Feeling the financial pinch—not sure what else to cut

[Anonymous]

You should ask to have this moved to the money forum. These kind of posts get good advice over there.

[Anonymous]

Ditch the car and insurance goes out too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate the obvious:

-No starbucks, etc. Make coffee at home or get it from the office for free. Eat breakfast at home.

-Pack lunches.

-If you have teens, then they need to understand that money is tight. They should NOT be using your credit card, etc. They should try to find ways to make money (babysitting, mowing lawns, etc.).

-Declutter your house and sell whatever you can on FB/ebay.

-Keep gas costs low. If you have teen drivers, they can't just drive around for fun.

-Eliminate beauty products, salon trips, etc. Use what you have at home and buy only the bare necessities (nothing fancy).

-Try to find a way to bring money in. (Sell things, drive for Uber, PT gig, dog walking, etc.)

All of the above +1
Also, I know it's hard with teens, but we never ate out for about 3 years (tax and tips add up in addition to the meal), shopped for best insurance rates, moved the thermostat higher for AC and lower for heat (wore sweaters and warm pajamas when cold), monitored use of washing machine and dryer (combining loads when possible -- no frivolous small loads), and did not run one errand at a time -- waited til several could be made in one trip). It can be tough, but the freedom from worry and debt is worth it! Do not keep dipping from your savings.

[Anonymous]

I have never had a job that gave raises. I never even got all the money I earned. When I finally made minimum wage, there was so much left over. Get some perspective.
I don't have Prime or subscriptions.
My teen didn't go to his graduation. He was upset I made him pay the graduation fee.
He definitely wouldn't have spent money on some outfit. He does work.
There's no right or wrong, but how did you get all that Prime spending part, teens spending, teens not working (you don't mention their contributions), a raise, and I got none of it.
My savings are not savings but investments.
I invested on my own, learned a lot, and retired soon after. My kids know how to invest.
Investing is nearly free and accessible to most, but only few do it.

[Anonymous]

Kids need jobs.

Get a second and possibly a third job. You need to raise your income as it sounds like you have been struggling since the divorce.

Eliminate eating out to birthday nights and make that pizza.

Eliminate prime. Read library books.

[Anonymous]

Once you’ve cut all the things, the only thing you can do to make it work is bring in more money.

Or consider moving to a less expensive house/apartment. That’s usually the biggest expense. The problem is that moving is super expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never had a job that gave raises. I never even got all the money I earned. When I finally made minimum wage, there was so much left over. Get some perspective.
I don't have Prime or subscriptions.
My teen didn't go to his graduation. He was upset I made him pay the graduation fee.
He definitely wouldn't have spent money on some outfit. He does work.
There's no right or wrong, but how did you get all that Prime spending part, teens spending, teens not working (you don't mention their contributions), a raise, and I got none of it.
My savings are not savings but investments.
I invested on my own, learned a lot, and retired soon after. My kids know how to invest.
Investing is nearly free and accessible to most, but only few do it.

OK, this is entirely different swing from the OPs current position.

[Anonymous]

OP is there no child support coming in?

[Anonymous]

Have you tried cutting out your Starbucks and stopped eating avocados every day? Apparently that’s all it takes!

[Anonymous]

I find that tracking makes a huge difference. I use YNAB. Which costs money for the subscription, but has made a huge difference in allowing me to really see where my money is going, and also proactively see the choices I’m making

Second piece of advice is to join your local buy nothing group. You say that you are only buying clothing that is truly needed, but this adds a layer of only buying stuff that is truly needed AND you can’t get from the buy nothing group.

[Anonymous]

How much you make

[Anonymous]

I had to cut back on my 401(k) contributions and my Roth IRA contributions once things got tight. I'm not sure if you are doing any of these things but it's an option to make some more money accessible. Right now, I'm just contributing enough to get my 401(k) match. I'm a guy (and a bald one at that) so it's easy for me to say this but...one of our biggest monthly expenses is my wife's hair/nails/beauty products. But it's a non-negotiable so there's not much I can do. I'm not sure how much you put into hair/nails/etc, but take a look. Anyway...I totally empathize. I have two teenagers and this past Spring and Summer were nuts with our overspending...18th birthday, prepping for him to move to college, graduation party, prom, he played travel sports that required air travel/hotels. We did NOT do a family vacation. Other kid...16th birthday, travelled for sports that required air travel/hotels, etc. Lately, we had homecoming, etc. We also had car issues. We have been dipping into our savings every month since March. Need to get back on track soon, but here comes our anniversary, Xmas, etc. OP-my point is...I know how tough it is to want to provide for the kids while staying under budget. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I agree that your teens need part-time jobs. My parents barely made ends meet growing up, and my sister and I were expected to pay for everything ourselves except basic clothes and shoes by the time we were 16. It is very common.

[Anonymous]

If you have divorced and your expenses are higher than income, this is systemic. Tinkering around the edges won’t help. You need to sell your house and move somewhere that is sustainable. That way you also won’t need to be perpetually scrimping.

[Anonymous]

OP is feeling what a lot of us will be feeling soon - we just aren't as close to the edge so don't realize it yet. The value of the dollar has plummeted, and inflation is soaring - despite the official numbers. This is what I suggest -
1 - Call up your cell phone company and internet company. Tell them you are newly poor and need to find savings. I called Verizon and reduced mine by over $50 a month each.
2 - Credit cards get paid first (after mortgage!). Try not to keep a balance on them. Other bills can wait until you pay them down.
3 - Electricity, gas, water are super expensive now (thanks Data Centers!). Be strict about their use. Act like you are in a drought - if it's yellow let it mellow. Only use dryer if necessary - clothes can be air dryed, etc.
4. Lentils for the win! Less meat is good for you. Growing up poor (then rich, then poor again), my mom would make huge batches of lentils and beans and freeze them. My sister and I joke about the bean soup but we ate it and survived.