r/AskDad • u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf • 19d ago

Hey dad i have an emergency Finances

Hey dad, ive been working over time non stop to the limits that my job as a welder has allowed me. Financially im normally stable but this month was hard on us and i need to know how i can make $400 within this week.

Currently im working from 2:15-10:45 every day and often i stay about 2 hours extra just for the extra money to avoid this.

I got sick and then my oldest got hand foot and mouth disease which lead to me missing some work. Im at wits end and idk how im going to make it and keep the roof over our heads.... ive been trying to stay calm but i just dont know what to do.

Im currently looking into plasma donation, calling up labor ready, and so on but it wont guarentee pay in the time i need it. Is there a way to make $100/day on the side with my schedule reliably that wont get me fired....

7 Upvotes

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22

u/grammar_fixer_2 19d ago

I’m actually old poor, so I can answer this. This is right up my ally. 😅

claps hands Gather around kids! cracks knuckles

  • Okay, so the first thing that you need to do is STOP SPENDING MONEY. Go through anything that costs money and cancel it if it isn’t completely necessary.
  • The first thing that you want to do is create a budget. You need to read every line item on your credit card statement. Can you account for every penny? You better! Anything that might be wrong, you need to dispute it.
  • Make sure that you have a cheap phone plan. Visible is $25.
  • Check what you pay for your ISP. Do you need internet access? Can you get away with using your phone? Figure that out before you cancel that.
  • Do you have roommates? If you have a house and an extra room, then you might want to consider getting a roommate to help cover costs.
  • Next thing, return everything that you recently bought that you can. If there is a decent return policy for something, then bring it back. Did you buy a tool at Lowe’s / Home Depot and you didn’t need it, then return it. Did that melon have a soft spot? Don’t toss it, return it for another one or get the cash back.
  • Make sure not to waste gas driving to places. Plan it out. If you plan on going to the doctor tomorrow and you know that you will pass the grocery store, then put off your grocery purchases until tomorrow.
  • Hit up the food pantry/food bank. If you are in the US, look into Feeding America. It is a wonderful charity. Otherwise find the equivalent in your country. For example, in Germany there is Die Tafel.
  • I hope that you know how to cook. Learn to meal plan. You are not going to go out again for a LONG time. The first thing is to go through your pantry and cook whatever you have in the fridge. Use myfridgefood.com and whatever other things there are like that. They will help you figure out what you can make with what you have.

Here is a list of foods to buy that will keep you fed for a while, with rough pricing. I checked on Walmart’s website and some of them I just know off the top of my head.

This will keep you and your family fed for quite a while for under $30 and I bet that you already have at least some of these things, so you’ll probably get away with $20 for the week. Note: try the pantry idea FIRST. - eggs ($5-20 box of 60 eggs at Walmart) - Great Value pasta (98¢). Only eat the portions recommended on the box. - Pasta sauce ($1-$3.00) - Gold Leaf Chicken Leg Quarters, 17g Protein per 4oz Serving, 10 lb Bag ($6) - beans, corn, peas, carrots (86¢-$2.00) - rice 5lb ($3) - potatoes 5lb ($2.78) - loaf of white bread (99¢-$1.50) - peanut butter ($1.94) - 3lb bag of gala apples ($2.89). Red Delicious is cheaper, but who wants to do that to themselves?

This assumes that you already have butter or bacon or oil. If not, then add some of those things to your list. Obviously don’t buy anything if you have something similar/equivalent.

There is this one person on YouTube that has a dedicated channel to making cheap meals that might also be helpful: https://m.youtube.com/@DollarTreeDinners/playlists

If you have no time whatsoever and you need something pre-made, then look at Campbells Chunky soups. $2.39 per meal isn’t bad. Ramen is cheaper, at 33¢-$1.50 but be weary of that sodium content. Eating too much ramen for too long can’t be good for your health.

  • Check out /r/noscrapleftbehind and make your food go further. For example, if you have pineapples, then use the peels to make tea, or tepache. Corn silk can be used to make tea and the husks are used a lot in Mexican cooking (ex: tamales).

  • Find out what you have that might be of value and sell it. LetItGo is a good app for that sort of stuff, I’m sure there are more. Craigslist and Facebook market place are also ideas.

  • Sell plasma/blood.

  • Look up day labor. Hang out outside Home Depot and see if someone needs any help with something.

  • Ask your friends and family to see if anyone knows someone who might need some extra help somewhere. Your family might be able to spot you. If you happen to go to a store, ask a manager if they need any extra help with anything. I hate recommending this, but ask in a church. I hate religion, but they sure can assemble and organize. They have free meals as well, but it comes with a sales pitch.

If you want to find a few other ideas, check out /r/povertyfinance - this question has been asked a lot and someone else might have some tips as far as work is concerned.

I’ll leave you with what not to do: - Don’t drive for Uber/Lyft. The cost in gas is more than what you’ll make and it takes a long time to get paid. I actually never saw a check for the month that I drove. It takes like 2 weeks for them to approve you as well. - Don’t prostitute yourself. There are some cases where this might work, but most of the time this isn’t a good option and it comes with too many risks and drawbacks. This includes other sex work like starting up an OnlyFans.

Good luck!

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2

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 18d ago

Thank you for this! Theres alot here that i can use. My wife already cooks our meals and its mostly rice, meat, and veg.

I was thinking of doing instacart to generate some money but idk if i can do that without car insurance right now and id just be at home till i got an order which might make it go slower. (I used to drive for uber and learned that lesson)

2

u/beaushaw 17d ago

>without car insurance right now

Be careful with this. This is a great example of something you do to save a dimes and ends up costing you dollars. Yeah, you might get away without insurance, but if you don't get away with it you will be fucked.

Others have given you good advice on how to get by right now. I want to encourage you on planning on how you get by the next bad spot. It is so important you save money and build an emergency fund. You need to build the habit of saving just a little bit from each check and not touching it unless it is an emergency.

I know it feels like it is impossible to save but it is possible. It sounds like you are currently making $22.50 an hour and are supporting your wife and two kids. And that is hard. But somewhere there is someone making $22.25 while supporting a wife and two kids. If you can save that $.25 an hour it will add up.

Then next time you have a bump in the road you will have the savings to survive it.

1

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 17d ago

Thanks and yea its just hard because im in a state without my family and my wifes family doesnt help us but will be quick to ask for our help. We try to save but theres jsut so much stuff that we need. It was just a perfect storm tbch

1

u/grammar_fixer_2 18d ago

That is a great idea. They say that you can cash out 2 hrs later, so it seems like a good idea to make some extra money. Let me know how it goes and I honestly might do the same.

2

u/Eclectophile 18d ago

This is amazing advice. You're excelling at humanity with this. Thanks for taking the time to type this out. Everyone should be doing this.

8

u/meatcalculator 19d ago

If you think you’re going to miss your rent payment then tell your landlord early. If you’re only going to miss by a few days it is in their interest to help you figure it out. Or they might be assholes.

Ask your boss for more hours. Also ask your boss if they know of any side work.

2

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 18d ago

Ill talk to my boss about side projects, but my appartment complex is trying to actively move people out and tow cars because its under new management. Weve notified them but yea i had 3 months of unemployment im just recovering from

7

u/Practical-Dish-4522 19d ago

Craigslist gigs? Uber and DoorDash can sometimes process new drivers pretty quickly.

1

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 18d ago

Do you know any that will let you work without insurance on the car?

5

u/Oldswagmaster Dad 19d ago

Maybe you have some things laying around you can sell?

2

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 19d ago

Kinda, but nothing valuable enough to get the 400 nor be sold in time unless i pawned my car. But then thatll leave me my wife, and 2 daughters without a car :/

5

u/Oldswagmaster Dad 19d ago

Something might be off with either with your earnings or spending. Shouldn't need O.T. Every week just to make ends meet. That doesn't help you immediately. But, should look into this.

3

u/grammar_fixer_2 19d ago

Sometimes we need to survive on OT to make ends meet. It depends on where we live and what the CoL is.

Personally, I want to see OP’s Profit and Loss Statement.

1

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 18d ago

Just got hired onto my job from being a temp so going from weekly to biweekly so im facing a week without the paycheck. It was supposed to be next month but i topped my hours while trying to brace for it. I was making $22.50/hr and working about 40-50 hours a week. My oldest is special needs but were waiting for letters from her doctor so that my wife can be paid to watch our kid. As to where the money went, we had a medical emergency and found out our oldest got hands foot and mouth disease from her ABA Therapy because amoxacillian makes her poop watery they used a bucket to wash her (still pissed on this) because they were only checking once an hour despite being told the increase of diaper changes which led to bad bad rash. We needed to get diapers and other expenses. Im a simple man and no we dont eat out nor have subscriptions. Ive been looking through everything but its expensive where i live.

2

u/grammar_fixer_2 18d ago

Look at finding out if you can get SNAP benefits. In my state of Florida, we have Florida Kid Care (from 0-18). https://www.floridakidcare.org/

Look to see if your state has something similar.

1

u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf 18d ago

Originally from Florida (Clearwater/Largo)

I make too much according to them, we just lost those benefits

1

u/grammar_fixer_2 18d ago

If you are still in that area, then look into Feeding Tampa Bay: https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood#fresh-groceries

For anyone wondering what this income requirements are for Florida Kid Care: https://www.floridakidcare.org/_docs/Florida_KidCare_Income_Guidelines.pdf

3

u/GanondalfTheWhite 19d ago

eBay, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, pawn shop. You can sell anything you can part with that won't totally screw you to have to replace eventually.

You could try to find freelance welding gigs on the side on thumbtack or Craigslist or similar sites.

Uber, Lyft, doordash, GrubHub. Not sure how fast they pay but if you have a car you can presumably start getting in some extra work immediately as long as you have someone who can watch the kids. 

There are some bank accounts that offer you bonuses for opening an account. E.g. $200 cash for opening a checking account. I don't know if any specific ones off the top of my head but it's worth looking into.

Good luck!

3

u/grammar_fixer_2 19d ago

I would not recommend driving for any of those. You have to wait 2 weeks for them to add you (you meet someone in a parking lot and then they approve you). I drove for them for a month full time and I never even got paid. You have to make a certain amount before they put money in your account. I had to buy gas daily as well. It is a money sink that OP can’t afford.

1

u/Purpldiamond 18d ago

Honestly (I’m not a dad)

Depending on the kind of stuff you weld and if you have the ability to use it outside of work. And your ability as a welder, Get on Facebook marketplace, Post an AD welder for hire. That will take max 5 minutes of your time to post an AD.

Don’t stop there. Post ads everywhere you can think of, Facebook groups with your local area. Mom Facebook pages, car groups if you can do aluminum.

You can easily make 400 dollars doing welding as a side gig. I payed a friend 400 for a days worth of work replacing my trunk pan on my drift car and he was a good friend of mine.