low income

We also thought it was important to address the first steps to take to reach financial independence… and also acknowledge that not everyone is currently in a position to get to financial freedom. The truth is, ‘just save more’ or ‘be frugal’ are not adequate pieces of advice if you’re in a tough situation. Sometimes, you need to do more than just cut back on consumerism.

I was making about $14,000 a year when I became pregnant with my daughter… I was nowhere near my family, I didn’t even have a car or a driver’s license, and within a few months later, I didn’t have a fiancé either. So how did I go from that point to being a lawyer earning a six-figure salary? Well…

The reality is that, well, we kind of do hate poor people. And there’s a reason for that.

Not all people who follow a frugal path are doing it for the same reasons. Some simply have to do it and find themselves making choices based solely on the sticker price. Others want to do it because they want to preserve value for other things or they have other values that align well with frugal choices.

Getting ahead financially on such a small income requires what I call a ‘death of a thousand paper cuts’ in regards to finances. Yes, there are a few big things you can cut and feel amazing about. The low hanging fruit, cable and what not. After that? It’s much harder, and it’s a couple bucks here and a tenner there. Here is one way I cut costs over time that continues to this day.

I don’t know why or how you got into your current financial situation, but it sucks. It sucks that some people assume you can just fix it by getting a better paying job. As if you wouldn’t already have that if it was an option. As if you haven’t already tried.

If you’re trying to get out of debt, or if you’re trying to save for something specific, or maybe you’re just trying to have more wiggle room in your monthly budget, this is going to help you find some ways to save money or cut costs. Or at least, I hope so. They’ve helped us!

Not too many people are talking about this or thinking about this—we just kind of bank on the fact that we’ll be healthy after we stop working at our job. And what happens if you’re not?

I figured if I’m going to stay doing this kind of low-level job, I’d better try to enhance my wealth, maybe not through W-2 work, but through investing.

Urban Ministries of Durham serves over 6,000 people every year. But you’d never need help, right? Prove it.

I’m building a habit and I recognize that I will have to work on mindset every single day.

There are plenty of day laborers and people toiling away at minimum- or low-wage jobs who will never get ahead. Hard workers are not hard to come by, but hard work is not enough and has never been enough. Truth is, America has never cared that much about hard work. Why do we keep perpetuating this myth?

In her twenties she had 40 jobs, including dishwasher, stripper economist, social worker, tax preparer, organic farmer, bagel deliverer, zine librarian, database wizard, and bicycle valet. She has lived in a geodesic dome made of recycled political yard signs and ridden trains in 31 countries. She is pretty good at saving money.

Grit is a word I don’t use lightly with her, she has had to face more challenges in her 20’s than most of us …

I finally had it with the whole idea of debt. Borrowing to get things we wanted just to be punished for the rest of …