Not sure what to do...

I work as many hours as I can so that I can still get my son to and from school and make all his meals and keep up with household chores. I have some inherited health issues that require testing and check-ups and maintenance. I don't have anything frivolous and my bills, while only necessity, keep going up despite not providing more. I have a loan out on my house because I had to do mold remediation in the crawlspace, needed a new roof and had to cut down some trees close to the house. I have to feed my son, my dog and I. There are necessities I have to buy monthly.

I usually end up with $100 to last two weeks. $60 of that goes to gas (I have a very fuel efficient car), so that's $40 for two weeks of necessities.

I don't have any family to help and the government is taking away my son's insurance, hopefully not mine too as I have long term health issues. I can't work a regular job and most don't even offer benefits anyway.

I don't know what else to do... There's no fat to trim...

Is this America now?

I used to work even less hours and could make it fine. But suddenly, within the past 6/7 months, I'm falling into poverty and there's no way out, no help.

I'm confused, how is someone supposed to make it?

My car and house are paid off. I went to college. I did everything responsibly and reasonably. Unfortunately my parents died young and I have no support or room to improve things.

I'm doing my absolute best but it's not enough.

Is this the American dream?

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ChiefJustWalks · 26-30

Shits not easy. Prices of everything keep going up but the amount we get paid goes up so much slower. I was soo broke when I first found out I was gonna be a dad & I've been broke ever since. My kid's mom lost her job when she found out she was pregnant so I immediately started paying her rent. Things were good for a while until I went to jail & then we struggled more. I'm really grateful she was able to stay afloat without me, she's an amazing woman. But I know it wasn't easy & I still always feel bad for causing that stress & losing my ability to be there. I felt beyond useless.

My struggles are largely my own fault. People tell me not to be too hard on myself & that I'm doing great but I can't help but feel so behind everybody in life. It's just so hard to build up to that typical cliche "american dream" of having a home in a nice neighborhood where your kids could play outside freely these days. Sometimes I see people who have all that & I just wonder how they got there or if they had any help. Because it's not as easy as it's often made out to be. I just keep telling myself one step at a time. One day I'll get there & I'll feel even happier about it because I'll know how much work it took & all the years put into it

ScreamingFox · 41-45, F

@ChiefJustWalks not everyone has the same opportunity for whatever reason. I do think privilege gets passed down a lot and shouldn't be the standard we all should strive for.

The expectations are what is wrong. Even moreso right now as prices climb.

It's not you. It's not me. It's not the working people. It's a system that caters to wealth. It's wrong.

ChiefJustWalks · 26-30

@ScreamingFox yeah I used to get mad at expectations because I felt like I could never live up to them. I still don't really like them much. But yeah I'd agree with you. It's annoying how wealth seems like it's always about money or what we own. I'm not saying we should all remain stagnant but I feel like as long as we have the things that matter most to us, we can be okay