#and no more having to spend 80% of my paychecks on rent and bills

[varietysky]

about to get tf up outta this apartment hehe

#it'll be inconvenient commute-wise but ehh I've commuted before #just getting ti a place with air conditioning.. that's the immediate goal #and no more having to spend 80% of my paychecks on rent and bills #AND no more having to share the space with roommates' boyfriends #anything i said about my roommate from last year's gf i take it back!! #she'd come over nearly every night but we really didnt cross paths almost at all #i think the in unit laundry is a big reason why the one boyfriend is over so much... #anyway yeah my last full day in my own room. i did enjoy this room as a safe haven #even though the blasting heat would kill me. it's been my favorite bedroom so far so i will miss it #gap year adventures #mia posts a thing #oh and the wifi here has been pretty good minus that month in the winter where it was spotty #so yeah i will miss that too #it wasn't all good but wasn't all bad either

[robertreich]

The Biggest Economic Lies We’re Told

In America, it’s expensive just to be alive.

And with inflation being driven by price gouging corporations, it’s only getting more expensive for regular Americans who don’t have any more money to spend.

Just look at how Big Oil is raking it in while you pay through the nose at the pump.

That’s on top of the average price of a new non-luxury car — which is now over $44,000. Even accounting for inflation, this is way higher than the average cost when I bought my first car — it’s probably in a museum by now.

Even worse, the median price for a house is now over $440,000. Compare that to 1972, when it was under $200,000.

Work a full-time minimum wage job? You won’t be able to afford rent on a one-bedroom apartment just about anywhere in the U.S.

And when you get back after a long day of work, you’ll likely be met with bills up the wazoo for doctor visits, student loans, and utilities.

So what’s left of a paycheck after basic living expenses? Not much.

You can only reduce spending on food, housing, and other basic necessities so much. Want to try covering the rest of your monthly costs with a credit card? Well now that’s more expensive too, with the Fed continuing to hike interest rates.

All of this comes back to how we measure a successful economy.

What good are more jobs if those jobs barely pay enough to live on?

Over one-third of full time jobs don’t pay enough to cover a basic family budget.

And what good are lots of jobs if they cause so much stress and take up so much time that our lives are miserable?

And don’t tell me a good economy is measured by a roaring stock market if the richest 10 percent of Americans own more than 80 percent of it.

And what good is a large Gross Domestic Product if more and more of the total economy is going to the richest one-tenth of one percent?  

What good is economic growth if the way we grow depends on fossil fuels that cause a climate crisis?

These standard measures – jobs, the stock market, the GDP – don’t show how our economy is really doing, who is doing well, or the quality of our lives.

People who sit at their kitchen tables at night wondering how they’re going to pay the bills don’t say to themselves

“Well, at least corporate profits are at record levels.”

In fact, corporations have record profits and CEOs are paid so much because they’re squeezing more output from workers but paying lower wages. Over the past 40 years, productivity has grown 3.5x as fast as hourly pay.

At the same time, corporations are driving up the costs of everyday items people need.

Because corporations are monopolizing their markets, they don’t have to worry about competitors. A few giant corporations can easily coordinate price hikes and enjoy bigger profits.

Just four firms control 85% of all beef, 66% of all pork, and 54% of all poultry production.

Firms like Tyson have seen their profit margins skyrocket as they jack up prices higher than their costs — forcing consumers who are already stretched thin to pay even more.

It’s not just meat. Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed companies to become powerful enough to raise their prices across the entire food industry.

It’s the same story with household goods. Giant companies like Procter & Gamble blame their price hikes on increased costs – but their profit margins have soared to 25%. Hello? They care more about their bottom line than your bottom, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, parents – and even grandparents like me – are STILL struggling to feed their babies because of a national formula shortage. Why? Largely because the three companies who control the entire formula industry would rather pump money into stock buybacks than quality control at their factories.

Traditionally, our economy’s health is measured by the unemployment rate. Job growth. The stock market. Overall economic growth. But these don’t reflect the everyday, “kitchen table economics” that affect our lives the most.

These measures don’t show the real economy.

Instead of looking just at the number of jobs, we need to look at the income earned from those jobs. And not the average income.

People at the top always bring up the average.

If Jeff Bezos walked into a bar with 140 other people, the average wealth of each person would be over a billion dollars.

No, look at the median income – half above, half below.

And make sure it accounts for inflation – real purchasing power.

Over the last few decades, the real median income has barely budged. This isn’t economic success.

It's economic failure, with a capital F.

And instead of looking at the stock market or the GDP we need to look at who owns what – where the wealth really is.

Over the last forty years, wealth has concentrated more and more at the very top. Look at this;

This is a problem, folks. Because with wealth comes political power.

Forget trickle-down economics. It’s trickle on.

And instead of looking just at economic growth, we also need to look at what that growth is costing us – subtract the costs of the climate crisis, the costs of bad health, the costs of no paid leave, and all the stresses on our lives that economic growth is demanding.

We need to look at the quality of our lives – all our lives. How many of us are adequately housed and clothed and fed. How many of our kids are getting a good education. How many of us live in safety – or in fear.

You want to measure economic success? Go to the kitchen tables of America.

#youtube #videos #economics #inequality #video #politics #money #cars #housing

[ginger-snaps014]

New Income Class Brackets - 2022

Given inflation, the slow disappearance of the “middle class”, and increased cost of everyday necessities, I think we need new definitions for income classes.

Because salaries fail to keep up with inflation and $ only goes so far based on location, I’m going to define based on lifestyle. Here is my best guess at the current breakdown of America. Let me know how far off I am…. Because let’s be honest, I am too inundated with people like me and a lack of viewpoints.

Lower classes:

F’ing Poor - this sucks. Can’t afford basic needs. Sorry you live here. Sorry we failed you.

Working poor - much like the working class, but never able to make ends quite meet. Work your butt off. Does not matter. Screwed by the system. Know where the homeless shelters are. Hope you don’t have to stay there. Know which of your friends will help you. If you can pay all your bills, it’s a miracle. Needs are NOT all met. Targeted advertising by tobacco companies for some reason. Will be called trash by the wealthy. You work more than they do. May get governmental assistance… if you are lucky

Working class - working low income jobs for little respect or money. Screwed by the system. Likely making minimum wage. Living paycheck to paycheck. Very little to no savings. Do not have resources for luxuries like vacations or eating out on non-special occasions. Targeted advertising by tobacco companies for some reason. Lower credit score. Because you don’t have much of a credit history. You never qualified. Constant money anxiety. High interest payments for any loans. Public schools. Likely no health insurance. Likely would benefit from the governmental safety nets that have been denied to Americans. Likely stuck in cycle of poverty out of your control. Likely working multiple jobs. Still wondering how you don’t qualify for food stamps despite not being able to afford groceries after paying your bills for a single unexpected expense. Buying property is a pipe dream.

Lower middle - may have a more respected job (like teacher) or a full time job that does not pay enough. May work multiple jobs. May not. Have some spending money or savings, but not a lot. Live paycheck to paycheck, but with a small buffer. One large expense can ruin you. May afford some luxuries like eating out, but will need to focus on budgeting to make it work. Prior to the 80s, would have been main middle class. Now, likely a two income household and still scared of paying rent. May be college educated. Have debt. Will always have debt. It was the only way to get where you are. Often doubt if the debt was worth it. Buying a house is a pipe dream. People keep saying if you save, you can afford one. People are dumb. Always on edge about money because you know how close you are to falling

Middle Class - magical unicorns that don’t exist anymore. Should be able to afford the American dream (including the house) with a little bit of savings. What every politician claims to protect despite laws passing that only benefit the upper class. Still work, but have a future planned for their kids. Money is still on your mind, but not stressed about it. Only boomers really exist here anymore. This class is dying, and it’s disappearance will result in instability for the country

Upper Classes

Upper Middle Class/“comfortable” Millennial Edition - college educated. Often called educated professionals. Lawyers. Doctors. tech people. Have high paying jobs. During any other point in American history would be able to buy homes, but if you are a millennial you can cry in the corner with your avocado toast. Can afford luxuries like small vacations, eating out etc. but paying for a decent home or child’s college sends you into depression. Despite your decent amount of savings, you have no future. Investors own all single family homes… so you pay rent. Single income households are somewhere between an aspiration and a joke. Everyone says wow you make so much, but you know that actual adult milestones for your class will never be reached. At least you don’t worry about bills. You invest. You have health insurance. You have more money than the boomers did at your age, but can’t afford kids. At least, not kids that go to college. No matter how hard you work, you are stuck. It’s like there is a money glass ceiling. Maybe you could buy a fixer upper an hour away from the city. Oh never mind…. You are lucky. You know you are lucky. You are seeing a therapist. You are depressed.

Upper Middle Class/ “comfortable” Boomer Edition - college educated. Educated professionals. Like lawyer. Doctor. You can afford a house. A 2 story house. In a nice neighborhood. You can afford to have a family. You invest. You have savings. Your home was only 600k when you bought it, but now is worth over a million. Single income households. Fancy vacation. Still nothing as crazy a trust funds or vacation homes, but you are not worried for yourself or the future. Except if there is another recession. That could hurt your retirement funds. Not in debt from college. Hope your kids will stop being depressed. Hope your kids start settling down. At their age, your were married with a house and 2.5 kids (except if you lived in NYC or San Fran.) Why aren’t the millennials growing up? It’s not that hard. You even sent your kids the to summer camp and private school. You have a nice life.

Upper crust - small trust funds and family money. May have a vacation home, or family may have a vacation home. Not worried about money at all, but “I am not part of the 1%”… even though you may be. Usually get money from generational wealth or successful business start-up. You have luxuries. Mainly point out the crazy rich to say “I’m not them. I’m still normal.” You have never worried about money. You never will. Your finance guy made sure of that.

The 1%, who can’t deny it - your main money problems come down to (1) not being a billionaire and (2) being upset about having to pay taxes…. Like sure, you are still paying less percentage-wise for taxes than everyone in the lower/upper middle classes. But you don’t even want to pay that. You are going to rent out a whole island due to the stress of doing the bare minimum. maybe spend several million on your youngest kid’s birthday party. Maybe use a bribe to get your oldest kid into college. Money is no object.

Crazy Rich - Bezos, Elon, Etc. Could save the world. Don’t want to. Would rather buy Twitter.

Ps: the only reason upper middle class is divided by age group is that it’s the only class where age matters (that I’m aware of). If you are ANY age in the lower income classes, you are screwed. If you are upper crust or higher, you have enough money that age stops being important. You can buy a house- so what if the cheapest one is over 750k. Upper-middle millennials are weird because they can afford the luxuries of the wealthy, but not the single family houses that middle classes has historically bought

#classwar #class #working class #upper class #USA #america #middle class

[misterellyott]

Last night my wife and I had a small date night. It was suppose to be a family night, but we forgot that our son had a school field trip that was doing an overnight stay. Seeing as he wasn't going to be there to go see the movie we were planning to see, we decided to rent a different movie at home and just do dinner and a movie in the comfort of our own home.

While waiting in line at iceburg, which is very much known to be a slower to go through drive through, we were talking and just waiting.

I started thinking about the next day, thursday, which is my day to do grocery shopping. My wife makes the list and I do the shopping. It's our way of making sure the entire burden of chores aren't all place on one of us and thursday is my usual day off so I don't mind doing some of the running around as I don't have time any other day.

Anyways, as the thought of grocery shopping came up I asked her if she had a way of seeing what she was going to make on her up coming paycheck friday, so I knew my food money limit/how much money I could put on the credit card to do the shopping.

She immediately got upset and pouted for a while that I brought up money on our date. I explained to her that as we were sitting there, it was hard not to think about money as we were currently spending money at the moment to buy our dinner, rent our movie, and so on.

I understand her frustration, but I don't think she understands my anxiety over our finances as we are currently struggling, but making do. And most the time all of our conversations are over the phone, since I work six out of seven days a week and typically work about 80 hours a week, so wednesday is really my only day to see her in person and we don't usually talk about finances on the phone.

Mostly because we either are talking early in the morning, which she has expressed that she doesn't like talking about money first thing in the morning. Or we are on the phone talking while I'm inbetween customers at my day job and there isn't really any good time during that job to talk about it. Or we are on the phone as I'm heading to my night job and she is laying down for her night and falling asleep, which also isn't a good time to talk about it either as she likely won't remember the conversation anyways, more so if she smoked a joint before laying down.

When we switched banks and made it possible for us to have our own accounts in which we could have our own spending money, she expressed that she wanted to be more involved with our finances. Which I am totally on board for. I've been the one handling finances since we got together, and I'm the one that pays all the bills as I have all the sites saved on the phone and know all the user names and passwords for, which if she wanted I'd give to her, but ultimately she doesn't usually have anything to do with them as she trusts me to pay the bills.

We both have access to each other's phones and the ability to look at any and all of our banking apps on both phones so she knows when and where I spend money and I know for hers except her spending money. As it's her money to do whatever she wants with it, but if I really wanted to know I could check her phone, but I don't because again, it's her money and her choice where to spend it.

Though, I do look at her banking app for time to time as our son's savings is attached to her account and I can only see it on her phone to see where it is at. (we are still paying him back from that 1k loan we took as a down payment for a car, we have already paid back more than 550 dollars, I'm happy to say)

Anyways, I feel guilty that I brought up the finances on our date, but at the same time, I'm also fustrated that there is never a good time during the week to speak to her about our bills due to our very conflicting schedule.

When there is an opening, I'm gonna have to ask her what we should do about this situation and to give me her thoughts on when a good time would be for us to talk about it.

I don't want to upset her when I bring it up, but I also need to know when she thinks would be a good time to discuss these things in our schedule.

I know it's only been about a month since I've started my second job, and we are still trying to find a good ruetine for everything, but I think it's been long enough that we need to talk about when to add the money talk into our schedule.

We just need to be on the same page, and I want us to get there.

Bleh, conversations are hard, life is hard, money is hard, working is hard, chores are hard.

We will get there. We are still trying to get to a place where chores are equaled out. It's just hard as she has a lot more free time for them than I do. But, we just gotta get there, as this work schedule isn't gonna get any easier anytime soon.

[finsterhund]

Screaming and screaming.

My roommate says next paycheck he's gonna make me give him AT LEAST 80% of it AGAIN. I can't fucking take this.

He told me that we won't be able to pay for rent if I don't foot the cost as he's apparently unable to get his share. Which I understand. No paid rent = no house so it has to get paid or else but it still sucks. He said we'll have to do this for at least two more months. I asked if he'd be paying me back after those two months and he ended the conversation real quick 🙄

Also my bank got locked. So I'll have to contact them to unlock it. It's probably done this because it went over my overdraft trying to pay for a PayPal transaction that kept trying to force it's way through. So that's fucking great. My bank account is locked and my PayPal is negative. On top of everything else.

My life fucking sucks. I hate having to live this way. Hate having to live like this. My days are spent in bed, nothing to do but watching grass grow (my beloved plants are cooler than grass but you get the idea I hope) and hoping that the internet is going to show me good shit instead of the overwhelming amount of bad shit instead. 

It’s too hot but my roommate insists on me not being allowed to turn on the AC unless it gets even worse. Even though the hydro bill cost is a lot lower than he said it would be from it. 

All I can think of is my Special Sly. How I love him so. It’s too hot to cuddle Scott.

The air quality from the wildfires is impacting my chronic lung fatigue and my chronic eye infections too which sucks so bad. Our planet is dying, us youth fight tooth and nail to live in a society where the only possibility is eating paycheck to paycheck and surrendering our dignity to predatory slumlords just to have roofs over our heads. I have fruit trees that will probably spend the rest of their lives pruned to live in tiny pots all crowded together in my bedroom while my grandparents farm is left to rot because I’m the only one who cares about it. 

If your body isn’t already too broken enough to be put on disability you work a job that breaks it down. And that in itself is a luxury only afforded to some. Based solely on where you were born. In certain places if your body is too broken to work anymore the option is to starve. For other members of our species we are little more than beasts of burden. Only certain countries is there the option to live in a zoo.

I am a captive animal in a white-walled cage, my species-specific enrichment is virtually simulated by a digital machine, it is a privilege when I’m able to get fresh fruit. Meat is a luxury I can’t afford. To access the minimal support that may be available degrading hoops must be jumped through and you must present yourself for examination to those who think you’re less than human. You try not to hate them for it because how much of that disgust is fear? Denial that they are one, maybe two paychecks; one, maybe two injuries, away from being where you are. What you are. They deny it can happen to them. They insist that for them things would be different. They would use their resourcefulness to find a way. They have to. To think otherwise is to acknowledge there is a problem.

My friends all pass around the same $20, $50, $100 that we are only able to give one week because they get from a different friend the next. Love remains, I just have to remember that love remains. In spite of everything we still love. We still find ways to send support, give gifts, etc.

I should be used to this. I was never sheltered. I was never shielded. I lived among predators since before I knew what predators were. One paycheck away from having no food, no shelter, is as natural as breathing. But it still hurts. It hurts because deep down you know it shouldn’t be this way. 

Humans evolved to survive not on the individual level but as a group. We survived because of love and compassion. But our innate desire to protect and defend and love allowed the twisted and the evil to rise unhindered and build selfish empires that are now infallible by rule of law. We allowed them to exist, and that is not something the inhumanly evil would have ever extended in return. The tolerance of intolerance was our downfall. We love and care so much for each other than when those mutant evils that go against what we are fundamentally supposed to be appeared we didn’t strike them down like we should have. We let them twist things into what they wanted and then demanded that these new aberrations to humanity were how we were always meant to be. Cultural gaslighting We must be civil, we must be tame, when they got what they wanted by being no such thing. They were savage while calling their victims savages. And the definition changed.

Our species gave up fangs for brains. We would build weapons to replace our teeth, but then the winners of these wars made our weapons illegal, knowing without them we can no longer bite.

I’m tired. So very tired. I’m tired of being the ancient roots of a long ago felled tree that sends up a sucker just to live for long enough before taken by the blight so that I have enough energy to live for now just to try it again. Hoping that next time, the blight will be gone. Fearing that next time won’t be enough and the blight will finally take too quickly, take too much, and there won’t be enough for another chance. Paycheck to paycheck. Ad nauseum. And you know the blight never used to be here. You know it was brought here. Because you still see those ancient roots, those remnants of the colossal stumps of what once was great towering trees. The suckers know because the roots remember.

And each time, each cycle, each season, sometimes a sucker flowers. And sometimes those flowers get pollinated. Able to make seeds. Baby trees, actual new life, a new voice, not just your newest sucker. And there’s hope. But each generation, less of us are pollinated, and we know that means that less of us survived to sucker again, or less of our suckers made it long enough to flower. Fewer, fewer, and further between. The amount of us that can hold on slowly drops. A reminder how delicate our balance is. Concrete undeniable evidence that the next time for you it might not be enough. We don’t fail from lack of trying. We fail when we grow too weak, too tired. But those that brought the blight, immune to the blight, they say it’s personal failure that kills us, that makes us weak. When the position that grants them their immunity is the only thing that differentiates them from us.

I’m sick of only surviving. I’m sick of seeing those basking around in their decadence they got at the expense of our ability to thrive all the while blaming us for what they forced us to become. The lie that where they are is some personal triumph. A strength on their part. Blight-immune nepotism. This disease they profit from is not natural to our species, but they profit from the continued insistence that it is.

In the end I can do nothing to change this. People say “vote” as if this isn’t just the act of sending up that little sucker tree, wildly hoping that this next term the blight won’t take, realistically hoping that the blight will not take until we preserve enough energy for the next go around. One bad season from not having enough to try again. Think pieces demanding that we should be flowering regardless. But we’re starting to clue into just how much energy it takes to flower, and of how the voices of those think pieces just want more lumber. We aren’t human to them. We are a product, a resource, a fuel. The insistence comparison I give to a tree is relevant because of that. Our next generations, our youth, their value is cogs to that machine. They need us in that way I guess. So maybe the way to fight back is to make ourselves unusable. Be that striking or what not.

But ultimately there are very few things that separate any other strike from a hunger strike. And we also need energy. We need that energy more than ever.

Idk. Man wtf I need therapy. I guess. But can therapy fix any of this? Not really. You get labeled with “shit life syndrome” and if you’re lucky it will be treated with the captivity of the underfunded social programs.

For now all I can do is love my friends, pet my dog, and hug my Special Sly. And dream. Dream that the next time the little sucker tree won’t have to struggle just to survive for long enough but that it can grow and thrive. Dream about a fantasy world where we will live for a hundred years and pierce the sky.

Or I mean we could also just stockpile weapons and [REDACTED]

#text post #negative #long post

[truck-fump]

The Biggest Economic Lies We’re ToldIn America, it’s expensive...

New Post has been published on https://robertreich.org/post/710162153749004288

The Biggest Economic Lies We’re ToldIn America, it’s expensive...

The Biggest Economic Lies We’re Told

In America, it’s expensive just to be alive.

And with inflation being driven by price gouging corporations, it’s only getting more expensive for regular Americans who don’t have any more money to spend.

Just look at how Big Oil is raking it in while you pay through the nose at the pump.

That’s on top of the average price of a new non-luxury car — which is now over $44,000. Even accounting for inflation, this is way higher than the average cost when I bought my first car — it’s probably in a museum by now.

Even worse, the median price for a house is now over $440,000. Compare that to 1972, when it was under $200,000.

Work a full-time minimum wage job? You won’t be able to afford rent on a one-bedroom apartment just about anywhere in the U.S.

And when you get back after a long day of work, you’ll likely be met with bills up the wazoo for doctor visits, student loans, and utilities.

So what’s left of a paycheck after basic living expenses? Not much.

You can only reduce spending on food, housing, and other basic necessities so much. Want to try covering the rest of your monthly costs with a credit card? Well now that’s more expensive too, with the Fed continuing to hike interest rates.

All of this comes back to how we measure a successful economy.

What good are more jobs if those jobs barely pay enough to live on?

Over one-third of full time jobs don’t pay enough to cover a basic family budget.

And what good are lots of jobs if they cause so much stress and take up so much time that our lives are miserable?

And don’t tell me a good economy is measured by a roaring stock market if the richest 10 percent of Americans own more than 80 percent of it.

And what good is a large Gross Domestic Product if more and more of the total economy is going to the richest one-tenth of one percent?  

What good is economic growth if the way we grow depends on fossil fuels that cause a climate crisis?

These standard measures – jobs, the stock market, the GDP – don’t show how our economy is really doing, who is doing well, or the quality of our lives.

People who sit at their kitchen tables at night wondering how they’re going to pay the bills don’t say to themselves

“Well, at least corporate profits are at record levels.”

In fact, corporations have record profits and CEOs are paid so much because they’re squeezing more output from workers but paying lower wages. Over the past 40 years, productivity has grown 3.5x as fast as hourly pay.

At the same time, corporations are driving up the costs of everyday items people need.

Because corporations are monopolizing their markets, they don’t have to worry about competitors. A few giant corporations can easily coordinate price hikes and enjoy bigger profits.

Just four firms control 85% of all beef, 66% of all pork, and 54% of all poultry production.

Firms like Tyson have seen their profit margins skyrocket as they jack up prices higher than their costs — forcing consumers who are already stretched thin to pay even more.

It’s not just meat. Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed companies to become powerful enough to raise their prices across the entire food industry.

It’s the same story with household goods. Giant companies like Procter & Gamble blame their price hikes on increased costs – but their profit margins have soared to 25%. Hello?

They care more about their bottom line than your bottom, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, parents – and even grandparents like me – are STILL struggling to feed their babies because of a national formula shortage. Why? Largely because the three companies who control the entire formula industry would rather pump money into stock buybacks than quality control at their factories.

Traditionally, our economy’s health is measured by the unemployment rate. Job growth. The stock market. Overall economic growth. But these don’t reflect the everyday, “kitchen table economics” that affect our lives the most.

These measures don’t show the real economy.

Instead of looking just at the number of jobs, we need to look at the income earned from those jobs. And not the average income.

People at the top always bring up the average.

If Jeff Bezos walked into a bar with 140 other people, the average wealth of each person would be over a billion dollars.

No, look at the median income – half above, half below.

And make sure it accounts for inflation – real purchasing power.

Over the last few decades, the real median income has barely budged. This isn’t economic success.

It’s economic failure, with a capital F.

And instead of looking at the stock market or the GDP we need to look at who owns what – where the wealth really is.

Over the last forty years, wealth has concentrated more and more at the very top. Look at this;

This is a problem, folks. Because with wealth comes political power.

Forget trickle-down economics. It’s trickle on.

And instead of looking just at economic growth, we also need to look at what that growth is costing us – subtract the costs of the climate crisis, the costs of bad health, the costs of no paid leave, and all the stresses on our lives that economic growth is demanding.

We need to look at the quality of our lives – all our lives. How many of us are adequately housed and clothed and fed. How many of our kids are getting a good education. How many of us live in safety – or in fear.

You want to measure economic success? Go to the kitchen tables of America.

#Uncategorized

[doctor-roman]

How do you keep yourself from spending money on FGO? I spent everything I had trying to get Ozy but he didn’t come home and now I feel so defeated…

Honesty hour: I actually started out paying money into FGO. I mean I whaled in the beginning. All the money I had been saving by not buying Magic cards? Went towards FGO.

Then this fucker showed up:

I had just gotten paid, and it was one of those checks that was the third of the month, so it was basically money I could do whatever with, because the first paycheck of the month had paid for bills, and the one at the end of the month was going towards rent.

So I was free to spend a little money, right?

So I bought an $80 pack. Five multi’s worth of quartz. I hadn’t had any issues not getting an SSR within that amount, so this shouldn’t be too bad. Tapped through the summoning animations, and five multi’s later, no Napoleon. Huh. That’s weird.

Well I’ve never had an issue not getting an SSR within that amount, so I must be close to getting him, right?

So another $80 pack. It’s fine, it’s only $160, and my check was like $800, I’ll be fine. Again, tapped through the summoning animations, expected to get him in the first few multi’s. Maybe if I’m unlucky I’ll get him on the last one, but I’ll get him.

Again, nothing. Well this is just stupid. Well I’ve spent so much, I’ve GOT to be due for that SSR soon, right? Right? So another $80 pack I bought. Again I tapped through the summoning animations, again I got nothing.

At this point I was just pissed. Like what the hell? I’ve spent so much!! Why won’t you give me the damn servant?! Fuck this, I have to get him with this $80 pack, now, I’m practically owed it at this point.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

I tried buying another pack but my card declined due to my bank placing a block on my card for suspicious activity. I had blown through more than $300 and probably would have blown through $300 more if my bank hadn’t stopped me.

Gacha is gambling. Pure and simple. It will take you for everything you’re worth and not give a single thing of value back. You are guaranteed nothing. You are owed nothing.

I took my cards off of my phone after that. I didn’t want to run the risk of blowing through half a paycheck again, and thank god, I haven’t since. Just enjoy what you get, and if there’s another character you like, all of their material - battle animations, bond lines, everything - is available on YouTube, for free. There is fan art and figures of them that you can buy, and with those, you are at least getting something for your money.

I spent $300 to get nothing. Why do you think you would get something at the same rarity for less? What’s to say it won’t take even more for you?

I love FGO, I really do, but the best way to not fall in the predatory practices it enacts is to just not run the risk in the first place and not spend your fucking money for a chance at something.

#fate

[doberbutts]

Thanks to overwhelming support from several folks, this month’s bills are all paid off and I have money to spare to buy food.

February rent has been handled, I am still figuring things out for the remainder (~$600). I am looking for jobs that will allow me to work while seated, that way I can make sure to ensure my leg heals correctly rather than pushing myself further than healthy just to make a paycheck. Before anyone asks, no, I do not qualify for unemployment (because I am not unemployed) or for disability (because my state only does disability if the leg is expected to affect me for longer than a year, which it’s not)- and while the gears are in motion for legal action to be discussed with what might be a major ADA violation on my job’s part, I have no idea going forward what will happen financially. Maybe Biden will give us more, heftier stimulus checks, that’d be nice and then I won’t have to worry about things at all.

After several people messaged me asking for a patreon or paypal link, I will share a clickable version of both. Your participation is never expected but always appreciated, of course. I hate the idea of begging for money in complete honesty.

Someone did ask if I did virtual classes and the answer is that I never have, BUT I am willing to work something out with folks on an individual scale depending what it is specifically that you need. Generally speaking an in-person consult with me costs $50 and an actual class is $80/hour.

My Patreon is here:  patreon.com/earnmystripes - a place of collected notes and roadmaps for training that I’ve been (slowly) typing out as they’re handwritten in a binder for me. It’s $5 and you’re more than welcome to download/print what you like and then unsubscribe. With life and my work schedule I was never able to truly get it off the ground but I had aspirations for more than what’s there.

And a direct Paypal link is:  paypal.me/doberbutts

I do not have the time or energy to do art commissions at this time. Additionally sitting up to do so hurts my knee considerably, so I’m not super willing to spend too much time in that position.

[maryellencarter]

Okay kids, buckle up. I need money again (for the last time, pray god), but at least this time I have a fucking story to go with it.

Short version: My landlord is illegally trying to evict me and I just had to drop $60 on court costs to fight it. That's $60 that was going to pay for either my meds or the electric bill, take your pick. So I really need donations to get by for the next two weeks, after which I should be settling in at a much more mentally healthy job and in good shape. My Paypal is [email protected] and my Ko-fi is here. Thank you so much for anything you can contribute!

Long version:

So the last three months I've been off work due to a mental health breakdown. July and August, I haven't been able to pay my rent. I applied for rent assistance right away in late June, and emailed my landlord's office all the paperwork for both the rent assistance and the CDC Declaration of eligibility for the Eviction Moratorium -- the thing where if you're poor enough you can't get evicted during the pandemic because you would have to go to a shelter or a crowded living situation and be at risk for the Covid.

Middle of July, I received a *backdated* notice that if I didn't provide proof of rent assistance application, I was going to be filed against for eviction. Okay, there's a new property manager, maybe the filing got mixed up, so I go down and re-email all the paperwork and make sure the property manager sees it arrive in the email.

Beginning of August, I get a notice from the rent assistance people that the CDC has extended the moratorium for places in a high surge status, which I am in one, so I fill out and forward the newest eviction protection form which should cover me till October 3, and go down to speak to the property manager about it, when again I am assured that everything is on file.

Middle of August, two months after filing my request for rent assistance, I finally hear from a caseworker who says "send me your paperwork". I jubilantly send all the paperwork, go down to give my property manager the good news, and also -- see, I don't have a lease for September yet. I was offered one back in July, but I didn't want to sign anything until I knew what my situation was going to be with regard to rent assistance and paydays. So I brought down the paper that said "yes I am signing here to officially agree to the new lease you offered, please print the new lease so I can sign it officially", and handed it to the property manager as well.

Now, I have about $700 of late fees for July and August. This is legal under the eviction moratorium and I have understood from the beginning that I would have to pay them. My first paycheck back to work comes in this Friday, and when I went to request the new lease I had planned to discuss a payment arrangement as well, figuring I could pay about $600 on Friday and the rest in two weeks, based on my projected paycheck.

("Taught myself payroll tax law in order to predict my paychecks" should definitely be on my resume somewhere. I just haven't figured out where.)

But, dear readers, when I went down to drop off the form, there was some other client or resident in the office, so I didn't get to discuss a payment arrangement. No big deal, I figured. I'd discuss it when I heard that my lease was ready to sign.

Instead, last Tuesday, I was woken up at nine sharp by a process server with an eviction summons for me. Thank fuck, I've spent the last two weeks having a technical issue at work that's kept me getting paid but off the phones, because I was in no state to talk to people that day. Eventually I pulled myself together, broke out the legalese close-reading skills, and discovered that the summons includes one particular line item which (I hope and pray) indicates They Done Fucked Up.

This summons, ladies and gentlethem, includes the line item "The Plaintiff has not received an executed copy of the Declaration form as of the date of this filing pursuant to the CDC Order dated September 1, 2020."

Well, gentle readers, I was and am *pissed off*. I keep providing documentation to these fuckers and they keep misplacing it, and now they're getting me involved with The Legal System. I *hate* being anywhere near the legal system. I have massive PTSD triggers from being raised by an evil ADA. But by god, I speak legalese as my first language, and I am not going down without a fight.

So, not being able to get in touch with anyone to provide legal aid or assistance, I spent last Thursday trundling around downtown in decaying shoes and 105° heat, getting court paperwork printed and duplicated and filed and mailed. I dropped about $60 I hadn't planned to spend on court filing fees and certified mail costs and the actual baseline printing costs of all the documentation I needed to provide.

I did get two pieces of good luck that day. One, I finally heard back from my case manager saying that the rent assistance money for my landlord only has to go through one more person who will double-check the numbers. It's supposed to get final approval sometime early this week.

Two, I got a job promotion I've been working toward for years. Well, side-motion, it doesn't come with a raise, but I already make $16+ an hour, over twice our federal minimum wage. What it does come with is, except in rare cases I never talk to callers, I just answer them in written messages. This should hopefully be a perfect job for me, and allow me to work a solid 40 hours a week and earn plenty of money.

The catch is... it's work-at-home only. If I get evicted and can't make it to training on Monday week, I'm fucked.

So. My eviction hearing is tomorrow. If and when the judge is like "okay if we let you sign a new 12-month lease and stay in your apartment, what is your repayment plan on your late fees", I plan to be like "Your Honor, I have a payday on Friday and I am prepared to provide the court a money order for the full $700 of late fees on that date which will bring me fully up to date".

I'll do it, too. The catch is, that'll leave me with something like $200 in the bank for the next two weeks, and I calculate I need about $100 for groceries, $80 for meds, $50 for electric, and $80 for the cell phone bill over that time period. These numbers don't add up. :P

Soooo, yeah. I'm having to spend about $160 I can't afford because my damn property manager is an idiot and can't fucking print and file my fucking legal declaration. I really hope the court throws the book at the corporation and nails them with those "up to $200,000 fines" for breaking the CDC moratorium, although I am dubious because courts like corporations much more than they like stout genderqueer individuals without legal representation, however white and erudite.

But mostly, I really hope I can stay in my apartment and also afford my meds for the next two weeks. My Paypal is [email protected] and my Ko-fi is here. If you can spare *anything*, even a dollar or three, it would help so much.

God, I'm so sick of having to beg for help every few weeks. I just really hope nothing else blows up in my face... :-(

#i am really struggling today (sunday) because i can't do anything but wait #begging post #help me o internets

[xadoheandterra]

I’m apartment hunting rn because a: as much as I love them I don’t want to keep living out of my parents home and my parents are planning to sell this place and move elsewhere anyway in the new year and they’re already planning on keeping me with them which I really don’t want because, well, b: my parents are actually a little fucking transphobic and its really hard to keep living with people who constantly misgender and deadname me? c: I don’t want to move over an hour away from work because I love my fucking job and I can’t handle that level of travel time and I def can’t quit because I love my fucking job and my job is actually paying for school?

The issue is I make MAYBE 1600 a month because haha vet assistants make shit pay for the level of risk and work we do and I’m also in school to be a tech. I’m trying to work a second job dog-sitting/walking that hopefully will net me roughly an extra 1k a month if I’m LUCKY but I’m still waiting on confirmation for that.

I want to try to move out by October/November before the places try to hike the rent back up, and I need to have some place that isn’t 500sqft or LESS which is basically...90% of “pet friendly” apartments in my area.

Literally everything is tiny ass 1br 1ba or studio apartments because I live in an area where people just...tiny home shit. The places that have a bit more space? Are a bit more expensive? And then the really good shit for actual decent price all have very strict no pets policies which just...no. Fuck that.

And to live within an hour of my work it is literally around 1500-1700 rent per month which...is a lot. Hence the reason of second job I’m working on getting together, but there’s no guarantee that second job will net me enough in time for my hopeful plan to move because haha rent can easily hike up to 2k per month for these self-same apartments when you get into the new year because apparently that’s just how fucking things are in my area?

I also have to contend with the fact that I have a dog and 2 cats, and my dog will need to be in daycare on the days where I’m working surgery which is about 80-100 bucks per week, on top of groceries, on top of other bills, and my current medical problems.....I might make enough for all this with the dog sitting/walking but I’m nowhere near sure enough that I will have enough to move before rent hikes happen.

Anything cheaper is looking at between 200sqft to 400sqft studio apartments or living well over an hour away which is not a feasible travel time for me. I’m lucky that the cheapest I’ve found is just under 1500 per month before pet rent because pet fucking rent is a goddamn thing.

I forgot how shitty doing this is, and its even shittier cuz cost of living here in WA is different compared to cost of living in AZ and I’m having to completely readjust my own shit and it sucks.

Not to mention until I can get second job off the ground I’m only retaining maybe 200 bucks of my current paycheck due to medical bills although I’m working to shift that to maintaining at least 300 to 400 per paycheck by reducing entertainment spending and I’ve been succeeding at that....and at least some of the bills will finally taper off by October/November this year which is good it’s just...until then I’m kinda hoping and praying an emergency doesn’t come up like with my back last month which killed what savings I HAD made.

Seriously I had almost 400 in savings and 400 in checkings and I spent all of it because I injured myself at work. Which is just BS but whatever I guess. At least LNI is possibly going to cover some of it just not all because haha I have a bad back already before all this. So that’s fucky.

Anyway I needed to rant about this because between my mother being an asshole about me getting a second job and being both very fucking ableist and very fucking tearing me down by saying I can’t fucking do shit at the same time and then having to figure this out which I’ve wanted to do for a while but was hoping I could wait until I finished school but nope parents decided HOA’s suck (they do) and they need to move NOW (they don’t) has basically forced my hand and just.

It fucking sucks.

Goddammit why do I have to live in a rich fucking person location and still get paid shit all.

#xadohe is apartment hunting #xadohe hates apartment hunting #xadohe also hates finances #and pretty much anything involved in budgeting and money #and being an adult #but yknow #i'm tired #transphobia mention #gfdi i hate my life #and i love and hate my parents just #why

[straprights]

Hey friends. Some of u may have already seen my tweets so sorry for bothering you again and I’m sorry for even having to post this.

I work 25 hours a week. All of my paycheck goes to rent and bills (roughly 350€). Im fortunate enough to have a scholarship that not only pays my tuition but also gives me some extra cash for food and transportation. My mom sends me money that I spend in therapy and medication. This isn’t me giving y’all a sob story for sympathy. I enjoy my life. I save enough to have fun sometimes. I have it easier than some. I’m just trying to explain that I run on a very tight budget. Today I opened my laptop and the screen was cracked, then went fully black and didn’t turn on again. I took it to the repair shop and they told me the problems not just the screen, but also the CPU. It’ll cost me 400€ to fix. To put it mildly, I don’t have that. I have -408€ of that. I’m finished with all the evaluations for the semester except Psychophysiology and Genetics. I have to present my final project on facial EMG recognitions next week. All of it was in this computer. It’s 80% of my grade. If I don’t present it, I fail. I can’t be without a laptop. SPSS, data, articles, books, I have everything there. I can’t keep my scholarship if I don’t keep my grades up and that’ll be impossible without a laptop.

I have a lil shop on instagram where I’m selling 2nd hand items as cheap as possible w shipping included (I’ll ship everywhere), so if you could check that out, or share it w someone you think would like any of the clothes, it’d help a lot. I also have a PayPal if you’re able to spare some funds that way. All of it will go into replacing my devil laptop. I get these posts are annoying and I feel so fucking ashamed of having to resort to this but I’m just reaching out for help. Just a reblog or even a like already make a difference. Obviously feel free to ignore this and move on w your day. I’m on mobile so I can’t put a “read more” to make it less of a word dump on peoples dashes so sorry for that as well.

Thanks in advance.

#crowdfunding #crowdsourcing #please believe this to be out of desperation #ana blerp

[lesbiancerseilannister]

hi i don’t know what to say here except my boyfriend and i just had to spend our last $80 on applications for a new apartment and i don’t have a job, so his paycheck is the only thing we survive off of. he doesn’t get paid until next friday, but that’s also the first which means we have to pay upwards of 700 for rent. we might have some left, but there are other bills needing paid after rent as well. we have used up our groceries, we have some ramen left but not much. my bank account is negative 100 something, and i don’t know when i’ll be able to get it out. please, if anyone can send anything to help us just get some groceries like bread and lunch meat to eat until we get more money

paypal: emmhane 

venmo: Emm-Haneline

please if you can reblog if you can’t help that’d mean everything to me

#help #idk how to tag i'm just literally starving #and anything would help

[kingofthewilderwest]

jayalaw replied to your post

“[[MOR] Don’t reblog. Don’t be squishy optimistic to me either...”

Would some PayPal help? How much would you need?

Oh my goodness! As always, you are a downright sweetheart with no end to your thoughtfulness and generosity.

I’ll be honest. I’m not someone who ever asks for money, but at this point, I wouldn’t say “no” to anyone if they were to offer. I would be grateful to receive it from anyone who is willing to help. Like, SO grateful I would thank you to the ends of time and space. I’d find some way to return the favor in the future, too, because that’s only fair. <3 Friends help friends in turn, right! <3 ^.^ 

So you’re so so so so so nice so thank you for even suggesting this at all~

You know my personal email, so you know how to PayPal me if you really want to be that sweethearted, holy crap. I also do technically have a Ko-fi account that I’ve never used or advertised, but it is set up. XD Anyone can reach me there.

I always feel uncomfortable assigning price tags to people offering to give me money, because if I say, “I need this much,” it feels like this strange obligation for the person to give me that much. And I always worry it sounds greedy, even if it is an honest statement of what I would need? So whenever people ask me what I need financially, I ALWAYS start underpricing what I need to reduce the sense of obligation on the other individual. And frankly, even if someone was like, “Here’s $3,” I’d be like, “Holy shit you’re really nice,” give them an enormous embrace, and thank them for eternity for being so thoughtful. 

So. Uh. If you want to help, you can and I’ll thank you exceedingly to the point I have no words to explain the gratefulness and relief I’d feel. But instead of giving a price... I’ll explain. To give an idea what I’m working with, and then have people see whether or not I’m in a critical boat enough to help, I’ll outline honestly what’s going on below:

I’ve recently quit a job that paid me every week but I’m holding onto a well-paying job that only gives me a paycheck once a month. The reason for my job drop was that it allows me to work more hours on the other one I’m keeping (which pays more, so this’ll overall be a smart financial move, so I’ll get more hours at a higher pay per hour every week). The problem? My next paycheck will be June 15, so I have to hold out for a month. I’ve already paid all my rent and expenses for May and June, minus maybe one that’ll be $30-$50. So that means I’m working with about 400 USD for the next four weeks.

Foreseen life expenses are:

Food. I can get by pretty cheap on this one and I’m planning on doing that. Thankfully I’ve got lots of vegetables and meats in my freezer already so I should be able to hold off with basic meals for a little time. I’m slightly worried about eating out costs when I go visit two people this month, though. I already promised I’d go see people in two different cities (one trip to my girlfriend, one trip to my parents), so inevitably for a few days I’ll be eating out, and that’ll eat (har har pun) into my funds.

Shampoo, conditioner, other life expenses for household items. Let’s say $20 for that, given as my hair’s long enough it’s starting to use shampoo and condition fast. And I’m sure at least SOME cleaning supply will run out in the next month?

Glasses. I lost my glasses two weeks ago, have searched like fuck, still can’t find them. Issue is I can’t legally drive without glasses. And I’m supposed to be driving to visit people soon, so I need to buy them now if I want to see my girlfriend. I’m anticipating about $80 for purchasing two pairs (I need two to replace the OTHER pair I lost a while back) based upon what I’ve seen. 

Gas money. Thankfully my car sips gas so I’ll probably just need to spend about $20 in the next four weeks.

Altogether my goal is to spend half of what I’ve got in my bank account. So, $200 in four weeks, or $50 a week until my next paycheck. It’s tight, but I am a stubborn ass. I’ve lived through pretty stubborn and low-paying conditions for a while now, I’m always tight on my wallet, I’ll be fine. But I will sort of grow gray hairs from watching my bank account slip down low. I don’t like it being this low and it always makes the fear of next month’s rent loom on my mind. I tend to make about $2,000 a month and my bills eat up 75%-80% of that. Some months are far worse because, as a freelancer, my income varies terrifyingly and some months are... [sigh]. Because fuck being a millennial.

Worse comes to worse, I’m still not in bad shape this month - at least as it could be? I always pay with a credit card anyway, and I’ve never maxed out a card EVER, but if I need to... I technically can just wait to pay my credit card bill after my paycheck in mid-June.

So I’m going to survive. But will it be unpleasantly tight for me? Yes.

Again, I’m not going to say, “Please give me money!” to anyone. But if you were ever that generous, even if like, $2... hell. I don’t know how to thank you enough for such thoughtfulness. I don’t know how to thank you enough for asking if I needed anything to start with! I WOULD find some way to help you in turn in the future! Only fair for friends to help friends in turn! <3

#jayalaw #reply #blabbing Haddock #I'm a stubborn ass when it comes to being financially independent even though I should... probably be less of a stubborn ass #anyway your offer means SO much and thanks for even considering it <3 #make your choice #non-dragons #thanks seriously #I don't know how to sound so grateful but you even thinking about it #thanks