Actively saving and living frugally may lead you to think you’re getting ahead, but when you look at the big picture of where your money is going, the bills, food, and never-ending expenses make it seem like it’ll never be enough. Someone was asking for support online and asked fellow users if anyone else felt like they never had any money? Overwhelmingly people agreed, so if you’re feeling broke, these people share similar struggles.
1. Bad Luck
A user said, “I had the same thoughts, night after night, thinking one bad luck day can financially ruin my life. It took about a decade, but I finally saved up three months’ salary. That’s my new zero; anything above that amount, I can focus on quality of life. That got me out of my worrisome nights.”
2. Search Remote
“Just go on Indeed and put remote as the location. There are a million real work-from-home jobs right now that will hire anyone. If you don’t know what to put for the job, put customer service. You can get your foot in the door at many companies doing customer service from home for good money,” someone said.
3. It’s Never Enough
A user said, “News flash. It doesn’t matter how much you make. We all feel like we don’t have enough money. Not being sarcastic. It’s rare indeed for someone to feel like they have enough.”
4. Private Jets
“I have a friend who was complaining that he has to rent private jets because he wasn’t rich enough to own one,” a person said.
5. I Feel Rich
Someone said, “The bad part is when you feel you don’t have enough, but your partner does. Whenever my wife says, “I feel rich,” I start shaking in my boots cause I know she’s feeling spendy.”
6. Paying Rent
“I’m almost 30 and make nothing stably unless I pull in clients (and even then, I’ve never made anything close to 75k a year). I’m on Centrelink, able to save very little, very slowly, and anything unexpected blows away whatever I’ve saved. I worry about being unable to pay rent and kicked out of where I’m regularly living,” a user said.
7. Paycheck-to-Paycheck
Someone said, “Living paycheck-to-paycheck for over 25 years. I make 16k a year. So the answer is: yes.”
8. Crashed
“All the time! I’m 28 and only started my first “real” full-time job after earning my Ph.D. My savings during all my degrees was decent but very limited since no 401k, and I didn’t know about IRAs. So I’m now throwing whatever I can into retirement savings and learning about ETFs, bonds, and stocks, exactly as the market crashed and is very down,” someone said.
9. Inflation
Somebody said, “Inflation is real. I honestly don’t know how people afford to get by without being married and both partners working. You have to have free childcare to raise a family. If not, I don’t see how people do it.”
10. Lifestyle
A user said, “It doesn’t ever get better. It’s called lifestyle creep. As you make more, you spend more. And everyone thinks they should be saving more.”
11. Expenses
A person said, “Expenses matter. 75k living at home is a lot of money. You could drive a nice car and appear wealthy (if you don’t save). 75k with a kid and mortgage is different.”
12. Pandemic
“Pre-pandemic, I got a raise to where I was just on the line of 50k/year USD pre-tax. Last year I made about 81k. My goal this year is 100k, and I feel just as poor as I did when I was making 50k due to Inflation. The grocery store angers me the most,” a user said.
13. The System
A person said, “The system is set up that way. It’s meant to take as much time from you as possible. Time is money, of course.”
14. Goals
Someone said, “I’ve surpassed every financial goal I’ve set for myself, and I still feel like I’m behind. It’s a psychological thing you need to resolve internally. Shifting goalposts is real.”
15. Back to the Start
“All the time. The rising cost of living doesn’t help either. It feels like every time my wife and I get some pay raise/promotion, we are still where we were before,” someone said.
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Inspired by this thread – photos for illustrative purposes only.
