Everyone Else Knows Best

I have been working on some life modifications lately. I guess these are more life hacks --- in the sense that I'm taking a machete to things and hacking away at things that aren't working anymore. In preparing for these major changes, I have been talking to friends and family about my plans. I am actively trying to work through a complex financial problem, so I am talking to people I know and trust to feel it out. In my explorations, I have found that everybody has the answer -- everyone, other than me.

When I say I am working through a  complex problem, I mean, I am working through a set of financial realities that I did not adequately anticipate. I did not anticipate that graduate school would fling me into more debt, despite being "funded." I did not anticipate a job market that would lead to one viable hire, 11 months after school. And I did not anticipate that I would get a master's degree and suddenly be worth less than 60% of what I was before my master's degree.

The problem that I am trying to solve is this: On an $1,850/month real income (net income minus core living expenses), I am somehow supposed to eat food, buy gas, have recreation... and here's the problem... also pay student loan payments, pay back-taxes from 2014, in which I took a job that led to a $3,000 tax bill. Oh, and I am somehow also supposed to muster the money to do activities that make me fun, interesting, and social.

That doesn't sound like much, you say -- just take it slow and be patient. Well, let me tell you; I've heard that line a time or two in the last few months. Yeah, I definitely should be patient. Patience is the right thing to do when your $1850/month income is reduced to $0.00 after rent, utilities, phone, gas, and food.

Oh, I'm spending too much! Right. I knew it, you're right. I'm just spending too much. I need to cut back. Because my oatmeal breakfasts, peanut butter sandwitches for lunch, and sweet potato dinners are just too extravagant for my income... I definitely am just spending too much, somehow.

Well, you're all right. I am spending too much. Here's the full breakdown of the core expenses:

$1,850.00/mo Net Income
-475.00 Rent
-140.00 Insurance
-130.00 Storage
-80.00 Utilities (probably average)
-70.00 Phone
-59.00 Credit Card Payment
------------------------------------
$895/mo leftover for everything else.

Given that "everything else" includes groceries ($250/mo), gas ($30/mo just to get to work and back, 3 days per week, and then recreational gas to see family friends -- $150 total), and then recreational gas expenses... I'm actually left with $495/mo for recreation, going out with friends, and paying student loans. But one of those things is not like the other thing....

The $495/month I am left with after core living expenses handles car repairs, unexpected expenses, going out, and student loans. After these things, this number is $0.00.

Given that I am to be left with $0.00 each month, I am not sure how I am to make progress on paying my credit card off? How am I supposed to pay more than my student loan bill? Am I really going to make minimum payments for the next x-years? Am I really supposed to live paycheck to paycheck like this, as a graduate with something like 200 college credits, including graduate work?

But everybody else has the answer. Breathe. Be patient. Get a second job. Cut back on your expenses. Decrease your spending. I've heard so many helpful ideas. But what if the answer is bound by absolute realities that cannot be overcome with these conventional thoughts?

What if my reality is that I owe $3000 in taxes, $1900 in credit card debt, and no way to save a dollar each month? And what if these conventional ideas for solving my problem aren't actually the solutions to my problem?

Well, of course everyone else knows better than I do. After all, I am about to live in an ultralight travel trailer on the street. Like a crazy person. And everybody knows that it's a bad idea.

The problem I am trying to solve here is: How do I flip my financial system for the better, using skills I already have? And how do I pay off these remnants from graduate school and unemployment while also planning to pay student loans?

The answer that I have come up with is to not pay rent and utilities.

Of course this answer isn't popular. It's the answer that shows that I am impatient. It's the answer that shows that I am clearly miscalculating something.

If I move into the lightweight travel trailer, I will eliminate rent, utilities, and much of my commuting cost, which is 20 miles per day, to and from work. The resulting system allows me to save roughly $600 per month, in addition to whatever else I can recoup from the $495 noted above. Which means that I go from having effectively zero buffer to having upwards of $1000/month open for saving, going out, or hell, even just giving me peace of mind that I am okay.

Everyone else knows best, though. My problem is so simple. It's just... or just that... or that I'm... and so on. The reality I face is a totally unsustainable system of financial players and features. Sure, I should just have my parents help me with my student loans --- but should I, really? What is it about what I've done that has led me to not having the ability to pay my costs of existence? I work in the sustainability industry, yet my life system is unsustainable by default of owing too much and making too little.

Of course I will work on cutting down my expenses. Of course I will work on my patience. And of course I will look at a second, third, and/or another job with more hours... but until then, I am operating in disaster mode, and my disaster mode is a lot different than everyone else's. I am working to make my system sustainable.