How many people struggle with money?

Question

I am just wondering how much of the population actually struggle with money?

If you do, why is it?

Are bills too high, or is the cost of living just gone up too much?

Answer 1

You will not talk to anyone that is not a celebrity or hit the state lotto that has or is not struggling these days. Gas prices are stupid and some days we consider earning $40 dollars a day at a job that cost me $20 bucks round trip to get there is it worth it? Should I get a new muffler for my car to help on mileage or by extra food so I know I can feed my family next week. Life is hard and at times feels like rock bottom but this is not as good as it gets for me.I am as rich as rich can be when you measure me by my family. Tough times mean we stay home more, spend more time together , buy less useless junk and forced to search for the happier things in life that are free.(I couldn't buy cigs today but my daughter rode her bike by herself tonight) So yes I think the norm of families are struggling but if you don't except hard times you won't stay there. So to all you hard working folks, one more day at the grind, one dollar less and one more creditor ain't nothing when you know this isn't as good as it gets for you! Its a h**l of alot easier to slide down a hill then to walk up it.

Answer 2

we struggle. i am a stay at home mom my youngest just got to preschool oldest in kindergarten so now i am thinking of either going to school or getting a job before i have another one. my boyfriend has a ok job, not the best but he recently just started working a 2nd job because without we would never afford to buy our own house. our bills are high and also we are just not money savers. i live in hawaii where the cost of living is ridiculous.  

Answer 3

We struggle pretty bad, i think most people do now days, the cost of living is outrageous. Everytime I go to the grocery store, it breaks the bank. It seems like grocieries have doubled in price. A few years ago, you could get alot for $100, now $100, gets you maybe 2 bag fulls. Its crazy. Even things like toilet paper, laundry soap, cleaning supplies, gas, etc are crazy. Everything everywhere is going way up, and wages are staying the same, and jobs are hard to find. I think so many people are forced to use their credit cards, not things needed and neccessities, then end up too far in debit in credit cards.

Answer 4

I do struggle with money.  I always have and always will.

Why?  Simple - I want more than I can afford and it's sometimes hard to separate our wants from our needs...and sometimes the lines become skewed and you think you need the things you want.  

Also, society is making it easier and easier to buy the things we cannot afford by offering credit to those that don't have the money up front...then when the bills come with the astronomical interest rates, we realize a little too late that we're screwed.

The cost of living has gone up to a point that I don't think is necessary, but we've also become accustomed to higher standards of living which inflate that cost beyond what it really needs to be.  We really can get by without 200+ television channels, 3 cellphones, 2 computers and a TV in every bedroom.  

Answer 5

Yes I am struggling being a single mom of 2 and no child support and I am not on welfare but my kids are on medicaid. Yes we always have food on the table and clothes on our back but do you know how hard it is to have to always say no to a child when they want something from the store or join a little league or take dancing or any out of school activity like girl scouts. Either I dont have the money or the time as I have to work full time to support us. It is horrible. I fear they will hate me because their friends moms will buy them stuff when they go places with them. Their aunt is always buying them expensive gifts and I cant do any of that.  

Answer 6

We dont struggle now but did for years and years, we have learnt how to be a little more fruggle with our money....we have the odd splurge but mostly we are good....BUT saying that we are about to buy a new house which will be a test to see how well we can handle money when we dont have very much left over after mortgage and bills.....

Answer 7

A ton of people both in the US and in other countries. Some parents work two jobs to support their kids just for the basic necessities in life! My parents are on the dole (we get help paying the rent on the apartment) and we get a little bit of help paying the electrical. Guess coming from a poor family worked to my advantage though in terms of getting more financial aid for college.

Answer 8

For me it is also a combination of both.  I am still making the same thing I was 5 years ago but things like rent and bills have gone up.

Answer 9

It's tight. The monthly bills aren't too bad, but the gas and food has been really adding up lately. I live in an area where public transportation is not an option and nothing is close enough to walk to.

That being said, we do have a lot of "necessary luxuries" like cable and internet, land phone and cell phone, pizza on friday, etc.

Answer 10

My family does. I got married a year ago, and bought a house at the same time. I haven't finished college and work part time, but my new husband and I were so caught up in getting married and buying a house, we decided to also take the next step and have a baby. So, now we have house payments and much higher utility bills than we used to when we rented. And on top of that, we now have a 6 week old baby :)

Don't get me wrong, we're thrilled with our house and the baby, but we do wish we had planned better financially.... We get by OK, and it wouldn't be as bad if we didn't have such high credit card debt from being young and stupid, and of course we racked up a lot of debt from the wedding. But money is definitely tight in our house and we go without a lot of things most people take for granted.

Answer 11

thanks God we are ok for me to stay home and take care of my baby and pregnancy, but i have to say it is not the same as when i was working but im glad that at least i get to enjoy my beautiful baby, i guess is because we paid our car cash and we have no credit cards

Answer 12

My household is financially set (I'm 17, senior year of high school begins in 2 weeks). My parents moved into this house (small but still nice) in 1982 and finished paying it off in 1997, so we've been living mortgage free for over a decade. We own all 3 of our vehicles, a 1999 Pontiac (my mom's), a 2001 Chevy truck (my dad's), and a 1999 Saturn (mine and my sister's). While our house is a bit small for 4 of us and a dog, we live fairly comfortably. Gas is getting ridiculous for me, but I can still handle it (I don't drive often, just to and from school). We do spend more now that my dad is making more money (mom's a teacher for 35 years and is making decent money, but dad works for GM and is working lots of overtime hours so extra $$ comes in), but we are saving for the future, just in case something happens. We do go on vacation each summer, generally for a week, some years a splurge, and we like it here. We've got money saved for college, which is good because my sister (19) goes to a good college, and I'm going to one of the best in the region next year (just applied last week and should get in). A lot of people do have financial issues (especially now). In my cousin's case, she got 3 credit cards in college and bought a sports car and went on crazy shopping sprees, and didn't realize that she had to pay everything back. She just paid the minimum payments and went into bankruptcy by 25. Now she's 32 and is doing well.

Answer 13

We struggle every day to make ends meet. When I became pregnant a few months ago (I was in between switching my birth control!) we REALLY had a dent in our finances! It's gotten so bad we may have to move in with my Mother while i try to finish my degree as working a factory job isn't cutting it with car payments, gas prices, food, and rent.  

Answer 14

I struggle with money, but it's not the same struggling as your referring to.

I have no sense of worth - I also have to have money on me, or near me at all times. My Husband pays our bills and looks after our money, because I am very child-like in a sense, with money.

I understand maths, and things like that, I graduated University, so I am not stupid. I have Bipolar, and for me this is one of my many quirks. People often don't understand, but I am normal in a sense.

We live quite comfortably. The only major debt with have is our mortgage, but we are happily paying it off - so no major problems.

But I do think the cost of living has gone up. I know our grocery bill has & petrol is hitting us hard.

But we will get by.

Answer 15

Oh boy, we do all the time.Stupid car payment is killing us!

Answer 16

yup. we pay the necessities and that is about it. my husband and I haven't been out to dinner for like 8 months. all our money goes to bills, groceries and our 2 month old daughter. luckily grandma spoils her rotten and gets her nice things when she visits. once I go back to work, finances will get easier, but I don't know anyone who isn't struggling with money right now. we live on one car, make meals that last the week, buy in bulk, cut back on the electricity, take short showers, and use any extra money on our daughter (medical, diapers, baby wipes, etc...)

Answer 17

We're having a little bit of trouble managing everything, but we're doing ok. We took a dip this year...having a baby in March, adding an addition to the house and paying for 3/4 of our oldest's freshman year of college. Bills are high for us this year, but by this time next year, we'll be back to normal.  

Answer 18

It's a bit of both for me...my bills wouldn't be so bad though if it didn't take half a pay check just to fill up my gas tank...groceries have gone up a whole lot as well!  It's definitely getting harder to live!

Answer 19

I think that everyone does at some time or another.  My Dad actually has a great job and rakes in $8,000 every two weeks, but he's supporting me, my sister, my brother, my mom, and he's paying child support on a baby.  Last winter it was $2,500 to heat our house and this winter it's going to be double the price.  Gas is way too high, when my Mom is staying with us she has to drive 45 miles to and from work every day of the week.  My Dad has spent a total of $20,000 on court costs and a lawyer for the charges being pressed against him for growing weed, so that's a downer. Going out to the bar every night doesn't help.  He wastes SO much money on drinks it's unbelieveable. All in all I get what I need, and want.  My Dad is paying for me to be home schooled this year because I'm pregnant and he ordered a brand new lap top for me so that I can use it for school.  Money gets tight here and there but we're never starving or anything bad like that. =]

Answer 20

we struggle but we dont have to my other half gambles so allot of our money is waisted so to me hes too selfish to worry about the better things in life and he waists it on stupid things not happy  

Answer 21

Until last year, we frequently struggled with money, but I think it was a combination of too many bills, and not spending our money wisely. We finally have things under control, but it took us a long time to get here.

Answer 22

We are fine financially, thank goodness. We were fortunate to buy our home when prices in our area were very low, so were able to buy it without needing a loan. Our cars are paid for and we always pay the full amount on our credit cards so don't pay interest.

We only buy things or do things to the house if we can afford to do so, we would never get a loan.

We are very wise with our money, and therefore have no problems.

Answer 23

nothing is too much, the problem people have is credit cards and thinking that they have more money than they do.  the debt goes up, the interest goes up and problems are born, be careful and you will be fine.

Answer 24

gas/utilities

Answer 25

ME!!!!!!!! Its making too many mistakes in life! Getting married too young, buying a house that we couldn't afford, having a baby then husband deciding he wanted a divorce...divorcing, get rid of everything then husband decides he wants to work things out, having to re-buy everything, pay for 2 lawyers for a divorce that didn't happen...me staying home with the kids and going to college full time....gas and food prices way too exoensive...I feel like we barely exhist after paying all the bills and debt we have! I can't wait to graduate and get a job and to make some money!

Answer 26

We don't but we hear even people in our neighborhood complaining about it.  Maybe a lot of people could move out of their big houses and trade in their sports cars and be in better shape (atleast around here).

Answer 27

We struggle every week. Recently we had to purchase a bigger house because we lived in a 2 bedroom place and needed a 3. We didn't pick a huge outlandish house and it definitely needs work as it was a rental property but it still sometimes breaks the budget with interest rate increases, then the price of petrol and food going up, and I have got about 7 weeks to go with my third pregnancy......luckily I kept everything from my older kids. We don't have credit cards, and both our cars are paid for, but the house can be a real killer.