- December 1, 2023
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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Seeking Financial Guidance and Assistance
I am in need of some advice and guidance regarding my current financial situation. I am feeling lost and unsure about how to improve my circumstances, and I am hoping for some support from this community.
To provide some context, I recently celebrated my 25th birthday, and I find myself struggling financially. I work as an assistant teacher and earn approximately $1800 per month. However, after accounting for my necessary expenses, such as rent, utilities, and loan payments, I am left with a very limited amount of disposable income for groceries and other essentials. Additionally, the fact that I do not receive a salary during holiday and summer breaks only exacerbates my financial challenges.
My financial situation has left me feeling frightened and uncertain about my ability to save money or pay off my debts. I am also experiencing a sense of crisis about the direction of my life. I do not hold a college degree, and I face obstacles in finding alternative employment opportunities in my local area due to my lack of transportation.
Given these circumstances, I am at a loss for what steps to take next. Is this bleak financial outlook a permanent aspect of my life? How can I break free from this cycle of financial distress and uncertainty?
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For sure the biggest thing to focus is to get a higher paying job. Plenty of info and advice there.
On the expenses side, you can most definitely cut that phone line. IÔÇÖve seen $20/mo plans with other providers.
Also, looks like youÔÇÖre under CC debt. You gotta kill that faster rather than later. Good luck.
You need a higher paying job. Here are some job ideas the last one sometimes has housing. This pays well the US Post Office is hiring note it sometimes takes feds three months to hire someone. https://about.usps.com/careers/welcome.htm Take the test and apply for jobs anywhere in USA.
Amtrak is hiring https://careers.amtrak.com/ Jobs exist in most states.
US Forest service is hiring https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/jobs
These also pay well you may not qualify for all of them https://www.fool.com/slideshow/not-many-people-want-these-jobs-and-s-why-they-pay-well/
50 jobs over $50,000 without college https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/07/25/50-jobs-over-50000-without-a-degree-part-1/
Look into Concessioners for the National Park service. The jobs include fields of Lodging; Campgrounds; Food Service Operations; Guide Services and Outfitters. The jobs SOMETIMES include HOUSING in more remote areas like Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Grand Canyon, etc. Some jobs are summer or winter only, others are all year long in one location or you may be able transfer between locations to work year-round. Use this link & enter the name of the park you wish to be employed at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/concessions/authorized-concessioners.htm Contact each concessioner directly by Googling the company name to apply. This link will let you look up parks by state https://www.nps.gov/index.htm not every park has a concessioner.
YouÔÇÖre struggling because your job pays exceptionally little (for how important it is in society). Fast food would pay better than your job. Are you credentialed to be a lead teacher? Can you get a non-assistant role? I saw your comment that youÔÇÖre looking at para jobs, which suggests you maybe arenÔÇÖt. If you are not (and have no path to becoming credentialed or getting a classroom teacher job in an emergency credential), then I would be looking at warehouse gigs, fast food, retail, while you think about what youÔÇÖd like to do in the future.
Have the following options
1. Find a job that makes more money
2. Get another job (gig work maybe)
3. Find a cheaper living situation – could be moving somewhere cheaper
4. Find a partner that can contribute and tag team through expenses
Dude you just donÔÇÖt make enough.
You need a better paying job or more hours or a second job.
Your rent shouldnÔÇÖt be more than 30 maybe 33% your income.
Your expenses arenÔÇÖt outrageous and IÔÇÖm sure the cc debt and loans are because you have no margin.
Your life would be worlds different at simply $3600 a month and thatÔÇÖs not asking a lot even though itÔÇÖs double your income.
Make more money is the only answer
Make more money and then act like you never got a raise
You need to make a career plan. Pick up a second job, look i to seasonal work. Stop charging groceries, pay cash for them no matter what. Reduce your phone bill-get a limited data plan for $30-40. Good luck
Go to trade school. Plumbers, mechanics, electricians in the US can easily make 6 figures these days.
Why an assistant teacher? Do you like teaching?
Your job sucks. Basically you need to put some time into finding a better job or getting the qualifications for one. Until that happens you’re stuck. You cannot save your way into another tax bracket.
There must be another option for you. Heck, joining the military would probably get you more money.
$98/month for phone sounds a lot. Surely there are better options.
You’ll need a 2nd job. Your expenses are way too high relative to what you make. Cut down the monthly spend on that phone and swap to some prepaid plan that’s like $15/month. Your rent + utilities is also more than 50% of your income, you may need to consider moving to someplace cheaper. See if there’s any more room to reduce your expenses. Consider using the income from that 2nd job to aggressively trim down on those loans, otherwise you will be stuck in this endless cycle.
Theres lot of cheaper internet and phone now. You might be able to find $25 each these days.
The $450 debt service on cards and loans is killing you, 25% of your income. Rather than treat them as one big lump of debt, you order the payoff by highest interest first, or largest debt first. Step by step it gets smaller.
Most likely you’ll need a second job of at least $500 a month to make progress on debt. Then rarely use credit cards again. You have issues there.
For food go to a church food pantry once a month when you do not get full pay. You will have call a church to find if has a pantry and the pantry hours. About a1/3 of churches have a pantry and it almost never listed on their website. Most pastors know who has a pantry so if you attend services this weekend or get thru on the phone you can also ask who has one. Catholic and main line Protestant churches have office hours on weekdays with others you have leave a msg on voice mail.
minimum payment on a credit card is your biggest mistake. 98 for a phone line is also ridiculous, i get 5 lines for 140 with unlimited everything. you need to get your ‘want’ spending under control until you have your credit card and loan payments handled.
DonÔÇÖt get things on credit. CanÔÇÖt afford to buy it in full? DonÔÇÖt get it. Also, you need to get either a second job or a better job. $1800 just wonÔÇÖt take you so far. In fact, youÔÇÖre doing well given this salary.
Even as a full teacher, IÔÇÖve almost always worked a second job. All of the asst teachers do. ItÔÇÖs sad, but itÔÇÖs the way it is.
Change or add jobs.
youÔÇÖd honestly make more at costco that you do now. a lot of retail stores pay 17-20 an hour. iÔÇÖd look into transition into a higher paying field. 11hr is barely over minimum wage.
Everyone is right in telling you that you need a better paying job. You’re being taken advantage of by your employer. But you’re also living a lifestyle that you can’t afford and this debt is strangling you.
> ÔÇó 45 for internet
If this means you’re splitting a $90/mo internet bill with a roommate, then you can’t afford this tier of internet service. You need to call around to other providers and find a better rate. Having fast internet is useless if it’s putting you into a hole you can’t dig yourself out of.
> ÔÇó 98 for phone
You can’t afford $100/mo for a phone. You might not like it, but if you’re having to put groceries on a credit card that you can’t pay off, this is a luxury you cannot afford.
> ÔÇó 88 for a loan
> ÔÇó 212 for another loan
Loans for what? You don’t drive, so it’s not an auto loan. You don’t mention a degree, so it’s not student loans. Please tell me these aren’t payday loans.
> ÔÇó 45 for minimum payment on my chase card
> ÔÇó 100+ on my Apple Card
I’m guessing this means you’ve spent a few thousand dollars on things you can’t afford in the past and now it’s caught up with you? You’re probably barely paying against the interest on these items. It would take you at least a few years to pay them off only paying the minimums and not adding anything new. Stop spending money you don’t have. Stop using your credit cards.
All-in-all, this is $600+ of your pay. Your situation is far more sustainable if you can get these monkeys off of your back. Find a cheaper phone and internet plan. Get a part time job and put literally every penny you earn towards these debts. You simply won’t get your head above water until these debts are cleared.
$1,800 a month, assuming 160 hours worked, comes out to $11.25/hr. As others have noted, you need to increase your income and reduce your expenses.
For phone plans, look up Mint Mobile. I pay $180 a year for 5gb of data per month and thatÔÇÖs plenty of data since I WFH and am connected to wifi all the time. You dont need unlimited data, certainly dont need to be paying almost $100 a month.
$212 + $89 = $301 going towards loans; what loans are these? WhatÔÇÖs the interest rate?
Maxing out your cards and having to pay $150 a month in JUST minimum payments are going to kill you on the interest.
What are you buying for groceries thatÔÇÖs exceeding $300 a month for one person if it has to go on your CCÔÇÖs?
ThereÔÇÖs a lot of information in your budget thatÔÇÖs missing. At 27 i realized my jobÔÇÖs in restaurants werenÔÇÖt cutting it. Started my new career at 28 and IÔÇÖve made great financial progress in the past 1.5yrs cause I increased income, decreased expenses, and prioritized saving for my future over short term pleasure. ItÔÇÖs a trade off. The good news is youÔÇÖre 25, you still have time to make a difference. I felt pretty hopeless at age 25; 25 is the beginning. I think this is a normal feeling. You can do this!
Short term:
1) find another job that can give you 40 hrs a week. I would start with Costco, Walmart, McDonalds etc. any big name retail space will work.
Long term:
Get into another career. Try something like a trade school
Do you have availability to pick up a second job temporarily to help get out of the rut? Unfortunately, that isnÔÇÖt all too uncommon in the teaching profession, but some kind of weekend and/or night job would likely fit in with the school schedule.
$300 in groceries for a single person is probably the first place to look. There are various subreddits about meal planning/cutting food budget down that I would start with.
Next, stop using your credit cards for new purchases. You are carrying a balance, so all new charges start accruing interest immediately.
Your cellphone likely has some room to get cheaper. Most of the budget plans are in the $30-$40/mo range.
Then you can start looking at the avalanche method for paying off your credit cards and loans. When those are paid off, that gives some breathing room in your budget.
Hi friend. It’ll get better. Focus on increasing your income opportunities. Get the basics down, budgeting and even saving the smallest amount of money like $5 at a time. That way as your income grows you have a system in place that will serve you well.
Focus on finding opportunities in your network. If your network is not very big yet, one investment could be volunteer engagements to meet more people and find projects to work on that can help you gain trust with people that you may eventually work with or get a referral from.
Other than the obvious answer of her a second job or need more money, I’d say you are overspending on phone and food, easily.
Is the phone a charge for just the service or a phone as well? If it’s just service, shop around and get something better, or go the prepaid and wifi route.
Groceries? If you are spending 300/mo and maxing your cards to eat, you can trim a bunch of. No fast food, and cut your spending down to basics.
Now the two obvious things, the loans and credit cards are making it much harder for you. That’s easily 450/mo you are losing. You need a second job if for nothing else then to cut those out.
You have to make more money. Check out online tutoring, you should be able to pick up clients pretty easily with a teaching background, payÔÇÖs quite good, and hours are flexible especially if your schedule is already synced up with school hours.
You don’t make enough. Overtime as you progress in your career you will make more money and become more comfortable. Do not increase your lifestyle when your income increases.
Pay off your loan for $212 per month first or pay the one that has the highest interest rate. Pay the credit card next and then the smaller loan.
This is coming from a former teacher. Change your career. You will never get out of that cycle until you do. You may love it, but it does not love you. Until the powers that be actually start paying educators what they should get, the career path is not worth it. I got out and make 3 times as much. My wife was the same. We changed in our late 30s, so never say never when it comes to making changes in your life.
First try getting food stamps, apply on line. Why on earth is your phone so high??? Mine is $45. Mint now advertises $15 a month. Why is your Internet $90. Cut that down, again mine was only $65. But when I got approved for food stamps even if you are only approved for like $20 a month it automatically opens up tons of other doors like internet for $10 and so on. Also free cellular service. Call your electrical company and ask them if they have programs that can turn off some of your appliances that you’re not using late at night which will save you money you need to start to figure out how to save money and stop charging things and pay those charges off. Even if you have to just start eating ramen noodles. Buy frozen chicken thighs thaw one out at a time, cook it and put it in the ramen noodles with some spinach and scallions and make cheap meals that way.
$309 for groceries AND:
Transportation (bus pass or fuel and oil change and tires if you have a car – parking, insurance)
Medical copays
Annual haircut or other necessary personal cost
Socks/underpants/necessary clothing
Lightbulbs/HVAC filter, any necessary home items not covered by rent
Any annual subscriptions or irregular expenses
Obviously $309 canÔÇÖt cover this. You need to work more, it doesnÔÇÖt sound like this is a fulltime job 50+ weeks a year. I finished a college degree over 20 years and finished in 2022. During those years I behold a career that supported myself and my kids.
You need to work full time.
Become a flight attendant. No degree required. Pay is good. Travel is free. Substitute teach on your days off. Follow Dave Ramsey plan. That is all.
first of all, dont worry. take a breath, and let time do its thing. i was paycheck to paycheck until my 30’s, but the way i finally broke free was to start a side hustle…if you can do any kind of labor or service for people, then start a small side business and build it up, then after some time you can quit whatever other crap job you have and focus on your company, and make way more than you ever imagined. The trick is to find a service/labor related field, because no matter how good AI gets, humans will always need other humans to do stuff for them
Sell everything you dont need and pay down one of the loans. Not much you can do in the short term. Also, dont bother buying any Christmas gifts.you cant afford it.
But as others have said, you need to make more money. Either a part time job or a whole new full time job.
I am looking for an opening in my district for a Paraeducator position. Which starts at $19.50/hr at .9 FTE, which means I get paid during breaks AND IÔÇÖll be doing less work. But the union is planning on striking so I was advised to wait that out.
Pal. Almost any job makes more than that. You WILL figure it out. At your age I was scared shirtless and made it work better than most. You will always be worried to some degree but you will widen out your options. Get a gig that pays double that. Super easy in most cities. Good luck
CostcoÔÇÖs minimum wage is $18.50/hour. After taxes, close to your current income for 40 hours/week, plus good benefits and raise and promotion potential. Of all retailers, it pays workers the highest percentage of its sales in the aggregate. ThereÔÇÖs a reason people put in 15 or 20 years with them.
Great potential in the Trades. There are many to choose from. Do some research in your area and see which ones are accepting apprentices and have lower lay-off in the winter time and don’t ruin your body by age 50.
The simple answer is that your job sucks. I made more money waiting tables 3 days a week during college in the early 2000s.
Take advantage of services designed towards folks with lower incomes. There’s a Federal Gov’t plan to offset your internet cost: [https://www.fcc.gov/acp](https://www.fcc.gov/acp) as well as Federal programs to help with cell phone costs [https://www.lifelinesupport.org/](https://www.lifelinesupport.org/) Also check with your state, as several offer assistance with pricing.
And it needs to be said: Food Banks and Food Pantries exist to help. There is absolutely no shame. I volunteer at one, and the people I serve with are genuinely happy to help. Taking a chunk out of your budget with some free food will add dollars to your debt reduction plans.
I agree, the pay is your issue. 20yrs ago my ex made ~1600/mth and i desperately wanted to be sahm. We didnt have much debt, our apartment was like 800/mth id paid cash for my car and paid off my exs. But there was just no way to survive on that low of an income (even as good as i am at penny pinching) and he made like 10/mth too much to qualify for foodstamps etc.
Paying off your debts would free up some cash, so a 2nd job to pay off ALL your debt and build up a little nest egg would help.
But like i tell my kiddo, tradesmen are HURTING right now. Plumbing, electric, hvac its not a glamorous job but pays decent.
Paycheck to paycheck is getting you by, so now is the time to figure out what you want to do for the next 10+ years and work on whatever training you need to do that.
If teaching, time to become full fledged.
In the meantime, id look at picking up 15-20hrs a week parttime or do uber/lyft or something and pay down your debt and save 5k while you figure out a path.
Being debt free with a cushion makes it less stressful when making big life changes!
At 25 you should be making the least amount you’ll ever make. It should keep going up as long as you prioritize your career.
Stop valuing SOCIAL interaction and get into a job that PAYS MORE. I have several friends ALL in your same circumstances because they simply REFUSE to get better paying jobs because they ÔÇ£loveÔÇØ the social aspect of being a teacher assistant. ItÔÇÖs ridiculous! We dont go to work to make friends we go to work to make money! If you like them so much, just continue the friendship outside of work. It isnt that hard!
Continue to educate yourself about managing your money and how to move forward. Idk much of your background but some of the people who have helped me along the way include Tori Dunlap of HerFirst100k(IG, Spotify podcast, website), Erika Kulberg(IG, Spotify podcasts) and Dave Ramsey(not a huge fan but he has some solid points and is all about tough love) For context, I am 32 and I had zero financial education growing up. I essentially taught myself with the help of these people just a couple years ago when I felt like I was at rock bottom. I had a shit credit score in the 400s, collections knocking on my door, and about 70k in consumer debt including student loans. just a few years later and Im now in a completely different place.
All this to say, youÔÇÖre not alone. I know exactly how you feel and It will get better if you want it to! you have the resources to help yourself!! You can do it. 🙂
Is moving back home an option? You don’t make enough money to live “on your own”, you are still very much in “need family support” territory. You need to get some more education, and skills and get a higher paying job. Go home, study, get better job, then try moving out again. **That’s the long term strategy.**
If living at home is not an option, you need to move somewhere that makes your rent expense go down to half that. So prob 3 bedroom, shared with 2 roommates.
$98 is WAY too much for a cell phone plan. There are a LOT of cheaper options. Look at TELLO. $10/month options.
I’m not sure what an Apple Card is.
Do you have transportation costs? Car/gas/insurance? Or public transit? How does that fit in?
Any subscriptions?
Do you go out with friends? expenses from that?
I work for a cc completely call them and ask if you have any offers to lower your apr (anything helps), and clear your debt with them, itÔÇÖs not helping, your spending so much extra money monthly, and definitely pay more then your min and donÔÇÖt use it till itÔÇÖs paid off, you can use a cc without paying interest just pay off your statement balance monthly.
idk what your groceries look like but cook donÔÇÖt eat out, and eat your leftovers! You wouldnÔÇÖt believe how often I see people complain about the price of groceries but they throw out there leftovers, also donÔÇÖt buy prepackaged food,make it ! I survived off spaghetti for 2 years itÔÇÖs so cheap buy canned tomatoes, canned tomatoes sauce, seasonings your choice of meat and noodles and and you can add olives or bell pepper ect ,it would last me a week and cost 12$ if that , also check your grocery stores some are way cheaper then others! Like ALDIS if you have it.
Make sacrifice use generic brands, go to the dollar store for simple household stuff, stop all unnecessary spending, there is so much people can cut out of there lives ,really look at everything! There is free streaming services, you donÔÇÖt need room spray, or that energy drink at the gas station (speaking of which donÔÇÖt buy things from them itÔÇÖs so expensive!)
And definitely get another job part time, another seasonal job, even if itÔÇÖs just to pay off your cc.