Personal Finance

You'll need to provide a lot more details for me to give a specific answer.

Cubicle job where I make just under $20/hour

That's... not great, but okay. What kind of job is it? Call center? Data entry?

I'm mostly looking for options to pivot into something more lucrative. I recommend looking at job postings in your company and area and seeing what it would take to get the skills needed to apply.

I don't have a SET budget, but I really don't spend that much

Here's my back of the napkin math with what you provided:

• $20/hr should gross $40k and net ~$30k after taxes in Cincinnati, OH (random Midwest city for taxes, assuming single)
• $30k == $2500/month
• food for a single male should be ~$360/month, if you cook; let's call it $400
• rent for a 1BR is $800-900
• utilities $100-200 - wild guess
• Insurance - $50-100/month, depending on if you're a good driver, have good credit, value of car, etc
• fuel - $100/month assuming 10k miles/year, 30mpg
• entertainment - you provided $60, so I'll round up to $100

So before debt repayment, you're looking at $1700/month minimum, so let's round up to $2k to account for incidentals (phone bill, clothes, etc). $500/month for debt will be tight depending on balances and interest rates. You say you can net $25-75/week, so that means you have $100-200/month to throw at debt.

I think a lot of your stress is coming from the debt, so I recommend using a tool like Unbury me to get a plan together to attack the debt. I recommend really looking at your spending to see what you can cut to get out of debt faster, because killing the debt will do wonders for your confidence and willingness to take risks (e.g. try a new career). Some ideas:

• phone bill - look into Tello and Mint, they have great plans, esp if you can limit data usage (I pay $8/month for 1GB data from tello)
• cut YouTube - Firefox + uBlock Origin may give a similar experience
• learn to cook - look into meal prep to save time (e.g. bulk prepare food on weekends)

If you can increase that income, you'll make progress a lot faster, so keep your eye out for opportunities. But in the short-term, you can manage your spending. Try to cut those debts to free up cash so you have more options.

With regard to student loan debt, if you haven't already, see if you're eligible for the SAVE program. It's relatively new under Biden and is different than the loan forgiveness which was blocked by the Supreme Court. Based on this table, for $40k/year, the monthly payments for student loans should be $60. Depending on how long you've been paying off the loans, and the amount taken out, you may be eligible for forgiveness. Example situation from the Press Release which may apply to you:

Under SAVE, borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years are eligible to get their remaining debt canceled. For every additional $1,000 in loans they took out (up to $21,000 total for undergraduate loans and $26,000 total for graduate loans), a borrower is eligible for relief after an additional year of repayment. For example, if a borrower took out $13,000 in loans, they would be eligible for debt cancellation after 11 years in repayment.

That being said, there are other places to cut costs. The entertainment section would be the easiest. It'll be hard, but that should be near $0 for the short term while you make the plan and prioritize building savings and paying down debt. Building an emergency fund can save so much headaches if something were to happen. Redirecting entertainment into building a savings account with a goal of $1000 would take a year and some change, and would be invaluable when you need it. This would be on top of the debt you're currently paying down. Maybe after you have a comfortable savings account (3 months of living expenses), you can redirect those monthly investments into paying off the other debt faster.

As for other expenses, compare what you're paying now for recurring expenses (phone, internet, etc). If a competitor is offering a plan at a lower rate, call your existing provider and tell them you want that better rate or you'll change providers. This usually gets you a "Retention specialist" who can give you a good deal. Look at those bills and see if you're paying for a modem or router rental per month and determine if it'll be better in the long run to buy one yourself (it probably will be).

My husband and I didn't have financial stability in office jobs until we moved into middle management. It's a very different type of job, even if you're doing the same sort of work. I don't have a degree, but I have several innate traits that make me excel at it. My husband doesn't have those innate skills, but he followed an educational path that gave him the credentials he needed to receive those opportunities (bachelor's degree, then a project management certification).

And there's trucking. A lot of companies will pay for your CDL, and later you can go freelance at mines or construction projects hauling stuff.

There are tons of options, I just don't know what OP wants or has available in their area.

Just be careful with Dave Ramsey's advice. He's good at getting people on track, but his investment advice sucks and he's way too obsessed with avoiding debt tools. But if you're in debt, he's really motivating.

$20 an hour is a decent starting salary for no prior experience or education, but as you’ve said, it’s not a lot. You will need to make concessions somewhere, such as roommates, food, subscriptions, or entertainment.

The first step is to be honest with your expenses, going through your past few months of credit card and bank statements, and put everything into a spreadsheet or app.

Use YNAB or a similar app and catalogue each of your recurring and non-recurring expenses. You say they’re not “that” much, but they do add up. You may be surprised with what you find, but mostly, it will help you think through your priorities, what is essential, and what is a recurring expense. In the end, you will know what your “baseline” spending is relative to your current salary, and how much you have free each month to spend on going out or hobbies.

After you’ve been tracking your current state of expenses for a while, thinking about your immediate future and changes you can make, make a 3 to 5 year career plan. Assess if you need a different/second job, or assuming a 2% increase each year, if you are on a career track that will drastically increase your quality of life (How much do I need to NOT have roommates? Drive a NEW car? Save for retirement? Increase entertainment expenses by $200/mo?).

What do you need to do to get that promotion or next job? When you are applying for that job in a few years, what salary number do you need to ask for? You should eventually have the answers to those questions, but not until you’ve got a real budget.