Women who live alone and don’t make a significant wage, how has cost of living affected you and how are you getting by right now?

16 comments

  1. I got rid of my unnecessary recurring expenses (video game subscriptions, all Twitch subscriptions but one, monthly charity donations) and have to prioritise a bit differently. Less takeout, less cheese and snacks, less non-essential purchases in general. Planning more and saving for longer whenever I want to do or buy something more costly.

    I also spend quite some time on doing paid surveys and microtasks online these days.

    I’m not struggling by any means, but I’ve still had to adjust a fair bit, make a little more room for unexpected expenses (this month’s energy bill sucks), and really consider how I want to use what little fun money I got left.

  2. I would say my salary is average but I live in a HCOL city so it often feels like I’m not as able to enjoy my money as much as I would if I lived somewhere else.

    I’ve found shopping at cheaper grocery stores helps. 90% of the food I find at fancier grocery stores can often be found at cheaper ones for a better price. I also have a huge problem with buying things impulsively on Amazon, so what I’ve been doing recently is putting something in my cart- waiting for a couple weeks, and going back to it. If I still really want it, that’s when I’ll buy it.

    It’s also really important to live your life a little and enjoy some good times. I really love food for example, so if I want to try a new restaurant or order food from my favourite spot on a Friday night, I rarely deprive myself of that.

  3. I have a second job. It helps with student loans, leisure shopping and travel. I took a month off and boyyyy was it tight without it.

  4. I live alone in a HCOL area (PNW) and make a modest-moderate salary. I have only $15 in recurring monthly subscriptions, and avoid new ones. I have a couple yearly subscriptions, and pay for car insurance for 6 months at a time. While these are bigger chunks of cash all at once, it is way cheaper than monthly payments. And with the yearly subs, I can use them as much and as frequently as I want to entertain myself throughout the year, so thst really stretches dollars. I grocery shop at WinCo almost exclusively, only pay to eat out 1-3x per month, and avoid buying little things here and there that really add up quickly (coffees, smoothies, convenient snacks) and treat those like a restaurant expense/treat. I also am a homebody so being at my house with all my favorite things most of my free time keeps me occupied for no additional costs. A simple hobby of mine that’s free is I love going on long walks and window shopping in the city- people watching and taking in scenery is very entertaining!

  5. Budgeting, budgeting, budgeting. Especially since you’ll get your W2’s this month. With that, you’ll get an idea of exactly how much you make in a year, give or take. With this, I was able to figure out how much I can do each month in rent, and when I bought my co-op, how much I could pay for my mortgage.

    I look at my monthly paychecks and take out what I pay in expenses each month (mortgage and HOA fees, utilities, internet, insurance, gas, groceries, etc).

    Whatever I have leftover, I save at least 10% of it. it’s hard to save at times, but I’ve also learned to treat myself. I work so hard for my money and I deserve nice things. The down payment for my co-op depleted my savings, so I’m working to build that up again.

    I work two jobs and it’s absolutely exhausting. But without my two jobs, I wouldn’t have been able to buy my co-op at 26 years old. I hope to stop working my second job in a few years once my salary gets to a decent rate, but I am still starting off in my career and have a long way to go.

  7. I’m sinking actually. living alone + tuition really is hard. I work full time as well, and don’t have time for a second job because of the school work.
    I barely go out, even though I’m sort of single and SHOULD go out, but I can’t financially have fun outside.

    It sucks.

  9. I have incredibly cheap rent, like so cheap it pisses people off to hear about it. The owner of the house likes me and he doesn’t really need to make a lot of money so he just expects me to maintain the property for him. My cars are also paid off thankfully.

    Also, I’ve been selling plasma.

  10. I currently live in one of the most expensive cities in the world in terms of housing. Honestly, I’m moving next week to a cheaper place bc I’m not able to save anything since rent is so expensive. I tried to find a flatmate, but I was unlucky. (I low-key really want to find a partner to split rent. 😂)

    Other than my full-time job, I have 4 side gigs. I’m overly stressed, tired, and yet an insomniac. I’m struggling.

  12. I have my own business and it’s helped tremendously, though I’m not yet where I want to be it’s a great start. I also only buy necessities and do give myself a weekend treat. It’s not just about survival 😮‍💨 but yeah try not to spend on bs things.

  13. I no longer live alone. I’m back with my mom. It’s fucking horrible thank you for asking

  14. Average wage.

    The biggest struggle is that I can do less compared to friends who are in longterm relationships because they have been able to share costs and have been able to save more for years on end. Sometimes that feels unfair. For example: slower to pay off student debt cant afford a house, less money to spend on travelling. I have to make a lot more choices.

    But I also realise I am lucky in many ways and there are so many people worse off then me. For example: I still do a lot fun things, I have a savings account, my parents are financially well off so even if everything goes wrong they can help me out, if I wanted them to they might be able to help me buy a house. I also know my salary will grow and I’ll eventually make above average wage. All those things are luxeries others don’t have and that might feel unfair to them too.

    TLDR: can’t complain.

  15. It’s pretty bad. I get by, but a lot of things have become luxury.

    Finding an apartment has been a challenge. Rent alone is more than a paycheck for me, and I had to settle for a smaller place and have my daughters share a room. I wish they could each have their own, but this will have to do for now.

    I’ve started to buy groceries at cheaper stores. I make sure we eat leftovers. I try to plan meals that are nutricious and filling, not much goes to waste. I also stopped buying a million snacks for the kids and worked on getting them to eat properly during meals, which helps a lot.

  16. I (29f) make a little over 50K a year living in a medium cost of living midwestern city. My income is technically like exactly middle class for the state i’m in, but it feels like peanuts, i’m frankly embarrassed to be making so little at my age, and i can’t imagine how people get by making less at this point. I can swing living alone because my rent is below market rate and, aside from my car loan, I have no debt. I graduated without student loans and don’t carry a balance on my credit card. I’m overpaying my car loan so it will hopefully be gone in a year, which will create a lot of breathing room in my budget for saving and other goals… that said, i briefly thought my landlords had sold my building late last year and thought i was fucked.

    I could technically afford market rate rent, but i wouldn’t be able to overpay my loan… i realize i’m very lucky in that sense. All through my twenties, i also haven’t taken for granted that not having to pay $200-300/month at student loans has been a massive privilege. I’m further privileged in that 1. my parents can loan me the money to pay off my car loan and pay them back without interest, saving me about a grand and 2. my mom’s also expressed a willingness to help pay for me to go back to school, which i recognize not everyone’s family can do.

    All that being said, the rising cost of living made me serious about budgeting for the first time probably ever–i saved a decent amount in a haphazard way prior to this last year– and it’s made me determined to transition into a career where I can make significantly more money. I hate the field/line of work I’m in so no love lost, but i’m also tired of money holding me back from doing everything i want, when i want to do it.

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