Okay, this will be a long read. I’m a 21F. I currently work part time at Hannaford and am not able to switch positions into full time, apparently, because it just doesn’t work that way. Anyways, I only make 15 dollars an hour there, which is not nearly enough money right now, to keep me going. The amount of time I work a week is unpredictable, and can range from 34 hours one week, to 15 the next.
I have three large bills right now. 1. My car loan. 2. My phone bill. 3. Car insurance. What’s left on my car loan is 12,600 dollars. I already have 8,000 in my savings from my previous job, and unfortunately find myself dipping into my savings to pay for my other expenses. My phone bill is 116.00 dollars. I go through Verizon, and have the unlimited plan. I don’t use that much data every pay season or whatever it is. But, that’s a relatively high bill in my opinion, for my phone, considering I own it. And my insurance. I was lucky enough to be able to go through my dad’s insurance plan, and only owe him 100 dollars a month. Not too bad.
So, immediately, anyone can tell that I need money, right? I have 4,600 dollars left to fully pay off my car loan, immediately knocking down a huge bill. 360.50 dollars a month. Plus a 12.9% interest. The thing is, I also wanna be able to get braces. Which would add on maybe another 8,000 dollars. Which brings the total to 12,600 dollars.
I know that in order to make extra money, I will need to be uncomfortable for a while, and I’m willing to do what I need to. But, I really would like to avoid DoorDash, considering they don’t take out taxes, and the horror stories. And dog walking, pet sitting, stuff like that won’t work, since I live in the Willy wacks. I’ve never created content before, but, I’m open to it. The problem is that it would take forever for me to get traction, and by the time I start making any good money, it will have been useless.
I don’t know what to do. I’m just so stressed. I need advice, please.
How does one save thousands of dollars for necessities?
byu/Such-Title-4419 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Such-Title-4419
24 Comments
Start by ditching Verizon, there are several cheaper carriers like Mint available for under $40/mo
Definitely don’t try to do content creation as a side gig to make money. That’s a time and money intensive hobby that turns profitable for very few people
Shop around for a cheaper phone plan, you can save a little there. But ultimately you need to be making more money, $15/hr isn’t enough, even if you were working full time. Start looking for a job.
Look for a lower cost cell phone provider. For example Cricket Wireless, owned by AT&T, is $35 a month for a basic plan. That would save you $972 a year.
Otherwise you need to get your income up. Have you looked for other jobs that pay more?
You need to start looking for other jobs if your current one cant offer full time or at least a consistent schedule. Side hustles like doordash and such should only be used when you are drowning and desperately need extra income. You aren’t drowning as you currently do have savings. Start looking around at other jobs and career opportunities.
There’s really no magic bullet to it. Earn more, spend less. Earning more CAN be made easier by getting a degree in a field that typically pays well, or by going into the trades if you have a desire to do so.
Are these braces actually medically necessary, or are they more of a “want”? If they’re just a want, I would focus on paying down that 12.9% car loan. You’ll not only save on interest, but you’ll also free up cash flow once it’s paid off.
On the Doordash thing: your mention of them not taking out taxes shouldn’t really factor in. Yes, you have to do some more work on your end concerning that, but remember, if you’re paying taxes, it means you made money. Whether or not it’s actually a good idea to do Doordash is a different story though.
Shop around for braces. That seems high. Just got my son braces, $3600. Submitted it to insurance and the final bill is $1,7xx.
You can’t work a job with unknown hours every week, you need a full-time job or at least consistent part time to be able to properly budget every month and dedicate a portion of your income to savings, letting it grow bigger with time.
Your options are make more money and/or spend less money if you want to save more.
Can you get a full time job somewhere else that pays at least the same? Can you get another part time job?
Are those the only things you spend your money on? What about gas, food, clothes, fun stuff?
I wouldn’t recommend content creation because you have to put in a LOT of work before you start seeing any money (if ever)
Why do you have such an expensive car? You basically got a car that costs your entire salary.
Lower your expenses and increase income. That’s really the only way.
First off, you’re doing great. You’ll be fine. Let’s take it one step at a time.
You’re young. In general, secondary education will help you get higher paying jobs. Have you considered that or do you have any credits? You don’t have to go to an Ivy league school to get a valuable education. You can start at a local community college.
If you’re not furthering your education, you’ll need to look for a full time job.
It sounds like you’re living at home. If that’s stable emotionally, that’s a nice way to save money right now. However, if you’re in the middle of nowhere, you may need to consider moving for access to better jobs. In other words, if you can land a full time job with good pay, moving would likely be worthwhile.
For a small win, you can absolutely save money on your phone bill. Verizon is one of the most premium/expensive service providers. There’s various Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MNVOs) that would be much cheaper.
You own your phone? Second the recommendations for another carrier. Mint or US Mobile will save you a crap ton of money. My husband and I were paying like $200/mo with Verizon and now pay $50 for two phones through USM, unlimited plans, still using Verizon towers. My tween daughters have smart watches for like $7/mo each. I have an iPhone 12 and really want to upgrade to something with more storage…I am scouring FB Marketplace and can buy something outright with the savings from 1-2 months of phone bills.
I used Cricket when I drove across the country and back and only didn’t have service in The Grand Canyon. They’re reliable.
Hold off on the braces until you have a job with insurance.
Paying off your car will free up your income.
You’ll be ok and won’t be at the grocery store forever.
As others said, get rid of that phone bill. Mint Mobile is only $15/mo for their cheapest plan (5GB data) but you need to pay at least 3 months at a time. Their unlimited plan is $30/mo but occasionally have deals where it is only $15/mo (I paid only $180 for a full year of service for 1 line). It is T-Mobile service so just make sure you get good reception in your area first. You’d only notice a difference in service compared to T-Mobile at extremely crowded events.
As far as braces, you need to be realistic about it. If you get braces before/during puberty your jaw is still growing so there are benefits beyond cosmetic (for example a palette expander can reduce risk of apnea). As an adult, braces are almost purely cosmetic unless you have severe dental issues.
You can’t save thousands of dollars while making $15/hr. So it starts with a higher paying job.
Move away from large phone carriers. I used to pay 60+ for my tMobile unlimited plan.
I switched to tello, their unlimited plan is $25 and they use Tmobile cell towers. $116 for Verizon is a family plan at that point.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but you came here asking for advice, and all of your responses seem to be, “No, that won’t work, I need to stay where I am” Either you are looking for advice, or you aren’t looking for advice. If you aren’t open to making hard changes, you aren’t going to get big results.
That phone bill doesn’t seem right for just one line. I would look at different Verizon plans or consider switching providers. Visible is owned by Verizon so switching shouldn’t be terrible
For your phone, switch to Verizon prepaid. I could get an unlimited plan for around $50 a month with auto pay. It’ll save you a little bit. Post paid plans are always outrageous in price.
Check out visible. They are a Verizon subsidiary and use their towers, I have their visible+ plan for $30 for 25 months.
See if you can get a discount on insurance in Maine for taking a defensive driving course. You can pay like 15-20 bucks online and get a discount on your premium. This is state/insurance dependent though.
I have Mint Mobile for $20 a month. If you can find a bank or credit union to refi a car loan that small, 12.9% is an outrageous interest rate unless you have terrible credit.
The answer is they work full time, or more than full time. You can’t make more money magically appear.
Drop the Verizon and get mint mobile. I buy the yearly plan for 380 a year. But they have 3,6 and 12 month plans.
As others have said, first & foremost you are doing remarkably well. It may not seem like it, but you have $8k in savings at a young age, which is better than damn near everyone in America.
What are your other expenses, besides the big three bills listed? With the big three and any other expenses added, what is your total monthly out?
The reason I’m asking is, if you’re total monthly expenses is at or below $600, then I would strongly recommend you consider just paying the car off right away. As you stated, it would free up $360.50 per month in your listed expenses. With that extra cash, you can:
* take $150 and put it towards braces you are looking at getting
* take $150 and put it back into your savings
* take the remaining $60.50 and put it into a car maintenance fund (save for repairs, oil changes, tires, etc).
This isn’t a set in stone idea, but it’s a way to still live within that $500/mo and nothing changes in how your cashflow in & out go. But you’ll have a huge emotional weight off your shoulders.
Only do this if your monthly expenses are no more than $600/mo. Reason why I’m saying that is because if you do pay off the car, you’ll have enough left in savings for about 5 months if you suddenly become jobless.