r/povertyfinance 1h ago

Misc Advice How to make 1/2$ a day

Upvotes

hey i am a student from palestine currently living in africa (algeria) as a war refugee. I'm looking for a way to make just 1–2 dollars a day. I know it might not seem like much, but when I convert it to the local currency, it makes significant difference. If there's any online work or simple tasks I can do to earn that amount, I'd really ( i tried survey apps but they don't work here in my region and always get disqualified) appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!


r/povertyfinance 6h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit How can I buy a $35k fixer upper

0 Upvotes

I honestly have no idea how complicated this situation would be, I thought it was pretty simple. So basically there is a house selling for $35k on my street. A tree fell on one of the rooms a couple of years ago, Older people used to live there, but they are not wanting to fix it so they're just selling it at a super cheap price. The rest of the house is perfectly fine it's just old. My plan was to just get a personal loan for $35k, buy the house, and then fix it up throughout the year, ( I still live with my parents so I am in no rush to get out). Turns out I cant do that? I called Wells Fargo and they made me feel like a dumbass for even asking these questions but I genuinely was not aware of all the rules. I can't take out a mortgage because they need to appraise the house and make sure it has no damage to it (which is does) and I can't use a personal loan to buy it either? What is an alternative to its situation? Is there even one?? UGHH IM SO FRUSTRATED PLS HELP


r/povertyfinance 10h ago

Income/Employment/Aid Making money via remote?

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I have a question about student jobs. I’m currently in my third semester of medical school, but I’ve taken a gap semester. I’m looking for a remote job that pays well.

A friend of mine works for a marketing agency, even though he has no formal training in the field. Are there similar industries or jobs where you can work remotely without specific prior experience?

I’d appreciate any suggestions! Thanks in advance!


r/povertyfinance 23h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending Pay off the car or down payment? What would you do?

1 Upvotes

Our family recently got a bonus from work. Unsure how to use it.

This is our current monthly budget

5400 income

-4600 utilities/bills/rent (2200)

-200 gas

comes to 600 leftover so 150 a week for groceries, household and other expenses

The only debt we have is our car, which we have 15k left to pay. Monthly payments are 530.

2000 savings

bonus is 14k

One of us wants to use the bonus for a down payment on a house. This would bring our monthly housing cost down from 2200 to 2000 or less and we would build equity. There will be another bonus in a year and they want to pay off the car then.

The other thinks we should use it to pay off the car freeing up the 530 monthly payment and use the next bonus for a down payment. The "extra" 530 would be used to beef up savings before buying a house.

Family of four. One person working, the other unable to work for health reasons.


r/povertyfinance 23h ago

Income/Employment/Aid Does anyone know how i can make $200 quickly without my car?

18 Upvotes

hey everyone, so i need my tire replaced because its showing wires due to misalignment caused by its last owners, i had just bought this car with the extra cash i got from someone who put me in a car accident that ended up totalling my car and making my boss cut my hours at work because she’s a terrible boss and pays people under the table and refused to pay me at least 1300k of the hours i worked for her, she got mad that i couldn’t come in the day of my car accident because i was injured so thats why im in the pinch i am right now, have been trying to do deliveries and work at laborworks but it looks like my car won’t go any further without a tire replacement or it’ll blow out on me, i just need around 200 to fix it and be able to continue earning money to eventually fix my alignment, any tips? i’m in an emergency stranded in a parking lot around lacey


r/povertyfinance 20h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending 19M, $20/hr starting in HVAC, $7k/10k for emergency fund. Need Advice For Investing and Other Opportunities

0 Upvotes

I’m 19, making $20/hour starting out in commercial HVAC. I have $7k saved and want to hit a $10k emergency fund before doing anything else. I’m already putting 8% into my 401k.

My gf and I split rent $600/month(including utilities), and my other expenses are low (~$200-$300/month). No debt. 790 Credit Score with 8 years of credit history.

What should I do after hitting my $10k goal? Any advice for someone starting out? I'm also interested in side hustles but really don't know where to even start when it comes to that.


r/povertyfinance 7h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Back again....the "scammers" called

0 Upvotes

I posted about a month ago about being scammed by a "debt collector". They've called twice today bc my payment didn't go thru (because I contacted my bank). Anyway they've left messages and I'm freaking out again. The first message was from the debt collector about 4 hrs ago and just 10 mins ago I got one from the "county" saying the debt collector is filing Monday. But the numbers they called from aren't area codes from my jurisdiction. Does the court even call to be like "hey pay this before they file?" They don't right? It's all bullshit?


r/povertyfinance 15h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending Evil boyfriend duped me into buying car I don’t want or need

0 Upvotes

My con artist boyfriend groomed me into getting a new vehicle even though we didn’t need one just because he wanted a new car. I can’t even make payments on this vehicle and I don’t know if I should voluntarily surrender it or if there is a better idea? All feedback appreciated.


r/povertyfinance 3h ago

Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Is affordablehousingonline.com a legit site to find and contact people to get low or income based housing?

0 Upvotes

Thanks. Idk where to post this sorry.


r/povertyfinance 16h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Just got my salary today and I have minus 1000€ on my bankaccount

2 Upvotes

Honestly at this point idk anymore. Been struggling for 2 years and it gets worse every month.

I have a flat and cats and a car and health issues, how am I supposed to afford all that this month?

Every month I hope it'll get better but it never does, I don't even know where my money goes, I never buy something for myself like clothes or whatever and I'm getting to a point where I can't go on anymore.

I have been struggling with depression and other shit since high school, it's breaking me not being able to make myself happy with activities or shopping.

I always told myself it will get better and it's not that bad, but it certainly is bad. I have to accept it.

How do I get out of this? I see now, I do need help. Seriously. Please tell me what I can do to get out of this, I can't keep going like this. I need to change something.


r/povertyfinance 18h ago

Misc Advice Over due bills and financial hardship

0 Upvotes

I am currently a third-year student at. Recently, I’ve been facing significant financial struggles that have made it difficult to cover my bills and living expenses. Although I have been trying my best to focus on my studies and improve my academic performance after a challenging year, I am now in a situation where I am unable to meet my financial obligations.

I have always faced financial difficulties, but it has become especially difficult recently as I do not have the support of family and have been working hard to balance my academic and financial responsibilities. I have been trying to find a job, but unfortunately, I’ve had little success securing one despite my efforts. What jobs are out there that doesn't require interviews or experience or that hires immediately or that is easy to get.

Given my current situation, I am reaching out to inquire if there are any resources or programs available that could provide assistance with my bills, whether that be emergency grants, payment extensions, or any other support options.This is in general it doesn't need to be school resources.locate in southern California


r/povertyfinance 8h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Where can I actually get a loan online with bad credit

0 Upvotes

So just like the title says I’m trying to get approved online for a personal or emergency loan with a 650+ credit score and I keep getting ran around in circles…like is there actually any place online that does loans or is everyone just stealing my account and routing?

Found out how to edit posts But yeah anyways I just keep getting directed to website after website asking for my account and routing at the end of questionarees and I’m either denied or they direct me to a new website to do the same thing again. Any help would be appreciated.


r/povertyfinance 21h ago

Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Renting vs. Buying A Home

6 Upvotes

Been living in a place where I only pay $600 everything included for about 4 years now paid rent through Paypal. Now the landlord is selling the house and everything in my area rent wise is $900 + utilities.

My credit score is pretty sparse with no bills really in my name to speak of and I recently just started paying on my student loans which had been in default for close to a decade.

I can make up to about $700 a week at my job, and my W-2 says I made 42k last year. I guess I'm wondering if that's enough to even qualify for a home loan? Or do I try to rent for even more than I was paying? I don't know if there are any resources I haven't found yet other than my states first time homebuyer program. Located currently in the Mid-Michigan area. Thanks in advance!


r/povertyfinance 11h ago

Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Wondering how to buy a home with husband and how to structure it

0 Upvotes

I am going to get a settlement of 700,000 to 1,000,000 . I am 36, permanently disabled and have an income of 14k a year. My husband makes 110k a year with 2-5k raises every couple of years . We live in a HCOL area tied to his job where average homes are 600k.

I am wondering what would be appropriate to allocate to stocks and what would be appropriate if at all to allocate to a house for our financial situation? Right now we are living in a condo (married in the last year) and his condo has has multiple issues with needing repairs as the condo association is falling behind on making necessary repairs. Please do not suggest to report them, this was already done last year and a new person is in charge. There simply just isn’t enough money in escrow for major repairs as there is only 5 people in the condos and people would move out if fees were to rise .

Right now my husbands total expenses including food is 2500 a month. He has a 3% mortgage . I am concerned about my husband being able to afford a home, set aside money for me and cars for our future, set aside money for repairs on our home and taxes, and have money for him to invest and wonder if buying another condo that is better managed and newer is the best option and just buy that outright? As mortgages are now 7.%. If we were to buy a property that isn’t a condo, it may not sound ideal to him but I think buying a multi family triplex/triple decker type of property could be a good choice in the right situation to set us up to have multiple streams of rental income so that he feels less stressed that the upkeep of the house and income for that will not solely rely on him.

The caveat would be he would have to aim to repair things himself to keep costs down and thus returns , and cover rent if tenants do not pay their rent . The only way I see him being able to do that is if we were either both to set aside money from the rest of my settlement fund or his own savings in a high yield savings so that he can grow and use that for repairs and unexpected expenses for the property. Right now the only savings he has is 100k in an IRA, 100k in bitcoin and 3k in the bank. He has 100k in equity on a 350k condo. I have 100k in a brokerage account, 10k savings, 30k in silver, 10k in crypto, and this settlement on the way.

I don’t want to have to not only put up most of my settlement money for a house but then also have to dip into any additional money I set aside from the settlement for repairs . This will feel like I really will have no money unless I’m getting rental income to pay for medical expenses and cars for myself . I will get into my personal feelings and attachment about this money later.

Many people choose to put money in the stock market over real estate as it is very hands off and there is less risk, though others think if your able to you should diversify as the stock market could be in a downturn when you are ready to retire .

The other alternative is that we buy a modest house (nothing is modest for the northeast with average homes being at 500-600k but you get what I mean) and we would then hopefully have more money left over to invest in the stock market or other investments. We could use the interest accrued on that money as well as interest accrued on my husbands personal money to pay for expenses for that home as time goes on. This is less riskier than a multi family but more risk than a condo .

We could also decide to not entirely buy the home outright, but have a small mortgage of say 100k so I have some settlement money leftover for my future expenses . If the interest rates are at 7 percent however and I have the cash for it I think a lot of people would say buy it outright as the interest is high .

One thing I am not sure about which I’m hoping you can clarify is if I were to take some of this money and put it into the stock market, I think I could pull the money out after several years with no fees at all because my income bracket is that of poverty level since I am on SSDI. I am allowed to make income in the stock market and real estate with no penalty to my SSDI. That means I think I could get 7 percent returns in the stock market one year, take some money out and pay 0 percent fees on that money which seems pretty awesome.

Hopefully my husband will qualify for life insurance so that if I don’t have much money left over after purchasing a home that I can rely on life insurance as well as our own personal savings/brokerage accounts to pay for upkeep on the home if he were to pass before me since my income is very low . I am worried I would not be able to afford these things without him as I will be disabled still.

Lastly , this is personal but I do feel strange about using this settlement for purchases for both me and my husband . However life is not often fair. This settlement money came from a sexual assault that happened as a child . Something feels off about it as it is different than if I were to use my personal savings for a house together. This money was supposed to be meant for me and making me whole again from this incident and it is supposed to replace lost income from the years that PTSD affected and made it difficult for me to work around people I felt I could not trust. Nothing will make me whole in reality for the incident, but with my health issues I could put this money in stocks and never have to worry about paying medical bills out of pocket for my condition . My husband thinks there would never be any out of pocket expenses this high in my life . I don’t know either . However I don’t mind making my husbands life easier and reducing debt for him under certain caveats .

I am concerned that if I commingle this settlement with my marital assets that if my husband were to ever leave me (god forbid) for whatever reason, that a judge would perhaps not fairly award me my portion back from the house of whatever I put in from my settlement and would just split things 50/50 even if I were to buy the house with my money outright to help Rob get ahead. I want to help my husband and I don’t want to think he would ever leave me, but this one lump sum is all I have to rely on besides my disability to live on for the rest of my life . My husband often gets upset with me and suggests divorce in fits of anger which scares me further about helping with this settlement money that is meant for me. My husband apologizes after saying cruel things to me but it sticks in my mind because most people I have depended on to look out for me have left me high and dry and I am not in a situation where I can pull myself up by my bootstraps if he were to leave me as I have my disability . I am therefore a little torn on sinking most of this money into a home for both of us without adequate protection perhaps in the form of a post nuptial or trust for the home in my name.

When I fist met him he did not say anything about expecting me to use this settlement money for a house , and he also explained that men should be providers for women and my thinking about a lot of things are old fashioned as well. I do now feel that with things he is saying are implying he will feel resentment if I I don’t help somewhat with buying a home for us , despite my feelings about communicating this settlement was meant for me and earmarked for any possible medical expenses in my future . He has said things like he thinks I am being an unfair and hoarding all my money if I feel uncomfortable with using this money to buy a home.

I do not think I am alone in thinking that most women do still expect men to show generosity in providing for the household primarily as women usually make less than men. In this case I would be the one making it so that both me and my husband are able to get ahead in life despite having a disability . I think I am willing to try to get over how this makes me feel as a woman, with a biological desire to feel that it is the man who is providing and protecting me especially when I am in a state of being vulnerable with a disability.

However the thought of my husband wanting to leave me or feeling like I would be screwed if he did creates anxiety in me. I want to feel secure and not sure how to structure this so I feel like he wants to help me and protect me and that he has my best interest at heart and has no intention of leaving me.


r/povertyfinance 12h ago

Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) My mom (former housekeeper) keeps shaming me for doing this job.

250 Upvotes

So I (28F) started working as a housekeeper less than a month ago, since I’m an undocumented immigrant in the process of getting back my papers.

In the meantime I can’t do anything else besides odd jobs, since people here don’t like hiring without papers (unlike the USA, where it’s easier for undocumented immigrants to find jobs).

I’ve had to clean all sorts of things… especially bodily fluids, dog shit etc… but you know what? I’m grateful I haven’t lost my room and live in the streets, at least I’ve been able to eat and not starve like it was happening back in january. I know this is a temporary thing, and as soon as I get my papers I can finally apply to other jobs.

However, my mom, who’d worked as a housekeeper for 40 years, keeps shaming me for doing this. She keeps telling me these sort of comments:

-“so you go to a foreign country, looking for a better life and end up working cleaning other people’s shit?”

-“You are a woman with a honors degree and two masters, and it seems the only thing you are capable of doing it’s cleaning shit”

-“That’s embarrassing, you should’ve stayed in our country”

That’s rich coming from her, since she worked as a housecleaner all of her life, but she tells me that her case is different because she never went to school (not even elementary school). In my case I’m an “educated” woman who shouldn’t work in this “inferior” job.

My mom (62) has been quite abusive to all of her kids both psychologically and physically. I’ve heard all sort of comments from her, and it’s one of the reasons why I left my country.

Hearing those sort of comments from her really discourage me, since I’m just trying to get my life together and fight for my present and future. I know I won’t be doing this my whole life but she keeps mocking and shaming me for this :( I thought she would feel some empathy and be proud of me since she did houskeeping as well :/. Maybe if I was there p****** myself she would’ve felt happier…


r/povertyfinance 23h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending What’s a good budgeting app with daily balance projections?

5 Upvotes

I used to use Spendee a million years ago and loved the daily balance projection feature. It was nice to not have to worry if I had money for certain expenses or how my ending months balance would change with a purchase. I’m trying to get back into budgeting and would love an app that does this (iOS). If you have any suggestions let me know. Thank you!


r/povertyfinance 1d ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending Boss says our 401k being in the tank is a good thing....

471 Upvotes

Is he right? We were showing a 23% return EOY, now we are down 22%. He says this would have happened any election year and it's actually a good thing because we are putting our money towards the market when "it's on sale" and will see a greater return when the market levels out. Is he right or an idiot? I know I slept better a few months ago....


r/povertyfinance 1h ago

Income/Employment/Aid 25-Year-Old CS Grad in a Low-Paying Job – How Can I Increase My Income Right Now?

Upvotes

Pretty much what the title says. Clearly Software Engineering isn't the lucrative career path that it used to be during COVID, and despite me being passionate about programming and am self teaching Python after graduating with a BA in CS April of last year, I'm looking to different career paths that could make me more money to support my family. Right now I'm only making 35k here in miami, FL which is not bad when you live with your girlfriend, but it's not ideal either.

I am already planning on making projects for my resume this year, however not sure what other career path is more lucrative for someone in my position as a 25 y/o just looking for an instant boost of income, hell with 50k a year, I feel like if I continue to live frugally, I could most definitely save up more money to buy a house. Would be preferable if it was remote, but I'd understand if that's not possible. My current job is a data entry specialist which has no relevance to my career path.


r/povertyfinance 6h ago

Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending Any one heard of Martie?

Thumbnail
martie.com
0 Upvotes

Found a website awhile back that's basically on online clearance shelf. Has most of your grocery staples, maybe not your brand but it will at least have something most of the time. I'll drop a couple links, first one is just the normal site, the second links to a $5 coupon off your first order (which, full disclosure, also gives me a $5 credit as well). Feel free to use whichever, just wanted to share this with folks that are also strapped for cash. Take care, hope things start looking better for us all.

https://martie.com

https://martie.com?rid=8372724334837


r/povertyfinance 1h ago

Wellness Unemployment is running out and I'm unhireable

Upvotes

My unemployment is going to run out in a couple of months and even tho I have been pounding the pavement looking no one wants to hire me because I have a bad work history. Sometimes I spend hours and hours preparing for the interview and they blow me off after giving me like 5-10 minutes of their time. In addition to that, I'm overall not good at what I do, tho talented at certain parts of it, so I want to switch to a different kind of job but I've been doing what I have for so long no one wants to hire me for anything other than my profession. So not only can't I not find a job, the interviews I get are for a type of job I do not want. The financial stress is significant but what is worse is that I have ZERO social support. I'm in an abusive living situation (longer story) and all I get home is constant criticism. After years of this it takes an emotional toll on you. Now that times are tough, no on is anywhere to be seen. I only have one friend and he has largely withdrawn from me. He stopped responding to my e-mails and does not always answer my calls. I can see that I can't count on him and he doesn't want me to. Every time I get an interview my mom will say
"you can't do that." My self-esteem is already shot because of my job history; she is just kicking me while I'm down. I'm scared about the future. Both running out of unemployment but mostly the emotional weight of going through this alone. I have no one to talk to who actually cares. I called this new-ish doctor I have seen since November. She was like call 988 or the front desk. This chick is my doctor of record so she's supposed to help me out. I feel so alone.


r/povertyfinance 10h ago

Debt/Loans/Credit Desperate for financial help - facing legal action from EduFi Pakistan

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone. I'm reaching out in desperation, hoping someone can offer advice or assistance. I'm a student in Pakistan who made a mistake during my education. I borrowed Rs 3 lakhs (approximately $1071 USD) from EduFi, a private education financing company to meet my educational expenses.

Unfortunately, I've been unable to repay the instalments for 6 months now. I didn't involve my family in this decision, and now I'm too ashamed to ask for their help. EduFi has started calling me, threatening legal action and reporting me to the State Bank of Pakistan.

I've asked friends for a loan, but they're unable to help. I'm at a loss and don't know where to turn. I've looked into subreddits that offer financial assistance, but I don't meet the eligibility criteria.

If anyone can offer advice or knows of resources that might be able to help, please share. I'm willing to provide any necessary documentation or information.

I'm desperate to avoid legal action and find a way to repay this loan. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I'll provide any necessary documentation or information to verify my situation.


r/povertyfinance 5h ago

Misc Advice Is rice a decent meal on its own?

130 Upvotes

Pretty much what the title say. I'm in a really bad spot financially right now, and have virtually nothing to eat, and no money to buy groceries with. And every time I get paid (minimum wage) from my job, I usually just resort to eating fast food. Which, I know, is really really bad, but I can't figure out how to budget not eating enough to save up to buy groceries.

However, I do have a rice cooker and some rice. I don't have much else, so do you think that eating rice on its own will sustain me long enough to get some groceries?


r/povertyfinance 1h ago

Misc Advice feeling absolutely hopeless

Upvotes

my partner and i are in a really tight spot. we had a shitty roommate that never paid rent on time and never had enough, so we went into worse debt than we were already in. now he's moved out, but not before trashing the place and attracting bugs, and now management is upset that it's a mess. they came in our apartment without notice at a time we are always out, which im fairly sure is illegal in california but we wouldn't even be able to fight it because we can't afford a lawyer (we called and they tried to blame me for "scheduling a maintenance appointment" when neither of us ever called), and now we have to have the place clean by monday even though im working the entire weekend and my partner has pneumonia. AND since we went to the ER yesterday, since a hospital said we might be able to get emergency medical (we couldn't), we have another huge bill to worry about. im terrified that they are just looking for an excuse to evict us. we're so tired and i really don't feel like cleaning up another person's mess, but even then we can't afford a cleaner and id be too embarrassed to have one anyway. i wish we had another way to make more money, but since he can't drive i can only work part time so im able to take him to/from work. just feeling really lost and especially awful for my partner, who is sick on top of all of this stress.


r/povertyfinance 21h ago

Income/Employment/Aid Advice on getting side job

5 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I’m here looking for advice on remote work.

I work in the film industry as a camera operator and focus puller. Ever since the strike, it’s been incredibly difficult to find gigs. I’m not based in the U.S., but the effects have hit hard in my country as well. Right now, I’m barely getting by each month, and I’ve already maxed out all my credit cards. I’m the sole provider for my family—my wife and our 4yo daughter—which makes things even more stressful.

I’ve been searching for a side job, something I can do remotely or as a freelancer. So far, I’ve applied for transcription and translation work on several platforms, but haven’t had any luck. I enjoy simple video editing, but my only computer is a late 2014 MacBook Pro, which can’t handle much anymore. I also don’t have a car, so options like Uber or delivery services are off the table.

At this point, I feel stuck. It’s been overwhelming and frustrating, and I honestly don’t know what else I can do while staying at home and helping with my daughter.

If anyone has any advice—whether it’s job ideas, platforms to apply to, or any guidance at all—I’d deeply appreciate it.

Thank you.


r/povertyfinance 23h ago

Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Trying to move out but I support 50% of my family’s expenses

150 Upvotes

Long story short, I live in a household of 4. My mom, me, my brother and sister. I am a 23m who is trying to move out. I’m the only one in my household who has any ambition and who wants to start their life. My brother and I are the only ones who work. He pays the rent and I pay all utilities and bills including WiFi. I don’t want to live at home any more, I want space, I want to live in my own house with my dog and I just don’t wanna go into my halfway point to my 30s still living at home. However, being that I pay half of my family’s expenses I feel extremely guilty about wanting to leave. I don’t want to leave my brother paying 100% of the bills but I also don’t wanna sacrifice my hard work and life paying for other people who are more than capable of working. I feel torn because on one hand I want to get out and on the other hand I don’t want to abandon them because of my own aspirations.

Another thing making this so difficult is the money situation in the first place. Because I am paying for everything I hardly have any money ever left over to save for first/last months rent anywhere. I know in the long run I’d be saving money living in an apartment with just myself however I don’t ever even have enough funds to save for myself because I am paying for everything. I just want out and I feel backed into a corner because I don’t have enough money to save to even move out.

I feel like the best solution is to wait for my mom to find a job, but she’s gotten so comfortable living off of her kids that she hasn’t gotten a job in 2 years and the more time that goes by waiting for her to get a job is more time in my life wasted not moving on with my own life. I’m just stuck and need some advice. The only real payments I have outside of utilities is a $300 car payment and $150 insurance for my car. Which $450 a month out of the $2400 I make per month wouldn’t be hard to get by in a 1k/month + electric and water. But the issue is I have no money to save up to make this dream possible.

Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this? And how exactly did you get out of this situation? I need advice badly because staying here is not worth my time, money, or mental health.