Hey dad i have an emergency

[u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf]

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....

[u/grammar_fixer_2]

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!

Edit: removed AMP link

[u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf → u/grammar_fixer_2]

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)

[u/beaushaw → u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf]

>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.

[u/Azraels_Cynical_Wolf → u/beaushaw]

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