I used to stick to that rule and get a sensible mid sized Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord that’s a few years old as needed. But in 2013 (the last time I needed to get a new car) the cost savings were really low compared to new. I think the used market was particularly hot so you’d save less that 10% of the cost, so I ended up getting my 1st and only (so far) brand new car ever.
Most people don’t want this. Most people are one paycheck or emergency away from financial ruin. There is no social safety net and most workers have long hours, long commutes and not enough days off. No one can get off of the treadmill because they’ll end up homeless, starving or unable to get needed medical care.
Things have generally gotten better for me over time. My childhood and adolescence were pretty rough and I’ve felt better since I’ve had more control and autonomy. I’ve also gotten treatment for depression which made a huge difference in my life. There are still low points. Right now I’m feeling down because work is overwhelming, but I’ll get through it.
It sounds like you’re at a point where you could use some help getting past the suicidal ideation. That’s a very dangerous mental and emotional state. You mentioned therapy. Do you still have a therapist? Can you have a very open and frank discussion about what you posted here? If not, are there other resources available where you live? Things can get better and you deserve to have an enjoyable and fulfilling life. I sincerely hope you get support to help you through these rough times so you can build the kind of life that you want and have hope for the future.
GoodRx is realizing handy since you can use it pretty much anywhere. If you meds are available at https://costplusdrugs.com then it could be significantly cheaper there. They are mail order
only and don’t take insurance but they are often an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE cheaper!!! I have a prescription that’s covered by insurance and it’s still cheaper to get it from coat plus without insurance.
Owning your data is seeming less and less possible. Even paying in cash isn't an option in some places now
Some municipalities had passed laws saying that retail businesses had to accept cash since going 100% electronic is discriminatory towards the poor. But covid fucked that up
And I’m still salty about Pharmacia getting bought out by Medley and then going under. Why can’t anyone just run a pharmacy without jumping through hoops chasing infinite growth? Pretty soon we’re all gonna be getting our meds from either Walmart or Amazon.
Sewing, learning to draw, knitting, reading, macrame, playing with my dog, video games, pottery. Maybe go to thrift shops and look for hidden gems that you can fix up?
Sounds like you’re doing everything you can. It sucks that you’re going through this; I hope the situation improves and you don’t get furloughed.
I’m guessing that if you could get to all your jobs without the car, you would have already done so? Saving on gas and insurance can help, but depending on where you live that might not be realistic.
You could try contacting local food banks and see if they ever make accommodations for people who are working during operating hours. They might not but there’s no harm in asking.
Right now you’re in a serious hole from missing work for a family emergency. I don’t have much advice for getting back onto steady ground aside from being super crazy frugal and working extra hours in the short term (which is fucking exhausting mentally and emotionally and physically). Do you have any long term plans for having more breathing room years from now? If your steady state is “one car repair or illness away from defaulting on payments” then that’s a hard path. Do you or your wife have prospects for better paying jobs in the future? Are there training or educational opportunities that could help? Are there cheaper places you could live (smaller, worse neighborhood?) to save money while working towards better job prospects? Living on not enough money in crappy circumstances sucks but it is definitely more bearable if you know it’s temporary and you’re making progress towards something better.
And is that amount of money enough to replace the item that’s been taken away? Like if the DVD were widely available at the same price at the time of the digital purchase, but you got the Amazon “purchase” instead (for convenience?) then what are the odds that you can still get the DVD for that price today?
In theory we could expand the number of house seats so that more populous states get more reps and everyone has a more equal number of voters per congressperson. I think that would not only help make the house more fair but would also make the electoral college more fair (since the # of electors increases with the number of house members). Not as good as the popular vote, but it’s an improvement that doesn’t require a conditional amendment.
Dude has zero clue what the word “joke” means. Since when has making completely fucked up statements with no comic structure or punchline ever been considered a joke?
Although, to be fair, more often than not, Trump is completely serious and not claiming that he’s joking. It’s his handlers that lean the most on the “iTs OnLY a jOKe” bullshit
Assuming that she didn’t know about his behavior (and didn’t want to believe the rumors and accusations), she wouldn’t want to divorce him until the accusations became too big/real/loud to ignore. Yeah, it’s shitty to avoid the truth for decades, but when it’s your spouse, parent or kid, I can see how it would be really hard to face reality.
And once she couldn’t ignore it anymore, he was probably close to getting indicted or having a trial. At that point, I could see holding off on a divorce until the conclusion, just to give the father of your child the best chance at not sitting in jail for the rest of their life. Filing for divorce at the wrong time makes the accused look more guilty and less redeemable.
I used to stick to that rule and get a sensible mid sized Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord that’s a few years old as needed. But in 2013 (the last time I needed to get a new car) the cost savings were really low compared to new. I think the used market was particularly hot so you’d save less that 10% of the cost, so I ended up getting my 1st and only (so far) brand new car ever.