Before it’s locked, let me say that I don’t think anyone was being particularly mean about any nitpicking. It’s hard to offer advice (which you asked for) without complete information, and since what you did provide as info for your expensive cost of living and income seemed pretty comfortable, I think a few of us wanted to be sure we and you were adding things up correctly.
You asked for advice about money, and got it. Just about no one was mean or rude. I know you’re not coming back to this thread for whatever reason, but just an FYI.
I’m confused. The OP’s cost of living is very low. She thinks her loan repayment schedule should take into account what her neighbors are paying in rent? Is that right?
“Cost of living” has nothing to do with the fact that the OP bought a car she can’t afford. Many, if not most, people have bought a car they can’t afford at some point. Everybody has done stupid things with money at some point. The key is taking steps to cirrect the situation.
No, actually the reality in almost all of the US is there is no mass transportation that works on a realistic level.
Barring the fact I am a gimp, but the nearest job I was able to get after the last time I was out of work [took me almost a year to get the job, and I got laid off last march] was 50 miles away. If I were to actually try to get to work using mass transit, I would have to walk the 15 miles to the nearest town with a bus service to Hartford to catch a bus to Hartford CT. The bus I could catch would drop me in the city center, and I would have to catch a bus to East Hartford. At one time when I was at work and found copies of the various bus schedules it would take me 6 hours of walking, and 5 hours of busses a day, then my 9 hour work day… I really don’t think so. No idea what the cost would be now, but it would have also cost me about $35 a day. I could almost rent a car for that much a few years ago [Enterprise had some sort of deal with my credit union for heavily discounted long term rentals]
Some of us actually live out in the ass end of nowhere and need a car to get anywhere … and before you bother to blab on about it was our personal choice to move yada yada yada bullshit, we moved to an affordable place to live. I raise poultry that give us eggs and the occasional bird, and we have several acres and we do garden for more of our food, and harvest trees and fallen wood for fuel to heat the house in the winter. We did have sheep, but the freaking jackasses who kept saying ‘but my fluffy would never hurt another animal’ and letting little fluffy run around and pack up with other dogs made sure that raising sheep ended up lethal for the sheep. Although I do have quite a good kill ratio on the damned mutts.
Part of the OP’s problem is that she lives in a huge, expensive city. Generally, people living in metropolitan areas don’t have to travel 50 miles for work. Clearly, if you live in the country, your situation is a bit different than that presented in the OP, no?
… and you couldn’t, I dunno… look into the less ritzier suburbs? Settling for something less than Beverly Hills doesn’t mean your only option is moving to South Central.
To use the names of metro Detroit suburbs (since that’s what I know): If I was in your situation and posting your OP and it turns out I’m living in like, Bloomfield Hills or Birmingham or Grosse Pointe Farms, I’d fully expect Michigan dopers to ask me why the fuck I’m living in a ritzy suburb instead of looking for a room to rent somewhere in Clinton Township, Madison Heights or the like. You have a friggin’ car, so it’s not like your living space is dependent on access to public transportation.
If you “lucked” into your ritzy suburb location, why do you think it’s impossible to “luck” into a cheaper COL location?
This might be true in rural areas and far-flung suburbs, but the OP lives in a nice suburb of Chicago. How bad can the transit be?
In any case, I agree with **elbows **that once you own a car, it suddenly seems to be an absolute necessity. But when you’re young and not tied down to a certain location you can arrange your life such that car ownership is not necessary. Every apartment I’ve rented since I left home 13 years ago, I looked carefully at the transit situation before I rented the place. I haven’t owned a car in all that time, and I’ve lived in several different cities and towns, every single one of which had a much smaller population than Chicago.
I regularly hear, from my coworkers, that our city is completely impossible to live in without a car. And yet, I do - and so do several of my friends who are also on a tight budget. Now I understand that people choose to own cars, choose to live in locations unaccessible by public transit, etc. - if you can afford that, there’s no problem with doing it. And I also understand that people who already own a car and/or a house or have a good career-type job in an inaccessible location or live with family who have school or work in set places have fewer options. But if you’re struggling financially and you’re in a position where you could rent a different place, look for a different job, whatever, then attempting to live car-free really makes a lot of sense.
Depends. If you have to get to another suburb for work, or travel outside of the usual first shift hours, it sucks. If you’re going downtown for a first shift job, it’s awesome. I’m a Chicago suburbanite and haven’t driven to work in over a decade - I have also limited my job hunt substantially when I’ve had to look for work.
I didn’t read every reply because it’s late and I’m tired (boo-hoo, I know), but I highly recommend enrolling in 6 units of online community college in whatever state is your home state. It’s about 30 bucks a unit plus some fees, you get to continue your education, and you don’t have to pay your loans. Check with your specific loan providers, but that’s how I’m working it right now while I’m getting my certification, and I will probably continue doing that until I have a job that pays me enough (or a I land a series regular role!).
After my son’s bike was stolen, he bought a perfectly serviceable replacement at a garage sale for $10. Rode it all summer (including to and from work) before buying a new one.
I know you said you aren’t coming back (and am not sure why this hasn’t been closed. Perhaps you did not ask a mod other than in the thread.) But I think the only way to get out of your current situation is to think of yourself as a poor person. Don’t think of any one aspect of your life as inviolate, and be willing to consider changing any aspect if it would save you $ (and not endanger you).
I don’t know if my suburb qualifies as one of the “ritzier” ones in Chicago, but I regularly see people standing on the corners waiting for the PACE bus. But, as FH says, using public transportation requires that you restrict your job/home locations.
You make $14 an hour working second shift at a call center. If this call center and your home are located such that you cannot use public transport, then you really should look for alternatives. $450/month certainly does not impress me as outrageous for decent housing in Chicago, but if it is in a location that requires that you have a car, it actually is costing you more than just the rent.
I don’t wish to pile on, but if your take home pay is actually every two weeks, and your rent is monthly, then your rent is actually less than 1/4 of your take-home pay.
$450 * 12 months = $5400
There are slightly more than 52 weeks in a year, but I’ll assume 52, meaning your take-home is:
26weeks * 850/wk = $22100
5400/22100 = 24.4%
I’m not just pointing this out to be mean. The fact that you’re paid biweekly and owe rent (and other payments, generally) monthly means that there should be two months a year in which you get a 3rd paycheck. Figure out when the next one is, and you should be able to use that income buffer to implement whatever changes you decide to make. Good luck.
