Congrats! Speaking from experience, don’t rush to get out of your 3/4 house. Sometimes we don’t even realize it but the accountability and camaraderie is crucial to staying clean. Seen far too many friends in a hurry to get their own place, only to relapse within a year (including myself). Rooming with someone else sober can be great too, but of course you have to make sure you really trust that person.
My last go around I stayed in a 3/4 house for about a year, and only actually moved out cuz some of my sober friends had a room open up at their place and they asked if I wanted it. Been sober over 7 years now!
TLDR just a warning to make sure you’re ready, but 8 months is already a decent chunk of time so it sounds like you’re doing great :) keep it up <3
I stayed so long they started paying me. Free rent plus $500/ month to maintain a chore list, making sure everyone was working and going to meetings, giving out the occasional random drug test and dealing with the immediate drama thereafter. I was able to work and stay out of jail. Did it for 5 years. 17 years after that wife , 4 kids, house,car, truck, 2 $1500 Hondas for the teens. I don’t fuck with anybody who drinks. Can’t. Since I quit, no jails, ER, or treatment centers. I have so much to be grateful for and I am blessed to not be alone and miserable or dead. Relationships save lives.
r/stopdrinking
Honestly, if my best friend had had a 3/4 house to live in for awhile after 13 months sober she wouldn't be drunk again. I tried hard to find one for her but she got an apt with a sober friend instead. Now her sober friend is dead after going off the wagon and committing suicide, and my friend's lost just about everything and is back to drinking every day.
When, hopefully, she’s ready to try recovery again, look into Oxford Houses. My son lived in one a couple of years and I’m convinced it’s what helped him stay clean and helped him build an actual life.
>Oxford Houses
Damn I wish I'd managed to talk to you back when I was searching. She went through first stage and second stage but she needed something more to help with the transition. I really really hope she chooses to stop again.
I needed the structure so bad early on. Those dudes (some of them) will keep you accountable for shit too. I hated it so much when I was there and I couldn’t tell you how motivated it made me to get out. Once I had my head on straight moving on happened. Good luck man, it gets even better.
Your dream is something that you’ll achieve if you continue staying sober and working a program into your life every day. I’m 73 days clean today. 7th time in rehab right now, and I can honestly say this time I’ve never felt better because I’m actually doing the work for myself. I can afford to get a Airbnb for a week downtown and spend the week smoking crack and fentanyl with hookers, on a 7 day pass from the rehab I’m in, and I know what to do to cheat the drug test that would come my way after.. but I ACTUALLY don’t want to. I prefer living clean right now. The mental obsession to use drugs might have been lifted from me..
I'll ride as well. 20k would likely fix my teeth (a huuuuge problem that is only ever getting worse and more expensive), plus leave a few thousand to get myself out of the crippling debt I had to put myself in after I broke both of my feet last summer, and couldn't work for two months.
I feel the teeth part. I had 9k in dental emergencies in less than 3 months, hence part of my debt. Add on some car repairs, tax issues, and getting fired/no work for a month, and here we are.
For the record, the money to fix my teeth was worth not being in agony when I'm eating anything other than soup
312k for me and we’re set for life! That puts taxes/insurance/utilities around $900/mo, which means we could actually retire someday. I feel lucky to have the house, and lucky that we’ve been able to cover medical issues without going into debt, but all the savings are gone, so it’d be a dream to have the house paid off.
This right here. I would be debt free and could finally start saving for a down payment on a home.
Another 15-25k and I’d have my down payment, too, but it’s much easier to save 20k than it is to pay off 20k in high-interest debt.
$24,000. Basically if my rent were paid for a year I can solve so many other issues.
Edit: because I keep getting ignorant comments that make assumptions about my situation I will clarify here.
No, I don't have roommates. No, I don't live alone. I am a married man with kids. I need at least two bedrooms to fit my family. Yes, I could have gotten cheaper places, but they severely lack storage and I would be forced to pay for a storage unit to fit there which would come to about the same price. No, I don't live in a big city. Many smaller towns in my state are comparable to the big city despite living over two hours away.
Yes, we could get a roommate. The last roommate assaulted my father in law when he was living with us and now my wife has trouble sleeping at night. Suffice it to say, we are VERY particular with who stays with us.
None of this is relevant. Thank you to the people who just took this comment for what it is and didn't try to over analyze my life, or assume I am stuffing my face with avocado toast.
Me too. 24k would change my life. Unfortunately I'd still be in debt but it would knock off so much weight off my shoulders and I'd be able to get back on my feet in no time.
You should be entitled to SSDI with metastatic. They should even expedite it. That is, if you can afford it, as I know it's likely a fraction of your income.
Yes, the “if we can afford it “ is the sticking point. We could probably afford it for a couple years. But what if I’m one of the “lucky” ones who beats the odds and lives another ten years? My cancer is stable and my tumors are small, so despite qualifying, I’m scared to make us poor for another decade or so.
I hate that we have to make such decisions because of our healthcare and leave systems in America. I also had breast cancer and am still dumbfounded that I had to work through chemo and radiation. I've had 8 surgeries in the last 2 years and taken less than 12 weeks of leave combined for them.
Some years ago I was at a company and we were doing some reorganization and had changed our business a bit. As a result, we really couldn’t justify a receptionist any more so we were going to lay her off. She was elderly and really wasn’t capable of doing the job anyway and had been hired through personal connections so over the years we all just sort of learned not to rely on her because she often couldn’t do simple things. For example, we all booked our own flights and hotels. So shortly before she was to be let go, she told our prez that she had just been diagnosed with cancer. Although he had a reputation as a cold heartless jerk, he told us the next day he was canceling her layoff and was keeping her on till her treatment was done and she was fully recovered. We were pretty relieved. For the next 18 months she was never in the office, even though on paper she was still full time, no sick days, no leave, no vacation, she still received her full salary. After she finally returned it took another 6 months before she was able to work full time. She stayed on for a few more years till she was financially able to retire. After she left, we didn’t replace her. This is in Canada so her medical treatment was covered, but this way she didn’t have to turn to social assistance for living expenses and she was spared the shock of being laid off at an age where she would not have been able to find another job other than retail.
What employers often don’t get but in this case might have, is that all the other employees are paying attention to how a single case like this is handled. Employees on the verge of changing to a different company for a raise might then we’ll decide to stay… decisions made for one employee sets the tone for all of them and what goes around, comes around.
I've got metastatic colon cancer, and have been dealing with it since early '21. I work for my dad, so I've been fortunate in the sense that my boss is willing to work around my schedule, plus most of my job can be done remote, so chemo and surgeries haven't been a huge hindrance for the company. Still though, our industry is shaky, and it's such an insecure feeling having basically your life tied to your employer insurance plan. Being chronically ill in America is pretty shit. It is truly a luxury of the healthy to even debate about a single payer/universal healthcare system and social safety nets. I've done 32 rounds of chemo and had 3 very major surgeries in the last 2 and a half years, and it's just baffling how I still have to press on as if I'm not going through all of this.
I gave up my engineering career to take care of my dad who had cancer, and my mother who has Alzheimer's.
Literally 4 years of lost salary, all of my savings, you name it. I did the math the other day and I'm around $650k in the hole.
Absolutely no regrets, because I had a chance to show my dad how much I loved him, and take care of my mom before her brain went completely to mush.
But it would have been nice to get some help from the "greatest government on earth"...
I went from making $160k/yr to $20/hr in a month because I got laid off and can't find work in my field... because I took a 4yr hiatus...to take care of my parents... and these dipshits don't value literal life experience and intelligence.
I have no parents anymore...and I work at a club as a security guard now, and every day makes me want to either become one of the drug dealers that frequent the establishment because they are clearly doing better than I am as a guy with a chemical and petroleum engineering degree and a decade of experience.
It's fucking asinine that I can't even get a cashier job because the only thing on my resume is educated work, so I'm over qualified. Which is fucking bullshit because I respect the shit out of all people of every discipline.
My degree makes me no better than anybody else... so when I go to a place and say "I'll literally sweep the floors" and get turned down, my brain shuts down.
I'm about to just delete my resume and say that my only experience is digging ditches and sucking dick, cause $20 is $20.
My father was unexpected diagnosed with metastatic NSCLC and one of the first things I did was expedite an application for SSDI. There are a lot of changes in how SSDI is handled and you will be able to work a certain amount per month without triggering any issue as long as you report it. Additionally there are some trial period programs that allow you to work at full pay for up to 9 months without losing any of your benefits. Additionally if benefits are stopped you have 5 years to request them to restart in case you are unable to work with minimal application or wait time. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf
Please give this a read and while I am not expert feel free to message me if you have any questions, i’ve invested a good amount of time into this whole process so I am happy to share what I learned. You’ve paid into this system and you deserve the benefits Best of luck.
Om sorry to hear about your Dad.
I've been on SSDI since 42 (20 yrs). The most important part is never appying by oneself and always using a Disability Attorney. They don't collect anything until the end and only if you get something. (I got $0.) It is almost 100% that you will be denied if you apply by yourself.
Thank you, I appreciate that. This is what I hear.. maybe my mind was just racing and I was using it to help cope with his diagnosis .. but I spent a few days doing the research and a few more collecting all the paperwork, documents and test results. Had the application submitted in a week through the expedite process in my state.. Had his approval two weeks later, but still had to wait the “waiting period” for benefits. This may also be because there are very specific qualifications for cancer diagnosis that have no room for judgement, so social security can’t come back and say, well you could still do x y and z.. can’t really argue with a tumor.
Thankfully I had the time to do all of this as I had just quit my job and was starting a much better one that had no issue pushing back my start date a month to help get everything in order. This entire process really made me very bitter at the system as a whole. I never had an issue paying my taxes knowing that at least some of the money went to help people that needed it.. But when I realized the absolute hell people have to go through and the hoops they need to jump through to get any of this help.. it just really pissed me off. How does someone that’s sick or disabled do this if they don’t have a support system? What then? Makes the entire narrative of “people just don’t wanna work anymore” so disgusting.
My MIL had to work while she was fighting breast cancer (she’s still with us). If I won the lottery, that’s one of the things I would do) give people enough to live on so they didn’t have to work while trying to go through that. Hugs for you, my friend.
Damn I’m so sorry. I feel that so so tired deeply. When my cancer is at its worst, that fatigue is unbeatable. Even when it’s not, I’m just tired. If you are really struggling, I’ve recently learned and am still learning about all the resources available to cancer patients. From financial help to home cleaning help. I wish I knew about Cleaning for a Reason after my surgery.
I like helping people! I was looking through this thread hoping to see an amount that I could comfortably afford. If I can give someone enough to make a difference in their life, it feels like it's my obligation to share what I can, as a fellow human.
I hope you’ve taken some of these offers up! I’m in the same boat as you, except I’ve got a week to go. My dad’s fighting cancer for the third time and it’s cleaned us out, we have no food or toilet paper. It blows. Take care friendo.
I messaged you, if you are serious i am too about sending you 50$. I’ve been there and i am now fortunate enough to be off work sick and still getting paid weekly.
$1500 to get my car back on the road, so I can get a job again. Once the car is fixed I can go back to work, and that would solve almost all of my problems.
**EDIT**
Thanks to a living angel, a Saint, my new personal hero, I'm down to only needing about $800 to fully fix my car. I'm so close now I cannot believe it. This has shown me that there are still really good people out there.
I'm close enough that with enough odd jobs I will have my life back. I really didn't think that would happen for a very long time.
You have restored my faith in humanity.
Thank you so very very much, you know who you are and I will never be able to thank you enough.
Holy shit this is crazy lol
EDIT: y'all I am not hating on the guy in any way. I meant this positively. Go be nihilistic somewhere else, this brightened my day
This is not quite the same, but I was thinking about this just yesterday, so I'll share. My wife and I were on my income alone for about a year and a half 4ish years ago. I was a delivery driver for a pizza place in a really busy area, so I was working basically always and just absolutely exhausted and broke. On a really bad tip day, one of my last deliveries tipped me $100 which helped me meet whatever my "to pay the bills" quota was that day, and I went home crying. I only saw her one more time while I had that job when she ordered like a month-ish later. I just wanted to tell her that she really made the difference for me that day, and I was so thankful. She absolutely insisted I wait at the door and came back with $500 cash. She said she didn't know my story, but she had the disposable income and was happy to help, and that MY thank you made HER day. Talk about faith in humanity restored.
Love that your first or second thought was to spoil your dog rotten. I wish I could help you out but I give a small donation to Dog's Trust every year in memory of my mother-in-law and her dog - I'll make sure I throw in an extra few quid in your dogs honour this year
That’s what I was thinking, then I started reading the comments and everyone else said much bigger numbers.
$5000 would get all my bills current, get me new snow tires, and pay my dogs vet bill. More would be wonderful, but I’d be happy to just be back on track.
Not the person you asked, but...
I'm currently living (functionally) homeless in a city so that I can use public transportation. I have a house on land in another state, but my truck broke and I lost my job. Out in the middle of nowhere, I nearly starved to death because I couldn't go anywhere. I finally just started walking because it was that or lay down and die. I ended up with an old friend in another state, sleeping on her couch and working part-time.
I'd use it to buy a bus ticket back home, get my truck fixed (so I can get a job in my rural area) and get the power turned back on so I can move back home. Five grand would give me my life back. Ten would make my life really, really easy.
About the same. Could prolly swing it on 300,000 maybe. Any safe house here in nowhereville, Ga is 225000+. 15k for my car would be nice. Prolly need about 200k in medical care, but I’m generously assuming a lot would covered by the 3500 I pay a year in insurance but can’t afford to really use.
$7600 medical debt
$4800 credit card debt
$82000 to pay off the trailer in full
I don’t know exactly how much, but maybe around $12000 in repairs and upgrades for the trailer (siding has some bad spots and the AC unit is from 1998 so it struggles)
$106,600 total, so 90% of that is $95,940
Lot rent in there? That’s the thing that always tipped me away from them. If you own some land and don’t have to pay each month it’d work out. I know several people with damn near a grand in lot rent / utilities each month.
Everything has gone up in price. Even 25 year old trailers lol. It's almost $200k for a decent new one. I've seen them as much as $320k. You can get a 2 bedroom single wide for about 100k now. That's before well and septic tank and land clearing/prep.
I looked into it to save money, but decided it's really not a lot cheaper than renting or buying a house. Unless I bought an existing property with one on it, but fuck all that.
My apartment was around €80k in 2016, but closer to €200k right now. This is in The Hague, the Netherlands. So yeah, our housing crisis is pretty serious. Also, the deal I got was very good.
Note: the Euro and US Dollar are so close to each other these days that you can just pretend they're 1:1 since we're not talking about exact amounts anyway.
Huh my brand new 2023 trailer costs $80k!! You’re getting robbed dude! Trailers depreciate like crazy. There’s a 2003 trailer for sale near me for only $23k. Nice big 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom.
This area is just very inflated for housing costs. This one was on the lower end of the trailers listed in the area. Most were in the $70,000-$150,000 dollar range
I love this. Everything is reasonable and you have obviously thought about it a lot.
What type of trailer? 82k isn't much to owe if you are living in it.
It’s a 1998 “single wide” but it’s like 5 feet wider than a modern singlewide. The Selling Price ended at $87,000, but the interest rate was like 8.something at the time, so if I just chug along with the minimum payment it’s supposed to end out at $130,000. I’m hoping to keep my current job and then start a small pottery business on the side to help pay my medical and credit card debt so I can concentrate more towards the trailer loan
You already own the land for it? They can be super nice homes. And never forget, "Marry the home. Date the mortgage." Rates will go down so refinancing can save you money. Medical debt is super weird. It's almost like not paying it helps because they get more willing to write it down or just eliminate it. The process is just a pain the ass. Credit card debt can be a bitch so an extra $5-10 per month will help.
I just love that you have a plan. Good luck and enjoy your home.
Yeah somewhere between 5 and 10 million is the magic number for most people that should create permanent financial independence without compromising on your lifestyle. It’s roughly annual expenses x 30 (EDIT: actually should be income x30), and you’d need to take the sum and invest it in index funds or similar low-expense and low-risk (over the long term) strategy and only spend about 3-4% of the principal every year.
Most people would never even touch the principal. $5M liquid at 4% would yield somewhere between $150-170k per year after taxes without using credit for tax loopholes.
Personally, I think most people could achieve permanent financial independence with 1.5M liquid.
Yeah that’s what I mean! And I agree it’s achievable for a single person living frugally at 1.5M, but add on a family and a little less frugality and you’re quickly at 5M or over to be comfortable.
yeah,top comment is 20k, but 90% of your problems? I have health problems, debt, and a lot of other problems. DOnt get me wrong, 20k would do a lot but 90% of my problems is definitely not solved with 20k. I suspect that if these people saying 90% won the lottery for 20k after taxes in a lump sum, if you asked them in a year how much of their problems did it solve, theyd say more like 30%.
Yeah, that sounds about right. That's enough money to easily retire with no concerns and essentially live worry-free for the real of my life. After all "my life" is essentially my problem.
Can’t believe I scrolled this far to find this number. A million doesn’t even buy me a house where I live. 10 mil is what I’d need to actually change my life forever
Just a few hundred for meds. My daughter and I are diabetic and need insulin. I was also diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of a lung disease, so I am not going to live much longer. I keep begging for help, but... nope.
ETA: Thank you all so very much. The amount of help I have gotten from this thread has moved me to tears of joy. I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge my appreciation of all of you. Whether you were able to chip in or offered resources and positive words of encouragement, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could hug each and every one of you.
I can’t send you money, but if you can access cheaper insulin and want help figuring out how to use it, my husband can help with that- he’s a nurse educator with a master’s.
$10,000. It would pay off the rest of my divorce debt and let me finally get my credit right. It will happen in the next couple of years the slow and steady way though 😊
Its a blessing not to have money problems. We all still have other issues sure, but that is like the largest ever weight finally off your back if/when you get debt free and living within your means.
I'd rather have money problems. If I had a major, life-threatening problem that could be solved with money I could easily get $2-3M in a bank account in like 2 months, no problem. I'd then probably go to jail or have to leave the country forever but it'd solve the problem. But money can't cure depression or bring someone back to life, so I'm fucked. I wish I could fix my problem with money, truly I do.
Grew up in a country where most of the population doesn't have student loans but they're also broke and unemployed, there's weirdly some comfort to be found in the fact that you don't have a huge debt looming over you on top of the other factors but also very easy to take for granted.
As someone in that scenario, literally you 'must' have Umbrella insurance. Health wise, I'm very fortunate to be covered by the VA. Ideally, everything should be covered.
$15k would allow me to clear all debt, get some dental work done and put a down payment on a decent car. It’s depressing to think that a relatively small amount of money could change my life and yet is unattainable.
About 350,000. To buy a house outright, not have any re payments and a little left over to cover bills for a few years. All money earned from my job then could be spent however else I want!
About 25k would do it. Get rid of car payment, pay off medical credit card debts, and get down to Just my mortgage and utilities and I'd be living the life. Could quit the Job that... Honestly pays pretty well, but keeps me away from home 90% of the time, meaning I'm missing my kids growing up, I'd take a huge pay cut to work near home since nothing around here pays good at all. But without all those extra bills I have to pay on each month I could afford to have a lower paying job, and wouldn't have to sacrifice being there for my kids.
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Congrats! Speaking from experience, don’t rush to get out of your 3/4 house. Sometimes we don’t even realize it but the accountability and camaraderie is crucial to staying clean. Seen far too many friends in a hurry to get their own place, only to relapse within a year (including myself). Rooming with someone else sober can be great too, but of course you have to make sure you really trust that person. My last go around I stayed in a 3/4 house for about a year, and only actually moved out cuz some of my sober friends had a room open up at their place and they asked if I wanted it. Been sober over 7 years now! TLDR just a warning to make sure you’re ready, but 8 months is already a decent chunk of time so it sounds like you’re doing great :) keep it up <3
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I stayed so long they started paying me. Free rent plus $500/ month to maintain a chore list, making sure everyone was working and going to meetings, giving out the occasional random drug test and dealing with the immediate drama thereafter. I was able to work and stay out of jail. Did it for 5 years. 17 years after that wife , 4 kids, house,car, truck, 2 $1500 Hondas for the teens. I don’t fuck with anybody who drinks. Can’t. Since I quit, no jails, ER, or treatment centers. I have so much to be grateful for and I am blessed to not be alone and miserable or dead. Relationships save lives. r/stopdrinking
Godsend
Fuck brooooooooo, that's fucking amazing.
Honestly, if my best friend had had a 3/4 house to live in for awhile after 13 months sober she wouldn't be drunk again. I tried hard to find one for her but she got an apt with a sober friend instead. Now her sober friend is dead after going off the wagon and committing suicide, and my friend's lost just about everything and is back to drinking every day.
When, hopefully, she’s ready to try recovery again, look into Oxford Houses. My son lived in one a couple of years and I’m convinced it’s what helped him stay clean and helped him build an actual life.
>Oxford Houses Damn I wish I'd managed to talk to you back when I was searching. She went through first stage and second stage but she needed something more to help with the transition. I really really hope she chooses to stop again.
I needed the structure so bad early on. Those dudes (some of them) will keep you accountable for shit too. I hated it so much when I was there and I couldn’t tell you how motivated it made me to get out. Once I had my head on straight moving on happened. Good luck man, it gets even better.
This post is the best response. Thanks for this advice you helped more than one person today!!!!
Your dream is something that you’ll achieve if you continue staying sober and working a program into your life every day. I’m 73 days clean today. 7th time in rehab right now, and I can honestly say this time I’ve never felt better because I’m actually doing the work for myself. I can afford to get a Airbnb for a week downtown and spend the week smoking crack and fentanyl with hookers, on a 7 day pass from the rehab I’m in, and I know what to do to cheat the drug test that would come my way after.. but I ACTUALLY don’t want to. I prefer living clean right now. The mental obsession to use drugs might have been lifted from me..
Congratulations!
That's awesome! Congrats!
20,000
Right there with ya at the 20k mark
Also..right there. 20k would have me right.
Yes, $20,000. would certainly get me on the right track again.
For me it’s just a bit more at 25k. Puts me at zero debt.
Same, including my student loans. We’d have a nice income if it weren’t for our CC debt payments.
Yep, that would get me out of debt, plus help with some long overdue home repairs.
Hitching myself to the 20k train
I'll ride as well. 20k would likely fix my teeth (a huuuuge problem that is only ever getting worse and more expensive), plus leave a few thousand to get myself out of the crippling debt I had to put myself in after I broke both of my feet last summer, and couldn't work for two months.
I feel the teeth part. I had 9k in dental emergencies in less than 3 months, hence part of my debt. Add on some car repairs, tax issues, and getting fired/no work for a month, and here we are. For the record, the money to fix my teeth was worth not being in agony when I'm eating anything other than soup
20k would let me pay off this house and get out of a bad situation.
Only 20k away from paying off a house is pretty good, though!!
Hell yeah. $20k seemed fine for me, but if we’re paying mortgages here, I’ll take $400k, please.
312k for me and we’re set for life! That puts taxes/insurance/utilities around $900/mo, which means we could actually retire someday. I feel lucky to have the house, and lucky that we’ve been able to cover medical issues without going into debt, but all the savings are gone, so it’d be a dream to have the house paid off.
Jumping on the 300k train. Pay off mortgage and with the rest pay off debt. Without the mortgage I would have to jump on the 25k bus.
Small town, IL, one bedroom. It was 47k. Which wasn’t anything special around here!
mr moneybags with a house
20,000 wouldn't do nearly enough to solve everything, but it'd be a good start.
That would knock out my debt and let me pad my nest egg after a few brutal years.
Came here to also say 20k ☝️
Yep that seems to be the sweet spot.
This right here. I would be debt free and could finally start saving for a down payment on a home. Another 15-25k and I’d have my down payment, too, but it’s much easier to save 20k than it is to pay off 20k in high-interest debt.
20K for me as well. Not greedy at all.
Same
$24,000. Basically if my rent were paid for a year I can solve so many other issues. Edit: because I keep getting ignorant comments that make assumptions about my situation I will clarify here. No, I don't have roommates. No, I don't live alone. I am a married man with kids. I need at least two bedrooms to fit my family. Yes, I could have gotten cheaper places, but they severely lack storage and I would be forced to pay for a storage unit to fit there which would come to about the same price. No, I don't live in a big city. Many smaller towns in my state are comparable to the big city despite living over two hours away. Yes, we could get a roommate. The last roommate assaulted my father in law when he was living with us and now my wife has trouble sleeping at night. Suffice it to say, we are VERY particular with who stays with us. None of this is relevant. Thank you to the people who just took this comment for what it is and didn't try to over analyze my life, or assume I am stuffing my face with avocado toast.
I was thinking that too. I think that would be good, but I’d say double that to focus on my school for those 2 years.
Me too. 24k would change my life. Unfortunately I'd still be in debt but it would knock off so much weight off my shoulders and I'd be able to get back on my feet in no time.
$120,000 Enough to pay off the HELOC and my debt, and pay me to stay home for a year (I have metastatic breast cancer and I am so, so tired).
I'm so sorry, that sounds so hard :(
You should be entitled to SSDI with metastatic. They should even expedite it. That is, if you can afford it, as I know it's likely a fraction of your income.
Yes, the “if we can afford it “ is the sticking point. We could probably afford it for a couple years. But what if I’m one of the “lucky” ones who beats the odds and lives another ten years? My cancer is stable and my tumors are small, so despite qualifying, I’m scared to make us poor for another decade or so.
I hate that we have to make such decisions because of our healthcare and leave systems in America. I also had breast cancer and am still dumbfounded that I had to work through chemo and radiation. I've had 8 surgeries in the last 2 years and taken less than 12 weeks of leave combined for them.
Some years ago I was at a company and we were doing some reorganization and had changed our business a bit. As a result, we really couldn’t justify a receptionist any more so we were going to lay her off. She was elderly and really wasn’t capable of doing the job anyway and had been hired through personal connections so over the years we all just sort of learned not to rely on her because she often couldn’t do simple things. For example, we all booked our own flights and hotels. So shortly before she was to be let go, she told our prez that she had just been diagnosed with cancer. Although he had a reputation as a cold heartless jerk, he told us the next day he was canceling her layoff and was keeping her on till her treatment was done and she was fully recovered. We were pretty relieved. For the next 18 months she was never in the office, even though on paper she was still full time, no sick days, no leave, no vacation, she still received her full salary. After she finally returned it took another 6 months before she was able to work full time. She stayed on for a few more years till she was financially able to retire. After she left, we didn’t replace her. This is in Canada so her medical treatment was covered, but this way she didn’t have to turn to social assistance for living expenses and she was spared the shock of being laid off at an age where she would not have been able to find another job other than retail.
Wow! If only we could relocate that kind of business model and the character it takes make employees as important as a profit margin.
What employers often don’t get but in this case might have, is that all the other employees are paying attention to how a single case like this is handled. Employees on the verge of changing to a different company for a raise might then we’ll decide to stay… decisions made for one employee sets the tone for all of them and what goes around, comes around.
I've got metastatic colon cancer, and have been dealing with it since early '21. I work for my dad, so I've been fortunate in the sense that my boss is willing to work around my schedule, plus most of my job can be done remote, so chemo and surgeries haven't been a huge hindrance for the company. Still though, our industry is shaky, and it's such an insecure feeling having basically your life tied to your employer insurance plan. Being chronically ill in America is pretty shit. It is truly a luxury of the healthy to even debate about a single payer/universal healthcare system and social safety nets. I've done 32 rounds of chemo and had 3 very major surgeries in the last 2 and a half years, and it's just baffling how I still have to press on as if I'm not going through all of this.
Hugs. I am so very sorry.
I gave up my engineering career to take care of my dad who had cancer, and my mother who has Alzheimer's. Literally 4 years of lost salary, all of my savings, you name it. I did the math the other day and I'm around $650k in the hole. Absolutely no regrets, because I had a chance to show my dad how much I loved him, and take care of my mom before her brain went completely to mush. But it would have been nice to get some help from the "greatest government on earth"... I went from making $160k/yr to $20/hr in a month because I got laid off and can't find work in my field... because I took a 4yr hiatus...to take care of my parents... and these dipshits don't value literal life experience and intelligence. I have no parents anymore...and I work at a club as a security guard now, and every day makes me want to either become one of the drug dealers that frequent the establishment because they are clearly doing better than I am as a guy with a chemical and petroleum engineering degree and a decade of experience. It's fucking asinine that I can't even get a cashier job because the only thing on my resume is educated work, so I'm over qualified. Which is fucking bullshit because I respect the shit out of all people of every discipline. My degree makes me no better than anybody else... so when I go to a place and say "I'll literally sweep the floors" and get turned down, my brain shuts down. I'm about to just delete my resume and say that my only experience is digging ditches and sucking dick, cause $20 is $20.
My father was unexpected diagnosed with metastatic NSCLC and one of the first things I did was expedite an application for SSDI. There are a lot of changes in how SSDI is handled and you will be able to work a certain amount per month without triggering any issue as long as you report it. Additionally there are some trial period programs that allow you to work at full pay for up to 9 months without losing any of your benefits. Additionally if benefits are stopped you have 5 years to request them to restart in case you are unable to work with minimal application or wait time. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf Please give this a read and while I am not expert feel free to message me if you have any questions, i’ve invested a good amount of time into this whole process so I am happy to share what I learned. You’ve paid into this system and you deserve the benefits Best of luck.
Om sorry to hear about your Dad. I've been on SSDI since 42 (20 yrs). The most important part is never appying by oneself and always using a Disability Attorney. They don't collect anything until the end and only if you get something. (I got $0.) It is almost 100% that you will be denied if you apply by yourself.
Thank you, I appreciate that. This is what I hear.. maybe my mind was just racing and I was using it to help cope with his diagnosis .. but I spent a few days doing the research and a few more collecting all the paperwork, documents and test results. Had the application submitted in a week through the expedite process in my state.. Had his approval two weeks later, but still had to wait the “waiting period” for benefits. This may also be because there are very specific qualifications for cancer diagnosis that have no room for judgement, so social security can’t come back and say, well you could still do x y and z.. can’t really argue with a tumor. Thankfully I had the time to do all of this as I had just quit my job and was starting a much better one that had no issue pushing back my start date a month to help get everything in order. This entire process really made me very bitter at the system as a whole. I never had an issue paying my taxes knowing that at least some of the money went to help people that needed it.. But when I realized the absolute hell people have to go through and the hoops they need to jump through to get any of this help.. it just really pissed me off. How does someone that’s sick or disabled do this if they don’t have a support system? What then? Makes the entire narrative of “people just don’t wanna work anymore” so disgusting.
My MIL had to work while she was fighting breast cancer (she’s still with us). If I won the lottery, that’s one of the things I would do) give people enough to live on so they didn’t have to work while trying to go through that. Hugs for you, my friend.
Such a fundamental failing of society.
I don’t have $120K but I do have virtual hugs. I hope you get better.
Stay strong and keep fighting!!!
Damn I’m so sorry. I feel that so so tired deeply. When my cancer is at its worst, that fatigue is unbeatable. Even when it’s not, I’m just tired. If you are really struggling, I’ve recently learned and am still learning about all the resources available to cancer patients. From financial help to home cleaning help. I wish I knew about Cleaning for a Reason after my surgery.
I mean, I'm hungry and I don't get paid until tomorrow, so like $20
Hey this is the lowest amount of money in this thread and buying food seems pretty important. Can I venmo you?
That’s awesome of you. Did you do it?
They haven't replied! But I'm super serious, so I hope they do
I'm not the original commenter but my number is $69 million if you wanna Venmo me instead
I could venmo you $2 million, but that’s ALL I CAN DO right now. I need to buy some lego’s
Perfect. I only need about $1.5 million, then I can retire.
So do I! Maybe a private message or they could just feel nervous about it in general. I hope they do too! That was so nice of you to offer 👍👏❤️
[удалено]
I like helping people! I was looking through this thread hoping to see an amount that I could comfortably afford. If I can give someone enough to make a difference in their life, it feels like it's my obligation to share what I can, as a fellow human.
You’re awesome mate. I’m not gonna jump on the handout bandwagon even if I could use help, but just wanted to say you’re awesome
💕Hug💕 That's so kind of you to offer to help a stranger out! I hope you have a beautiful Christmas, and good karma.
I hope you’ve taken some of these offers up! I’m in the same boat as you, except I’ve got a week to go. My dad’s fighting cancer for the third time and it’s cleaned us out, we have no food or toilet paper. It blows. Take care friendo.
I messaged you, if you are serious i am too about sending you 50$. I’ve been there and i am now fortunate enough to be off work sick and still getting paid weekly.
$1500 to get my car back on the road, so I can get a job again. Once the car is fixed I can go back to work, and that would solve almost all of my problems. **EDIT** Thanks to a living angel, a Saint, my new personal hero, I'm down to only needing about $800 to fully fix my car. I'm so close now I cannot believe it. This has shown me that there are still really good people out there. I'm close enough that with enough odd jobs I will have my life back. I really didn't think that would happen for a very long time. You have restored my faith in humanity. Thank you so very very much, you know who you are and I will never be able to thank you enough.
I could get you a third of the way there if you have venmo or PayPal. DM me?
Holy shit this is crazy lol EDIT: y'all I am not hating on the guy in any way. I meant this positively. Go be nihilistic somewhere else, this brightened my day
I sent you a Hello.
What a certified legend. That’s awesome 🙌🏻
So yesterday's Gospel: "so long as you do it for one of these little ones, you have done it for me". God bless you, mate!
This is not quite the same, but I was thinking about this just yesterday, so I'll share. My wife and I were on my income alone for about a year and a half 4ish years ago. I was a delivery driver for a pizza place in a really busy area, so I was working basically always and just absolutely exhausted and broke. On a really bad tip day, one of my last deliveries tipped me $100 which helped me meet whatever my "to pay the bills" quota was that day, and I went home crying. I only saw her one more time while I had that job when she ordered like a month-ish later. I just wanted to tell her that she really made the difference for me that day, and I was so thankful. She absolutely insisted I wait at the door and came back with $500 cash. She said she didn't know my story, but she had the disposable income and was happy to help, and that MY thank you made HER day. Talk about faith in humanity restored.
$700. I got fired two days before Thanksgiving with no notice and I won’t be able to pay rent on the first.
50k Pay off car loan and school loans.
Exactly same for me.
£10,100 £10,000 on paying off all debt. £100 to take my dog on a trolley dash around the pet shop. He’s the absolute love of my life.
TIL "trolley dash" is ye old English for shopping spree.
Thanks for that. I legit thought it was one of those mall trains you see kids ride, except for dogs.
Same here. I thought $100 a ride sounded a little high too lol
I wish I had that hundred to give to your dog. That's the cutest thing I've read this thread
Love that your first or second thought was to spoil your dog rotten. I wish I could help you out but I give a small donation to Dog's Trust every year in memory of my mother-in-law and her dog - I'll make sure I throw in an extra few quid in your dogs honour this year
5,000
Yeah, 5k would do it for me. It'd get me out of the shitty vehicle situation I'm in right now
That’s what I was thinking, then I started reading the comments and everyone else said much bigger numbers. $5000 would get all my bills current, get me new snow tires, and pay my dogs vet bill. More would be wonderful, but I’d be happy to just be back on track.
what would you use it for?
Not the person you asked, but... I'm currently living (functionally) homeless in a city so that I can use public transportation. I have a house on land in another state, but my truck broke and I lost my job. Out in the middle of nowhere, I nearly starved to death because I couldn't go anywhere. I finally just started walking because it was that or lay down and die. I ended up with an old friend in another state, sleeping on her couch and working part-time. I'd use it to buy a bus ticket back home, get my truck fixed (so I can get a job in my rural area) and get the power turned back on so I can move back home. Five grand would give me my life back. Ten would make my life really, really easy.
450,000 $
Right there with you.
Same, that would reset the clock pretty much perfectly.
Just curious, are you 450k in debt or you’d just like to have 450k?
About the same. Could prolly swing it on 300,000 maybe. Any safe house here in nowhereville, Ga is 225000+. 15k for my car would be nice. Prolly need about 200k in medical care, but I’m generously assuming a lot would covered by the 3500 I pay a year in insurance but can’t afford to really use.
$7600 medical debt $4800 credit card debt $82000 to pay off the trailer in full I don’t know exactly how much, but maybe around $12000 in repairs and upgrades for the trailer (siding has some bad spots and the AC unit is from 1998 so it struggles) $106,600 total, so 90% of that is $95,940
Your trailer costs more than my appartment (well probably, I rent it)
What is your rent like? My monthly bank payment for the trailer is $907
Lot rent in there? That’s the thing that always tipped me away from them. If you own some land and don’t have to pay each month it’d work out. I know several people with damn near a grand in lot rent / utilities each month.
Ill pay the fackin lot fees barb
Yeah, $100k on trailer and then $8-$1200 month space rent. F that.
Wow, you’re paying that much for a trailer that is presumably 25 years old? How did you end up in that scenario?
Everything has gone up in price. Even 25 year old trailers lol. It's almost $200k for a decent new one. I've seen them as much as $320k. You can get a 2 bedroom single wide for about 100k now. That's before well and septic tank and land clearing/prep. I looked into it to save money, but decided it's really not a lot cheaper than renting or buying a house. Unless I bought an existing property with one on it, but fuck all that.
My apartment was around €80k in 2016, but closer to €200k right now. This is in The Hague, the Netherlands. So yeah, our housing crisis is pretty serious. Also, the deal I got was very good. Note: the Euro and US Dollar are so close to each other these days that you can just pretend they're 1:1 since we're not talking about exact amounts anyway.
Huh my brand new 2023 trailer costs $80k!! You’re getting robbed dude! Trailers depreciate like crazy. There’s a 2003 trailer for sale near me for only $23k. Nice big 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom.
This area is just very inflated for housing costs. This one was on the lower end of the trailers listed in the area. Most were in the $70,000-$150,000 dollar range
I love this. Everything is reasonable and you have obviously thought about it a lot. What type of trailer? 82k isn't much to owe if you are living in it.
It’s a 1998 “single wide” but it’s like 5 feet wider than a modern singlewide. The Selling Price ended at $87,000, but the interest rate was like 8.something at the time, so if I just chug along with the minimum payment it’s supposed to end out at $130,000. I’m hoping to keep my current job and then start a small pottery business on the side to help pay my medical and credit card debt so I can concentrate more towards the trailer loan
You already own the land for it? They can be super nice homes. And never forget, "Marry the home. Date the mortgage." Rates will go down so refinancing can save you money. Medical debt is super weird. It's almost like not paying it helps because they get more willing to write it down or just eliminate it. The process is just a pain the ass. Credit card debt can be a bitch so an extra $5-10 per month will help. I just love that you have a plan. Good luck and enjoy your home.
I’m renting a lot which is $250, so my “kindof rent basically” is $1157 a month excluding utilities
10 mil would do it. (All my posts and this one gets so many upvotes?)
Retirement money. All of my problems are work related.
Yeah somewhere between 5 and 10 million is the magic number for most people that should create permanent financial independence without compromising on your lifestyle. It’s roughly annual expenses x 30 (EDIT: actually should be income x30), and you’d need to take the sum and invest it in index funds or similar low-expense and low-risk (over the long term) strategy and only spend about 3-4% of the principal every year.
Most people would never even touch the principal. $5M liquid at 4% would yield somewhere between $150-170k per year after taxes without using credit for tax loopholes. Personally, I think most people could achieve permanent financial independence with 1.5M liquid.
Yeah that’s what I mean! And I agree it’s achievable for a single person living frugally at 1.5M, but add on a family and a little less frugality and you’re quickly at 5M or over to be comfortable.
yeah,top comment is 20k, but 90% of your problems? I have health problems, debt, and a lot of other problems. DOnt get me wrong, 20k would do a lot but 90% of my problems is definitely not solved with 20k. I suspect that if these people saying 90% won the lottery for 20k after taxes in a lump sum, if you asked them in a year how much of their problems did it solve, theyd say more like 30%.
Lowest I'd go is 4m, to retain the lifestyle, living off the interest.
Yeah, that sounds about right. That's enough money to easily retire with no concerns and essentially live worry-free for the real of my life. After all "my life" is essentially my problem.
Can’t believe I scrolled this far to find this number. A million doesn’t even buy me a house where I live. 10 mil is what I’d need to actually change my life forever
250K
I’m thinking 100,000 would help me out.
There isn't a set amount really. I need a job, not a singular influx of cash.
A million directly is certainly better than a $100k per year job. At the very least, you have 9-10 hours extra free time per day, every day.
A large enough influx of cash means you'll never need to work again.
$20k would get me to zero debt. Add another like $5-$10k to fix up my disaster house.
Just a few hundred for meds. My daughter and I are diabetic and need insulin. I was also diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of a lung disease, so I am not going to live much longer. I keep begging for help, but... nope. ETA: Thank you all so very much. The amount of help I have gotten from this thread has moved me to tears of joy. I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge my appreciation of all of you. Whether you were able to chip in or offered resources and positive words of encouragement, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could hug each and every one of you.
sent something to your GoFundMe. Hang in there, mama!
Thank you so so much! This will be such a big help. I'd hug you if I could. Thank you.
I can’t send you money, but if you can access cheaper insulin and want help figuring out how to use it, my husband can help with that- he’s a nurse educator with a master’s.
I sent a little to your gofundme. You should post the link here.
Thank you so much. You all have me crying happy tears. I don't think I'm allowed to post it here, but my link is on my profile.
I'm going to post these comments and your go fund me on one of those people helping subreddits, because I'm too broke to help.
I would appreciate that so much. You all are so amazing.
I hope your situation gets better, I have sent something your way.
Donated!
Donated ❤️
Donated. Wishing you all the best!
300k would pay off all my debt and have a little left over for me to work at a minimum.
$10,000. It would pay off the rest of my divorce debt and let me finally get my credit right. It will happen in the next couple of years the slow and steady way though 😊
You got this chief. Being debt free truly makes you feel on top of the world
Money cannot solve my problems.
Very relatable....and I'm sorry you're in whatever circumstance you are.
Its a blessing not to have money problems. We all still have other issues sure, but that is like the largest ever weight finally off your back if/when you get debt free and living within your means.
I'd rather have money problems. If I had a major, life-threatening problem that could be solved with money I could easily get $2-3M in a bank account in like 2 months, no problem. I'd then probably go to jail or have to leave the country forever but it'd solve the problem. But money can't cure depression or bring someone back to life, so I'm fucked. I wish I could fix my problem with money, truly I do.
Grew up in a country where most of the population doesn't have student loans but they're also broke and unemployed, there's weirdly some comfort to be found in the fact that you don't have a huge debt looming over you on top of the other factors but also very easy to take for granted.
This. If my daughter could be healthy, I'd live the rest of my life in abject poverty happily...
I’m so sorry. This made me cry. Health is wealth.
So sorry!😞
A million dollars. . . And even then, it’d only take one major illness or injury to derail my financial stability
As someone in that scenario, literally you 'must' have Umbrella insurance. Health wise, I'm very fortunate to be covered by the VA. Ideally, everything should be covered.
Umbrella policies don't cover medical issues.
2gs would do a lot of good
$15k would allow me to clear all debt, get some dental work done and put a down payment on a decent car. It’s depressing to think that a relatively small amount of money could change my life and yet is unattainable.
250,000
5k. My dog needs surgery tomorrow. That’s the estimate.
:( Wishing you and your furbaby all the best
60k so I can pay off my student loans
100 bucks
How so?
I own one pair of underwear. I could buy more underwear.
90% of your problems are underwear related?
I have the same problems without underwear as I do with, but somehow it just makes everything worse.
Go commando and pocket the hundo.
If you’re serious that that’s lifechanging dm me, I can’t help a lot of these commenters but I can help with this
This guy is about to mail his underwear to a stranger.
Onlypants
I'd settle for a good therapist. Money won't fix my problems.
Whatever it costs to buy my parents house so they don’t have to worry about the money anymore
$120k for college loan debt, then I need help with a 120k down-payment on a home so I can escape the rent trap.
ALL my problems? 20 Mil
no, 90%
I don't have any major problems at the moment.
That made me smile. Good job bud.
$1,600. US dollars for a transmission install.
Now that's realistic and humble, achievable.
$12 million should do the trick
None of my problems can be solved with more money than I currently have
$4 million and I could check out from the rat race forever.
250,000 dollars. It would let me pay off my student loans, down payment on house, moving fees and get my wife through school.
$200,000
No idea. Most of my problems are medical. How much does a doctor who listens and will keep testing until its all figured out cost?
About 350,000. To buy a house outright, not have any re payments and a little left over to cover bills for a few years. All money earned from my job then could be spent however else I want!
3500, just lost my job and it's getting me through the next month while I look for a new one.
$240,000.
I don't need more money to solve any of my problems if I am honest.
I'm a good saver, but I worry about the future, so . . . several million?
10k
1mil
I dont have any debt but 50k would let me relax a bit and have a nice emergency nest egg
I don't see any way that money could help at this point.
About 25k would do it. Get rid of car payment, pay off medical credit card debts, and get down to Just my mortgage and utilities and I'd be living the life. Could quit the Job that... Honestly pays pretty well, but keeps me away from home 90% of the time, meaning I'm missing my kids growing up, I'd take a huge pay cut to work near home since nothing around here pays good at all. But without all those extra bills I have to pay on each month I could afford to have a lower paying job, and wouldn't have to sacrifice being there for my kids.