Ahhhh why is life so expensive

algebrapro18

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I just sat down and crunched the numbers for this month and it looks like I am spending about $1047.99 in bills. That inclueds rent, food, internet, phone, cable, and electric. For a single person in a one bedroom apartment this seems a bit much to me, how does it compair for you guys?

I just got back from 3 days on vacation and that vacation cost me 185.64...for 3 days. I had a house waiting for me to so I didn't even have to pay room and board...this not having a job stuff is starting to hurt. My parents are giving me 1200 a month to live on and its working but just barely. I can't wait to get a job, and I know tom can't wait either because he can tell that I am stressed out right now. I'm glad I didn't take the boat out this weeked and i didn't fish because that would have cost me another probably 100 dollars for bait, gas for the boat, and fishing license. As it stands right now I have an extra 11.23 in my bank account that has to last me the rest of the month.

Anyone else feeling the strain of this crappy economy and no job?
 

mer636

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yeah when my bf and I sit down and think of all our bills it comes up to about $1556 this month with having to take tiger to the vet and all the bills and such..life would sure be a whole lot easier for everyone if we didn't have to pay bills
 

mrblanche

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We just got back from a few days in Sweden. Be glad you don't live there; a Big Mac costs $9.50 there. Fortunately, we were guests of Volvo Trucks. We couldn't have afforded any of the meals we ate there, if we'd had to pay for it.

I can sympathize with the low income. Jobs are pretty plentiful in this area, if for no other reason than all of the oil and gas drilling. You have to hide to keep from getting a job, here.
 

mrblanche

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Where, Sweden, or Texas?


They are desparate for truck drivers down here, that much is for sure. And, of course, all that activitiy works through the economy pretty quickly.
 

natalie_ca

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Yes, finances here are the pits too. I'm on long term disability and finally had to declare personal bankruptcy at the end of November last year. My disability is a fixed income so it doesn't go up with inflation, so while everything around me has been increasing, my income has stayed the same. It finally got to the point where after paying my rent, creditors and utilities that I had less than $300.00 left for things like food, cat food/litter, transportation, medications, laundry, toiletries/cleaning supplies, hair cuts etc.

I'm hoping that in the fall I'll be starting a back to work program and back at my job where I'm being paid to do my job, by January or the very latest...spring. If I can manage that I will be in a much better financial situation, because right now my income is less than 60% of what I was earning 4 years go, and out of that 60% I have to pay income tax, so it works out to more like 50% or maybe 45%.
 
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algebrapro18

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Not only do I have to pay all these bills...now I can't find my check book...and with out that I can't pay my rent.
 

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Originally Posted by algebrapro18

I just sat down and crunched the numbers for this month and it looks like I am spending about $1047.99 in bills. That inclueds rent, food, internet, phone, cable, and electric. For a single person in a one bedroom apartment this seems a bit much to me, how does it compair for you guys?

I just got back from 3 days on vacation and that vacation cost me 185.64...for 3 days. I had a house waiting for me to so I didn't even have to pay room and board...this not having a job stuff is starting to hurt. My parents are giving me 1200 a month to live on and its working but just barely. I can't wait to get a job, and I know tom can't wait either because he can tell that I am stressed out right now. I'm glad I didn't take the boat out this weeked and i didn't fish because that would have cost me another probably 100 dollars for bait, gas for the boat, and fishing license. As it stands right now I have an extra 11.23 in my bank account that has to last me the rest of the month.

Anyone else feeling the strain of this crappy economy and no job?
It is horrible. DH and I are barely able to keep up with bills. We really can't afford grocercies so we eat a lot of cheap foods. We are always hurting for gas money. Things will be a little better if I could find a part time jobs but it hard to find anyone hiring part time. Sigh, the economy really stinks right now.
 

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Originally Posted by algebrapro18

I just sat down and crunched the numbers for this month and it looks like I am spending about $1047.99 in bills. That inclueds rent, food, internet, phone, cable, and electric. For a single person in a one bedroom apartment this seems a bit much to me, how does it compair for you guys?
That sounds like a fantastic deal compared to my area. I know quite a few people that spend well over that.


Originally Posted by algebrapro18

Anyone else feeling the strain of this crappy economy and no job?
I think at this point everyone is feeling the strain no matter if they are employed or not. Fuel prices alone have wreaked havoc on everyone's budget no matter which sector of the workforce (or not) you are in.

You're lucky your parents are still giving you a stipend and haven't found it necessary to cut back on that.
 

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For rent, cable w/internet, water, power, 3 vehicle insurance, phone, in a 3BR, 1.5 bath on an acre or so, including a shed build like the house that someone could actually live in, it costs us around 1150 a month. That does not include groceries or cat expenses. We were very lucky to find this place, we won't find another one like it. I am afraid they are not going to renew our lease, though. It is up in August. I am going to ask for a 6 month extension if they don't volunteer us a lease. We want to move to Austin, TX,this Spring, so that would give us our needed time.
 

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The amount you spend for living expenses sounds ok to me. Of course many people consider cable TV an essential-we never have had in since we've been married (22+ yrs).

While newscasters paint a doom and gloom picture of the economy in the Midwest there are a number of jobs available. Some of course require certain skills such as truck driving and welding/metal fabrication and some not so nice ones either (the meatpacking industry).
You have to determine what type of job you are willing to except in the short term just so you can have additional income. Jobs are out there you just have to find them.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by krazy kat2

We want to move to Austin, TX,this Spring, so that would give us our needed time.
i think Austin is rather expensive... for Texas, that is. are y'all planning to buy or rent?
 

calico2222

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Originally Posted by algebrapro18

I just sat down and crunched the numbers for this month and it looks like I am spending about $1047.99 in bills. That inclueds rent, food, internet, phone, cable, and electric. For a single person in a one bedroom apartment this seems a bit much to me, how does it compair for you guys?

I just got back from 3 days on vacation and that vacation cost me 185.64...for 3 days. I had a house waiting for me to so I didn't even have to pay room and board...this not having a job stuff is starting to hurt. My parents are giving me 1200 a month to live on and its working but just barely. I can't wait to get a job, and I know tom can't wait either because he can tell that I am stressed out right now. I'm glad I didn't take the boat out this weeked and i didn't fish because that would have cost me another probably 100 dollars for bait, gas for the boat, and fishing license. As it stands right now I have an extra 11.23 in my bank account that has to last me the rest of the month.

Anyone else feeling the strain of this crappy economy and no job?
What you pay a month for everything is what we pay a month for mortgage. DH and I both work full time, and were managing it until my work tripled my health insurance payments. DH takes on side home improvement jobs to make ends meet but it's still pretty tight.

Jobs are out there though, at least in our area. They may not be your dream job but at least they would help you put food in your belly until you can get what you want.
 
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algebrapro18

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I am going to be a 12 month full time student for the next year so I don't have time to be a truck driver or meat packer or anything that requires more than 3-5 hours a day. I have applications in every store/shop in town and have heard either nothing or rejection from them. I also drove to Iowa and started looking their but with the price of gas I would need a $9 an hour job and thats hard to find in pt work. I do have an interview some time this week but that job can't start until July 15 to...yeah this just sucks right now. I wish they would pay me to go to school...that would be great.
 

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When I was in college, I did everything I could...factory work, kitchen work, child care, theater concessions, office work...basically anything I could get...I had no standards!


When money is tight, you have to decide what is a "want" and what is a "need". Is cable a "need"...probably not. Internet? If that's a need, is it the cheapest option (dial-up)? Do you have a cell phone and a land line? Vacations and trips are most likely a "want", but they're not "needs" except in rare occasions (funerals, family weddings). My point is that there are always ways to cut costs when times are tough.
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by clixpix

When I was in college, I did everything I could...factory work, kitchen work, child care, theater concessions, office work...basically anything I could get...I had no standards!


When money is tight, you have to decide what is a "want" and what is a "need". Is cable a "need"...probably not. Internet? If that's a need, is it the cheapest option (dial-up)? Do you have a cell phone and a land line? Vacations and trips are most likely a "want", but they're not "needs" except in rare occasions (funerals, family weddings). My point is that there are always ways to cut costs when times are tough.
I can relate to not having any standards when it comes to jobs! Back in the 1980's I was working at low paying jobs and I was just bearly getting by. I really needed more money so I found lots of part time jobs to help me. So long as it was moral and legal I was not above doing it. I cleaned houses, babysat for a professional nanny service, I telephoned solicited for appointments for vacuum demonstrations and insulation installations and even bartended. I contacted offices and did piece work typing at home, and I even took to selling costume jewellery through home parties. I pretty much worked 7 days a week doing all kinds of odd jobs to get by.

I went back to school in 1994 at the ripe age of 32 years old. I had credit card debt and really couldn't afford it, but I went anyway. I took out student loans but only in the amount that I needed them. I know many take out the maximum they can get and buy cars and computers etc, but I realized early on that it wasn't free money and that once I finished school I would have to pay it back, and I didn't want to be saddled with more debt than I absolutely had to be.

I was fortunate that as a student nurse I became eligible to work in nursing homes after 5 months in the nursing program. However, before that worked as a cashier in a pharmacy about 20 hours per week, which was a lot of hours in addition to the intensive nursing school and clinical schedule. But I needed the income and it wasn't an option.

Once I became eliglible to work in a nursing home things got a bit better for me. They pay more than a cashier position. I worked about 24 hours a week (3 shifts), which helped a great deal.

However, by midway through my second year my loans had been used up and I had to work full time in addition to full time school which included full days or nights on the wards doing patient care for my clinical experience.

For the last six months that I was in nursing school, 3 of those months being unpaid full time 12 1/2 hour shifts on the wards doing my practicum experience before graduating, I was also working full time 8 hour shifts at the nursing home.

My practicum was 12 hour shifts of days and nights. When I worked days, I would work nights at the nursing home. That meant that I finished my school shift at 7pm and went home and slept for 3 1/2 hours and got up and went to work at the nursing home. Worked all night long taking no breaks and leaving there at 6am so I could go right back to the hospital for another 12 hour practicum shift. Go home and sleep for a few hours and then back to the nursing home for 11:30pm. When I worked nights doing my practium I finished work at 7am. From there I went straight to the nursing home and did an 8 hour day shift finishing up at 3pm. I would go home and sleep for a few hours and go to the hospital for my practicum at 7pm.

I was a walking zombie. I was doing 94 hour work weeks and only getting paid for 40 of them.

You basically do what you have to do to survive. I didn't have family that I could turn to to get help with money. There were times I seriously thought of dropping out of school. The only thing that kept me from doing that is the knowledge that I owed thousands of dollars in student loans whether I got the education or not, so I pushed and somehow managed to do it and even graduated with honours with a 4.0 average in all of my courses.

In preparation of going back to school I made life a little easier for me. I bought a small deep freezer and spent thousands of dollars buying canned, boxed, meats and frozen foods. By the time I went to school my freezer was stocked to the top. I'm glad I did that because there were some lean times with money and it was only because I had the foresight to stockpile food did I manage to keep myself fed. I also moved to a cheaper apartment 1 block from school so I didn't have to worry about transportation. And I asked around about used books. I managed to find someone who graduated 6 years before I did who gave me her books and between her and my sister-in-law and a few of the teachers who were unloading their books, I managed to get all of the books I needed even if they were several editions older than what they said I needed. The only books I actually bought were my Sociology, Intro to Psych and my Anatomy and Physiology books. All of my nursing ones were older free ones. So I saved lots of money there. And my stethescope was an old one that my sister-in-law got for me from one of her co-workers.

If you want something badly enough you do what you can to make it happen.
 

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Firstly, i am about the same age as you are, and i don't have cable, I am lucky enough to get the internet unlimited for $30 a month, i removed the telephone and fax machine so it doesn't tempt me.

I haven't watched television in about 4 months now, I don't have time for it.

Frankly, i have worked 16 hours a day to make ends meet and to catch up with debts, I am a pretty weak person, and if someone who cant do the same as me then i just think they are Lazy.

You can study and work, even if its at a cafe for a few hours a week just so you can afford the extra things, being a full time student doesn't meant you cant work. Yes it is harder, but think of it this way, it pays off a lot more things that you want to do.

You can also budget your food and when you cook freeze some portions you will be amazed how much you save.
 

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Originally Posted by algebrapro18

I just got back from 3 days on vacation and that vacation cost me 185.64...for 3 days. ?
That's the sort of thing you knock on the head if you have no funds. I'm always of the opinion "If you can't afford it, you can't have it until you can".

Can i ask how old you are as well to have your parents bail you out each month?.
 
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algebrapro18

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I am not saying I don't want to work I am saying nothing is hiring here...and its annoying me. I have applications in every shop/store in town and still no job. That covers gyms, grocery store, gas stations, landry mat, video store, 10 different fast food resturaunts, 7 diners, 7 bars, K-mart, Dollar General, 2 movie theaters, 5 car dealerships, 3 banks, 3 Hotels, and about 30 different novelty/other shops that line down town. And thats just in this town I have applications in 5 of the other towns and in a different state. I am looking really hard for work its just no one hires. I really don't care what I do, in fact for a while I am pretty sure I was involved in a pyramid scheme, which is why I got out of it but man that would have been good money.

I am 22 with very little usable previous work experience. I worked at Wal-Mart for 2 weeks before I told my boss to shove it...I REALLY shot my self in the foot their because right about now I would LOVE to go back to Wal-Mart but I cant, that got me black listed for all wal-mart's nation wide. The only other job I have had was working for my dad taking care of his patient charts for 10 dollars an hour.

At this point in time I really am starting to not care what I do, if it were legal(and my girlfriend wouldn't kill me) I would probably even sell my body at this point in time. Me and Tom are making ends meet no problem with even a little bit of savings at the end of the month but i want to have more of a buffer because 11 dollars a month isn't much of a buffer if some emergency comes up that I will now have to cover because my dad rightfully took my credit card away.

I lived on hotdogs and cheetoes for a week last month because I had 0 dollars in my bank account. I have an gas card that I get gas on so thats how I got the hot dogs and chips.

I think the biggest problem is this is the first time I have really had to worry about this kind of thing. Both my mom and my dad worked even though my mom didn't need too. Dad was pulling in between 250-500,000 a year so my mom was only working to "contribute to the family" as my dad but it. 2 houses, 5 cars, a boat, and our very own money tree in the back yard(or so it seems) is what I grew up with. And until I moved to Platteville 4 years ago I thought that was normal. Well living here I see that its so beyond normal, people around here are happy to make 30k a year, and they work 10 times harder for their money also.

Anyway thats the end of my rather too long rant.... I am 22 and very long winded at times...I will go over their now *walks away*
 
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