I can save maybe $500 a month. Trying to figure out my finances

[Kittenpanzer]

I absolutely despair of having any kind of savings or not living paycheck to paycheck. Especially right now with lots of expenses I'm either renewing, catching up on (medical), or that I need in general (driving lessons. My family is obsessed with me learning to drive since I never learned as a teenager. No amount of worrying and explaining that lessons cost more than an entire paycheck means anything).

I generally make between 32-40k. Depends on the year; technically the most I've ever made was 39k. My current jobs takes home around just under $2500/mo. I've started selling plasma on a regular basis, brings in an extra 200-400 depending on frequency. I used to have a part time job that frankly, I couldn't handle so I quit. I'm considering looking for another one because I hate how tight money feels.

I have direct deposit set up to put about 25% of my pay directly into an HYSA but I still ended up taking some out to pay off credit card debt and other expenses. So my entire savings have hovered around $2k despite working and getting a raise.

The only items I know are basically fixes expenses are my rent ($900) Electric ($30-50) phone ($20, technically paid once a year), internet ($35, recently went up), transport ($75 minimum) and some medication I'm on ($25). And I spend a horrific amount on food (obscene amounts of takeout for my income and prepared stuff), which now that I write this out, is probably where a lot of my money is going. That might be the easiest cost to get down, it's filling the void that's the hard part.

I originally wrote that I don't even know why I'm paycheck to paycheck; this alleviated it slightly but I'm still desperate for advice.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Start reselling on ebay instead of plasma. Read Disneysteve posting and start thrifting at garage sales and spend your weekend if you have time doing it. His "low" goal is $500/month net profit on reselling and he isn't scavaging. He will tell you it's a very fast way to make some money. You can make a lot of money.

[Kittenpanzer]

I've had an eBay account for years; there's nothing fast about it. I might sell one item a month for a couple dollars or even less. Frankly I I haven't sold anything in ages but I've items sitting there for over a year unsold despite offers and watchers.

I've even tried to flip items, and I just end up losing a bunch of money and adding even more clutter to my apartment.

Large items are out as I don't have a drivers' license, let alone a car.

[myrdale]

I want you to save this post somewhere in the back of your mind, so in 5 years or 10 years you can come back and see how very far you have progressed. You're already doing some really good stuff, and I believe you're on the right track.

Your budget is #1. You gave it a good start there.

Income $2500
Rent $900
Electric $50
Phone $20
Internet $35
Transport $75
Medical $25
Food (not listed, I am guessing $500)

That leaves about $900 unaccounted for.

There are other expenses you don't have listed to consider in your budget:

Clothing (Designer stuff is out, but you still need cloths. Walmart/GoodWill/etc)
Entertainment (Dinner with friends, a movie, or vacation)

I am of the opinion that having reliable transportation is important, but having the drivers license comes first. I took drivers ed in highschool, but honestly I was driving with my family around town. Your family is pushing you to drive, can they help teach you and you skip the lessons altogether?

When you are ready to buy a car, your budget on the TOP end is going to be $20k. (Your car shouldn't be more than half your annual income). If you can find a good used car for $10k (or less!) I think you'll be OK. All the better if you can save and buy with cash, but I am guessing not immediately. If you can at least pay the credit cards off first, you'll be in a better place.

Once you have the car, you can now add Gas, Insurance, Maintenance to your budget so keep those in mind ahead of time.

Consider a second part time job. 40 hours + 20 more sucks, I get it, but in the short term it will help you a lot.

You didn't list a price for food other than too high, but this is a great place to start. I spent $18 on lunch at Chipotle yesterday. I could have just as easily spent $5 at a local super market for a sandwich and drink, or even less if I cooked at home.

Once you're mobile, that will open up many more options for jobs.

Consider a room mate. But at $900 I am guessing it is a one bedroom apartment at most.

You never mentioned age. I am guessing <25. You might also consider night classes at a local community college. Nursing, CPA, banking, mechanic, tech, administration, there are lots of options for future job potential.

Keep us updated on your progress. I am honestly excited for your future.

[Fishindude77]

You are a perfect candidate for the Dave Ramsey plan. Check out his website, listen to the podcasts, etc.

Things that jump out to me:
Credit card use - Cut them up, pay them off and never use again until you have your financial act together.
Rather low income - Need to be working overtime, second job(s), etc. every day.
No drivers license / car - Although you are saving $$ by not having auto expenses and insurance, unless you have access to great public transportation, it will really limit your employment opportunities.

[bjl584]

I agree that a Dave Ramsey (or similar plan) could help.

Driving should be a priority, as it will allow you mobility for job searching and career choices
Give up the credit cards, pay them all off (easier said than done, but if you stop saving for a short time you can do it)
Eating out too much seems to be an issue. Learn to cook and start doing some meal prepping.
You definitely need an income bump. What do you do for work? Is there upward mobility? Is a part time job a possibility?

[ua_guy]

Not a fan of Dave Ramsey...kind of like religion, you don't need to join a church in order to experience spirituality. You don't need to 'subscribe' to someone or buy into their books/advice to fix your financial situation. Not that he doesn't have *some* good advice at the core, but he makes a living selling his brand.

My short term advice would be to track what you're spending on food - that seems to be the biggest category of uncertainty. Find ways that work for you to reduce expense, either eating at home / buying your meals and making them at home and trimming where you can.

Long term advice...how can you increase your knowledge or skill to increase your income significantly? It's one thing to reduce expense, and it's another whole thing to increase your available resources. The latter has bigger potential to elevate your situation.

Where are you located (general area/ country?)

[Kittenpanzer]

Much appreciated replies

I’m both surprised and not by the people saying so need an income bump. I was under the impression that $21/hr was middling income and I’m just bad with money.

I had a part time but quit recently; I’d like to find a different one. The old one was only 8hr a week and I couldn’t tolerate working 6 or 7 days a week. My full time job is as a file clerk at a biofuel company. I just got a raise and it does seem like I could stay here, especially after all the job hopping and losses from the past few years.

I’m 30, actually (per another comment thinking I’m under 25), and looking at going back to school (I first went when I was 18 but failed out repeatedly). I’m in NY so I qualify for free community college. I’d like to do something in the sciences but I’m also terrified that AI is going to take over everything. I’ve been actively discouraged from things like some types of engineering and bio sciences because it’s all going to be robots in 5-10y. I was curious about geology as a field of study (lots of applications) and told it’s a good idea simply because “they’ll still need humans to go collect samples”, as an example. Granted this was a person on Discord who says they “study AI daily” and “think in data and patterns so trends are easy to see”, but I still worry.

Finance and admin are supposed to be the hardest hit/first to go to AI, with legal and medical close behind.

Meanwhile boredom has fueled a lot of my job hopping and poor spending. That’s part of why I wanted a more engaging, less mindless career.

[Fishindude77]

Much appreciated replies
I’m both surprised and not by the people saying so need an income bump. I was under the impression that $21/hr was middling income and I’m just bad with money.

$21/HR Is certainly nothing to be ashamed of but you could probably get by a lot better with a room mate to share expenses with.
I shared rentals with buddies for the first couple years of my working career. Splitting rent and utilities is a huge help.

[ua_guy]

Income is relative to cost of living. As for work, I think the goal is to find work that suits your interests/abilities and supports your goals.

When people say they worry AI will take over their jobs, I encourage folks to be interested, not afraid. There are always ways to retool, relearn, acquire new skills and create value (and a paycheck!) where AI can't, or won't be able to for a long time. The medical world will need real humans for a very long time. As will finance, bio sciences, engineering. Geology is a great field, and geologists are employed all over the place. A friend of mine is now a retired geologist He spent his career mostly consulting for engineering firms and doing site studies, and he made good money doing it.

[myrdale]

Not a fan of Dave Ramsey...kind of like religion, you don't need to join a church in order to experience spirituality.

I was originally going to reference Dave as well, but deleted the the reference while editing the post.

Dave is a one size fits all solution. He's like the AA 12 steps for debt. His system will work for 95% of the people out there and has helped those who are willing to stick to it. I don't think debt is so much an issue as budget and income are in this case. But his system can help with that as well.

OP already has $2k emergency fund. Dave would say put $1k on credit cards right now. I disagree. Dave would say no more eatting out period, I'd have some cheat meals. Dave would say cut up the credit cards, I'd say just pay them off. Dave would get you there faster than me for sure.

[myrdale]

Much appreciated replies

I’m both surprised and not by the people saying so need an income bump. I was under the impression that $21/hr was middling income and I’m just bad with money.

I had a part time but quit recently; I’d like to find a different one. The old one was only 8hr a week and I couldn’t tolerate working 6 or 7 days a week. My full time job is as a file clerk at a biofuel company. I just got a raise and it does seem like I could stay here, especially after all the job hopping and losses from the past few years.

I’m 30, actually (per another comment thinking I’m under 25), and looking at going back to school (I first went when I was 18 but failed out repeatedly). I’m in NY so I qualify for free community college. I’d like to do something in the sciences but I’m also terrified that AI is going to take over everything. I’ve been actively discouraged from things like some types of engineering and bio sciences because it’s all going to be robots in 5-10y. I was curious about geology as a field of study (lots of applications) and told it’s a good idea simply because “they’ll still need humans to go collect samples”, as an example. Granted this was a person on Discord who says they “study AI daily” and “think in data and patterns so trends are easy to see”, but I still worry.

Finance and admin are supposed to be the hardest hit/first to go to AI, with legal and medical close behind.

Meanwhile boredom has fueled a lot of my job hopping and poor spending. That’s part of why I wanted a more engaging, less mindless career.

For income, more just means a bigger shovel. You have a good income if you're satisfied with you're overall situation. More just helps faster, but managing what you have (now and later) is probably more important to your goals.

Don't worry about AI taking over everything. People still have to program and run it. And I have yet to see any implementations that are "better" than a real person.

When I mentioned studying to be a tech, we work with lab techs, folks with the city water department, EPD, and alot more. If geology is of interest that would be an awesome direction to go.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I really think you aren't looking at making money from reselling. I'm not sure if you are reselling your own stuff or actually reseling to make money. I would strongly advise asking disneysteve how to do it. He will tell you where to read, groups to join, and how to start making extra money at it. I'm not a pro and know a little, mostly that it's possible and can be scaled.

[disneysteve]

I really think you aren't looking at making money from reselling. I'm not sure if you are reselling your own stuff or actually reseling to make money. I would strongly advise asking disneysteve how to do it. He will tell you where to read, groups to join, and how to start making extra money at it. I'm not a pro and know a little, mostly that it's possible and can be scaled.

I've got my own publicity team LOL.

Yes, online selling can be a great way to make extra money. Even without owning a car, it can be done. There are many online auctions where you can source merchandise to resell, have it delivered to you, and after it sells, have the mail carrier pick up the outgoing packages from your home. I know disabled folks who do it without ever leaving the house. Heck I buy stuff on ebay and Facebook Marketplace that I resell on ebay for a profit.

There are lots of ways to make extra money but reselling is a really good one because you don't need much upfront investment. Start by selling things you already have. Ask friends and family for any items they don't need anymore. Walk around the neighborhood on trash night and see what good stuff you can find at the curb. You can make good money without investing a penny in merchandise.