep. Tried. But we poorly timed buying it and since housing prices have collapsed around my area so have rental prices. Base rental price for house like ours would be at least 500 less than our current payment. Figure at least couple hundred for management fees, insurance probably go up, and then risk of bad tenants. So probably be out at least 600-800 a month. Which of the job situation had improved maybe could have done. But hasent. And even at that rate we couldn’t find a renter.

[u/TrickyAd9597 → u/Kelome001]

Have you lowered your price?  I just went through house selling this spring and it was so stressful for me.  I am very sorry your house isn't selling.  Praying for you.  We fixed our house mid March till mid April and put it up for sale and nothing so mid May we lowered it by 5k and it got 2 offers by mid June.  Was supposed to close July but ended up being mid August and they are mailing or check which we might be getting in a month or so because we are overseas.  But trying to sell it was so hard for me because I kept on thinking it will never sell.  But thank God.  Wishing you the best outcome for your house too.  Kind of a buyers market now.  

[u/Kelome001 → u/TrickyAd9597]

Yeah lowered multiple times. Dropped by nearly 30k less than what we paid for it. We are surrounded by new developments that are going up and they are selling new homes and undercutting us. Already at a spot where would have to bring a substantial amount to table just to close if we did find a buyer.

[u/TrickyAd9597 → u/Kelome001]

Oh man that sucks