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I hope you don't mind me building on this! I have tips that mayyy be more applicable for women, but could still help general folk!

I was very lucky to be raised upper-middle class. Due to a series of lifestyle choices, I wound up pooooor. Because of this, I have the mindeset of uppermiddle class while living an extremely low-income lifestyle. I lived on less than 20k/year without any sort of assistenace from the ages of 21-26. For a few of those years, I made about 13k/annually. I never took out a credit card and had no debt. I was frugal as hell and ate a lot of rice and eggs. I'm 29 now and stable, but I learned a TON while poor about how to dress for the life I wanted while keeping to an extremely tight budget. The biggest thing that differentiated me from my neighbors (and people I was competing with for jobs) was how I dressed and presented myself. Here are a few habits/insigts that I think gave me a leg up:

One.
Develop a capsule wardrobe. My wardrobe has about 25 pieces I wear reguarly (not including underwear or PJs/exercise clothing). Each of the pieces is lovely, timeless, and fits my body shape perfectly.
Here is a video and here is another about the capsule wardrobe, how to build one, etc. This woman, Justine Leconte, has wonderful tips about how to dress in general, but these will get you started on how to build a perfect wardrobe for yourself. There are many many other videos about the capsule wardrobe you may like better.


My current breakdown:
Bottoms: Skinny Jeans (2- one black, one dark blue), Little Black Dress (1), Day Dress (1), pencil skirt (1), fashion skirt, (1).
Tops: Nicer Tops-- poly blends/silk blends (3), Dressy Ts these are my favorite (3), Blazer (1), Faux-Leather Jacket (1), Sweaters (3)
Shoes: Dressy Heels- mine are nude because they match everything (1), Heel Booties (1), flats (2), keds (1)
Accessories: Scarf (2). Belt (1).

I do not count jewelry as an accessory, but I really only wear my wedding rings and a pair of silver earrings.

On this note, jewelry. One thing that many people in lower classes do is load up on cheap jewelry. If you want to blend in with the upper classes, you need to cut that out. Nothing screams low class quite like cheap fashion jewelry-- or wearing too much jewelry. First, fashion jewelry almost never has the right tone for your skin. Most people are either warm or cool toned. Depending on your skin tone, gold or silver is more flattering. I'm lucky to be "neutral," but I still only wear silver or white gold to keep my look homogenous. For style of jewelry, simple is best. Simple oval hoops, twist droplet shape, or simple studs are all good choices. Pearl or gemstone studs would be fine too-- whatever floats your boat. If it looks like something someone at a country club would wear, it'll be fine.

Depending on your style, a cheap watch will almost always look better than cheap bracelets. This is my every day watch. If you want something more jewelry-like something like this would work. But cluttering your body with lots of jewelry/accessories is just distracting.
You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a good wardrobe. It just needs to make sense and be homogenous.

Two.
I cut my own hair. I have for years-- since before I was poor. In fact, I cut it today! If you have mostly straight hair this video is a great starting point. My hair is 4 inches longer than the woman in the videos, and the tips still work. I get compliments on it regularly. What makes the biggest difference in hair looking nice is how it's dried!

A large round brush and the pointy attachment thing are crucial for smooth and shiny hair with a good swishy/healthy bounce. This is the video that taught me to dry my hair properly. Hair that is smooth and polished looking goed a long way in helping your overall "look."

Three.
Stay away from trendy makeup. One, it's expensive. Yes, I know that purple lipstick is gorgeous and would look super cute in xx circumstance. But it's a needless expense. Learn to do basic makeup, and do it well. Justine Leconte has a good basic look. Here's another video for professional looking makeup. and this is a good polished look that may be helpful for black women (or men! you do you).

Four.
Skincare-- because you mentioned it, I can't help but emphasize the importance of sunscreen for allllllllll skin types and tones. This is my holy grail sunscreen. I wear it every day. Lots of other people swear by it too-- so read reviews and see if it sounds good to you. Iv'e purchased this in bulk for 6 years now and literally give it out like candy to my friends and family because it's so wonderful and I've never met a person who has a breakout/issue becaue of it. YMMV, of course, but I couldn't help hopping on the soapbox.

Five.
Because you metioned suits, I wanted to expound a bit-- alterations can be very expensive. Besides a hem on the slacks, pretty much nothing about altering a suit is as cheap at $15. I worked in an alterations shop, so I'm fairly confident in this. Shortening sleeves (without lining) is $18+ and goes up if there are buttons. Adjusting the shoulders is $40+. Taking in the body is $50+. That said, if you find a suit jacket that fits well in the back and shoulder, it'll almost always be cheaper to buy and alter than to have a suit made. Even suits from Jos Bank or wherever need to be altered, so it doesn't really matter where you find a suit-- what matters is how it fits. When it comes to fitting, it is imperative that the back and shoulder of the suit fit your body. Otherwise, the seamstress will have to fully deconstruct the jacket (taking off the sleeves) to fix it. And that is $$$$. I only knew one person to ever have it done (for sentimental reasons-- it was his wedding suit for a vow renewal, and he had lost a lot of weight), and we charged almost $300 for taking in the back and adjusting the shoulders because of the talent and time commitment it took. It was a full day's work for the owner of the shop, who is a custom clotheir and amazing seamstress.

If you're going to buy a suit, watch some videos to know what to look for. Here's another good one.

Six.
One of the best pieces of advice I received was from my dad, "If you want to know where you'll be in 10 years, look at what you read and who you spend your time with." If your friends have low ambition and party lifestyles and you don't read, that's a problem. You should never be the smartest/most successful person you know. You should always have a book to read. Finding a mentor is extremely helpful when it comes to getting out of the poverty mindset.

Benefits

For government assistance, google your state and/or county/town for their government website. Generally they will list income-based benefits, or link to another site that does. For California I found these: Benefits.gov, CalWin.

Will I lose my ebt with my bump in income?

It really depends on your state and the bump, but yes that is a very high possibility that you will lose EBT or get your benefits lowered. Look at the website for that and/or speak to a social worker about your income change.

Debt Repayment

/r/pf has great resources on this. Read their debt section here..

Savings / Investment

I, personally, am not a fan of investing small amounts of money (less than $1000). So my personal recommendation would be to put all your money in a savings account, and if you have enough 'extra' money, a Roth IRA for investments.

You don't want a CD because that will lock away your money and you won't be able to use it in an emergency. Plus, many CDs don't have great interest rates for small amounts of money. Your best bet would be to look at your local banks and credit unions to see if they're running a high interest rate promotion.

HOWEVER, if they are, make sure to figure out what the minimum balance is (or any other requirements, like transaction activity)!! If you can maintain the minimum balance/follow the requirements, throw all your money in there. Otherwise, go find an online high-interest bank account. Generally they're hovering around 1% right now. Which is bad, but better than normal savings accounts. Comprehensive list. Though /r/pf frequently recommends Ally.

If you don't have any bank account at all right now, just get one. Doesn't really matter where, for the most part. Make sure it's free checking and try to avoid a place that requires an annual fee. Some places have minimum balances but some don't anymore. Personally, I'd look at what banks and credit unions are nearby, but then read their websites and their terms and conditions. This way you can read the information at your own pace and you have less of a possibility into being pushed to open an account that might fuck you over later (with fees etc.).

Once you've opened your first bank account, your can look at opening another, seperate, high interest savings-only account. I have all my paycheck direct deposited to my "main" checking account, then a monthly automatic withdrawal from that account that goes into my High interest savings elsewhere. This way I don't even really see the cash, so I don't miss it. Make the automatic transfer whatever you can comfortably afford - $1, $100, whatever.

Put it in the high interest account and then it will start accumulating its own money. But it is still there and accessible if you need it in times of emergency. If you had savings in a CD or brokerage account, you would have to wait ~1 week for the cash and likely pay fees. High interest savings accounts usually can get you your money within 1 - 3 days (depending on which banks you're transferring between).

If you receive most of your money in cash, prioritize a local bank or credit union for your services. Online-only bank accounts can be a pain to make cash deposits to. If you need cash withdrawn, though, online banks generally refund ATM fees now, so that's not as bad.

I hope I've explained this accurately. D;

Will I have enough to do some fun things so i dont get lonely and depressed?

Only you can answer that- seems like you need to make a budget. A guide. Another guide..

All that aside, I'd highly recommend finding your local subreddit and starting to be a regular there. You can make a lot of friends, and they might have meetups so you can still be social.

Cellphone

I've lived without a smartphone. I gotta tell you, I hate smartphones. But unfortunately it's seeming like it's almost impossible to live without them these days. It really sucks. I only moved to using a smartphone 2 years ago. Before that I was on a dumbphone for 6ish years.

If your phone is actually yours, go to a prepaid carrier with it and see what plans you can get. How often do you use your phone? If it's not often, start looking at plans that aren't unlimited. My favorite go to is Tracfone. I spend about $17/mo on my plan. I don't use my phone very often, and the best part about Tracfone is that minutes, texts, and data roll over. So if you don't make any calls or anything for a month, you will have all of that available next month. And it keeps accumulating.

I've been with Tracfone for 5 years now. Their signal strength is not ideal (so make sure to check coverage maps for where you live since you said you're rural). But it works good enough for me (I am also in a rural area) to get by 98% of the time. I'm ok with that since it's only $17 haha.

If you don't own your own phone, buy one of the cheap/free phones from whichever prepaid carrier you decide to go with. (Their phones can be $80 or less). I think Cricket wireless and Boost mobile are currently doing promotions for entirely free galaxy phones, for instance.

If you have some apps you absolutely need access to, make sure you have a somewhat recent version of Android or iOS. Especially true if you'll be doing mobile banking. I was working with a $30 smartphone that used Android 4.4. Finally my bank apps wouldn't support the OS and I had to upgrade. I just bought this phone (~$75) last year. It's got Android 6. They're on 8 currently, so I have bought myself some extra time here. (Sidenote, you can probably find this phone cheaper on a different amazon listing. But this was the one that I could quickly pull up from my order history).


Good luck!

Rent: $550
Phone: $35
Food: $220
Credit: $400
Savings: $100
Health/Dental: $75
Misc/Fun/other: $100

Total: $1480

My opinion is that you need something more like this. As the other poster mentioned, your two jobs aren't going to sustain the budget you developed.

Food: no offense, but you need to look a bit more into how to meal prep each weekend, or over a couple evenings if you don't have free weekends, and buy cheaper food. You really should NOT need to 'cut calories' to spend less money on food. Buying 'family size' portions of meat and then breaking that down into weekly packages and then sticking two weeks worth in the freezer will do a lot. You just need to make sure you have a plan for the food as it goes in so you don't waste it. I make four meals a week, on keto (think lots of expensive meat), and I barely spend more than $60/week and I have more income to work with. I make four because that way I don't get sick of eating the same thing every day. These meals can be incredibly easy and cheap (fried eggs over some greens with spices or some bacon on the side) and others can be easy to prep as well. I'll link you some of my favorites so you have some ideas. Non-cream based soups are great because you can make a double batch once a week for three weeks and stick half in the freezer. Then, one week, you don't have to cook and yet you have three meals already complete.

Phone: If you are past the two years you have to be on a contract (because that seems to be standard in the US when people buy new phones), then you need to get over to a non-contract provider. I was spending less than $35/month for internet and phone service comparable to what I had when on a contract. That's Net10 and gives you unlimited talk, text and 2gigs of 4G data then slower after that. You might even be able to find something better in your area.

Health/Dental: Both are important things to have in the US. One slightly more than minor issue with your health or teeth can put you in thousands of dollars of debt. If your employer is covering 75%, your monthly cost should not be that high. Ask if there are other single folks in the office that you can ask what comes out of each paycheck or if they have a cheat sheet that shows how much each plan costs. Even getting the cheapest plan that will at least cover emergency care, if big, bad things happen, etc, could really save you.

Credit and Savings: I knocked both down because I don't see how your budget will allow for your numbers. I bumped up the credit because not getting that paid off quickly is going to cost you in the long run. As the other person mentioned, get an emergency fund established, but after that, put in only a little until that debt is gone and then you can transfer that line item in your budget to savings.

403B: Google tells me that the only difference between a 401K and a 403B is that the admin costs for running a 403B are less. What that means for you will vary dependent on what exactly your company does, but with lower admin costs, more of the money goes into investments. Doesn't sound like it has a huge effect though to the bottom line. Which means, when you are looking at whether to put any of your money into it, that depends on what you can afford (frankly, it doesn't look like you can afford it for the next couple years until you get that CC debt paid off) and how much your employer will match.

More recipe and food info:

Budget Bytes
Budget Bytes Meal Prep

Some of my favorite recipes:

Swedish meatballs, though this recipe is working a bit hard
Egg roll in a bowl
Mexican shredded chicken - put on lettuce or rice
Chicken salad
Chicken taco soup
Sausage and White Bean soup
Black bean soup
Garbanzo bean salad
Roast chicken in milk- sounds weird, tastes awesome

Other tips: when buying meat, buy what is cheap. Often people will buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts when thighs would cost you a dollar less a pound. Or they buy a rotisserie chicken when buying a whole chicken and baking it (to use in recipes), would save a lot. So, look at what is cheap and plan your meals accordingly. Most recipes that call for '1 lb of chicken' don't matter if it's white meat or dark. If it asks for dark and you use white, it might be drier than you thought, but that's about it. Quit buying junk food or pre-prepped foods. They are expensive and not worth the money.

Same with produce. If your grocery stores have apps that show you the sales, put those on your phone and meal plan around that.

Here's how I meal prep: Thursday night, I plan what meals I want to make for the next week and then I make a grocery list on my phone of all the ingredients I need. Friday after work, I get the groceries. Saturday or Sunday, I cook. Now all I have to do all week is grab my lunch or supper out of the fridge and re-heat. Sometimes I have everything prepped in separate containers, sometimes there isn't room or that's not convenient. In the latter case, I put each meal in one big container and then each evening, I prep the next days lunch (and supper if you work nights) into easy to take with me containers and I'm all set for the next day.

When you are planning meals and want to save money, plan a 'cheap' meal each week. Pancakes & bacon, eggs and greens, black bean soup, etc. That will drastically help keep your grocery bill down week to week. If you suck at meal prep/cooking, a cheap slow cooker (spending more than $15-20 is too much! Shop at thrift stores if you can't find one that cheap) will help take care of one meal while you make the other ones. I find that anything in slow cooker but soup or roast is kind of meh, so you may end up using it less as you get the hang of cooking more often.

Since Christmas is coming up, if there are kitchen things that you need, make an Amazon Wish list and hand that out to friends and family so that you can better prepare for being able to cook more. Things I highly suggest: TWO really good, big non-stick skillets (I like enamel lined, but NO METAL USED with those); two good sized pots - think 5 quarts, stainless steel; one smaller sauce pot; Crock pot - 3 quart is fine; Something like this that can go from stove to oven; a couple wooden spoons and rubber spatulas.

ETA - I should have mentioned - one good tip on meal prep is to prep veg, onions, get spices out, etc for one meal while the other meal is simmering on the stove or in the oven. This is why I like to have two big skillets- one can be something cooking away while it's not slowing me down on starting the next thing. Because of this, it only takes me about 2 hours of prep, cooking and cleaning up (I do have a dishwasher for most of my items) each week.

Idk what cookware you do have but roasts (like a pork loin or whole chicken) tend to be cheap and pretty easy to cook. Eggs is a staple for cheap food. White fish or tuna are cheap too but don't eat tuna more than a couple times a week because of mercury. Protein powder is a very cheap source of protein however the upfront cost can be jarring.

Frozen veggies are my preferred choice but canned is good too.

The only spices you really need are salt and pepper. Kosher salt and a pepper mill are god tier. After that I'd say garlic powder, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, ginger powder.

If I had to pick cookware that was reliable af I'd easily choose a cast iron skillet, enameled Dutch Oven and a small nonstick pan. The first two are both Lodge brands and you can do like 95% of cooking in just those two... possibly just the Dutch oven. There's also this 2 in 1 combo that might actually be the best of both worlds.

I'm a big fan of the Dollar Tree for kitchenware. One of the best purchases I made was a micro shredder and I use it for blocks of cheese. Way cheaper that pre-shredded. The only thing I wouldn't buy from there or any shopping center would be a knife. On a budget I love my Kiwi brand knife (~$8) and I've heard great things about Kuma but haven't had the opportunity to try one yet. Most cooks recommend Victorianox Fibrox but I can't recommend that on an extreme budget.

Also replacing breakfast with only coffee is a great way to save money. I had something else to say but I can't think of it at the moment. Cooking delicious on a budget is a hobby of mine.

Edit: oh yeah, DRINK WATER

This may sound a bit pretentious, but it may help someone, so here we go.

A couple of key things you mentioned; the slow adaptation to a higher-than-normal standard of living is sometimes referred to as "lifestyle creep" and is really easy to fall into.

A related topic is that buying things sure does feel good...for a moment. Unfortunately, this "hedonic treadmill" doesn't endure, and is just as you say: a momentary happiness or sadness doesn't last.

There's a lot of people talking about stoicism, or Stoic philosophy, and it's an interesting mindset to follow. Parts of it boil down to "be comfortable being uncomfortable". One of the major writers was Seneca, and a favorite passage is in this letter:: " Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: "Is this the condition that I feared?" "

This is supposed to remind you that you don't need luxury to survive; lentils and hamburger helper is fine, not buying new clothes is fine, staying home and reading a book is fine, etc. A reset, an antidote, to being aggressively marketed and pressured to consume ever more.

That philosophy kind of intertwines with Buddhist non-attachment, Krishnamurti's sense of self, and a Spartan ideal of hardiness that many people find useful. A lot of Seneca's work is available for free from a podcast guy you may have heard of if you're interested. Irvine also had a book you should be able to find at most libraries.

Side note, everyone should have a spreadsheet tracking finances; use Google Sheets if you have to, or Mint or YNAB, but you have to be honest with incoming and outgoing streams. Treat debt like an emergency..

Thanks for your post, I hope it helps people realize that most of us were never taught good habits about money, and we're constantly told to spend our money; for instance, everything can be financed into monthly payments to satisfy our short-term wants but we pay so much interest it's usually a bad idea...

The notion that accumulating cash has a built in depreciation due to inflation is correct. However, that only matters once you have some wealth accumulated that you need to protect. You are still in the early stages of wealth accumulation. Average inflation is ~3% a year so it isn't much. You lose very little over the short term so it isn't something you need to worry yourself over. Keep saving. You are on the right track!

A $10k goal is a good place to start. Your idea of different accounts to assist you in saving is one that worked for me. I keep local checking and savings accounts for my spending and emergency accounts along with an online savings account through Ally with a higher yield to push my savings to. I pay my bills through my checking and keep enough in the savings account for emergencies and to cover budgeting errors. After everything was paid for each month I moved everything over to the Ally account until I had enough stockpiled there that it was time for me to do something more productive with it.

From there I opened an IRA to start investing for retirement. Eventually I began maxing out my IRA contributions and still had money left so I opened a standard brokerage account and invested the surplus there. This replaced my Ally account as my general savings vehicle. Instead of the ~1% I was getting from Ally(less than inflation) I started to see market gains of varying amounts up to 20%/year. IIRC the S&P500 returns/dividends have averaged ~10.9%/yr over the long term to give you an idea of what you might see. This is where wealth accumulation really begins to take off. Compounding gains is pretty spectacular. The satisfaction of seeing your money make money is motivation to save even more.

Finance isn't confusing once you gain some basic knowledge. Just like wealth this knowledge is accumulated over time. When I was younger a mentor of mine suggested this book for a broad view of finance:
https://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Money-Book-Jordan-Goodman/dp/0793142245/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524669876&sr=1-1&keywords=everyone%27s+money+goodman

It has been almost two decades since I have read it but I remember it being very beneficial when I was younger. From there I have read a lot of different things and taken tidbits from all of them to inform my wealth accumulation strategy. You should do the same. A couple of other books that you will see recommended very often are The Millionaire Next Door and Rich Dad Poor Dad. I do not recall which but I read one of them when I was younger and got a lot from it too. From there another book that helped me in investing was All About Asset Allocation by Richard Ferri. This really did a great job of explaining all of the different assets you can invest in and how and why you might want to invest in them. The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing is another book that is frequently recommended. I have not read it but I have read a lot from the Bogleheads online. My initial asset allocation strategy was their 3 fund portfolio. Somewhere in there I listened to a lot of Dave Ramsey. His investing information sucks but his basic "don't suck with money" strategy is a fantastic common sense approach to not digging yourself into a financial hole or to get yourself out of one if you need to. Just keep reading and learning. Make it a daily chore. Eventually it doesn't seem like black magic any more. Amazon used books and ebay are a great way to pick up some great books at a low price. Or check your local libraries.

When is the musical? Do you have time to get them at a later date?

Also, Christmas is just around the corner so you can save up a little and get them what they really want then... for example I might get your dad some really nice glasses that he could use when he gets the malt whiskey. And perhaps you get him the whiskey for Christmas.

Sony MDRZX110NC Noise Cancelling Headphones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NG57H4S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Oc.CDbADT2F26
I found these on Amazon for about $25... a little over your $20 range but they have good reviews and your brother would probably like them a lot.

For your friend who you're getting the house plant, even if you keep it in the plastic pot you can add some ribbons or wrap it in a decorative paper around the pot to make it look a little more put together... can get that for $1 at the dollar store.

Musicals can be very expensive but you might be able to find some tickets a little cheaper if you look around. If you have time to save up you could try to come up with a way to tell him that you would love to treat him but you're not sure financially how to make that happen... maybe you could contribute what you can now, see if he can add in some, etc. You might also be able to sell random things you have lying around unused to come up with a bit of extra cash. Does your SO have parents who might be able to chip in and make it a group gift?

At the end of the day, these are all people you are close with and gift giving is about showing someone you hold them dear to you and are thinking about them. Most people are understanding and won't be upset if you can't spend an arm and a leg on gifts for them.

1. Close the bank account where the payday loans come out of if they're automatic. Open a new one at another bank if you still need to do direct deposit and also because it helps to do things electronic.
   
2. Change your number or block the numbers. Better to change the number, less stress.
   
3. Get a steering wheel lock for a little bit extra security. https://www.amazon.com/Club-1000-Original-Steering-Wheel/dp/B0000CBILL
   
4. Credit cards, stop paying them too. Your credit may tank, but this is emergency actions.
   
5. Literally just budget for what is first, rent, utilities, the necessities, cut off the rest, like bankruptcy but on your own and you can negotiate a payoff later. At least try to before they may sue you. I said may, because sometimes if the amount is too little they don't bother.
   
6. IF you can, see if there's any way that you can get a storage unit, sell off anything extra you don't need, box everything up like you're going to move, then either see if you can "bunk" with relatives for a few months and see how much you can save to jump start your situation again. Can you sleep in your car and get a gym membership?
   
7. Not to keep you in the cycle, but for me, two companies (I've posted many times elsewhere and on other's posts many times, because I swear by them) helped me start to dig my way out. Lendup.com which is like a payday loan but you can borrow the $250 for 30 days instead of 15 days. Still $294-295 payoff but the longer time has helped me, also, if you do it like a week after payday, then you have time to pay it off instead of it just being pulled out of your account automatically right on payday, which for me caused problems because I didn't have direct deposit, and even if you get delayed for any reason, that is a problem. If you continue to need them, eventually they let you borrow larger amounts, and up to $1k, which you can pay back about $100 a month for 12 months. So it only costs $200 for that loan. And they let you simultaneously borrow the $250 still as a separate loan. Affirm.com is the second one that has helped me pay some things like my cell phone, storage, paid for a car repair, some things you may not be able to pay because if they charge the $1 test charge, then you can't use it, because it makes a virtual credit card for one time use. So a $700 car repair, I'm paying $70 a month for 12 months, so the loan cost me $140. You can choose 3, 6 or 12 months. IF you use these companies, definitely best to have a spreadsheet so you can have a visual of the amounts and where you're going to use them, and how you budget and basically juggle pay back, or renewal.
   
8. Try to go out more, for walks, enjoy nature, do things together that make you happy. It's going to be rough but you have each other. Good luck.

I've got nothing in terms of getting the gas fixed, but I have a few suggestions for your cooking and shower needs. If any new ideas come to mind for gas repairs I'll definitely let you know.

My mom's oven broke a few years ago and it was one of those "built into the wall" ones that was stupid expensive to replace. So till they could save up she got a countertop convection like this one (I think that might be the actual model). She still uses it all the time because she likes it more than the real oven, lol. Between that and a hot plate you can have something stove-ish for about $100. It's not as good as your gas stove, and it's not free, but you'll be able to cook stuff more easily. If you have a crock pot that'll help too as I'm sure you already know.

Also, for situations when you have water and sewer but not hot water, a camping shower bag ($20-ish) is a decent solution. The water heats pretty darn fast if you set the bag in the sun, and it's nice to be able to shower at home. (You could also use an electric kettle to heat water and fill the bag with a combo of boiling water and cold tap water.) I have long hair and the shower bag is still enough for me if I do a "navy shower."

I wish I could do more, but I'm thinking of you and hoping your tomorrow is brighter than today.

Every job I've had has been blue collar, or at least a mix of field and office work. Currently, I'm a woodworker, so I'm sure you can imagine how often things like splinters are a thing. I first started carrying the emergency knife when I worked at a climbing wall. It was there to cut a harness or potentially even a rope in the event of extreme emergency, but it was/is also good to have in case of a car accident or something (window breaker and seat belt cutter). I'm thankful that I've never had to use it. And that's what a lot of my gear is for. Things I want to have ready to use, while hoping I never do.

Emergency knife This isn't the one I actually have, but it's similar enough. You can find this same design in a multitude of places, at all different price points.

Normal use I also have a cheap little $6 Ozark Trail one that I've used for around 12 years or so. Long as you care for your knife, it will last and serve you well. You don't have to have a top-of-the-line one. I do greatly prefer the single-hand operation ones, though. They have the little pin near the base of the blade so that you can just slide it open with your thumb. And I usually prefer the liner lock, which allows you to unlock the blade with your thumb, and close it with your forefinger. With enough regular use, it all becomes one swift motion that you don't even think about

Swiss army knife I was gifted mine and likely wouldn't have bought it on my own, but I found myself very appreciative of it and think it's worth the money. If mine gets lost, broken, or whatever, I'll likely buy a replacement.

Bonus! Gerber multitool This has been on my key ring for 6 years. I use it almost daily, and think it is probably one of the best EDC purchases I have ever made.

• Veg and hummus/peanut butter is hard to beat. Carrots and celery are fairly cheap, and home-made hummus is a relatively cheap option too. They may not be a substantial meal, but it will keep you going. Plus, there is no real need to keep them cold. Add an apple or a banana and it can be quite filling.
  
• Make your own granola bars. Some Agave syrup/honey, semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried fruits, quick oats, flax seed flour (or your choice of protein-rich flour), peanut butter (optional), generic rice crispies, and nuts can go pretty far in curbing hunger while not being too bad for you (just go easy on the sugars). At ~$3-4 per batch of 18, you can make them ahead of time and take a couple with you each day. I pretty much always use no-bake recipes.
  
• It's not inherently the tastiest thing, but canned/pouch soups can be eaten at room temperature as well.. If you can find a microwave (a number of gas stations still have them, just buy a banana or something if they act annoyed at you using it), just pack the meal cold with some ice (or use a pack-it lunch bag).
  
• Pack-It bags https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJ8DFGC and an insulated thermos https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJ8DFGC can be your best friends in keeping food hot/cold throughout the day.
  
• Bagged salad mixes are pretty cheap and can keep you going for less than $1.50 per meal.

This might help you with feelings of worthlessness

https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Self-esteem-Rational-Behavior-Psychology/dp/1591023548

You are not your finances. You can view the imperfections in your financial situation without transferring those imperfections to yourself.

Moving in with parents is a great way to create some breathing space. The rich get trust funds and financial safety nets. People without much money should not be ashamed of finding ways to not pay rent (and someone else's mortgage).

Try to reduce your expenses. You can also defer or forbear your student loans for a bit. Keep asking questions here. A lot of people want to help.

When my furnace went out, I went and bought a bunch of electric "oil filled radiator" heaters. Paid about $50 each at Lowe's, on sale. Put one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, one in the bath room and two in the large living room. They kept the house warm enough and we're surprisingly inexpensive to use. Safe and easy.

When I did get a new furnace (through my local energy assistance provider, for free!) I actually found the little heaters were cheaper than my new forced air electric furnace.

Example:
https://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EW7707CM-ComforTemp-Portable-Oil-Filled/dp/B000TGDGLU

Good luck, OP!

Daaaamn!

Okay, I assume you are like me and prefer cold coffee. So I have this thing here: https://www.amazon.com/Takeya-Patented-Airtight-Silicone-1-Quart/dp/B00FFLY64U/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1525466142&sr=1-9&keywords=cold+brew+coffee+maker

It's wonderful. You put the coffee grinds in the middle, then put water in it and eventually the coffee grinds seep into the water and it's coffee! Pour it into a cup and add your stuff to it and it's just as good! If not better.

If the coffee at your place sucks and you would rather have some solid coffee, that is the way to go and a good way to make it cold without spending a crazy amount of money.

More Info:

It holds about two large glasses of coffee each, which is 4 out of my 5 work days. So when I use the second cup up, I just refill it with the same coffee grinds. It tastes fine to me because the thing holds about 14 scoops of coffee (on average). So in about a month I go through a large thing of coffee with is about $10. I buy regular creamer (nothing fancy) every other week which is $3. Then I use Stevia sugar because I'm trying to cut real sugar out, and a box of 100 packets cost about $5. That lasts about two months for me. So the total you get is way, way cheaper than the $4 a day iced coffee.

tear down manuals are your friend, they will show you step by step bolt by bolt with pictures how to replace these parts.

https://www.amazon.com/Chevrolet-Impala-2006-2011-2006-2007-Haynes-x/dp/B001QUG17E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541546760&sr=8-1&keywords=2008+impala+repair+manual

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See whats involved in fixing some of the issues yourself, if it doesn't require a bunch of super expensive tools or taking half the car apart you can save a lot of money.

Sorry to hear you had to go through all that. I rarely go to the doctor myself because of the cost. I lived with a double hernia for 5 years before I finally got enough money for the scan and the co-pay for the operation. The only time I've been to the ER was when I got hit by a car on my bike as a kid. A couple of years ago I had food poisoning really badly and was considering going, but it cleared up by the next day and although I felt weak, I was able to rest and take the day off work.

I get those cold sores also. Here are some things that have helped me.

"Canker Cover" patches. They absorb moisture and turn into a gelatin-like bubble to protect the sore. It helps a ton because the sores then don't get irritated by teeth touching them and such. If they're inside near your lips, they can be a little cumbersome because they'll be bumping your teeth as you try to talk, but still manageable. Link: https://www.amazon.com/DenTek-Canker-Cover-Patch-Relief/dp/B017GQYYXO

Oil-pulling: Take a tablespoon of coconut oil and slowly swish it around your mouth for about 20 minutes. You don't have to gargle, just gently move it around. It will absorb impurities and help your mouth get healthier. I did it every day for a couple of weeks and then went to once every 2 weeks, although I've neglected that for a few months now. I need to get back to it. Spit the oil out after 20 minutes, preferably in the trash with some paper towels. It solidifies at room temperature and may clog pipes.

Hydrogen peroxide rinse: Make a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and water and swish it around for about a minute.

I can understand how you feel for having gone and not getting any help from the doctor. I get frustrated about that stuff too. I use Insight Timer app to do guided meditation to help me relax. I also take Magnesium and Theanine supplements that help with mood. If you get Insight Timer, let me know and I'll send you a couple of good meditations that I've found.

If you love iced coffee, get a cold brew pitcher of some sort! Then make ice cubes out of coffee as well. :)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFLY64U

OK, This is an alternator that op was talking about.

https://www.amazon.com/DB-Electrical-ADR0186-Alternator-Rendezvous/dp/B007Y86OUQ/ref=asc_df_B007Y86OUQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312442771380&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13236198802898546900&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=21164&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-572399110518&psc=1

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Less than $100 and super easy to replace. You don't need to be car savvy to do this repair. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, should be $300 for a mechanic to do it. I don't think that this is your problem though. If your alternator was bad, you would be having other electrical issues. Radio dropping out, battery dying ..

If it's a fuel injector, should be around the same price for a mechanic to replace. This is more likely your issue.

How old is your cat? Does she have any health issues? Joint or muscle problems? Low body fat? Pain issues? Mobility issues from aging or injury?

Years ago, when I moved into a new place, my cat was upset and hid in a cold cabinet for weeks. I was worried she would get sick from the cold, so I put an electric heating pad in there (I was always home so I managed the on/off, never letting her get too hot). Too late though--she ended up with pneumonia and bronchitis within the month. Nice big $2K vet bill for that, and her health was never the same.

Would you feel safe leaving an oil heater running in a room for her? Something like this---https://smile.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EW7707CM-ComforTemp-Portable-Oil-Filled/dp/B000TGDGLU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1542126180&sr=8-4&keywords=oil+heaters+indoor+portable

I have one and it runs 24/7 on high for weeks in the winter here. I have it in my bedroom and it really helps take the chill off. Many mornings I wake up and find the cats sleeping on the floor next to it. They'll even call a truce with each other to share the space by the heater. You could set it to a timer to come off and on if you are worried about it, but mine has never caused any problems and they are really sturdy, don't fall over and aren't dangerous to anything that might be near them (bedding, etc).

The self-heating bed someone posted is great for the inside of a box or flat in the bottom of a cat bed, but breathing the cold air into her lungs is what seemed to get my cat sick (or atleast knock her system down allowing her to get sick).

This is the one I got: Takeya Patented Deluxe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker with Airtight Seal & Silicone Handle, Made in USA, 1-Quart, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFLY64U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1HIVAbXETDP0Z

I got myself one of these. Cuts down on prep and cleanup time immensely.